I was Caught up in a Hero Summoning, but that World is at Peace (WN)-Chapter 2210: Miyama Kaito’s Birthday Celebration Party ⑫

While keeping an eye on the tournament in the meantime and also spinning the garapon to receive several presents, it seemed that the first tournament had advanced to the finals, so I decided to watch it.

The four who advanced to the finals were: Kuro, who was exceptionally skilled even among the players I’d been watching, Amel-san, Eul…… and then, compared to the three of them, clearly lower in ability but fortunate enough not to be placed in a block with highly skilled players, managing to win through by luck of the draw, and now standing on the stage with dead-fish-like eyes, Eris-san.

No, it’s not that Eris-san is bad at the game. Being human, she didn’t have to struggle with lag in reaction speed, and she quickly got used to the controls, steadily defeating opponents who were having trouble handling them and making her way up through the tournament.

However, compared to Kuro, who had clearly mastered the game and stood head and shoulders above the rest, Amel-san, who had tons of experience and deep knowledge of both characters and mechanics, and Eul, who had rapidly honed her ability with skill rivaling Lilia-san’s, Eris-san was noticeably outmatched. She seemed well aware of this too, wearing a look that all but said "How did I even make it this far……?"

"Now then, we’re finally at the finals! Fate-san, how do you see this match going?"

"Hmm~~ Well, Kurorin is obviously the strongest here. If it were a one-on-one, I’d say Kurorin would win for sure, but since it’s a four-player brawl, taking into account other factors such as item spawns, I guess it’ll really depend on how things play out."

Just as Fate-san said, among the finalists, Kuro was the clear favorite to win. If Amel-san and Eul teamed up and focused their attacks on Kuro, things could get interesting…… But for the finals, Kuro had chosen a technical character specialized in mid-to-long range combat. While tricky to handle, the character's ability to fight from a distance made it well-suited for facing multiple opponents.

Kuro likely anticipated being targeted by others and had strategies in place to handle that, so she still had the advantage.

As the finals began, things unfolded as expected, Kuro took the lead early. Of course, Amel-san and Eul were skilled players who had made it this far, and Kuro did take a fair amount of damage, making it an exciting match.

Unfortunately, Eris-san couldn’t keep up with the high-level gameplay and was eliminated fairly early. That said, she seemed relieved, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

The heated battle took a decisive turn when Kuro cleverly outmaneuvered Eul and knocked her out of the match. As Fate-san had predicted, once it came down to a one-on-one, Kuro’s superiority was clear. Even though Amel-san fought tenaciously, Kuro ultimately overwhelmed her and secured victory.

"It’s decided! The winner of the first tournament is Kuro-san!"

"Wow~~ that was a better match than I expected. Kurorin was in real danger if she’d taken just a few more hits……"

Then, Alice presented Kuro with the trophy…… and next up was the exhibition match———- against me.

"Now then, as the champion, Kuro-san will challenge Kaito-san in an exhibition match! It looks like the present-giving is just about wrapped up, so let’s start right away. Kuro-san, is that alright with you?"

[Unn, I’m ready. Kaito-kun, let's have a good match.]

[G- Go easy on me……]

To be honest, after watching the finals, I didn’t think I stood a chance against Kuro…… W- Well, I decided not to worry about winning or losing and just enjoy the game.

Ein-san handed me a controller, and a large monitor appeared in the venue. This match would be a one-on-one between me and Kuro, using an HP system…… both of us starting with 999 HP, and the winner would be whoever managed to deplete the other’s stock of 2 lives.

I chose a well-balanced character that was easy to use, while Kuro went with a powerful but technical character.

"Alright, exhibition match…… start!"

At the announcement, Kuro’s character charged straight toward me.

The character Kuro picked this time had abilities that changed progressively depending on how much damage they had taken, the more damage they took, the stronger they became.

Especially in an HP-based match, once their HP dropped below 100, they boasted overwhelming strength unmatched by any other character. However, mastering this character required carefully managing damage intake, and to unleash their full potential, you had to fight in a near-death state. Definitely a character for advanced players.

As Kuro’s character approached, I threw out a light normal attack as a feint, but Kuro didn’t even try to dodge and took the hit directly. Her character was the type that really didn’t get started until it took some damage, so it seemed she intended to regulate her damage intake by deliberately eating some attacks…… Honestly, the feint I instinctively threw out at her sudden approach played right into her hands…… it was exactly what she wanted me to do.

And then, just as she planned, Kuro’s character, who had intentionally taken the low-powered attack…… got blown away by an absurd "over-500-damage" hit.

[Wha?! Ehh…… W- Wait! Time out! Time out!!! Shalltear! You said Kaito-kun’s character had stat buffs…… but just how much did you boost him?!]

Kuro looked clearly blindsided, not that I could blame her. Honestly, I was just as dumbfounded myself…… Sure, I had heard my character would be buffed, but since the character’s speed and such hadn’t changed, I hadn’t really felt it yet. But with an attack dealing 500 damage just now, I couldn’t help but think…… any proper hit from me might just be an instant kill……

"Ah, it seems we hadn’t explained that part in detail. Let’s pause the match for a moment and go over it…… As for Kaito-san’s character, while their movements and animations remain the same…… their base stats have been enhanced. The extent of this enhancement varies depending on the opponent’s skill level, the stronger the opponent, the greater the buff. The final adjustment is generally made by Canalis-san after assessing the opponent, but in Kuro-san’s case, due to her personal request…… Shallow Vernal-sama was put in charge of the balancing."

[Of all people, why did you let Shiro handle that?! Shiro is the last person you should’ve left this to!! Shiro! How much did you boost Kaito-kun’s character?!]

[I raised the stats by "50 times".]

[F- Fifty……]

No wonder the damage numbers were ridiculous. That light feint attack, under normal circumstances, should’ve dealt barely over 10 damage…… if it was multiplied by 50, then yeah, 500 damage makes perfect sense.

[If I take a proper hit, wouldn't that basically mean instant death!?]

[That’s correct.]

[…………………]

[…………………]

[…………No, I mean…… my character will just get one-shot, won’t it?]

[Is that supposed to be a problem?]

[See?! This is exactly why you should never let Shiro handle things!!!]

While Kuro protested that the buff was way too excessive, Shiro tilted her head in wonder, as if she couldn’t understand what the issue was…… Well, I guess you could say this was typical of Shiro-san.

<Afterword>

? ? ? : [By the way, Kaito-san’s character has had their ATK and DEF increased by 50 times, and some of their techniques have been enhanced by Shallow Vernal-sama.]

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

Serious-senpai : [……In the first place, expecting a sense of balance from that airheaded god is a mistake.]