Chapter 64. Next Time I'm Still Picking "Very Easy"!
"Since it's an action game, Seele should give it a try."
Always spending her days around her brother and sister, Seele naturally understood the kinds of games they made, and after hearing what Xander said, she immediately felt a bit troubled.
She wasn't very good at that genre, and if she performed poorly right away, would her brother and sister laugh at her?
"I also wish to try."
Seeing Seele shrinking back, Kaguya stepped forward to take the lead.
"How about letting me go first?"
"Either way is fine."
After plugging a controller into the computer, Xander casually moved the Knight around, jumped, and slashed a few times.
Then he spawned a few small flying bugs, lifted the blade to cut a few more times, and once he confirmed there were no immediate issues, he handed the controller to Kaguya.
"The stick controls direction."
"This is jump…"
After explaining the basic movement rules, Xander planned to spawn a few small enemies for Kaguya to practice on.
"This feel…"
On the flat path with rough placeholder models, the moment Kaguya made the little character swing the first slash, she widened her eyes in surprise.
Even without much in the way of visual and sound effects yet, the animation alone already felt enjoyable.
With more advanced hardware and tech, Xander had pushed Hollow Knight's already excellent feel up another level.
Input latency was down in the microsecond range, and controlling the character felt like moving one's own body, almost as if she had truly swung a blade herself.
"How is it?"
"We tuned it pretty nicely, right~"
"'Pretty nicely' doesn't even begin to cover it."
"This is already remarkably good."
She glanced at her husband with mixed feelings.
Back then she had poured in so many people and so much money, and it still would have been hard to reach what was now on the screen.
Her husband really was formidable.
Just the two of them could achieve this level.
"Come on, try some small enemies."
With a swing of Hatsune Miku's leek, a few small flying bugs lazily drifted toward the Knight.
Kaguya made the Knight jump and cleave down at one of the flyers.
A crude silver gleam flashed.
At the point of contact between the Knight and the flyer, a gritty burst of white light appeared.
Whether it was the flyer's knockback on hit or the Knight's slight recoil from counterforce, all of it gave Kaguya a tangible sense of impact.
It felt like the Knight had really struck something with their Nail.
She immediately understood that just by this alone, it could be called an excellent game.
For action-leaning games, hit-feel is often one of the most important components.
"How is it?"
"Getting used to it?"
Seeing Kaguya cleanly deal with those few small enemies, Xander asked with a smile.
"Mm."
"It doesn't feel hard to control."
"Is this going to be a game that sells '爽'—pure catharsis—as its hook?"
"With impact this good, the finished product should be quite impressive."
"'爽,' huh?"
Hearing that, Xander couldn't help but laugh.
This game certainly is "爽."
"In that case, would Kaguya like to try challenging a boss?"
"You already made a boss?"
"I prototyped a few."
"Perfect time to test how they feel."
"Great."
"I also want to try a challenge."
Having just cut down a bunch of small enemies, Kaguya was riding a wave of confidence.
Besides, how hard could a boss be?
At worst, just die a few times.
It's not like it could make her shut down, right?
She chuckled inwardly, then noticed Xander's suddenly cheerful smile.
He had just been about to say something, but Bronya stopped him.
Bronya, softhearted in the end, didn't want to sabotage a new friend.
No Charm was one thing.
But sending a Knight with no Dash to fight those bosses?
Xander knew how to torment people.
"Let's start with False Knight, then."
"Its hitbox is on the large side, so it's perfect to test big-body hit reactions."
As an enemy most Knights encounter early, False Knight's moves are fairly fixed and very dodgeable, hardly the type to make someone shut down on the spot.
"Tsk, False Knight, huh."
"Fine, fine."
Smacking his lips with reluctant acceptance, Xander didn't press the issue after hearing Bronya's explanation.
"Does my husband want to see me challenge something harder?"
At that moment, controller in hand and making the Knight slash here and there, Kaguya suddenly spoke.
"Don't."
"Those are way too hard."
"Kaguya, you'd better—"
Kaguya gave Bronya a gentle smile and then lightly shook her head.
"If my husband wishes to see it, then I naturally will not refuse."
"You…"
Since someone was voluntarily asking for it, Bronya could only purse her lips and withdraw False Knight.
Kaguya's words made Xander feel a twinge of guilt, so he slowly put away the Zote he had almost selected.
"Zote the Mighty is still too much for a newcomer."
"Agreed."
Bronya nodded.
"So we'll go with the Mantis Lords, which are basically content-complete."
"Defin—"
"Huh?!"
As one of the bosses that feels the best to fight in the game, Xander had made them first, so he could keep optimizing all the way to the end.
Bronya's gaze changed.
She looked at Xander as if accusing him of being a devil.
Then she glanced at Kaguya, who was looking forward to it and ready to show off, and silently lamented for her in her heart.
Hope she'll be okay.
Soon, the three of them watched as Kaguya, controller in hand, guided the Knight into a rough arena featuring three tall stone thrones.
Atop the three thrones sat three mantises, each bracing their hands on their legs in a distinctive pose.
Moments later, the trigger fired.
An iron cage sealed the arena, cutting off retreat.
All three mantises rose at once, and the one in the center vanished in an instant, lunging at the Knight.
The flurry of fast attacks left Kaguya briefly scrambling, hard-pressed to respond.
Before long, she fell to the mantis's long spear.
"The attacks are actually pretty easy to memorize."
"I'll try again."
Kaguya's mentality didn't waver in the slightest, and Hatsune Miku helpfully reset the stage at the corner.
A new round began.
One mantis truly wasn't hard.
But what if it became two?
And even if two were manageable, what about three coming in together?
Very quickly, Kaguya felt sweat beading up.
Her grip on the controller tightened bit by bit.
Strictly speaking, in the game map there is no triple-mantis fight, and after defeating two you can pass.
That unique rhythm and combat style truly make them a newcomer's mentor.
But here, Xander mischievously added the triple-mantis variant from Godhome's Pantheons—the Sisters of Battle.
The difficulty climbed almost exponentially, and the smile on Kaguya's face successfully migrated to Xander's.
It seems this is the second time I am writing a little note like this.
First of all, thank you all for your support.
The performance of this book has somewhat exceeded my expectations.
I originally thought I would be satisfied if bookmarks and such were about the same as my last book, but I did not expect so many supporters.
I read nearly all your comments in the review section.
If there are issues, I will explain and try my best to fix them.
If I am wrong, I should admit it, and that is only right.
The main tone of the book is still daily life and games.
I have also read the suggestions you left in the threads.
Big titles like Titanfall and Assassin's Creed are all on the schedule.
And the Pokémon promised in the description will also appear very soon.
I will do my best to write plots that make you happy to read.
As for whether I will disappear, please rest easy.
If you do not believe me, you can click my avatar and take a look.
Aside from the first one that was half blocked and impossible to continue, I finished that nearly one-million-word free work, and the only signed one also wrapped up.
I think my credibility should at least be assured.
I am not sure how to set the bounty, so let us say one extra chapter for every 2,000 recommendations or 100 monthly tickets.
Judging by the current numbers, it probably will not add many chapters.
No big deal.
Tips and donations are counted separately.
That is it.
There is no need to say too much.
I need to hurry up with updates over the next few days.
Oh, and could we make a deal?
On Saturdays and Sundays I am basically on the way home, so updates may be unstable.
On Saturday I might only manage the guaranteed baseline update.
But once I get home, I will have time, and I will give you more updates then.
Lastly, thank you again for your support!
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