Defense specialization and the fourth floor.

Short.

After confirming their skills, the two proceed directly toward the fourth floor.

"Going straight on? Maple."

"Leaving 【Brutality】 unactivated would be a waste..."

Sally walks ahead, Maple following behind in her monstrous form.

They speak as they ascend the stairs leading to the fourth floor, deep within the boss room.

"Oh, right! I need to assign the skill to the great shield."

"The one earlier... um, 【Great Eruption】? My MP and stun resistance are tight..."

【Great Eruption】

Consumes 50 MP. Three seconds of stasis before activation. Available again after three minutes. Releases high-damage lava in a straight line, and for one minute generates a damage field on the ground that ignores defense.

"Maple can handle the stasis. If we use the damage field well, we might even fight a high-defense boss."

"Yeah! But I have to be careful not to step on it myself..."

“Fufu, be especially careful when you’re flying from an explosion?”

Sally paused mid-sentence, glancing back at Maple as if something had just occurred to her.

“…Hmm, Maple. I was thinking—maybe it’s better not to equip it yet?”

“Is that so?”

“Once we reach the top of this tower, we’ll get medals too. We can wait to see the skill before deciding.”

Reaching the top this time would bring their silver medals to ten. There might be something stronger, requiring more MP.

Skill application to Maple’s gear was irreversible. There was no need to rush.

“Attack power is sufficient, isn’t it?”

“Attack and defense are both solid!”

“Then leave it for now and move on. Look—there’s light from the next floor already visible.”

At the top of the dim staircase, water fell with a steady sound. Beyond it, a forest stretched wide.

The entrance to the fourth floor opened into a hole behind the waterfall, and below, a wide river flowed.

Looking out from the gap between the waterfall and the cliff, the tower’s interior felt distant. Above, the sky stretched open, and far beyond, the sea was visible.

“Ooh! It’s huge!”

“Yeah, let’s head down, then?”

A path extended from the hole, descending to the river.

But it was built for a human’s size. Maple could not pass in her current form.

“Could Maple jump down safely?”

“Yeah, this height shouldn’t be a problem.”

As Sally descended along the cliff, Maple plunged into the waterfall, crashing into the pool below with a heavy splash.

After a moment, the creature emerged from the pool’s depths as if nothing had happened.

“Quite deep! We might have to swim if we stay like this!”

—The forest path won’t open. If we stay like this, we’ll have to follow the river downstream. Ride Shiroppu and fly? Might be trouble if something happens mid-journey…

—We can’t proceed without releasing [Brutality]… What do you think?

—Ah. Then no, I’ll keep going full speed ahead!

Sally chose to prioritize her offensive strength.

Even with ice spears capable of attacking from the sky at the third floor, she saw no way to skip the fourth floor by flying.

—Got it! Hey, Sally, can I ride on your back? There seem to be monsters in the water…

—Really?

—They’re biting hard!

Maple lifted one of her six legs from the water. Several fish clung to it, twitching violently.

—Then I’ll take you up. The danger in the water is too great to ignore.

Fufufu—let’s go down the river!

Maple lifted Sally onto her back and began to glide slowly downstream, her six legs moving with careful precision.