Defense specialization and deviation.

Maple enjoyed floating in the air for a time. Then, suddenly, a notification sound rang out.

...Who could it be?

Maple checked the sender. Three messages had arrived.

All from Crom, Kasumi, and Izu.

Their content was remarkably similar, as if planned.

Each message urged her to focus on the event.

I’m defeating them as soon as I find them... but speed still isn’t enough.

Maple replied with a note of encouragement to the three and flew onward.

There are some beyond the plain. I’ll head toward the mountains visible in the distance.

Maple moved toward the distant mountains.

She had noticed something.

They had sent messages to her—because she was alone.

Therefore, this time, strangely, she did not pry into it, but said she would focus her energy on the event instead.

Something happens when she looks away.

Not always something good.

This time, the three set out to suppress it indirectly.

Maple moved through the air for a while and reached the mountains.

"There are no people around here."

Cattle were few on the mountain with steep slopes and trees growing thickly.

As the operators said, it was not impossible to spawn, but the space available for spawning was limited.

This would be inefficient, even without other players.

But Maple, who had previously been the least efficient, now found her efficiency improved.

"I might do best fighting alone here."

Shiroppu returned to the ring and climbed the mountain alone, felling cattle as she went.

Maple held her own against players who had not prepared wool gear, given that she was fully equipped.

"Will Kasumi and Sally make it to the top?"

Within the maple grove, these two possessed exceptional mobility.

With full wool gear, they could hunt at least two to three times the rate of Maple.

"I'll take it steady. My skill should be ready in time!"

Maple’s words ended as the rock beneath her feet shifted.

"Ah!?"

She lost her balance and instinctively clung to the tree.

"Ah… no good…"

It lasted only seconds.

Maple thought quickly—what could she do?—but the slope claimed her first.

Her body struck something and stopped.

"Good I invested in 【VIT】… must stay careful…"

Without the 【VIT】 investment, she would already be forcibly returned to the town.

Yet by the time it rolled, the 【Bad Appetite】 had vanished.

“Ah… can’t help it. Just a little more hunting, then call it a day… huh?”

Maple rose and scanned her surroundings, realizing she had stopped after colliding with the great tree.

“Ooh… big… ah.”

Maple studied the tree and understood.

The lower part of the tree had split open in the shape of Maple’s large shield.

There was no doubt it had been the final sacrifice of the 【Bad Appetite】.

“S-sorry!”

Maple peered into the crack. Inside, beyond the split she had made, was a small space large enough to fit a face. There, she found a single rusted gear.

Looking up from the crack, a faint light glimmered.

A narrow, elongated hole ran through the tree’s interior. It was clear something had fallen through it.

Maple picks up the gear.

"Item name... [Love That Offers the Body]?"

It has no skill, no equipment slot.

No effect, no description.

Maple could think of no use for it beyond displaying it in her guild home.

"For now, I'll take it. Later... can I mend this tree?"

Maple changes into white gear and drinks a potion to restore her HP.

"Right! [Love That Offers the Body]!"

A violent damage effect erupts from Maple.

At the same time, light spills from her hands and wraps around the great tree.

"...No good. This was my greatest healing method."

Skills contained within [Love That Offers the Body] include several healing abilities.

Yet none restore her own body.

"Really... I'm sorry!"

Maple bows her head once more and leaves the spot.

The message from Crom and the others had ended without meaning.

"First, leave the forest. Ride back on Shiroppu."

Maple reequips her gear and begins to walk.

She exits the forest, dispatching a cow with her short blade on several occasions.

At that moment, Crom moves through the forest, felling cows. He suddenly stops.

"...Something feels wrong."

Crom's sixth sense detects something.

He raises his great shield and sickle, alert. Nothing attacks.

"...Just my imagination?"

It was not his imagination. But Crom does not realize he has sensed something happening far away.