was


    I got this.


    Mama’s techniques… are invincible.


    Just gotta… keep this up… for about thirty more minutes.


    something


    Why does it care so much about a tiny little human, anyways? How am I possibly worth its time and energy? Can’t it go eat something bigger?


    [It is abnormal behaviour indeed, and one I have no explanation for.]


    I ain’t got anything on me that I can toss far enough to create a ripple.


    Maybe there’s some debris floating right under me that I can pick up?


    focused


    Come on, come on, come on.


    There’s gotta be something I can–


    [There is something.]


    [You have enough points to unlock the tier two mutation, second from the right. Give me the order to, and I–]


    Do it.


    <div>


    <div>


    … And I suppose now''s as good a day as any to use the rest of the points I''ve been saving up?


    [Correct.]


    What do I put them in?


    [You are trying to be sneaky, but you are also trying to skate on water for as long as possible. Put a hundred and fifty into Hexichor Pool, and keep the rest. You may have need to unlock the last tier two mutation, but not right now.]


    Makes sense.


    <hr>


    <div>


    [... As you can see, you have unlocked ‘Ripple Returner’, yet another tier two mutation] [Going by the description of Ripple Returner, why not try imagining a ripple travelling away from the tip of your glaives?]


    This better work, Archive.


    [There is a one hundred percent chance it will,]


    …


    Just keep sending ripples away, some


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    [Very likely.]


    Really?


    [Really. Just keep doing what you are doing.]


    … You know, about my unknown Hexichor Art… has there really not been a single bug-slayer who chose the water strider class? Back then, you already knew the mutations of the water strider class were difficult to use and control. That means someone before me must’ve picked it before, right?


    [Correct.]


    How many bug-slayers are there with the water strider class?


    [Historically? Four.]


    What about right now?


    [One.]


    [The other three died gruesome deaths because they could not control their own speed,] [They managed to unlock up to their tier five mutations and died, quite promptly, during a training exercise with the Whirlpool City’s Harbour Imperators. Six years of training and resources spent on them, and in the end, they did not even figure out what their Hexichor Arts were. It is because of their deaths that we, the Archives of the Altered Swarmsteel Systems, never recommend the water strider class when there are plenty of other water-based insect classes that can do the same thing water striders can.]


    Not to sound cruel, but… they’re just three deaths. I hear the Attini Empire in the south loses thousands of soldiers every single day. Are three deaths that significant to you–


    [They were Hasharana, Marisol. The elite wandering bug-slayers of the continent. To become a Hasharana, one must have the aptitude to pass the Hasharana Entrance Exam that is hosted only once a year, consisting of three stages with an average fatality rate of ninety-eight percent. Only around twenty people pass the exam and are registered with Altered Swarmsteel Systems every year, and as of this year, there are only two hundred and fifty-five registered Hasharana.]


    [We are in Year Ninety-Four. Ninety-four years since the Swarm invaded the world and pushed humanity back to a single continent. The Seven Swarmsteel Fronts demarcate the seven sections of the continent’s border where the battles against the giant bugs are the fiercest, so we can only assign thirty Hasharana to each Swarmsteel Front to reinforce the local warriors—now imagine losing ten percent of the Deepwater Legion Front’s forces to accidents easily preventable by simply picking another insect class with equal potential.]


    …


    [Antonio Saranno’s death was a fiery one. I did not mention this to you because it was not relevant back then, but it was not a single fairy shrimp that attacked his fleet. It was fifty-two fairy shrimps that attacked all at once,] [By himself, he managed to slay all but one of them, and he even managed to die on his ship so he would not sink, taking the Altered Swarmsteel System down with him. He died so he could implant me into your nape, giving you a chance to survive. He was an immensely powerful Hasharana to the very end, and he had served the Worm God faithfully for over two decades—so please do not look down on the death of a Hasharana.]


    [Antonio Saranno was my previous user.]


    [I understand that, as an Archive of an Altered Swarmsteel System, my capability to empathize with my users extends only so far as to ensure perfect synchronisation in and out of battle. I cannot afford true ‘companionship’ as humans are able to do for each other. My voice can never be given physical form, and to establish sentimental connections with my users is fundamentally impossible given the nature of my design parameters.]


    [Even still, I… cannot help but wonder what I would ‘feel’ should you die because I did not resist your decision to choose the water strider class.]


    …


    … Are you sure you can’t afford true ‘companionship’ to me, Archive?


    [No,] [There is a one hundred percent chance that it is fundamentally impossible given the nature of my design parameters.]


    I see.


    You’ll just have to keep taking responsibility for my safety until the very end, then.


    so


    Maybe I don’t even need to row it, If I can get a rope and tie it around my waist, I can skate and drag the boat forward during the day, then rest in it during the night. For food, I guess I can just try to… fish?


    [Freshwater might be a little difficult to come by, but I believe you can manage somehow.]


    You know, you could at least try to sound a bit more… confident…


    crack


    …