Defense specialization and renewed exploration.
One hour passes as the two walk across the plain.
Finally, a glimpse of forest appears ahead.
They regain their strength and quicken their pace.
"Y-yeah, we finally made it!"
"This forest is deeper than I thought..."
They step into the woods.
The dense forest admits little light from above, dim and shadowed.
Thick undergrowth abounds—ideal terrain for ambushes by monsters.
"I'll protect you!"
"You're truly dependable."
No one could endure an attack aimed at Maple. Sally stays alert, moving behind Maple’s shelter as they advance through the woods.
Thirty minutes pass.
The ambushes they feared never come. The exploration continues in quiet peace.
"Nothing's showing up..."
"Too quiet. It's starting to feel unnatural."
"Haha... you're right..."
The forest fell utterly still, as Sally had said—unnatural.
As they moved deeper, silence grew absolute.
"Say something! Anything!"
Sally’s voice cracked with unnameable dread.
"Wha—? I, I guess? Uh..."
Maple forced conversation, trying to break the tension.
Then—*pop*—a sudden ignition.
The first sound in hours. Both turned sharply toward the noise.
A few blue spirit lights drifted toward them, swaying.
"This is a game, this is a game, this is a game... okay, okay, it’s fine, it’s fine..."
Sally muttered, voice tight.
"That’s not fine at all!"
"Run? Should we run? Yes, yes, let’s run?"
Fine was proven false.
"Well... using the [Gourmand] would be a waste..."
Then, take off the gear! I’ll carry you—hurry, they’re getting close!
Maple mounted Sally’s back, having equipped only the crescent moon for safety.
At that moment, Sally broke into a silent run.
Since the apparition appeared, monsters had grown more active.
Floating skulls, colorful spirits, zombies, translucent humans—varied shades of ghosts and specters emerged.
Ugh… I shouldn’t have come into this forest!
Oh! Look at that beautiful flame—green ones too!
The two, as different in temperature as desert and tundra, raced through the woods without fighting.
Finally, they found a crumbling ruin and rushed inside, seeking emergency shelter.
It’s in ruins… Shall we scout it?
Leave it to me.
You’ve always hated ghosts, haven’t you?
It’s impossible to grow used to that. At least in the game, one could escape…
Sally sits heavily in the chair within the ruin. Maple begins the search. There are almost no furnishings inside the ruin to begin with.
Only a tattered table. And the chair Sally sits in—equally worn.
A thin, grimy rug lies beneath the table.
And an old chest.
No bed. No one has lived here.
The windows hold glass in places, cracked or missing, held in only by chance.
The chest—what’s inside… nothing, I suppose.
Maple had hoped for a few coins, but fortune does not favor her.
Maple opens her status. She checks the clock attached to it.
What now? The in-game time has passed six o’clock… it’ll be night soon.
Ah… that’s probably why the ghost appeared… wrong timing… I brought enough supplies, so I’ll manage. But staying here… I don’t like it… but still…
Sally glances quietly out the window.
Outside, clear shapes move—people, not players.
No monsters have entered the abandoned house, so it’s safe inside.
But stepping outside… that’s hell for Sally.
No choice… I’ll endure it…
Maple, having finished her search, sits beside Sally. No chairs. Just the floor.
At least, re-equip the gear… the great shield—Snow White will do… or maybe play cards?
Simple entertainment items exist within the game. This is one of them.
Perhaps it might distract you a little… but two people can only do so much before it ends, can’t they?
“Oh! S-sorry! I hadn’t thought of that!”
Sally smiles faintly at Maple.
Her posture has improved slightly. She stretches, then takes the deck from Maple’s hand and begins dealing.
The night has only just begun.
“Alright… this way!”
“Sorry, no luck—joker.”
“Guh… gugh…”
Maple grunts.
The two play games Maple has brought—cards, chess, and others.
They pause for dinner midway, then continue.
In-game, eating is unnecessary. But Sally insists she cannot perform well without eating, just as in the real world. She has brought a large supply of food.
She hands some to Maple. They eat together.
Maple brought only entertainment items.
“Hmm… this one! Good, I win!”
“Damn…”
The scene resembles a classroom during a school trip, yet the surroundings are a forest, and the only structure is an abandoned building.
“Quite some time has passed… It’s already ten o’clock.”
Maple checks the time, then stows the cards and other items into her inventory.
“The outside is still bustling… I guess we’ll stay here for the night…”
“That’s fine. I think there might be medals or gear hidden somewhere in this forest… We can search tomorrow, after the monsters vanish at dawn.”
“Sorry I couldn’t explore.”
“It’s okay! Just promise me you’ll do your best tomorrow.”
“Understood!”
They unfold their sleeping bags and lay them on the floor.
They exchange brief greetings, then lie down.
The risk of monster attack is not zero, so they will take turns sleeping, two hours at a time.
Maple’s turn to sleep comes first.
Quiet...
Sally sits alone on a chair in the abandoned house, listening only to Maple’s breathing. She scans the surroundings, alert.
The worry had been unfounded. The monster did not attack.
And when it reached twelve o’clock, she rose to wake Maple.
A low, distorted voice came from near the table.
It comes in fits, yet unmistakably.
“Uuuwaaah!”
Sally rose to wake Maple, then collapsed forward into Maple’s direction.
Maple slept on, indifferent to the assault, her natural defense holding firm. The clatter of armor striking the floor, Sally’s cry, and the low rumble of a triple combo—each struck her awake.
What is it...?
"Then, out! On the table! On the table!"
Maple approaches the table, leaving Sally’s dwindling vocabulary—strangled by fear and haste—for now.
A low voice comes from there.
Maple tilts her head, listening closely.
"Under the table...?"
A tattered rug lies there.
Sally crouches in the corner, unable to move the table.
That is how it is.
Maple lifts the rug and checks beneath.
"Is there... a cellar?"
A floor with a cut in it, a handle attached.
Maple pulls it open immediately.
"Easy to open... a staircase?"
The voice grows louder. The source is undoubtedly below.
"I'll go explore."
"I'll come too. If something happens to you, I can't bear it..."
Sally rises slowly, pressing close behind Maple.
"Leave the front to me!"
"Thank you... alright... let's go!"
Sally steadies herself, and they move toward the source of the voice from below.
The two descend the stairs.