Defense specialization versus face-to-face.

Apologies for the delay.

The pace should return.

Two hours since Maple was set ablaze.

Maple walked down the corridor, breathing heavily.

Dust and soot clung to her body, visible stains.

“Uuu… I hate pitfalls… I hate them…”

The number of traps Maple encountered during two hours of exploration, unable to float due to her tangled hair, was beyond counting.

She had been burned several times. Fell into pits several times. Was struck by armor. Spears and guillotines were now familiar.

Of all the traps, the pit was the one Maple hated most.

The spikes at the bottom posed no real threat—she could break them with ease. But the pit itself was not so simple.

Maple managed to drive the bent spikes into the rough wall, and though she fell several times, she climbed back up. Fatigue pressed upon her like stone.

By the second fall, the light had faded from Maple’s eyes, so great was the strain.

“Sally… would she know where the traps lie? I don’t… I can’t tell…”

A dull *clack* sounded beneath Maple’s cautious step. The floor sank.

“H-huh!”

Maple lunged away, but before she could move, something flew toward her.

“…n, well. Good. Just a poison arrow…”

Maple picked up the arrow stained with purple fluid and murmured.

It was absurd to feel relief at the sight of a poison arrow, yet for Maple, the threat level of the pit remained the highest.

Hmm... I think we've come quite far... right? We're really here, aren't we?

The walls and hallways twisted unnaturally. Not only that, doors appeared even in the ceiling. Maple began to doubt whether she was truly making progress.

Then—this way!

Maple followed her instinct, opening the door and stepping forward.

Thanks to her body’s ability to deflect traps even without gear, she moved freely through over a hundred traps.

Her pace was slow, but still far faster than any conventional exploration through this labyrinth.

After walking for several minutes.

Ah! That door...!

At the far end of the corridor, a door different from the others stood.

It was the kind of door that always marked the Boss Room, a sight she had seen countless times in the game.

Good! Time to reclaim my gear!

Maple said, then hurried down the corridor, feet tapping rapidly.

The trap activates as expected. To Maple, accustomed to the sudden flight of spears and arrows, they are no longer a surprise.

"Ignore ignore, wait a moment, twin! Heh... I won’t forgive you anymore."

Maple’s resolve hardened at the same instant her feet broke through the floor.

"Ueaa!? Ugh... ggh!"

She caught the edge of the door-side floor with both hands, dangling. Her hands trembled violently.

She could not lift her body.

"Uuu... I’m falling..."

A glance downward revealed a pool of green light glowing beneath.

Maple’s face turned pale.

She could not return unless there were no thorns below.

"Someone... help... aaaaah!!"

Maple’s arms gave out before she could call for help, and she fell straight down into the hole.

She crashed into the green liquid with a splash, her back hitting the surface. She looked up at the distant ceiling, her expression heavy.

“Hah… what now… this stuff’s probably safe, I guess. Ugh… it’s sticky.”

The green liquid, pooled and still, felt only cold to Maple. Nothing more.

The matter at hand was how to return upward.

“Not going to log out after getting this far. Need to think.”

Maple closed her eyes, searching for a solution.

She thought for a long moment. Then, abruptly, she opened them.

“Hmm… that’s it! 【Full Armament Deployment】!”

Weapons extended from Maple’s body, then vanished.

Yet Maple was not dismayed—she was rather pleased by the sight.

“Good! Now, punish me! Hurry!”

Maple looked up, speaking thus, but no sword or spear came flying down.

“W-why? It’s fine! I can’t go on without being punished!”

Maple had planned to pierce the sword or spear into the wall and return upward, but that plan collapsed without delay.

She had come too close to the goal. The player’s only task now was to avoid traps and enter the room.

To advance without thought was, of course, to arrive at this.

“What should I do… can I summon the 【Throne of the Heavenly King】…?”

As Maple lost all spirit, change came upon her surroundings.

The substance she had taken for thick green liquid began to move slowly, then enveloped her body.

Ah—slime? Cool. Nice. Calming a bit.

The slime writhes, enveloping Maple’s body, seeking to dissolve her.

…………! Thank you, Slime!

Maple, calmed, recalls something. She takes a deep breath. Then speaks a skill aloud.

Shortly after Maple fell into the hole, the door to the Boss Room swings open.

Ah—here it comes. Found it.

Yeah. Got it. Found it.

The twins inside twist space, levitating objects, giggling softly.

Phew… I’ll be getting my gear back.

Maple floats within a green orb, gently buoyant.

I can levitate things too, you know!

Maple seized control by force with psychokinesis, shaping the slime into a large shield and a sword.