Defense specialization, bosses, and mid-bosses.

"Then... let's go back..."

Sally murmurs amidst swirling red effects and the player's death animation.

If, in this game, blood had appeared instead of effects when attacking, that beautiful blue armor would have become a beautiful red one.

The sudden, wandering boss event that caused a minor stir has ended.

The reason: two medals were found.

"Guess there really aren't many who carry these... we just got lucky, I suppose."

The sun was already sinking.

They had moved while fighting for about five hours.

The mountain where Maple stood was visible, lit by the sun sinking far in the distance.

It was already ten kilometers away.

They had stopped counting after surpassing a hundred fallen players.

Yet only two medals had been obtained.

As Sally said, they had been fortunate.

They also possessed strength sufficient to clear the dungeon they had discovered—this was a significant difference from the other players.

"Must bring them back properly."

Sally broke into a run.

A few players they passed turned to light and vanished. It was unavoidable.

"Good! Arrived!"

Sally slipped inside swiftly.

She remembered the path. She hurried toward Maple, then stopped mid-step.

"Ugh..."

A wall of poison blocked the passage leading to Maple.

Even if broken, the ground and walls would be soaked in poison. No proper advance possible.

"Maple... should I send a message...?"

A moment later, Maple emerged through the poison wall.

"Got the medal."

"Wow! Amazing!"

Sally handed the medal to Maple.

Twenty medals now, two of them.

Only need to hold the line.

"What should we do? I think we could join the raising of the two beasts."

"Ah! Right! That's what I wanted to say!"

"What?"

"Come with me!"

"No... I can't manage that..."

Sally could not advance across the poisoned floor.

"Hmm... then, ride on the great shield?"

Maple releases the capsule. The poison wall vanishes. She places the great shield on the ground.

"I'll ride, but how?"

Sally climbs onto the shield. It feels like a sled.

"Push hard."

"Wha—?"

"Push hard."

"Isn't that impossible?"

"I can do it! I can!"

Maple presses down with all her strength.

The shield moves fifty centimeters, then stops.

"...can't."

"Yeah, I thought so. So, what was it you wanted to say? First, I want to hear that."

Ah, um… there’s a small chamber off the dead end, different from where I was. A centimeter-and-a-half ant-like monster appeared there. It was weak—just right for Shiroppu and Hinata!

They hadn’t explored that far into the cave, so they hadn’t noticed.

Maple had been idle. After securing the area with poison, she had wandered through the cave to explore. That’s how she found it.

"Will it keep coming?"

Sally asks.

If they emerge at regular intervals, raising them there might be possible.

"Three appear every half hour!"

"Then… I’m sorry, Maple, but can you handle it alone? I don’t think I can go."

"Got it! I’ll do my best!"

Sally dismounts the large shield. Maple re-equips it and vanishes into the depths of the cave.

"Hmm, now what?"

Sally turns and retreats from the cave.

Not all of it is yet covered in poison. Perhaps a third of the area remains untouched.

Sally sits within the wide chamber, a short distance past the entrance.

A square, each side approximately twenty meters, its walls adorned with carvings.

Sally thought it might have once been the chamber of a mid-level boss.

Will you protect Maple?

This is not a dungeon transferred via a magic circle.

The dungeon, already cleared, offered poor spawn rates for monsters.

Only a few places remained, as Maple had described.

Sally did not know there were several places.

What protects Maple from Sally.

It is not a monster. It is a player.

Now that the dungeons were growing scarce, wherever a place resembled a dungeon, Maple would enter without hesitation, seeking medals.

"Without Poison Immunity, it's over."

A player with Poison Immunity cannot defeat Maple now.

If there is nothing else to do, Sally thought, she should guard her for precaution.

"This place… is becoming like a dungeon too…"

Maple as boss, Sally as middle boss, reward medals thirty.

Monsters nearly absent.

An extraordinary dungeon.

"Must hold until the sixth day ends…"

Once the seventh day begins, the binding that weakens Maple will break.

If they endure that long, Maple will revive.

"Thinking this way… Maple feels like some kind of demon god…"

Considering the growing number of players, Sally thought the exploration beyond the mountain range might already be nearly complete.

"If no more places to explore are found over there… will she come here?"

Sally waited. A voice came from the corridor ahead.

"Something's here!"

Four entered the hall, weapons drawn.

Sally checked her own weapon quickly.

Spear, large shield, staff, greatsword.

A balanced formation. They moved as a party.

"What business have you in this dungeon?"

"You... you're a player, right?"

A girl in fine armor standing alone in a clear mid-boss room—suspicion was natural.

Her HP bar was visible. That meant nothing. Monsters showed the same.

If Sally said she was a monster, she became one.

"Fight?"

Even if they admitted it, the risk of a medal grab made combat certain. Even if Sally denied it, there was no reason to believe her.

And if they proceed, they will surely explore to the depths. To bypass these four here would lead them straight to Maple’s poisoned passage.

That would undoubtedly appear as an uncharted dungeon.

Once they pass through the poisoned corridor, it would end.

The safest course was to defeat them.

Perhaps, Sally thought, it would be more entertaining to act as a monster.

Thus, she replied in a tone that sounded like a scripted response.

“Seems… I’ve struck gold!”

The four mistook Sally for a mid-boss and perceived this dungeon as yet unexplored.

“Let us hope for an enjoyable fight.”

Blue-light-wreathed fish emerged around Sally.

The reason she acted like a monster.

It was because she had become slightly stirred during the annihilation.

She desired combat once more.

If they believe her a monster, combat is inevitable. The opponent will give full force.

If she must destroy them anyway, she would rather enjoy it.

For Sally, enjoyment was the essence of the game.

“Fufufu… Yes, it is fun, after all.”

“Be careful! Here I go!”

“““Got it!”””

Every player who enters the game seeks a pleasure unlike reality.

Sally, and the four other players, were no exception.

Elsewhere, Maple lay sprawled in the inner chamber, cheering on Shiroppu and Hinata.

“【Bite Down】! Go! Do your best! 【Foxfire】!”

Maple smiled, satisfied as the ant fell.

“Good job! Good job! Keep going, level up, get stronger!”

Maple sat upright, stroking the two creatures.

Without her full gear, she would be an ordinary girl petting her pets.

It was a common scene from the ordinary world.

Maple did not know that Sally was fighting above her.

Maple might have been the exception rather than the rule.

Since beginning the game, Sally had adjusted to Maple’s pace. When given the chance, she would revert to her earlier style—playing alone.

When with Maple, she found the greatest joy. When alone, she found joy in overwhelming all.

She was not mad.

She would not fight without purpose.