“Well, let’s see what you have.”
“Alright.” Ara-san goes to her backpack and takes out her portfolio, chooses a paper from within and shows it to me... urgh, this world’s numbers... At least they have a decimal system as well. Long columns and long rows are covering the whole sheet. “After being able to compare the numbers of you and the others with mine across all of our classes during several levels—including the numbers I have of the other alfr heroes in addition to your capabilities in the fight against Lvo’tjos—I came to the following conclusions: [Attributes] are represented in a unit I call hero-sparkles. Therefore [Attributes] don’t measure how good you are in specific traits directly, but how many hero-sparks you can activate for certain tasks.” She has already explained most of it during the time in the swamps, but repeats it nonetheless, most likely so that I only concentrate on the important details. “Some hero-sparkles are always active, some are not. Therefore an [Attribute] shows you the potential you can attain in specific situations. While we still can only guess whether emotions, desire, seriousness, danger, or something else unlocks hero-sparkles, we can say that most of their power is sealed unless there is a trigger. On the other hand, our research about the curse shows that some of them are always active.”
I still dislike the term ‘hero-sparkles’.
“...so practically, I may usually use about 10% of my [Strength] or something like that.”
“I actually believe it’s not a percentage, but a fixed value. Your manual gave a piece of valuable information to me.” When we were summoned, each of us received a manual about the hero-system, but while Kyou-san’s and mine are identical, Ara-san’s is different. Most likely each hero-summoning gives another manual. “When you change into a class, specific [Attributes] gain a bonus—so more usable hero-sparkles—and that this bonus is always active, same goes for the curse-bonus we get by being close to each other.” We already knew the last part, as we tried some stuff here and then. “However, we should concentrate on the class-bonus now. The information that a [Class-change] gives a bonus implies that your stats aren’t changing in their core, some just gain an increase.”
“So I have my base stats overall and when I switch classes, I get a bonus. OK, how is this news?”
“This is just the assumptions I base my calculations on. This is the next paper.” She shows me a sheet with graphs on them. “This is your growth in your different classes. You see a linear growth. With this, I was able to calculate the factors and therefore reach your base stats with level 0.”
“Level 0? Not level one?”
“This was a mistake of mine in the past. The first level, the one who we started with, is already part of the growth of a hero. Katarine-san’s weapon, which [Attack] raises with level, got me the idea. It was a simple step, but one of the complications that made it impossible to calculate exact numbers before.”
“One of the complications?”
“Yes, I was close to it several times, but the numbers the other alfr heroes provided me with don’t match the calculations, so either there are conditions that influenced their growth which our party didn’t meet so far—aside from [Class-up]—or they gave me wrong numbers at some points.”
“Not to be racist, but I think the latter is too probable.” I mean, they’re alfar after all! Of course, they’ll sneak in false numbers to mess Ara-san up! She would most likely do the same... no, not in this regard. Still, it’s somehow sad that Ara-san is most likely the most reasonable alfr of the bunch.
“This is most likely the case.” She’s even acknowledging it! “It’s sad, however, as it gives me more complications. Before observing the stat-growth of you humans, I actually started to believe that the trend might be individual as well, so that some people have linear and others an exponential progression. This might still be the case, but since observing you, it has been always linear except for the [Class-up]. I just needed more numbers, as the stat-growth is rounding down.”
“Rounding down!?”
“Affirmative. The rate is a decimal which is multiplied with the level. The more numbers we have, the more accurate it is.”
“OK, you have found out the rate, so what are my base-stats?”
“Would you mind letting me explain it more?”
“Why? You just used the rate to count to level 0, did it with all classes to find out what is the constant, then guessed how the classes give their bonuses.”
“...spoilsport.”
“...you know what? I’ll do it myself.” I switch to [Student] and retrieve my glasses. As a [Student], I have the highest [Intelligence]-attribute, I also have the [Calculator]-skill, which makes me into a human calculator.
...harsh! If I didn’t know this is linear, I’d might give up with all the rounding. Still, I just need to subtract the lowest number from the highest and divide it with the number of level-span... [Pikeman] ’s [Strength], level 45 is when I first met Ara-san, I’m level 63 now... 230 minus 170 equals 60, divided by 18 is 3.3 repeating. So my [Strength] as a [Pikeman] at level 0 would be 18... I still know my [Strength] when I attained the [Pikeman]-class, [Strength] 45, I was level 8 back then. With this calculation... 44.6 repeating, so rounded down 44... OK, we’re a number off... “...you didn’t actually figure out my rate, right?”
“Why do you believe it?”
“Because when I try to recreate my old stats, it doesn’t fit.” I’m often enough one point off.
“Kenta-kun, you’re naive. You most likely are just at the beginning, like I said, the more numbers you have, the more accurate it becomes, the course of 18 levels isn’t that long, so with a quick calculation you won’t get there. Which stat do you have?”
“[Pikeman], [Strength].”
“Rate 3.38.” This isn’t much of a difference, but it shows.
“How did you get from 3.3 repeating to there?”
“Adapting the number, again and again, until everything went well.” This... this is such a waste of time! I mean, wouldn’t it take minutes even with a calculator? In addition to being possibly wrong, because it may be 3.3801 and she wouldn’t notice before I hit level 100!
The other thing is: “How is that supposed to help at all? I mean, even if you can recreate my base-stats, it’s not like we can make educated choices with only that. It’d be different if we knew how each [Class] and [Class-up] empowers us before choosing it, but seriously, there is no point!”
“Knowledge always has a point.”
“You’re just clutching at arguments why you should be freed from chores!” I figured her out.
“Kenta-kun... I really abhor chores.”
“You’re even admitting it!”
“You understand me! If I present it right, Momo might halve the time I need to do chores.”
“You’ve already given up on a full excuse as well!”
“Because dealing with Momo doesn’t involve logic and sound arguments, she’s irrational!”
“What’s irrational of you taking care of your own stuff!”
“I do the math!”
“Just help with tidying up our camp instead.”
“I don’t want to.”
...at least she’s honest. “...well, what are my base-stats?”
“Now you’re interested.”
“Hey, I’m just cleaning after myself and only expect everyone to do the same. Also, when I do it myself, I do it at least right.” At least I can do it my way, which is less irritating than having someone like Kyou-san or Rine order it in a way I can’t get behind. Seriously, just order our tents by when we need the respective parts!
“So would you support me if I try to convince Momo to make me work less?”
“I don’t fight losing battles if I have a choice.”
“So turn it into a winning battle.”
“Not worth it. About my stats?”
“...your stats at level one were the following.
[https://kentusauthor.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/kenta-base-stats.png?w=168]
“[Intelligence] 15... how about yours?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Dammit!” Well, I know that she’s on another level, though she can’t use her head that well. She’s like a supercomputer which is used by a child in nursery school: More damage than good. “Do you have the others as well?”
“I’m currently calculating Momo’s. Might finish it soon.”
“Is her base-[Intelligence] better?”
“My rough estimation is that it’s below yours.” I pump my fists, as this makes my day! Actually, I was sure that this was the case and while my [Intelligence]-stat may be higher, we don’t know how much it corresponds with our real-life skills. I believe that both are connected, but as those stats are mostly just numbers lacking context, there are only a few conclusions to draw.
“OK, then what about Rine’s status?”
“This is a mess.”
“Why?”
“Most likely because she’s a native human, not someone summoned and only received the hero-status via the curse. You know that the difference between the classes of [Princess Knight] and [Tailor] are vast, the rates as well. Her base stats besides [Intelligence] are way above us, but seeing the difference between the rough estimation of the base stats of her two classes makes me believe that [Princess Knight] may have a bonus included from the start and is rather treated like an actual class, instead of a base-class. Still, I believe that she still hasn’t access to the power she should have, considering that [Princess Knight] is already her second class-up, technically speaking. She should attain more classes to make things more clear in her regard.”
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
“OK, I didn’t understand everything, but the gist is: She’s cheating and [Princess Knight] might actually be weaker than it should be, right?”
“Exactly.”
...oh god! What a headache! Rine is already more powerful than all of us, she was that way even before she became a hero and before her stats caught up with mine. She’s the living example that stats aren’t as direct as others might suspect. “She’s way too overpowered.”
“Like I said in an earlier conversation, she may not even be using the hero-system right now.” Yes, when I fought Lvo’tjos, Ara-san saw Rine’s muscles move more than mine, despite having around the same speed. So she may still not actively use her [Attributes] as intended...
“So the moment she gets the hang of it, she’s an unstoppable force... more than before.”
“That’s to be expected.”
“Phew... well, the question is if she even remains a hero when we break the curse.”
“Exactly. By the way, how do you feel about that bard?”
...what an elegant way to switch the topic. I’m sarcastic, of course. “Well, I just forgot until now. ...I feel a bit better, though.”
“Then let’s find out if the bard has a mount.”
“Why?”
“For your eight-steps revenge plan.”
“My what!?”
“Eight-steps revenge plan. This is a plan I made for you to make the bard suffer for the humiliation you experienced.”
…tempting. Usually, I would let it slide after a while of being pissed, as revenge is making things only worse, as there is retaliation after retaliation without anything constructive along the way. It only serves for short-term relief. “What are the eight steps?” However, I’m interested.
“First, we take a look at his mount. If it’s a horse, we feed it malheira, this causes constant farting for the next day, if it’s a daiosar or axeken, we’ll use sharan instead.” Daiosar and axeken are two reptilian mounts, one good for fast travel, the other one can climb and swim very well.
“OK, so he’ll smell the stink. Next?”
“We’ll paint its scales or shave its fur with some insults, like: ‘Tramp music for a coin and a piece of bread.’”
“This would make some bad advertising, I see. Next?”
“We’ll glue some sand on the seating of the saddle.”
“So he has a bad time riding, I see. What’s after that?”
“His show should be finished by then, that’s why we’ll observe which room he has and sneak in when he’s away again. Inside his room, we put some itching powder in all of his underwear first.”
“...OK, next?”
“We look at what kind of different instruments he has and put different kinds of herbal extract on the mouthpieces. Some which cause swelling lips, some which have a bad taste, some which allow for some more fun.”
“I like that. Gives his shitty music some feedback. What comes afterward?”
“Then you’ll defecate on his bed.”
“I’ll do what?”
“Defecate. This will make it much harder for him to sleep in peace. When he’s finally asleep, we can sneak back for you to urinate into his boots.”
“Why don’t you do it?”
“Because smelling an alfr-girl’s excrement might be one of his fetishes, so it has to be yours.”
“A fetish!? How likely is that?”
“He’s human, after all.”
The moment I start to argue, I’ve already lost. Because arguing about this is already a loss for intelligence. Just let it slide... “Then let’s assume that this is also finished... what is the final step?”
“Looking for his diary, copying the most embarrassing secrets and distributing them among the other guests.”
… I’m honest, most of these things sound petty, childish, and not helpful at all, but the way Ara-san presents them to me makes them very tempting nonetheless. “Can you pick a lock?”
“No.”
“Then how are we supposed to get into his room?”
“...you could break the door open?”
“Then he’ll notice. Heck, I know that there are no rooms in this inn, but I doubt he’ll sleep when his door is broken.”
“How about freezing the bolt so he can’t lock it?”
“Then he’ll ask the innkeeper for assistance and if it doesn’t work, he stays awake as well.”
“You’re right... we’ll substitute some steps. I think we need to go the extra mile.”
“Why do I have the feeling that his situation got worse?”
“Because you’re right.”
Sometimes people complain about how teenagers cause a lot of trouble for the adults. I guess teenagers doing bad stuff is normal. Now we have me, a teenager who is coached by an alfr who brings a century of experience of being a teenager...
At this moment, however, I don’t care.
―○●○―
It’s almost time to sleep and I sit on the bed with Rine resting her head on my lap. The blonde girl is avoiding looking me into the eyes, while I check my status. A sharp smell waves the room as Kyou-san prepares some more medicine, she’s trying to recreate HP-potions. She has the ingredients but lacks the [Skill], so she’s still experimenting. If she’s successful, this might help us a lot in the future.
Her [Compounding]-ability might not be enough, though. She may be able to tell what the HP-potion is made of, but it doesn’t help to make them. It may be medicine, but there is more to it than just mixing herbs... question is, where the line lies between an [Alchemist] and a [Herbalist] here, or more specific: Whether HP-Potions falls into [Alchemy] or [Compounding].
Well, I guess she needs to distill them at some point, which is entirely impossible here, as she lacks the equipment and the necessary heat. Obviously, starting a fire is forbidden in this inn. Still, she tries creating the pots anyway, either to pass the time or out of a minor obsession.
On the other hand, Ara-san is crunching numbers, most likely Rine’s status as she constantly sighs. Her ears are also twitching sometimes, a sign of excitement. She thinks about what we did so far and will continue doing this night. Still, overall it’s a peaceful evening, something I really need these days.
My thoughts wander to the immediate future. We have crossed the Ohl, so we’re basically in another region, though still in the Wildlands. Yet the river marks an important border and from what we heard, our bounties will likely spread much slower from now on, possibly halting completely. Unless Correo spreads them further... he will, right?
I take out a paper from the backpack, it’s our route. Some rough sketches that serve as a map—most likely outdated—and some comments on the side. From here on, the most direct way would be through the Redstone Canyon. There is a trade route, so we could follow it. ...it would be easier, yet it’s also much longer than going directly. However, this is a canyon, so there will be only a limited amount of traversable paths.
OK, time to ask the girls: “Next stop is the Redstone Canyon. We have two options: First, we can use the trade route. It winds through the canyon, but it’s marked and, therefore, easy to follow. On the other hand, it’s a route everyone knows and Correo likely put some mercenaries there to stop us. Our other option is to look for a path ourselves, which might involve a lot of climbing, yet with my [Shared Senses] I might look upon it from the sky.” Only conditions are that there are birds that conveniently look downwards from high above.
“Maybe we can ask if there is a faster route?” Kyou-san suggests while grinding her herbs.
“But then everyone will know what we’re up to.”
“It’s not like the people will gossip about it. Also, we cut through the Spirit Swamps, so if you’re worried about pursuers: We have a headstart?”
“Unless Correo placed an ambush way before or assumed that we somehow got through Ohlbrücken, in this case, we would be way behind.”
Kyou-san looks over her shoulder to me, as if I had claimed to predict the lottery numbers. “I know that your paranoia can be helpful, but the faster we’re through the canyon, the faster we’ll be able to move unrestricted again, right? You can also spread false information to confuse pursuers, right?”
...I haven’t thought of that. This is Kyou-san, our underhanded, two-faced healer, who doesn’t think twice about lying for her benefit. “I’m convinced.” This certainly looks like the most promising way. “Anyone against?”
…
… … …
“Ken, they haven’t listened.”
“Obviously. Well, we’ll count that as abstention. Would you do it, Kyou-san?”
The first second, Kyou-san looks like she wants to object, yet after looking at me, Rine, and Ara-san, she just sighs. “I’m the only one who can be trusted with this, after all. Let me finish this one, though.” After two more minutes of grinding herbs, she packs her stuff and leaves the room. Hopefully, there are still enough people in the taproom, though I guess places like this inn call it a night much later.
Now I’m alone with two people busy with their own stuff. Usually, this would be heaven, but I’m a bit concerned with Rine, who is uncharacteristically absent-minded. I mean, she usually indulges herself in her fantasies, but with her current mood...
You gain 1 WP. Giving your concerned wife a lap-pillow doesn't only relieve her worries, but also give her an opportunity to rest.
Rest? I listen to her breathing sounds... shit, Rine dozed off! Like I said, she has murderous habits while sleeping and now she’s on my lap with her head. If I move, she might kill me!
“Rine? Rine!” I try to wake her up with my voice, but waking her after she falls asleep is difficult, unless she has some hours of rest. What is she, a one-year-old? “Ara-san? Ara-san!” So I opt for the next best thing: Asking Ara-san for help, like a scaredy-cat.
“What is it?” Ara-san’s ears move downwards while tilting slightly forwards, her tone tells me that this is a sign of irritation.
“Rine fell asleep on my lap.”
“...” Ah, this is Ara-san, she’s thinking about a plan. “You’re on your own.” A plan to decline my cry of help.
“Remember our ploy for the bard.”
“I’ll do my best on my own.”
“What about me?”
“You’ll most likely die tonight. Anything I should include in your funeral?”
“It hurts how truthful that assessment sounds.” There are tons of things that may cause me to die. I may fall asleep, lose my balance, and then move by this logic. If that happens, Rine will crush my windpipe. Or my legs fall asleep, I lose balance, and Rine will snap my neck. Or I may try to move her head and Rine will rip off my hands so I will bleed to death... “I don’t want to die!”
“I also like living. So your and my interests collide.”
“Hey, let’s think about this rationally. Can Kyou-san do anything?”
“Probably not. If she knew, she might unbalance the world!”
“That’s exaggerated, but that means waiting for her won’t bring us anywhere...”
“Katarine-san asleep may be the most powerful being in this world. This means you want to try something now? I will get some distance.”
“More powerful than Luuto!? ...distance, that’s it!”
“Remember how she has beaten up Lvo’tjos while she was asleep. I’m happy that you agree with me.”
“Come on, Luuto was just surprised, right? Listen to me, get to the door and throw something harmless at her, like creased parchment or something like that.”
“Of course he was surprised, it was my plan all along! Won’t she deflect it back at me?”
“It’s still crazy how it worked. That’s why something harmless. She will answer it somehow, I might find a way to get out there, you have your safe distance.”
After having two conversations at the same time, Ara-san enacts the plan. Instead of paper, she has a ball of absorbent cotton, one of the ones Rine got for her [Tailor]-class. Even Rine can’t be able to weaponize them, right? Will it be enough to trigger her remotely, though?
Well, her sword is out of her reach. Nothing can happen, right? So I give Ara-san the signal: “I’m ready.”
Ara-san throws the cotton ball, Rine catches it with one hand while still sleeping, then she rolls from my lap. Lucky! Wait, what is she- She rolls from the bed, lands on her cotton-holding hand, kicks her sword, which is leaning on the wall, into the air, then catches by the handle with her free hand, swings it, causing the sheath to fly directly towards Ara-san, while making half a handspring to be on her feet while stuffing the cotton ball into my gaping mouth with a punch!
I--- it’s stuck into my throat! Breathing hurts and itches! She has weaponized a ball of absorbent cotton!!! Also, my face hurts! Wait, she’s about to fall onto me! I quickly move aside, evading the sleeping Rine at the last second. She half-opens her eyes. “...bad sleeping posture.” She climbs onto the bed and corrects it, still holding her sword.
“*COUGH, cough*” I try to unstick the absorbent cotton, yet it’s resisting my attempts. My fingers slowly wander into my open mouth, there... I have a thread. Slowly I pull it, freeing my throat from that intruder. This feeling is disgusting.
“*cough, cough*” Well, I’m not the only one suffering, as Ara-san had a sheath flying into her stomach. “...this exceeded our expectations. We still could lure the bard into this room. When he sees the sleeping Katarine-san, his human instincts will make him trying to rape her, then he’s dead.”
While everyone who tries to rape a person, be it sleeping or not, would deserve this, I’m not keen on inciting anyone to do it. “Actually, we’re lucky. We’re still alive, after all. Can you stand up?”
“Probably.”
“Why don’t you do it?”
“I don’t feel like it.”
“Phew...” I pick up Ara-san and put her on her feet. However, she just let herself fall, not even trying to regain balance. “Come on, we have only limited time.”
“Ah, you’re right.” With this, Ara-san changes into [Acrobat] just to immediately use her more acrobatic body to directly jump on her feet, a totally pointless use of [Class Change]. “We’ll see if he was foolish enough to leave his window open.”
[https://kentusauthor.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/araainndruid63.png?w=676]