Chapter 22: 21

(Did I frighten them too much?)

 

 

By the time I gave a light commentary on character building, Radd and the others seemed to be slightly depressed.

 

 

The reason I spoke so passionately about this matter wasn’t that I enjoyed pounding the weak-minded with the amount of knowledge I had.

No, well, I did get carried away along the way, but what I said was true.

 

 

————-B&B is easy to play, but difficult to master.

 

 

The most obvious example of this is the difficulty design.

When I first started playing B&B, there wasn’t a lot of strategy information on the internet, and the internet forums were quiet about this game.

And so, without any prior information, I just gathered and leveled up characters freely and happily and proceeded through the early stages of the game…… and ended up getting stuck in the mid-game.

 

 

This is because there’s a big trap set by the devs in adjusting the difficulty of B&B.

 

 

I didn’t tell them about it because it would be too complicated, but B&B’s experience system is somewhat complicated. To be precise, the system is such that “the higher your total ability values, the more experience you need until the next level” and “if your level is higher than the enemy, the experience you get when you defeat the enemy is greatly reduced”.

Although I intentionally told Radd and his group that “higher ability values are more important than higher levels”, this isn’t really the case in the early game.

 

 

Enemies in the early game are simply designed to be weak so that any character can defeat them with ease.

Since most of the equipment is heavily leaning toward Fixed Attack Power, the enemies can be easily defeated regardless of whether someone has low or high ability values, so characters with “low growth rate” can grow faster at this point in the game.

 

 

However, this isn’t the case in the mid or late game, when the enemies become stronger.

The “low growth rate” characters who have been leveling up so smoothly would soon find themselves unable to keep up with the enemy’s strength inflation.

Eventually, they can’t even stand up to monsters of the same level as themselves, finding themselves at a standstill, unable to gain experience.

 

 

On the other hand, the opposite is true for characters who have “high ability values for their level”, in other words, characters who “have high growth rates”.

In the beginning, they would often lag behind in terms of level due to the large amount of experience they required, but if you take the time to develop them, they will easily overtake those who are stuck in the grip of strength inflation eventually gain power unmatched by their peers.

It was indeed as they say, great talents mature late.

 

 

(The scarier part of this is that the lower the growth rate, the sharper and stronger they get, so they don’t realize this training method is wrong until it’s too late.)

 

 

And so, my first playthrough of B&B was terrible.

 

 

I had about 30 characters on my roster, and the 2-year in-game time went by before I could even get anywhere with them.

I was killed by the resurrected Evil Deity and it ended badly.

And so, I was forced to play a second playthrough.

 

 

In order to avoid a scenario like this, it’s important to know your abilities and develop them systematically……

 

 

(I guess this wouldn’t really have the concept of expressing their Status in numerical values huh.)

 

 

When I explained the value of Agility to Rad and the others, they didn’t seem to get it when I explained it in numerical values, and only when I added that they were “roughly intermediate level” did they seem to vaguely understand.

No, the women don’t look much different however, as Prana looked indifferent to all that’s happening, while Mana just nodded in agreement to everything I said.

 

 

However, if they didn’t know their Status, I wonder how they decided their Jobs?

As I suddenly wondered about this, I just decided to ask them honestly.

 

 

 

[How did you guys decide your roles?]

 

 

 

The sudden question made Radd and the others look at each in bewilderment.

 

 

[I always wanted to be a Hero who defeated enemies with a sword……]

[I was never good at athletics, so I went with magic.]

 

 

Rad and Nuku replied……

 

 

[……I thought I would be most useful in this role.]

[Umm, I don’t think I can swing a sword, so I thought it would be better to be in the back using Recovery Magic……]

 

 

—–and Prana and Mana followed.

 

 

(H- Hmmm……)

 

 

I can understand all of their reasons, but as a person who creates characters while staring at their Status chart, I can’t help but have mixed feelings.

 

 

(I guess I shouldn’t have too many expectations.)

 

 

Well, I heard that the guys, who could have been part of the Hero’s initial party, will be slightly compensated when determining their stats, so they won’t be extremely useless.

They may not end up becoming that powerful, but if they aren’t suitable for the job they picked, I guess I’ll have to think about this again.

 

 

Making up my mind, I took out my notebook from my inventory and looked back at Radd and the others.

 

 

[I’m going to go over your Status and aptitudes, and transcribe them here. When your name is called, come and pick it up.

 

 

When I said that, Mana was the only one who responded with a cheerful “Yes!”, while the other three just looked at me with a puzzled look on their faces.

 

 

[Status is the numerical representation of your abilities. Based on this, we’ll decide on a plan for the future.]

 

 

Even after I said all this, Nuku only muttered “No way, such a thing is just……”, while the other two had complicated expressions on their faces, but well, it should be quicker to just show them.

 

 

 

[……Radd.]

[O- Ohh.]

 

 

 

I used <Inspect> on the red-haired swordsman, who responded even though he didn’t seem to understand what was going on.

 

 

 

 

(……His stats really are easy to understand.)

 

 

The ability value at LV 1 is equal to the increase of 6 level-ups.

Deriving from that, at LV 4, he had leveled up 3 times, so 6 + 3 = 9.

So, working backwards, divide this value by 9……

 

 

 

———————–

STR – 6

VIT – 7

MGC – 3 

MND – 5

AGI – 4

FOC – 3

 

Total – 28

———————–

 

 

 

Just like this, the growth rate per level could be derived like this.

In addition……

 

 

[Radd. What’s your Job?]

[Me? I’m a Fighter……]

 

 

It was as I had expected.

The three in the Hero’s party all had a lower-ranked Job that suited them.

 

 

If that’s the case, it would be reasonable to assume that Radd would similarly have the low-ranked Job in the Warrior line.

And I remember all the ability value corrections for lower-ranked Jobs.

 

 

 

———————–

STR – 2

VIT – 2

MGC – 0 

MND – 1

AGI – 1

FOC – 0

 

Total – 6

———————–

 

 

 

Two +2s, +1s, and +0s, bringing the total correction values of 6.

This is the common growth value for low-ranked Jobs.

Furthermore, if we subtract this from their growth value, we can see an individual’s aptitude, qualities that are even said to be the “performance of the character” itself.

 

 

 

I do a quick calculation in the margins of my notebook, and then……

 

 

 

———————–

STR – 4 (Good)

VIT – 5 (Great)

MGC – 3 (Normal)

MND – 4 (Good)

AGI – 3 (Normal)

FOC – 3 (Normal)

 

Total – 22

———————–

 

 

 

I thought I would get dizzy the moment I saw that line of numbers.

 

 

They’re one step lower than Resilia’s, but it’s still 4 over the average 18 at 22!

Although I feel that he’s a little too balanced, he’s got a high VIT, STR, and MND, which is almost ideal for a power-type Warrior.

 

 

Oi, the heck is this!? Why is my growth total only 9!!!?

I feel like shouting that out to the far-distant devs.

 

 

[H- Hey. How was it? Is this good? Bad?]

[……I dunno. Figure it out yourself.]

 

 

Remembering to write down Radd’s abilities on a separate piece of paper, I roughly tore up the page with Radd’s abilities and aptitudes and pushed it to Radd.

“T- These are my……”, Radd said, looking somewhat moved when he received the page, but I stopped caring about him anymore.

 

 

[Next, Nuku.]

 

 

With the second person at the party, I’ve gotten used to it by now.

I’ve already known the initial Jobs of all the other members except for Radd.

 

 

In addition to his current ability values, I use the value of Nuku’s initial Job, Mage, to quickly determine his base aptitudes.

 

 

 

———————–

STR – 2 (Bad)

VIT – 5 (Good)

MGC – 3 (Great)

MND – 4 (Normal)

AGI – 3 (Good)

FOC – 3 (Normal)

 

Total – 21

———————–

 

 

 

(G- Guhh……)

 

 

Even though the initial party will be slightly compensated for his abilities so that he can be active in their role, this guy isn’t off the mark.

 

 

His low FOC is a drawback, but it’s at a fixable level.

Rather, for a Mage, all you need to be a top-notch one is a high MGC, and he’s already got it.

 

 

[……This is your current ability values and aptitudes.]

[Y- Yes!]

 

 

I handed Nuku, who looked unusually nervous, his Status sheet.

Upon receiving the paper, Nuku no longer seems to have time to pay attention to his surroundings, standing still on the spot and staring at the paper with a single-minded focus.

 

 

(……Well, so be it.)

 

 

For Adventurers, their aptitudes determine their abilities are their lifeline.

The wise Nuku may have realized this fact more than anyone else.

 

 

……Having the lowest of the aptitudes that determine the abilities of a person’s lifeline, the heck would I know?

 

 

[Then, the third one…… Mana.]

[Y- Yes.]

 

 

Her raised voice seemed to indicate nervousness, but she’s an Adventurer Enthusiast and she always has a knot of nervousness in front of me.

Surprisingly, she may be the one who maintains the most normality among their party.

 

 

(……Well then.)

 

 

So far, amazingly, all of them have above-average and almost-ideal stats distribution.

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I calculate what kind of aptitude she has with Priest as her initial Job, while holding back this pain brewing in my stomach.

 

 

 

———————–

STR – 3 (Normal)

VIT – 4 (Good)

MGC – 5 (Great)

MND – 5 (Great)

AGI – 2 (Bad)

FOC – 2 (Bad)

 

Total – 21

———————–

 

 

 

(Hmmm, this is……)

 

 

She’s a level lower than the others because she’s a healer, but those growth rates!

This has turned out to be quite the incident huh?

 

 

It’s said that the ideal stats for a healer are MND, MGC, FOC and AGI in that order.

It’s good that her MND is high, but AGI, which she needs in emergencies, and FOC, which is related to Magic Acquisition and Chanting Speed, should be 4 if possible, or at least 3……

 

 

(Well, this is within the levels that can be recovered with equipment upgrades.)

 

 

Besides, at higher levels, there will be some variations in weapons and magic.

There may be ways to take advantage of her high VIT and STR.

 

 

I quickly kicked out my thoughts and wrote down the numbers, before handing them to Mana.

Receiving the paper, Mana unusually has a difficult expression on her face.

 

 

However, she only had this expression on her face for a short time.

When she met up with Rad and Nuku, they showed each other their papers, and excitedly babbled with each other.

 

 

[What do you think of my STR?]

[Is it bad to have low MND?]

 

 

Looking at them, I feel like I saw a little bit of my old self.

I’m not talking about Rex, nor the me of those days when I worked mindlessly like a cog in society, but the me of those days when I just sat in front of the TV and played games with a single-minded devotion……

 

 

However, I shook those thoughts off my head.

This isn’t the time for sentimentality.

 

 

[Last is……]

[Me.]

 

 

Before I could finish, the Scout, Prana, came forward.

 

 

(How surprising.)

 

 

I had thought she was someone who had no interest in this sort of thing, but as she stood in front of me, her body had slightly stiffened.

 

 

However, what I do here is just the same.

Quickly casting <Inspect> to her……

 

 

 

———————–

STR – 4 (Good)

VIT – 3 (Normal)

MGC – 3 (Normal)

MND – 2 (Bad)

AGI – 4 (Good)

FOC – 6 (Genius)

 

Total – 22

———————–

 

 

 

(Oi, wait! What the heck is with this!!? Stop freaking around and bring out that cheat tool!)

 

 

Desperately trying not to show my emotions on my face, I exclaimed in my mind.

 

 

Just when I relaxed my guard a bit because of Mana’s Status, another outrageous bomb was suddenly thrown.

This is the ideal type of stats distribution for Scouts, or rather, for Archers.

Especially her FOC aptitude’s 6, “Genius” is a special value, which should only rarely appear.

 

 

As proof of this, even for unique characters with high overall ability values, the number of characters with “genius” aptitudes could be counted with one hand.

However, what the heck is this “Awful” me supposed to do when random characters with “Genius” aptitudes keep on coming out like this?

 

 

[……How is it?]

 

 

And then, as I was frozen with the piece of paper in my hand with Prana’s ability values written on it……

 

 

 

[———–Am I going to be useful?]

 

 

 

Prana, who had moved closer to me before I knew it, asked me a question as if she could see right through me.

 

 

[! I’ll talk about that now.]

 

 

I thought my heart would stop.

It must be some kind of miracle that I was able to respond to her words as quickly as I did.

 

 

I clumsily pressed the paper into Prana’s hand and coughed, taking the party’s attention.

 

 

[I’ve seen your Status and aptitude. The results……]

 

 

At my words, Radd, Nuku, Mana, and even Prana looked at me with expectant and anxious eyes.

Clearly meeting their gazes, I spoke.

 

 

[……is better than I expected. Any of you have the potential to be top-notch, no, you can even be more than that.]

 

 

As soon as I said that, the expression on Radd and the others’ faces brightened up.

Even Prana clenched her fists.

 

 

[All of you have high overall values, all of them were fully improved in relation to your areas of expertise, and seemingly as if you were aiming for it, all of them have their unnecessary abilities. It’s as if you were born to be Adventurers———–]

 

 

That’s right.

Even after adding the corrections, their aptitude values are so high that it’s even impossible to consider this within the realm of probability.

 

 

They’re promising aptitude values that are incomparable to what Rex…… to what I had.

Even so……

 

 

 

 

[————-Even if that’s so, by no means could they reach what a “true Hero” has.]

 

 

 

 

At those words, I could see that Radd and the others, who had been so happy earlier, freeze.

 

 

However, this is a stark fact.

The “Hero” chosen by the system, receiving preferential treatment from the world itself, absolutely dominates all others with their Status.

 

 

Although the distribution of their aptitude values varies depending on Character Creation, the total number of aptitude values the Hero has is “25”.

No one in Radd’s party, or even in this place, including Resilia, could match that number.

 

 

And the “Hero” astonishingly exceeds even the aptitude value of “Genius”, an aptitude of 6 on a stat.

Of all the characters in B&B, only the “Hero” can have the aptitude of 7, the “Ultimate” rating, which is just beyond normal evaluations.

 

 

[That’s why……]

 

 

I looked at Radd and the others.

 

 

Radd, who is clenching his fists.

Nuku, who is looking down in frustration.

Mana, whose eyes moistened with anxiety.

Prana, who is biting her lip, glaring at me.

 

 

And then……

 

 

 

[————-I’ll make you the number one party in the world.]

 

 

 

I clearly declared.

 

 

[……Eh?]

 

 

I wonder who it was that doltishly slipped that out.

However, I couldn’t stop grinning at the look of surprise on their faces.

 

 

Yes.

These guys aren’t as good as the “Hero”.

 

 

 

————-But that’s exactly why it’s interesting.

 

 

 

At first, no, at the moment I saw their aptitude values, I was thinking that I would train the “Hero” and clear this game.

However, when I saw these guys rejoicing and lamenting over their Status, I thought to myself.

 

 

 

————-If I could make these “Non-Heroes” stronger than the “Hero”, that would be more fun.

 

 

 

Even if I’m told that this is just the same kind of contrarian thinking that I had when I decided to raise myself back from the start, only with more enthusiasm and vigor, it can’t be helped.

However, the odds are in my favor.

 

 

I wasn’t just being sentimental.

If their aptitudes had been lower, or if they had trained far longer, I wouldn’t have said such a stupid thing.

 

 

However, here they are in front of me, still undeveloped, and even though their aptitudes aren’t as good as those of the “Hero”, it’s good enough for the dream of being the “strongest” to be visible.

When I’m presented with such perfect material in front of me, it would be rude not to jump on it, wouldn’t it?

 

 

[Didn’t you hear me? I’ll make you the number 1 party in the world. ……So, what are you going to do? Are you going to receive my teachings? Or are you going to run away with your tail between your legs?]

 

 

Radd was the first to react to my provocative words.

 

 

 

[Screw that! Of course, I’m with you!]

 

 

 

With passionate words, he took the lead in the party……

 

 

 

[I will go as well!]

 

 

 

Mana, not to be outdone, rushed forward.

 

 

 

[If I miss this opportunity, I will regret it for the rest of my life. I will join as well. Please let me participate!]

 

 

 

Even at a time like this, Nuku was still asking politely……

 

 

 

[Obviously!]

 

 

 

Prana curtly spoke with an enthusiastic tone.

Feeling their enthusiasm, my lips naturally lifted into a smile.

 

 

[I must warn you, my instructions are very strict. Can you keep up with me?]

[Of course! No matter what kind of training it is, no matter what life-threatening ordeal we have to go through, we’ll go through it!]

[Alright. Well then, here’s my first instruction. All of you———–]

 

 

Everyone was full of hope and vigor, not a single one of them was shying away from the challenge.

Not to be outdone by the motivation of the hopeful four, I also raised my voice and announced.

 

 

 

[————-For the next month, none of you are allowed to fight!]

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