BXBX NOVEL Chapter 88: Thinking while not thinking.
Chapter 88: Thinking while not thinking.
“Well, what are we going to do today? ”
Next morning.
The thrilled Silvia, of whom I could almost hear her excitement, asked this question with a look of expectation. I could also see Eko fidgeting.
“Would it still be measuring DPS? ”
Yesterday I entrusted them with looking for the maximum damage they could do in one second. Going by that pattern and increasing the challenge time, today it should be 10 seconds or 30 seconds. The DPS can be easily measured by continuing to attack a specific target for 30 seconds and then dividing the total damage by 30.
However, there’s little meaning in calculating the DPS in this way. The reason being, all calculations can be done in paper. Furthermore, I already know the maximum DPS for each skill.
” ‘If you attack with it, it will produce the most stable firepower’, you have an idea of what skill this is, right? ”
“Umu. Most likely, Soldier Archery.”
“Yeah. Soldier’s firepower is the most stable. I call this ‘continuous firepower’.”
A tactic of continuously delivering stable firepower for a long time with rapid-fire, since 《Soldier Archery》 has the fastest activation time and shortest cooldown time. Continuous firepower refers to this ability to maintain a stable and uninterrupted attack. I wasn’t the one to make up this explanation, it was called so back in Mobius.
“However, if you only have a single chance to hit, which skill gives you the most firepower? ”
“The one I found out yesterday, right? Point-blank Dragon Horse Archery.”
“Yeah. Correct.”
If you were to continue attacking using these two patterns for 30 seconds, only Soldier and only Dragon Horse, and measure the DPS of each one, the result would be Soldier’s victory. Dragon Horse’s preparation time is too long. However, Dragon Horse is overwhelmingly more powerful when it comes to a single attack.
“Knowing that much is enough. You don’t have to bother measuring the DPS yourself.”
Yesterday’s training of “Seeking the maximum damage you can do in one second” is enough to fully understand the characteristics, and advantages and disadvantages of your skills. It seems like my plan worked well.
Not only Silvia, but Eko as well must have a firm understanding of it. Since she noticed the counterattack effect of 《Silver Shieldmanship》 that can be used as a damaging attack, explaining to her how to do damage with 【Shieldmanship】 might be unnecessary.
“Then, what are we going to do today? ”
“Relax.”
“Hmm? Relax? ”
“Relax.”
“Relax……”
“Rilaksu? ”
It might look like nothing, but it’s extremely important.
“It’s not that I can’t come up with something to do. This is something I want you to somehow manage between today and the Title Match.”
“……It’s not that I wasn’t convinced. But looking at the usual you, Second-dono, I can somehow understand. Relax, huh? I see.”
Silvia seemed to have noticed something. Eko on the other hand said “Ho? “, while tilting her head with her mouth open.
“Title Matches, sometimes become a crazy charade of just staring at each other for ten or twenty minutes. If you remain nervous all the time, you will definitely get exhausted. You won’t be able to maintain your focus. Relax and focus at the same time. This is the ideal state. And you need to aim for that.”
This is something easy to say but actually hard to put into practice.
“There are several ways to do so, but I personally have two.”
“Two ways?”
“Yeah. The first is to immerse yourself. Don’t think about anything to the point your mind goes blank. Dive in it to the extent it becomes scary.”
“That’s, how to say it……a bit difficult, isn’t it?”
“It’s not something you do consciously, and most of the time you don’t even notice it.”
“So, it’s just to immerse yourself, not thinking about anything unnecessary? ”
“That’s right. Strictly speaking, just think about “not thinking anything”.”
“……Umu, got it. So, what’s the other way? ”
“To think too much.”
“BFFHHHH!? ”
Silvia spewed what she was drinking. Nice reaction.
“Isn’t that the complete opposite of what you said before!? ”
“Just think while not thinking.”
“I don’t understand! ”
“It’s not just about overthinking things. Just think about unnecessary things. The more ridiculous the better.”
“No, no, no, isn’t that bad!? ”
“That’s the thing, it’s strangely calming. And it will help you making cool-headed decisions. If you’re agitated, you should give it a try.”
“……O-Okay? So, things that don’t make sense, right……? ”
“From my personal experience, the more erotic it is, the better.”
“Give me back my motivation! ”
Ehh, but it’s true.
“Well, it’s different for each person. That’s just my way of doing it, I’m sure there should be a way that suits you. Starting today search for it.”
“Umu, that’s right. I’ll find my own way.”
“You too, Eko, alright? ”
“Roger! ”
She’s full of energy. Maybe this isn’t necessary for Eko since she’s someone who doesn’t seem to get too nervous.
“Good, now let me tell you about your training for today and tomorrow. Take off all of your equipment and go clear the Limptfert Dungeon with only a wooden bow and a wooden shield. By the way, you can only use Archery and Shieldmanship skills. Using Transform is forbidden.”
“…………Whoa.”
Silvia made a dejected expression.
Eko also made a weird sound while showing an empty expression, making it seems like her energy up to this point was a lie. It was easy to tell how she felt by looking at her dropped car ears.
“There will be many stressful moments. That’s where you’ll have to figure out how to relax.”
I can’t deny I’m pushing a rough training onto them, but if I don’t do this, they won’t be able to make it for the winter title match happening in three weeks.
Still, this won’t be a life-threatening situation for these two. However, they should be prepared to be surrounded and hit by monsters in case they make a few mistakes. Although they won’t die, it will hurt quite a bit. Would they be able to keep their calm and continue to function properly in such a tense situation? I truly feel a bit sorry for them, but I want them to overcome this challenge.
“If you manage to come back home unharmed, I’ll give you a reward.”
“Just look, Second-dono! Limptfert is like our back garden! ”
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s goー! ”
I decided to show them a carrot out of sympathy. After all, shopping the other day was a lot of fun. Well, I also had a lot of fun.
“Do your best.”
“What are you going to do, Second-dono? ”
“I’ll go around Isoreus and get all the Shieldmanship skill to a high Grade.”
“……I-Is that what you’ll be doing?”
Why so polite all of the sudden?
“Boohoo, boohoo.”
Evening.
After I came back from my experience earning trip, I found Silvia crying unnaturally. Next to her was Eko, rubbing her back while saying “I get it, I get it”. Is that a comedy act?
“What’s all THAT about?”
“It seems she despaired after failing to return unharmed.”
Ahh. I can see the reason why after hearing Yukari’s explanation.
“How many times you got hit? ”
“I stopped counting after 10……”
Silvia stopped crying and looked at me with a resentful expression.
“The weapon is weak, I had no armor, it really hurt……it’s too much.”
“Wasn’t Limptfert your back garden? ”
“The low attack power of the bow was at the level where I couldn’t do anything if I wasn’t taking cover. It was chaotic since it was very different from the usual. It felt like a completely different dungeon.”
“That might be so. Did you take any measures? ”
“I was in despair since I couldn’t do anything.”
“Want a hint? ”
“…………Umu.”
She nodded her head after thinking for some time. Eko too gave a single nod.
More than anything, they must be frustrated.
I broke the silence while saying “I understand” with a smile.
“You can do it, just take your time.”
＊ ＊ ＊
Somehow, I’ve been unconsciously thinking too much.
The more time you spend thinking, the less you can maintain your focus, and the more likely you are to make mistakes, he said.
And as a result, the number of tries will decrease, and you’ll stray away from an “undamaged return”, he said.
Somehow, it was the opposite.
We needed to take our time, slowly, carefully, and keep our focus.
One mistake and all this time will be wasted……apparently, we had to stop overthinking like this.
Just keep advancing without making a mistake.
“Eko! Come back! ”
“Oookaay! ”
If multiple monsters appear, pull them back one by one and kill them with the two of us.
As if we were unraveling a tangled thread, slowly, never rushing, without getting irritated, nor getting flustered. Steadily, one by one, endlessly repeating these small things.
It takes many times longer than usual. However, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s all to return without harm. All we have to do is focus on that point alone.
“Ahh……! ”
Three monsters noticed us. What was it? One? Two? Maybe I went three steps too far.
“Guh! ”
Two versus three. We couldn’t cope with it. And I got hit by one of their attacks.
Shit……shit, shit, SHIT!!
I was too naive! Why did I move ahead without thinking!?
Damn it, it’s frustrating. It’s all my fault. Because I’ve been too spoiled.
“……I’m sorry, let’s do another one.”
“Yeah. Let’s do our best.”
We’re starting over again. From the very beginning, it truly is a daunting task.
“Oh, I see.”
Incidentally, I noticed it. Earlier I thought “Let’s focus on returning without getting hurt”.
But I wasn’t immersed. And I forgot to relax. All I was thinking was “Let’s focus”. In other words, idle thoughts.
“…………! ”
I was taken aback.
That’s exactly what Second-dono said.
Also, for some reason, I can’t remove this feeling that “Everything is connected”.
Yesterday, and the day before yesterday, and also today. All of our training is geared towards the Title Match.
Can it be……?
“Eko. Let’s experiment a little as we move forward.”
“Experiment? ”
If you’re surrounded, you can’t deal with it. My weapon is weak, so I can’t depend on its DPS output. In other words, that’s it. Rather than a single shot, I should depend on skills that can output instantaneous firepower.
Up until now, I used nothing but 《Rook Archery》. Although I can’t kill the enemies, that’s the highest power long-range attack I have.
But, what about a point-blank 《Dragon Horse Archery》 shot?
Since by approaching a monster you are more likely to receive an attack, I want to attack from a distance if I can. However, if I can kill it with a single shot, the story is different.
The Limptfert is not very wide. Since it’s so narrow, the moment you come close to a monster it also sees you unless you hide in the shadow of a rock. Therefore, the time you have to deal with it is limited.
For example, let’s say you are noticed by two monsters. One can be killed using point-blank Dragon Horse, and the remaining one parried by Eko, and then the two of us can deal with it. Efficiency and safety will increase like that.
I get it. It’s not cowardly to be careful and try not to make mistakes.
“Hey, you saw that, Eko!? It was a one-shot with Dragon Horse! ”
“Ohhh! Amazing! ”
Just like I thought! 《Dragon Horse Archery》has a penetrating effect. And since the monsters in the dungeon are like the Rock Turtle with sturdy shells, it is quite compatible with them since it can easily penetrate their defenses!
“Ouchhhhh! ”
“Ooowy! ”
We were sorely hit by the Rock Turtle’s intense attack that we even shed tears, but the joy of finally seeing the light outweighed that.
Just wait, Limptfert. We’ll make great progress starting now.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Boohoo, boohoo.”
“……Eh, now what?”
When I came home in the evening, just like yesterday, Silvia was on the ground with her face on the sofa, crying fake tears.
“It seems they were able to reach the boss unharmed, but when they faced the Rock Turtle, the tables turned.”
When Yukari finished her explanation, she shook her head while saying “For Christ’s sake”.
I see. Still, I didn’t expect those two to reach the boss in just two days.
As I approached to talk to her, Silvia’s body twitched while she was still face down.
“At first I thought I could defeat it by shaving off its health while Eko parried it……”
I didn’t even have to ask before she started speaking.
“But if all she does is just parrying, the target will decide to attack me instead. The Rock Turtle ignored Eko and charged at me, it was over.”
Uh oh……
“That can’t be helped. Then, how will you deal with the Rock Turtle? ”
“Umu……I can only think of Eko repeatedly parry and use the counterattack effect of Silver Shieldmanship to attack it. Since the Rock Turtle has the habit of aiming for the person doing the most damage, I will also adjust my damage so that it doesn’t exceed the counterattack damage of Eko.”
……Yeah. Well, that’s good. I can see she understood most of what I wanted to teach.
“Silvia, Eko. You really worked hard. I’ll give you a reward.”
“R-Really!? ”
“You sure!? ”
The atmosphere suddenly turned around completely.
When I nodded, the two of them looked very excited, exclaiming “We did it, we did it!”.
“We’ll go shopping tomorrow. You’re coming too, right Yukari? ”
“Is that alright? ”
“Yeah, you have to take a break once in a while. And also……This is the last break these two will have.”
“Hmm? Second-dono, what did you say just now? ”
“Nothing really.”
It’s only three more weeks until the Winter Title Match.