Chapter 620 - A Piece of One's Soul
Putting aside the case of my multiplying juniors (who are actually my seniors), right now, I need to move this conversation forward.
With the selection matches held, there's less than half a month until the Four Pillar War. Just as it was for me back then, there isn't much time to spare.
A fortunate thing is that Kanata has been playing diligently for over a year... or at least, I think he has. In any case, he's not a rookie who's lacking in every department like I was with barely two months of Arcadia experience.
His familiarity, knowledge, skills, and abilities—the reserves of 'power' he's built up are likely on a completely different level compared to me four months ago, when 'rushed' didn't even begin to cover it.
In other words, I don't have to worry about the hardship of teaching a beginner from scratch.
In other words, I should think of this not as 'teaching' but as 'assisting.'
To begin with, Kanata is already plenty strong. In that case, what Goldow likely wants from me is to help him adjust that strength for the Four Pillar War.
"With that in mind, tell me about yourself so we can make adjustments for your role as a runner. Your strengths, your weaknesses, what you're good at, what you're not good at—it would help if you could introduce yourself with as much detail as possible. I'd also like you to share the details of your skills, as much as you're comfortable with."
And I don't think that order will be too difficult a path to follow. Because the most important element for training, his motivation, is—
"Understood!"
—so abundantly full in this self-proclaimed junior, who looks for all the world like a puppy, that it seems to be visibly overflowing.
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"I see, so it really was the 'shoes.'"
"Yes. This is my Anima."
First things first, we started with his feet, the very things that surprised me during the selection match. The items, which featured striking red accents on a white base, were shaped more like 'big, chunky sneakers' than boots, a design that is surprisingly uncommon in Arcadia.
Third Tier Anima [Rebellion (The First Arrow to the Far Distance)]—this was the secret behind that special movement that resembled a continuous 《Trample Slide》. It was a rare item with performance that could be called exceptional even among mobility-assisting Anima, the kind of thing known as a 'god-tier drop.'
Of course, the prime example of a god-tier drop is owned by my partner. But putting that aside, its details were—
"Isn't this whole thing kinda insane?"
"I think it is. The difficulty in controlling it is insane, too, though."
"That sounds like more of an issue with the Anima than anything else..."
[Rebellion]'s ability is extremely simple: as long as the constraint of alternating left and right is followed, it enables high-speed movement along a designated route in the form of a 'slide.'
The process is 'see, lay the path, follow it,' which is honestly very close to what I do naturally. But... as expected of an Anima, when you factor in the systemic support, there are several points of convenience that frankly make me envious.
First and foremost, the fact that the ability's activation is systematically regulated makes it incomparably easier and more casual to use than doing it 'raw.'
Being able to move your entire body with a feeling similar to a skill, where you activate it intuitively and 'the rest takes care of itself,' is just incredibly strong. The mental resources you would have spent on controlling your body's movements can be allocated elsewhere, creating a simple advantage.
No one would believe me at this point, but even now, I'm just putting on a cool face because of my position; I'm still struggling. Being a high-speed light warrior is super exhausting. This is the gospel truth.
Next is a special feature that every AGI-type player, not just me, would envy.
[Rebellion]'s high-speed maneuverability requires absolutely no DEX support.
What does that mean? Let's take a look at Kanata-kun's stats.
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◇Status◇
Name: Kanata
Lv: 100
STR: 100
AGI: 500
DEX: 100
VIT: 150
MID: 200
LUC: 100
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The first thing that catches the eye, the most notable anomaly, is AGI: 500. It's an agility value that surpasses my current one and rivals the excessive numbers I used to run with in my wilder days.
As a basic specification of Arcadia, it's recommended to have an even distribution of AGI and DEX to help control the body's movement speed... no, rather than recommended, it's more like a restrictive build-locking element that almost no one can defy.
While you don't need to match the base stats perfectly, as you can account for DEX-boosting skills, this is the source of every light warrior's troubles and the reason why freaks with excessive agility aren't mass-produced.
Simply put, the faster you make your legs, the more stat points are required.
The fact that AGI and DEX are inextricably linked is common sense in this virtual world. However, there are exceptions to every rule, or something like that.
Apparently, the high-speed movement achieved by Kanata's 'shoes' is so automated, right down to the 'motion,' that it doesn't require DEX support when he's at top speed using his Anima.
In other words, as long as he moves solely using the power of his Anima, the DEX stat is, in a very literal sense, useless to Kanata.
"How do you handle your regular control?"
"Oh, I wear this. It's an accessory that halves my agility modifier from stats but strengthens my STR... [Rebellion] refers to the base stat, not the modifier, to calculate its top speed, so it all synergizes pretty well."
"That's more than just synergy, that's cheating. What about acrobatics-type skills?"
"Ah, haha... I get that a lot. For DEX support, I have 《Idaten》. My agility is still a bit too high even when halved (AGI: 250), but I manage with support from other equipment and just getting used to it."
As Kanata finished his explanation while tucking the pendant back inside his clothes, I folded my arms in deep thought. Along with the understanding that came from learning the details, I thought...
"Whoa, this is... way crazier than I thought...? Ah, I mean, in a good way."
"Y-Yes...?"
Of course, with such a powerful effect comes a solid set of restrictions.
The maximum distance for a single activation is seven meters, you need to be 'grounded' to activate it, if you don't alternate your feet the ability fails and becomes unusable for a period of time, you can't lay a route that would cause your body or belongings to touch another object... well, if you list them all out, there are quite a few troublesome limitations.
But the conclusion is,
"That's a good Anima. It's strong, and more importantly, it's interesting."
"...! Yes! I'm very fond of it!"
Furthermore, the fact that Kanata is using it so perfectly is what's truly interesting.
Add to that his other skill, and this guy is an exceptional talent. In that case, though I'm personally fond of him...
"Alright. Next up, about that twelve-second thing..."
"Yes! That one's a bit special, and it's hard to explain, but..."
Putting my personal feelings aside, as a ranker of the East, I was already starting to look forward to the future of this promisingly cute junior of mine.
For the record, this junior has been playing Arcadia for more than twice as long as I have.
Oh well, I'll just try not to think too deeply about that part from now on.
An 'Anima' is a mirror that reflects the player, the embodiment of their way of being.
In other words, in Arcadia, 'praising someone's Anima' is considered equivalent to giving the highest possible praise to the player themself.
There's no way our protagonist would know about such a common perception.