Chapter 320 - Everyone's a Hero, Let's Go All Out
The true pleasure of an RPG—a role-playing game—lies in how each player performs their ‘role’ and cooperates with others.
By controlling a character they were given or created themselves, players use their unique skills in tandem to face down great enemies and challenges that would be impossible alone.
In addition to orthodox roles like Tank, Attacker, Healer, and Supporter, some games have countless variations like Scout or Trapper—
But anyway, the RPG genre has always tended to emphasize ‘roles’ and ‘cooperation.’ The Tank draws the powerful boss’s attacks, giving the Attacker an opening to chip away at its HP, while the Healer mends their wounds and the Supporter boosts the party’s stats… and so on.
While this ‘form’ varies from game to game, the bottom line is that they are built on the premise of multiple players working together, not acting alone.
Yes, that’s how they used to be—to be honest, I haven’t had much experience with that kind of ‘good old RPG.’
And it’s not just me; I’d wager most gamers of my generation… especially those on the more casual side, are in the same boat.
Why? Because you just don’t see many games like that these days.
Sure, the concept of ‘roles’ has been passed down, and there are probably very few RPGs that lack them entirely.
However, the ‘inconvenience of being limited in what you can do alone,’ which was once an inherent part of that promise, has been significantly watered down.
In this day and age, a Tank can mow down enemies with firepower rivaling an Attacker’s.
A Healer can brandish a weapon and become an immortal warrior, facing down entire armies.
A Supporter can buff themselves to be stronger, tougher, and faster than anyone else, finishing the game solo.
And the Attacker? They’ve already blitzed through the story and are now doing solo speedruns. What of it?
It’s a situation where, simply put, the supply side has responded to the modern demand for a more stress-free experience.
Not specialization that requires allies, but versatility that lets one do anything alone.
Not a sense of accomplishment at the end of a difficult road, but an easily attainable thrill.
And not inconvenience, but accessibility.
I’m sure not every gamer wants that, but as a matter of fact, that’s how things are ‘now.’
I’ve dabbled in MMOs myself, but they were all modern ones. I’ve experienced the grind of farming for rare drops and such, but I never really encountered a game that placed a heavy emphasis on ‘roles.’
—And as for which side ‘Arcadia’ falls on… well, it’s a bit of both.
It’s not the ultimate in accessibility where ‘anyone can be the strongest right off the bat!!!’
However, in a world that offers not only ridiculously powerful enemies but also ridiculously huge growth potential for players, one’s personal qualities and efforts can change the nature of the game as much as they want.
And for those players who end up getting too strong, there are even more absurdly powerful enemies waiting for them.
Like the Colored monsters, for instance. Or the Colored monsters. Or, you know, the Colored monsters.
…I’m not even sure what I’m trying to say anymore, but—
“In short, what I mean is—when you get to our level, there’s not much point in thinking about complicated stuff like teamwork… At least against weak mobs, it basically turns into a hack-and-slash.”
“…………I, I see…?”
“You could have just said that last part.”
“That sounded a little like Maru, didn’t it?”
“Are you calling me an otaku?”
Yes, with the exception of Sora-san, every single one of them was being incredibly rude.
I admit I got a bit carried away and ended up rambling about mostly pointless stuff… but ninety-nine percent of it was just me repeating things I’d heard elsewhere.
“If you haven’t had much experience with them yourself, where did you get all that knowledge?”
My partner, the only one who had been listening to my rambling about ‘RPG party play and such’ with pure interest, tilted her head in wonder.
Where did the knowledge come from? Well, obviously—
“Back at a part-time job I used to have, there was this super hardcore gamer senpai…”
“Ah… the kind that corners you when things are slow, right?”
Oh, so Maru II has worked part-time before. He wore a slightly nostalgic, complicated expression, as if he’d had a similar experience.
…The fact that it was a ‘complicated’ expression probably means it was a negative memory.
“Jeez, what’s all this about…? Like I said before, this is gonna be a cakewalk. Instead of all this rambling, let’s just get it over with and move on.”
Likely annoyed that the long conversation had broken his momentum, Tiger Lucky shot me a half-lidded glare while idly twirling his spear. He was the one who was ‘rambling’.
Oh, are you sure you want to say that right now, in this place?
It’s true that I’m at fault for launching into a disorganized chat…
“Ah… s-sorry for holding things up…!”
See? The person who asked the question (Sora) isn’t the type to stand by silently while the person who answered (me) gets chewed out.
“Wha—ah, that’s not it! I wasn’t trying to—”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s just how guys trade insults.”
“Yeah, yeah. This guy doesn’t really think before he speaks, so you can just ignore him.”
I, of course, knew there was zero malice in Tiger Lucky’s words, but Sora, who had been watching our dumb guy banter with curiosity, had no way of reading that.
The flustered girl bowed her head, causing the tiger to bug out in a second, while his two juniors stepped in to smooth things over.
What a master with no dignity.
“Besides, Tora-san, it was your fault for trying to charge in without a word. Normally, a makeshift party would at least have a quick chat about coordination.”
“If anything, you should be thanking Sora-san for stopping us.”
“That’s right, thank her.”
“...Um, if I recall, Haru was the one who was about to charge in first, wasn’t he?”
And just as I joined the other two in dogpiling the tiger, I was shot down.
How do you like that? My partner isn’t just cute, kind, and thoughtful; she’s also a fair-minded person. You’d better treat her with respect.
“Haru?”
“I’m sorry.”
Incidentally, if I start thinking stupid thoughts, there’s a high probability she’ll know, just like this. If you don’t want to be glared at, you’d better be careful. Got it, Tiger Lucky?
“Aargh, enough already…! How long are you gonna keep this up? Like that idiot said, we don’t need to coordinate. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine!”
At least in here—Tiger Lucky said, scratching his head vigorously.
He was acting rough, but it was painfully obvious he was just flustered, unsure how to close the distance with a beautiful girl (Sora) he’d just met.
“Well, I guess so. If anything, this seems like the perfect stage to check what we can all do while we’re at it.”
“Totally. Like I said before, if things get hairy, I can handle it myself! And if things get even hairier, Sora-chan’s partner will sort it out for us, right?”
As they followed their senior, who had turned away and walked toward the edge of the crater, Maru II and Rinne offered more words of reassurance.
To be honest, I would like to experience a proper, role-based party in VR…
“So… let’s just trust our seniors and take it easy.”
“O-Okay… Um, please have my back, okay?”
“Of course. Leave it to me.”
Well, it seems I’ll have to give up on the ‘good old’ way this time—for better or worse, all five of us are just too far above the average player.
You probably thought they'd charge in right away given last chapter's ending, didn't you? So did I. If you have any complaints, please direct them to Sora-san, who put a stop to it. The Acrobat (that pervert) will be your opponent.
*Author's Note: I'm currently down with an illness. I think I'll be okay, but in the unlikely event that updates are delayed, I will post an announcement on X (Twitter), so please take a look if you're concerned.