Chapter 114: Water Cave
"Siren, you understand, don’t you?"
"Yes, Kirishi-tan-san. If we miss this chance, there’ll hardly be another."
"That’s right. There’s no point in expecting the finals."
Top Chat: Finally, the long battles come down to the last two matches
Top Chat: Both Kirishi-tan and Kyōka-chan are fired up
Top Chat: Too bad Elf-san’s advantage won’t change much, since it’s two races
"Hmm?"
Top Chat: What’s wrong, Elf-san?
Top Chat: Something on your mind?
"Is this really a race?"
We were on the standby screen. In a moment, the stage should be decided.
Top Chat: The patterns are mostly set
Top Chat: For this setup, after the harbor, the next stage is random—if the pirate ship fight drags on, it always turns into a race stage
Top Chat: And since the finals are always races, it means there’ll be two races for sure
Top Chat: By the way, if the pirate ship fight ends quickly, it’s another harbor → race in front of the shop
"I see. So this time it’ll be something like a cove or a cave."
No sooner had I spoken than the screen shifted.
The semifinal stage was a dim cavern.
Top Chat: Correct
Top Chat: Nailed it
Top Chat: Feels like kind of a mean penalty, getting stuck with a crumbling stage if the fight runs long lol
"It’s just whether you win or lose against the pirate ship, right?"
Top Chat: Huh?
Top Chat: What do you mean?
Top Chat: Ah, the match is starting!
"Let’s go."
The ten of us ran through a giant natural cave, riddled with deep chasms here and there. Light poured in from the far end, the course leading upward toward the surface.
Top Chat: Go go!
Top Chat: Elf-san got a great start!
Top Chat: You can win this, Elf-san!
"Easy."
The first zone I reached had holes scattered about, but no obvious traps. Without slowing down, I charged right in—
and fell.
Top Chat: Yeah, that part isn’t easy, actually
Top Chat: Ah
Top Chat: Too late lol
"What’s this?"
Top Chat: It’s a switch-floor
Top Chat: Every time that waterwheel turns once, the floor and the holes swap
Top Chat: The waterwheel is super obvious though lol
"Mm."
By the time I respawned at the start, every other player had already cleared the switch-floor zone.
"Ahhh, come on! If this were the finals, it’d be over!"
Top Chat: Says Kirishi-tan, but…
Top Chat: What do you think?
Top Chat: With Elf-san, she’ll probably pull some weird trick and flip the match again
Top Chat: True that
"I haven’t done anything weird."
Top Chat: You have
Top Chat: You definitely have
Top Chat: You’ve done it many times
Top Chat: At this point, it’s practically tradition
Top Chat: …And there she goes, passing someone
Top Chat: Passing? More like blasting them away lol
One player ahead of me was launched by a spout of water and plunged into the depths.
"A geyser?"
Top Chat: Exactly
Top Chat: The water bursts at intervals
Top Chat: You just need to watch out and cross carefully where the vents are
"Can I ride it upward?"
Top Chat: She’s trying to pull another weird stunt to flip the game again…
Top Chat: Didn’t even wait before backtracking on her words lol
Top Chat: The water pressure isn’t enough
Top Chat: In Ochirite, the water isn’t strong enough to push you that far
"I see."
Top Chat: She sounds disappointed
Top Chat: Did you really want to ride it?
"I wanted to ride a whale’s spout."
Top Chat: Uh, she just said something whimsical
Top Chat: Elves are whimsical beings, so it kind of fits
Top Chat: This Elf also wants to eat natto rice though
Top Chat: Natto, the enemy of fairy tales
Top Chat: And anyway, there aren’t any whales in this game
"I see…"
Top Chat: She sounds really disappointed
Top Chat: Guess she just likes whales!
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