:)Ch47
If my DEX of 190 is sufficient enough for an amateur use of [Geppo], then I can think of no logical reason why Soru and Rankyaku shouldn't be feasible as well. Soru especially. Considering the amount of side characters who've been witnessed utilizing the ability, it definitely comes off as the most fundamental of the rokushiki. With that fact it mind, it seems almost a trifle odd that it will be the third of the 'six powers' to get under my belt.
I can recall from the manga that Blueno...wait was it Luffy.?.. well point is someone described Soru as 'kicking the ground at least 10 times in an instant' making it the only one of the rokushiki to come with a tutorial. 'Or at least some form of instruction. I doubt I'd have ever figured out [Kami-e] if it hadn't come in the shape of a [Skillbook].'
The problem is, despite the unambiguity of directions as clear as 'hit the ground 10 times really fast', I just can't get the damn thing to work.
How long is an 'instant' supposed to be anyway? My initial guess was 'one second' and let me tell ya, that shit's not good enough. Tapping the ground nearly a dozen times in under a second sounds difficult, but once you break out the stopwatch and time yourself you realize just how long a second truly is.
So I moved it up to 10 times in a half-second. A little more challenging, but nothing my DEX had trouble handling. Unfortunately the results still amounted to kaput. Next came a quarter-second. At this point my leg was starting to protest against the effort. I could feel the familiar dull burn of muscles being pushed harder than they're used to. I've been at this for the better part of the afternoon and still haven't got jack to show for it. Pun slightly intended.
So now we're trying just a smidgen faster. Two-tenths of a single second. If this one doesn't pan out then I'm about to have a fit.
'Okay..focus Jack...focus...aaaaand…Go!123456789 Shit! Only nine times... You're almost there. Just push harder! Kick a little faster! 123456789 Son of a- Gah! This would be so much simpler if I knew how much force I had to put in each of the taps!
I breathed deep and ran my hands over my face. "No worries. No worries. Hakuna matata Jack, you got this. You have the DEX. Just push it out." I leaned forward and shook my head clear. "Ready...123456789 SON OF A BITCH!"
I kicked angrily at the sand. 'Grrr this should not be this hard!
'123456789!'
'123456789!'
'123456789!'
'12345678910!'
An impetus of great similarity to a horizontal [Geppo] manifests under my right foot sending my body stumbling forward in an odd combination of a swift run and sliding down a hill that isn't there. My arms flail about as I struggle to keep my balance but it's all for naught as I end up tripping over my own feet and face-planting into the sand.
Ding!
New Skill Acquired! Rokushiki Technique # 1 of 6. (Soru). Lv. (1/50)
-One of the vaunted 'Six Powers'. By kicking the ground at least 10 times in an instant, users of this technique generate a force beneath their feet that sends them dashing forward at incredible speed. Masters of this [Skill] are able to move in any direction, combine it with other techniques, and can even briefly disappear from sight entirely.
Note: Due to your low level with this [Skill] there is an 80% chance the [Skill] will fail on use.
I turn my head up to read the notification and feel a wide smile spread from cheek to cheek.
I don't care that this means it's all the more likely I'll get put on someones radar.
I don't care that my technique is currently worse than Nero's, the CP9 reject who's Soru was so poor he didn't even blur from view when using it.
Nor do I care that I just measured progress by comparing myself to a complete jobber and throwaway joke of a character.
I only care that it is now once more time to follow that oldest and noblest of gaming traditions.
Grinding.
Four Days Later, The Marjhan
It's important in life for one to have goals. Not necessarily huge ones that can span the length of decades, though if you're someone with the patience and willpower for that sort of thing then more power to you.
What I am referring to is the short-term achievements. The 'By this time next week I want to have completed this' or the 'I want to get three of these things done today' type goals.
I'm tired of having these cool rokushiki powers that only 'sometimes maybe' decide to work. This percentage fail schtick the [Game] has saddled me with is a glaring weakness that I am sick of looking at every time I glance over my [Skills] page.
So for this trip, I'm making it my sole mission in life to bring it down to a 0% fail rate for two of them. At the least.
But which two to aim for?
[Geppo] first for sure. It's by far the most versatile of the 'Six Powers'. I don't care how many hours I have to hop in place to get there, this [Skill] will get to Lv. 17 -and hence 0% failure- before we see land again.
Hopefully at that point my actual mastery of the technique will start to increase. As it currently stands, all I can do is the same constant burst. There's no control. No small jumps, big jumps, no regulating the power output of any kind. And while that may be adequate for most applications of [Geppo], If I'm going to be utilizing this mid-combat, then fine tuning of the ability is an absolute must.
Going down to one leg would definitely be a large milestone as well. Once that's done I can really start working on omnidirectional movement and quick changes while in mid-flight. When I stop and really think about the amount of utility this [Skill] is going to eventually offer me it's...oh ho ho… it's going to be staggering.
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