Defense specialization and Tsukimi.

“Fuu… Managed… to make it. Thank you, Tsukimi.”

Riding atop Tsukimi, whose form now stood three meters tall, Mai advanced across the barren expanse.

For Mai, who had always fought alongside Yui, fighting alone was unfamiliar. She moved through the open space, avoiding blind spots, wary of ambushes.

“…! Other player.”

Three other players appeared in the distance. Though parties could not be formed, it was natural to cooperate for survival if members of the same guild happened upon one another.

The distant players noticed Mai. Each raised their weapon and approached. Among the members of 【Maple Tree】, Mai and Yui had survived by avoiding attacks and maneuvering carefully, so the players did not flee.

"Tsukimi, let's go...! [Power Share] [Charge]!"

Mai approaches the player until within range, then dismounts and gives the command.

A crimson light envelops Tsukimi and Mai. Tsukimi lunges forward toward the three players.

"Tsukimi! [Bright Star]!"

Responding to Mai's call, the tip of Tsukimi's fur brightens sharply. A thin green light flares outward from Tsukimi's center.

It strikes with devastating force despite its delicate appearance. The player hit at the core is obliterated in a single blow.

"O-oh no...!?"

"Th-that can't be real...!"

[Flight Strike]! Tsukimi [Rend]!

While keeping vigil on Mai, Hinata is startled by Tsukimi’s unexpected destructive power, her movements stiffening in shock. Seizing the moment, Tsukimi launches a swift assault. The two remaining players, unable to respond, dissolve into light.

“Haa… t-that was close. Thank you, Tsukimi. You’re strong.”

Mai gently strokes Tsukimi’s head. Tsukimi lets out a soft rumble, lowering her posture in delight. Mai climbs onto her back and resumes movement.

Though Mai speaks as if relieved, she knows Tsukimi, newly allied, could not possibly possess such power. True, STR is higher than other stats in a tame monster, but not enough for a single blow.

“…Glad you learned 【Power Share】!”

【Power Share】 is a skill that shares STR between Mai and Tsukimi. Normally, Tsukimi, whose STR is higher, would use it to enhance the player’s abilities. But in Mai and Yui’s case, it is reversed. Their extraordinarily high STR flows into Tsukimi and Yukimi. Thus, a skill that normally deals low damage but has area effect instantly becomes one capable of delivering instant death across a wide range.

“Yui’s still alive…? Ah, message… from Yui!”

Mai confirms no monsters or players are nearby, then reads the message.

‘Big sister. I’m still alive here, but it’s hard without you. Look at the map. Maple’s location should be marked on it. Shall we meet there?’

Mai checks the map. Maple’s position is clearly marked. The reason is unknown, but it will serve as a good landmark.

"Yeah, it’s fine... wait."

"Thank goodness! Then let’s meet in front of Maple! Don’t die, okay?"

After confirming Yui’s reply, Mai urges Tsumiki forward.

"Let’s go... Tsumiki! 【Star Step】!"

Tsumiki’s footprints spark and glow. Light wraps around the two of them. A simple skill that increases movement speed. But with it, they travel at a pace beyond comparison to walking normally.

Monsters that appear along the way are knocked aside without effort, carried by momentum.

"Tsumiki! 【Dazzle】! 【Final Battle Mode】! 【Double Strike】!"

Tsumiki’s skill grants a brief stasis. It is a fatal opening before Mai. The golem and oak before her explode with a dull sound. No time is wasted in dispatching them. The count of monsters felled by Mai and Yui grows significant.

The forest they must pass through—Tsumiki clings to a tree, climbing upward, leaping from branch to branch as they advance.

Her massive frame belies her agility, maintaining Mai’s mobility.

“Ehe, I’m glad Tsumiki’s here…”

Perched on a branch near the destination, waiting for Yui’s signal, Mai sees a white bear glowing pink, moving along the tree limbs like her.

“Yui!”

“Big sister! Thank goodness! How about you? Did you clear the monsters?”

“Thanks to Tsumiki, barely… How about you?”

"Yui was also active over here! I took down quite a few other players’ monsters!"

Since they were growing the same monsters in the same way, what Mai could do, Yui could do too.

"Be careful not to accidentally use a skill. We can't form a party right now..."

"Yeah. And let's check on Maple. She seems to still be in the same spot."

"Will the map display stay on forever...? That might be tough on Maple."

They leap from branch to branch, checking the area adjacent to the forest, marked as grassland on the map. There, hell spreads.

The grassland is gone. A patch of purple poison swamp spreads across the land. From the swamp, colorful flowers bloom in unnatural profusion—unnerving in their beauty.

Monsters plunging into the swamp are clearly not the ones Mai and Yui defeated. They appear strong—some even large dragons.

And all of them were pierced through by plants rising from the ground and sharp rocks, then wrapped in vegetation, taking continuous damage.

Poison, sleep, paralysis, and another kind of ongoing damage—each step deeper created more corpses.

Without the process of dissolving into light, it would have been unbearable.

"Me… Maple-san… is that her in the center…?"

"Yes… it seems so. But we can't get near… let her be, sister…"

"Yeah… right… we'll ask her later what she was doing."

They turned their eyes from the worsening scene before them, moving through the trees in search of monsters they could hunt.