Free Life Fantasy Online-Chapter 85: October Update

"Any problems?"

"There are none."

"Okay, then I will go raise my level."

"Have a good day."

From the palace in the Nether, I head over to Fort Dinselve , the eighth area in the east.

There is…a quest happening! Does it still have some life left? I hurry out of the fort and head to the battlefield.

The enemy is…. a Brutal Tiger. It looks like it has only just begun. Good, good.

I join the magic division in the rear and summon #1 as a spirit.

"I'll help you."

"Oh, thank you!"

We leave the vanguard to the knights, and poke them from behind with magic and tentacles. #1 is also firing away from the sky. It's really delicious.

<«Rope» reached level 30. “2” Skill Points acquired.>

<«Rope»'s art [Bind Cyclone] was acquired>

<«Rope» reached the maximum level, «Whip» was unlocked.>

<You have fulfilled specific conditions, «Serpentine Sword» was unlocked.>

"Thank you for your cooperation."

After hearing the captain's usual words, the quest is complete.

[Bind Cyclone]

Can be used after binding the target. Spins the bound target around.

There was a person using this during frifo. It takes a lot of space, but the power is high.

As for «Serpentine Sword», it seems to be unlocked with «Sword», «Whip» and «High-Class Magic Ability». Basically, no one takes both «Sword» and «Rope» at the same time, so it seems that it has not been found. Is it something of a hobbyist skill? In the first place, «Rope» is….

Let's post this on the BBS. To be honest, I'm wondering if it's even possible to get this type of weapon yet…. Well, it'll work out somehow.

If I take «Serpentine Sword», Athame might be able to deal with it….. but in my case, tentacles are enough, right? What I'm wondering is if the tentacles can use the «Serpentine Sword» arts. If so, I should take it. It's more aggressive for sure.

SP cost is 6, so it's a normal secondary weapon skill. Hmm….Since it requires «High-Class Magic Ability», it should be in the magic family…. Is it suited to Athame? If so, it's not useless even if the tentacles don't support it.

The description of «Sphere of Shaking Flesh» says that "The tentacles of this skill are affected by the «Rope» skill"… But it does not mean that the arts can be used. Very annoying….

My current SP is 117, but there are a few skills at level 50. If it's the same as «Linguistics», the SP requirement for the tertiary skill is 10.

Except for the special ones, I have more than 30 skills that are likely to reach the third tier… That means I need more than 300 SP. Even if it's only 6, I can't afford to waste it…

Should I ask for gods help? No, I think it's a problem to ask about something that's already been programmed….. But, people can't help but pray.

<«Serpentine Sword» has been learned.>

<『Athame of Grace』 has adapted to the owner.>

All right….! Let's check it out.

«High-Class Magic Ability»

Freely extensible from dagger to greatsword size.

«Serpentine Sword» «High-Class Magic Ability»

Can be expanded and contracted like a whip and it is possible to use «Rope» arts.

It seems that the «High-Class Magic Ability» above has changed to the «Serpentine Sword» and «High-Class Magic Ability» below.

I can no longer change the size, but….I never used that anyway, so it's okay.

[Quick Return]

The stretched object can be returned immediately.

This…is the same as with «Whip». Very useful. It's rather hard without it.

Now, I have to check the important tentacles. Athame has adapted to it, so it's not useless, but the main use of the «Rope» skill is for the tentacles.

If you use [Quick Return], it will retract and disappear immediately, so I'm sure they could make use of it…..but it is the same as a «Whip» art, so it's hard to say if it's allowed.

At any rate, it seems to be useable……which is a relief. If I can raise «Serpentine Sword» while using my tentacles, it should be quite useful.

Next then. I ask a knight to lend me a target, and record several of Athame's whip-shaped attacks. I will post this video and the SS of the skill on the BBS.

This should be enough information. Oh, I should also post the magic that I learned at level 50 in «Spatial Magic»

[Create Raum Safety]

Creates an instanced safety area. Cannot be used in combat. Disappears when you leave.

Useful for recovery…. is what I'd like to say, but the cooldown is 30 minutes in real time. Can only be used by the casters party. It's mostly for leaving for emergencies or bathroom breaks.

Now, since I'm here, I'll go into the forest a little.

Like this, sometimes I want to use all my abilities to fight against a superior opponent. A level up is a level up, but when you get higher…The experience gain becomes slower. The aim is not that, but to level the person inside….to level up my player skill, or PS.

Well, most of my thoughts on the matter are just wanting to fight with all my might. It's an action game after all. It's like trying to solo a boss that should be fought by a party. There are currently no bosses in this game you can have a rematch with, so I usually go for the higher levelled enemies.

After informing the knight, I move to the south, a little way from the fort…. and come down in front of a High Ogre Guard. There's no point in attacking from the sky.

The High Ogre Guard is a 50s version of an Ogre with a one-handed sword and shield. There seems to be a rule for naming these things based on equipment and level range. In the beginning, the sword wielder was a soldier, the spear user was a lancer and the one with a shield was a defender.

Athame will be used with the space attribute as usual. It provides a boost to weapon defence. I can't afford not to use that against superior opponents.

Even so, by the level 50's, the AI is suitably smart….or rather, the enemy is equipped with that kind of AI.

This High Ogre Guard, a knight type? It looks at me when I stand in front of it, but that's all. When I take a stance with Athame, it takes a stance too.

The High Ogre Guard is an orthodox one-handed sword and shield. It is a standard muscular monster, about 2 metres tall, with a one-handed straight sword and a kite shield.

Now, like normal!

Tentacle time.

No, um…sorry. I'm not a swordsman. It's a superior enemy, so I'm not going to hold anything back.

I'm going to fight with the [Water Mirror Form] that Lana taught me. I'll attack mainly with shots. In the meantime, add in as many tentacle attacks as possible. After that, pray that counterattack triggers when parrying.

Parry the High Ogre Guard's sword with Athame. If there is a gap, deflect it up, putting it into an unbalanced state for the increased damage.

If there's a problem, it's that the HP gauge doesn't decrease at all. Another problem is that I'm taking a little bit of damage even while parrying.

Since the opponent is a power fighter, it is continuing to attack, regardless of if it takes hits or not. In return, the motions are easy to understand, which helps… but to be honest, I'm getting pushed around. It's not surprising, though, since he's the higher level.

Mm….? Mm!?

"Guh….!"

It also has a shield bash! I was able to guard it in time, but it knocked me back! What a monster. That's some stupid power!

I was blown diagonally upward, as if to scoop me up, so instead of going against the flow I use «Coordinate Levitation» to turn and land on a tree. If I had hit against it with my back, I would have taken a lot of damage.

However, even though I guarded against it, I still took a lot of damage from the shield bash itself, so I'll heal it with «Holy Magic». I'll bind it with the biting tentacles to prevent pursuit. The damage is healed while descending to the ground.

Now, let's get back to it. The opponent is at 60%. My MP is down to 70%. It is going to be close. Depending on the number of shots I cast, I may run out of MP.

I need to be careful of the motion of it dropping its posture and stepping in.

Besides, the duration of the tentacle bind is too short. It's a foolish idea to fight against the strength resistance of such a monster. [Shadow Bind] might be a better option.

«Clad in Madness» is not effective at all. To be honest, I think the pre-evolution poison or deadly poison would have been more useful. Should I get a different condition skill? I've taken «Magical Erosion», so it could be good.

While being cautious of the shield bash, deflect the sword away from me, and just keep grinding away with magic.

…..Is it my imagination? Something….something… hmm? Isn't it getting stronger somehow? I've been able to increase in strength as the fight goes on….but you too?

It's not the same as berserk….. I don't feel that its defence is decreasing. It's definitely not the same type as the eastern boss bear. So…is it a slow starter? The ‘combat time' part of «Active Cells» would be included in this.

Well, I don't know the name of the skill, because there are many skills I don't know yet.

No…..is that what it feels like? Isn't this…relative to its remaining HP? Is it the type that gets stronger the more you cut it? It's obviously getting stronger. I should have asked the knights for more information.

The High Ogre's sword has turned red….. an attack art! The blade is shaking. Very bad. It is [Oborozuki] of all things!

After parrying the slash like usual, «Sensing Danger» is displaying 6 lines. Parrying the six follow up attacks in order….is not something I can do. Unlike with [Delayed Slash], the follow-ups of [Oborozuki] are fast and random.

And my right arm was cut off. Very bad. I'm really weak against slashes! It saves me that the Book of Eibon was floating from the start.

"[Mexa Persepho Pogn]"

The High Ogre is stopped by [Shadowbind]. When a tentacle grows out and mimics my arm, I recall Athame, which was sent flying away, with telekinesis.

And I'll heal, too.

Now, let's go again….Hmm? Hmm!?

When I thought I saw the blade of the High Ogre glowing red again, it was already right in front of me. This time it's an [Assault Blade]! It's an art that closes the distance in an instant and slashes. It's an art that is often combined with shukuchi, or flash step.

I received it….I was able to do it! And it flows into a shield bash!? Guard while jumping.

I am blown back, as if riding the shield, but the damage is considerably lower than the first time. If I had more tentacles, I could use them as a safety net. If I catch myself, I can also use it as a brake…..but I'd still like a macro for the spur-of-the-moment situations.

But still, it's fun. It's really fun. Wiping out small fry is refreshing, but giant killing is also good. It's a lot of fun to play a gutsy reaction game against a superior opponent!

<«Book» reached level 30. “2” Skill Points acquired.>

<«Book»'s art [Mirror Cast] was acquired>

<«Serpentine Sword» reached level 5>

<«Serpentine Sword»'s art [Grand Thrust] was acquired>

<«High-Class Magic Ability» reached level 55.>

<The skills [Telekinesis] and [Delayed Activation] of «High-Class Magic Ability» have been enhanced.>

<«Holy Magic» reached level 15.>

<«Holy Magic»'s art [Area Heal] was acquired>

The High Ogre Guard who sliced off my right arm has fallen to the ground.

Hmmm….. HP aside, my MP is empty. There's only 10% left. It's still possible to kill a higher level enemy, but it's not really hunting. The efficiency is terrible.

Well, I didn't want to earn experience from the beginning, I just wanted to enjoy the action, so it's okay.

Hm, there's one nearby. I'd die for sure with my current MP, so [Return]!

"Oh, Your Majesty. You're back."

"I'm back. I was able to defeat a High Ogre Guard, but I'm running out of MP, so I used [Return] before I was found by any others."

"You defeated it successfully? That's great. It seems that Outsiders grow fast, so I'm looking forward to it."

"That's all for now. I will come again."

"Yes. We can't provide much hospitality, but you are always welcome."

After saying goodbye to the knights of the fort, I return to the palace.

Before I knew it, it seems they had been informed about me. It's not dramatic, but the attitude has….subtly changed. The light atmosphere, probably intended to not intimidate the public, has been tightened.

Well, leaving aside the subtle changes to the knights of the fort, let's look at the skills.

Setting aside the base experience, the skill experience is good enough….. The higher the level, the longer the battle, so in a sense it's not so bad. The problem is in maintaining your concentration…. and you'll be stuck the moment reinforcements arrive.

[Mirror Cast]

Duplicate a spell you have cast.

[Grand Thrust]

Swings parallel to the ground in a cleave.

Bonus against enemies on the ground.

[Area Heal]

Creates a circle of light around the caster to heal those inside.

There is nothing special about the bonus against ground enemies or the area heal.

The book art is less clear. I'm not sure from this alone. I'll check the BBS.

Let's see…. No, this is the one I learned at 25, so it's not the same.

[Mirage Cast]

Imitates only the appearance of a spell you have learned. Has no attack power.

It uses a small amount of MP, but it allows you to feint with magic. It is for PvP at the moment.

The name is similar, but it's not the one I want to see now….. Hmm?

A spell you have just cast can be duplicated and cast again. It is very useful, because it costs less MP than using the same spell normally. However, it has a long cooldown of 180 seconds….3 minutes.

It seems good to use it whenever it is ready.

It looks like the level of «Serpentine Sword» was rising from using tentacles. Well, I'll go out and check the actual arts. ….Since it activated, there should be no problem. It's just a horizontal tentacle attack, but the range is quite large. The height of the attack can be changed to some extent, so it doesn't seem to be affected by the size of the enemy.

Incidentally, when I try it with Athame, it simply extends and cleaves like a whip.

Now, what should I do next? I'd like to do something different from time to time. I can ask to learn more forms from Lana…..or I could ask the Chancellor or Lana to teach me the manners of royalty and nobility for RP. I feel like this AI would be able to.

I also want to advance the «Kokon Musou» quest, and considering that she was a duchess before her death…..I think I'll go visit Lana. Let's practice with Lana, then go sleep. Oh, it's also good to play around with alchemy. Well, I can do that on another day.

The update is coming soon, and I'm curious about the event in October.

Class is over, and it's time to go home. Tomohiro and Suguru are coming over. Ellie and Abbie are beside me from the beginning.

"The patch notes have been updated."

"Let's give them a look after returning home."

"Yeah."

So, I get a lift in the car, which came to pick up Ellie and Abbie. It's nice when things are easy.

There's still a bit of time before the maintenance ends, so we gather in our living room and relax. Drinks in hand, we look over the patch notes on the TV. Everyone can see it this way.

"Hmm…..I'm interested in ‘macros' and ‘original equipment enhancements'."

"The highlights are those two, plus… ‘movement replay', ‘personal diary page' and ‘production request system'."

As for Rina, she will benefit most from the macro and original equipment enhancements. As a whole, including the three that Tomohiro mentioned, those five features are the highlights of this update.

"Macros can be combined freely, and arts combos are possible, but each art has its own cooldown, so be careful with that…. Well, that's natural, so it looks to be quite customisable…."

"No choice but to play around with this in person."

"Right….".

As Tomohiro and Suguru say, there is no choice but to play while checking how it behaves. I'll give it a try when I log in. If it seems useable, I would like to build around it in earnest. Mainly tentacle related.

"Movement replay function. It's possible to replay the so-called transformation scene…but of course there's no invincibility time…."

"Well, that's obvious"

"You can use it to avoid an enemy's big moves….."

"I'll definitely use that."

""Knew it.""

Yanase-san read aloud and Matsutake-san responded. Both react to my sister's assertion…

I basically play the game in my free time, so I will probably use it.

"Wouldn't it be perfect to set the motion in time with a dragon's breath?"

"If you could come out of the breath unscathed….."

"If it's a dragon, it's probably a raid fight, and it's a posing group."

"I'd laugh if they did that."

"It would rile up the dragon, making its stats go up."

That's a very surreal battlefield. Can the abdominal muscles hold out…..

"As for the diary page, well, the verification team said they were going to make an in-game wiki, but….I'm not going to use it myself."

"Oh, really?"

"That's what Shirabesuki-san said. I gave him some information about the church the other day."

"By the way, Magillas said you came to the store."

"Shirabesuki-san treated me, while I was offering the info."

Probably, this will be the place where most of the players are taken care of. You don't have to trawl the BBS to find information. Well, you'll have to search for a while until they finish putting it together.

"The biggest feature, the original equipment."

"Even bones! Awesome!"

This is…like a western game……equipment mods…..my head…..

The things they're doing are the same, so it's only natural to be reminded of it.

"Bones can be bought or looted."

"It's great that there are drops. No probability though."

The drop rate depends on the level range of the enemy. It doesn't go into the drop pool, but straight to the player's inventory. It's determined the moment you kill the enemy, so certain people don't need to worry…. It's pointing to people like me and Ske-san. We take in the corpse.

There are several types, but the top ones are only available for a fee or in very difficult events or raids.

"By the way, what are bones?"

"I don't know!"

Well, unless you're a developer, it's not something most people would care about. I will explain to Ellie and Abbie with my sister.

"You can think of it as bones, as the word says. In games, it's the skeleton that controls motion and other moving parts."

"Moving muscles one by one….is not practical. If you move the bones, the body moves, and that's all that matters."

"Oh, I see."

If you want to raise the leg of a certain character, you should lift the thigh bone.

Depending on the setting, if the toes are still attached to the ground and the thigh is raised, the shins will stretch.

"What happens if it's equipment?"

"Is a cloak the easiest to understand?"

"Maybe? It moves the most."

"When the cloak moves in the wind…..the flapping becomes more realistic and smooth."

"The more bones you have to work with….the more parts you can control."

"Oh….I see!"

Thinking along those lines, my cloak has a considerable number of bones. In fact, now that I think about it, the Resident adventurers, their cloaks and robes…..don't feel out of place at all.

I wonder if there is not already a good number of bones in the originally prepared equipment. In that case, is it actually unnecessary unless you care about it a lot? Well, there are players who will be very particular about such things.

"If the number of bones increases, so will the load. They're asking money for it straight off."

"It hurts, but it's a nasty price that I can't afford to pay…"

"Well, we're just playing, but the other side is a business…"

These are consumables used when crafting items.

You choose the number of bones you want when you make the equipment. Once the bones are placed, production continues as before. At the end of the process, the item remains unfinished and you will be asked for the bone item. You have to pay for or loot the number of bones you chose at the beginning of the process.

In other words, if you don't like the performance of the item, you can discard it without using up a bone item. You will lose the the materials used in crafting, but you won't have to spend any bones.

"Yeah, that's very kind. It's warm."

"So, what's the production request system like?"

Hmm….. Simply put, it seems that the finished product will go directly into the inventory, without having to hand over the materials. You can also set a crafting fee for each item.

In that case, if you set your own bones and textures, you'll get back the crafted item in a state just before completion, where it just requires bones…

"Requests and blueprints?"

"Hmm. Sounds like a system where you can design your own items and have them made by the crafter."

"I wonder if Dad will design me a military uniform…."

"Isn't that….going too far?"

The strongest method of being a daughter who can move a professional for free…. Our dad will definitely do it.

"Hey, have you seen the screenshots of the southern continent?"

"I saw! I'm thinking of going!"

Mmm? I haven't seen it. I'm curious. If Suguru and my sister have seen them, then both parties likely have. Me, Ellie and Abbie are going to take a look. Let's see.

"Well, this is the Dinite Empire."

"Is that…the coliseum?"

"That's the one we used in the beta fighting tournament!"

"It was in the empire after all."

"So, leaving aside the imperial cityscape, here's the SS in question!"

The image that appeared is really fantasy.

"A floating continent!?"

"Something's floating, for sure."

"Is the ground also a crystal forest? And those are….ruins."

"It looks a bit cyberpunk…..is it sci-fi?"

"It's very fantasy!"

The northern continent, where the Starting Town is located, is probably based on medieval Europe. In other words, it doesn't feel like a fantasy adventure. The Dinite Empire is similar. Well, it's that way because it's a residential area.

However, the outside part, shown in the screenshot, is very fantastical.

"The enemies in the southern continent are apparently strong."

"Is that so?"

"They seem to have high stats, they'll coordinate with each other, and they throw around abnormal conditions."

"Ohh……I should go somewhere other than the east soon…."

"Rather, you're still just in the east…."

"I'm not having any problems at the moment….Oh, but now that I can use potions, I feel like opening up the northwest."

"Northwest is the elves. I think it was Tialen Magicountry. They live with nature, focus on magic and potions, and have good water."

Apparently. Therefore, it's the production centre for magic herbs used in potions.

To be honest, it's better to bring the materials to Salute-san than to make them myself, but if I don't make them myself, my skills won't improve….

"Oh, that reminds me of alchemy. Abbie, I've got a recipe for a doll core."

"A doll core? I'm interested!"

"The description says it's the core of an automatic doll, but it needs tertiary skills to make."

"Automatic dolls! But it's hard to raise alchemy now…."

"For the time being, it will be a joint effort. Just let me know and I'll help you with the alchemy side."

"Yes!

It's hard to have two production skills. It'll be a bit later before I can get them myself. Because of that, I'm not as advanced as Ske-san and co.

Alchemy is quite compatible with other crafting skills, but I have cooking… Chemical cooking….? Sounds bad.

"Mu, is the maintenance done soon?"

"Yes. It might be about time to go home and download the patch."

After seeing everyone off, I download the update too.

Then, after the maintenance, I log in.

Let's go to the training area and check the macros.

This is to check the UI, the customisability and the behaviour with the target. There is no need for close proximity combos, so I will mainly check how it behaves with the tentacles.

Number of tentacles used….location of tentacles…attack method. Hmm. It will be much easier with macros.

What I need is….a macro for a single attack, two types for the bindings, and a mesh macro as a safety.

There are other people testing it on the BBS, so I'll perform some trial and error while communicating with them.

"Oh, Sire. Repetitive practice."

"Lana, is it. I'm in the process of trying to make it more efficient to use my tentacles."

"That's good. Power is to be used. There is no meaning in power that cannot be mastered."

You are absolutely right.

It's better than manual, but even with semi-auto, each one is still a pain. On the other hand, full-auto is annoying because everything is random. There are a few things the game will decide, such as where they appear, how they attack, and the angle at which they attack. Tentacles may suddenly come out in front of me and hit the target. Or appear to the side of the enemy and swing sideways towards me….

So, unfortunately, there is no way to use auto. On the other hand, manual is too complicated and almost impossible. The most practical way to use it is semi-automatic.

"Sire has learned both the second stage [Ex2 White Army] and [Ex2 Water Mirror Form]. Therefore, I can teach you [Ex3 Shura Form] and [Ex3 Water Surface Form]. Come whenever you have free time."

"I would like to learn the [Water Surface Form] as soon as possible. But first, the tentacles. If this succeeds, I won't have to think about the tentacles in battle."

"As you wish. I'll be waiting for you."

Good subordinate… subordinate? Well, I suppose they are subordinates. It's good to have excellent subordinates. I'll have to work hard not to get dumped by the AI. If I get thrown away, I'll be down in the dumps for a few days.

As a result of testing with Lana's cooperation, I have learned a little more about two skills. It's a bit like the forms, or something.

The two skills, «Sphere of Shaking Flesh» and «Mad and Merciless», require the use of tentacles to gain experience. However, the ‘number of tentacles' is not shared, but independent.

The probability of a counterattack increases with the skill level of «Sphere of Shaking Flesh». To be more specific, as the skill level increases, the number of spheres increases. It's that thing that swoops out of my body. When the spheres increase, the chance to counterattack increases. I think it increases every 10 levels. I don't think it's 5 levels.

«Mad and Merciless» increases the number of tentacles that can come out of the space rifts. This also increases every 10 levels. It didn't increase at 15, so it should increase at 20. …If it obediently increases the number of tentacles every 10 levels, it will be 11 in the end. Without macros, it would be impossible to master them. Even using macros, they will probably be in the way, with all 11.

The ‘number of tentacles' is not shared, but independent, so even if I'm attacked while binding with the current upper limit of two tentacles, the counterattack can still activate. This is probably because the counterattack is part of the incarnation…. while the tentacles are from the main body.

Well, I don't care about the reason. All that matters is that it's not shared. This means that even if a counterattack is triggered during a macro tentacle attack, my DPS will not decrease. Furthermore, I don't need to think about the priority of skills. I don't have to consider "I'm attacking with 2 tentacles, so my counterattack won't work…". It's really easy.

Assuming that they hit from behind at an angle that does not get in the way… from the start of the fight until they die or stop fighting. Rear 180…. no, set up the appearance position at about 120 degrees….

I think it's better to divide the bindings between four legs and two legs. A total of four types, with the wrapping and biting.

For safety, I only need to have them form a mesh structure.

Yeah…this is about right. The rest is manual, as it will be according to the hunting ground.

Now, let's learn about the [Water Surface Form].

"[Water Surface Form] is a synthesis of the defences I've taught you so far. Like the surface of water, everything returns to its original state. It dispels impacts and reflects at a distance. This is also a type that is more difficult to use in practice than the form itself, but I have high hopes for you. Let's get started."

I'll do my best to learn it.

I'll go hunting if I manage to learn this new form..