Defense Specialization and Light from Above 2.

Returning to the guild home and opening the door, all other guild members are already gathered there.

"Everyone came! Good."

"Curious, aren't we? Fast to deliver results, aren't you?"

"Looks like something interesting is coming. I'm looking forward to it."

"Shall we head to the training hall now? It's still a secret to the other guilds, isn't it?"

"Yes. Keeping it hidden will make the first reveal more effective. Besides, Maple can fight without this skill—no disadvantage."

"Logical. But the skill itself is meant to unsettle."

"What kind of skill is it...?"

"No, it's Maple, after all."

Given what she already possesses—things beyond human measure—anything could be in her hands now.

"Fufu, you'll see when you look."

The eight file into the training hall, waiting for Maple's skill to activate, as she had done earlier.

Wait just a moment! Uh, I’ll do that next… Alright, Quick Change!

Maple changes her gear to a pure white armor, restoring the HP she gained.

Alright! Here we go! Residual Light of Salvation!

As the skill declaration finishes, the ground around her glows. Four wings sprout from Maple’s back. A new halo, unlike any before, appears above her head.

Oh! What’s this? Not bad-looking, is it?

…What did you expect to come out?

Well, you know, in deep sea zones, there are plenty of fish with wild appearances, right?

They had braced themselves just a moment ago, having just begun to grow tentacles. They’d expected something utterly monstrous to burst forth. Yet, the result was simply a beautiful display. They exhaled in relief.

This area grants damage reduction, healing, and increased resistance to status effects!

The effect... might be unnecessary for Maple, who uses Love That Offers the Body so often.

Kanade speaks the same thought as the two others. With Love That Offers the Body, Maple alone would be unharmed by damage or status effects—rendering the area’s broad utility pointless.

"But Maple seems happy about acquiring new wings?"

"...That’s true. Then it does have value."

Having explained the effect, Maple now calls everyone closer.

"Is there something else?"

"Not just this... is what you mean?"

"Leave that for after activation! It’s safe!"

Once everyone gathers near Maple, she confirms all are within the Residual Light of Salvation’s range, then activates another skill.

"Phew... Ark!"

The light beneath Maple’s feet flares as she declares her skill. Seconds pass. The eight are enveloped in radiance, then rise gently into the air.

“Oh?!”

“Huh. Interesting. Just floated up. I wonder if Shiroppu feels the same?”

Once confirmed aloft, a torrent of water bursts from below. It floods the training hall with terrifying speed. Dummy figures are swept aside, crushed, scattered. The light around the eight intensifies. The world blurs white.

An instant later—a pull upward. The eight settle on the ground, though not where they began. They now stand against the training hall’s wall.

“Good. It worked!”

Maple’s back bears no wings. All changes vanish. She returns to normal.

“Looks safe.”

“Yeah. I hope I can use this in battle—when we fight together.”

Maple confirms the function, then explains the skill’s full effect to all. Ark activates only during Residual Light of Salvation, waits five seconds, then rises and attacks with a deluge of water. The assault is incidental. What Maple intends is movement. After rising, it teleports her and any ally within the Residual Light of Salvation’s range—up to twenty meters—to any location within it.

Using Ark breaks the Residual Light of Salvation effect. Maple does not regard this as a problem.

“Ah… with Maple’s defense, the casting time won’t be a significant opening.”

“Slipping from cover to strike from behind. Or startling enemies with water, then striking from behind during combat. Useful for evacuation too.”

The ability does not improve Maple’s mobility, but it is welcome that combat options increase.

If an opponent experiences the sudden transfer from in front to behind, obscured by a flood of water, the element of surprise would be high.

“Keeping it hidden might prove useful at times. They’ll be confused the first time they see it.”

“Water does quite a bit of damage, doesn’t it!”

“The doll left behind…”

Though Maple’s interest lay in movement, the force of the raging water was considerable. The doll set up for testing the skill was reduced to pieces—more than enough to threaten an opponent with low defense.

“One more skill—please wait! 【Reversal Rebirth】!”

Maple rewrites the skill and then signals everyone to step back.

All understand that the skill altered by 【Reversal Rebirth】 is Residual Light of Salvation. They step back as instructed. Maple sees the change from a skill of considerable rank, even if the effect is minor. The transformation suggests the new skill will be commensurate.

"Step outside the range—please!"

"Outside the range!? That’s quite wide!"

Crom’s surprise is justified. The range of Residual Light of Salvation is as vast as Love That Offers the Body. To remain within it would mean facing danger of significant magnitude.

"【Annihilation Domain】!"

At the same moment as Maple’s declaration, black wings stretched from her back. A crimson-red ring appeared above her head, pulsing with dark light. The black light altered the color of equipment, turning even steel pitch-black. Crimson-black sparks crackled through the air. The ground darkened, and streaks of the same color raced across it. From the skill’s name and effect, it was clear that stepping inside would not end lightly.

“Maple! How does it feel?”

“Um… if we leave it like this, it’ll damage everyone who steps in. And when it hits, it’ll inflict status effects and reduce healing!”

A skill that reversed the original effect, but what stood out was Maple’s words: damage to everyone.

“Everyone? Even allies?”

“Yes… it seems so.”

Stepping in now would kill Sally, Mai, and Yui instantly. Next, Kanade and Izumi, with lower stamina, would vanish without a trace.

...Still, I’d like to see the damage. After all, it’s a training facility. Right, I’ll go in first, then.

That’s true. By seeing how much damage Crom takes, we can estimate his effectiveness in combat.

Crom is a top-tier shield user. He won’t die instantly upon entry. Since we’re testing it, we should see how much damage he can take.

Right, here I go!

As Crom steps into the space, light flares across his body. His HP drops.

If Maple can inflict damage, then it’s not dependent on attack power. But he can’t withstand it indefinitely.

Every few moments, damage accumulates. Passive recovery is hindered. HP decreases steadily.

—Still, I can’t stay here forever. It hurts enough already.

If Crom takes damage too, this could be useful in actual combat. Just deploying it would force mages to retreat.

Ah, Crom-san, I want to try one more thing!

Hmm? Ah, alright.

Then, Love That Offers the Body!

From between Maple’s four black feathers, a pure white feather extends, unfolding a new field upon the ground. Amid the crimson sparks and gentle light illuminating the training hall, Maple again tells Crom to step onto it.

This might work…?

Crom places his foot back into the field. Crimson light attacks again, but it is absorbed by Maple through Love That Offers the Body.

Maple, far more durable than Crom, nullifies her own skill, erasing the harm that would have fallen upon Crom.

Maple can expand a domain that burns everything except herself while still protecting allies, making only advantageous fields available.

"Hey, this works fine. Even without me, I can ride safely."

"We'll incorporate this into our strategy. If we send Maple into the midst of enemy mages, we could expect heavy damage."

"Would be scary if it came out of nowhere..."

"Yeah. They’d be startled."

With the expectation that Maple’s future growth would allow even greater indiscriminate killing, the group turned their attention to the next human confrontation, seeking similarly powerful skills. All of them resumed their exploration.

Elsewhere, in the real world, the strong sun reminded them that summer had arrived. Maple walked along her relatively cool morning route to school.

"Ah, good morning, Risa."

"Good morning, Maple. It’s gotten hot, hasn’t it?"

Ahaha, it’s really summer now.

Time passes swiftly. It has been about a year and a half since the two began their game.

Walking along the path to school, their conversation gradually turns to the shared topic—the game.

“We should look for the Lost Legacy next.”

“Hmm… where could it be?”

“There’s no choice but to search patiently. But we’re already ahead of others, having obtained the prerequisite item. After all, someone who doesn’t know the item exists might pass right by without noticing.”

The two assume the Lost Legacy is related to machinery, based on its name. But those who don’t possess it cannot narrow down the search area.

“I got it during the Seventh Layer event…”

“I think it’s in the Eighth Layer. The previous event was clearly tied to the Eighth Layer.”

"Yeah, it felt mostly like water."

"Summer’s coming, so it was nice and cool, wasn’t it?"

"Just having the Eighth Layer around makes it feel cooler."

"Yeah... It’s already the Eighth Layer, huh."

"It’s been growing steadily, hasn’t it?"

"Events get added to older layers too, timed with new ones. Might be worth checking somewhere again."

Events could be added later, just as Kasumi had found her tame monster opportunity in the Fourth Layer.

Of course, most are tied to the latest layer, but there are also completely new events independent per layer.

"There are still plenty unfound. The places to explore are endless. Even with time, it never feels enough."

With leveling up and exploration both needing time, more time is always wanted. Each layer is vast, and with events increasing, it’s only natural.

"Amazing, so much to do! Ugh... next year, there won’t be enough time."

"Next year... yeah."

They are still students. Next year, they will need to focus especially on their studies. Maple’s words are reasonable. Even if Risa’s grades haven’t dropped, she will still be told to study.

"...Well, that’s still far off."

"Yeah!"

It is still summer. There is no need to think about it yet.

"Besides, Maple’s studying properly now. You’ll be fine, right?"

"Really?...What about you, Risa? Are you really fine?"

"I’ve been doing it properly since then. I’m keeping up, you know."

"Wow! Then I’m relieved."

"Hehe, now I can focus on games."

They walked side by side, talking as they went. Maple imagined with quiet delight what event might come next. Risa watched Maple, thinking ahead. The two entered the classroom.