Defense specialization and entry.

As the two walk away from the field overflowing with ice and water, greenery fading beneath their feet, the grass and flowers vanish gradually, and the spreading forest disappears from view.

The boundary between the two fields takes the form of a land where barren earth and lush forest mingle. In some places, one dominates; in others, the other.

Passing through this transitional zone, the opposite field unfolds before them.

Tall rocks stand in rows, as if forming a forest of stone. Between them, sandy ground fills the gaps. Electric arcs and flames flicker from the rocks at regular intervals, creating the unique atmosphere of this field, much like the streams of water and ice crystals in the opposing field.

Instead of small streams, thick lava flows through, casting light across the surroundings.

“That would be best left untouched,”

"Yeah, lava burns."

Maple could do nothing against fixed damage. No matter how high her defense, it meant nothing if she couldn't reference it.

Crossing the field to reach the Town required traversing the entire area. Naturally, monsters appeared along the way. As the two walked across the rocky terrain, a large lizard over a meter long emerged from the shadow of the rocks, followed by several more.

"Fufun, this way! 【Full Armament Deployment】!"

Maple deployed her weapons, scattering bullets indiscriminately in all directions. The barrage was, in essence, impossible to avoid. The lizards attempting to close in were pierced one after another, their HP reduced steadily. Yet, even so, they did not fall easily—nine layers deep, perhaps—and instead surrounded her, retaliating by spewing intense flames from their mouths.

"Back up a moment!"

Sally creates a hidden foothold in midair, swift and precise, avoiding the clash without being caught. Maple, however, meets attack with attack—yet the disparity in defense is extreme. The lizard’s hard scales offer considerable protection, but they fall far short against Maple’s form. Standing upright within a pillar of flame, weapons regenerate with each fracture.

Sally lands at a distance, observing the scene.

"Safe… that’s the odd part. Seems fine."

Maple’s HP bar does not flicker. As the lizard takes more hits, it collapses one by one, vanishing without trace.

Without a counter, no matter how many attacks are launched, no matter how many weapons are summoned—nothing changes.

The flames surrounding Maple shrink with each passing lizard, until at last they vanish entirely.

"Nothing dangerous about that."

"Just fire—nothing to worry about!"

"Those lizards are fine... but we should check the others too."

"?"

"Look, if we're fighting here, using this field as-is, monsters might appear. It'd be better to have few weak ones in the way."

"Ah! That makes sense!"

"I don't mind seals, but too many aggressive monsters? No idea how to handle them if they show up."

"Hmm, I see..."

Maple adjusts her focus. She will remember what kinds of monsters might appear. Unlike before, the next event is being announced early. The place to pay attention to has changed.

Then we should find a good place to hide, right?

That way, we’ll be harder to ambush and easier to ambush others. Besides… we won’t end up jumping into a lava pool.

That’s important.

So this time, they decide not to ride Shiroppu through the sky. Instead, they’ll observe the monsters and keep checking the terrain as they move toward Town.

Soon after, they reach the outskirts of Town. They look back at the monsters they encountered.

Hmm… a large cactus that shoots spines, a large insect emerging from the ground, and ice blocks—versions with fire and lightning.

The cactus, maybe. The piercing one. I’ll look into it later.

Seeing the spikes fly in, she knew from appearance alone that blocking them with her body was impossible. She raised her shield instead. Whether the attack was genuine or not remained uncertain. If the barrage of spikes were a piercing defense-piercing attack, even Maple’s 【Unyielding Guardian】 would be vulnerable to multiple hits—direct impact would endanger her HP. Yet, other monsters had already shown signs of danger through their effects, so it was confirmed that this one did not use piercing attacks.

Even as expected at this stage, the monsters appearing in the field had changed entirely.

"Perhaps it would be best to consider attributes and attack compatibility."

"So many things to think about."

"Every player can do more now. The trade-off is that there’s more to consider."

When levels were low and skills few, options were scarce. There was little to be done even when thinking. That is no longer true.

“This monster is manageable even without preparation. Just in case, though.”

Some were troublesome, but all were of the type that spawned continuously across the field. They were generally defeated for experience points, not specially strong. Players reaching the ninth layer are usually pursued by boss monsters.

“Talking won’t get us anywhere. Shall we go in?”

“Yeah!”

They had already reached the town’s entrance. Beyond the tall walls surrounding the town and the open gate, the buildings stood in shades of black. Lightning and molten rock traced the streets, just as ice and water decorated the distant areas.

Stepping into the land, harsh and wild in contrast to the white-tinted nation brimming with water and nature, the two crossed the threshold.

Entering the town, the first thing noted was the absence of difference in infrastructure between the two lands. A broad avenue stretched straight from the gate. Shop signs of familiar NPCs appeared in nearly identical positions.

The most striking difference was the scarcity of people.

Not that there were no people. The NPCs walking through the town each bore features not found in humans—ears of beasts, tails, dragon wings.

"Ah. So this is how it feels."

"Feels like the fourth layer, doesn’t it?"

"Could be close."

The two move toward the castle, checking the town’s state as they go. The quest they had already accepted automatically pauses, and a new quest to head toward the castle is now registered.

Quests exist per nation, it seems. They cannot accept multiple at once.

"Guess we have to choose one."

"Looks like it."

The procedure remains unchanged. They proceed along the main road, aiming for the castle high above, climbing the long staircase.

When they reach the castle’s front, a dragonkin soldier stands there, fully transformed into a reptilian form, just as seen before in the floating castle. The soldier attends to them.

As before, they are guided first to the king’s presence. While walking through the castle, the soldier occasionally shares a few words about the king or the nation.

Our king is strong. At this hour, he’ll be in the throne room… don’t say anything foolish, or you’ll be crushed for it!

The dragonkin soldier laughs.

“W-what kind of person is he…?”

“Maybe more the type to overwhelm with sheer force, unlike that other king.”

That one had suggested close combat through appearance alone, but this one, from what little has been said, feels more like an infighter.

“If that’s true, the king of water and nature might prove stronger in open conflict. Whether they’ll side with us remains unclear.”

Judging by the number of players, clashes of many against many seem inevitable.

Even if melee combat is strong, one body cannot handle everything.

Magic might, depending on the kind, cover such weaknesses.

Maple has several grimoires capable of long-range attacks.

Indeed... it's troublesome if one can't close the distance, but magic doesn't need to worry about that, right!

Maple, due to her own stats, often found herself in situations where she couldn't approach her opponent, so she understood just how crucial range could be.

As they spoke, they reached the door to the king's chamber. A soldier there opened it, motioning them inside.

"Spacious..."

"Truly."

The audience hall appeared at a glance to be one and a half times the size of the water and nature nation's. With no one else present but the figure seated upon the throne, the sense of space felt even greater.

"King! Guests! Travelers!"

The soldier’s call prompts the figure called King to rise. Then, without pause, the King bends the knees and leaps upward with force, flying swiftly to stand before the two, hovering in midair before descending slowly to the ground.

Closer inspection reveals the nature of the being. Slightly taller than the two, with long black hair just past Maple’s length, she is a slender woman. Yet more striking are the hard scales covering her limbs, sharp claws extending from her hands and feet, a dragon’s wing sprouting from her back, and a large tail.

Hmm?

The King leans in, studying the two closely for a moment. Satisfied, she steps back slightly, transforming her tail and wings into black light, which vanishes. Her limbs shift into forms indistinguishable from human ones.

“Hmph. More frail ones, I see!”

“Not what they seem, are they? Even a King isn’t so different, is he?”

"Haha, true enough. Travelers, welcome to my realm! Welcome indeed!"

They hear the same welcome words again, along with a mention of an event soon to come, and receive explanations of allegiance and mission.

"If you become an enemy, I will not spare you. Better stay on my side, if you dislike that."

The king speaks with confidence in his strength. After finishing his explanation, he says this last, then orders his soldiers to lead the two outside.

On the way back from the throne room, they share what they felt in that brief moment.

"...That was how it felt."

"Truly strong, wasn't he?"

"If we fight, we must account for that kind of agility, just as when they first approached. Wings, so they'll fly normally... compared to that other king, it's easier to picture how they'd fight."

As expected, an air of close-combat proficiency. If they possess the strength derived from a dragon, their offensive power would be considerable.

"Also, the swift humanoid enemies have the advantage of a smaller target."

"Sally says it, and it carries weight."

At least for Maple, keeping pace with that speed would be exhausting.

"If we end up fighting the king, it might be easier to have them on our side. With Maple, area magic would suit us well. Look, the old man seems more likely to use magic than melee."

"Indeed, indeed."

Still, this remains only speculation. Whether it holds true will depend on information gathered in the coming days.

Regardless, they had now met with the leaders of both nations, and some of the monsters had been confirmed. From here on, they would gather information and ultimately decide which nation they would belong to.

"There is still plenty of time until the event. Let's take it easy."

"Uh-huh!"

The exploration of the ninth layer had just begun. Everything remained ahead.

Thus, the two departed the castle, having obtained another piece of information.