I hate being in pain, so I think I'll make a full defense build

Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 279

Defense Specialization and the Giant Tree

“So, we arrived, but…”

“We have to go up there?”

A giant tree that was so tall it pierced through the clouds was now in front of them. Its giant trunk had vines wrapped around it, and there were places where the bark was peeled off, which acted as footholds. This meant that there was a climbing route for getting to the top.

However, if you looked up, you would see that there were violent, monstrous birds that looked much more intimidating than anything that was in the sea.

“…Do we go up normally?”

“Uh, I think that will be difficult.”

“Okay. Then we’ll use brute force.”

“Ehehe. I was waiting for you to say that!”

Maple changed her equipment and had two shields float around her. Then she set up Throne of the Heavenly King on Syrup’s back.

When Maple had sat down on her throne, she activated Dedicated Affection and developed her weapons. Then she changed the color of her equipment to white and activated the damage immunity skill. And with that, her preparations were complete.

“Sally, get on! Get on! Be careful that you don’t fall off, okay?”

“Don’t worry. I can make footholds in the air if I need to.”

Like that, their combined powers made Syrup a floating fortress that ignored such concerns as footholds as they rose into the air. Just then, three monster birds noticed them and came flying down while shrieking deafeningly.

“‘Commence Attack’! ‘Pierce Guard’!”

“Oboro, ‘Binding Barrier’!”

Sally ordered Oboro just as Maple started her attacks. She stopped the monster birds from moving. And while Maple wasn’t the best at aiming, there was no way she could miss them now.

“Thank you! They’re really hard to hit when they’re flying around!”

“You’re welcome. Oh, ‘Cyclone Cutter’!”

“Syrup, ‘Spirit Cannon’!”

Maple also gave orders to Syrup, and both she and Syrup shot out beams that burned down the monster birds.

And while the birds continued to attack her stubbornly, Maple had been extra cautious and used Pierce Guard, which meant she took no damage at all.

Ultimately, these wild birds had no chance against the impenetrable floating fortress.

“Alright, we did it!”

“We should be fine if that’s all they got. Let’s keep going until we reach the top.”

As they talked like this, the birds kept coming towards them with mouths open wide. But at this point, it was obvious which of them was prey.

And so Maple and Sally succeed in raising their level once and reach the top.

The leaves were just as impressive as the rest of the giant tree. They were strong enough for two people to stand on them at the same time. And in the center of the tree, was a giant bird’s nest. The two of them approached it without changing anything.

“Here it comes!”

“Okay!”

Sally got off of Syrup and held her short swords ready as she stood on a leaf. Maple directed her cannons towards the nest.

And then, feathers that were as long as they were tall began to flutter down. They were soon followed by a monster bird. Its size and overall air reminded them of something.

“It’s like the one during the second event! It might have similar attacks as well!”

“I see! Well, we better show it how strong we’ve become!”

“Also, look at its head!”

Sally said as she pointed towards the bird’s neck. There was what looked like a collar with a green gemstone in it. There was little doubt that this was the gemstone that they were looking for.

“We’ll win!”

“Of course!”

They said excitedly. And as the monster bird let out a high-pitched screech, the battle began.

As long as Maple was using Dedicated Affection, Sally could go all out. She listened to the several gunshots coming from behind her as she activated her skills.

“‘Path of Water’! Oboro, ‘Binding Barrier’!”

She used this skill, which she had acquired through raising the level of her medal skill. And then, a thick, gravity-defying pillar of water appeared from where she was standing. It shot upwards diagonally. Sally jumped inside with a loud splash and accelerated as she swam through the water. Then she rotated as she shot out and slashed the bird from shoulder to stomach.

“‘Inspire’! Syrup, ‘Mother Nature,’ ‘Path of Thorns’!”

As Maple’s equipment was for defense, she concentrated on supporting Sally.

Vines like the ones that were around the trunk began to stretch through the leaves and surround the bird. Then thorns grew out from them, causing damage and paralysis.

The combination of Oboro’s stun and Syrup’s paralysis meant that it could no longer move, so they could attack it without worrying about retaliation.

“‘Quintuple Slash’!”

Sally bit into a Doping Seed and raised her STR to its limits. Then she ran up the foothold that Maple had made with vines, and slammed the enemy’s face with an overwhelmingly powerful series of hits.

Maple’s bullets were also finding their target and the damage quickly racked up.

It was here that the paralysis effect finally ended, and the monster bird tried to tear away from the thorns and vines. But Maple would not allow it.

“Syrup, ‘Spirit Cannon’! ‘Petals of Sleep’!”

This time, pink petals scattered around them, and a sweet smell filled the air. At the same time, strength seemed to slowly leave the bird’s body, and it ended up falling asleep.

Sally stopped attacking for a moment and took out a special bomb that Izu had made.

“Woah, Syrup became a lot stronger. That’s incredible binding power.”

“It’s really helpful because I can catch up even though I can’t move or am really slow! Oomph!”

Maple stood up from her throne and changed her equipment to black as she moved closer.

The throne’s ability also shackled Maple. The fact that she stood up from it meant that she was going to go on the attack.

“‘Deploy all Weapons,’ ‘Invitation to the Ocean Floor,’ ‘Predator’!”

“Woah!”

Angel wings grew from her back, her body was surrounded by powerful weapons, monsters appeared on both sides of her, and five tentacles that unleashed a black mist had replaced her left hand.

Who wouldn’t run away immediately if such a thing came towards them? And while Sally did not run, she was reminded of just how bizarre Maple’s appearance was.

Maple got as close as she could before covering its face with her tentacles and unleashing her monsters on it. Then came the follow-up attacks.

“‘Hydra,’ ‘Oozing Chaos,’ ‘Commence Attack’!”

Each attack was ferocious, causing damage effects to fly in the air. At the same time, the bombs that Sally setup began to detonate.

“Damn…”

Sally couldn’t help but mutter honestly. Maple’s tentacles enveloped the bird’s head one more time as its body was covered in thorns and vines. Then the monster bird exploded.

“Yes! I can still win if I use everything!”

“Haha. That’s great. Look. Let’s pick up the gemstone before we lose it.”

Sally said. And so Maple splashed through the poison as she made her way to the collar. As it was as large as a hula hoop for them, she found it immediately.

The collar crumbled when she picked it up, and only a green gemstone remained in her hand.

“Sally! It’s the second key!”

“Yes, good. So, what should we do? Go to the next one?”

“I can’t use Bizarre Eater anymore… Are you okay, Sally?”

“Of course. You do know that I’m the one that’s supposed to be dealing the damage? I shouldn’t have any trouble, even if we have to fight.”

“I’m counting on you too, Oboro!”

Maple said as she patted Oboro on the head.

“It looks like Syrup got quite a bit stronger. But so has Oboro. I’ll show you just how much.”

“Yes. I look forward to it!”

And like that, they easily defeated the monster bird that held the gemstone. And so the two of them headed to their next destination.