Defense specialization and event outcomes.
[MWO] First Event Viewing Stand 3
241 Name: Anonymous Viewer
It's probably Pain who'll win.
Highest level in the game. Unstoppable, really.
242 Name: Anonymous Viewer
That's terrifying.
Movement's gone robotic—w.
243 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Still, the ones racking up wins in order are all familiar names.
244 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Top players being strong is obvious.
245 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Huh? What the hell is this guy... seriously dangerous?
246 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Ugh, the ones on screen are strong.
247 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Preliminary rankings
Maple with the great shield.
Eliminated one hundred twenty. Zero damage taken.
248 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Fwah!?
249 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Cheater? No... not likely.
250 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Or is it time the screen showed him now, after all that chaos?
251 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Is that him? Right there on screen.
251 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Shield takes the sword—w, w—
What is this—w?
252 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Cute face, but the things he does are far too crude.
Status effects, and that great shield—crushing the foe with near-total immunity.
253 Name: Anonymous Viewer
But isn’t his movement slow?
Only countering, since just now.
254 Name: Anonymous Viewer
True, in that stance, taking damage is normal.
Just as he said—what?
255 Name: Anonymous Viewer
What?
256 Name: Anonymous Viewer
What?
257 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Why is he deflecting the massive sword descending on his head with the sword’s own tip?
258 Name: Anonymous Viewer
Wait—seriously? Could that even be done?
259 Name: Anonymous Viewer
If it could, everyone would be doing it.
260 Name: Anonymous Viewer
On the matter of the body being more mysterious than status effects or even the shield itself
Changing location, in the event area, Maple, having grown weary of simply sitting, walked along the single path.
Directly ahead, a large group. Fifty individuals, at least.
She had seen parties before, but never so many.
Most appeared to be mages, immediately raising their staves upon spotting her and unleashing spells.
Likely they had hunted players this way many times before.
Their movements lacked hesitation. Skill was evident.
"Great spell—blow you away!"
The mana crystal had accumulated so heavily that the black shield had turned red. Maple wished to expend it soon.
No longer needing magical crystals, she bears the raw magic unleashed by nearly forty mages.
When the opponent's magic spent. Maple drew her dagger from the waist.
The greatest attack is delivered with the entire blade exposed.
A purple sigil unfolds from the blade's length.
"Hydra — Poison Dragon!"
A three-headed serpent, its body forged entirely of lethal poison, transforms the space ahead into a sea of toxin—exchanging all the magical crystals embedded in the great shield.
Nearly five hundred players were blown away, including those caught in the blast’s aftermath.
295 Name: Nameless Spectator
Too much of a monster, isn't it?
296 Name: Nameless Spectator
Something amiss
Absorbs all magic with base VIT, no defensive skills active.
A magic of absurd power
What’s wrong with her stats?
297 Name: Nameless Spectator
The armor must have some weird skill, otherwise why would it absorb magic?
298 Name: Nameless Spectator
Most large skills come with effects. Judging by the armor not glowing, there’s probably nothing.
I think.
Not certain.
299 Name: Nameless Spectator
Yeah.
I think the armor has nothing right now.
300 Name: Nameless Spectator
Seriously, that walking fortress w.
301 Name: Nameless Spectator
Seriously, a walking fortress, grass growing.
Remaining time: one hour. Only one hour left. All rankings would be decided within it.
In that tense atmosphere.
An announcement blared at high volume.
"Current first place: Pain. Second: Dread. Third: Maple. For the next hour, defeating any of the top three will transfer thirty percent of their score! Their positions are marked on the map! Now, give it your all until the end!"
"Seems it won't end easily."
Pain shows no sign of urgency.
“Ugh… seriously? This is a pain.”
Dread’s expression is openly weary.
“I did it! I’m third!”
Maple’s voice rises with delight.
Amid the varied reactions across the field, the event moves toward its climax.
Players surge forward, each aiming for the neck of the trio.
“There he is! That’s him!”
A swarm of players emerges from the woods.
Among them, naturally, are those with AGI heavily prioritized.
They cannot keep pace. A knife descends upon the nape.
“Huh? Why…?!”
But such attempts fail against Maple.
The enemy player, confident in the kill, is struck by a great shield before shifting to the next move. Others leap in, complaining about blades that pass through nothing, only to be consumed in turn.
After seeing such a sight multiple times, the players grow cautious. They inch forward, step by step. Most watch the large shield, the one capable of a single decisive strike.
Yet they have forgotten that Maple’s role is not with the great shield, but with the short dagger.
“[Doombreath]”
As Maple draws the crescent moon halfway from its sheath, thick purple mist pours out.
“[Paralyze Shout]!”
Players fall one after another, unable to flee the fatal poison. One by one, they dissolve into particles, starting from the front row.
In the end, the players became merely Maple’s points.
“End! No rank changes from first to third. Now, we proceed to the ceremony!”
The world before Maple’s eyes turns white. She stands once more in the first plaza.
She is told to mount the stage, along with the first through third place. Maple ascends the platform. She stands straight, facing forward. The weight of so many eyes upon her makes her feel a flush rise to her cheeks.
A microphone was placed into her hands while her mind went utterly blank with tension.
"Next, Maple! A word, please!"
The next part, the two behind had already spoken, but Maple had been too tense to hear a word.
“Eh? Ahh? Um, that’s… I’m glad I managed to hold out for one more.”
Maple bit.
She bit down with full force.
She could not tell what to say, and her words came out incoherent.
Maple did not know that her reaction—too shy to face forward—had been recorded in video form and shared with many players.
Maple returned to the inn at once upon receiving the souvenir.
That night, the bulletin board surged with excitement—threads titled “Maple is too cute” and “Maple is too strong.”
Added reaction to the bulletin board regarding the armor.