Defense specialization and cumulonimbus.

The ground of pure white clouds jutted up in places and dipped down in others—unsuitable terrain for running.

Even Sally could manage no more than half her full speed before pushing herself to the limit.

To go faster would risk losing balance, or worse, falling.

"Right then, something's appearing ahead..."

What came into Sally's vision was cloud rising high into the sky.

Below the towering presence—reminiscent of summer clouds known as cumulonimbus—there existed a path leading into the cloud mass itself, continuing from the ground Sally now stood upon.

"Enter... yes, I will."

Sally drew her two daggers, held them at the ready, and stepped into the cumulonimbus.

After passing through the narrow opening, several pathways of moderate height stretched out in different directions.

A maze-like structure. Sally advanced step by step, cautious of a head-on collision.

"Trap... none. No monsters. Okay."

Sally advanced, tapping the wall and floor with her feet, inching forward. At the corner ahead, she pressed flat against the wall and glanced past.

"Oops."

Floating in the passage was a gray cloud. It looked like a rain cloud.

"Oro, 【Instant Shadow】"

Sally vanished. She surged toward the cloud, slashing with her daggers several times.

The HP bar hovering above the cloud diminished sharply. Sally reappeared. The cloud began to counterattack—just as the HP bar vanished.

"About time 【Sword Dance】 isn't at maximum... it’s getting tough to handle alone..."

If she couldn’t defeat enemies at a steady pace, she’d have to dodge more often.

To dodge successfully, a certain amount of attack power was necessary.

Sword Dance could no longer cut through enemies at its maximum rate.

The enemy had caught up to Sally’s stats.

“Need a new skill, I think.”

As Sally moved forward along the path, she spotted distant clouds crackling with electricity.

“Ah… so the earlier one must have been attacking with water?”

The cloud that had vanished earlier and been instantly destroyed was a rain cloud. This one was a thundercloud.

“Better check the attack range.”

Sally remained poised to retreat, approaching the thundercloud slowly.

When she had drawn near, smaller thunderclouds split off from the main body and scattered around.

“Whoa!”

Sally stepped back sharply from the separated clouds. Moments later, blinding white lightning flashed through them, surging from the fragments and striking the main cloud.

The strands of lightning slicing through the air faded after a moment.

Sally confirmed it, then closed the distance in a single leap, cleaving the cloud with Double Slash and a normal attack.

"Too slow to activate. Lightning clouds are just fodder."

The speed of the attack was such that even Maple could have dodged it with prior preparation.

Though the range was somewhat wide, it posed no threat to Sally this time.

Sally walked along the path, choosing one that sloped upward.

She believed the goal must be the peak of the tower cloud.

And her guess was correct.

"Oh? Already through?"

The blue of the sky entered Sally's vision.

It meant she had emerged from the cloud.

"Here we go!"

Sally reached the peak of the slope, stepping out onto the top of the cloud.

"Lower difficulty than expected."

She encountered almost no monsters, and the path had not been long.

Sally had also cleared places of this type many times before, gathering materials in past layers.

She noticed a small white-petaled flower at her feet.

The moment she touched it.

A white sphere fell out from the center of the flower.

Sally picked it up and checked the item name.

"【Reach the Heavens, Soap Bubble】?"

Since she could return relatively easily, Sally immediately used the item.

A white sphere, the same color as the cloud, popped open. Bubbles, each about the size of a person’s embrace, rose into the air one after another from the ground around her.

"Can I catch one?"

She pressed her hand against the surface. The bubble resisted for a moment, then burst instantly.

"I’ll watch while it lasts… It’s beautiful."

Sally gazes up at the soap bubbles shimmering in the light from above.

After a minute, the soap bubbles ceased rising from the ground. The bubbles ascending into the sky vanished from sight.

Sally had felt regret that the item was not useful, but accepted it as unavoidable.

Well, the route’s simple enough—this kind of thing, right... Ah, but coming back a few more times for Maple might be worth it.

Sally thought Maple might delight in this item, so she decided to continue coming here for a while.

Seeking various things for Maple is also one of the purposes.

The town was not far away, and the enemy's strength and numbers were not excessive—enough to be manageable, not overwhelming.

Good. Let us search for the next site of interest.

Sally descended the cloud path toward the entrance of the cumulonimbus.