Defense specialization and the fourth floor of the tower.

Shorter than expected.

They navigated the rocky terrain, barely evading the water arrows, and reached the point where the river calmed, the rapids eased, and the arrows ceased.

"Sally! The arrows stopped coming!"

"Phew... finally, some relief. The water’s still full of monsters, and I can’t leave the great shield."

"Right, yeah. Hey, look—shadows! There!"

A swift shadow of fish moves beneath the surface.

Most of them are unmistakably monsters.

Maple advances the great shield downstream, speaking further to Sally.

"We didn’t know if the water arrows could pierce defense."

"Heh... want to try going back?"

"No! No way! No!"

Maple shakes her head rapidly from side to side.

Maple, who generally avoided damage, kept her distance from sharp attacks.

"Still, the boss might use them. We’ll deal with it if it comes."

"The boss, huh... ugh, I hope they don’t show up."

"Is the sea we saw from afar getting closer?"

"Feels like ages since I’ve seen the sea! Haven’t passed through water layers like this lately."

"Yeah. Maybe we should think about how to handle a boss that might be lurking in the water."

The two ignored the monsters beneath the surface, maintaining focus while moving at a relaxed pace.

No river fork appeared. The forest ended. The landscape ahead opened abruptly.

A vast sea stretched before them. The water shimmered under the light, calm and still, without waves.

"Sally, the boss... might be here?"

"Hard to say. No solid ground at all... hmm, I don’t want to fight here..."

Maple agreed.

Yet the more inconvenient things that happen, the more they do. A section of the sea the two gaze upon slowly rises. It cracks open with a sound. The boss monster emerges.

It is a sea turtle over five meters long.

"Oh— a sea turtle!"

"So we must fight here, then."

"Which one's bigger— Shiroppu or this?"

Maple stares at the sea turtle, her eyes bright with anticipation, as if something delightful were about to happen before the battle.

"...Try not to grow fond of it."

"I—I'm fine!"

As they speak, the sea turtle moves.

It sinks into the water, then stretches a path of water toward the sky, swimming freely through the air.

It glides between sea and sky, leaving behind a stream of water rising like a bridge into the heavens.

While the two stand frozen in surprise, the space becomes a marvel—streams of water racing through it in countless paths.

"Amazing! So amazing!"

"They're not attacking... this must be the field's preliminary phase. Beautiful..."

"Sally! Sally! Want to ride on that sea turtle's back?"

"Wha—? Can we even... no, wait, it's a boss!"

"Just for a moment! Just to try! It'll be fun—different from riding Shiroppu!"

Maple's eyes gleam as she presses close to Sally.

Sally glances at the sea turtle, a flicker of curiosity in her expression.

"Just a moment... that's all..."

"Got it! Then—Love That Offers the Body!"

Maple prepares to shield Sally, then pauses, recalling something. She pulls an item from her inventory.

"Snorkel?"

A fine thing for breathing a little longer underwater! Hehe, I almost forgot I had one...

You really do buy all sorts of things. Leave the string for securing it to the shell to me!

Thank you! I’ll definitely ride it!

Thus, the boss battle on the fourth floor began.