Chapter 19: Chicken Mindset Synchronization Theory

I hold the strong belief that boss fights only matter if there is thought put into them. That might sound like a redundant statement, but as a person who has shamelessly enjoyed all manner of RPGs, I’ve seen a good few that miss the mark. Fundamentally, a boss fight is all about the challenge it provides to a player, right? The attacks, perhaps being themed around the dungeon in the context of an RPG, should thoroughly test the player as a final hurdle before the end of an area. If nothing else, that should be the baseline for what a boss fight should be.

Of course, story theming, boss design, background music, environment, and a host of other things contribute to the experience as well. But even all of those will fall short if the actual fight is nothing exciting. Admittedly, I was a bit worried that General Wuns Agen, in his not-undead state, would fail to meet even the basic expectations I had for a boss fight.

I’m simultaneously happy and terrified to report that the General has far exceeded my expectations! With just a single swing of his sword, I feel the strongest sense of danger I have felt in my entire life! My inherent shut-in nature is barely handling this, and yet somehow I still find myself excited. The graceful and powerful movements of his two longswords, which should be entirely impractical to wield, threaten to pierce me with everything swing. Even I, with my speedier nature than most, have been forced to block some slices by catching his blades in between the gaps of my clawed gauntlets. Every time I feel those swords pressing down on me, I silently whimper as my bones creak.

Who gave the General permission to have this much strength? Was becoming an undead entity a nerf for him?! That’s the only way I can imagine him being at the level of the fourth boss.

“This mere vermin who dares to scamper around my fort, and throw insults my way, only knows how to run away! Where has all the bravado you spouted gone, you cur?!”

I’ve been noticing this for a while now, but this General really has a particularly eloquent way of cursing me out, doesn’t he? I never expected someone like him to be so well spoken. I have to applaud the flavor text! Though I fear my mental defenses are suffering from his dialogue. I can’t believe he would damage poor Village Girl A’s like this!

Ah, in my silent mental anguish, I failed to account for a horizontal slash coming from my right. Did he switch the order he swung his swords? How crafty… animations from The Tears of Nephelai never gave me any hints like that. I fear I might suffer a pretty nasty wound in about 0.2 seconds.

Except for some reason, when I hear Rocco, who has done nothing but give me a silent stare this whole fight, cluck at me, I duck low enough instantly to barely dodge the swing.

…Huh?

I knew I was quick, but I also know that I’m not that fast. I should have lost an eye. There’s simply no way I should have dodged that. Regardless, I take the opportunity and land three slashes on the General’s armor as he lightly staggers from the missed swing. The Deathly Life Ring does its job as expected, and I feel some of my vitality resurrect. I spare a quick glance at Rocco and try to silently communicate with my eyes.

Was that… a coincidence?

I’ve been vaguely aware of this girl’s instincts towards chickens ever since I’ve become her, but it’s never manifested in a way like this. If my split-second deduction holds correct, then it’s possible that my body’s current fear of Rocco is actually an advantage. Perhaps Village Girl A here is instinctually inclined to move faster at the clucking of the Rock Chickens she’s raised. With Rocco, it’s clearly out of fear, but with the others, like Cooper and Emerald, it’s possible that it could be out of a sense of urgency. Regardless, if my body is forced to respond to chicken clucks, bgawks, and a cock-a-doodle-doos in certain ways, can’t I try to use those reactions to upgrade my movements in battle?

I should add this idea to my newly dubbed Chicken Mindset Synchronization Theory. My body is naturally quick, so I’ve been running around like a chicken, and I’m using equipped claws to mimic chicken talons as well. If I start listening to Rocco, just like all the other Rock Chickens in the coop, wouldn’t I naturally synchronize faster? The instincts are already there, and it’s clear that Rocco holds respect within the group. He must have a battle sense the others don’t. Even as I’m desperately fighting off powerful sword swings, this idea keeps running through my head.

Would something ridiculous like that even work?

Actually, perhaps it’s just better if I don’t think about it. Chickens aren’t usually beings who think too hard about what they do anyways. They eat their food, they raise their young, and they satisfy my cravings once they’re done. It’s time to turn my brain off. With nothing else but a vague hope, I call out to Rocco.

“Rocco!! Keep talking to me, I trust you!”

The usual grumpy expression that I could somehow perceive on Rocco’s face changed. It was hard to tell, but if a chicken could smile ever-so-subtly, I think Rocco’s expression in that moment could have been the perfect picture of that statement.

Instantly, Rocco starts clucking up a storm, and I feel my body moving in ways I never thought it could. What the heck is with all these jumps and flips?! I’m also kicking just as much as I'm scratching. Were my kicks always this strong, or is my body so scared of Rocco that it harnesses unknown power to do what he says?

The General seems just as bewildered as I am, the poor guy.

“W-What is this witchcraft?! Are you listening to the Demon King’s whispers, you wretch? This gives me all the more reason to strike you down here! Even if you do borrow power from some unscrupulous force, it shall not aid you in your victory, you fiend!”

How ironic that the General is scolding me on borrowed power, when he still has a certain malicious necrotic tome strapped to his waist. Dear General, don’t you know? In another timeline, you pulled the same trick I did, and you died for it! It’s a shame he can’t see his alternate future, for if he could, I think I could mess with him just a little bit more.

As I’m violently slashing at the General’s armor, I’m doing my best to process how my body feels in each movement. I need to remember these motions that somehow overwhelm a figure as powerful as him. Likewise, I need to memorize each of Rocco’s various sounds so that I can play them back mentally later. If I combine these movements and force myself to feel my instinctual fear, a fighting style like this would become natural through training.

What a ridiculous way of fighting, isn’t it? When I defeat the Hero at the climax of my adventure, am I going to have to explain that I did so while harnessing my fear of a chicken, while also fighting like a chicken, amongst an army of chickens? I might as well be the Chicken King at that point. Maybe I can just lie my way around that explanation and harness my inner delusions in an attempt to look cooler or something.

That aside, Chicken Mindset Synchronization Theory is truly a wonderful thing! My swipes are quicker, I’m dodging more attacks, and the ones I can’t, I don’t even have to block anymore! Rocco has been jumping in and acting as my shield, using what seems to be a skill that hardens his feathers into a boulder-like state. I assume he wasn’t helping me before because he couldn’t understand my movements. Now that my body is following his command, he seems more confident that he won’t mess anything up.

I should give Rocco some special food once we’re done here. I truly owe him that much at least.

These longswords still slash at me violently, and the General still curses me, but I see the beads of sweat on his forehead now. I’m in the Homestretch, so I harness the power of adrenaline, the Ring, and chickens to push through. A slide over a long sweep of his swords sends me closer to him, and a few slashes at his legs keeps me in the advantage state. I kick, then slash, and then perform the reverse of that. My feet are always moving as I take advantage of the General’s wide attacks, until finally…

A finishing cross slash!

The General quickly loses strength and sprawls out on the ground. My, my, how stylistic of Rocco to instruct me like that, I like it! I make sure to quickly snatch away the dangerous book the General had. There’s no need to leave anything to chance.

I ignore the General’s dialogue. It seems he still has enough strength to hurl obscenities my way. The dangerous book before me has a title in… my native language? Not the one from Namida, but from my first life, before I ever became Village Girl A.

…Did Namida ever have that sort of setting? How peculiar.

[Necrobelle’s Comic of Dark Secrets Acquired!]

And it has such an odd name too. Necrobelle? That sounds like an evil version of Serabelle, the bratty Saintess from the Hero Party. Is there some sort of connection between them that was never mentioned in flavor text or something? I wonder if the content inside the book is in my native language as well…

Oh, it is! Strangely, it’s all accompanied by poorly drawn pictures. I find myself unconsciously reading out one of the stupidest things I see, which happens to be next to what I assume is a crude self-portrait of Necrobelle herself.

“[Necrobelle’s-Super-Ultra-Secret-Necrotic-Spell-Of-Hyperdeath-That-No-One-Should-Know-About]? What type of spell name is that? It’s nicknamed “Nekuroberu" as well. Does a spell really need a nickname? Isn’t that nickname just Necrobelle’s name pronounced more intricately?”

“G-Girl… Did you just read out a spell name from that book?!”

“Hmm? General, what are you so panicked over? It’s just a spell name. I didn’t chant it or anything. You got defeated, so you should be quiet while I take a peek at this, alright?”

“You fool! Don’t you know?! The spell names from that book are the chants! What did you just read?!”

“...Eh?”

Suddenly, I feel whatever warmth there was in the night air drain away, and my surroundings become visibly more purple. It seems I’ve made a critical mistake under the guise of being casual.

Oh dear.