Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 504
Defense Specialization and One Step Ahead
The march went on, albeit in a not-so-becoming way.
The bizarre variants protected by Maple’s [Loving Sacrifice] continued to mow down the enemy.
Every time the alarm ceased to ring, Maple and her friends realized that all the enemies they were facing had perished.“Ah, I’m stuck.”
“Oh? Have we arrived?”
In front of their eyes, the cryptic life forms squirmed unnervingly, pressing their bodies against the wall as if they’d lost their way.
“Please step back for a moment!”
At Maple’s command, the strange creatures moved quickly and retreated to the rear.
Then, a door showing the boss room appeared. The bizarre life forms had carried Maple and the others all the way to the boss room.
“Sst, let’s get off for now.”“As we should. It’s difficult to maneuver in this form during battle.”
Iz landed on the ground and lowered the eight, restoring her flying machine to its compact combat setting.
“Why don’t we head to the front for now? I don’t think the boss will be able to see us.”
No matter how trivial the battle was, not grasping the attack patterns of the boss yielded more cons than pros.
“Can the bizarre variants go through the door?”
“If we put one at a time, it should work. Let’s put in as many as we can in case we can’t resummon it again later.”
Maple and the others entered first, and then the bizarre life forms.
After that was decided, buffs were applied to Mai and Yui. This time, they had two weapons. Mai and Yui’s one-hit kill route and bizarre swarm route. Maple opened the door with confidence, as both had enough power to win.
As soon as she stepped in, Maple called in the strange creatures that had been waiting obediently for her. However, midway through, the boss noticed Maple and the others. Soon, the door swung to a close, and only five bizarre creatures could enter.
‘It can’t be helped if that’s the case,’ Maple decided and turned to the front once again to check on the boss.
The boss bore similar characteristics to the first mob they encountered. An LCD panel was glued to his face, displaying a glowing red angry expression. Six long arms extended from its pure white, porcelain-like body. Despite having no legs, it floated slightly in mid-air, wobbling slightly from side to side like a flying machine.
Then, they heard a startup sound, and the conveyor belt installed on the wall behind the boss began to move.
At the same time, there was a buzzing sound, and a red light that matched the boss’ expression spread throughout the room, enveloping Maple and the others.
The glow removed Mai and Yui’s buff, along with Maple’s [Loving Sacrifice] and bizarre variants.
Apparently, the light could dispel sustained effects and active skills.
…And that was how Maple and the others came to learn that the boss was on a whole different level.
“This guy…!”
“It’s proof that the boss is strong. Brace yourself!”
“Maple, please cover me! Chrome, please cover Yui!”
Now that there was no [Dedicated Affection], it was necessary to protect the two of them the traditional way. [Maple Tree] had two tower shield-users. Even though the boss was one step ahead, not all hope was lost.
“[Afterglow of Salvation]!”
Assuming that there wouldn’t be any counterattacks, Maple deployed damage reduction and continuous recovery buffs.
With this, the durability of everyone, including Chrome, had been increased.
Just as their preparations progressed, so did the enemy. What flowed onto the conveyor belt at the back was a pure white weapon that was made of the same material as the boss’ body. Taking advantage of its six arms, the boss picked up two and brandished them towards Maple and the others.
One was a square box with several holes in it, while the other was a gatling gun no matter how one looked at it.
The boss fired the gatling gun and launched small missiles from the other box, leaving a trail of smoke.
The moment they saw this, the two key members of the defense team responded.
“[Aggravate][Cover]!”
Maple and Chrome drew the enemy’s attention and defended. Although [Evil Eater] was activated, there was no problem because there was no need to worry about firepower this time.
“It’s okay! Go, Sally!”
“Kasumi! Setup, please!”
Entrusted with the task, Sally and Kasumi leaped out, evading the boss’ attack.
In response, the boss grabbed two more weapons from the conveyor belt
One was a shining blue string that stretched towards the ground, while the other was a big bell.
“I’ll go in first. If it looks safe, jump in.”
“Understood.”
“[Mind’s Eye]!”
Unlike the first two weapons, the second two were mysterious. Kasumi jumped into range ahead of Sally to see where the boss’ next attack was coming from. After all, Sally couldn’t afford to make a single blunder.
The bell rang and the hand holding the string moved rapidly.
When Kasumi used [Mind’s Eye], she saw the red glows that indicated the enemy’s attack. One was crisscrossing the air chaotically, while the other covered most of the ground in a circular pattern.
“[Tenth Sword: Vajra]!”
Sensing that it’d be difficult to evade due to the range and attack speed, Kasumi prepared for the attack by stacking her own damage reduction on top of Maple’s damage reduction.
As the blue string stretched with the swing of the boss’ arm, it transformed into a whip that struck Kasumi hard. Meanwhile, the bell targeted several spots on the ground, leading to multiple explosions that engulfed Kasumi and exacerbated the damage.
“Kasumi!”
“No problem.”
Although her HP had decreased, it didn’t mean that she’d lost the match. Once she’d seen it in action, she could deal with it better next time.
“[Ancient Weapon]!”
“[Crimson Wave]!”
“Lock on, fire!”
Maple, Kanade, and Iz banded together to provide fire support from the rear, dealing significant damage to the boss.
Taking advantage of the staggering boss, the two jumped on their feet and rained attacks on the boss all at once.
“[Quintuple Slash]!”
“[Arm of the Warrior] [Third of the Sword: Whirlwind]!”
The two’s successive attacks wounded the boss severely. The attack power of the two were also top-notch, so the damage couldn’t be ignored. The bell rang again, while the whip was swung.
Even so, Kasumi’s first experience with the [Mind’s Eye] allowed Sally to avoid the whip and explosion using her natural evasion skill.
Maple and Chrome aggroed the boss with [Aggravate], while the other four attacked with all their might.
The twins, who didn’t join and were protected, fell out of the boss’ sight.
The boss, who wasn’t a player, failed to recognize the actual threat in the room.
Chrome and Maple slowly advanced while blocking the attack.
They’d fought with these two many times before. Everyone already knew the range of their main skills.
Maple and Chrome sent them a glance, and the twins caught on almost instantly.
Mai jumped out from behind Maple, brandishing eight sledgehammers. The strongest weapon that had slayed countless monsters and mighty bosses.
“[Throw Weapon]!”
Facing the threat of certain death at the hands of the eight weapons, the boss immediately put up resistance. With its two free hands, it grabbed two shields from the conveyor belt, and a transparent blue barrier consisting of many connected hexagons unfolded in front of them.
Soon after that, Mai’s sledgehammer landed and destroyed the barrier with a roar. However, the barrier was so amazing, the boss was able to block it without sustaining any damage.
—but.
The Harbinger of Death consisted of not one, but two people.
“[Throw Weapon]!”
Mai and Yui timed their attacks precisely because they didn’t underestimate their enemy.
Yui’s sledgehammer struck the boss that wasn’t protected by any barrier at the moment.
The HP bar, which would otherwise be cleanly shaved off, was still intact, albeit it had decreased significantly. Maple and the others surmised that the boss wouldn’t take damage beyond a certain value.
—Then again, it was already to be expected. Without being surprised or dismayed, the [Maple Tree] began to finish their work.
“Get on board!”
“Okay!”
“Both of you, come here!”
Iz’s flying machine, with Kanade on the roof, flew along the ground. Maple and the four others jumped on it as she accelerated. Iz went straight for the boss.
“[Quick Change]!”
“[Heal]!”
“Necro, [Weight of Death]!”
Maple changed to white equipment. Kanade instantly healed and secured the necessary HP. The boss had its movement obstructed, preventing it from fighting back.
Mai and Yui also retrieved their thrown weapons by disarming and reequipping their equipment with practiced skill.
Ready.
The boss replaced his broken and useless shield with a cannon and sword in an attempt to intercept them, but it was too late already.
“[Aegis]!”
The stronger and the more diverse the attacks of the enemy became, the easier it was to incorporate the reliability of Aegis into their strategy.
[Aegis] would nullify attacks for a certain period of time. In other words, an absolute defense, albeit only for a short time.
…And when it came to burst damage, [Maple Tree] was unrivaled.
Joining Kasumi and Sally who were already grappling with the boss, Mai and Yui jumped from the flying machine, brandishing their weapons.
““[Double Impact]!””
An attack that nullified the opponent’s attack and struck them. In order for the boss to win, it’d have to be able to cancel the skill again.
***
The boss exploded, leaving only debris behind. The quest was cleared, allowing Maple and the others to obtain the item they were looking for.
“We got it, [Magic of the Demon King II]!”
“Oh, this is the second one!”
“It’s going well. If we keep up with this place, we’ll be able to finish it while the two of us can still play.”
“We need to hurry up and collect the rest. If we’re going to fight, I’ll give it my all, but… do you think we can defeat the Demon King in one try?”
During battle, the [Magic of the Demon King] would be consumed. Once they were forced to retreat, they’d have to collect the [Magic of the Demon King] all over again. If they attempted it and lost, they’d lose their chance to win, leaving them with only regret. As such, they should probably proceed with the quest in a calm manner.
“The Demon King… is it?”
“It must be quite formidable!”
“As long as we’re together, I think we can win!”
“That’s right, I think so too. Let’s hurry up and get the right to challenge it.”
“Yeah!”
Another step forward. Looking at the [Magic of the Demon King] they had obtained with satisfaction, Maple and the others finished conquering the 3rd Floor Area.
