kscans

Chapter 328 - Running Commentary

"—I see… It really is kind of like a puzzle, isn't it?"

"Whoa, you nailed it, Sora-san. Right on the money."

After clearing the [Four-Sided Mixed Tower], I was holding a post-battle review with my partner, who I was carrying in my arms, while following Tiger Lucky as he led us to our next destination.

I was explaining how MMOs are often full of gimmicks like the one in that boss fight, and that was Sora's take on it.

She was spot-on. In fact, mechanics like that are often called 'puzzles' or 'group jump rope.'

Take the [Altera Anguis, the Ten Unblinking Heads] from just now. That part where we had to feed it magic orbs? We had to feed it spheres of different attributes one by one. It's what you'd call a 'task you have to perform flawlessly or suffer immense consequences.'

Personally, I don't dislike them, but if they become the only thing you do, or if the difficulty is poorly balanced, they have a high chance of getting slapped with a 'shitty game' label.

I once experienced a boss in an old MMO where we had to pass a mysterious orb around between all the players, then play a game of knockout-style target practice and get a bingo, which would then finally strip the boss's barrier and let us attack.

Naturally, it was massively unpopular with the player base.

While we were performing that 'mysterious ritual,' the invincible boss would be casually rampaging, hordes of adds would constantly spawn out of nowhere, and even after completing the gimmick, we could only chip away about ten percent of its HP at a time. It was a complete free-for-all.

I vividly remember a friend of mine retorting, "They're confusing 'difficult' with 'tedious'."

In that regard, Arcadia strikes a pretty good balance. The fundamental difficulty is determined by the boss's own combat strength, and the 'puzzles' and 'jump rope' elements are kept to a minimum, serving as mere accents.

…[Dusty Worm, Great Serpent of Dust]? [Bastide, Scion of Dust]?

Right, I suppose there were some of those shitty enemies unbecoming of a tutorial map…

"Anything else on your mind?"

After finishing my explanation, sprinkled with a few old stories, I prompted her for more. Sora thought for a moment, humming, "Let's see…" before continuing—

"Rinne-san… how was she generating 'hate' during that battle? She was only blocking attacks and never once struck back, yet she held the target's attention from beginning to end, didn't she?"

"Ah, that."

'Hate'—basically, it's a metric indicating how likely an enemy is to target you. In games, it exists as a distinct numerical value.

For example, attacking raises hate by 1.

Healing raises hate by 2.

Using an item raises hate by 3.

It varies from game to game, but fundamentally, every player action is assigned a value, and the one who accumulates the most becomes the target.

When we first started out, I paid attention to it while fighting with Sora, but hate control was easy since we were a pair. And since she quickly started moonlighting as a front-liner, I missed the chance to give her a detailed explanation.

"It's a pretty rare mechanic, I think, but in this game, 'blocking an attack' seems to generate a massive amount of hate. In other words, a player who defends is more likely to be targeted than a player who attacks."

Of course, if the attacks are fierce enough, the target will shift. However, all things considered, Arcadia's design could be called 'tank-friendly.'

There are countless games out there where tanks—whose very job is to stand on the front lines and be the party's 'shield'—can't generate enough hate and have to focus on attacking instead of defending… which makes absolutely no sense.

Eventually, in the pursuit of maximum efficiency, people start saying things like, 'Do we even need a tank?' While there are certainly games where they play a major role, it's a position that has a rather underappreciated image.

"Also, Rinne probably has a taunt skill. I think I saw some effects that looked like it every now and then."

"Taunt…"

It's a word you're almost guaranteed to come across if you dabble in gaming, but I guess it's not something you'd normally learn, huh?

"It means something like 'to mock' or 'to jeer,' but basically, it's a kind of hate boost. It can increase the hate you generate for a period of time, or forcibly lock the target onto you for a short duration… there are all sorts of variations."

"I see…"

And with that, our review session came to a close.

I was feeling warm and fuzzy after Sora's polite "Thank you," and was moving my feet mechanically when—

"Ah… Haru?"

"Yeah, looks like we're being summoned."

Looking ahead, I saw Tiger Lucky bounding and leaping forward as he blazed a trail. Diagonally above him, perched on the invisible [Cleave Fang], Rinne was beckoning to us.

As I picked up speed to run alongside them… Rinne must have been watching our 'review session,' because a smug grin was faintly visible on her face.

Yeah, we're close. You jealous?

"What's up?"

"Nyufufu… Well, you see, there are two possible routes up ahead—"

What's with the 'nyufufu'... I held back the retort that would, in the end, probably just come back to bite me.

With Tiger Lucky focused on navigating, Rinne had apparently been tasked with conversation duty. Along with Maru II, who occasionally chimed in with a note, we began discussing the path of our journey.

"Oooh…! I knew I shipped it…!"

—Ignoring Rinne's occasional fangirl outbursts at the sight of me carrying Sora princess-style.

"I'm surprised you can maintain that level of speed and avatar control while carrying someone and talking…"

—Being met with belated exasperation from Maru II.

"I see—Sora-san, you can decide which way we go."

"H-Huh!?"

—And suddenly tossing the choice of routes to Sora, just to see her surprise.

Our lively and enjoyable journey had only just begun.

As we raced onward with our good-natured companions, my feet felt as light as ever.