NOVEL NEXT Chapter 66
The game is different from reality. Doot doot!
Especially turn-based RPGs are so far removed from reality that it’s on a whole different level. BOOM!
In reality, when you’re fighting for your life, you don’t take turns to hit your opponent. You don’t waste dozens of seconds preparing for a powerful attack, and you certainly don’t miss when attacking the enemy right in front of you. Womp womp!
So, to put it another way… when you’re casting magic, you don’t just stand there numbly and take all the enemy’s hits. WHOOSH!
In Chronicles of Aetherna, there are attacks that can cancel the opponent’s big attacks before they land, wasting their turn. If a skill has the term ‘action cancel,’ there’s a certain probability that it will cancel a scheduled big attack from the enemy. Swoosh!
Unless it’s an ultimate skill that comes out of nowhere, all magic will display its name at the moment of execution, and the number of turns it takes to use that magic is determined by the monster’s or character’s agility. In such situations, if you get hit by an action cancel skill, the magic will be canceled, and instead of executing the magic on that turn, the character will wait for a new command with reset action points. Thud!
The best way to increase the action cancel probability is to choose an attack of the opposite element from the fast magic or instant skill that’s about to be used. Of course, it has to be a magic or skill with ‘action cancel.’ Zing!
At first glance, it seems logical. If you pour water on fire magic, it sounds pretty convincing, right? It wouldn’t be easy to continue acting while getting drenched by a massive amount of water falling from above. Splash!
The problem is that this theory only applies in theory. Uh oh!
…Knowing that a large amount of water falling from above would be disadvantageous, who would try to avoid it? Duh duh duh!
The Elemental Bear is a ‘bear.’ And bears, while appearing clumsy at first glance, are actually fearsome beasts made up mostly of muscle. Grrr!
And the Elemental Bear in front of us was much larger than any bear I had known. Whoa!
Naturally, it had way more muscle mass too. Flex!
“Ah…!”
It seemed that the bullet didn’t deal a lethal blow to the Elemental Bear. As I pulled the trigger, Mia Crowfield’s magic activated, and water poured down from above. Almost simultaneously, the bullet hit a part of the bear’s face, but it didn’t die. PING!
Actually, the reason I asked Mia Crowfield for that magic was that I worried the fire attacks of the Elemental Bear would set the forest ablaze. Indeed, there were small fires where the claws had touched, igniting the area. Fwoosh!
But such things could have been handled after the attack ended. Whoosh!
The Elemental Bear was no longer in the spot where I had last seen it. Zoom!
The time it took to lower my gun after the recoil wasn’t long, but it was enough time for the bear to move and change its stance. Thwack!
By the time I lowered my gun, it had completely moved away from where it had gotten wet and had its front paws planted on the ground, lying flat. Thud!
…Its mouth was still wide open. Gulp!
The magic hadn’t been canceled. Poof!
The bear was looking at Mia Crowfield. Stare!
“Again!” Shout!
I shouted urgently. Bam!
“Huh!” Gasp!
Taking a big breath, I hurriedly got up. Whew!
The room was still dark. Shhh!
…I had gone back to the time I woke up this morning, moments before Claire woke me up and I first got up to clean my gun. Tick tock!
“……”
Ah. Ding!
I must have rewound too hastily and gone way too far back. Whoops!
…When I think about it, maybe it would have been better to just rewind it shortly like during training or sparring and make sure to get a bullet right in the brain. It was right before the bear was about to cast magic, but I was also watching it. Zap!
I rubbed my face with both hands. Rubbing!
But… yeah, I was also shortsighted about that. Hmmm…
The name ‘Empire of Aetherna.’ Ding ding!
And the countless character names I had seen in the game. Zap zap!
For that reason, I unconsciously recognized this place as part of the game. Bing!
But… it’s different. Clearly different. Whoa!
In the game, if you get hit by a bear’s flailing arm, you’d just lose a little HP. You can restore HP by casting magic or drinking potions. Chug chug!
Actually, it doesn’t really matter if HP goes down. Shrug!
For some reason, the cutscenes show you getting shot and assassinated or dying from bombs, but in battle, as long as your party isn’t wiped out and doesn’t lead to game over, it’s just expressed as ‘fell.’ Thud!
After the battle, you could just restore your health with magic, potions, or restoration devices at save points. Ta-da!
But in reality, that’s not the case. Oops!
In the forest, there are no convenient devices like health restoration devices. No auto-save points either. Crash!
If you get hit by the bear’s front paw, you’d probably not even think about HP recovery before your bones and flesh are separated and your insides come bursting out. Eek!
…If you get hit by a straight line of fire-element lasers coming from its mouth, no matter how much recovery magic you use to keep your life, your fingers might get melted to the bone, or your face might get scorched and melted… In any case, you might have hideous scars for the rest of your life. Yikes!
“In the original story…” Hmmmm…
That phrase, “in the original story,” only applies to the narrative and the shape of the village. Hmmph!
Thinking back, even assuming I hadn’t been there, it didn’t seem like Leo and his party could break through the fake trench. Even if they had asked Mia Crowfield for help… could they have jumped into the trench and taken down the enemy before grabbing a pre-loaded rifle? Bloop!
“Is it my fault?” Gulp!
Because I suddenly jumped into the party, is that why such things are happening? Blink!
I frowned and sank into thought but couldn’t reach a solid conclusion. Ugh!
Does my presence or absence in such battles make that much of a difference? It’s very likely to take lethal damage from even a single attack when fighting against an enemy with a gun compared to one with a knife. So if I wanted to follow the story… I had to ensure not to allow any attacks beyond just a scratch while continuing to fight. Whoosh!
Even if the story progresses as planned, is it really possible for the protagonist’s party to reach the end without getting hurt ‘even once’? Hmm…?
In the first place, if that were possible, there wouldn’t be a reason for me to be here, would there? Isn’t there a goddess or some deity from other religions existing in this world, or at the very least some system that created my existence? Poof!
“……” Hmmm!
I don’t know. Since no one has told me why I exist here, all I have are my own thoughts to find such reasons. Hmm?
To become a character suited for the game and not be abandoned by anyone. That’s what I chose. Ding!
“Phew…” Sigh!
Still, well, at least knowing the future enough to keep my wits about me kept me wide awake. Yikes!
I got up from my seat. Stand up!
It was already almost time for Claire to barge in. Rumble!
*
“Is there a blacksmith nearby?” Knock!
When I abruptly asked the guide after finishing my explanation, she glared at me. Glare!
“At this hour? Are you planning to wake someone up to ask for a weapon?” Hmmph!
“That’s right.” Nod!
“Ahh?” Huh!?
The guide, who just made a remark that sounded a bit like a delinquent, but when I didn’t avoid her gaze and looked straight at her, she seemed a bit flustered and blinked. Blink!
“Sylvia?” What!?
Claire, nearby, called me as if she was a bit surprised by my demeanor. Surprised!
“I have money. It must be tiring to hastily craft a weapon at this hour. If you wake the craftsman, I can tip you.” Tip!
“……” Stare!
When I said that with a confident demeanor, the guide stared at me silently for a while. Cautious!
She must already know who I am. She must have heard it from Jennifer. Ding!
The guide who introduced us yesterday was a different person. It’s obvious. No one can work all night without resting. Yawn!
Even if they replaced each other, they would have briefed each other. Yawn!
“……Alright. I don’t need a tip.” Alright!
Honestly, I don’t exactly know what she felt, but the guide picked up the receiver from the phone on the table. Ring ring!
“Requesting the blacksmith.” Boom!
The guide spoke those words in a voice completely different from what we had seen and fell back into silence. And then, as if to judge me, she moved her gaze up and down to scan me. Scanning!
In the game, upgrading your gear didn’t take long, almost like playing with toy parts, but reality is different. Originally, the magic staff has a slot for the Marmaros, so even if it doesn’t take long, inserting it properly and adjusting the condition will take at least several minutes to an hour. Tick tock!
Fortunately, we weren’t heading off immediately to make a request right now. We still had some time, so it would work out if we left the weapon there for a bit. Shoo!
“Are you feeling sure about something?” Curious!?
When Alice asked that, I nodded. Nod nod!
Seeing my expression, Alice didn’t ask anymore. Quiet!
“Uh, sorry to bother you so late. I just—” Apologize!
The guide, who had been holding the receiver for a while, opened her mouth. Talking…
*
“……” Whoosh!
While we were returning to where the Elemental Bear was, Mia Crowfield looked deep in thought. Pondering!
She was still panting heavily, but her expression suggested she had something serious to think about that went beyond how it appeared. Hmm!
At the tip of her staff, a blue gem sparkled. Sparkle!
It was the Marmaros I had obtained from the underground waterways. Glint!
…Honestly, it was a bit scary. If she used magic with that, I wouldn’t even be able to scream before I died. Yikes!
But more than that, I didn’t want the protagonist’s party to get hurt. No way!
There might have been ways to avoid taking this request from the start. But I wouldn’t want that either. Nope!
Then, well, I guess I should look for another chance, even if it’s risky. Think!
“……Let’s take a short break.” Pause!
Because Mia Crowfield was openly gasping for breath, my party didn’t realize someone was exhausted until I said that, and they turned around looking slightly surprised. Surprise!
There stood Mia Crowfield, dripping with sweat. Sweat!
“If you’re tired, just say so!” Concerned!
Claire said that, and we decided to sit down for a moment. Sit!
I silently handed Mia Crowfield the water bottle like I did earlier. Pass!
She took it without a word and carefully sipped the water. Sip!
Meanwhile, she was looking at me with confused eyes. Confused!
It was understandable, as I had just given her the precious Marmaros at this point. Wow!
I’d have been extremely suspicious too. Suspicious!
But I had no intention of explaining that I had seen the future. Nope!
I just thought that this method better work this time around as I accepted the warm water bottle that Mia Crowfield handed back. Hope!
*
The more you equip specific attributes of Marmaros, the shorter the ‘execution time’ of magic becomes. Zoom!
To put it in real-world terms, it means you are getting aided by the magic of Marmaros itself without having to concentrate for long. Phew!
The possible spells would increase, and the time you could use those spells would become much faster. Whoosh!
…Reality isn’t a game, but still, game settings tend to mirror reality in some way. Huh?
“Spiritus Glafes!” Whoosh!
Oh, elemental spirit of ice. Bing!
Mia’s shout sounded like that. Zap!
A massive ice spear was stabbed deep into the wide-open mouth of the flat-lying Elemental Bear. Thud!
The glowing mouth of the Elemental Bear instantly turned red. Red!
The hard ice that had been thrust into its mouth got stuck in there, and crimson blood began to seep between its cracks. Drip!
But the bear didn’t die. Uh-oh!
BANG! Boom!
Well, it did get its head pierced right after. Pow!
As I shot again towards its right eye, which had been targeted before, its head crumpled as the flesh caved inward. Crunch!
With ice stuck in its neck and its skin torn by the gun, the side of its head slumped down, looking incredibly horrific as it fell. Thud!
It had a posture that seemed like a carpet made from peeled bear skin, even if it was puffed up above. Eek!
“……Hmm.” Hmm!
Looking at the Elemental Bear like that, Jake opened his mouth. Open!
“I don’t think it meets its worth.” Hmmph!
No one laughed at that joke. Cricket!