Chapter 53: 51

The moment I saw an enemy, I kicked off the ground.

 

 

I should have kicked off almost simultaneously as the time the enemy was found.

However, the nearby Resilia is slightly faster in stepping out.

 

 

This isn’t so much a difference in our AGI, but a difference in our reaction time.

In other words, it’s probably a difference in the specs as a person between me and Resilia.

 

 

(However!)

 

 

Our first strike against the monster came at the same time.

This was due to the difference in the reach of our weapons.

 

 

Compared to my “Metallic King’s Sword”, the ninjato that Resilia wields has only about half the reach.

 

 

(I’ll regain the advantage here!)

 

 

I was able to regain the difference between the slight delay and kill monsters with a single killing blow but……

 

 

[Third!]

[Got the fourth.]

 

 

I was still one step behind in the number of monsters destroyed.

 

 

(Tsk! This is the power of an Evaluation Rank A+, with just the base stats of 500!)

 

 

Just as I reflexively turned towards Resilia, she also turned her gaze towards me and our eyes met.

She seemed to be in a good mood as she smiled when her eyes met mine.

 

 

[This really fits me to a tee. I’m glad I had made up my mind and changed to this fighting style.]

[Y- Yeah. That’s great, isn’t it?]

[Yes. With this power, I will not fall behind even against Gargoyles. I will be the one protecting Nii-san now.]

 

 

At my recommendation, Resilia changed her main weapon from “sword” to “ninjatos”.

This is due to her strong point in terms of her Status.

 

 

As a Warrior, she possesses unrivaled power, but her greatest affinity isn’t her “STR”, which is the most important affinity for a Warrior, but “AGI”.

 

 

When you consider the situation as a Warrior, the “AGI” stat becomes almost meaningless when it exceeds 200.

I personally think that it can even be called a “failure stat”.

 

 

However, that is only if you train as a Warrior.

That’s why Resilia made her choice.

 

 

 

————–She chose to abandon her “STR”-specialized Warrior Class and became an “AGI”-specialized Assassin Class.

 

 

 

Weapon attacks basically gain their Attack Power from “STR”, but when you look at the weapon details, the ability value referred to differs depending on the type of weapon you wield.

 

 

In extreme cases, for example, with bows, STR affects only about 30% of the Total Attack Power, while the remaining 70% is determined by the wielder’s dexterity, or rather, their “FOC”.

The same also goes for the most popular equipment, , as 80% of the Total Attack Power depends on the “STR”, with the remaining 20% being affected by the wielder’s “FOC” and “AGI”.

 

 

For heavy weapons such as Axes and Greatswords, the Attack Power is determined solely by “STR”, but when it comes to Daggers and Shortswords, the Attack Power correction is completely reversed, with “FOC” and “AGI” at 40% each for an 80%, while the remaining 20% depends on “STR”.

 

 

The , however, is a very special type of weapon, with 80% of its Attack Power depending on the wielder’s “AGI” and 20% on “STR”.

Therefore, “AGI”, which had been considered a disadvantageous stat because the increase in speed it provides would soon reach its cap, could be utilized by using .

 

 

I glance at the attire of the nearby Resilia.

 

 

[Is something the matter, Nii-san?]

[Nothing.]

 

 

Now, Resilia has taken off her old spring-filled armor and is dressed in a ninja outfit.

This is evidence that she has switched her focus on Affinity-Increasing Equipment from “STR” to “AGI”.

 

 

For a stat that was called a failure, there’s a lot of equipment that improves the “AGI” affinity gain.

Resilia, who decided to change her fighting style, swapped out of her previous STR-Increasing equipment and changed all four of her equipment to AGI-Increasing Equipment, and by Class Changing to , which specializes in AGI, her combat power drastically increased.

 

 

The Class is one of the easiest “Unique Class” in the game to Class Changed to.

 

 

Fourth-Tier and higher Classes that aren’t bound by any Class lines are called “Unique Classes”, and in order to Class Change to these Classes, one must not only raise their Status, but also fulfill special conditions.

Many of these conditions are strict, but the Class is one of the easier ones to fulfill.

 

 

To become a , one must Class Change to the Fourth-Tier Warrior Class and Fourth-Tier Thief Class , and learn all of their skills.

Warriors specialize in STR and AGI, while Thieves specialize in AGI and FOC, so if you train in one of the Class lines, you can quickly meet the Class Change requirements for the other.

After that, if you just find the Ninja statue hidden in the temple, the Class Change is complete.

 

 

Of course, these conditions are hidden from the player at the beginning, so it’s quite difficult for a first-time player to Class Change, but this is a benefit of having game knowledge.

Comparable to how easy it is to Class Change into it, the Class is one of the weaker Unique Classes, with a Growth Total of 18, but by training in this Class, you can learn a very important skill that can be considered broken for melee combat.

 

 

 

————–The skill, which is synonymous with the Class.

 

 

 

is a seemingly simple skill that has the effect of: “When the same weapon is equipped on both hands, your non-dominant hand can wield it the same way as the dominant hand”.

However, this skill is in fact the most important component that makes “Dual Wielding” possible.

 

 

 

 

 

※　※　※

 

 

 

 

 

Melee Combat styles fought with one-handed weapons can be roughly classified into three categories.

 

 

One is the Balanced-Type, in which the weapon is held in one hand and a shield in the other.

This is the most balanced in terms of offense and defense, and Radd who also serves as ’s tank falls into this category.

 

 

Meanwhile, the other two styles specialize in offense.

Holding a one-handed weapon with both hands, “Doublehand”, and holding a one-handed weapon in each hand, “Dual-Wield”.

 

 

In B&B, Doublehand increases Attack Power by 30% while reducing Equipment Limits by holding the one-handed weapon in both hands, while Dual-Wield doubles the number of strikes by having similar weapons in each hand.

It’s easy to assume Dual-Wield which doubles the number of strikes is stronger than Doublehand which increases Attack Power by 30%, but it isn’t as simple as that.

 

 

For example, if the Attack Power of your weapon is 100 and the opponent’s Defense is 0, the damage will be 100 x 1.3 = 130 for Doublehand and 100 x 2 = 200 for Dual-Wield, making Dual-Wield stronger in this case.

However, if the opponent’s Defense is 100, then Doublehand would naturally be stronger because no matter how many times Dual-Wield increases the attack rate, the damage would still be 0.

 

 

There’s also the issue of Arts.

If you hold a weapon in your non-dominant hand, when you press the Art-button, you will unleash either Guard or Parry instead of an Art.

Even if you have weapons in both of your hands, if you can only use Arts with your dominant hand, the Attack Power isn’t much different from when you have a weapon and shield equipped.

 

 

For this reason, the in-game theory was at least, when making NPCs specialize in attack, it was to “avoid Dual-Wielding and make them Doublehanded”.

 

 

However……

Even with that, as long as the conditions are right, Dual-Wield is absolutely stronger than Doublehand.

 

 

After all, the situation here is quite simple.

One Dynamic Motion Z (7,980 yen before tax) is all you need to fight Doublehanded, but to be able to take advantage of the Dual-Wield style, you have to buy two Dynamic Motion Z (7.980 yen before tax)!

And the guys who developed the game here are quite the suckers for real money!

 

 

 

————–Therefore, only under the condition that you have already purchased two Dynamic Motion Z (7,980 yen before tax), Dual-Wield will be able to overwhelmingly surpass Doublehand!

 

 

 

What is needed on top of that is the Ninja’s Skill.

The seemingly meaningless effect of “being able to use the weapon in your non-dominant hand the same way as the dominant hand” means, in essence, “being able to use Arts with the weapon in your left hand”.

 

 

By acquiring this skill and using two Dynamic Motion Zs (a total of 15,960 yen before tax), one can activate separate Arts with each hand.

 

 

Furthermore, if one reaches the level of , which is considered one of the strongest Warrior-type Classes, and acquires the skill, the strength of Dual-Wield dramatically increases.

In such a situation, the Attack Power of Dual-Wield is of course something that couldn’t be matched by a Doublehand user.

 

 

No, even if you don’t consider that skill, just Dual-Wield’s ability to allow the use of Arts in both hands makes its advantage unshakeable.

This was proven by what was actually happening in front of my eyes.

 

 

 

[ !]

[Kuh! !]

 

 

 

I desperately chased after Resilia as she launched two Arts with the weapons in each of her hands, but with twice as many moves in her arsenal, the difference in firepower and annihilating power was unimaginable.

 

 

(D*mn it! That’s already on the level of a cheat!)

 

 

In addition, although Resilia hasn’t become a , in the process of Class Changing to , she learned one of the Skills: .

This has allowed her to finally be able to stack Arts, which has always been my forte and greatest advantage.

 

 

Since two weapons are used to unleash double the power of an Art, the damage would roughly be a (x2) x 2, which makes her damage four times that of a normal Art.

There’s no way I can win a damage race against her like that.

 

 

(I did try Class Changing to Ninja but……)

 

 

I didn’t adopt the Dual-Wield style.

No, it’s more like I couldn’t.

 

 

My main weapon is the Metallic King’s Sword, and I only have one of this.

In order to use Dual-Wield, I have to equip “the same weapon in both hands”, which means that I would have to settle for a lower-grade weapon.

If I use two weapons that are weak for my Status, the power of each of my blows would be too low and I won’t have enough firepower.

 

 

Once again, I can’t help but feel how abnormal Resilia is, who can do tremendous damage with mass-produced Ninjatos that have no special effects.

 

 

(D*mn you, Stat Monster!)

 

 

I inwardly cursed at Resilia, but the person herself seems to be in a good mood.

Rather, she’s in so good of a mood that she walks up towards me, and with a wicked look on her face, she speaks.

 

 

[Doing something like this together with Nii-san isn’t so bad, don’t you think?]

[I- I guess so.]

 

 

I answered so, but I couldn’t help but feel like the smile was cramping.

Gazing at Resilia’s back as she headed deep into the dungeon with an ever-so-joyful look on her face, I clenched my fists.

 

 

To protect the pride of the Strongest in the Early Game and the dignity of an older brother, I can’t afford to lose here.

Secretly strengthening my resolve, I proceeded deeper into the dungeon, looking for my next prey.

 

 

 

 

 

※　※　※

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[Here they come!]

 

 

At the sound of Prana’s voice, I started moving at the same time as Resilia, who I knew would immediately move.

If I engage in melee combat here, what awaits me will be the same result as before.

 

 

That’s why……

 

 

(————–!)

 

 

Temporarily switching my sword to a one-handed grip, I threw an Orichalcon Knife, with my left hand.

 

 

The had excellent ability values, but it has the special effect of “Triple Damage to Goblins and Reduced Damage to other races by a third”, and has a fatal flaw of “once equipped, it can’t be removed”, making it almost useless.

 

 

However, it’s already known that these special effects can be circumvented by using the skill without equipping it.

This way, it can deal consistent damage to non-Goblins, and there will be no tragedy of not being able to change equipment.

In addition, the weakening effect on Goblins also applies when it’s used as a projectile, so I can be relieved fighting against Goblin-type enemies.

 

 

[!]

 

 

At the same time as I threw the , I returned to holding my weapon with Doublehand and released my skills as usual.

The opening blow accurately killed the Zombie I had been targeting, and at the same time, the Zombie in the back who had been hit by the also fell down.

Fighting in such a position doesn’t allow me to throw another projectile, but this allows me to defend my initial advantage……

 

 

[Got four!]

[Three. It seems like I lost this time.]

 

 

For the first time since entering the dungeon, I succeeded in beating Resilia in the number of kills.

 

 

(This is the advantage of that didn’t have!)

 

 

The Dual-Wield style, in which weapons are equipped in each hand, isn’t suitable for Weapon Swapping or using items due to its characteristics.

In this respect, although Doublehand occupies both of your hands, you can move your left hand away from your weapon for a moment to immediately change equipment or use supportive items, giving Doublehand users a high degree of freedom.

 

 

This was how I won my first advantage, but Resilia isn’t so naive that this would be enough for me to win this match.

 

 

I could only defeat the enemy by throwing a projectile as a preemptive strike.

When the numbers in a horde are small, I can push through with that advantage, but when the number of enemies increases, the advantage would be to Resilia, ,and a back-and-forth match would ensue.

 

 

I was unable to close the gap in the number of defeats we had earned in the beginning, but I was steadily advancing through the battlefield, and just when we were getting close to the goal, the moment I had been waiting for arrived.

 

 

[ ……Eh?]

 

 

The momentum of Resilia, who had been defeating monsters at a high pace up until now, suddenly stopped.

 

 

(It’s here!)

 

 

That is the biggest drawback of Dual-Wield.

 

 

 

————–She ran out of MP!

 

 

 

Even at the best of times, Resilia’s MP consumption is quite high for a melee fighter.

In addition to the fact that is a skill that consumes twice as much MP, she’s using big moves that she shouldn’t be able to use with Manual Arts, so it’s eating up her MP at a rapid pace.

 

 

There’s also the Dual-Wield, a fighting technique that uses both left and right hands and handles twice the number of Arts as usual.

Naturally, it would make her MP consumption double the normal amount.

 

 

Furthermore, since the cooldown of the Arts themselves are based on the person, not on the weapon, her left and right hands would have to perform different techniques.

As it isn’t possible for her to use only the most MP-efficient techniques, this increases her MP consumption.

 

 

This wasn’t noticeable because the fights she had been participating in before were more like spotting for Radd’s party, but it was obvious that this would happen if Resilia, with her low “MGC”, continued to fight with all her might.

 

 

[Kuh!]

 

 

Though I say that, Resilia’s ability is very high even without Arts.

Even now, she calmly gives up attacking with Arts and is reliably defeating monsters with her normal attacks.

 

 

If I just continue doing things normally, I won’t be able to earn enough time to make up the difference in the number of monster defeats we’ve had.

That’s why……

 

 

(This will be the time when I win this match!!!)

 

 

Holding a in my left hand, I raised it high above my head and shouted.

 

 

 

[————–!]

 

 

 

At the same time, a bright white light burst out from the knife I held above my head and spread around the monsters.

 

 

The is a skill that, in exchange for the destruction of a weapon, inflicts super-special damage to the surrounding area in proportion to the weapon’s Fixed Attack Power.

 

 

In exchange for an Orichalcon Knife worth 5 million wen, a torrent of magic power that shoots only hostiles strikes the nearby monsters and obliterates them.

 

 

[……Fuuu.]

 

 

When the , having lost all its power in my hands, crumbled to dust, all the monsters in its place were gone as well.

With a smile of satisfaction on my face, I turned to Resilia.

 

 

[Fourteen destroyed. With this, it’s a tie.]

[I let my guard down. However, there will be no next time.]

 

 

With a smile on the edge of her lips, Resilia took out an MP Recovery Potion from her inventory and gulped it down without hesitation.

 

 

 

————–Judging from the atmosphere of the dungeon, the next hoard will be the last one.

 

 

 

That means, the conclusion of this match will be made there.

 

 

 

 

 

※　※　※

 

 

 

 

 

This is a matter that neither of us could stop any longer.

Speeding through the dungeon as if on impulse, we searched for our final prey.

 

 

Finally, the time had come.

 

 

[—————-!]

[—————-!]

 

 

The two became aware of their presence at about the same time.

 

 

There were seven enemies in the hoard.

Which means, the one who kills more will be the winner!

 

 

We kicked the ground and readied our weapons simultaneously in perfectly synchronized movements……

 

 

 

 

[————–!!!]

 

 

 

 

Right at that moment though, with Mana’s voice coming from behind us, everything was all over.

 

 

[……Eh?]

 

 

In front of us, who were standing still flabbergasted, the bodies of the 7 Zombies twisted, seemingly writhing in pain, before turning into light and vanishing.

 

 

[Ah……]

 

 

Before I knew it, the prey we were supposed to defeat could no longer be seen anymore.

 

 

, as the name suggests, is a magic that extinguishes the Undead.

It has the disadvantage that it doesn’t work on superior monsters or Bosses and doesn’t give the user EXP, but it’s immensely effective against Undead monsters.

 

 

This magic certainly is effective against the Undead in this dungeon, but ending this matter with that is just too cruel.

Intending to voice out our protest, we turned towards Mana……

 

 

 

[What are you———]

[What in the world are you two doing!?]

 

 

 

The words we were about to say were drowned out by Mana’s unprecedented furious tone.

Looking unusually angry, in a single breath, she started shouting.

 

 

[That knife and MP Recovery Potion are both very valuable! Why in the world are you using them here!?]

[Ah, no, ummm, errr……]

 

 

Now that she mentioned it, I couldn’t find the words to reply.

I glanced to the side and saw that Resilia was also looking down awkwardly, seemingly embarrassed.

 

 

[Geez! Moreover, just the two of you charging on and on through the dungeon and abandoning us, flirting and flirting while you’re alone! This is not a date spot!]

[N- No, it’s not like we were playing around……]

 

 

I helplessly tried explaining, but Mana’s momentum doesn’t seem to be abating at all.

 

 

Feeling hopeless, I reflexively tried turning my gaze towards Resilia……

 

 

[Do you not hear me, Rex-san!? I’m talking exactly about that!]

""

 

 

But I got scolded by Mana for that instead, making me hurriedly adjust my seating posture.

 

 

 

And thus ended the long and unproductive battle between me and Resilia.

The title of “the Strongest in the Party”, which the two of us desperately fought for, shone brightly above Mana’s head.

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