kscans

Chapter 620 - A Piece of One's Soul

The case of the proliferating juniors (who are actually my seniors) aside, I needed to press on with the conversation for now.

The selection matches were held less than half a month before the Four Pillar War, meaning, just as it was for me back then, there wasn't much time to spare.

Fortunately, Kanata had been playing Arcadia diligently for over a year... or maybe not, but at the very least, he wasn't a rookie with less than two months of experience who was lacking in every department.

His experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities—the reserves of 'power' he had built up were simply incomparable to mine from four months ago, when I was in a mad dash to catch up.

In other words, I didn't have to worry about the trouble of teaching a beginner from scratch.

In other words, I just had to think of it not as 'teaching' but as 'helping.'

To begin with, Kanata was already plenty strong. Therefore, what Goldow likely wanted from me was to help him adjust that strength for the Four Pillar War.

"So, to help you adjust as a runner, tell me about yourself, Kanata. Your strengths, your weaknesses, what you're good at, what you're not—the more you can introduce yourself, the better it'll be. I'd also appreciate it if you could share the details of your skills, as much as you're comfortable with."

And I believed that order wouldn't be too difficult a path. Because the most important element for training, his motivation, was—

"Understood!"

—abundantly, overflowing from this self-proclaimed junior, who now looked for all the world like a puppy.

◇◆◇◆◇

"I see, so it was the 'shoes' after all."

"Yes. They're my [Anima]."

First things first, we started with his footwear, which had 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 was subtly rare in Arcadia.

Third-tier Anima, [Rebellion]—it was the source of that special movement akin to a continuous Tremble Slide, possessing performance that could be called exceptional even among mobility-assisting Anima. It was a rare item of the sort that would be called a 'god-tier pull.'

Incidentally, the number one god-tier pull is owned by my partner. But that aside, its details were—

"Isn't this whole thing kinda insane?"

"I think it's insane. The difficulty of controlling it is insane, too."

"That's less an issue with the Anima and more... something else..."

The ability of [Rebellion] was extremely simple: as long as the constraint of alternating left and right was followed, it enabled high-speed movement along a designated route in the form of a 'slide.'

In terms of process, it was 'see, lay the path, follow,' which was honestly very similar to what I do naturally. But... as expected of an Anima, with the systemic support it provided, there were several points of convenience that I honestly envied.

First, simply put, the systemically arranged ability activation made it incomparably easier and more casual than doing it 'naturally' in terms of technical difficulty.

Being able to move your entire body with a feeling similar to activating a skill, where you intuitively start it and 'the rest happens automatically,' is just plain strong. The mental resources you would have spent on controlling your body's movements can be allocated elsewhere, creating a simple advantage.

I doubt anyone would believe me anymore, but I'm just trying to keep a cool face because of my position; I still struggle with it, you know. High-speed light warriors get super tired—that's the truth.

Next was a special feature that every AGI-type would envy.

The high-speed maneuverability of [Rebellion] required absolutely no DEX support.

What does that mean? Let's take a look at Kanata-kun's stats.

――――――――――――――――――
◇Status◇
Name: Kanata
Lv: 100
STR (Strength): 100
AGI (Agility): 500
DEX (Dexterity): 100
VIT (Vitality): 150
MID (Mind): 200
LUC (Luck): 100
――――――――――――――――――

The first thing that catches the eye, the notable abnormality, is AGI: 500. It's an agility value that surpasses my current one and matches my own excessive stats from my wilder days.

In Arcadia, as a basic specification, it's recommended to distribute points evenly between AGI and DEX as support for controlling body movement speed... or rather, it's a restrictive build-fixing element that almost no one can defy.

It's not necessary to have the base stats perfectly balanced; you can account for DEX-boosting skills. However, this is the source of every light warrior's headache and the reason why freaks with excessive agility aren't mass-produced.

Simply put, the faster your legs, the more stat points you need.

AGI and DEX are inextricably linked—that's the common sense in this virtual world, but there are exceptions to every rule, so to speak.

Apparently, the high-speed movement enabled by Kanata's 'shoes' automates even the 'motion,' so it doesn't require DEX support at the Anima's top speed.

In other words, as long as he's moving solely with the power of his 'Anima,' the DEX stat is, for all intents and purposes, a useless trinket for Kanata.

"How do you handle control normally?"

"Ah, I wear this. It's an accessory that halves the agility bonus from my stats in exchange for strengthening my strength... [Rebellion] refers to the base stat, not the agility bonus, to calculate its maximum speed, so it all works out quite well."

"That's too good of a match. It's unfair. What about your acrobatics skills?"

"Ah, haha... I get that a lot. For DEX support, I have Idaten. Even with my agility halved to 250, it's still a bit much, but I manage with support from other equipment and just getting used to it."

As Kanata finished his explanation, tucking the pendant accessory back under his clothes, I crossed my arms in deep thought. Along with the understanding that came from learning the details, I thought...

"Somehow, this feels more insane than I thought...? Ah, I mean, in a good way."

"Y-Yes...?"

Of course, with such a powerful effect came firm restrictions.

The maximum distance for a single activation is seven meters, it requires being 'grounded' to activate, if you don't alternate your feet the ability will fail and become unusable for a period of time, you can't lay a path where your body or belongings would touch another object... well, to list them all, the inconvenient restrictions are not few.

But, in conclusion,

"That's a good Anima. It's strong, and more importantly, it's interesting."

"...! Yes! I love it!"

Furthermore, the fact that Kanata uses it so perfectly is what makes it interesting.

On top of that, he has that skill, so this guy is, once again, a prodigy. In that case, though I personally like it as well... —

"Alright. Next up, about that twelve seconds thing..."

"Yes! That's a bit special, and hard to explain, but..."

My personal feelings aside, as an Eastern ranker, I was already starting to look forward to the future of this all-too-promising and adorable junior.

Incidentally, this junior has more than double my Arcadia experience.

Oh well, I'll just try not to think too deeply about that from now on.

---

An 'Anima' is a mirror that reflects the player, the embodiment of their way of being.

Thus, in Arcadia, 'praising someone's Anima' is considered an act of bestowing the highest praise upon that player.

Our protagonist would have no way of knowing such common knowledge.