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 502

Defense Specialization and Extermination

It’d been a few days since Maple and the others helped Iz. Since it was a hidden quest that was unlocked after completing multiple quests, the true quest in the 3rd Floor Area also branched out.

As they’d discussed, Kasumi and Chrome were called, and they were able to steadily progress through the quest. The progress could be said to be going well.

By going with five members, their ability to respond would increase. In particular, the addition of another tower shield-user was a huge change, increasing the sense of stability and reducing the burden on Sally when a defense-penetrating opponent appeared.

Since they couldn’t proceed without Iz, they prioritized completing the quests, and the hidden quest branch was finally nearing its end.

—And on days like today, when Iz wasn’t available, they’d split up and continue exploring different areas.

The [Magic of the Demon King] was still out there. Considering the case where there were twists and turns like in the 3rd Floor Area, unless everyone explored together, even if they had time, it wouldn’t be enough.

Today, the two of them were exploring the 3rd Floor Area while also upgrading the flying machines. After wrapping up their journey, they returned to town.

Unfortunately, it didn’t lead to any hidden skills, but the flying machine was further upgraded; its movement ability and control functions improved.

“I wonder what other areas are like.”

“It seems that Kasumi is progressing through the 4th Floor Area quite smoothly. The quest is slightly different, though. Unlike in the 3rd Floor Area, the next quest won’t automatically appear after you cleared the prerequisite one.”

“Hee… I’m looking forward to it!”

“Chrome is doing his best on the 6th Floor Area… I guess we can leave that to him. Apparently, there’s a variety of options depending on the number of monsters defeated? It’d be difficult with just Chrome alone, so Mai and Yui also went there.”

“I’ll go take a look!”

“I wonder if I should ask for help?”

The Sixth Floor Area was particularly effective against Sally. It was much more powerful than the hundreds of bullets fired by the boss.

“Isn’t Kanade on the 8th Floor Area?”

“Yes, but it seems that he’s already figured it out quite a bit. That’s why I asked Mai and Yui to head over to Chrome instead.”

“Oh, as expected of Kanade!”

“As to where we are headed next… Hm, what about the 5th Floor Area?”

They wanted to make as much progress as possible in the uncharted areas. Considering the goal of [Maple Tree], obtaining the [Magic of Demon King] wouldn’t be a problem as long as there was one player who could accept the quest.

Thus, keeping efficiency in mind, their next destination would be an unexplored area.

“Besides… there doesn’t seem to be a clear division into areas regarding the 2nd, 7th, and the 9th Floor Areas… If anything, the more ‘area-like’ part serves as an introduction to the [Magic of the Demon King].”

All of the areas that Sally listed were areas that had a lot of terrain coming together to form a rich natural environment, and the main focus was taming monsters and interpersonal battles. The fields themselves didn’t have much of a feature.

Therefore, even among the 10th Floor, there was no place that could be said to clearly indicate that area. But apparently, it played a role in connecting the wide field of the 10th Floor.

There were still many places to go.

As the two of them were talking about the past and the future in the middle of town, a familiar person passed by and spoke to them.

“Hey, how is the strategy going?”

“Did you just come back to see what’s going on?”

Wilbert and Lily arrived. They were the guild masters of [Rapid Fire].

“It’s going well! How about Lily and the others?”

“It’s so-so. We’re currently conquering the 3rd Floor Area, but we’re having a slight issue.”

It seemed that the [Rapid Fire] hadn’t chanced upon the secret of the 3rd Floor Area that Kanade had uncovered, and there seemed to be talk about it.

“For the past few days, I heard from Wilbert that there was a clearly extreme aircraft flying in the sky from time to time. I think you probably have a clue.”

Lily must be referring to Iz’s flying machine. That thing was clearly different from what other players rode. Naturally, since the number of quests cleared and the number of parts acquired were different, a difference in output was only to be expected.

“You must be onto something.”

“As usual, you’re keen.”

“Of course, I won’t force it. However, we have negotiating materials.”

[Rapid Fire] could smoothly conquer the 5th and 6th Floor Areas. In exchange, they’d be able to share information and cooperate in the battle there.

“Of course, if you say it’s not necessary because you want to figure it out from scratch yourselves, that’s also fine. In that case, I’ll back off.”

“I see…”

“Hm… Maple, what do you want to do?”

Sally asked Maple. Sally also had her own ideas, but she decided to leave it to Maple. Sally wanted the guild master to make a decision that she could accept and have no regrets about.

“Got it! Let’s work together!”

“I know you’d say that. In that case, the various things I’ve compiled in advance might come in handy.”

“Really? Thank you!”

Sally smiled and displayed a summary of information that she’d prepared to share with the members of the [Maple Tree] who were about to explore.

“Alright, then let’s move to a place where we can talk easily. There’s a store right there.”

“Okay!”

Maple was very active in inter-guild exchange. She made a quick decision to form an alliance with the [Congregations of Holy Swords], and even cooperated with [Kingdom of the Flame Emperor] to clear some contents.

Maple wasn’t the type to strongly reject proposals, and basically preferred cooperation. Lily and the others were also aware of that and were offering negotiations. Besides, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for Maple to have more active interactions and attain the opportunity to learn about the knowledge and established rules that she didn’t know.

Maple and her friends entered a nearby café, sat down, and started talking.

“I’ll go first. Wouldn’t it be more reassuring that way?”

“Thank you.”

After saying that, Lily started talking about the two areas. While Maple knew a lot about the 6th Floor Area courtesy of Chrome, the 5th Floor Area was a mystery to her. Thus, Maple listened attentively, taking notes so that she wouldn’t forget.

“As I’m sure you’ve guessed, the essence of the 5th Floor Area was within the cumulonimbus clouds floating in the sky. The town on the ground below can be used as a base, and may already be open to the public. However, no matter how high you fly, you can’t get close to the clouds.”

The flying machine from 3rd Floor Area, machines created by tamed monsters, and Lily’s skills were rendered useless.

Syrup and [Machine God] most likely wouldn’t fare any better.

“There are some magic circles that lead into those clouds. Let me show you what we found on the map.”

The multiple routes seemed to lead to different locations in the clouds. Each magic circle was guarded by a monster of varying strength. Apparently, the stronger the magic circle that was protected by the monster, the better the teleport destination would be.

“The purpose of the 5th Floor Area is simple. Climb to the top. Your goal is to overcome monsters and various gimmicks along your way to the top.”

The 5th Floor Area wasn’t quest-oriented, but rather like a gigantic dungeon among the clouds.

“The monsters that protect the magic circles… Well, I’m sure [Maple Tree] can handle it just fine. Besides, once you defeat one, you can pass through the rest.”

“I see, I see…”

After that, Lily continued explaining about the clouds. Fortunately, defense penetration didn’t seem to be prevalent in the area. As long as she dealt with it appropriately, Maple should be able to progress through the dungeon.

“My turn! Let’s talk about the 3rd Floor Area!”

“Oh, I’d be happy if you do that.”

Maple spoke about the 3rd Floor Area and the clue to the hidden quest that she heard about in detail from Iz while glancing at Sally’s summary.

“I see, I guess that’s why… Then…”

“Yes, that’s right. I feel that once you understand that, the quest itself shouldn’t be that difficult to clear.”

“That’s right. I got it, thank you. Thanks to you, I think we can start conquering the 3rd Floor Area.”

“I’m glad to be of help!”

“If you don’t explore the 5th Floor Area with the same members, you’ll start from the position of the player who has made the least progress. Just be careful of that.”

“What should we do, Sally?”

“Hmm, I don’t mind if we all go together, but there are other areas as well, so it’s not like we can gather that many…”

Even if all eight of them were to enter, there wouldn’t be any point if they weren’t aligned. Besides, it didn’t mesh well with the number of people in [Maple Tree], where the strategy tended to be carried out by only a few of them.

In that case, there was little point in rushing in with everyone.

“Would you like to go there? We can help you reach the top.”

“Really!?”

“Of course. However, there is one condition.”

After saying that, Lily told them the condition.

“As long as you’re alright with that…?”

“—Yes, it’s alright!”

“Okay, let’s go right away. Let’s strike while the iron is hot.”

“We’ll also teleport from the guild home and head there. The location is as shown on the map. I think it’ll be closer to go from the town under the clouds.”

The two [Rapid Fire] said goodbye to Maple and the others and returned to the guild home.

“It’d be helpful if they could help us. I think this will help us proceed quickly.”

“Right!? We might be able to conquer the 5th Floor Area as well! …But is it really okay to make them do that for us?”

“Isn’t that fine? They were the ones who suggested it.”

“I see. Then let’s hurry!”

“That’s right. It’ll be rude to keep them waiting.”

Maple and the others left the café, flew across the town using their flying machines, returned to the guild home, and then teleported directly to the town right below the 5th Floor Area.

When they arrived at the location on the map that Wilbert mentioned in advance, Lily and Wilbert were already waiting for them. When they noticed the two, they waved their hands.

“There you are!”

“Let’s go quickly. It’s inside this cave. There’s nothing special along the way, and I already told you about how to deal with the boss.”

The four of them entered the cave that opened into the mountainside with Lily in the lead, equipped with vanguard equipment.

Although it was called a cave, after going a few meters deep, they immediately reached the end, where only a glowing white magic circle existed.

“This place exists just for this purpose.”

All four of them stepped into the magic circle. Then, they were teleported inside a dome which walls, floor, and ceiling were made of pure white, fluffy clouds.

What jumped out from the wall was a white horse about 5 meters long. His mane and tail were made of clouds, while his blue eyes sparkled like the sky between the clouds.

“Maple, shall we do it? Let’s begin.”

“Understood!”

The boss also seemed to have noticed the four people, and with a loud neigh, slammed his front paws on the floor. All around him, horses made of clouds spawned one after another.

A battle of quantity with Lily’s soldiers… No, that wasn’t all.

“[Reproduction]”

It wasn’t that simple.

“[Darkness of Rebirth]!”

On a floating throne, Maple spread darkness under Lily.

“[Sand Cluster] [Undead Army] [Toy Soldiers]”

Countless minions were summoned by Lily. A large number of summons was allowed because the individual units weren’t that strong. Yet, they all sank into darkness. What came out instead was a mighty warrior—a black abnormality that was several times larger.

The strongest collaboration between Maple and Lily. Maple had created weapons that could be produced endlessly.

Black engulfed the white space. After crushing and swallowing the horses, the bizarre creature rushed towards the boss.

Kicking the ground, it ran through the air, trying to erase the distance between it and the fleeing white horse. Using the odd shape in front of it as a springboard, it caught up with the boss and dragged it down.

“I know it! It’s really refreshing! Haha, I wanted to be on the using side for once.”

“At the last event, Lily was in the boss’ position, after all.”

“That I am. I wish I could acquire this skill… Maple, how do I get it?”

“Oh, I can’t tell you!”

“That’s wise.”

If Lily got her hands on it, she could start a combo by herself, and her threat level would increase significantly. Surely, even Maple was aware of that. Knowing that, Lily asked half-jokingly, staring at the white horse being corroded with satisfaction.

“That was fun.”

As she watched the boss disappear, Lily looked satisfied. Afterwards, Lily and Wilbert left the boss room, saying that they should do it again when they had the chance.

No wonder the two agreed to help. After all, not only would the battle be over in a flash, they could also have fun while at it.

“Wow, thanks to them, we saved a lot of time!”

“Then, once we finish the 3rd Floor Area, should we make this our next destination?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“I’m sure Kanade and others have summoning skills, so it might be a good idea to actively use them when you can.”

“It was really strong.”

Infinite generation of lawless variants. Surely, something similar, if not outright the same, could be attempted with [Maple Tree].

Unexpectedly, they were able to take a step forward in conquering a new area. While feeling grateful for the friendship they’d made, the two left the 5th Floor Area for the time being and left the boss room to finish conquering the 3rd Floor Area.