Chapter 105
#Chapter 105: Demonic Sword Forte (7) - Efficiency and Inefficiency
Although he had retired by then, the elderly bureaucrat who had worked at the Imperial Golden Cloud Palace and taught the Crown Prince administrative affairs until a few years earlier said,
“In short, even if you say someone is good at their work, that ability can be divided into many different details.”
“You can process documents well because you calculate quickly, endure long hours because you have good stamina, and notice even minor problems thanks to your excellent powers of observation. You have strong concentration and do not waste time. Any one of these would be an excellent quality in a bureaucrat.”
“His Highness the Crown Prince was born with all the qualities of an excellent bureaucrat. If not for his bloodline and position, it would hardly have been strange for him to oversee administrative affairs as chancellor. Ah, keep what I just said a secret. The people who call themselves his swordsmanship or magic instructors would all grumble that he belongs to their side.”
“I’ve strayed from the subject for a moment. I said that His Highness was exceptionally capable as a bureaucrat, didn’t I? But what he truly excelled at was neither speed of calculation, physical stamina, powers of observation, nor concentration. He was outstanding in all those areas as well, but what he excelled at most was practical sense in handling work.”
“For example, suppose you needed to obtain a pair of leather shoes, some raspberries, and a flute. One man bought the leather shoes at the market, went into the forest to pick raspberries, and then worked at a musical-instrument shop in exchange for a flute.”
“Another man simply hunted a beast, gave its bones to a musical-instrument maker and its hide to a shoemaker, then asked a young woman from a nearby village to pick raspberries for him. He covered the necessary expenses by selling the meat.”
“The first man took more time, spent more money, and had to do more work. The second man spent little money and took little time. That is the difference in practical sense.”
“Whenever His Highness worked, he did not blindly tackle whatever happened to be in front of him. His first priority was to understand the entire workload. He determined which tasks could help with others and which could be handled simultaneously, then completed everything in the most efficient order. Even when performing the same task, he improved his method each time by searching for ways to make it even slightly more efficient.”
“Well… once he had optimized things to a certain point, there was no further improvement to be made. People said that was because he had already optimized everything to its limit, but I have a somewhat different opinion.”
“He simply realized that if he kept optimizing things in this way, the amount of work he had to do would only increase by that much. The other people who call themselves his teachers ought to realize that too. Tsk, tsk.”
“Still, I am rather curious. If he were to set out with determination, without worrying about what those around him thought or how he would deal with the aftermath, just how far could he go?”
***
《The first rewards we should secure are the kinds that increase the amount of time you can act, such as stamina, endurance, and vitality. If the number of days is the same, the person who can take more actions will have more opportunities.》
Daily aerobic exercise was added to Pina’s routine.
《It would be best to handle extermination quests and gathering quests together whenever possible. For example, when hunting horned rabbits, take a quest to obtain their hides, and when exterminating slimes, take a quest to collect their mucus as well. It would be even better to accept every type of quest at the same time, but there is a limit to how many can be stacked, so we must be careful about that.》
She entered the dungeons within the academy day after day, and her bag was always stuffed full of supplies.
《Normally, becoming stronger without gaining practical experience would not be a good thing, but fortunately, you, contract holder, can already handle swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat at a level above the basics. So rather than slowly working your way up from the bottom, aim directly for the ones just above your current level. Your abilities will rise more sharply, and you will be able to gather points more quickly.》
She charged straight into the high-risk areas that others did not set foot in until they became upperclassmen, and even while shrieking, she frantically swung the demonic sword.
【‘Quest: Make 100 Rounds Around the Outskirts of the Sage’s Library’ has been completed.】
【Your stamina has increased slightly.】
【You have acquired 10p.】
【‘Quest: Defeat 1,000 Slimes’ has been completed.】
【Your mana pool has increased slightly.】
【You have acquired 50p.】
【‘Quest: Collect 3 Units of Mutated Metal Slime Mucus’ has been completed.】
【You have acquired 140p.】
【‘Quest: Exterminate the Wooden Knight’ has been completed.】
【You have acquired 1,000p.】
Thud.
After returning to her room, Pina collapsed face-first onto the bed.
Forte’s advice had certainly been effective.
Even though it—or rather, the sword itself—could not directly see the quests, it had devised optimal solutions based solely on the quest details Pina read aloud in rough terms, and sometimes even guessed what quest would be unlocked next before the current quest had ended.
It was the seventh day since she had enrolled.
While everyone else considered around 300 points a lot, she had already collected more than 5,000 points all by herself, and the rate at which she acquired points was growing faster and faster.
At this rate, it seemed entirely possible that she really could graduate within half a year, just as Forte had promised.
However, if you asked whether Pina was satisfied with the situation, the answer was an unequivocal no.
‘D-do I have to keep doing this… for half a year?’
She preferred spending quiet time alone to noisily socializing with other people, and preferred staying cooped up in her room to wandering around outside.
For someone like Pina, there was absolutely nothing she wanted less than this extreme schedule.
The reason she had originally tried to pass Sky Academy’s entrance exam was to avoid being eliminated for no reason and having to endure 24-hour, sweaty, up-close training with her father. But the schedule imposed by the demonic sword seemed even more intense than that, not less.
Still lying face-down, Pina lifted only her head slightly and spoke.
“M-Mr. Demonic Sword?”
《What is it?》
“I-isn’t half a year a bit too much?”
《No. It is entirely possible.》
The demonic sword firmly rejected Pina’s words.
《This academy contains a great many facilities. Not only ordinary training grounds and sparring arenas, but also labyrinths where artificially created monsters roam and shops that sell special equipment. In other words, it is structured to optimize the cycle of combat, strengthening, and rest. Besides, you, contract holder, are not a complete beginner and already possess a certain level of skill, so gathering the target number of points will not take all that long.》
“Ugh.”
Pina fidgeted without managing to say anything.
If she could have thrown the demonic sword aside and declared that she was too tired to continue, her life might have turned out a little differently, but Pina could not bring herself to do that.
If she had been capable of such a thing in the first place, she would never have ended up in this situation.
《Hmm.》
Forte gazed steadily at Pina as she groaned with a dejected expression.
No matter how powerful Forte’s abilities were, its true nature was that of a sword.
For it to display its full power, Pina, its user, had to become stronger, and only then could it respond more decisively to the demons’ interference.
Above all, if she graduated outright and left the academy, the demons would no longer be able to scheme behind the scenes, would they?
Therefore, even if things were somewhat difficult right now, it would be best to keep working hard. It was also an action taken for Pina’s own sake.
《Contract holder, I think it would be best if you spent tomorrow acting freely without worrying about quests.》
Forte had contradicted its own sense of rationality.
“Huh?”
Pina opened her eyes wide.
Her reaction made it clear that she had never imagined such words would come from Forte.
《Haven’t you followed my advice well without complaining all this time? Effort is certainly important, but if you do nothing but repeat the effort without taking proper rest, things will not end well.》
“T-then would it be all right if I just lazed around all day tomorrow?”
《A demonic sword does not speak empty words.》
“Yaaay!”
Pina cheered.
She hugged Forte and rolled wildly around on the bed, prompting Forte to point out from within her embrace,
《Contract holder, even if I am inside my sheath, hugging a sword and moving about so violently is dangerous.》
“Yaaay.”
《And didn’t I tell you the last time you tried to bring me into the bathhouse? I may look like this right now, but I am male. Excessive physical contact is also improper from the standpoint of decorum.》
“Yaaay.”
《Hey, are you listening?》
“Yaaay.”
《Then perhaps we should cancel the holiday—》
“I’m listening!!”
Pina quickly sat in proper kneeling position, and Forte let out a small sigh.
Thus, while the two of them—or rather, one person and one sword—were engaged in their comedy routine,
Knock, knock.
-Excuse me, I have something to discuss with you. Would you have a moment? It isn’t urgent, so there’s no need to hurry out.
At the voice coming from outside the door, Pina glanced at Forte.
Forte did not give any particular reply.
It meant that the choice was up to her.
Pina straightened her disheveled clothes, then carefully opened the door.
A blond, blue-eyed young man with striking looks at a glance greeted her with a pleased expression on his face.
“Thank you for making time for me. I had originally intended to speak to you during a break or at lunchtime, but the timing never seemed right.”
“Ah.”
Pina understood.
She herself was awkward about talking to people and had been avoiding them, and following Forte’s schedule had left her with no time to socialize with the other students.
“I’m sorry. I was a little flustered.”
When Pina bowed her head slightly in apology, the young man waved his hands in apparent embarrassment.
“No, it’s all right. In fact, quite a few of the other students also do nothing but attend to their own affairs rather than interact with others.”
At an ordinary academy, people usually became familiar with one another and grew close by attending the same classes.
But at Sky Academy, there were quite a few people who minimized their interactions with others and devoted themselves solely to completing quests.
Since they could feel themselves growing little by little as their abilities increased every time they cleared a quest, they found it addictive and became fixated on it.
“It may not be relevant to us yet, but I hear that some upperclassmen deliberately waste points at places like restaurants and shops to delay graduation. They want to raise their abilities through quests as much as possible before graduating.”
“I see. But what brings you here…?”
“Um, would you perhaps be interested in joining a party?”
“A party?”
As Pina tilted her head, the young man stepped slightly to the side, revealing the others standing behind him.
Assuming that their appearances matched their roles, they seemed to be a mage, a priest, and a warrior.
The young man continued.
“The most important thing in this academy is points. Not only do you need them to graduate, but even eating, sleeping, and dressing all require points.”
The quality of food sold at restaurants and clothing sold in shops varied tremendously depending on the number of points paid.
At least accommodations did not cost points if all you cared about was simply having a place to sleep, but points were still consumed if you wanted to upgrade your bedding or move to a larger room.
“You can survive by repeating basic tasks like hitting scarecrows or striking discs with spells, but that will only allow you to maintain the status quo indefinitely. If you want to aim for graduation, you ultimately have to delve into the dungeons scattered throughout the academy, and that is dangerous to do alone. You have no one to watch your back.”
The professors might rescue students during class, but they would not come to their aid if something dangerous happened after they entered a dungeon.
The reason was that a person could not build genuine ‘skill’ if someone was always watching over them from beside them.
“Even if you have the ability to clear a dungeon alone, you never know what might happen, so it is safer to go with allies. There are students who continue to tackle things alone, but even they are gradually forming parties one by one. Why don’t you come with us? Of course, it wouldn’t have to be permanent. We could spend some time together first, and if it seems like a good fit, continue from there.”
Pina’s eyes darted back and forth.
As she struggled with how to answer, Forte offered its advice.
《For now, it wouldn’t hurt to accept, contract holder.》