Defense specialization and three bodies.
When Kasumi returned to the guild with her white serpent, the guild members had just gathered around Mai and Yui.
“Ah, Kasumi-san!”
“Hm? Ah, so these are the two companions?”
Mai and Yui walk forward, each accompanied by a cub, before Kasumi. Reacting to their presence, the white serpent coiled smoothly at Kasumi’s neck.
“Oh, Kasumi-san has decided too!”
“Ah, I named him Haku… was it too simple?”
Kasumi scratches her cheek, slightly embarrassed. Haku moves about cheerfully.
“I think it’s good!”
“Yes… it feels right!”
Watching Kasumi grow even more flustered at their words, the three still without companions ponder how to proceed.
“Ah, so now it’s just me, Kanade, and Izu left.”
Yes. My item crafting is nearing completion. It’s time to leave the Workshop.
I need to search sooner rather than later. That’s the point of this layer, after all.
I’ve gathered quite a bit of information… If only I can find what I’m looking for.
Sally strokes Tsukimi and Yukimi while summarizing the data she’s collected.
Details on where and what kinds of monsters appear, terrain that might hold something, rare monsters that appear depending on time of day or equipped skills—some of the information requires physical effort to obtain.
Me and Maple have already finished with this layer’s tasks. We’ll help from here.
That’s right… Where is Maple?
Kasumi glances around the Guild Home, but Maple is nowhere to be seen.
The test is over for now. She seems to be logged in…
As if summoned by mention, Maple enters through the guild home’s door.
She notices Tsubaki, Yukimi, and Haku the moment she steps inside. Her eyes light up. She moves toward them.
“Adorable! Three monsters?”
Maple gazes at each companion in turn, smiling warmly.
“The guild home is getting busier every day!”
“True. We can now bring monsters here.”
At Sally’s feet, Oboro stands. At Maple’s feet, Shiroppu waits. The guild of eight grows noisier with each new monster that runs about—just as Maple said.
“Ah, right. Everyone’s here. We were sharing information. Anything from you, Maple?”
“Umm… it’s a bit hard to say… but… I can extend tentacles now!”
“Now?”
Sally, startled by the unexpected words, repeats them without thinking. Maple, dutifully, says them again.
Why this happened. Why she, among those who sought to make monsters allies, became one herself. The thought circled through every mind in the room. All words were swallowed. The conclusion formed: better to see first.
They arrived at the training ground. Seven people waited for some ability of Maple’s.
“Alright, [Call from the Depths]!”
As Maple activated her skill, the arm holding the great shield transformed. Thick, dark-blue tentacles twisted around it. The white part of her left eye turned black. The pupil turned yellow.
Maple shifts her left hand. The tentacles uncoil, splitting into five slender limbs, like fingers. They gather again, as if grasping something.
Seven exchange glances, murmuring quietly among themselves.
“That won’t happen.”
“Indeed. I understand.”
“If we’d met on the field without knowing, we’d have drawn our blades.”
The adults, startled out of their usual composure by an act long past their years, had barely begun speaking when Maple, sensing their meaning, waved her hand and tentacles frantically in protest.
“There’s a… deep reason for this… no, not that deep… but I had no choice!”
There was, of course, a reason Maple now bore this strange, foreign limb.
It was a matter that required a brief return to an earlier time.