Chapter 501

Itai no wa Iya nanode Bgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 501

Defense Specialization and the Distorted Space (2)

The scenery inside wasnt that much different from the outside.

Neither walls nor floor could be found in the endless space, only a number of scaffoldings.

It seemed that they were expected to jump across the three-dimensionally arranged scaffoldings using flying machines. Considering that the boss was a bird, the mechanic would probably come to play later.

First of all, stay on track!

Got it!

From within, a giant swan slowly began to emerge from the darkness, light bouncing off its beak and pair of glass eyes. Its metal wings spread open, ready to pounce, giving off a boss-like aura.

However, instead of standing there and watching as the boss made its entrance, Maple and the others steadily began making preparations.

Their priority was to expand the scaffolding. They used an item to add a steel plate to the edge of the rubble, which was the original scaffolding. By increasing Sallys mobility, theyd be decreasing the difficulty of the battle. As such, they didnt waste the precious opportunity which was the boss entrance.

[Aggravate]!

As Maple drew attention, Iz soared away using a flying machine.

The boss attack range was wide, and staying inside its reach was the same as putting oneself in a disadvantage.

Maple, I leave the offense to you.

Leave it to me!

Maple transformed one of her hands into a weapon. At the same time, the swan made its presence known by flapping its wings. Along with a loud metallic clunk, the swan soared across the dark sky.

[Commence Attack]!

From Maples hand, a single laser beam was fired. Right when it was about to land, the boss sank into the darkness, leaving behind glowing metal feathers that accelerated rapidly towards Maple, before vanishing along the way in the same manner. Soon, many fluctuations appeared in the air around Maple.

Time to get serious [Flame Dragon Spear]!

A pair of blazing spears of flame were conjured in Sallys hands. Her trusty bleu dagger was tied to the end of the [Use Threads] that was entwined around her wrist.

A multitude of feathers flew like arrows. Even Sally, who was in charge of keeping Maple safe, would die instantly if she was hit.

Still, she was undaunted. Sally swung her flaming spears, keeping her eyes focused on the attack of her enemy.

The spears knocked away the launched feathers with a screech. Regardless, it only increased her attack range by a small margin.

The next feather rushed at Maple from a place that was unreachable even with both spears.

Gingin

Following those noises, sparks scattered in the air.

Wow

Okay, I got this.

With a clank, the fluttering feathers were thwarted and could no longer resume their trajectory. The culprit was none other than a certain dagger tied to a long string. The dagger, swung like a whip, surrealistically repelled the feathers with precision.

An irregular four-wielding style that Sally had learned. Since the dagger was out of hand, it couldnt be expected to cause any damage, so it was useless for attacking. For defense, on the other hand, it moved as if it was an automatic interception system that was impregnable.

Which was, again, very surreal.

After all, it moved as if it was controlled by invisible armsno, as if there were nerves coursing through it. The dagger, which was simply connected by a thread, moved perfectly.

As if the dagger itself had free willthat was how skillful it was, to the point that itd be much easier to explain it that way.

The dagger intercepted any attack as if it had eyes on its back, before shooting them down in the proper order without making a single mistake. It was truly a matter of skill.

Its okay. You just have to believe in me.

Uh-huh!

Sallys defense was one that focused on player skills. Anything within the reach of the thread that wasnt invincible could be shot downan amazing technique that no one could imitate.

[Water Dragon]! [Flash Flood]!

The heavy stream of water blocked the falling feathers. By mixing and matching skills, the defense became truly impenetrable.

[Poison Dragon]!

Im going in, too!

Maple constantly fired lasers, and when Iz appeared, the two attacked together.

As expected, Maples strength lay in her array of powerful long-range attacks.

She initiated the first movesomething that no ordinary tower shield user could pull offand successfully attacked the boss, shaving its HP.

However, as expected of the boss, it quickly showed that it was on a different level from the mechanical fish they fought along the way.

The boss faced the three of them, bending its gigantic metal wings and bringing the tip together above its head. Just as they finished drawing a circular arc, they began to glow brightly.

Maple!

[Cover] [Pierce Guard]!

Sally quickly swapped positions with Maple, while Iz evacuated above.

The circular wing was a gun muzzle. A moment later, a pure white beam of light engulfed Maple and Sally, along with many of the scaffolds.

Im okay!

As expected of Maple.

As the light subsided, it was revealed that Maple, who stood unharmed, had protected Sally.

Maple couldnt deal with feathers, yet Sally could. Sally couldnt withstand the ray of light, yet Maple could.

While the two of them made up for each others weaknesses and survived the boss attacks, Iz, flying freely in the sky, charged up her four weapons.

Lock on, fire!

The fired missiles split into small pieces in the air, exploding as they came near the boss. Flames spewed at the boss from the front, while pillars of light cascaded from above, exacting vengeance. The pursuing storm swallowed up the boss, threatening to rip off its wings.

Of course, it was still not enough to slay the boss once and for all. Still, to think such massive damage was created by a single production worker

I wish I can use it more often in the future Well, weve got a long way to go.

A voice echoed from inside the car as the flying machine roared, gaining altitude towards the boss.

The banging sound was the sound of Sally effortlessly deflecting the metal feathers despite the moving and unstable scaffolding.

Deploy energy barrier!

The brilliance that rivaled the boss pillars of light acted as a shield to block the blow that shouldve hit the vehicle body.

Due to the narrowing distance, it became harder to evade, but Iz used a once-a-day barrier to break through the ever-increasing barrage.

Hehe, its worth the ride!

Yeah! [Deploy All Weapons]! [Dedicated Affection]!

Once they were close enough, Maple hugged Sally and stared at the boss.

Her fastest flight in a straight line while protecting Sally from her own blasts.

[Commence Attack] [Pierce Guard]!

Using Izs flying machine as a foothold, Maple flew straight towards the boss. A forceful breakthrough that ignored everything elsesomething that neither Iz nor Sally could do. By nullifying defense penetration with [Pierce Guard], she could come out on top.

[Quick Change]

[Heal]

[Aegis]

Maple changed to white equipment and healed herself immediately. Right after securing HP, she activated [Aegis] to extend the invincibility period and closed in on the boss.

When she was close enough to hear the meshing of gears within the boss, Maple attempted a final advance with Sally and the flying machine.

Stay calm Alright!

Okay, well done. Leave the surroundings to me!

Without panicking, Maple opened her inventory and switched her tower shield to [Replica of the Dark Night], from the [Evil Eater] series. Then, with the invincibility still remaining, she slammed the tower shield against the long neck of the swan boss.

It was a heavier blow, different from the long-range attack that slowly chipped away at something.

With Sally knocking down the feathers in their surroundings, Maple wouldnt have to absorb any unnecessary things, and the [Evil Eater] would be solely focused on the boss.

[Commence Attack] [Ancient Weapon] [Seeping Chaos] [Poison Dragon]!

With a clanging sound, two types of weapons, powerful skills, and the most powerful melee attack called [Devour] continued to assail the boss.

Then, Maples skill tore off the swans head from the middle of its neck, scattering parts around. The metal feathers began to lose their momentum, and the pillars of light died down.

It was a telltale sign of an ending battle.

As the parts that made up the boss fell apart and disappeared, the only thing that remained in the air was a ring made of multiple shining metal feathers.

We managed to defeat it.

Our first hurdle.

Good! It went well!

Right? If I team up with you two, I feel like its an automatic win.

Maple and Sallys weaknesses were obvious, so unless they were especially targeted, the two often won a battle without taking damage.

Due to their nature, if they made a mistake, they could be defeated. However, this time, they didnt take any damage, so it was a complete victory.

But Its actually quite troublesome. So, aside from Kanade and others who are solving the mysteries of the 8th Floor Area, it might be okay to call Kasumi and Chrome for the time being.

Since Iz was the one who was advancing the quest, the most efficient way would be to proceed with Iz as the lead.

Even if Maple and Sally did their best from now on, theyd still be behind Iz. For Maple and Sally, who had limited time, that wasnt really a doable method.

Besides, with that flying machine, Iz, would be able to provide firepower without having to be protected. The range of combinations and stratagems would increase, making battle easier. No doubt that if Chrome and Kasumi were there at this time, theyd have been able to fight in a different way. The enemys attack pattern was just that intense.

We havent obtained the [Magic of the Demon King] yet, and I expect there will be more battles in the future.

Indeed. Since we have a certain goal in mind, it might be smarter to get their cooperation and finish the Third Floor Area.

The reason why [Maple Tree] continued to split up and explore was because they wanted to collect information from each area.

If a certain number of players had gathered, it wasnt a bad idea to switch to moving forward in that area.

Ill take this. In order to continue to the next quest, I need to proceed with the modifications that I was able to do in the previous quest.

Feel free to!

I can help.

Youre such a lifesaver. Lets keep this up!

After the three of them finished the fierce battle, they each took care of themselves, and then climbed onto a magic circle that appeared on top of a floating rubble and returned to the original field.

The three of them, who had returned by teleportation from a place that could be called another world, took a breather on the spot.

That concludes it for today.

Should we call it a day?

Uh-huh. It was a pretty tough battle, right? I used up a bunch of features in my flying machine.

Without an energy barrier or a booster for rapid acceleration, their ability to intercept would be reduced.

Since Maple didnt have [Evil Eater], she wouldnt be able to fight using the same method this time. Sally must be exhausted as well.

Considering these, it was important not to overdo it here. After all, there was no saying that a stronger boss wouldnt appear.

Itd be great if you could accompany me for a while.

Of course!

It seems like itd be a good idea to use the free time to upgrade our own flying machines.

Iz was amazing

Even if theirs werent as f as Izs, once they witnessed that strength, their way of thinking underwent a change.

Itd be a waste to only use it for flying this time.

Thats right. I agree with you.

While deciding on their next goal, the three of them decided to disband for today.

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