Defense specialization and layer progression.

"Arrived!"

"Alright, let's head inside right away!"

Before them lies the entrance to a stone ruin.

According to the information, this is the dungeon leading to the second layer.

Maple leads the way. Walking with the Dark Night Mirror held at the ready, defense is secure.

As they walk, a monster appears.

A slightly larger boar emerges from ahead.

"Wind Cutter!"

Sally casts the spell first. It reduces the boar’s HP bar by about twenty percent.

"Hmm… the damage is weaker than expected. I’ll need to upgrade my status effect skills."

As she speaks, the boar regains its footing and charges forward. It lunges at Maple with full force.

It is swallowed by the great shield.

"Can I handle the boar combat?"

"Sure thing!"

The narrow passage made the boar’s charge nothing but suicide.

Unaware of Maple’s great shield, the boars charge straight into it.

They turn right, then left, advancing slowly, inch by inch, deeper into the forest.

“Ooh! Another one’s coming!”

Around the bend, a bear appears.

Maple raises her shield, expecting the bear to charge in as well. But—

The bear swings its thick arm. A white effect shaped like claws flies through the air.

It vanishes into the shield Maple holds, but is enough to startle her.

“B—bumped me.”

“Never thought it’d have long-range attacks. And it’s blocking the path while staying at a distance.”

Unlike the boar, the bear’s movements are complex. It must be a higher-tier monster than the boar.

"I'll try it. Stand straight, holding the large shield."

Maple's large shield lay on the ground.

It seemed so to her.

To both Maple and the bear, it appeared the same. The bear saw its chance and charged.

Had Maple not felt the weight of the large shield in her hand, she would have reached for it on the ground.

As the bear reached the spot where the shield had originally been placed, its body vanished.

The space where nothing had been before warped. The large shield appeared. The shield that had lain on the ground vanished in turn.

"Was the 【Mirage】 experiment a success?"

"【Mirage】? I was startled—suddenly the shield was on the ground!"

"We used it as an experiment this time. But it has a limit on uses. I'll save it for bosses. For now, leave the fighting to me!"

"Got it! I trust you!"

Maple and Sally advance further into the dungeon. The dungeon is not deep. After ten encounters with monsters, they reach the Boss Room.

They open the great door and enter.

A tall, wide chamber stretches into the distance. At the far end stands a great tree.

A moment after they enter, the door closes behind them.

Then—

The tree groans and shifts, reshaping into a massive deer.

Branches of living wood sprout as antlers, leafy green and heavy with glowing red apples.

The tree’s body shudders once. It lowers its head. Its eyes lock onto them.

"Here it comes!"

"Got it!"

A green magical circle flares beneath the deer’s hooves.

Combat begins.

The deer stomps the ground. The magic circle glows. Thick vines burst from the earth one after another, lunging toward Maple and the others.

Yo…

Ha ha! You're slow!

Maple’s great shield catches the vine head-on, swallowing it whole. Sally evades the snarling vine with her famed agility, sidestepping it without effort.

The primary火力 is Maple's crescent.

Maple, a dragon crafted from poison as if from a counter.

She releases it.

It advances, swallowing vines, dissolving them, vanishing into the air—closing in on the deer.

Yet the poison dragon vanished before the deer's eyes, blocked by a green-gleaming barrier.

“Eh?!”

Probably that magic array! The attack isn’t getting through!

The deer extends its vines again, launching another attack. That in itself is no great concern for the two.

After a while, Sally speaks.

"Let me observe for a moment. Can you hold the defense?"

"Got it! …[Provocation]!"

The vines clearly target Maple. In that moment, Sally begins her experiment.

She repeatedly attacks with magic, forcing the barrier to activate again and again. Eventually, she notices something.

"Attacks pass through the horn section! …And the barrier seems to be maintained by that apple!"

Sally points to the apple glowing among the leaves. It shone brighter red whenever the barrier activated.

"Then… leave it to me! I’ll blow them all away at once!"

"Alright, please do."

Maple thrusts forward her crescent blade. The poison dragon reappears, this time consuming and dissolving all the leaves without hindrance from the barrier.

"[Wind Cutter]!"

This time, the attack passed through the barrier without obstruction and struck the deer. Crimson damage effects scattered.

"Good! It worked!"

"Going for a grand technique!"

As the crystal floating above the large shield cracked with sharp, ringing sounds, a massive purple mana array unfolded from the crescent blade. It brightened steadily, then took the form of a three-headed poison dragon that lunged at the deer.

The deer's body melted. Crimson effects spilled endlessly. Irrefutably, a fatal blow.

Yet the green mana array at the deer's feet flared intensely, healing the wound. Its HP bar recovered by twenty percent. The poison status effect vanished. The array fulfilled its purpose and faded into nothingness.

"Can we still use that one?!"

"Possible—but it'll take a moment!"

The deer does not wait to be consulted. The deer, altered in behavior, attacks with wind blades and thicker vines.

Further.

“Huh!”

“Uwaaahhh!”

The ground suddenly heaves upward, striking at their feet. Sally detects it instantly and dodges. Maple is launched into the air.

No damage taken, but when Maple crashes to the ground, she falls into a [Stun] state. Normally, survival would be impossible. Yet, observing that her HP bar does not drop from the wind blade attack, she may endure until she rises.

Still, Maple’s skill activation will be significantly delayed.

“Can’t help it… bothersome, but…”

Sally grips daggers in both hands and dashes forward.

Her expression, contrary to her words, is pleased.

“I’ll kill it.”

She reads the enemy’s attack perfectly.

For Sally, in her state of concentration, this attack is as good as nonexistent. She slips through the gap, moves with certainty toward the deer’s feet, and leaps forward with [Jump I], rising to stand directly before the deer’s eyes.

This is the only quiet safe zone in a battlefield where wind blades never cease.

“I know this is a safe spot…! [Double Slash]!”

She spins her body, unleashing four consecutive strikes with both daggers in her hands.

Holding two weapons allows her to deliver twice as many attacks as when wielding one. The power of each strike diminishes compared to a single weapon, but she overwhelms with volume.

Sally continues forward, her face turned toward her own back.

[Power Attack]!

Two successive slashes cleave from forehead to nape.

Then, fire magic scorches her target’s back.

Wind blades fly toward Sally, who dances above the deer’s back.

Evasion is effortless.

“Hm? Wasn’t this supposed to be a safe spot?”

She weaves through the whistling wind blades, evading with ease. At the moment the barrage finally chips away at the HP bar.

“Mmm… yes… that’s right! We must fight…”

Maple finally rises, facing the deer.

Yet all she can do is watch as the deer explodes into light before her eyes.

“Eeeeeeeeee!?!”

“Finished it while you were asleep.”

Sally returns, saying this.

For Maple, the dungeon clearance feels somehow unsatisfying.

Regardless, the two have secured their right to advance to the next level.