Defense specialization and contact.

Mizari, Markus, and Shin—members of the guild from the Kingdom of the Flame Emperor—had managed to coordinate their movements, efficiently hunting monsters together. The map was shared publicly. They could have joined up with Mii as well, by communicating and moving accordingly. They did not.

“Not a proper party, after all.”

“Yes. If caught in Mii’s area attack, we wouldn’t survive unscathed…”

“…Wait. Can’t control the flame output…”

Mii excelled at area-wide incineration centered on herself. If she unleashed such power while in a group, the three of them would become burning heaps.

“Still, Mii can handle it alone. We’ll have to finish our own count properly. I’ll take damage. Finish them off—trust me with that.”

By the time of the rendezvous, Shin had already felled numerous monsters alongside the hawk, Wen, a summoned beast and the Crack Sword.

Compared to that, Mizari and Markus, specialized in healing and traps respectively, proved inefficient even when granted attack capability. While they moved, the shape of a monster emerged.

"Yes, leave it to me."

"I can provide cover... but be careful not to step on the traps...?"

"I can fight even standing still. As long as it's not placed at my feet, I'll be fine. Let's go! Crack Sword!"

Shin hurled his sword at the approaching tiger, slicing through it with precise cuts.

"Wen! Wind God!"

A violent vortex of wind swirled around the hawk named Wen, forming multiple blades of wind that further tore into the tiger.

The tiger, even before closing with the three, was repeatedly slashed by countless blades, its HP reduced to near death. The weight of a single strike mattered little—when combined with the summoning monster, the sheer number of attacks changed everything.

“[Holy Lance]!”

As promised, Mizari delivered the final blow, then moved on to the next prey.

“Always wonder… how you manage to throw so many swords….”

“Habit. You just start doing it without realizing.”

“Is that how it is?”

“What about your two monsters? Has anything changed since I last asked?”

“Me?… I still can’t do anything like that. Blend into the surroundings like a chameleon… ah, but lately I think I’ve managed to become transparent too…”

“My bell remains unchanged. I suppose it’s rare, though.”

“You haven’t learned anything beyond passive skills yet. That really is unusual.”

The long-haired white cat known as Mizari’s Bell continuously learns passive skills that grant buffs within a very small radius around itself. Increased healing, greater damage output—these are the effects.

Yet the range remains too narrow to be practical.

"I believe she is a late-bloomer. I will nurture her carefully."

"Wait—entering the ruin zone. Players often appear here."

"I’ll set traps behind us—so they can’t follow."

"Ah, good. That’ll help."

The three advance through the ruins, hunting monsters. As Shin predicted, a fair number of players appear, but none pose a challenge to the trio.

Yet after some time, a voice familiar to them is heard.

"Fhun fhhun fuhun... gah—[Emperor of Flame’s Realm]...!"

"Wait—Frederica."

The voice belonged to Frederica. She stood alone for now, staff raised, inching backward to create distance. Facing three together with only one rear guard was certain death.

"Ahaa— if I die, Pain will be mad, won’t he? Just let me go?"

"Let’s do it!"

"Yes!"

"Uh… "

"Agh— why is this so hard!? Fine. Notes [Awakening]!"

A yellow bird landed with a soft hop atop Frederica’s head. She thought it best to keep it simple. But whatever the cost, she must escape this situation.

"Wen! [Wind God]!"

"Notes [Chorus]! Fuh! [Multiple Barrier]"

The barrier of wind blades and Shin’s [Crack Sword] rained down upon her. It cracked and shattered under the strain, yet Shin noticed the sheer volume far surpassed what he had faced before.

"Number of attacks? Then I won’t fall behind either. [Multi-Fireball] [Multi-Lightball]"

The magic circle unfolded. Moments later, the sound of notes rang out—then the circle doubled in size.

"How about that? Of course, you won’t die, but—"

Frederica and Notes unleashed torrents of light and fire orbs, aimed at the three.

"Leave it to me."

"Uh… stop it."

Mizari raised a barrier of magic, just as Markus conjured a stone wall. The incoming spells struck and shattered. Yet Frederica showed no intent to fight all three. When the dust settled, she was gone.

"Escaped."

"Never thought she’d match Shin’s pace."

"Yeah… need to be careful… ah."

"Hm? What is it, Markus?"

"Caught."

Traps scattered throughout the ruin—set by Markus, specifically where one would likely step when exiting. Markus’s sense for placement was impeccable. Frederica, too, could not have avoided them.

Midway through the pit, she managed, through magic, to conjure a foothold. She climbed upward, hand over hand.

“Ugh… kuuu… just when I thought I’d escaped so elegantly… worst… must get out… now…”

With the ruins already saturated with Markus’s traps, the odds were against her. Frederica hurried away, flapping her feet, leaving the ruin behind—heading toward one of the three reliable members of the Gathering Holy Sword, as she always did.