Hachiman didn't offer a word of greeting or defense. He remained silent—a silence that those who
knew him well recognized as the precursor to a storm.
"Hey! Are you listening, newbie?"
"Say something!"
"And put the girl down already!"
Hachiman finally looked at them. His voice was cold enough to frost the air. "You're in my way.
Scram, you mangy mutts."
The crowd gasped.
"Whoa, he actually picked a fight with all three of them?"
"He must be new. I've never seen that avatar before."
"He's dead. Even in a safe zone, getting hit with a physical strike carries enough 'impact' to hurt
like hell."
Ignoring the threats, Hachiman looked down at the girl in his arms with a gentle smile.
"Max. Are you scared?"
"Max?" she repeated, blinking.
"Yeah. Calling you 'Musketeer X' every time is a mouthful. I decided to give you a nickname."
The realization hit her like a lightning bolt. He gave me a name.
"I... I'm so happy... I think my nose is going to bleed," she whispered.
"Whoa, stay with me. But seriously, are you scared?"
Looking into his eyes, every ounce of anxiety she had been carrying evaporated.
"No. As long as you're here, I'm not afraid of anything."
The trio of antagonists exploded in rage.
"Stop ignoring us!"
"Stop flirting in the middle of a street!"
"Don't give us that theatrical bullshit, you damn rookie!"
Hachiman ignored them. "Alright then, Max. Hold your breath. I'm gonna give you a little 'upsi-
daisy'."
"Huh?"
Before she could react, Hachiman launched her into the air. He didn't just toss her—he threw her
several stories high.
"Wheee! Higher, higher!" he joked.
"Eek! Kyaaa!"
Hearing Musketeer X make such a high-pitched, girlish sound was a shock to everyone present.
To those who knew her as a silent, lethal sniper, it was practically a miracle.
While she was mid-air, Hachiman pivoted. In a blur of motion that the human eye could barely
track, he delivered a devastating roundhouse kick. The impact sent all three players flying
simultaneously. They tumbled across the pavement, skidding several meters before landing in a
tangled heap.
"Gah!"
"Guh...!"
"What the—?!"
The crowd froze.
In GGO, a relatively new game, the level cap was still modest. But Hachiman was a "legacy" player
from SAO, whose stats had been curated over years of life-or-death struggle. Currently, his
highest stat was AGI (Agility), but his raw power was still off the charts. The gap between a GGO-
born player like Shana and a veteran like Hachiman was an ocean.
Hachiman stepped back and caught Max as she fell, absorbing the momentum so perfectly she
didn't feel a single jolt.
"Sorry. Did I startle you?"
"N-No..."
"Good. Now, hold on."
Hachiman walked over to where the three men were trying to stand. He kicked them into a neat
pile and unceremoniously planted his boot on top of the stack, using them as a footstool.
"Gugh... heavy... I can't breathe..."
"Get off me, Stinger!"
"I'm trying! I can't move!"
The onlookers finally found their voices.
"Did... did he just take out the top players of the Heike Army with one kick?"
"They can't even push his foot off? Is he made of lead?"
"Who is this guy?"
Hachiman looked down at the pile of players. "You guys mentioned something about not
holdin back, right? Well, I'm a nice guy, so I held back for you. You barely felt a thing, right? Now...
how much longer do you plan on napping?"
"Screw you!"
"Let us up!"
"Get your foot off us!"
"Hmm," Hachiman mused. "It seems these stray dogs were never house-trained."
He applied a fraction more pressure.
"AGH!"
"Stop! Stop! I'm gonna die! Seriously, the system's gonna glitch!"
"We're sorry! We're sorry! It was our fault!"
"Better," Hachiman said. He kicked Stinger, who was on top, out of the way, then looked at the
other two. "And?
"We apologize..."
"Deeply sorry..."
Hachiman kicked Pale Rider and Richie aside as if they were trash. He turned back to Max as if
nothing had happened. "Alright, the trash has been cleared. Let's go."
Max didn't answer. Her brain had seemingly hit a processing error. She was nodding rhythmically,
muttering to herself: "Amazing... Master Shana is amazing... truly my god..."
Hachiman chuckled. To "reboot" her, he gave her another little toss into the air.
"Upsi-daisy!"
"Kya!"
When she landed back in his arms, her eyes were clear again. "I'm back. Sorry about that."
"No worries."
As they walked away, the city erupted into whispers.
"That was insane..."
"I haven't been this shocked since Shana fought Zexceed."
"No, this was on a different level. Who was that?"
"The three of them are still lying there... they aren't dead, but I think their spirits are broken."
Videos of the encounter were uploaded to the forums within minutes. However, Hachiman
wouldn't be logging back into GGO for a long time after this. Consequently, the story of the "Man
with the Silver Eyes" and the "White Valkyrie" became one of the game's greatest urban legends.
CLANG!
The sound of a stone hitting glass echoed through the room. Rosalia jumped, rushing to the window.
"Who's there?! If this is the Heike Army harassing us again, I'll—"
She caught herself and peered through the curtains. It was the middle of the war, and she couldn't
afford to be reckless. Outside, she saw two figures. One was Musketeer X. The other was a man
she didn't recognize.
The stranger looked up, as if sensing her gaze behind the curtain, and began shouting. Rosalia
cracked the window just enough to hear.
"Hey, Rosalia! Open up and let us in!"
Rosalia frowned. Who is this rude brat? Max would never be with a man other than Shana...
As she watched them, a thought crossed her mind. Is it Shana? No, the face is wrong. Then... Hachiman?
As if reading her lips, the man yelled again. "Yeah, it's me! I converted over for a few reasons. Now
open the door, Kitty!"
The "Kitty" (Koneko) nickname sealed it. Only one man called her that with such casual arrogance.
"I-I'm coming down!"
Rosalia sprinted down the stairs and opened the heavy doors of the Kurama building.
"Good work on the welcome," Hachiman said as he walked past her. "Tomorrow's the final day, so
there's no point in you staying hidden here anymore. Pack your things, Kitty. The three of us are
taking a drive to the Old Capital."
-------------------------------
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