Defense specialization and Tower Sixth Floor 3.
After breaking through the first Monster House, Sally lay sprawled across the tuft of wool, her breath shallow, her body heavy.
“I don’t want to enter another big room….”
“Yeah… monsters come out everywhere…”
Every time they entered a large room to progress, the corridor sealed behind them, and monsters poured out.
Since the monsters only advanced with direct physical attacks, the two would not be defeated, but the high defense of the enemies and their own limited number of attacks made progress slow.
“But thanks to Sally, I haven’t taken a single hit! I’m really grateful!”
“Huh… then I guess I did well.”
Sally lifted her face from the wool, determined to push on.
“This feels like the boss will be troublesome too…”
“Ugh… I hope this boss isn’t strong.”
In any case, it was certain that no monster strong enough to defeat them had appeared along the way. Time had passed, but they had reached the door of the Boss Room.
“Sally, what now? Keep going?”
Maple’s face emerged from the tangle of wool, asking Sally.
“Maple’s attacks probably won’t work. And if we leave it like this, the weak monsters from this floor might come out. Let’s go.”
The two included Shiroppu and Oboro in their plan. They double-checked their items, then entered the Boss Room.
“Okay! Let’s go!”
Pushing open the door, they stepped inside. At the far end of the dome-shaped hollow stood a man about 170 centimeters tall, wearing a magician’s hat and coat, holding a large staff.
The man, as soon as Maple and the others entered the room, tapped the ground with his staff—crystal-encased monsters rose one after another from beneath the earth.
"Uwah! She’s here, Sally!"
"Maple, I’ll check the situation as planned!"
"Uh-huh, Shiroppu—Gigantification! Psychokinesis!"
Maple lifted Shiroppu into the air. Sally remained wrapped in a ball, tethering Shiroppu’s abdomen and the ball together with Thread Manipulation.
Through Maple’s signature aerial evasion, a colossal ball—large enough to hold two people—clung to the dome’s ceiling, resembling a turtle in motion.
They looked down to confirm their state.
"Uwah... more than I thought..."
"Yoh! Wait—this is getting serious..."
The ground teemed with soldiers clad in crystalline armor. Even as the two observed from above, the boss magician regularly summoned more soldiers.
The boss’s defense and HP appear low...
This is my turn! Wait—must avoid getting poisoned... [Poison Dragon (Hydra)]!
Maple thrust her arm, wielding a short dagger, releasing a torrent of poison. The boss deployed a barrier before them.
The poison mass pierced the barrier, but in the brief moment of resistance, the boss escaped the area’s range with ease.
They tried repeatedly. The result remained unchanged.
Ugh... what now, Sally? Can’t land a hit.
But I’ve noticed something. It doesn’t move much. Slow. If we aim carefully, we might hit it.
Oh! That’s good!
—If we don’t stop the summoning first… we’ll just be shuttling between ground and sky. If we can land a good hit, that’d be best…
Sally watches the thought process unfold. Maple turns her gaze toward her, thinking.
She tilts her head slightly. Something comes to mind. She looks at Sally, eyes narrowing.
—Got a good idea?
—It’s my best shot.
Maple whispers something to Sally, voice low, fingers twitching. No clear meaning.
Sally blinks. Eyes widen. Then she nods—worth trying.
—Understood. I’ll handle the retreat.
—You’re the best, Sally! I can count on you!
—And I want to test how practical it is.
—Then let’s do it.
Maple shifts Shiroppu upward, guiding it to hover directly above the boss. Sally severs the thread connecting Shiroppu to herself.
Sally extends a thread to the ground, shifting her direction to stay close to the boss as it tries to distance itself from the falling tuft. She lands smoothly nearby. Maple activates her skill.
“[Frozen Ground]!”
The ground cracks open with a sharp snap, freezing solid. The boss, along with nearby soldiers, halts completely.
Sally extends her thread again, aiming the tuft at the immobilized boss.
“Sally! Please!”
“Yoh—!”
Maple and Sally pull back the wool, reaching forward to shove the boss’s immobilized upper body deep into the tuft.
“[Crystallization]!”
The upper body remains impaled. The surface of the wool hardens. The boss’s form is sealed halfway inside the tuft.
Outside, the sound of clanging strikes echoes. It does not reach Maple and Sally.
“Hehe, worked perfectly! Welcome~!”
"Right. Not looking good, but... one minute."
Sally and Maple greet from within the wool. They move quickly, pulling items from their inventories.
They are setting up devices similar to Iz's powerful bombs.
Scattered throughout the wool, a variety of items are placed—focused solely on maximizing damage, sacrificing range.
"Ah, Sally, I thought you’d mind the noise. Here, earplugs."
"Thank you. Time’s almost up."
"Yeah. Full assault!"
Only Sally is protected by Love That Offers the Body. As Maple calls the ignition, a detonation shakes the boss arena—flames erupt, red damage effects burst outward.
From the clump, fire, lasers, bullets, ice, wind blades, stone shards—all fly out in every direction.
The boss had vanished as thoroughly as the wool, reduced to ash.
At the same moment, the summoned soldiers dissolved into nothing.
"Defense seemed low... but..."
"Iz's item was strong, huh?"
"Well... taking that all at once... it's almost pitiful to see the boss like that."
"The world is survival of the fittest! We won this time."
The bosses were fortunate—【Fur Growth】 could only be used once per day. The next boss would not be subjected to this self-destructive attack, at least not in this form.
"Next floor?"
"Of course."
The two spoke as they moved toward the seventh floor, already planning to clear it just as swiftly.