Chapter 658: Заткнись!
Author's Preface
I couldn't hold it in.
・Multiple Circular Motion
A rather crazy skill where the recast time is absurdly long, but you can cancel the skill whenever you want. However, it's a bizarre skill where you can only perform circular movements.
The condition to cancel it is taking even a single step in a direction that isn't along the circumference... At least when I'm the one using it, I get the feeling it could be used for something incredibly nasty. But trying it out without doing that, my impression is that it can only be used when you either want to go completely on the offensive or completely on the evasive.
I thought the concept was to keep the enemy in the center and attack while circling them, but if dodgeball is the core of this style, then this movement is probably meant to respond to the ball being passed between the enemy team's infield and outfield.
・Spiral Securing Behavior
Reading the name, I thought it was a skill to guard against attacks by catching them like a ball, but in reality, it was a skill that functioned like a hybrid between a parry and a grapple.
To give an example from verifying it in actual combat, I was able to perform a movement where I deflected the doll's kick by wrapping both hands around it and grabbing it. What you do from there is probably up to you, but the problem is that it's likely useless against objects too large to hold with both hands, or things you can't physically touch in the first place... Or so I thought, but it seems there's a certain amount of damage mitigation specifically limited to the palms. It needs more testing, but if it can be used even while wearing glove-type equipment, I can bump my evaluation of it up by about three tiers.
・Secondary Defense Behavior
A guard skill that mitigates the power of an incoming attack by intentionally striking it with your hands or feet. If I use it, I'll die instantly, and since it operates on the premise of protecting party members, it just clashes way too poorly with my playstyle in the first place.
More importantly, why is this the only skill strictly limited to bare hands? It seems to offer a slight damage reduction to the user, but does it even have a use? Nah, there's no way. Even if I wanted to adjust my HP, the Levin Trigger: Hazard is more than enough, so this is seriously useless.
・Relative Three-Dimensional Motion
This time's "Is this balancing actually okay?" slot. A skill that takes semi-automatic evasive action in response to an enemy's attack.
What's crazy is that if you activate it in mid-air, it casually performs a mid-air jump. "Semi-automatic" just means the user needs to actually perceive the attack; the fact that it practically performs the evasive maneuver for you automatically is pretty damn broken, isn't it?
Furthermore, this can be used simultaneously while maintaining the effects of Multiple Circular Motion, so it can be used for emergency evasion, and you can alter your circular trajectory by intentionally moving into the path of an attack.
To put it simply, Maxell Dodge Arts is incredibly useful. In fact, couldn't this even make its way into the standard template for close-combat light warriors? Even Secondary Defense Behavior has merit as an option if you treat it as a somewhat usable tanking technique.
"I'm so glad I didn't pick Ninja Arts..."
I've already learned the Seiten Style, meaning I'm occupying two flash memory slots. If adding any more starts affecting my other skills, then this is probably the limit. Depending on the performance of Maxell Dodge Arts, I was about to start looking for a way to somehow unlearn it.
So, what happened as a result of acquiring such useful skills? This combat doll, completely slashed to pieces from every direction and collapsing to the ground, tells the whole story... To be able to pull this off while restricting my skills (and my accessories)... if I could master this while operating at full capacity... wait a second. Doesn't this mean the fight against Orchestra is going to become even more of a pain in the ass? The copy is going to use this against me too, right?
As I thought, uncovering the mystery of Orchestra from the scenario side of things is an urgent task. And above all, Saina is not unrelated to the fact that I pushed it so close to the brink, even if I was interrupted by that bullshit guard.
"Even considering I barely had any attack skills to begin with, that took quite a bit of time..."
『That was a wonderful battle, Sunraku. And... congratulations. You have earned the right to proceed to the Ninth Layer, as well as the right to enter the laboratory of the man who once led this Behemoth, Andrew Jitterdoll.』
"So, where is this lab?"
Glancing over, I saw a single Conquista Doll standing there with her head hung low, looking like she was about to cry at any moment.
『Elma=317, if you formed a contract based on the Reconquista Project, then fulfilling the desires of your contractor is a natural obligation, is it not?』
"...Affirmation:"
『Then you should act swiftly. Andrew was a hopeless dreamer, after all. He foresaw from the very beginning that the Conquista Dolls would come to his laboratory, and so───』
"Hey, 'Ivory'. Got a second?"
『What is it, Sunraku? I shall answer any question you may have.』
"Was English the most widely spoken language on the Behemoth?"
『...? I do not understand the intent behind your question, but... let me see. By the very end, English constituted the vast majority, but if we measure from the time of its construction, I suppose Russian would be the highest.』
I see, I see. Russian, huh.
"Then that makes it practically your mother tongue, right? I'll match my words to yours, since this is important... Listen up, Mother. First of all, you need to learn how to read the damn room."
Good intentions or malicious intent, I don't give a damn right now. Completely failing to read the atmosphere and relentlessly making our defective doll look so utterly depressed. I'm the one who's going to have a hell of a time raising her affection points later, you know.
So...
"Заткнись."
『───.』
Being in a global multiplayer environment means you can easily experience cross-cultural communication—which is both the best and worst part of full-dive VR. Since you end up becoming fluent exclusively in insults and curses, it's pretty much beyond salvation.
But it seems the country of Russia that once existed in the world of ShanFro used the same language, as the words I spat out were clearly conveyed to "Ivory." The face of "Ivory," who had been acting like a mother or a teacher up until now, literally froze.
You're just too blunt about absolutely everything. Why don't you go ask "Isana" how to read the atmosphere? Because of her secretive nature, she was exceptionally good at superficial charm and flattery.
"Good grief... Hey, Saina. Are you really that terrified of looking at the truth?"
"That is... No, affirmation. I can self-diagnose that I am currently experiencing fear."
I think that's all the answer we need, really... But if you can't accept it, then shock therapy is the only way.
To put it bluntly, just because it isn't systematically treated as a Unique Scenario! doesn't change the fact that this current situation can practically be called a dating sim centered on a robot girl. Moreover, I'm standing right at the exact moment where the route branches off, somewhere just past the mid-game mark.
Is it really okay to proceed like this? Haven't I missed some crucial flag along the way? Since I never even considered that a Conquista Doll would require affection point adjustments, I hadn't thought about it at all. Sure, a part of me wants to complain, 'Well, you should have said something beforehand then', considering I'm paying the price for it right now... but nah, that's no good. Racking my brain for excuses isn't going to produce a brilliant idea.
Basically, I just need to "give Saina confidence" and "ensure she has the mentality to overcome it even if an inconvenient truth comes to light," right? Preferably in a short amount of time... Wait, isn't that impossible? We haven't gathered any information at all, yet it feels like the situation has progressed to the absolute limit. Can I even trigger a new flag from here? Is it possible to collect the CGs? In ShanFro, you only get one save file. You can't go back to the past.
".........Argh, this is such a pain in the ass!!"
"What's wrong desu wa!?"
"Hey, 'Ivory'! Get me, Emul, and Saina out of here!!"
"!?"
Rei-shi was staring at me, wondering what was going on, but I genuinely don't know what to do anymore. If that's the case, then I just need to make Saina fiercely recognize her 'self', right!? Letting her complicated desire for validation fester like this... If a hundred words can't convince her, then I'll make her the center of attention with a hundred counts of hostility to her heart's content!!!
"Question: To where?"
"Isn't it obvious........."
Whenever I am strapped for cash or lacking materials, my routine is to consult my best friend!!!!
Author's Afterword
Slicing right through the flow of the story, let's go challenge a scorpion hunt...!!
Comments
Post a Comment