Defense specialization and event notifications.

"Back home!"

"Ah, welcome back! You made it safely?"

"Yeah, I managed to get back. I’ll try fishing too."

The four stand side by side, lowering lines into the water.

It’s unavoidable that Sally’s fishing rod jerks violently with a strike.

"By the way, Maple, haven’t you ever seen Yui and Mai fighting? Oh… caught it again!"

"Right. You’re all set for the next match, aren’t you?"

Yui and Mai reply that they’ll be perfect once they’ve mastered their two weapons just a little more.

Currently, the two possess abilities like a diluted blend of Maple and Sally’s unique traits—capable of overwhelming all in a narrow range with unjust force.

"Shall we watch them fight? Let’s go somewhere out of sight."

"“We want to show you too!”"

Then, let’s go to a forest with fewer people. If we head in the opposite direction from the dungeon, there should be fewer people, right?

Yes, that’s right.

The four of them climb onto Shiroppu’s back and float gently toward the deeper parts of an empty forest.

Good, let’s go!

Maple and the others land in a small open space within the woods.

It is wide enough for two to swing large maces freely.

Then, let’s watch from a little distance.

Yes, okay.

A moment later, monsters emerge from various thickets.

Yui and Mai swing their weapons without using skills.

Four large maces, each capable of instant death, strike without mercy.

The monster dodges Yui’s first blow with quick movement, but takes Mai’s follow-up strike square in the torso and explodes into fragments.

Mai creates the opening. Yui fills it. The great mace has reach. It suits follow-up strikes. Thanks to Sally’s instruction, the默契 between the two, already in rhythm, has grown sharper.

Neither of them faces monsters that press forward even after taking damage.

If only a single strike is needed, the mind is lighter.

Exactly as intended—strike before being struck.

"Amazing attack power..."

"Maple’s defense looks like that too."

"Oh... I see."

Even as they speak, the monster shatters.

After watching their fight for a time, the four rise again into the air aboard Shiroppu.

The moment they return to the sky, a message arrives simultaneously to all four.

It is a message from the administrators, detailing the event.

Each reads the message in turn.

"Time acceleration... same as before. No mid-event entry or exit allowed."

"Five days... a bit shorter than before."

And here is where it matters.

The next section details the event's objectives.

Defend one's own guild's orb, deployed by guild. Capture enemy guilds' orbs.

If one's own guild's orb remains within one's own guild, one point every six hours.

For small-sized guilds, two points.

If an enemy orb is brought back to one's own guild and defended for three hours, two points are awarded to one's own guild, and the captured guild loses one point.

If a small-sized guild captures an orb, the captured guild loses three points.

If a medium-sized guild captures an orb, the captured guild loses two points.

Enemy orbs return to their original positions once point processing is complete.

If an orb is recovered within three hours of being taken, no point changes occur.

The positions of fellow guild members and the location of one’s own guild’s orb are displayed on the map panel, just like the status screen.

The captured orb enters the item inventory.

The smaller the guild’s size, the easier it is to defend the terrain.

Players not affiliated with a guild may join any one of several temporary guilds created upon application.

On deaths.

One death. Status decreases by five percent.

Two deaths. Status decreases by another ten percent.

Three deaths. Status decreases by another fifteen percent.

Four deaths. Status decreases by another twenty percent.

Five deaths. Retirement.

At four deaths, status is reduced by fifty percent.

No orbs will spawn from a guild that has been completely wiped out.

Only one orb may be taken from the same guild per day.

That was the extent of the rules.

“Ah… so it ends at five deaths. Though it likely becomes problematic around three?”

Given the number of people in the Maplewood guild, disposable units are impossible to use, no matter how one tries.

A large guild’s disregard for death cannot be used as a source of violence.

“Given the feel of it, I’d want to allocate numbers for defense first… but this is going to be tough… hmm, but if we can strike properly…”

“Where’s the difficulty?”

“First, there aren’t enough available for attack. Defense is the same… then, well, this is the main issue—fatigue builds up inevitably. Someone will be attacking nonstop, and night raids too. The flaw with small numbers is the inability to rest.”

The drop in combat effectiveness during Maple’s sleep was severe.

If Maple were fully capable, there might be hope of defense while carrying the orb back.

“Ah… unlike the previous time acceleration, someone is always attacking. It’s constant combat.”

Combat continues without pause. Judgment dulls over time. For Sally, this decline in evasion ability was unbearable.

There is also a weakness in Maple’s condition.

“Maple’s 【Bad Eating】 will surely be exposed within five days… if Maple exhausts her skill use, and others realize most skills have limits, that will be dangerous.”

If Maple is attacked continuously throughout the day, she will inevitably lose the ability to use large-scale skills.

The end of the day is therefore the most dangerous time.

“Indeed…”

“It may depend on how well Maple’s abilities can be concealed…”

Maple has several skills that could turn the tide, and these remain unknown.

The aim is to delay the enemy’s response by keeping them hidden until the very last moment, then escape.

“Defense is certain for Maple, Yui, and Mai. They cannot move across the field… perhaps Kanade could be added too.”

“Then, shall we discuss the details after returning?”

Yui and Mai both agree.

This is their first time experiencing a temporal acceleration event. Maple and Sally discuss the general outline while heading toward the 【Maple Tree】.