Read Online Slum Online by Hiroshi Sakurazaka - Free Book Online
Authors: Hiroshi Sakurazaka
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wore a pair of rubber-soled tabi so black they swallowed the light. One look at his stance and I could tell, despite the ninja gear, that he was a lightweight jujutsuka.
The man would start his run at the wall from a distance of about ten steps, springing into the air when only three steps remained between him and the wall. He traced a gently curving parabola as he rose, reaching its apex just before he came in contact with the wall. His jump had come just short of reaching the top. On his current trajectory, he would crash into the wall. In the instant he hung at the pinnacle of his leap, he twisted his body to the side. He had given the command to air-block. The polygons that formed his body caught on the top of the wall. He repeated the air-block command, shifting his center of gravity and sending him slipping down the far side of the wall.
There were several different kinds of wall in Versus Town. There was the wall that surrounded the city, which was impossible to pass through or over. There were walls that anyone could leap over with a simple jump. And then there were walls like the one the jujutsuka was repeatedly jumping, walls that could be overcome with just the right combination of skill and technique.
A short while later the jujutsuka came sailing back over the wall the same way he’d jumped it a few moments before. Then it was back ten steps, run, leap, and air-block all over again. Back and forth, forth and back he jumped over the wall, practicing the way Tetsuo refined his air combos on the wooden dummies in the arena. It seemed Tetsuo had found just the sort of back alley freak who might actually listen to him.
The jujutsuka was making it over the wall about two times out of three. It was a high wall, higher than a middleweight like Tetsuo would have any chance of jumping. The complexity of commands needed to perform a wall jump like this would place it among the most difficult of moves, E-rank all the way.
Tetsuo approached the jujutsuka. I pulled out my keyboard to break the ice.
> Hello.
The jujutsuka canceled out of the dash he’d just begun and turned to face Tetsuo. He stood 45 degrees to Tetsuo’s left, three and a half paces away. Just far enough to be out of range of a dash throw. Text bubbled above his head.
> Good day, sir. Fine weather we’re having, is it not?
Versus Town wasn’t exactly a setting for role-playing. Ignoring his odd choice of words and the fact that the weather was always fine, I replied.
> It is.
> Just so. Here, the sun always shines.
> That it does.
Tetsuo’s answer lingered above his head. I was still trying to decide what he should say next when the jujutsuka spoke again.
> Might I be of some service?
> Yeah, about that.
> Alas, I am but a novice who has only begun to walk the warrior’s path. Ours would be an ill match.
> I’m not here to duel.
> Then perhaps you should remove your headband, my lord.
He raised his hand to indicate the white headband holding back Tetsuo’s hair. It was a skillful and fluid gesture.
When your health dropped to zero anywhere outside the arena, the system forced you to log out. It was a feature designed to keep the city from descending into chaos with brawls on every street corner. When you logged back in, you had to go through the hassle of getting back to wherever you’d been. But this wasn’t enough to deter everyone. A faction of players decided that since it was a fighting game, they wanted to fight. They started wearing headbands and wristbands to identify themselves. Before long, the town was neatly divided into two groups, characters who chose to fight anytime, anywhere, and those who fought only in the arena. It was a little bit like gangs showing their colors. At a glance, you could tell where someone stood and know how to approach them.
The white headband encircling Tetsuo’s head signaled that he was a top-tier fighter who would accept challenges anywhere in the game. The jujutsuka
The man would start his run at the wall from a distance of about ten steps, springing into the air when only three steps remained between him and the wall. He traced a gently curving parabola as he rose, reaching its apex just before he came in contact with the wall. His jump had come just short of reaching the top. On his current trajectory, he would crash into the wall. In the instant he hung at the pinnacle of his leap, he twisted his body to the side. He had given the command to air-block. The polygons that formed his body caught on the top of the wall. He repeated the air-block command, shifting his center of gravity and sending him slipping down the far side of the wall.
There were several different kinds of wall in Versus Town. There was the wall that surrounded the city, which was impossible to pass through or over. There were walls that anyone could leap over with a simple jump. And then there were walls like the one the jujutsuka was repeatedly jumping, walls that could be overcome with just the right combination of skill and technique.
A short while later the jujutsuka came sailing back over the wall the same way he’d jumped it a few moments before. Then it was back ten steps, run, leap, and air-block all over again. Back and forth, forth and back he jumped over the wall, practicing the way Tetsuo refined his air combos on the wooden dummies in the arena. It seemed Tetsuo had found just the sort of back alley freak who might actually listen to him.
The jujutsuka was making it over the wall about two times out of three. It was a high wall, higher than a middleweight like Tetsuo would have any chance of jumping. The complexity of commands needed to perform a wall jump like this would place it among the most difficult of moves, E-rank all the way.
Tetsuo approached the jujutsuka. I pulled out my keyboard to break the ice.
> Hello.
The jujutsuka canceled out of the dash he’d just begun and turned to face Tetsuo. He stood 45 degrees to Tetsuo’s left, three and a half paces away. Just far enough to be out of range of a dash throw. Text bubbled above his head.
> Good day, sir. Fine weather we’re having, is it not?
Versus Town wasn’t exactly a setting for role-playing. Ignoring his odd choice of words and the fact that the weather was always fine, I replied.
> It is.
> Just so. Here, the sun always shines.
> That it does.
Tetsuo’s answer lingered above his head. I was still trying to decide what he should say next when the jujutsuka spoke again.
> Might I be of some service?
> Yeah, about that.
> Alas, I am but a novice who has only begun to walk the warrior’s path. Ours would be an ill match.
> I’m not here to duel.
> Then perhaps you should remove your headband, my lord.
He raised his hand to indicate the white headband holding back Tetsuo’s hair. It was a skillful and fluid gesture.
When your health dropped to zero anywhere outside the arena, the system forced you to log out. It was a feature designed to keep the city from descending into chaos with brawls on every street corner. When you logged back in, you had to go through the hassle of getting back to wherever you’d been. But this wasn’t enough to deter everyone. A faction of players decided that since it was a fighting game, they wanted to fight. They started wearing headbands and wristbands to identify themselves. Before long, the town was neatly divided into two groups, characters who chose to fight anytime, anywhere, and those who fought only in the arena. It was a little bit like gangs showing their colors. At a glance, you could tell where someone stood and know how to approach them.
The white headband encircling Tetsuo’s head signaled that he was a top-tier fighter who would accept challenges anywhere in the game. The jujutsuka
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