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Progressive Increase in Damage
I leave the Merchantâs Guild and return home. While the dinner was being prepared, I have Sherry fuse the Bee Monster Card.
âCanât this be fused with an accessory?â âA Bee Monster Card can be fused with an armor, too. If fused with an accessory or an armor, it grants the Progressive Decrease in Damage skill. It can reduce the damage if you receive a number of attacks from the same monster.â âI see. Then, is the spear better, after all?â
Progressive Increase in Damage is a skill which increases the damage of an attack. If I attached it to an armor, it wouldnât âupâ (increase) it.
Sherry performs the Monster Card Fusion. With neither complaint nor unease, Sherry grabs the Sacred Spear and the two monster cards *chacha* quickly. She casually chants the skill incantation. The Monster Card Fusion succeeds effortlessly.
âItâs done.â âOoh, as you would expect.â
Itâs a Sacred Spear of Increased Attack. It possesses the Progressive Increase in Damage skill. Itâs said to increase the magic damage, too, so itâll be handy.
However, the Sacred Spear of Increased Attack wasnât of as much use as I thought. Why? Even though it was made with much effort. When I went to the labyrinth with the Sacred Spear of Increased Attack the next morning, it didnât shorten the duration of battles.
So, is Progressive Increase in Damage not as effective as claimed? That shouldnât be it. Thus far, there hasnât been such a thing.
Or, is Sherryâs knowledge perhaps lacking and it doesnât apply to magic? That shouldnât be it either. Sebastian recommended a Staff of Increased Attack. At least, it puts off the doubt.
As for the reason, isnât it because the number of attacks required to take a monster out isnât much to begin with? It takes 10 odd spells to finish a monster on the 26th floor off. To reduce this number of spells by 1, the rate of increment has to be so much so that the power doubles at around 30th spell. Iâm not sure if the rate of increment of Progressive Increase in Damage is that high.
Letâs assume that the number of attacks a person needs to take a monster out is 100. If the power doubled after 30 attacks, how many attacks would they need to finish that monster off?
After 30 remains 70. With the power having doubled, it will at least get halved. 30 plus 35 gives 65. Since the power will increase further in the latter half, they may even take it out in 60 or less attacks.
If they finished a monster, that requires 100 attacks to be taken out, off in 60 attacks, then Progressive Increase in Damage would indeed be a fairly useful skill. Although the ease of its use is questionable, itâs on par with the 2x Attack Power or 2x Intelligence skills. If the number of attacks required were 150, 200, 300 or more, Progressive Increase in Damage would probably exceed 2x Attack Power or 2x Intelligence.
Although the effect is more pronounced if attached to a strong weapon, it isnât rated highly in general. Does that perhaps mean the power doesnât get doubled even after 30 attacks?
Considering the power difference between Durandal and a Copper Sword, that I canât turn a Lv26 monster into smoke even with Durandal unless I attack quite a number of times, a person who needs to attack a 100 times shouldnât be uncommon. Actually, I must say that Iâm lucky.
I wonder if the rate at which Progressive Increase in Damage increases the power is slow. If so, 10 odd spells wonât be effective in reducing the number by 1. So, as to why the Sacred Spear of Increased Attack didnât shorten the duration of battles, it must be because the time I take to finish the monsters off is already short. Really short.
Or, the reason as to why Progressive Increase in Damage is popular amongst the Empire Liberation Society members is perhaps due to the fact that most of the members fight on higher floors where the number of attacks required to take the monsters out will naturally be high. For instance, a monster that requires 200 attacks to be taken out can be taken out in 100 attacks with a Progressive Increase in Damage weapon. A person who can take the monster out in less than 200 attacks will rate 2x Attack Power or 2x Intelligence highly. However, a person who takes the monster out in more than 200 attacks will rate Progressive Increase in Damage higher than 2x Attack power or 2x Intelligence. Commonly, people take on the monsters that can be taken out before Progressive Increase in Damage kicks in; therefore, they donât rate it highly. By the same token, the Empire Liberation Society members rate Progressive Increase in Damage highly because they attack the monsters until it shows its true effect. For the Empire Liberation Society members, it may be normal to attack 200-300 times.
In how many attacks do the Empire Liberation Society members, who challenge higher floors, take the monsters out? From that, the effect of Progressive Increase in Damage can be deduced. Also, how many attacks does it take to reduce the number of attacks by one? How many magic attacks will a monster need to be taken out for the Sacred Spear of Increased Attack to be of use?\nSomeone whoâs good at maths should be able to calculate it with ease. It feels like a geometric series or an arithmetic series sum formula. I shouldâve learnt it diligently. If we assume that the first attack inflicts 1 damage and the damage multiplies sequentially, we should be able to calculate the total damage inflicted by ânâ number of attacks using the formula.
I donât know, however, whether the damage increased by Progressive Increase in Damage follows an arithmetic series or a geometric series. If the damage were to increase by 3% with every attack, it would be 1, 1.03, 1.06 in case of an arithmetic series. If it were a geometric series, the power of the third attack would be 1.0609.
If it were a geometric series, the power would become unimaginable as the number of attacks grew. That being the case, I wouldnât be able to compare the effects with the number of attacks being small. In any case, the effect wonât be apparent with 10 odd attacks.
The number of attacks required for Progressive Increase in Damage to kick in seems to be several times of mine. Is that the reason as to why the Sacred Spear of Increased Attack was of no use?
However, magic remains a concern, too. Another possibility is that Progressive Increase in Damage applies to a single target spell, not an area of effect spell. This will perhaps not be that serious. There shouldnât be any reason for it to not apply to an area of effect spell if it applies to a single target spell.
Another concern is whether it carries over with different spells or not. This one will be a serious concern. Other Wizards can cast only one spell. So, thereâs a possibility for it to not work for just me.
I can cast three spells. Grand Wizardâs magic, the magic set as the skill of Jobless and Wizardâs magic. If I cast three spells, will Progressive Increase in Damage recognize second and third spells as second and third attacks?
Or, does it perhaps recognize fourth spell and fifth spell of Jobless as second attack? At this rate, itâll be pretty difficult for the damage to increase. Or, thereâs another possibility that Progressive Increase in Damage ceases to carry over every time the spell count resets. If itâs that, itâll be miserable.
âUmm, did the attached skill yield good results?â
Sherry enquires. Itâs available to anyone with the eyes to see that the duration of battles didnât shorten. You didnât have to ask.
Or, were you pointing it out? She must be pointing it out. Oh well. I understand, but.
âAh, probably. The number of attacks is too small. If a monster isnât strong, it may not produce good results.â
Therefore, it canât be helped.
âIs that so?â âAs expected of Master.â
Even though I donât look remotely like Johnny Depp, Roxanneâs attitude is same as ever. Anyways, I wonât be able to check the Sacred Spear of Increased Attack until I reach higher floors. Is it really impossible like I was afraid?
When the number of attacks using the Sacred Spear of Increased Attack decrease compared to the number of attacks using the Sacred Spear, only then will I be able to deduce the effect of Progressive Increase in Damage. Therefore, I canât afford to not know the number of attacks using the Sacred Spear. However, Progressive Increase in Damage has now been attached to the Sacred Spear. Because I canât just switch it on/off, the experiment can no longer be proceeded with. What do I do? What should I have done? Do I keep it at least?
âRoxanne, can you please guide us to a place with few monsters? Ideally, only a Gummi Slime. Or, one more monster with a Gummi Slime.â âA Gummi Slime? Understood.â âIt doesnât need to be immediate. Keep that in mind, please.â
I ask of Roxanne. This being the 26th floor, there may no longer be lone monsters. On the 1st floor, however, there were only lone monsters. However, we should still be able to encounter two monsters occasionally.
âThereâs exactly one each.â
Roxanne guides us to a group of a Gummi Slime and a Cape Carp. So, a lone Gummi Slime is impossible, after all, huh?
âThanks. Then, Iâll be experimenting a bit on the enemy. Iâll ask of you to hold the Gummi Slime back from the front, Roxanne, but donât attack it much.â âOkay.â\nRoxanne bolts. I follow after without casting spells.
âMiria, Vesta, take only on the Cape Carp, donât meddle with the Gummi Slime. Sherry, too, unless it fires a magic attack, youâll be on the standby.â
With the exception of the sprinting Roxanne, I issue the instructions. The three of them will mainly be taking on the Cape Carp. The remaining Gummi Slime will be the experimental subject.
After Roxanne stands in front of the Gummi Slime, I shoot an Aquaball. I attack just the Gummi Slime with the Aquaball. Since Intermediate Fire Magic is currently set as the skill of Jobless, I can only shoot Grand Wizardâs Aquaball.
I have the option of attacking the Cape Carp with the magic of Jobless and Wizard but I decide against it. Neither am I launching physical attacks using the spear. The reason being, the modus operandi of Progressive Increase in Damage is not yet known. If I attack only the Gummi slime with Grand Wizardâs single target spell, I believe that the effect of Progressive Increase in Damage will carry over.
If it still doesnât carry over, then Progressive Increase in Damage doesnât apply to magic contrary to the information. However, I donât want to think that. Although I used Grand Wizardâs single target spells occasionally, the number of magic attacks required to take the monsters out didnât decrease; however, it may still be concluded that Progressive Increase in Damage increased the power of the spells by a fraction of a spell.
I might as well use Wizardâs Waterball; however, if I did that against the Cape Carp thatâs resistant to Water magic, the number of attacks required to take it out would increase anyway. For thereâs no knowing as to what may happen inside the labyrinth, Iâd better not lengthen the duration of the battle.
Besides, I donât attack a Cape Carp with Waterball in normal course. I could count the number to an extent but it would contain errors. I canât undertake a controlled experiment now that I donât have the Sacred Spear in my hands. Using the Sacred Spear of Increased Attack, even if I obtain the results, there would be no point.
I attack only the Gummi Slime with only Aquaballs. I diligently attack just one monster with single target spells.
âDid it, desu.â
Even though Miria has petrified the Cape Carp, I only attack the Gummi Slime. Miria and Vesta subsequently attack the petrified Cape Carp. You donât have to particularly attack it.
Since thereâs no knowing as to what may happen inside the labyrinth, isnât it okay to inflict some damage? However, when petrified, doesnât its defense power increase? Thereâs an option of handing Durandal to Vesta. Should I?
It canât be said with certainty that thereâs not even 1 in 10,000 chance of it affecting the results of the experiment. So, I guess not.
Eventually, the Gummi Slime collapses in 11 Aquaballs. This is more or less in line with the usual count. Using the Sacred Spear of Increased Attack made no difference. It may be concluded that Progressive Increase in Damage didnât decrease the number of attacks.
I pull Durandal out and finish the petrified Cape Carp off. It has no relation whatsoever to using area of effect spells or using the magic of Jobless, Grand Wizard and Wizard simultaneously. As before, the power doesnât seem to gain a fraction of a spell with 10 odd attacks. Oh well. Nothing can be done about it. Thatâs probably how it is.
Since the skill is called Progressive Increase in Damage, the damage should increase with the number of attacks. If the power could gain a fraction of a spell after 10 odd attacks, what would happen at 101st attack? On the contrary, if the power settled at as soon as 101st attack, the damage would gain a fraction of a spell a lot earlier.
If Luke the broker used the Damascus Steel Sword of Increased Attack himself, he would figure out that itâs useful and revise his offer. However, Iâm not sure if a Damascus Steel Sword of Increased Attack will be of use on lower floors. Since the monsters appearing on lower floors are few, all the members of a party can jointly knock them down. Consequently, the number of attacks per person will be 1/6th.
If a total of 300 attacks are required, each person will attack 50 times which is not much for Progressive Increase in Damage to reduce. Hence, it can be concluded that 2x Attack Power is more useful. Regardless of public secrecy of the information, appreciating Progressive Increase in Damage is in the core of the Empire Liberation Society members.
âWas that so?â âDid you understand what that was?â
Having comprehended, Sherry asks me. An important part of the findings of an experiment is to discuss what was understood and what couldnât be.\n