Chapter 145 - Verification Complete
Some time after I started my detailed investigation.
Through the mental anguish of being forced to display the who-asked-for-it visual of a crown on an average-looking guy, and with the sacrifice of countless Drapple Elgators, I finally have a rough grasp of the two special titles' characteristics.
First, `Twin Flames`—overall verdict: surprisingly underwhelming.
Okay, "underwhelming" might be the wrong word... It's more that it's difficult to utilize effectively.
There's no doubt that everything written about it is powerful, and each effect certainly provides exceptional defensive performance—but the concept is too focused on defense.
First, it can't be activated unless we're both together. Second, the activation condition requires one of us to be on the verge of death.
So, a situation where both those conditions are met and the effect activates is likely one where we're facing an opponent with an overwhelming power gap, one who can push us to the brink even when we're fighting together.
And against an enemy that strong, my opinion, which Sora shared, was that this `Twin Flames Mode` would only serve to prolong the inevitable.
Against an evenly matched opponent, it definitely has the potential to be a trump card. But to put it another way, that means it's situational.
What's also disappointing is the exquisite shortness of the effect's duration and the narrowness of its effective range.
The duration of `Devotion of Twin Flames` is twenty seconds. Furthermore, the 'protection' judgment required to receive the damage reduction and revival effects is determined by the distance to the designated target—in my case, a near-death Sora... and this range is incredibly small.
About two meters, I'd say. It's even further restricted to a situation like "shielding the target with your back," so trying to use the effect to its fullest leaves you almost unable to move freely.
All stats +50, a total of +300 across six stats—a boost equivalent to thirty levels—is ridiculously powerful, but even if you just wanted to leverage that, the duration is only twenty seconds.
Because of the range limitation, a suicide charge relying on the invincibility is impossible. Even if you activated the invincibility and then charged, the effect only lasts for ten seconds.
In such a short hero time, could you really launch a counterattack against an opponent strong enough to force you to use `Devotion of Twin Flames` in the first place? The future of this special title's reputation will probably hang on that question.
Oh, and by the way, it didn't activate from self-inflicted damage. It seems you have to be brought to near-death by damage from an enemy. Too bad.
Alright, next up, `Acrobat`—overall verdict: completely broken. That's it.
I really don't get this one.
I thought that not losing HP from self-inflicted damage would mean I couldn't meet the activation condition for `Ignition`, but for some reason, it still works just fine.
And more than anything—the cooldown reduction effect for all skills was just an absolutely, ridiculously insane amount.
I had a bad feeling about it as soon as I pulled the trigger on [Panga Fool] once. A single trigger, exactly 10% self-damage accumulation, and the cooldown was reduced by 10%... The premonition was there.
It didn't scale at a neat 10% per trigger after that, but at the maximum—90% self-damage accumulation—the cooldown reduction effect was a staggering 50%.
No, that's just wrong. Fifty percent. Half! All skills, constantly at half cooldown. Even the already short cooldown of `Tremple Slide` becomes reusable in about ten seconds.
Sure, maneuvering around with only 10% of your health would be tough, both physically and mentally... but hey, I'm already a guy who dies in one hit from any strong attack, you know?
The conclusion is that starting a fight by spamming `Ignition` to enter a desperation mode might become my go-to strategy from now on—it's a revolutionary enhancement of that magnitude.
...If only it didn't make a stupid crown float above my head...
"It just doesn't suit me..."
"Well, I'm not sure what kind of person a crown would suit..."
I mean, look, I get it. In terms of in-game fashion, it's pretty common. A crown, sure, I think it's fine.
But please, don't make it float above the head of a dude with a realistic-looking face. I look like some guy getting way too into a holiday event, you know???
"Oh, um, it didn't look that strange, you know? It wasn't a very flashy design for a crown..."
My considerate partner rushed to my defense, flustered.
She has a point... but... yeah, okay. There's no use whining about it forever.
"By the way, I think it would look amazing on you, Sora-san."
"Huh? O-Oh, um... thank you, very much...?"
Put a tiny little crown on her head and it would be a guaranteed win. No doubt about it.
"Alright... shall we finally set something, then?"
Alongside Sora, who was flustered by the sudden compliment, I fiddled with the title slot that had been empty for who knows how long—I can't tell Irori about this... He might get angry and say something like, "So you were slacking off too?"
Imagining the `Sword Protector`'s refreshingly smiling, half-angry face, I tapped the empty box, and a list of available titles appeared.
Just as the frequent acquisition notices suggested, there's quite a lot of them now that I'm looking.
The most promising ones are, as expected, the most recently acquired—
"Well, it's probably one of these."
`Conqueror of the Spiral Crimson Tower` — While equipped with an accessory that is proof of conquering the [Spiral Crimson Tower], AGI receives an additional bonus based on the MID stat.
`Bullet Run` — The running action gains a stamina recovery effect. Stamina consumed by the jumping action increases.
`Infinite Maneuver` — The jumping action gains a stamina recovery effect. Stamina consumed by the running action increases.
`Embracing Wings of Brilliance` — MID receives an additional bonus based on the LUC stat. The bonus value increases while equipped with items related to the [White-Shining Bird of Fortune].
The last one is from the White-Shining Bird, which I plan to hunt to extinction again tonight. It just sort of popped up while I was mercilessly spawn-camping it for materials.
There's also an interesting title I got from the [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King] fight called `Two Sides of One Whole`, but unfortunately, it doesn't mesh with my build.
Maybe it would suit Sora? Anyway—
The three I got from conquering the [Spiral Crimson Tower] are all clearly synergistic with my mobility-focused build.
The conqueror title that gives a status bonus is, as expected of a reward from an ultra-high-difficulty dungeon, much more effective than other titles with similar effects.
It's not that the increase is higher, but the way the bonus is calculated is a bit special, which makes it strong. Unlike `Embracing Wings of Brilliance`, which has a limit no matter how much LUC you stack, this one doesn't seem to have a cap...
It's an interesting title that sparks some wicked ideas.
As for the other two, it goes without saying. Their effects, which allow you to recover stamina by running or jumping, are insane enough to change the very nature of the game.
Each comes with a debuff that increases stamina consumption for the opposite action, but the negative effect isn't all that significant.
Used wisely, you could say goodbye to running out of stamina forever.
...But, well, you know. The Crimson Tower set is certainly excellent. All of them are. But—
"Yeah... there's really only one choice."
And the winner is `Embracing Wings of Brilliance`—a title that boosts the MID stat.
Why? Well, you see, in my case, I happen to have a monstrous accessory called the [Crimson Rabbit Hairpin]...
It's only when the effect is active, but still. With my MID boost directly translating to an AGI & DEX boost, if you were to ask what stat I should raise first, the answer is obvious.
On top of that, with more and more things draining my MP, like summoning the [Parabellum Bullet]s and the cost of `Precognitive Eye`, the importance of MP has been increasing.
And so—
――――――――――――――――――
◇Status◇
Title: Acrobat
Name: Haru
Lv: 100
STR: 300
AGI: 350
DEX: 100
VIT: 0(+50)
MID: 0(+250)⇒(+350)
LUC: 300
◇Skill◇
・All Weapon Aptitude
《Blink Switch》
《Flip Stroke》
《Gusty Limb》
《Exchange Voltate》
Greed's Precept
・《Reflect Blowal》
・《Tremple Slide》
・《Ignition》
・《Floating Leaf》
・《Precognitive Eye》
・Embodied Protection
・Combo Accelerate
・Awakening Blow
・Heavy Attack Manipulator
・Adamant Sky Dash
・Rabbit Run
・Fateless Jumper
・Rhino's Heart
・Trickery Precept
・Guardian's Cradle
・Telepathy
――――――――――――――――――
Setting `Embracing Wings of Brilliance`... Haha, it went up by 100.
Nice—actually, my stats, including the additional bonuses, are now equivalent to a level 145 player, which is just absurd.
Furthermore, if the [Crimson Rabbit Hairpin]'s `Desperate Crimson` activates, it's equivalent to level 180. And if I have Sora dump all of her `Scareless` into my MID beforehand, my stats would be equivalent to a monstrous level 240...
Somehow, I can clearly see the future that follows.
I see myself, unable to control my abnormal stats, crashing into a wall and dying instantly!!
...But well, I'll try it out sometime.
"How about you, Sora? Did you decide?"
"Mmm... hmm...—Yes, I've decided!"
Closing my settings window, I called out to Sora, who had been humming to herself and spending her time quite productively, it seems. She looked up.
The title problem, which had taken up a surprising amount of time, was now resolved for the time being—and with that settled.
"Alright, shall we get going then!"
"Yes! Let's keep moving!"
The break is over, the tour continues—our packed schedule for the day has only just begun.