Defense specialization and canyon exploration.

"Right then, eggs first?"

Sally sits within a fissure in the rock face, retrieving an egg from her inventory.

"Should we keep it stored away, or will it vanish if left out?"

Maple asks Sally.

Items such as equipment and potions disappear if left unattended for two hours after being removed from the inventory.

"Perhaps... better to store it before the two hours pass, just in case."

They cannot retrieve this egg again if lost.

"Right, we’ll do that."

"How do we warm this, though?"

"Hmm... probably with body heat?"

Maple removes her armor and large shield, gently lifting the deep green egg and cradling it against her chest.

"Who will hatch from this, I wonder?"

She smiles, tracing her fingers across the egg’s surface, eager for the moment of birth.

Sally does the same, warming the egg as Maple does.

"Love is what matters! Love!"

"True enough."

They trace their fingers along the eggs, discussing their plans for the next phase of exploration.

"First, we'll follow the river. That way, we can return to base if needed."

In thick fog where even a few steps ahead are obscured, the lack of landmarks would quickly lead to disorientation.

The field is already treacherous with ambushes. Losing a place to rest would eventually erode focus, leaving them vulnerable to a direct strike.

For Maple, such attacks are trivial. For Sally, they are not.

Sally, with low HP, might fall in a single blow.

Avoiding requires significant concentration.

The fatigue is immeasurable.

"Got it! Along the river."

After warming the egg for about an hour, it does not hatch this time.

They stowed the eggs in their inventory and set out to explore.

"Right! Let's go find the medals!"

“Ooh!”

The two set forth with high spirits, walking toward the upper reaches of the river.

Sally said.

Such things tend to gather where something already exists.

Maple accepts this, too. She thought that if she were to place something, it should be somewhere meaningful.

A beginning or an end is suited perfectly to what it marks.

I look forward to seeing what lies ahead.

There’s definitely nothing to it—just keep that in mind.

Yes! Understood.

The path grows rougher, the rocks more jagged, as it climbs upward—harder to walk upon.

"Maple, climb up with the Cowl Move!"

Understood! [Cobalt Move]!

Sally moves ahead when the terrain is too steep for Maple to climb. Maple performs a Cover Move to overcome it.

An hour passes as they move forward.

The location of the base, perhaps due to its upstream position, is reached earlier than either of them had expected.

There stands a clear spring, about three meters in diameter.

Its perfect circle gives the two an immediate impression of a mystical spring.

Thick fog adds to the sense of mystery.

"Quite... deep, it seems."

Sally murmurs, peering into the spring.

Though not large in size, the depth appears considerable.

"Shall we dive in?"

"Likely worth trying. Few players have [Diving] or [Swimming]. They might have passed right by without noticing."

Maple cannot dive, so she decides to wait here for Sally’s return.

"Be careful!"

"Right, I’ll be back!"

Sally steps into the spring and dives in at once.

Down, down through the silent water where light does not reach.

Enough swimming. At the spring’s bottom, a broken chest lies half-buried.

Sally opens it with caution, watching for traps.

Inside, a silver staff. At its tip, red and blue gems set in place.

She checks once more for medals or other items. Then rises toward the surface.

“Hah! Huh—!”

Splashing, Sally climbs from the spring.

“How was it?”

“Nothing. Just a staff.”

“U—… I see… What’s it do?”

“Wait a moment… It has [Water Magic Enhancement] and [Fire Magic Enhancement], that’s all.”

“Not needed for now.”

“Yeah. What now? Keep searching somewhere?”

“Hmm… Let’s head back to base and check nearby areas on the way.”

Then we’ll go with that. This canyon is large enough—there’s no reason another feature couldn’t exist.

They moved carefully along the path back to base.

They searched both sides of the river, keeping it in sight, but found nothing in the end.

Before long, they returned to the fissure that served as their base.

What now? Head downstream? That could work… but it might be difficult.

Hmm… How about focusing on the egg hatching today?

Sally, having remained on high alert in the thick fog and expended effort through underwater exploration, accepted Maple’s suggestion.

Eggs, eggs—there they are.

Hey, here.

Both removed eggs from their inventories and held them close, stroking their smooth surfaces.

Ah… so smooth… feels good to touch…

Sally murmured, leaning against the rough stone.

Maple wished she could stroke the smooth surface forever, like fine pottery.

“Not hatching easily, are we?”

“Not something that hatches quickly, anyway.”

Three hours passed. They alternated between placing the eggs in their inventories and removing them to warm with their hands.

They spoke idly, fingers tracing the cool shells.

“What do you think will come out?”

“My egg’s purple. Maple’s green… maybe Maple’s hatches a herbivore? A deer, perhaps.”

“A deer… from an egg?”

“Monsters, anything’s possible. We don’t know what’s inside.”

As Sally said, in a game world, anything could hatch if the setting allowed it.

“Would be nice if it was something cute…”

Maple imagines various creatures. Many pleasant ones come to mind. Just as many unpleasing ones form in her thoughts.

Particularly, certain insects she would rather not imagine.

“What might come from mine?”

Sally’s egg was purple.

Maple envisions the creature that might emerge from it.

“Purple… purple… hmm?… Poison Dragon?”

“Ah… no, I’d rather not have that, thank you.”

If a Poison Dragon were to hatch, even if they fought together, Sally’s surroundings would become a sea of poison. That is certain.

Then Sally herself would be trapped, unable to move.

“Poison Dragon… Poison Dragon… I’d prefer something less drastic, if possible.”

The two dwell on what lies within the egg.

They chatter, debating what they like, what they dislike, warming the egg with care.

In the end, they had always intended to care for any monster born from the egg, no matter what.

Whether their intent reached it.

A sharp crack split the egg.

““Eh!?!””

“W-what-what do we do!?”

“F-first—put it down on solid ground!”

They set the egg on stable ground and lay flat, staring at it.

Finally, the egg split open.

Two monsters emerged from within.

The egg was quite large.

About thirty centimeters tall, vertically.