Chapter 526


    526


    <strong>Defense Specialization and Assistance</strong>


    A few days passed, and the exploration continued smoothly. Maple and Sally were exchanging information with the members of the “Kingdom of the me Emperor” at a cafe in town.


    “We’ll probably reach the Demon King first,” one of them said confidently.


    “Well, with this many people, we can’t afford tog behind,” another added.


    “Yes, the guild members have been working hard,” said a third.


    “If there’s anything you want to know, we should be able to help… to some extent.”@@novelbin@@


    “You’re fast, too. The “Congregation of the Holy Swords” might be challenging soon as well!”


    “If it was just a single attempt, we could expedite it, but this time it’s a boss that has been noted to be strong in advance. We’re gathering multiple chances to challenge the ‘Demon King’s Power’ since a single attempt might be difficult.”


    “Gathering information and repeatedly challenging strong bosses is fundamental. “Maple Tree” should also consider gathering multiple attempts.”


    “Hmm, it’s tough in one go, huh?” Maple muttered to herself, but the members of the “Kingdom of the me Emperor” didn’t think it was impossible for them.


    “It’s difficult… normally…”


    “But… if it’s the members of “Maple Tree”, winning in one attempt might be possible.”


    “What do you think? It’s definitely tough, but Maple and I n to give it our all.”


    “If you’re in contact with the “Congregation of the Holy Swords”, we might get detailed information soon. It’s definitely a formidable enemy, but we’re rooting for “Maple Tree”’s victory.”


    With that, Mii made eye contact with Maple, silently encouraging her. Maple nodded back, understanding the gesture, and Mii smiled.


    “Let’s get to the main topic. Encouragement is fine, but we have another matter to discuss today.”


    Mii cleared her throat and started discussing the main issue.


    “This isn’t rted to the main quest, but we’ve encountered a strong enemy. While our guild could eventually win with repeated attempts, we’re currently focused on the Demon King challenge and don’t want to allocate too much time and manpower.”


    “So if we help…”


    Before Maple could finish, Mii nodded.


    “With Maple’s defensive capabilities, we can skip the troublesome parts. If you help us, we’ll share some information in return.”


    The “Kingdom of the me Emperor” was ahead in the exploration of the tenthyer. With the flexibility in the exploration order immediately after arriving at the tenthyer, “Maple Tree” knew things no one else did. However, as time passed, that advantage diminished.


    Thus, the valuable asset Maple and her team could offer in exchange for information was not more information but the uniquebat assistance they could provide using their specialized skills.


    Maple, with her unique abilities, could counter specific enemy attacks effectively. Nodding enthusiastically at Mii’s proposal, Maple agreed to help.


    “I thought you would say that. Thanks, I appreciate it.”


    “You’re wee! Shall we go right away?”


    “If you both have the time, we can head out.”


    “Maple, I’m ready.”


    “Perfect.”


    “Then, let me guide you to the ce. We’ll ride on Ignis.”


    “Alright.”


    “Thank you, Mii.”


    “Let’s go then!”


    “Yes, we rely on you.”


    “I’ll ask about the information you need… I want to summarize it while we travel.”


    “Yes!”


    Maple and Sally discussed their needs and conveyed the information to Mii. After settling the bill, they left the cafe and rode on Ignis, who was erged by “Heavenly Guardian’s Flock”, to their destination.


    <strong>The Encounter</strong>


    Ignis flew them to an open area in the forest, lined with stone pirs inscribed with fine text.


    “This ce looks ominous.”


    “It feels like there’s something here…”


    “Indeed.”


    Maple had seen suspicious terrain like this before. It was clear something was key to this ce, but identifying that key was crucial.


    “Maple, activate “Self-Offering Love”.”


    “…! Understood!”


    Following Mii’s instructions, Maple activated “Self-Offering Love”, indicating that they might soon face a storm of attacks.


    “Is everyone ready?”


    Once everyone confirmed their readiness, Mii took out a small vial from her inventory. The ck mes burning within the vial seemed to be the key item. As Mii opened the vial, ck mes erupted from the stone pirs, spreading around and enveloping Maple and the others, reaching up into the sky.


    Despite being surrounded by ck mes, the forest remained intact, making it clear that they were in a different dimension.


    “Maple, are you alright?”


    “Yes!”


    “Impressive as always. The first hurdle is cleared.”


    “The entire area is burning. We could force our way through with continuous healing magic, but…”


    While the area was simr to the dimension where the final boss of the fourthyer was, the damage zone here was extensive and constant, making it impossible to block with shields or barriers. However, Maple’s ability to negate this mechanic significantly lowered the difficulty of the area. This was something even the skilled shield users in the “Kingdom of the me Emperor” couldn’t achieve.


    “We don’t need to worry about traps. And… the light.”


    The ck mes, which typically wouldn’t provide illumination, were countered by the glowing “Self-Offering Love”, lighting up their surroundings without the need for a handheldntern.


    “The terrain hasn’t changed. We know the path to the deepest part. Stay close to us. Shin, handle scouting and interception.”


    “Alright, as usual! “Destructor”!”


    Shin’s sword split into several pieces, floating in the air, and flew through the mes. This allowed for precise scouting and attacking simultaneously.


    “Once enemies are detected, we’ll take them down from a distance. All enemies are beasts covered in ck mes. Maple, use water, and Sally, use something other than poison.”


    “Got it.”


    “Leave it to me!”


    They advanced cautiously, intercepting enemies as Shin detected them.


    “”Water Dragon”!”


    “”Oozing Chaos”!”


    “”Blue Fire”!”


    “”Remote Location?Wind de”!”


    “”Holy Spear”!”


    Thanks to Shin’s urate scouting, monsters were destroyed by wide-range attacks before they could even emerge from the mes. The monsters, whose threat level was raised by the constant field damage, couldn’t even show themselves before being eliminated.


    “Looks good so far.”


    With no monsters reaching them, Shin continued his scouting.


    “As long as we have Maple’s defense, we’re fine. Mii, have you reached the boss before?”


    “Yes. We had to retreat after facing continuous damage greater than that along the way. The enemy is a phoenix enveloped in ck mes.”


    “A phoenix, huh…”


    “You’ve guessed it. It’s unlikely you’ll gain ess to this boss.”


    The key to entering this area was the me in the vial, and reaching this point required Mii’s tamed monster, Ignis.


    “Other tamed monsters might have simr quests, but finding them is uncertain.”


    “We’ve been searching since we learned about this quest, but…”


    If the numerous members of the “Kingdom of the me Emperor” couldn’t find another such quest, it was either extremely rare or non-existent.


    “We expect this to lead to a powerful skill or equipment, but it’s unfortunate we won’t have many opportunities to use it against you two.”


    While individual PvP opportunities still existed,rge-scale guild battles before Maple and Sally left were unlikely. This meant that Maple and Sally would essentially win and leave undefeated.


    “Maple and I might still participate in events asionally.”


    “Ha, we’ll be looking forward to that. We aim to surpass “Maple Tree” by then.”


    “Maple’s defense is hard to break through even from a distance.”


    “And Sally’s evasion… doesn’t seem to get rusty either.”


    “What do you think, Sally?”


    “If it’s an important battle, I’d retrain in a few days.”


    “Of course. But we can’t chat for too long! More enemies areing!”


    With another perfect interception of detected monsters, Maple and the team continued their advance.


    <strong> Final Approach</strong>


    As they progressed, Maple and Sally noticed changes in their surroundings.


    “The wind…”


    “Yes, but there’s no damage.”


    “The firepower has increased, but as expected from Maple.”


    “The number of enemies will increase. We’re close to the boss!”


    “Maple, let’s deploy “Demon King’s Power” too.”


    “Right! With all this fire, there’s plenty of energy!”


    The entire area burning provided Maple with sufficient energy without needing to use the drill.


    “We’re under attack again! Focus forward!”


    “”Demon King’s Power”!”


    The shattered cube transformed into a gatling gun, scattering blue bullets forward. However, a few monsters slipped through the barrage.


    The first monsters they saw were leopards and hawks, rushing at high speed. Their glowing red eyes showed strong hostility as they charged, burning with ck mes.


    “Not on my watch!”


    “”Inferno”!”


    “”Water Dragon”!”


    Shin’s sword, used for scouting, was now an attack weapon, piercing through monsters from behind while Mii and Sally intercepted from the front.


    Against the top-tier yers, the monsters, weakened by the nullified field mechanics, stood no chance.


    “Smooth sailing so far. Are we almost there?”


    “Yes… around herest time.”


    “Maple, I’ll cast continuous healing spells for added protection.”


    “Yes!”


    “Let’s avoid using tamed monsters. It would be too taxing on Maple.”


    Maple’s “Self-Offering Love” attracted all attacks within its range, and targeting multiple allies would overwhelm her defenses.


    “Okay, I’ll attack with “Destructor”.”


    “Sally, stay within range… though I know you will.”


    “I won’t make a mistake.”


    Next was the boss battle, where the ck mes would deal unavoidable damage even to Maple.


    “”Afterglow of Salvation”.”


    White feathers extended from Maple’s back, intensifying the swirling wind. From within the rising ck mes, a high-pitched screech echoed, and a massive phoenix, its body ame, appeared.


    “…!”


    Maple quickly realized the change. The wind mixed with mes began to burn her, reducing her HP.


    Absorbing the damage for six people resulted in unprecedented damage levels for Maple, even with “Afterglow of Salvation”’s damage reduction.


    “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”


    Misery, holding her staff, reassured Maple.


    “”Healing Fountain””Healing Light”!”


    A continuous healing zone at her feet and powerful healing magic instantly restored Maple’s HP.


    “If it’s just one target, my high-healing spells will suffice. I will protect you.”


    “Yes!”


    With Maple absorbing the damage, Misery’s healing was enough. This allowed the remaining four to move freely.


    “Let’s keep attacking. A swift victory is best for them.”


    “Agreed. Shin, can you use some “Destructor” swords as tforms?”


    “Ha, you’re asking for a lot. Well, if it’s Sally, sure. Okay.”


    “Not all information isplete. There are still unknowns about the boss, so be careful…”


    Focused, the four aimed their weapons at the circling boss.


    “Let’s fly!”


    Shin no longer needed “Destructor” for scouting. Using the swords as tforms, he ascended into the sky, surrounded by swords.


    “I’ll borrow this!”


    Sally shot threads to anchor on Shin’s sword, retracting them to elerate andunching herself into the sky with a flying device. Seeing this, the phoenix pped its wings, creating fiery tornadoes.


    Avoiding therge attacks with agility, Shin and Sally closed in on the boss.


    “”Quintuple sh”!”


    “”Destructor”!”


    With Maple handling defense, they could attack aggressively despite the phoenix’s burning body. Shin continued to dodge and attack from a distance.


    However, the phoenix, not just a punching bag, increased its mes and dive-bombed towards the ground.


    Mii and Maple prepared to intercept.


    “”Inferno”!”


    “”Barrel Deployment””Commence Attack””Demon King’s Power”!”


    A mighty me rivaling the phoenix’s fire and dual-coloredsers from Maple pierced through the attack.


    Yet, it was Marx who remained calm, seeing through the phoenix’s tactics.


    “”Holy Chain”.”


    Chains from a yellow magic circle bound the phoenix, activating a trap ced by Maple.


    “”Change”!”


    Swapping the location of traps, Maple was summoned near the phoenix, ready to strike.


    With the risk of using “Cover Move”, the team transported Maple close.


    “”Invitation to the Ocean Floor”!”


    A few seconds of restraint was enough. Maple, with her burst damage tentacles, struck.


    “Got it!”


    The phoenix’s wingsshed out, sending Maple back to her team. But in that moment, Maple dealt more damage than all of thembined.


    “Remarkable… as always.”


    “She’s reliable as an ally.”


    “But, we can’t chat. Time to finish this…!”


    With the phoenix’s HP dwindling, the team pressed on. Maple and Shin dived from above, while Mii, Misery, and Marx attacked from the front.


    “”Destructor”!”


    “”Water Dragon”!”


    “”me Empress”!”


    “”Holy Spear”!”


    “”Remote Location?Water Bullet”…”


    Theirbined assault left the phoenix in tatters. However, it began absorbing the ck mes to recover and escape.


    “Maple!”


    “Take the shot!”


    As the phoenix tried to flee, Maple, slightly dyed from the fall, prepared her weapon. Charging “Demon King’s Power” and “Machine God” simultaneously, she unleashed a powerfulser.


    “”Commence Attack””Demon King’s Power”!”


    Theser pierced the phoenix, ending the battle.


    Victory and Aftermath


    As Maple deactivated her weapons, the ck mes subsided, revealing a return magic circle.


    “Maple, Sally, thank you. You made this much easier.”


    “I’m d. Did you get something useful?”


    “”Underworld mes”.”


    Without words, Mii demonstrated, ck mes surrounding her defensively.


    “Wow!”


    “Troublesome if it’s like the earlier mes.”


    With fixed damage, it could be effective against Maple. Without a strong healer like Misery, “Maple Tree” would struggle.


    “It’s a shame we might not use it against a fully powered “Maple Tree”… but it’s good to prepare.”


    “Yes!”


    “If we ever need help, we’ll ask. You might see it then.”


    “Ha, not that you’d expect it.”


    “Well, we might need assistance sometimes.”


    “Just call us. We’ll be ready.”


    “Looking forward to it!”


    “Yes. You helped us a lot! Now we can focus on exploring.”


    “Yes. So…”


    “As promised, we’ll share the information and help when needed.”


    “Thank you!”


    Not only Mii, but the other three also expressed their willingness to cooperate, strengthening the bonds of friendship between Maple and the others once more.