Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 503
Defense Specialization and My-Boom
It took a few days to help Iz clear the quest.
Iz’s flying machine, whose add-ons were increasing day by day, finally surpassed even Maple’s [Machine God]. A formidable vehicle boasting a vast array of weaponry. Maple, Sally, and Iz swooned when they saw the current vehicle, which no longer retained any semblance of its original form.
“It has transformed into something awesome.”“Right? I wish we could take this to other areas as well.”
“You can’t?”
“The performance won’t be the same.”
Such was the condition of the secret quest in the 3rd Floor Area. Apparently, the abilities of the exceptionally powerful add-ons obtained from before would be significantly reduced if they left the 3rd Floor Area.
“I came across a note that said the special energy of the 3rd Floor Area was behind it… In fact, it becomes weaker when you move away from town to some extent. That’s why, it’ll be more fun to use it in this location, where it belongs. However, I think it can still serve some purposes.”
Even if the vehicle was weakened to some extent, the long-range attacks of various elements, along with the improved mobility were reassuring for crafters like Iz, who originally lacked these abilities and found it difficult to participate in battles in the field or gather materials.
With that flying machine, Iz could become a force to be reckoned with in the 10th Floor Area.“Maybe the 3rd Floor Area is intended for crafters…”
“Could be. I was thrilled when I came across interesting items and materials.”
“—At last, this day has arrived!”
The upgrade of Iz’s flying machine had progressed to the point where it surpassed [Machine God], which meant that the quest for the 3rd Floor Area had finally reached its final phase.
“… [Magic of the Demon King II]. At last, we’ve reached the quest.”
“The fact that it’s number II means that there’s no such quest in the 2nd Floor Area after all.”
“Surely… It seems like it’s in order.”
“—Here I am!”
“Looks like the exploration is going well.”
“Thanks to those two, it went faster than expected.”
“We’ve already reached the 3rd Floor Area!”
“I’ll do my best today.”
That day, they were scheduled to complete the final quest in the 3rd Floor Area. The members who had split up to other areas gathered together, determined to win.
“How did it go for you?”
“The 4th Floor Area? …Well, who’d have thought that I’d end up having fun? As a result, the capture is going well.”
The atmosphere of the 4th Floor Area was exactly like Kasumi’s favorite 4th Floor itself. Unlike other areas that had similar environments to each other, only the 4th Floor Area had Japanese-style dungeons and terrains. As a result, Kasumi had a lot of fun with the new update, which hadn’t happened for quite a while.
“Mai and Yui went to the 6th Floor Area. Thanks to them, things became a lot easier.”
““We did our best!””
Since the number of monsters defeated played an important role, Mai and Yui worked well in that scenario. As a result, Kanade had to explore the 8th Floor Area alone, but there didn’t seem to be any issue at the moment.
“I’ve almost finished solving the riddle. If you want to know the answer, I can tell you. But if not, it might be a good idea to just listen to the hint and give it your best from the beginning.”
As expected, there were very few bosses that Kanade could fight alone. As a result of continuing his underwater exploration while avoiding battles against mobs as much as possible, Kanade seemed to have obtained certain results.
“Then, we have to check out the 8th Floor Area next time!”
“Hehe, I’ll look forward to that.”
The capture of each area seemed to be progressing without a hitch, and at this rate, it seemed like Maple would be able to collect all the [Magic of the Demon King] while she could still play the game.
“Is there no information about the boss of the 3rd Floor Area yet?”
“Nope. Kanade was the first to discover the secret quest… No, he was probably the first ever player to do so. Even if that isn’t the case, there’s still no accurate information.”
“In that case… I guess we should just go ahead like usual.”
‘As usual’, as in apply buffs to Mai and Yui, teleport them in front of the boss, and hit it relentlessly.
There weren’t many players who could withstand that, much less a boss. After all, if the boss could withstand even the attack of the twins, then it’d be safe to assume that many other players would be powerless against it. As a matter of course, that kind of boss wasn’t popular.
The strength of an outlier.
Afterwards, they only had to prepare a large number of backups and crush the enemy with unrivaled strength.
“I’ve already accepted the quest. Let’s get on the flying machine and go right away.”
“I want to quickly clear it the first time. Hehe, Mai, Yui, I’m looking forward to it.”
““Okay!””
“C’mon, get on! There’s plenty of room for eight people!”
As she said that, Iz climbed into the cockpit and started clicking the buttons.
Then, following the noise, the compact size aircraft expanded vertically from the center, becoming similar to a limousine.
“Ooh! You can even do something like this!?”
“Yes, as long as you’re finished with the remodeling. It’s quite convenient as you don’t have to rely on tamed monsters that can carry large numbers of people.”
Although that long form would be disadvantageous during battle because of the small turning radius, it was perfect for transport.
The fact that it was a flying machine made it even more convenient because they could preserve Haku and Syrup’s giant form skills.
Following Iz, Maple and the others boarded the aircraft, and the flying machine slowly lifted up and flew through the sky towards its destination.
“I went there by myself beforehand, so I had done some research. I was defeated right at the entrance, so it’s only a little bit, so don’t get your hopes up too much, okay?”
If the flying damage sustained too much damage during battle, it’d be destroyed. In case of Iz, since it had undergone countless modifications, if all of the parts broke, repairing them would be a daunting task.
For that reason, Iz decided not to use the weapons that served them well in the previous battle, and instead used conventional bomb attacks instead.
“I was teleported through a magic circle, and beyond that… A factory? A research institute, maybe? At least, that’s how it looked to me. There was a long hallway with pristine gray walls and floors.”
Waiting for Iz, who’d advanced a little further, was a humanoid robot who was not much different in height from Iz. Apparently, instead of facial features, there was a screen on its head, and a twisted expression appeared on it.
“When it spotted me, it looked so angry. An alarm went off, and a swarm of robots emerged from inside. With no way to escape, I was defeated by a laser.”
Although Iz’s defensive power wasn’t that high to begin with, from her explanation, the monster could be said to be quite strong.
“However, there was no defense penetration this time. Just to make sure, I switched equipment to change the defense power.”
“That helps a lot!”
“Thanks to you, I have one less thing to worry about.”
“Uh-huh!”
While it wasn’t often that mobs had defense-piercing attacks, there was already a precedent in the 3rd Floor Area. Through Iz’s careful confirmation, Maple’s [Loving Sacrifice] was found to be effective, which made it a whole lot easier.
“Still, you have to be careful because I don’t know what’s going on in the back.”
“Understood!”
Iz, who’d been piloting for a while, stopped the flying machine in the middle of a gray floor that was buried in the dirt amidst the wilderness.
“I guess this is the last place. At least, that’s what I learned from the library…”
“If you’ve accepted the quest, there should be a response.”
As they walked with Iz in the lead, the ground reacted, and with slight vibration, part of the floor slid open like a door opening, revealing a staircase leading all the way down to the basement.
“Shall we enter?”
“Why don’t we make a line that consists of three people? For the time being, Maple, Kasumi, and I will go in.” (Chrome)
“Got it.”
“First, [Dedicated Affection]!”
Before she forgot, Maple amplified her defense with [Loving Sacrifice] and lined up tow people who were highly suited to the vanguard just in case.
Lights that didn’t generate heat were installed at equal intervals on both sides of the walls to ensure brightness. After descending the long stairs for a while, they arrived at the inorganic passageway that Iz had mentioned.
“Oh, it’s spacious from here.”
“Didn’t Iz mention that there was a large enemy? I guess it’s to accommodate that.”
The hall was wide enough for the members of the [Maple Tree] to stretch out their arms and line up side by side. It seemed that there was no need to worry about how to handle weapons and formations during battle.
However, as Kasumi said, the same went for the enemy.
“Maple, be careful not to get knocked back. It’s spacious here.”
“You’re right. If I’m not careful, I’d be blown away.”
Maple went inside, keeping in mind the activation of [Heavy Body] and [Throne of the Heavenly King].
Naturally, there was also the issue with movement speed, along with the effect range of [Loving Sacrifice], so Maple became the prime focus of the movement. After going a little further down the hallway, they encountered three robots. Although it wasn’t possible to see the exact expression, a blue light appeared on the black background of the screen attached to its face.
“If it turns red, it means that we’ve been discovered.”
“So, in other words, we’re still out of search range.”
Now they could afford to take some measures, such as pre-emptive strike or preparing for the army after they were spotted.
“How should we go against it? I guess we can have Mai and Yui defeat them with iron balls.”
Since the three robots were standing a certain distance apart, it was necessary to attack them with three or more iron balls or [Throw Weapon] to take them out all at once.
Once they launched an attack, the alarm would go off regardless of the distance.
While the target was small, with the practice that Mai and Yui had undergone, it wasn’t impossible for them to hit it.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if I protect them and break through all at once?”
“Well, there’s that. It can work.”
Take measures to be safe.
However, even without considering that, they could already crush everything.
If you’re overwhelmingly strong, you don’t need strategies.
“When a large number of enemies appear, it’d be nice if we can defeat them without being overwhelmed.”
They could have Mai and Yui handle it, but they tried to find a way to make it more automatic and convenient for themselves.
Maple decided to use a certain tactic she’d just learned.
***
“Oh, that looks delicious.”
“It’s a Japanese sweet that I bought at the 4th Floor Area. It’s a new product that wasn’t available on the 4th Floor.”
“Hmm, I recall seeing fresh fish in the 8th Floor Area.”
“There weren’t any in the 6th Floor Area…”
“Many of the areas weren’t made for sightseeing, after all.”
After Iz had switched her flying machine to limousine mode, they took out souvenirs from each area and arranged them on the table in the center.
“Iz, how is it going?”
“There’s no problem so far.”
“Let’s proceed!”
All they could see from the cockpit of the slowly moving aircraft was a pitch-black landscape.
Of course, it wasn’t darkness, but a mountain of bizarre life forms created by the [Darkness of Rebirth].
After the incident with Lily, it became a powerful and solid strategy for Maple.
As they watched the debris disappear with a crunch, Maple and Sally returned to their seats, thinking that there was no problem.
Thus, it became a breakthrough among players as a new and efficient form of dungeon exploration—
—As if.
