Evil Avalon
The memo Kano showed us contained the following:
<Name> Narumi Kano
<Level> Lv 27
<Job & Job Level> [Machinist] Job Level 10
<Adventurer Rank> — Unregistered —
<Status> (*1)
Max HP: 121
Max MP: 98
STR: 102
INT: 74
VIT: 67
AGI: 133
MND: 68
<Skills 10/10>
• Dual Wielding
• Simple Appraisal
• Shadow Step
• Back Step
• Samidare Slash (*2)
• Stealth (*3)
• Handmade Golem
• Rocket Punch
• Golem Castle
• Full Drive (*4)
• HP Barrier (*5)
"Parameters over 100, this many!? Just having one of them reach 100 is enough to get VIP recruitment offers from top clans… Kano-chan, you’re a bundle of talent!"
"Eh? R-Really…? You think so!?"
My little sister stuck out her tongue shyly and squirmed in delight as Satsuki praised her. Watching that, I couldn’t help being exasperated—but honestly, these stats are way too high.
In DunEx, having even one parameter reach 100 around level 30 was considered excellent. Over 120 meant “innate genius.” But since DunEx assumes constant character remakes, in reality even 60 was already “good.”
Yet Kano, at just level 27, already has 102 STR. Her HP and AGI are above 120—absurd talent for a front-line fighter. Even her MP and INT, suited for rear-line jobs, aren’t bad. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she could become anything.
Even among DunEx heroines, I don’t recall anyone with such high stats. She might rival Akagi-kun or Pink-chan, the main characters. Perhaps hidden geniuses like Kano are more common in this world than we thought…
Shifting my eyes to the Skills section—Shadow Step for speed, Back Step for emergency evasion, other mobility-focused skills. And five skills learned from the Machinist job. With this skillset, instead of using her golem purely as a tank, the optimal strategy is to move herself and the golem simultaneously to gain numerical advantage.
But Kano seems dissatisfied with this setup.
"If the enemy is around my level, the golem is strong. But against strong people like the White Robe, it gets destroyed instantly. It’s useless."
"If you’re fighting someone far above you, self-buffing skills are the most important… but upper-tier jobs don’t have powerful buffs. That’s the issue."
She puffed her cheeks, irritated that her carefully summoned golem—using lots of MP and rare materials—was useless against the White Robe. Well, of course. Summons are roughly your strength or lower. They beat weaker foes easily but get instantly crushed by overwhelming opponents.
Against higher-level enemies, the problem isn’t skills—it’s the stat difference. That gap affects not only power and magic but also reaction speed and movement. That’s why skills like my Overdrive or Lisa’s Darkness—which drastically boost your own stats—are the best way to compensate when facing someone stronger.
But upper-tier jobs don’t have anything that extreme. At least, I’ve never heard of such a thing. So even if Kano changes jobs now, she can’t fight evenly against someone far stronger like Lisa or me. Realistically, it’s impossible.
"Then what should I do if we meet someone like that White Robe again?"
"What matters when facing a stronger opponent isn't winning—it’s surviving."
She pouted, wanting some convenient solution. But fighting a stronger foe is always a last resort. The priority is running away. And with her current skills, she can use “golem as decoy + speed specialization” to escape. That’s a perfectly valid tactic.
If she adds another skill, it should improve escaping—even better if it can also be used offensively and defensively. But is there such a perfect skill…?
(—Actually, there is.)
While fighting Mikhail, I noticed something: "Not being able to fly is a far bigger disadvantage than expected." Even powerful fighters like Mamiya Subaru or Rorokigi Shigure couldn’t fly; depending on the situation, they could’ve been attacked from above and killed without recourse. Conversely, if the opponent can’t fly and you can, you can control the entire battlefield.
In DunEx everyone had flight skills, so flying gave no real advantage. But in this world, only a fraction—even among the Holy Empire—can fly. That means a flight skill is an extremely powerful weapon.
After explaining this briefly, Satsuki nodded strongly and moved her chair closer to join in.
"But flying comes in many forms, right? Like Arthur-kun’s floating type, or Lisa’s teleporting type… and Souta’s bouncing type. Which kind would Kano-chan—"
"I want to try onii’s Aerial!"
There are many flight skills. The standard is Fly, used by Arthur and Mikhail—gentle floating, easy acceleration/deceleration, smooth control but predictable movements.
Lisa’s teleport-hopping midair style is powerful, but has lag and constant risk of falling. Only a few DunEx players could use such high-level techniques—and it requires the Dark Knight job, available only after level 50. Kano is only 27, so out of the question.
Then there’s my technique, Aerial—creating footholds in midair. When Satsuki mentioned it, Kano leaned forward excitedly saying she wanted to try it.
Heh. My time to shine.
"In terms of instantaneous midair mobility, Aerial is the best. Simple skill design, barely any drawbacks—"
"—It does have drawbacks."
Just as I was about to sing its praises, someone chopped the back of my head. Turning around, I saw Lisa in her loose robe.
She smiled faintly and thanked me for carrying and healing her. Kano immediately leapt into her arms, Satsuki’s eyes also welled with tears. Until Obaba treated her, Lisa’s face was pale and pained, but she now looked much healthier.
A major worry relieved—we could finally relax a bit.
I set up a new outdoor chair for her from my magic bag. She plopped down cross-legged and sighed dramatically.
"Haaah… I’m sick of all this. Why did things get so messy…"
"No kidding. We need to discuss the cause, and what it means for the future."
It truly was a close battle. Many moments we should’ve died. Lisa, Satsuki, and I all sighed again. But one person remained full of energy.
"Lisa-nee! About earlier—what did you mean? Tell me!"
"Mmm, okay~. But all I can say is—"
At Kano’s urging, Lisa began her explanation of the Aerial technique.
She first explained the basics: using countless midair footholds to constantly slip into the opponent’s blind spots and overwhelm them.
Its strengths included overwhelming mages who use Fly, effective monster combat, viable even in tight spaces—truly a versatile and powerful style.
Thinking back, I couldn’t recall anyone ever shutting down Aerial cleanly. But Lisa said it had a fatal flaw I’d never noticed.
Waiting anxiously, I finally heard it:
"Souta’s technique… many people tried to master it in the past. But not a single one ever elevated it to the level of a true tactic."
She then began telling a story…
Hopefully next chapter is worth the cliffhanger.
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