Legs are not merely for walking—they exist to overcome hardship.
Spurred by Vice-Ash's encouragement, Pepper had arrived at the forge of Rabbit Palace alongside Aitwil.
"Bilac-san, you here?" Pepper called out.
"Bilac-neesan, you around?" Aitwil echoed.
"What's up with you two?" came a voice.
Bilac, polishing an array of blacksmith tools—hammers, anvils, and more—glanced over with a curious expression.
"Hey, Bilac-san," Pepper began. "We just got back from the Thousand-Color Sea Cave with Aitwil. We tackled the Empire Bee Queen's nest colony and took down a Quad Beetle. Got some materials to show you!"
Pepper pulled out the spoils from their inventory, laying them before Bilac for inspection.
"By the way, Bilac-neesan," Aitwil chimed in, "that Quad Beetle shell Pepper's showing you? Took us over ten minutes to bring that beast down. It's got some seriously tough armor!"
Bilac hefted the Quad Beetle's shell with both hands, examining it from every angle, her fingers tracing its rugged surface. "Well, damn. This is some fine shell. Held up against your strikes and Aitwil's flames for that long? Top-notch material. So, you planning to turn this into new weapons or armor?"
Pepper opened her mouth, intending to request armor from the Quad Beetle's shell and a weapon from the Empire Bee's materials. But as she recalled the grueling battle with the beetles, a different idea took shape. "Actually… could you make me a Gantleg with this?"
Bilac blinked. "Sorry, Pepper, what'd you just say?"
Gantleg—or, as it's colloquially known, "Leg Gauntlet." A counterpart to the gauntlet, this martial weapon is affixed to the legs, designed for close-quarters combat.
Cursed by Lycaon's Marking, Pepper's right hand was unusable, leaving her at a disadvantage in battle. To compensate, she wanted to master a fighting style that leveraged her legs—not just with one-handed weapons like hammers or daggers, but with kicks that could turn the tide.
"So, you're saying you want a gauntlet tweaked for your legs—a Gantleg?" Bilac clarified.
"Exactly," Pepper replied. "In close combat, relying on just my left hand leaves me vulnerable to attacks from the right. I want to be able to parry with my legs when it counts."
Pepper braced herself, expecting her request to stump even a seasoned blacksmith like Bilac. Crafting an untested weapon from scratch was no small feat.
"Hmm… a leg gauntlet, a Gantleg…" Bilac mused, her eyes gleaming. "Pepper, you're really something else. That's a brilliant idea! A weapon like that? My blacksmith's blood is practically singing!"
Far from daunted, Bilac was thrilled by the challenge. The prospect of forging something new, of breathing life into the unknown, was her passion, her purpose.
"Pepper, you got a clear picture of this Gantleg in your head?" Bilac asked.
"You mean…?"
"Don't just stand there—sketch it out! Paper, whatever you've got. I'm a master smith. My experience and depth aren't like those run-of-the-mill blacksmiths."
"Thank you!" Pepper exclaimed.
Grabbing the paper and pencil Bilac provided, Pepper began sketching her vision of the Gantleg. Her inspiration stemmed from a past Build Fight with Bushikazzo, where his creation, Liel, used Rejector Armor for both arms and legs. Drawing from that, Pepper envisioned a Gantleg with Quad Beetle horns at the toes, Empire Bee Queen stingers forming knee bandages, and Quad Beetle shells as the core armor. The design took shape vividly on the page.
"Whoa…" Bilac marveled, studying the sketch. "This is something else!"
"Can you make it?" Pepper asked, hopeful.
"With a design this clear? Absolutely. But this kind of weapon's a first for me. It'll take two days at best, five at most. That work for you?"
Even a master like Bilac wanted to ensure perfection, and though it would take time, it seemed feasible.
"Please, make it happen," Pepper said. "Oh, and one more thing—could you repair my Lake Hammer and Fatal Hammer? I know it's a lot, but prioritize the Gantleg, please."
"Got it," Bilac nodded. "Consider it done."
Pepper decided to cover the repair costs by trading items at Peets' shop. Leaving Aitwil at the forge, she hurried to Peets. There, she learned that Empire Honey was a rare item, valuable enough to upgrade healing potions significantly. Selling it brought in a hefty sum of money.
Returning to Bilac, Pepper paid for the hammer repairs, then headed to the Rabbit Palace's rest area. She saved her progress, logged out of Shang-Fro, and ended the day's adventure.
Back in the real world, Pepper—now Azusa—faced a new challenge. She had no experience with VR fighting games. While she'd traced human movements in retro games to mimic them physically, actually fighting in a virtual space was uncharted territory. Mastering the Gantleg would require more than a typical fighting game—it demanded one with unfairly fast startups, blistering attack speeds, and attacks from every direction.
"Wonder if Kazzo knows a fighting game like that…" Azusa muttered.
Acting on instinct, Azusa opened her smartphone's email app and fired off a message to Bushikazzo. His reply came swiftly, sparking a brief exchange that led her to decide on a game purchase.
Here's how it went:
Subject: Any Recommendations? From: A-Z To: Bushikazzo
From a pro gamer's perspective, recommend a fighting game. I need something with unfair startups, insane attack speeds, and attacks coming from all directions. Want to practice parrying with my legs.
Subject: Re: Any Recommendations? From: Bushikazzo To: A-Z
Parrying with your legs? What kind of situation calls for that? Anyway, for unfair startups and attack speeds, Berserk Online Passion—aka Constipation—is your game. I recommended it before; it's perfect. I can even give you a combat lesson if you want. Payment? One bowl of ramen, as usual. Also, go for the download version.
Subject: Re: Re: Any Recommendations? From: A-Z To: Bushikazzo
Cool, I'll grab the physical copy then ^^. I've got plans with Pencil tomorrow, so I'll hop into Constipation the night after. Don't get too caught up fighting other players before I get there!
The next day, at a Tokyo electronics store…
"Thank you for your purchase!" the clerk called out as Azusa left.
"Got the game I wanted, and dirt cheap too," Azusa said to herself, swinging the plastic bag with the used copy of the game's physical version as she headed home.
"Eternal's email about our plans should come today. I'll check that, then dive in… into the world of VR fighting games."
Bushikazzo had recommended Berserk Online Passion—or Constipation, as it was infamously called. A game where every attack launched at lightning speed, brimming with outrageous glitches and exploits. With fewer than 100 daily active users, it somehow possessed a strange allure, drawing players back even after they'd sworn it off—a true "trash game" with a cult following.
As BlackPepper, Azusa would train in this chaotic world, honing her ability to parry with the Gantleg. A new door was about to open, and with it, new encounters awaited…
Pepper, sharpen your skills in Constipation!
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