Defense specialization and looking toward tomorrow.

The pace of updates will gradually slow from October onward, as it will grow busier.

Please understand.

For now, October will see one chapter every three days.

While Kanade seizes the orb, Sally continues as before, slipping into the guild under cover of night.

"Oro, let's go."

Sally speaks softly to the Oro at her neck, moving quietly toward a small guild.

Guilds outdoors are often kept bright with torches and similar items, making their locations visible from afar.

Even though this makes them easier to attack, the brightness is necessary—because players like Sally exist.

Sally herself feels the number of players walking about increasing as night falls.

"About… fifteen people."

It would be possible to defeat them all, but Sally wished to avoid combat.

Sally had decided to move unseen, yet somewhere within, she did not wish to fight—tired from strain.

She dashes forward the moment a guard turns their back.

—[Hyper Acceleration]!

She moves her feet, unsteady for a breath, straight toward the orb.

She cuts through obstacles. She deflects magic.

Each strike, repeated many times in a single day, has grown sharper, more efficient. Combined with her innate ability, even a slightly stronger player can no longer break her rhythm.

—[Leap]!

She kicks off the ground, reaches for the orb.

She confirms the orb has been drawn into her inventory. She leaps over the pedestal and runs.

Sally cannot stop.

Three orbs are now in her inventory, including this one.

There is constant danger of pursuers attacking from behind.

“Haa…! Next one!”

To gain as many orbs as possible.

Sally does not stop. No one can stop her.

“Hollow, [Foxfire]!”

Sally uses Hollow’s flame to immobilize the guild pursuers’ feet and increase the distance between them.

Defending the guild is typically the role of slow-footed players.

Maple is placed in defense precisely for this reason.

Thus, once stolen, escaping is easy for players like Sally.

Immobilize the pursuers, vanish into darkness, lose them in the shadows, then move to a safe distance while checking the map to confirm the stolen orb’s location.

If they still pursue, simply charge into any guild.

“Next… next one…? Hmm?”

At the edge of Sally’s vision, a bright area glows under torchlight.

The guild was so thinly guarded that not a single defender was visible.

“Can do…!”

Sally changed direction and moved toward the orb.

She approached cautiously, wary of traps, yet swiftly. In the end, no player emerged.

…Perhaps the stolen orb had just regenerated. Judging by the terrain, this was a mid-sized guild.

If the guild’s players returned, it would become troublesome. Sally left the area quickly.

At that moment, Maple defended the orb that Kanade had brought back.

“[Crystal Wall]!”

The spell had only been used once before—when she leapt onto Shiroppu’s back—but it was now performing splendidly in this event.

An obstacle appeared suddenly before her. She stopped, struck it down. Repeating this pattern, she reduced their numbers. Then, pushing forward with relentless force, she drove the vanguard that had once been felled by Maple back.

Maple’s support was unparalleled. Yui and Mai were struck again and again. Crom was surrounded.

Yet the frontline did not break. They lost their lives to attacks they no longer avoided.

On Maple’s side, evasion was nearly nonexistent. On the attackers’ side, avoiding her strikes was necessary.

This was where the difference in annihilation power emerged.

The time available for attack was overwhelmingly different.

They had failed to defeat Maple. Naturally, they lost.

“Phew… it’s over.”

“Yes… that’s right…”

“I’m tired…”

“The first day is ending soon. Shall we take turns sleeping?”

All agreed to Crom’s suggestion.

Sally, Iz, and Kasumi are currently外出, so they cannot be included in the rotation. Considering the number of people, it was decided that two should rest for a short time each.

“Yui and Mai? I think I should stay awake most of the time.”

“Hmm... while Maple is absent, I’ll take over defense. I can support the area too. Besides, I think two people should be enough.”

Yui and Mai are at peak fatigue.

They needed rest soon.

“Then, let’s start resting now.”

The time for sleep was set. The two were sent away.

“Iz and Kasumi should return soon.”

Once they return, defense will be easier. There was no issue with letting Yui and Mai rest now.

“This is where it gets hard.”

The time when the number of defenders must inevitably decrease is approaching.

Whether to strike now or hold firm depends on the guild’s numbers and current points.

Maple must earn points while absolutely succeeding in defense—no matter the cost.

Eight of them.

“Let’s do it. Protect everyone until the fifth day. Yes, that’s it.”

Maple renewed her resolve as midnight arrived.