Defense Specialization and ‘thunder storm . ’


  Recently, Maple and Sally had been running around from layer to layer every day, but on this day, they had an appointment with someone . And so they were waiting in a town on the seventh layer .

  “I think they should be here soon?”


  “Hm . It looks like it . Isn’t that them?”


  Maple looked to where Sally was pointing and saw that Velvet and Hinata were walking towards them . As they looked just like how Maple had described them, Sally recognized them at once .

  “I’m glad we were able to meet again so soon!”


  “Uh, this must be Miss Sally……?”


  “Yes . Nice to meet you . ”


  “We’ll save time if we talk while we move!”


  “Okay . Are you fine with that, Sally?”


  “Sure . ”


  And like that, the four went out into the field . Their purpose today was to get to know each other . But that was just on the surface . What they really wanted, was to see each other’s skills and combat abilities . That being said, Sally and Velvet seemed to have different ways of approaching this .

  The four of them continued to talk about inconsequential things for a while as they made their way to an area with the perfect monsters . As Maple was able to ride with Sally today, she didn’t have to worry about transportation . It was as they moved that Velvet suddenly turned to Sally .

  “Oh! I would really like to fight you later on!”


  “Me? You sure sound like Frederica…… Well, I kind of thought you would ask, based on what Maple told me . ”


  Velvet’s eyes shone as she waited for an answer . Sally thought about it for a moment .

  “.……If we do fight, it will have to be after we finish everything we planned to do today . ”


  “I see! So you want to warm up first by killing a boss!”


  “Still, I thought you’d want to fight Maple . Or did you see so much that you’re already satisfied?”


  “Hmm, to be honest…… I just really want to fight you, Sally . ”


  Being able to learn about her skills were just a bonus . Just like Maple had said, Velvet had a pure desire to fight strong enemies . As for the reason that she chose Sally instead of Maple, it was because she felt that Sally was more similar to her .

  “You really are just like how Maple described . Well, I do fight human enemies more often than Maple . I’ll beat you if I can . I don’t fight battles that I can’t win . And so I might decline after seeing you in action . ”


  Sally said and then she chuckled as if she were joking . Velvet replied by saying that you had to be straightforward with everything you do .

  “But I really don’t fight battles that I can’t win . I can’t allow myself to lose . ”


  “Sally hasn’t taken damage even once!”


  “Huh!? Is that true!? Hmm, that makes me want to fight her even more!”


  “The-there might be a skill……that has a requirement that you don’t die during a PvP duel . ”


  “It’s possible! I feel like pretty much any kind of skill can exist!”


  “I don’t know . In any case, that’s why I won’t promise that I’ll do it . ”


  “Okay…… But I’m still looking forward to it!”


  And so the four of them went off to kill monsters on the seventh layer .

  The place that they stopped their horses at was the food of a rocky mountain . In order to reach their destination, they would have to reach the top .

  “There are checkpoints along the way . And you have to get past all of them! And then there’s a boss!”


  “So in other words, the event won’t trigger if we use Syrup or some other flying monster . ”


  “.……So you know . ”


  “I did a lot of research as part of a promise with Maple . Though, I doubt we would have come here . ”


  Maple was the only one who realized that this meant Sally didn’t think it was much of a tourist spot . Regardless, the four of them started to climb up the rocky mountain . The path sometimes led inside of the mountain, but was made so that you would ultimately reach the top . Apparently, the checkpoints were inside .

  “Alright, let’s go!”


  “Yes!”


  Maple and Velvet took the lead, while Sally and Hinata followed after them . Inside, there were caves much like the ones they had explored in the past . However, no monsters appeared . And so they arrived at the first checkpoint without any trouble .

  Here, there was a decorated, closed gate that looked much like the entrance to a boss room . You could tell at a glance that this was a checkpoint .

  “We arrived!”


  “It’s so big…… Uh, what are we supposed to do?”


  “You’re supposed to choose people from your party and you will be able to go through if you beat the monster inside . Also, the monster’s strength changes depending on how many people there are . ”


  “I see . ”


  “I think that I should go!”


  “.……It sounds like it’s less about being a good fit, and more about you itching for a fight . ”


  “Obviously!”


  As they had avoided any unnecessary fights with monsters along the way, Velvet had too much energy left . And so she set the number of challengers to ‘1’ and then opened the gate .

  “We are allowed to enter as well…… Bu-but we won’t be able to fight . ”


  “Oh, so we can cheer her on!”


  “That’s right . ”


  And so Maple and the others followed Velvet through the gate . Up ahead, there was a vast, circular area, and in the center there was a humanoid statue that was about two-meters tall .

  Just as Velvet equipped her gauntlets and clenched her fists while entering a battle stance, there was a low murmur as the stone statue began to move .

  This statue was not holding any weapon, but it was holding its fists up . Its stone body was much tougher than Velvet, and judging by appearances, it did not seem possible for her to win .

  “Now, let’s go! ‘Second Coming of the Thunder God’!”


  With these words, a shocking amount of electricity bounced off of Velvet, momentarily stunning the stone statute that had rushed forward and was about to strike her .

  “‘Electromagnetic Jump,’ ‘Heart Stop’!”


  Just as it stopped moving, she leapt forward at a speed that outstripped even Sally . And then she slammed her fists into the statue . At the same time, electricity exploded and stunned the statue just as it was about to move again .