บท 152: Sword unification (1)
The sword grounds are one of my greatest misgivings in this dungeon so far. While testing I went through this boss room like it was nothing and only after Navi explained my unique advantage over this type of boss room did I somewhat learn to live with it.
But really, swarm tactics aren't that useful. Why waste resources to build a boss room with them? Reviving them every time the room is cleared must cost a fortune!
<Aren't the memorial falls also a swarm-type boss room? I never heard you complain there.>
The skeletons are continuously spawned and act more as a distraction while the piranhas quickly learned to act in groups. Also, since they fight underwater they have much more room to gang up on someone and they never hit one another.
The skeleton swordsmen in this boss room are just a mess of single fighters mushed together. They fight worse in their group than they would alone.
<Well then change that. That's your whole job description, isn't it? Instruct them on how to do better.>
I will.
I enter the boss room and look at the dozens of skeleton swordsmen now facing me. After fighting that skeleton swordmaster I really can't look at these guys without feeling a wave of disappointment wash over myself.
I release a long exasperated sigh and address the horde of skeleton swordsmen. At least I already have their attention.
"Hello there. I'm Guy, an instructor sent by the dungeon master to improve the performance of this boss room. You all have a lot to learn so prepare to study hard and become stronger."
Now, how to sort this mess of solo-fighters into a unit. Let's start with something simple.
"All of you divide yourselves into groups of five. Those will be your new combat units so remember your groups."
Somewhat confused at my first instruction the skeleton swordsmen begin to awkwardly form groups. Counting does not seem to be their strength and in the end, I need to step in and help out.
Finally, the groups are made and I can continue. I tell one group I dub unit one to come forward for me to demonstrate.
"Okay, whenever you fight I want you to split into these groups. Every group will then select a single target and try to surround them. If you see that all targets are already besieged by a group you can stay back and observe."
I motion for unit one to attempt it with me and they obediently surround me but just stand there. Being watched by skeletons feels weird since they don't have real eyes.
"Good, now that you've surrounded me you have to attack in sync with each other. That doesn't mean you all have to attack at the same time but your attacks must be considering the others. Your attack shouldn't hit your allies nor interfere with their attacks. Try it."
When I tell them to attack me they all slash at me without much thought. Two of them clash swords midway and need to abandon their attack while another one nearly hits his neighboring skeleton swordsman.
I easily parry the two swords that actually make it to me and remain silent for a moment to let it sink in. The skeleton swordsmen despondently look at one another. They may seem stupid but they clearly realized that they did exactly what I told them not to do.
"See, this is the problem of you do not put the attacks of your allies into consideration. You will get into each other's way and make things easier for your opponents."
The skeleton swordsmen all nod in silent understanding. Even the ones who aren't part of unit one seem to have understood that the way they are fighting right now is flawed.
That's good, great even. The first step to improvement is self-observation. Once you can see a problem and acknowledge it as a problem only then will you be in the position to remedy it. Many humans fail to see their own flaws due to their overly large egos but these skeletons do not have such distracting notions of self-importance.
Dungeon monsters all seem to have the goal to defend the dungeon to the best of their ability. They are much more willing to admit their shortcomings and work on themselves to improve their contributions to the dungeon.
If only humanity could work with such selfless dedication they would have long destroyed the dungeons.
<Enough with the cringy philosophizing! Self-improvement in all honors but don't forget you are still working.>
Right, the skeleton swordsmen are still waiting for me to go on. None of them said anything when I sank into my own thoughts. Such polite little students.
"Okay, as you've seen it is hard to perfectly coordinate your attacks. The key is to always keep an eye on your neighbors and change your attacks accordingly. If you see that your attacks might clash you can still adjust your swings to avoid it. But you have to be very aware of your surroundings to do so. Try again."
This time they attack without getting into each other's way. Their attacks have noticeably lost speed at the beginning but that can be remedied by time. I calmly observe the incoming swords and decide to dodge four of them while parrying the last one.
"You did well not to get into one another's way but next you will have to start working together. As you can see I easily dodged and parried your attacks. That's because your attacks were only focused on themselves.
"To further improve you need not only be mindful of the other's attacks but also complement them. Try to strike where the others can't reach, attack where the enemy might dodge to, block off an enemy's retreat, or occupy the enemy so your allies can land a hit. Don't think too much in the beginning, synergy should naturally come with practice."
I raise my daggers and we begin another round of practice.
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