Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Eight o’clock at night, at Suiryu Duplex Apartment.
“Ah!! Harunaka, everyone come here quickly!”
Harunaka and the rest were startled by the scream coming out from Akino’s room.
One minute later, after everyone gathered in Akino’s room.
“What’s wrong?”
“What happened?”
“Akino, were you playing horror games again?” growled Harunaka as she went on to twist Akino’s ear. “If you are scared then stop playing these games, what’s the point of playing it if you are going to feel scared and yell!”
“No... I was not...” At that moment, Akino could not care about the tingling pain on her ear. She pointed toward her computer, eyes filled with astonishment.
“It’s Senpai... he cosplayed Thunder Master!”
Ever since she was young, the first thing she had ever gotten in touch with was light novels. She even experimented on Harunaka and the rest who were still innocent children back then, before subsequently receiving a beating by her mother. However, it was since then that she became an ACG lover. She loved reading light novels as a child, then when she grew up a little, she found a liking for comics and anime. Now, she was very much into games.
Her love for it went to the extent of creating games with friends online, and they have already reached the crux of the process.
Despite having an addiction to games, it did not mean that she had given up on things that she used to enjoy. As a matter of fact, she was actually up-to-date on reading the latest popular light novel, ‘The Sword Saga.’ Thunder Master was definitely her favorite character in the story because this character had a considerable resemblance to the protagonist in the game she was working with, which can also be chosen to be controlled by players. This was why she would discuss it with her friends whenever she was free.
Harunaka and Natsui were dumbfounded upon hearing what she said. Thunder Master?
Only Fuyuno managed to respond in time. She looked to the computer, which Akino’s finger was pointing to, and realized that the video was crowded with screen comments expressing feelings of shock. She probed, ‘ The Sword Saga’?”
Fuyuno knew the story better than Akino because the plans of animating ‘The Sword Saga’ were already established, and the project preparations were already in progress, which of course, included the dubbing for the characters. It was officially announced that it would be released around July, but Akino thought that chances of it happening would be low, though there should be no problem releasing it by October this year. She was hoping that she could be part of the voice acting role for one of the characters, as this anime was prepared in every aspect to make a glorious debut.
‘The Sword Saga’ was no longer using the conventional theme of traveling through dimensions in most light novels, it was more of an ensemble cast. Based on past experiences, ensemble style animations either ended up nameless or became famous overnight. Still, the light novel, ‘The Sword Saga’ was already popular with the public, its popularity further increased after being announced that it will be animated. The anime project stepped up on their schedule with the support of the fans.
Even though it had yet to be animated, the story was already a success.
That was why Fuyuno really wanted to be a voice actor for one of the characters in the novel. It seemed like the animation companies would usually invite reputable voice actors for popular light novels as such, so she probably would not get a chance. She most likely would not even get a chance to go for an audition.
“Cosplay... it might be Senpai’s new job.” Natsui finally understood what was going on. Moving the cursor of the mouse, she turned off the comments that were crowding the screen. At once, they could see Kimura Kazuki and Ono Nakamura. Natsui’s eyes sparkled when she saw Kimura Kazuki’s attire. She felt that she had finally found the club’s poster.
“I think so too,” Harunaka agreed as soon as she saw him. Kimura Kazuki’s cosplay was indeed stunning, perfectly expressing the charisma of the character.
Of course, Harunaka was not too amazed, she thought it was natural. Senpai was not eye-catching at first sight, but as time goes by, he appeared more attractive. This made her realize that Senpai was probably the type of guy who is actually good looking.
It looks like someone discovered Senpai’s potential. Those adults do seem to have a good for discovering his potential.
Akino shook her head lightly, “It’s just cosplay. It does not amaze me too much.” She then turned her head to look behind with a mysterious look, “Harunaka, you better not yell later.”
She pressed the play button while saying so.
The 15-second video ended quickly. With no additional screen comments in the way, everything on the screen turned out crystal clear in front of their eyes.
“But this...” Harunaka was exposed to Kendo as a child. So when she witnessed these 15 seconds, she was dumbfounded.
Natsui and Fuyuno were both stunned as well.
“Did you increase the playback speed?” Natsui could not believe what she just saw and went on to check the page, realizing that the video was played at normal speed.
“Special effects?” Fuyuno burst.
“No...” She shook her head slowly as she reacted, “Actually, there are people in the Kendo circle who has the speed just like Senpai’s, but those were power attacks just in a flash. Unlike Senpai, he could maintain the same speed for such a long time...” said Harunaka with a rather complex tone. She then asked Akino to keep on playing the video. This time, the playback speed was decreased, as she could not even have a clear look just now.
Kendo competitions in Japan were generally based on battles. It emphasized on the one-shot attack, which requires extreme speed to achieve an immediate and perfect hit. If surprise attacks were not executed, strikes would be blocked. That was why many Kendo masters usually perform attacks at high speed.
After slowing down the playback speed, Akino closely observed the number of strikes performed by Kimura Kazuki.
“32 strikes in 10 seconds, an average of three strikes every second...” Akino was speechless after she finished watching. “That is just outrageous. This means Senpai had really been putting effort into training the ‘Herculean arm,’ and I guess it was successful?”
She felt slightly ashamed when she recalled thinking Kimura Kazuki was just trying to look cool when she saw him waving a wooden sword.
She then requested Harunaka to replay the video. After multiple times, Akino got fed up and said, “Harunaka, just go watch it by yourself online. You can find it on the Niconico page, it’s pinned right on the top, you’ll see it as soon as you get in.”
After chasing Harunaka and the rest of them away, Akino continued replaying the video, still feeling as amazed as ever. Her eyes shone, seeing how high the compatibility was between Kimura Kazuki and the Thunder Master.
Perhaps, when the game is released, we can let senpai cosplay to help us promote it. Besides that, she and her friends were facing some difficulties in the progress of making the game. It was mainly the battling actions and movements as Senpai’s Kendo skills must be really strong, seeing as how it was in the video.
Should we try asking Senpai to guide us with the character movements of the game?
Of course, if we were to request Senpai’s assistance, we would need to pay for his services. However, she didn’t have the money to spare. She then thought maybe she could discuss it with everyone else since the game was a group effort.
They would definitely be impressed after watching the video.
Just when Akino made her decision, Natsui had already uploaded the video into the group chat in her room. Harunaka kept on playing the video in the other room, which she seemed to be obsessed with.
Harunaka got more amazed the more she watched the video. It was as if Senpai overpowered the traditional Kendo, and what was presented in front of her eyes was a new Kendo style.
At that moment, Harunaka made a decision.
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