Item Crafted!
Apparel: [Iron Brogues]
Class: Unique Item
Durability: 1460/1460
Defense Rating: Tier 2 (Low)
Effects: Deals [Iron Element] Damage. 50% Chance to inflict [Stun] while Kicking.
You have equipped [Iron Brogues] as your feet apparel.
All that was left were the hands.
Item Crafted!
Apparel: [Iron Gauntlets]
Class: Common Item
Durability: 100/100
Defense Rating: Tier 1 (Low)
Effects: Deals [Iron] Element Damage. 2% Chance to inflict [Stun] while Punching.
You have equipped [Iron Gauntlets] as your hand apparel.
You are now [Fully Equipped]!
Checking for applicable Apparel Set bonuses…
[Iron Gauntlets] and [Iron Brogues] match!
[+0.5 Defense Tier Rating!]
With [Herculean Strength] I could move the Iron Brogues without issue, and with [Earth Control] I softened the joints of the Iron Gauntlets so I could equally operate it and flex it without problem.
Looking at myself in a quickly conjured mirror, my mismatched color scheme stood out. A red and black dual-faced helmet, a thick long green robe like a forest wizard, a pair of iron gauntlets like a knight, and a pair of brogues made of iron.
My “outfit” was complete. Now, the only thing left to do – was farm 100,000 EXP.
Farm 100,000 EXP, and think about how I was going to infiltrate Alhamis.
Chapter 3: Exploits
Father once told me that it could often be wise to give difficult tasks to lazy individuals. A particularly niche category of lazy people were surprisingly hardworking at finding ways to ensure they could be lazy. This included finding every single loophole to complete a task, be it being irritatingly literal, or extremely vague.
Loopholes were my focus. An ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, which could be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system. Similar to loopholes, were exploits. Stereotypically, a piece of software, a chunk of data, or a sequence of commands that takes advantage of a bug or vulnerability to cause unintended effects.
A significant amount of mechanics in Alamir functioned, for as of yet unknown reasons, like a videogame. Hence, to accomplish my task, I needed to stop perceiving the world around me as if it were real and the challenges insurmountable, and instead begin thinking as if all of this were some extremely complex game where my goal was to defeat the main boss. If only to simplify things or if only to lighten the burden on my shoulders, I would approach my goal like a particularly dedicated gamer approached the task of clearing a game.
A particular niche category of dedicated gamers were known for utilizing loopholes and exploits as the tools of the trade-in clearing a game with the fastest time possible. These individuals were termed in the videogame community as speedrunners.
Typically, they had mastered every aspect of the game and meticulously gone over it with a fine comb to discover glitches, bugs and features that could be used to shorten their time to complete their objective.
I certainly had not gone over Alamir with a fine comb. I did not have that luxury. What I intended to do, was to think like a speedrunner. Find the fastest and the most effective ways to abuse various systems provided before me to my benefit, all so I could attain as much experience points as possible, as quickly as possible.
“[Duality.]”
A chameleon panther lay before me, trapped in the embrace of an earthen golem. With my right hand, I aimed, gesturing my index finger into the infamous finger-gun sign.
[You have split Paths]
[You are now in Path A]
“[Diamond Bullet].”
[Chameleon Panther x1 Killed]
[1400 Experience Points Gained]
[75 Genocide Points Earned]
I closed my [Duality], ending the timeline where I had killed the panther.
[You are now in the True Path]
I split reality once more.
[You have split Paths]
[You are now in Path A]
“[Diamond Bullet.”
[Chameleon Panther x1 Killed]
[1400 Experience Points Gained]
[100 Genocide Points Earned]
Again, I closed my [Duality] and ended the timeline where I killed the panther.
[You are now in the True Path]
Again, I split reality.
[You have split Paths]
[You are now in Path A]
“[Diamond Bullet].”
[Chameleon Panther x1 Killed]
[1400 Experience Points Gained]
[125 Genocide Points Earned]
Again, I killed the panther.
This was a method of experience farming, that, as far as I know, only I could use because only I had access to my Epithet Skill.
Epithet Skill: [Duality] Lv. Max
Details: A skill unique to the bearer of the name [Janus]. This skill enables the user to experience the road not taken. Whenever making a decision, the user may split their perception of reality into two – [Path A] and [Path B], enabling them to know the possibilities a decision taken or not taken may have.
The user experiences both realities and may choose which reality they prefer to follow by committing to it and turning it into the [True Path]. The user retains any knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience points gotten from both realities, but none of the negative effects persist.
Note: The user may not activate Duality while it is already in effect. You cannot split [Path A] into A1 and A2 or [Path B] into B1 and B2. You must first commit to a path, the [True Path] before activating Duality again.
Note: Dying while Duality is active in one [Path] will automatically make the other [Path] the [True Path]. Dying while in the [True Path] means irreversible death.
I would kill a panther in one reality, get the experience, close the reality and return to a reality where the panther was still alive. I would then split that reality, and kill the panther again, and then close that reality, and then do it again – and again – and again –
In Alamir, the experience gains of a monster did not decrease with each consecutive kill. Rather, the experience gain was relative to your level. So as
