Chapter 29: Do You Have Abilities from Another Game Too?

"Victory-Style Fist!!"

The mysterious figure burst out of the shrubbery, and a knee-driven jumping uppercut landed squarely on its target. The man known as Count Godart—an obscenely exposed fat pig—was sent flying in a disgraceful arc, his stubby legs flailing as his bare lower half was shamelessly revealed before he tumbled across the ground.

"Buhii…!? …Y-you… you’re… from yesterday…!?"

"Yesterday, I was careless because of your cowardly tactics. But I hid in this estate’s garden and waited for the moment you’d separate from your servants. Today, I’ll make you free the women of this city!"

With that declaration, the person wearing a red headband and white gi thrust a clenched fist toward the exposed fat man.

"Milord!"

Panicking at the sudden attack behind him, the elderly butler lashed out, manipulating corded threads with both hands as he struck at the gi-clad fighter.

"If you weren’t hiding behind women, this would be nothing! Tatsumaki—Whirlwind Kick!!"

The fighter leapt upward, raised one leg horizontally, and spun like a helicopter blade, shredding the threads with the force of the rotation.

The cords, cleanly severed by the spinning kick, fluttered down through the air, swaying as they fell.

"So this is that ancient dwarf steel wire? Turns out it’s pretty flimsy."

The gi-clad figure smiled with ease. The old man—who must have taken great pride in that weapon—lost all strength when he saw his threads destroyed and slumped weakly to the ground.

"Damn it! Damn it, buhi buhi! Buhi! Sebastian! What are you doing, buhi!? You useless fool! There’s no way I should lose to some beggar-looking adventurer like this, buhi!"

Still sprawled in disgrace, the exposed fat man propped himself up on his elbows and fired a glowing magical projectile at the gi-clad fighter.

"Take my maximum-mana Magic Missile, buhi!"

The fighter didn’t even attempt to dodge. Bringing both hands together at waist height, they formed a dense mass of energy that shone with a light distinctly different from magic, then thrust it forward as if pushing it out.

"Wave-Fist Cannon!!"

The two projectiles collided midair between them, erupting in a thunderous crack and a blinding flash as they canceled each other out.

Perhaps having lost all will to fight after his maximum-mana spell was negated, the exposed fat man went limp. Filthy liquid spilled from his equally filthy bare lower half, and this time he collapsed flat on his back.

"Unless you can break the Victory-Style Fist, you don’t stand a chance against me!"

With his arms crossed, the gi-clad fighter said this and turned his gaze away from the fallen man.

"Wh-what was that, nya…? That wasn’t Sorbre magic or a skill, nya…"

"Th-that was that thing, right…? From that one-on-one fighting game…"

"Don’t tell me… he’s from another game too…?"

As we stood there, stunned by the unmistakably familiar techniques and fighting style, the gi-clad figure walked toward us, passing between the women in naked aprons who stared blankly at their defeated master.

"That was close! But thanks to you, I finally got my opening on the Count. Yesterday, I was caught off guard by his dirty tactics too, so I waited for the moment he’d separate from the women."

"Th-that’s fine, but… those techniques just now…"

"Ah, yeah. When I got dragged into this world, something happened. Next thing I knew, I could use them."

I had no idea what he meant by “something,” but it wasn’t hard to guess. Like me, he had probably been transferred here with abilities from another game.

Up close, he looked younger than expected, with long hair. His body didn’t resemble the character from the game that granted his powers; it was probably something he had customized in SBO.

"Anyway, this means the women who were imprisoned here can finally be free. And after leaving the royal capital, I finally met other players. I’m Shogo—nice to meet you!"

"Nya. Ririka is Ririka, nya. The blonde over here is Clarice, nyan. Inside is a perverted old man, nya. The elf is Natsumi-chan—he’s a guy, inside and out, nya. He just dresses like a girl, nya. And the redhead is Suka-chan, nya. There are reasons we’re together—she’s a succubus, nya."

"Introductions are fine and all, but… the women around us don’t really look that happy, even though they’re free…"

At Natsumi’s words, I looked around. Sure enough, the women seemed more confused than relieved.

"Um… we’re grateful you saved us, but… in exchange for money being sent to our families, we served the Count here… We can’t just leave his service…"

The completely naked woman who had been used as a chair spoke as if representing them all, lowering her gaze.

As we exchanged troubled looks, guards began pouring into the garden one after another, surrounding us.

And so, the five of us—including Shogo—were once again escorted to the guard post.

No matter how corrupt he was, knocking out the local lord on the spot was bound to lead to this.

"So… you’re saying you visited the Count to obtain permission for trade, he attacked you, and you fought back in self-defense?"

"Th-that’s right, nya. If we hadn’t done that, Ririka and the others would’ve been violated, nya. We’re the victims, nya. It was self-defense, nya."

Seated in a row inside a room at the guard post, the five of us were questioned by a middle-aged soldier who appeared to be an officer, while Ririka piled on excuses.

The soldier sighed and shifted his attention.

"And you—you infiltrated the Count’s estate and attacked him to save these women?"

"The women of your city were being abused! You let a guy like that do whatever he wants, and you call yourselves men? Aren’t you ashamed?!"

"He may be vile, but he is still a lord granted his title by the Queen and entrusted with this land. We cannot oppose him."

After saying that, the soldier took a breath and continued.

"…However, as one resident of this city, I thank you for rescuing those women. Truly."

The soldier bowed his head. Only then did we finally relax.

When we had been dragged away by the guards, I had feared the worst—but it seemed things would be resolved peacefully. I had been prepared to force our way out if they tried to throw us in a cell, so I was relieved it hadn’t come to that.

"That said, we can’t simply release you without consequence. The townspeople are watching. Adventurers like you possess outrageous abilities and those so-called magic item boxes, so imprisonment would be pointless. Frankly, you’re beyond our ability to handle. Banishment from this city seems the most reasonable outcome. What do you say? It’s not permanent—just until things cool down."

"Th-that’s a problem, ssu! I came to this city to find a place where I could open a shoukan together with my companions!"

"Calm down, Scarlet. With how strict public morals are in this city, it was probably going to be difficult to set up a brothel here anyway. Let’s try another city."

"A shoukan…? I don’t know what you intend to do, but the strict public morals are the result of a royal edict from the Queen. Even we don’t understand why Her Majesty suddenly imposed such rules, but to be honest, it’s been causing us trouble as well. If you want to do something about it, your only option would be to go to the Royal Capital and appeal directly to the Queen."

Things were getting complicated again, but we had originally planned to go to the Royal Capital anyway to investigate why the warp gates were sealed. At this point, there was no choice but to head there.

"Nya, Ririka and the others were planning to go to the Royal Capital from the start, nya. That’s fine, but what about those women, nya? If that Count starts doing whatever he wants again, that’ll be a problem, nya."

"We’ll handle that. From now on, we plan to keep the Count under surveillance. Besides, his trusted butler, Sebastian, seems to have lost heart and left his service, so he likely won’t be able to act so tyrannically anymore."

"Hmm… if possible, I wanted that pig—Count—to suffer a bit more. In the end, Shogo only punched him once."

"I do not strike those who have lost the will to fight. That is the way of a martial artist."

"Don’t worry. He has made enemies of many people. His days ahead, now that he is alone, will hardly be pleasant."

Taking the soldier at his word, we accepted the situation. Since we couldn’t stay at an inn, we spent the night at his home, and the next morning boarded a barge headed for the Royal Capital.

Once he brought us home, the soldier’s demeanor softened completely. He had his wife prepare an extravagant meal, and his entire family welcomed us warmly.

He was the captain of the city’s guard, and it seemed he had personally been troubled by the Count’s abuses for some time.

This was likely his own way of repaying us.

The next morning, under the pretense of being “escorted,” we were loaded onto a cargo barge. Several soldiers, the captain’s family, and some of the women who had been forced to serve the Count bowed deeply as they saw us off.

We had only stayed in the city for a single day and were essentially driven out like criminals, but the sight didn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth.

We waved back as the barge drifted downstream, leaving the city of Godart behind.

"In the end, we never even got that key appraised."

"Well, appraisal shops in the Royal Capital are probably much larger. We might even find a player who can appraise it with a skill."

"I guess that’s true."

"So, Shogo, you’re coming to the Royal Capital with us too, nya?"

"Yeah. Travel takes way longer than it did in the game—more than I expected. Walking all the way to Granshil just isn’t realistic. I’ll head back to Larentinia first and look for another way."

Sitting on stacked wooden crates aboard the cargo barge, we talked about our plans while watching the city of Godart shrink in the distance.

Aside from us, only a few boatmen and merchant-type NPCs were on board.

"You were planning to go to Granshil, nya? Ririka and the others came from Granshil, nya."

"Really? The temple warp gate wouldn’t let us go to Granshil—did something happen over there?"

"Nya… there was a player who went out of control, so the temple was sealed, nya. The warp gate works again now, nya. But this time, Larentinia seems to be sealed, so you can’t warp there, nya."

"So that’s what happened… When I was there, the Larentinia temple hadn’t been sealed yet. I hope Dias isn’t too disappointed…"

Shogo muttered a familiar name, prompting me to ask about it.

"Dias? You don’t mean Dias, Rick’s little brother, do you?"

"You know him? I was heading to Granshil to tell Rick—and another guy named Dom, Dias’s older brothers—that he’s safe. Dias is only level 8, and it’s dangerous for him to even leave the city around Larentinia."

"We’re actually carrying a message from Rick and Dom to Dias. They said they’ll keep waiting for him to come back."

"That’s great! Dias will be happy to hear that."

Unexpectedly, one of our errands had already been taken care of.

At least now we could put Rick and Dom’s minds at ease.

"More importantly, there’s something I want to ask, nya! What were those techniques you used when you fought the Count, nya!? Those weren’t fist-fighter skills, nya!"

Calling Rick and Dom’s concerns “less important” felt a little cruel, but I needed to understand Shogo’s abilities.

"Ah, that… Before I got transferred to this world, I was playing another game. Matchmaking took forever, so I left it in training mode with matchmaking on and went AFK. Then I remembered it was the service’s final day. I logged into S Sword B Blaze Online in another window for the first time in ages to see if anyone I knew was still around. No one was—but before I knew it, I was inside this world."

"And that’s why you can use that game’s techniques here."

"Yeah. I didn’t realize it at first. Then I ran into a monster on the plains that was way stronger than anything you’d normally see. I thought, ‘I’m done for!’ and reflexively used a move. That’s when it hit me."

"Now that you mention it, your body looks like an SBO avatar, nya. That gi and headband were from the collaboration event, right, nya?"

"Yeah. That’s actually what got me into SBO in the first place."

"Hmm, a level 50 fist-fighter, nya? Unlike Clarice-nyan, your stats don’t look corrupted anywhere, nya."

"Seriously? Don’t tell me you can actually use your status screen?"

"Yeah, I can use it normally—and I can see it too. Don’t tell me you also have abilities from another game?"

"Yeah. I was playing a different game too, and I ended up coming to this world. What I can use is equipment from that game—this."

I pulled the handgun strapped to my thigh out from beneath the skirt of my plain outfit and showed it to Shogo.

Shogo seemed trustworthy, and explaining the whole fleet situation would be a hassle anyway, so this would suffice for now.

"Huh, an FPS? I feel like I’ve read a web novel like that before."

"Don’t say that. I don’t want people thinking I ripped it off."

"Who cares? With how things are now, it’s better to have stronger means to protect yourself. There might even be other players who came here with abilities from entirely different games."

I’d already suspected as much after learning that Masato had transferred here with three character bodies via multiple accounts, but Shogo’s existence pretty much confirmed it. There really were other players who’d arrived in this world carrying cheat-like abilities.

"If you can get abilities from another game just by having it open in another window, then why didn’t Ririka’s NekoNeko☆Milk Fleet come with us to this world, nya…? If that were the case, I wanted cheats too, nya…"

"That thing was already falling apart before you came here. Maybe the wreckage is still drifting somewhere in space."

"Then why didn’t you go easier on beginners back then, nyaaa!"

"Hahaha, sounds like you had your own share of problems too."

Watching the cat ears droop and then bristle again in quick succession, Shogo laughed and continued.

"But if the condition really is having another game open in a separate window, then since it was a terminally underpopulated game to begin with, there probably aren’t that many players like us."

"Yeah… but I wasn’t playing SBO at all. I think I got dragged into this world because of those cat ears, so I can’t see or use any kind of status screen……"

"Then maybe Clarice-nyan’s PC was just broken, nya?"

"Seriously…? I used some pretty high-end parts to build that machine… If I ever get back, I’ll have to send it in for repairs… Man, that really hurts……"

I never imagined I’d discover something was wrong with my expensive home PC like this.

"That’s rough. I’m aiming to go pro as a gamer myself, so I’m picky about specs too. I get how you feel."

"Thanks… that actually helps a bit……"

"So, are you done with that topic already, ssu? I’ve got something I want to ask that big brother over there too, ssu♡"

As I forced a smile in response, Scarlet—who had been listening with obvious boredom—sidled up to Shogo, a lewd grin plastered across her face.

"Wha—!? H-hey, what’s with you all of a sudden!?"

"Be careful, nya. Suka-chan is a succubus, nya. She might be trying to drain your levels, nya."

"Nooo, that’s not it, ssu. There’s something about this big brother that interests me way more than draining levels, ssu. That magic-like move you used to cancel the Count’s spell—that one, ssu. I want you to do it to me too, ssu♡"

"You mean Hadouken? It’s a projectile, but it’s probably classified as a striking-type attack. It hurts when it hits, you know?"

"I’m a succubus, ssu. A little pain is more than welcome, ssu♡ That looked like a condensed mass of life force, ssu. Please, I really want you to fire it right into me, ssu♡"

"I-is that so…? Hadouken is a technique where you slam a mass of energy into the opponent… Alright, I’ll try it."

With that, Shogo and Scarlet put a bit of distance between them.

Even though the barge was fairly spacious, we were still on a boat with other people around, so honestly, I really wished they wouldn’t.

"If it hurts, tell me right away. Here I go—Hadouken!"

"Nngaaaahhh—♡"

The energy blast Shogo fired from both hands struck Scarlet, who let out a strange cry and shuddered violently.

"A-are you okay!?"

"It’s amazing, ssu♡ More♡ I want more, ssu♡ Make it stronger, ssu—♡"

Urged on by Scarlet’s clearly abnormal reaction, Shogo fired another blast.

"H-Hadouken!"

"Ahhiiiiiinn♡"

"Hadouken!"

"Ohoooooohhh♡♡"

"Hadouken!"

"It’s amaaaziiing♡♡♡"

"Hadouken!"

"N-nooo, I can’t♡♡♡"

"Hadouken!"

"I’m gonna—♡ Something’s coming, ssu♡♡"

"Hadouken!"

"I’m getting a Hadoooukeen, sssuuuu♡♡♡"

…What the hell is this?

Ririka, Natsumi, and I—as well as the other passengers aboard the barge—watched from a distance, all of us wearing stiff, deeply uncomfortable expressions.