Optimizing Your Isekai - Progression Fantasy w/ Slice-of-Life and Biz Building Elements

Chapter 52 - Optimizing Your Isekai


Excerpt from The Profound and Pretty Princess' Ultimate Guide to Cultivation, Captivation, Cuteness, and Carving Your Way to the Top, English Edition (the worst-selling guide in the history of Putijama)

On The Durability of Rift-Dropped Consumables

Items found in a rift will range in durability. A picked flower may wither and die within seconds. Parchment can turn to dust. A quite nice hat that, when you try it on, actually really clashes with your outfit can be nearly impossible to destroy in a well-deserved fit of rage.

But items that are meant to be consumed and 'dropped' by a rift or dungeon as a reward for defeating the boss, such as potions or oils, delicate natural treasures, food, etc., will have very unique properties when it comes to their durability.

Unique is the right word as the protective coating on these objects is nearly indestructible to someone of the same Tier as the rift reward. That is, until the moment the person in possession of the item wants to 'use' it. At that point, its protections suddenly vanish, making the process simple.

A rift-dropped potion bottle has a stopper so the potion can be removed and put into another container or just drunk from the bottle as is. But when someone who is in possession of the potion wants to actually use it, with a little bit of mana, the 'glass' becomes incredibly weak. The entire potion bottle can be eaten to save time like a very crunchy fruit snack with a liquid center. It's not recommended but it's also not harmful.

The same goes for most food that is dropped by a rift, such as the Ham of Hardiness, a large hunk of salted meat that gives whoever eats the entire thing a sustained stamina boost. And probably heartburn. It is in a very easy to remove packaging, usually butcher paper, but that butcher paper is very hard to damage until someone goes to remove the food.

There have been experiments as to when someone is considered 'in possession' of one of these items, like a potion bottle, to see how said 'possession' is transferred or ended. Unfortunately, they were very inconclusive. Every instance depended on too many factors to isolate.

Sadly, you can't just grab at an enemy's bottles and squeeze!

Inga, Tiesa, Inara, and I strategized beforehand on a number of things related to our multi-day delving trip. The first rift, one both my team and Vesna's countered well, was strategically chosen so we'd both come out smelling like roses.

The goal was to inject confidence and a sense of momentum to the entire endeavor. Get people excited about how smooth it could run and also the rewards. The rift was known to hand out a few very valuable things.

The city even loaned both our teams rechargeable mana stones in case we needed to power the self-repair enchantments on our weapons or armor so we could all look pristine and unbothered when we exited the rift, reward in hand.

On paper, it was considered a hard rift for many teams. But that was mostly because the extremely fast lizards were hard to hit once they built up momentum. The little buggers didn't exactly pack a huge punch but lots of small cuts and scratches, enhanced by a weak venom that drained stamina, made for a tough slog.

A couple of recordings from outside of the rift showed emerging teams looking like they'd fought for days, the stamina drain clearly taking its toll.

But with two strong shield wielders in Pavel and me to knock back most attacks, an extremely agile dagger wielder to dodge and retaliate quickly, and someone who could spot and shoot most of the monsters before they even started moving, it was a nice jaunt through a rocky plain for us.

Even with the sun bearing down, the temperature was mild and there was a refreshing cool breeze.

The rift boss was, however, another story.

It was a rare type of rift boss: a number of enemies of the same type that could form together into a large conglomeration to attack as though it were a single entity and disperse into individual monsters in the blink of an eye. Instead of 100 smaller lizards, it acted as one giant one, nearly ten feet (3m) tall that made an awful noise, small screeches overlapping in a cacophonous chorus.

It also had a skill, one that had yet to be replicated for delver use as far as anyone knew, which reduced damage from flying weapons.

It was fascinating to watch; the entire group of lizards would move as one to create a hole for an arrow or dagger to pass through mostly harmlessly. Someone had to use incredible velocity – or massive weapons like a boulder – to do much damage from afar.

The few experiments in developing the skill for people had gone… poorly… Most of the test subjects survived, just looking a bit more like Swiss cheese.

Our general plan was to wear it down, lizard-by-lizard. We hadn't been taxed so we were fresh and it was a safe and surefire way to beat the boss.

Until today.

There had been a few instances – and I'd seen it firsthand – of higher null concentration altering the monsters in a rift but it was rarely so drastic, usually only making them leaner and more crazed.

The rift boss looked strange, the lizards each a mottled dark purple with white streaks. Somehow, the visual effect transferred to the larger conglomeration as well.

Without waiting for us to change our tactics, it charged.

While Romie couldn't do much damage, shooting an arrow at a leg or arm could cause the monster to lose balance so they started firing rapidly, trying to slow it down.

Pavel and I both took its first swings on our shields as Inara swung around behind to attack the tail.

I took the right, the slightly harder side to block since we both used shields on our left arms.

Its raking smash against my borrowed Tier 2 shield glanced off harmlessly, barely moving me back an inch. However, the claws of five lizards still raked at my shield arm and metal barrier, undulating wildly like tiny grasping vines, trying to cause as much damage individually as possible.

Immediately, something felt amiss. The small scratch from a claw grazing through a gap in my gauntleted hand sent an odd tingle through my entire body.

I felt my precast [Poison Resistance] wink out.

My connection to my shield and armor both dimmed too.

Pavel figured it out first. "Enchantments not working. We need a new strategy!"

Instead of the merely annoying stamina drain venom from the regular monsters, the rift boss had a stacking enchantment-cancelling effect.

It was a rare and potentially dangerous deviation.

The cancelling effect only lasted a second but it worked on our gear, not just spells. And the stacking effect meant it was going to be an ongoing issue.

While waiting for Inara to develop a counter, it wasn't that strong so I took hit after hit on my now-mundane shield, getting in small strikes with my morningstar when possible.

The biggest challenge was that the arms were made of about ten lizards, so a hit to my shield left it without enchantments for almost a quarter of a minute, each individual monster able to inflict the debuff on my gear. My Tier 2 shield could handle it but Pavel's did not come out of the first few exchanges unscathed.

As I swung at its flank, making solid contact and spearing a lizard on a spike, I felt my morningstar's enchantments dim, though only for a second.

Must be in their blood too.

Inara bellowed out new orders, her jagged dagger killing one lizard on the boss' rear but barely slicing into the second. Our AAI modeling had predicted three full kills per slash so her face darkened even more.

Through calling for a preset attack formation, our leader offered to act as bait so Pavel and I could get in a few good hits.

But I had a better idea.

After a highly telegraphed swing by the boss, I ducked under its arm to look it directly in its oddly wriggling face.

I yelled, "Smasheroo number two!"

Raising my morningstar above my head like it was a massive flag, I brought it down with all my might, using both hands and aided by the heaviness enchantment that had returned half a second prior. As my weapon accelerated down through the wriggling mass of the boss, I felt the splatter of gore and body parts hitting my face and armor, turning ten lizards to a disassembled mess.

Of course, that meant the quickly reformed monster retaliated, both arms swinging in to squish me like the annoying bug it saw me as.

Inara screamed, too far away to intervene. Pavel did nothing to help.

Suddenly, I was two strides away, just out of its reach, [Hasty Retreat] easily pulling me back. Its arms crashed together, smashing multiple lizards into each other to create another terrible screech and cause the boss' entire form to ripple.

My follow-up smash, a baseball-style swing across the arms, was accompanied by Pavel's warhammer crashing into its flank, the man having ditched his spear for something a bit more effective against our enemy.

The move, which I'd planned out with the man ahead of the delve, killed over a quarter of the little lizards and with our previous attacks, left the boss down nearly 40% of its original mass. It was now barely above my height, looking emaciated and weak.

Arms badly crippled, few monsters in that area of the 'body' still alive after our attacks heavily focused there, Pavel and I went to town as quickly as possible before it could reform into something more dangerous.

A few seconds later, the twenty remaining lizards scattered to start trying to attack us individually.

Romie's bow took out four in quick succession while Inara dashed in and out, beheading the bipedal attackers with a ruthless efficiency. Pavel switched back to his spear and helped in the mopping up.

I used my shield as best I could but my main part of the plan was done.

We flopped to the ground after the quick but intense battle before Inara turned on me. "You knew!?"

I gave her a dirty look. "That I had a new skill? Yes. That they had a different effect? Absolutely not. What kind of teammate would do that, not telling you?"

She groused for a few seconds before saying, "Yeah, that was unfair to you… You're an ass sometimes, but not a dick. Just, ya know, two surprises, hard to not think they're connected."

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Pavel put a hand on her shoulder. "It is if you think for a few seconds."

I thought he was a dead man but she breathed out, then nodded. "Yup. Not 'actions befitting a leader', as our old team trainer would say. But, are you going to tell us?"

Romie poked my side. "Tell."

Chuckling, I said, "I let Pavel in on the new skill but wanted to prank you two. It was meant for later use. Obviously didn't have time to explain once the battle started but I saw my opening. Inara, you weren't in danger and I knew Pavel wouldn't intervene."

"Who came up with the dumbass name for your tactic?" Inara asked.

"Me," I said proudly while Pavel said, "Him!", more than willing to shift any residual anger my way.

We chuckled, used the rechargeable mana stones to make ourselves as presentable as possible, and had a snack.

I grabbed Inara's from her hand, using [Hasty Retreat] to get far away from her and barely maintaining my balance as I clipped a rock.

"See, good prank," I said proudly to her eyeroll.

Moments later, Steve's hand swiped through the air and he missed catching a large glass container that plummeted towards the ground. I stuck out my foot to try to cushion the blow but it was just barely too late.

No!

CLANK

The other three looked at me like I was an idiot while Steve sent feelings of panic. I sent back reassurance as the bottle rolled around a bit, the deep purple and blue liquid within giving off a faint glow.

"Uh, I forgot. Rift bottles are made of sturdier stuff, aren't they?" I asked sheepishly.

All three laughed, Steve joining in despite not getting the joke, as we headed out of the rift exit distortion.

***

Tiesa and Sasa Sati examined our rift reward while we waited for Vesna's team. We explained the change in the rift boss and sent our footage back to Inga's team to scrub out any of our specific skills or tactics but to show the new threat.

It was part of the agreement: we wanted any delvers to have as much information on the rifts as possible, especially any variations. It was especially important for some of the less popular rifts, making them safer and more attractive for other delvers if they could know what they were getting into.

"Well, it's making my fingers tingly and," Sasa tasted the liquid, much to our horror, "ooh, tongue too."

I cocked my eyebrow. "And what was that supposed to tell us?"

"If it tastes good?" The one-eyed man winked.

Still weird I can tell when it's a wink.

Tiesa was more helpful. "Not advisable to test out unknown liquids by tasting them… But he's Tier 4, nothing Tier 1 is going to do more than give him a bad few days on the toilet. As for its effect, I think there is something around strengthening magic but can't tell you exactly what. Want it sent back with the bodies to the city for further testing?"

We nodded and Tiesa handed it over to the people who would take the cart full of dead rift monsters – along with a few storage sacks to allow them to carry a full day's worth of bodies – back to a processing facility just outside the Pitola walls.

About twenty minutes after we emerged, Vesna's team did too, holding a small lump of gold and looking far more composed. Their rift boss was the standard variant but their reward was also rather boring.

As a large group of over 50 people, we moved on to the next rift, one where I'd be carried through. I tried to explain to Steve the concept of not coming with me to test if he'd be okay with it but he wasn't having it.

That is, until Tiesa took out his ball and a pile of his favorite snacks.

We waited for a fresh instance cycle so I could duck in and back out without it causing issues. Steve was clearly not thrilled but Tiesa and Inara kept him occupied so I went back in with the clear and protection teams.

We decided to only do the single test and not send Steve into a rift without me until the following day.

The rest of our first day was pretty unremarkable, though with the size of our group, we definitely made a bit of a ruckus traipsing through the woods and grasslands. It was quicker, if a bit tiring, to just head in a straight line.

Our totals for the first day were sixteen delves, six with me being carried, the same for Vesna, and two each with our respective teams. Our rift rewards were nothing to write home about, at least until we got our bottle of oil appraised to see if it did more than tingle the tongue, but it was still a good day.

The biggest thing for me was that everyone seemed to be getting along well too.

All of the eleven support teams that made it on time did a minimum of three delves. Each took on each of the roles at least, serving as primary clear team, backup clear team, or protection team.

A few teams that were a bit lower in Tier 1 or had specific items they wanted to put essence into traded to get more delve slots, giving up a small percentage of the rewards in exchange.

Talking with Rahila, Vesna's team's mage, and Inara, I sighed contentedly, reflecting on the day.

With the gorgeous light of the setting sun dappling us in blues, pinks, oranges, and purples, and with Steve draped over Rahila's head like a really poorly-made raccoon-skin hat, I said, "A bit surprised at how no one is fighting for a share of the rift rewards from their specific delve. It's just all one big pot and people are able to trade lots. Makes it all feel pretty simple and cooperative."

Inara's face said it all. "Yup, and I doubt anywhere else will arrange it for you. Even Velez or Struva."

"Why not?" I asked, genuinely surprised.

Inara said, "I talked to a team while you were in a delve. Pitola is getting almost nothing from this trip, at least monetarily. They might even lose money depending on how rift rewards fall between Pitola-owned rifts and those owned by the villages in the area. The delvers are also getting fast-tracked for other benefits from the city like reduced delve slot fees so they are very happy. That means less grumbling about money."

Rahila laughed. "Yup, we've mostly been in the area and glad for it. As much as I don't like some aspects of Pitola, their delvers are great but their logistics are better. They understand how to grease the wheels without letting things get out of hand."

Inara and I both said 'Norbert' at the same time, referring to Mayor Inga's assistant, before laughing.

I asked, "So, did we ever get an update on that twelfth team? Are we getting a replacement?"

A familiar voice called from behind me. "You just couldn't wait, could you? Had to call me in early?"

The smocked form of Ileana Lungu, the brunette whose team saved my life in the gnoll rift just a few days prior, walked up to rest a forearm on my shoulder, a genial smile on her face. The fact I was bent over a table, looking at the papers Rahila compiled, was the only reason the average-height woman could get close to the top of my arm so easily.

Inara's eyes lit up with a mischievous light, though apparently not recognizing her. "Oh, and who is this Terry? She's quite the looker. And that hammer, clearly the woman—"

"Is right here, Inara," I cut her off exasperatedly. While I didn't mind when it was just our team, making suggestive remarks in front of someone she barely met wasn't okay in my book. Especially under the circumstances of when they'd previously interacted, right after I could have died and Ileana and her team helped me survive the rift.

[Sorry] Inara sent via AAI.

Ileana looked confused.

"Ileana, it's good to see you again. You unfortunately probably remember Inara. This is Rahila, she's leading the other team here. Were you the twelfth team we're missing?"

She smiled genuinely. "Rahila, good to see you again. And no, we got called in as replacements. Were already scheduled to be with you the second half of your trip so you're stuck with me for a while."

Inara's eyes gleamed again but Rahila was able to stop her with a rather violent hip check that nearly sent our team leader sprawling.

Rahila said, "That's great you two know each other, how did you meet? On a carried delve?"

Ileana turned to me with utter confusion. "Did you really not tell them about us? And that day?"

I think I've stepped in it somehow…

"There's been a lot going on?" I tried. "It wasn't the craziest thing that happened that day?" Neither answer seemed to make things better, Ileana putting her hands on her hips, so I asked, "Okay, sorry, how am I going to make it up to you?"

Rahila's hand immediately clamped over Inara's mouth. Then the other went over the rest of her upper face for good measure.

Still, Ileana seemed to catch on to the potential innuendo in our conversation as she noticed the interactions of the other two women. "Cuddles with the cutest member of your team," she said, staring me down for a second before turning to reach out for Steve.

I sent him feelings of safety and friends as the attractive woman took him into her arms, giving him some rough squeezes that I knew he liked.

She started playing with him, wrestling against him with one finger, which delighted him when he managed to move the strong digit. As Ileana went to leave our area, she turned around and said, "Talk later, okay?" Shortly after, I heard and felt Steve's joy as they started roughhousing more.

Inara looked only slightly ashamed. "She's nice."

Rahila clapped her on the back of the head, much to my approval. Then, she picked up a clipboard and hit Inara's backside, calling out her catchphrase of 'right in the butt!' to both women's chuckles.

I rolled my eyes and walked off to talk with Pavel, Romie, and Tiesa, hoping for a more mature conversation.

***

While the first day had gone mostly smoothly, by midway through the second, the harder delves started to wear on the teams, especially the mana usage restrictions.

In my second carried delve of the day, we had a casualty, a monster sneaking up on a badly out-of-position mage. They lost their arm – though that was reattached with a potion – and couldn't cast properly without stronger healing.

The backup clear team stepped in immediately, dispatching the scythe-armed bug with impressive efficiency.

However, it was a warning sign that we should review our tactics, so the entire group met up to discuss, delaying our delves until we came to an agreement.

Each of the fourteen delving teams had a representative other than ours, which had three if we included Tiesa, though Steve seemed to think he was the fourth. Tiesa was reviewing the footage after every carried delve, going through it on her AAI at 10x speed, so she had the best insight.

After some back-and-forth, we reached a consensus: each delve would still consist of three teams though we'd do away with the concept of primary and backup clear team. They were still numbered but that was just to know who would take the first fight and enter the rift first.

Tiesa noted how quickly teams started to get sloppy when they couldn't freely use their mana and it seemed to be about the third encounter so we had them switch after every two fights if possible. Not every rift easily allowed switching but that was taken on a case-by-case basis.

When asked about fighting the rift bosses, it was left to the teams to decide with the protection team as the tiebreaker. Most thought they'd want to team up if possible for fights that included more than one enemy as it would make things far easier.

Each carried group – Steve's, Vesna's, and mine – had four total other teams with us that rotated as often as possible. It would have been better to have a larger contingent but we made up for it with extending delve times and more time spent for recovery. Going slower, both in and out of the rift, was the best decision, even if it made the day longer.

At six total carried delves per null essence cultivator, that meant eighteen slots to share between the four teams, so either four or five delves a day for the other teams. The teams that did five delves had to take their fifth slot as the protection team as that was less physically taxing.

Rahila used the meeting to change around some teams, giving a long explanation that made no sense.

The only change to my grouping was Ileana's team joined our squad of three other teams. I gave Rahila a dirty look to which she tried to put on an innocent expression, failing spectacularly.

At least she didn't use her catchphrase.

***

Steve Carver, Mixed Melee Master, Unchallenged and Unrepentant Leader of The Order of the Ever-Consuming Glider, Goodest Boy

Bond silly. Thought I can't go in weird place without him. He's the baby!

The second morning, Steve had entered his first rift without his bond. Steve's fifth favorite person, scary punchy mom-lady, had taken him into a rift for a bit before leaving.

It only hurt a little and Steve was far too tough to let it bother him long.

Now, it was the – he'd lost count what number – delve of the day and Steve started to think while in his metal box, carried by pokey stick and wrestle man.

While Steve wanted to fight the monsters too, he knew he had to be smart.

Have to get strong first. They still stronger than me. But in small time, POW, hit with my stick! I win!

How get strong?

He knew that every time he pushed the weird energy to his muscles, he felt like he could smash things harder. Even yummy treats and tickle lady said so, always helping him flex his arms.

But when Steve was with his bond, his food and ride provider watched what he did. Closely. Especially where he pushed the weird energy.

Every time he focused more of it on him than the make smart head-thingy, his treats would stop.

And that was not okay.

His bond let him push some energy to himself, but not enough. Less than half.

If Steve started pushing a lot more of the weird energy to his muscles instead of the make smart head-thingy, it would mean he could be the big scary monster in no time!

It was the perfect chance.

Pokey stick and wrestle man couldn't tell what he was doing, where he pushed the energy. Steve had tested it.

But he had to be smart. Not all the weird energy could go to his muscles. His bond would see that, Steve was sure.

So he had to go slow. But soon, he'd be the scary monster.

The scariest! Then, Steve stronger than any of them! Have to let me fight!

It was the perfect plan and no one would ever notice.

***

Tiesa Gogol

Terry was packing Steve into his backpack for their second team delve of the day.

The man looked at his bond, the two of them struggling slightly to get the little sugar glider into his backpack. "You're getting a bit… portly there buddy. Might have to lay off the treats."

Tiesa had returned a few minutes prior with her contingent of The Order, Steve and Pavel in tow. The spear wielder had worn the backpack in three carried delves already with Steve, expanding their total delve count between all the groups for the day to over twenty.

Is Terry really not going to notice Steve's been allocating more to his cores than the intelligence circlet? It even makes him grow as he Tiers up. He's already a bit bigger.

Eh, I'll let this play out.

Tiesa chuckled to herself and Terry asked what about. She made up a lie about Gabor sending her something funny. Then she actually looked at his previous message and laughed again.

That man…

Nearly a bell later, Terry's team emerged, holding what looked like a lightly-enchanted dagger. She scanned it with her spirit and thought there was an enhanced bleed enhancement on it though it was nothing special.

Tiesa grabbed Steve as the teams went to separate again, Terry heading off with Sasa Sati as bodyguard and Inara and Romie for company.

She nuzzled the little monster and quietly whispered to him, "You're going to teach him a valuable lesson to pay more attention."

Steve chittered in delight, though that was probably from the small handful of food she presented him.

Terry can't keep the little guy caged forever. He'll be smart enough soon to make his own decisions. I guess it will come sooner than he expects.

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