chapter4 · 076-ep76

Episode 76: A New Stagnation

As I moved a little farther through the dungeon, it suddenly came back to me.

"Come to think of it, I never actually checked Battle Armor Enhancement."

It was the Skill I'd just gotten for defeating that armored Greyfish.

【Battle Armor Enhancement】

Increases the effects of Ability Grants fixed during Battle Armor Form.

I understood that the effects went up.

But I hadn't confirmed the important part — by how much.

I opened my Status and checked the display for my fixed Strength enchant.

"Ohh..."

It had definitely gone up.

At my current Proficiency, a normal Ability Grant gave 1.2 times.

The previous enchant left over from Enchant Echo was half that, 1.1 times.

The echo one step further back was 1.05.

Stack all three and they added together, for 1.35 in total.

And now Battle Armor Enhancement was riding on top of that.

"1.35 plus ten percent... 1.485."

Roughly 1.5 times, then.

"I'm only ever fast at this kind of math, huh."

If only numbers went into my head this smoothly on a math test.

Well, there wasn't much reason to get that desperate over calculations that didn't produce Achievements or Skills.

...Wait, is that okay? Me, a high schooler?

Anyway, my triple-stacked Strength, previously 1.35 times, would rise to about 1.5 in battle armor.

And that wasn't all.

Strength, Endurance, Agility — even when I layered different stats, Battle Armor Enhancement would kick in for each of them.

"This really is strong."

Battle armor had already been convenient just for letting me fix enchants in place for long stretches.

With a straightforward power-up added on top, it was more than enough.

It really did live up to an A-rank world-first reward.

Satisfied, I closed my Status.

"Now for this one."

This time I opened the Battle-Armored Enchanter Job-Exclusive Achievements.

As I'd checked yesterday, plenty of these were still uncompleted.

Having only just become a Battle-Armored Enchanter, that was fair enough, though.

They weren't all difficult conditions.

Around D-rank in particular, there were quite a few that looked gettable right now, now that I knew they existed.

【D: Move 100 meters backward while in Battle Armor Form】

【Uncompleted】

"Let's start with this one."

Just walking a hundred meters backward.

Easy.

Actually, too easy.

But then, walking backward for a hundred meters is not something you'd normally do while using battle armor.

No wonder you can't get it without reading the condition.

After making sure there were no monsters around, I started walking backward along the path I'd come by.

Thanks to Posture Control+, maybe, I walked more normally than I'd expected.

"..."

What even is this.

I'd holed up in a dungeon for a week to hunt Achievements, and here I was walking backward.

It was my own choice, but whenever I snapped back to myself, it felt a little... yeah.

Well, if it gets me the Achievement, I'll do it.

After about a hundred meters of that, the display appeared.

【Achievement Unlocked】

【D: Move 100 meters backward while in Battle Armor Form】

"All right."

【World-First Reward will be granted】

【Exclusive Passive Skill Acquired: Battle Armor Stride】

【Battle Armor Stride】

Assists with body control while moving during Battle Armor Form.

"Oh, this actually looks usable."

Since it was D-rank, I'd expected something way more underwhelming.

Even walking around a little with it, nothing felt dramatically different.

Still, for a week of walking everywhere, something like this might quietly come in handy.

Even so.

If I really was the only Battle-Armored Enchanter right now, then of course clearing a Job-Exclusive Achievement would make it a world first.

"...Isn't this actually a pretty sweet deal?"

It did feel kind of like cheating.

But it wasn't like I was calling myself a world first on my own.

The system was the one saying it would give them to me, so I'd take them.

After that, I picked up one more easy-looking Achievement.

【D: Stand on one leg for 5 minutes while in Battle Armor Form】

That one was just standing in place for five minutes, so it was no trouble at all.

If anything, it was boring.

【World-First Reward】

【Exclusive Passive Skill Acquired: Battle Armor Balance】

【Battle Armor Balance】

Makes it easier to maintain your stance during Battle Armor Form.

"Another posture one?"

I've already got Posture Control+, you know.

Well, if the effects stack, that's not bad.

Not breaking stance when punched had helped a lot in the fight with Sakagami too, and I already knew these unglamorous ones pulled their weight surprisingly well.

There were still a few more easy-looking conditions.

But if I cleared them all right here, the thousand-monster one wouldn't progress at all.

"I'll do the rest as I go."

Some looked doable during breaks, and some Achievements just needed time.

【B: Maintain Battle Armor Form for 6 or more hours inside a dungeon】

That one would progress on its own as long as I didn't cancel it now.

That kind I could handle while hunting for the thousand.

I opened my Personal Achievements again.

【Personal Achievements】

【Defeat 10 monsters using an Observer Skill】

【In progress: 1/10】

"This one I can probably clear first."

Nine more to go.

Compared to a thousand, that was a rounding error.

If a monster had a projectile like that armored Greyfish's slash, I could return it with Stagnation: Recoil.

The only question was whether they'd all conveniently attack from range.

As I was thinking that and pressing deeper, a small humanoid monster slipped out from behind a rock.

"Hm?"

Not a Greyfish.

Considerably shorter than me, with a small bow in its hands.

Going by looks alone, "goblin" would fit it better.

The moment it noticed me, it nocked an arrow.

"Oh, jackpot."

This would work.

I waited a moment, and an arrow flew straight at me.

I put my hand into its path.

"Stagnation."

The arrow stopped right in front of me.

Not just slashes.

I'd expected as much, since I'd stopped a spear too, but apparently ordinary arrows were no problem either.

Then I used Recoil.

The stopped arrow flew back the way it had come and skewered the little goblin with the bow.

Its body dissolved into motes of light.

【Personal Achievements】

【In progress: 2/10】

"Nice, nice."

At this rate it would go fast.

Continuing on, this time a four-legged beast-type monster came out from beyond the rocks.

A largish wolf.

Visually, that was about all it was.

This one, naturally, had no bow or sword.

The instant it saw me, it charged.

"Can't return this one."

I dodged its lunge and drove in a fist strengthened by battle armor.

In the old days, I think I would've been pretty wary of something this size.

Now it went down in one hit.

【S: Defeat 1000 monsters during a single dungeon clear without using a combat Skill even once】

【In progress: 3/1000】

"This one's going up too."

It didn't count toward the Personal Achievement, but it added to the thousand just fine.

In that case, there was no need to force myself to kill everything with Observer Skills.

Projectile users get Recoil.

Ones that just charge in, I kill normally.

That was faster.

A little farther on, I ran into another armored Greyfish too.

"Oh, there you are."

Sword in its right hand.

The moment it noticed me, it took that stance.

Nearly identical to the one I'd fought before.

Its sword swung, a slash came flying, and this time too I stopped it with Stagnation and returned it with Recoil.

【Personal Achievements】

【In progress: 3/10】

"Next."

From there, those same three types showed up several more times.

The bow-wielding goblin.

The wolf-like quadruped.

The armored Greyfish.

Around this area, those three seemed to be the common ones.

Last time I'd come to this dungeon, I'd seen almost nothing but Greyfish, so even that was a pretty big difference.

Go deeper, and maybe different monsters would start appearing too.

For the kill-every-type one, that would be welcome.

For now, though, it was what was in front of me.

Bow users get their arrows returned.

Armored Greyfish get their slashes returned.

Wolves get punched, plain and simple.

As I went on like that, my Personal Achievement climbed steadily too.

【In progress: 5/10】

I downed a few more.

【In progress: 7/10】

"Almost there."

The thousand was still nowhere close, but ten went fast, as you'd expect.

A little ahead I found an armored Greyfish and returned its slash.

【In progress: 8/10】

The next bow user's arrow went straight back with Recoil as well.

【In progress: 9/10】

"One more."

At this point I just wanted it over with.

Come on, when you can see "one left" or "one more go," it gets to you, doesn't it?

This was on a whole different order of magnitude from six thousand.

Back then, even a hundred remaining had felt plenty far.

This time it was one.

I moved down the passage hunting for the next monster.

Before long, an armored Greyfish emerged from behind the rocks.

"All right, number ten."

From its point of view, I doubt it appreciated being arbitrarily designated number ten.

For me, though, this one mattered quite a bit.

The armored Greyfish took up its sword.

I'd seen it so many times by now that I had a pretty good feel for the swing timing too.

The sword swept sideways, and the slash came flying at me.

I reached out a hand and used Stagnation.

The moment it stopped, straight into Recoil.

The slash retraced its path, struck the armored Greyfish dead-on, and blew its body backward.

A moment later, it turned to motes of light.

"Is it coming?"

I didn't even have to wait.

【Personal Achievement Unlocked】

【Defeat 10 monsters using an Observer Skill】

"Heck yes!"

That was one down.

Personal Achievements reveal the next condition every time you clear one.

I was curious about that too, but first, the reward.

【Personal Achievement Reward will be granted】

【Observer Skill Acquired: Stagnation: Deflection】

"Stagnation... Deflection?"

Not Recoil.

Another offshoot of Stagnation, apparently.

I opened the description right away.

【Stagnation: Deflection】

Holds an emission that can be interfered with at the user's hand, and re-releases it in a specified direction at any chosen moment.

"..."

I read it one more time.

Held at hand, then re-released in a direction I specify.

"So this means..."

With Recoil, a stopped attack simply went back the way it came.

But Deflection was different.

I could keep it with me first, and then fire it at whatever I chose — was that it?

"Seriously?"

If that worked, the way I used it would change considerably.

Like stopping an armored Greyfish's slash, holding on to it, and firing it at a different monster.

What about moving around while holding it without firing?

Two or more at once?

And how long could I keep one around in the first place?

"...I want to test this."

Just reading the description had piled up things I needed to know.

The next Personal Achievement condition could wait.

Right now, it was this.

An armored Greyfish showing up right about now would make testing easiest.

The moment I thought so and moved a little farther, a familiar gray body really did emerge from behind the rocks.

"Ohh."

And with a sword in its right hand, no less.

An armored Greyfish.

"...Sorry you always get this job, huh?"

I apologized, sort of, but a thought crossed my mind anyway.

This guy really was perfect for all kinds of testing.