Yamato had been wanting to ask, "What exactly are the requirements for training levels?"
"At level 90 you can learn offensive tactics, at level 100 defensive tactics, and at level 110 special tactics." Ella pointed toward Changchun, who was running ahead, then added a little ruefully, "Both of Changchun's tactics are level 110 ones. Too bad she didn't learn them from me."
Yamato felt her head spin, the ground beneath her tilting as though she might collapse and sprawl on the floor just to steady herself.
Level 110!
So it was true—shipgirls really could break past the supposed level 100 limit!
This revelation would shake the entire world!
It took Yamato a long while to calm her shock. By then, Changchun had already told Yat Sen to hurry and cook, while the group had boarded the warship to begin unloading supplies.
Carrying a crate of standard resources in one hand, Yamato asked, "So level 110 is the limit? How did you break past level 100?"
"In our Naval District, the highest level is 110. As for breaking the cap, that's something only the Commander can answer."
Yamato set that question aside for now. "Then what tactics are there exactly? And what are these 'warship cores'?"
Ella was panting as she lugged an electric fan.
"As for tactics, there are three instructors in our district. I teach the fewest—only eight tactics. The other two teach nine each, the extra one being a level 110 tactic. As for warship cores—that's classified."
Yamato, fawning, shifted one hand to take the fan from her. "Please, rest. So then, what tactics are there?"
Ella looked around a bit sheepishly, then picked up a basket of daily goods to carry at Yamato's side.
All this was information Hikaru had permitted her to share with Yamato, but faced with such earnest attention, Ella herself felt awkward.
"As for specifics," Ella jerked her chin toward U-47, who was grunting under the weight of a crate. "U-47 and the other submarines all learn a level 110 special tactic from me called 'High-Angle Evasion.' It gives a chance to completely avoid all attacks—really, it's just a boost to evasion."
Yamato swallowed hard. Immunity to attacks and dodging them were different things entirely. She didn't argue the point, only asked, "Can I learn this tactic too?"
"Anyone can learn it, as long as they reach level 110 and consume six battleship cores." Ella's voice dimmed. "But usually only submarines come to me. Other shipgirls have better tactics they can study elsewhere."
Yamato was stunned. "There are tactics even stronger than that?"
Ella nodded toward U-47 again. "She also learned the 'Reserve Shells' tactic. It's the most widely studied one. It greatly increases the amount of ammunition a shipgirl can carry."
Yamato was shaken once more.
So that was why Lexington could fight for so long—it all came down to this.
Ammunition load directly determined both firepower output and endurance. Its importance needed no explanation. At times, even a ten percent difference in ammo capacity could decide life or death.
She couldn't help but exclaim, "With such powerful tactics, your shipgirls must all learn them as soon as they hit the right level!"
Ella shook her head.
Yamato stared. "What? Why not? Is it because you don't have enough of those warship cores?"
Warship cores had never been scarce. Though later they had been dismantled into resources to fuel sorties in the search for the Commander, back when Hikaru was present, every type of warship core numbered in the hundreds, even thousands.
"It's because the Commander is lazy," Ella admitted with embarrassment. "He couldn't be bothered to oversee us learning tactics. He never once had us practice the level 90 or level 100 ones. Basically, only his most valued shipgirls were made to learn 'Reserve Shells' and 'High-Angle Evasion.' Oh, and Changchun's two tactics."
Yamato was dumbfounded, as if hearing a fairy tale. "Why?! This was an easy chance to boost the district's strength, and he just let it slip away? Don't tell me the level 90 and 100 tactics are too difficult to master?"
"No. He's just lazy."
Ella passed judgment on Hikaru without mercy.
And she wasn't wrong. With Hikaru at only level 144 himself, he wasn't exactly a novice—but in the game he wouldn't count as a top player either.
He had never been diligent, always wavering between bursts of ambition and long stretches of idling his days away.
[End of Chapter]
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