Ch.260Side Story: Group Project – 2

“Phwahaa!”

After being hit with a Spartan kick by the giant skeleton and falling with a splash, Jeina returned to the entrance through a transfer spell just seconds later.

Her soaking wet hands pushed back her equally soaking wet hair as she rubbed her eyes. From beside her came a clapping sound.

“Congratulations, Professor. You’ve been eliminated in the first section. You didn’t even get close to the boss.”

“What was that just now… No! More importantly! If there was a transfer spell in place, you could have sent me back before I hit the water! Why make it activate only after I fell!”

Jeina spread her arms wide as if to show off. Water droplets sprayed from her drenched, drooping clothes. She seemed to have activated a spell, as her wet clothes and hair gradually began to dry, but there was no avoiding the lingering discomfort.

“That would defeat the purpose of elimination. If you’re going to return safely to the entrance after being eliminated, why bother creating a simulated gate for practical training?”

“……”

She instantly turned into a speechless mute. What I had just said was exactly what Jeina herself had always emphasized. That penalties for failure are what give dungeon training its meaning.

That’s why the fake monsters inflict real wounds even if they’re not fatal, and why traps ensure you get either your clothes or body soiled before being released.

Jeina, who seemed stunned at having her own words thrown back at her, grumbled as she straightened her clothes.

“You’ve left me speechless. Someone taught you well, haven’t they?”

But even as she grumbled, she smiled and ruffled my hair, as if she wasn’t actually displeased. It made sense, since her student had simply applied what she had taught and turned it back on her.

“You deliberately used your less-dried hand to pat me, didn’t you?”

“What? You noticed? You’re unnecessarily perceptive.”

The fact that she used her still damp hand rather than her properly dried one showed she wanted to get back at me somehow.

“It’s fine. I’m self-taught, not trained by anyone in particular.”

“You always have to have the last word. You little rascal.”

With a smile, Jeina pressed down harder on my head before removing her hand. Then she prepared to enter the gate again.

“Ah, wait a moment.”

“What now?”

“This gate was designed for three-person team assignments, wasn’t it? I designed it with the assumption that three people would be clearing it. Since you can use clone magic, why not experience it as intended?”

“Your words flow like a mountain stream. If I listen any longer, I’ll end up giving you my liver and gallbladder. Well, alright. If that’s what the creator wants, I should oblige.”

Jeina snapped her fingers. Her body split to the left and right, and the one holding the sword divided once more, producing another Jeina holding a staff.

“This time I’ll clear it right away, so wait here.”

“Yes, yes. I understand. If you really do, I’ll praise you. Should I pat your head too?”

“Cheeky brat.”

With a “look at this one” smile, the original and her clones each gave me a light tap before entering the gate.

Though she teased her students about not being fully dried, it seemed the effects of the school trip hadn’t completely worn off for her either. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be engaging in this back-and-forth banter.

I reactivated the camera drone I had sent in earlier. Despite the increased number of skeletons to match the increased number of people, the Jeinas were advancing forward with unstoppable momentum.

Their coordination was perfect. In “Dark Spirit,” the game I used as a model, when the number of players increases in co-op, the number and specs of enemies are strengthened accordingly. I had faithfully reflected this, but it seemed to make little difference.

The Jeinas quickly reached the spot where the original had been Spartan-kicked by the giant skeleton and fallen off the cliff. The giant skeleton standing in the same place fired arrows as if nothing had happened.

“I didn’t notice earlier when I just glanced around… but now I see there’s an invisibility spell at the corner. You’d definitely fall for it if you don’t look carefully.”

“Let’s deal with the archer first. I’ll handle the hidden one.”

The Jeina with the sword stepped forward. The Jeina with the staff chanted a spell, and the skeleton was battered by fireballs and ice spikes before shattering into pieces.

“Got it.”

“Good, I’ll handle the remaining one.”

However, perhaps because nothing had been detected earlier, all three were paying no attention to the differently colored floor. That’s not good.

“Waaaaaaagh?!”

No sooner had I thought “that’s not good” than the Jeinas fell off the cliff. The differently colored floor had collapsed as soon as they stepped on it.

With a splash, the three people fell into the water again and appeared next to the gate, completely soaked. The Jeinas looked at me simultaneously and shouted:

“That’s cheating!”

“It didn’t do that before!”

“You deliberately made it impossible to clear, didn’t you?!”

“Before, you were alone. This time, three people went up at once, so it collapsed.”

That was also one of Dark Spirit’s co-op control mechanics. Level designs that show no issues in solo play but transform into traps in co-op. Finding such things was part of the fun.

Though probably not fun for those experiencing it firsthand.

“If you had paid a little more attention to the floor, you could have noticed it.”

Just now too. If they had examined the floor instead of the Spartan-kicking skeleton, they would have seen the cracks beginning to form.

One of the characteristics of the Dark Spirit series is that there are almost no unfair patterns if the player is attentive enough. Hearing my explanation, Jeina calmed her excitement and shook her head.

“I understand. But I’m not sure if something like this would appear in a real gate. You know you shouldn’t focus too much on creating traps, right? Balance is important in everything.”

“There are gates that are monsters themselves, and gates where monsters shoot ballistas from inside, so I can’t guarantee this would never happen.”

“Hmm, certainly… I can’t guarantee it would never happen. Are all your other gates like this too?”

“Not exactly the same. They have distinct concepts.”

“…You made 12 of these in one day? Do you have a hobby in design or something?”

“I just happened to have some good ideas. I applied them.”

Because I borrowed from a game series considered a masterpiece among masterpieces, except for the second installment. Even that second one is like a 20th-ranked student compared to the 1st and 2nd ranked siblings.

But if you’re 20th while your siblings are 1st and 2nd, it makes sense to be teased. Jeina looked at me and smacked her lips.

“Hmm… you’d be perfect to take over my position someday, but your talent seems too valuable to be confined here, so I can’t easily recommend it. Let’s try once more. You don’t mind, right?”

“I don’t mind, but when are you planning to test the other 11?”

“I’ll check them one by one even if I have to stay up all night. I can’t just leave it like this.”

The eyes of the Jeinas blazed with enthusiasm.

“So what happened after that?”

“She did clear it. Though it took quite a while.”

In games, you can dodge all kinds of attacks with the designated roll mechanic, but this is reality, isn’t it? Rolling on the ground doesn’t give you invincibility frames, so it’s impossible to dodge by charging straight in.

That leaves only the straightforward approach of methodically working through it, and since I had set it slightly above the academy cadet level, it inevitably took a long time.

“The professor is amazing. I would have given up long ago and just gotten a taste of it.”

“That’s the key element. Making people feel like they can clear it if they just try a little more.”

The hallmark of the Dark Spirit series is its difficulty that walks the fine line between challenging and impossible. Instead of feeling that death is unfair, it makes you think, “I could do it if I just tried a bit more.”

That’s what keeps you holding onto the controller instead of throwing it away and deleting the game. It’s a level design that would be impossible for average developers, but the Dark Spirit series’ developers pulled it off.

“Both of them are going to have a hard time. They have to go in and clear it themselves. Their test scores depend on it too.”

“Ah.”

“……”

My dying gasp drew everyone’s attention. Rosaria who had been chatting with me, Priscilla who was purring in my arms, and Laura and Latina who were sipping tea beside me—all were looking at me.

Though those two weren’t actually here, busy solving the assignment with their other team members.

“Don’t tell me you forgot?”

“…They should be able to clear it just fine. Probably.”

“Regardless of whether they can clear it or not, they’re going to struggle quite a bit. Those two don’t know much about the Dark Spirit series. And Leona will have to enter with restricted powers, making it even harder.”

Laura, who was deeply versed in male-oriented content, added a comment.

“You did the same thing when you created the Tyrannosaurus. You pretend not to be, but you have a tendency to be rather inconsiderate. Though I like that aspect of you as well.”

“Ah, is that why you went into science for university?”

“Rosaria, you don’t get it. Not everyone in STEM just makes things.”

“Huh?”

As Rosaria froze after being scolded by Priscilla, Laura calmly sipped her coffee.

“I don’t think there’s much need to worry. If they have basic skills, the game is designed so that even first-time players can observe and respond to everything. Those two shouldn’t have major problems.”

“You just said they would struggle quite a bit. Your words are contradicting each other.”

“Having no problems doesn’t mean they won’t struggle.”

“That’s wordplay, which is underhanded and ugly.”

Latina glared. Laura, as always, deflected it calmly.

“……”

After pondering something briefly, I stood up.

“Are you going to help them?”

“No. I won’t. The difficulty is the same for everyone else too.”

I gave Priscilla a final tickle under her chin before setting her down beside me. A dimensional door appeared in the middle of the club room.

“I have something else to do.”