Defense Specialization and Symbiosis 2.

Though she was feared in that manner, Maple

As for herself, she hurried toward Iz's side.

The quest, forced into motion, was inevitably tied to that which had been sealed within the book—something whose ill effects were too great to bear.

MP is drawn from within the body and cannot recover, remaining perpetually at zero. Skills that require declaring a name to activate are unusable, even those equipped on items.

Under these conditions, no summoned monster capable of triggering the Awakening skill can appear.

At present, the only attack skill Maple possesses is the one that activates automatically—【Gnawing Hunger】—which failed to target anything. There are no attack skills, fundamentally, that activate without declaration.

"Master Izu!"

Maple bursts into the guild home, calling out Izu’s name. As usual, Izu steps out from the workshop, curiosity in her eyes.

“Something wrong? … Ah, that face…”

Half of Maple’s face is darkened, a clear sign of something amiss. Izu understands at once and asks what needs to be done.

“Coming to me means it’s an item matter? I can remove any status effect you need.”

Her workshop produces more than she uses in battle or trade. Her inventory overflows with every kind of consumable.

“I don’t need it for that… um, can you look at this? Please?”

Maple shows Izu the quest she is currently assigned, and its progress.

“Consuming equipment… Never seen a quest like this. Not delivering somewhere, is it?”

There’s a frame of different color here. It seems you’re meant to place it inside.

Maple opens her inventory and shows the designated spot to Izu. As she said, a black-framed section appears near the bottom of the inventory. The quest description confirms that placing an item within this frame will increase progress.

Then, I’ll try giving one of these. I have plenty of unused equipment.

Izu’s inventory holds many items she crafted herself. Designs that did not turn out as intended, older gear whose performance now lags several tiers behind current standards, and even store-bought items purchased for reference—all of which can be safely handed over.

After placing the equipment received from Izu into the designated frame, a prompt appears asking whether to absorb it.

Absorb...

“Wouldn’t this be safe to hand over?”

Maple taps the panel. The equipment received from Izu vanishes completely from the inventory. In its place, the quest progress rises slightly.

“Seems not to be a mistake… but just barely, by one percent, I suppose?”

Below the quest name, a yellow bar indicates progress visually. It stretches only a fraction—barely noticeable.

“Wouldn’t better gear make it grow a little more?”

Izu removes another piece of equipment from the inventory and hands it to Maple, as if testing a theory.

The results confirm Izu’s expectation. Higher-quality gear—items with skills or enhanced through the [Smithing] skill—show noticeably better progress growth.

“After all, it says ‘absorb.’ One would naturally want to absorb something better.”

Thus, Iz selects the next suitable gear from her inventory.

"But... are you sure? It will be gone after this..."

"It's fine. They were things that weren't used to begin with. Besides, won't it be hard for Maple-chan alone?"

Judging by this, it's unclear how many pieces of shop-bought gear would be needed.

Having Iz's help is the most reassuring thing possible.

"I was stuck because MP and skills won't work when searching for gear in the dungeon. Defense was fine, but..."

"Is that so? Then it's even more urgent to resolve this quickly. And even if not, I'd have helped to the end anyway."

"Really?"

"Of course. After all, you're about to gain another skill before the event. If Maple-chan grows stronger, I'll be helped too."

"Yes!"

One skill Maple might acquire holds value surpassing even a hundred items from Iz's inventory. A single new skill, far more vital than equipment left to rot unused.

"Exactly why you should take as many as you like!"

"Thank you!"

Thus, Iz's gear is absorbed one after another.

"But where exactly is it being absorbed? I wonder."

"It's as if someone strange has entered my body... I think that person is eating it!"

"Is that... really safe?"

If Maple truly eats as she claims, her appetite exceeds even that of a monster-eater.

"You said someone entered, but is there anything else wrong besides being unable to use the skill?"

"Nothing else seems to be wrong!"

Upon closer thought, the idea of something unknown taking root within the body was a terrifying notion. Yet Maple seemed less concerned than Izzy might have feared.

"Then that’s good. Let us continue absorbing everything until the quest is complete."

"Yes!"

To finish it, it was better to press on without pause. The rewards upon completion might affect strategy in future events. If the reward were a skill, Maple’s mastery of it would require time. It was prudent to secure that time now.

For this reason, Izzy intended to see Maple’s quest through to its end, while time remained.

As promised, countless items emerged from the inventory—powerful beyond anything sold in shops, though no wielder had yet been found.

Yet whatever had entered Maple’s body seemed no less voracious than Maple herself, consuming more than a hundred items in succession. Even so, there was a limit. The progress bar now neared completion—100%.

“Truly, an immense amount was required. I was surprised.”

“I apologize…”

“It’s only natural. I’ve always received materials from you. When one is in trouble, it’s the same for both.”

As Maple absorbed the final piece of equipment, a prompt appeared: Quest Complete. Then, unexpectedly, a new quest emerged.

“Wha—?!”

“It seems it continues.”

The two examined the quest details together. A single line stood out: Defeat monsters solo. A challenge far beyond Maple’s current strength.

“If it’s solo, I can’t follow or assist…”

The first quest was designed to take time, yet thanks to Shiroppu, it advanced at a pace that could be called the fastest possible. A normal player would find this quest easier, but Maple was different.

Maple could not perform the fundamental combat of simply swinging a weapon to deal damage.

Even against monsters with no defensive capability, like those in the first layer, she would struggle. Against monsters from the ninth layer, whose base stats had been raised to achieve minimal defense, a hundred thrusts with her dagger would not pierce through for even a single point of damage.

“Can’t call on Shiroppu either… and can’t use [Cruelty]…”

“Until now, being able to attack at all was the abnormal state. Now that it’s gone, it’s certainly a problem.”

Cases where skills had been sealed before existed, but nothing on this scale had ever been heard of. Izu had heard of mages suffering in areas where magic was sealed, but never of skills being sealed as well.

“Take these items. It’s fine! I fight with these all the time.”

Izu pulled various attack items from her inventory, including her handmade bombs.

Each item carried an absurd power, as if she were a damage dealer herself.

With these, one could defeat enemies even without offensive strength. Of course, Maple’s effectiveness would be diminished compared to Izu, who could apply bonuses to the items’ effects. But that deficit could be compensated for by the time gained through Maple’s superior defense, allowing her to use more items in turn.

“Hmph. I expect good skills from you, given this much. That much means the quest will likely continue for a while still.”

“Yes! I’ll finish it before the event!”

“Indeed. Your spirit is admirable.”

Iz watched as Maple dashed from the guild home, having been told to return for supplies if needed.

Maple walked through the field after leaving the town. Traveling without Shiroppu’s aid and unable to use [Cruelty], movement took considerable time. There was nothing to be done about it. Maple headed toward a flatland area where monsters gathered in large numbers. This was one of several high-density monster zones, a favored spot among players for leveling up.

According to Sally’s research, no exceptionally powerful monsters inhabited the area. The majority were swift animal-type creatures, with none bearing piercing attacks.

No one with piercing attacks. This matters deeply to Maple. She cannot use 【Piers Guard】 now, and has no skill to counterattack. She cannot face an opponent who negates her strength in defense.

Of course, other players also use this place for leveling. As Maple walks past, some notice. A few murmur that she is walking today—unusual. Others remark on her humanoid form. Eventually, they see her change. They freeze.

“Something on your face… look.”

“Her eyes and hair have changed before… but what is that mark? Like a curse?”

Players watch the change with caution. It does not look like something good. Yet nothing terrible happens, as expected. After a moment, Maple takes the edge of the area away from the others. She opens her inventory, unnoticed.

“This one, and this one…”

Maple pulls out a small bottle filled with pink liquid. She unscrews the cap. Sprinkles it around.

A monster nearby snaps into combat stance. It lunges at Maple.

“Wah! That’s powerful!”

This is an Izu-made item. It draws monsters near. As in the eighth event, if approaching is difficult, it is better to have the enemy come. Large monsters—bears, wolves—appear often. They knock Maple down instantly. She falls to the ground. Yet, as expected, no piercing damage lands. She is unharmed.

"Then, this one!"

Maple, still being crushed, pulls out a large jar at last. It would shatter instantly if tossed about by monsters, but the intent is precisely that.

The liquid within splashes violently upon breaking.

It is thick, slick—oil, meant to amplify the item's effect.

Preparation complete, Maple crushes the crystals she has held in both hands, activating them.

From her left, flame bursts forth. From her right, lightning cracks. The flame ignites the oil, spreading rapidly. The lightning spreads in a web-like pattern across the ground.

The monsters, drawn in, take damage from both but still press forward to bring down Maple. She lies back, relaxed, waiting. Nothing more to do now.

From a distance, it was impossible to tell whether Maple had used an item to generate flame and lightning, and the players stirred all at once.

"Hey, something just happened!"

"Unbelievable..."

"A clash of poison, evenly matched..."

No one knew exactly how Maple was faring. Her face, darkened by the phenomenon, was mistaken for an effect of her own making. By chance, this was interpreted as a new skill.

The shared belief that Maple might have gained another skill, the fact that this area was tied to flame and lightning, and the current sensitivity to others' abilities all reinforced the idea.

"Is the power not a bit too high...?"

"There might be additional effects too."

It was nothing more than an item, and whether to incorporate it into strategy remained undecided. Yet by pressing forward, she unintentionally conveyed the impression of a painful counter that could not be avoided—effectively serving as a move to shield Maple from piercing attacks.

Maple continued lying on her back, burning approaching monsters with the item’s power. A portion of the flat ground remained perpetually aflame. Hidden behind the fire, several players heard whispers that this was Maple, observed from afar, and carried information back.

Maple, unaware of any of this, waited solely for the quest to be completed.

“Mmm… there’s nothing else to do about it.”

She occasionally deployed bombs to increase her kill count. With only items at her disposal, raising damage was difficult. There was nothing to do but wait calmly. Still, the strength of the items Iz had crafted significantly shortened the time it would have taken Maple alone to achieve this.

“Today, just a little more effort!”

As Iz had said, she wished to complete the quest before the event. But how much of the process remained was unclear. Better to hurry if one could.

While Maple was alone defeating a monster, Crom and Kasumi entered the guildhouse in turn.

“Oi, Iz. Taking a break from crafting today?”

“Crom, I was just talking with Maple a moment ago.”

“Maple? Hey, I heard a rumor. Didn’t Maple have something like face paint on her face?”

Ah, you knew about it? I was just discussing that matter with Maple.

Something happened? I haven’t heard anything of the sort yet.

Skill or equipment… I couldn’t predict what would be gained in the end… but the quest required progressing step by step, so it turned out this way.

Ah! So that’s how it is! Just as expected!

Expected, yet it feels odd… truly finding it, though.

But it seems quite difficult. According to Maple, something entered her body, and now she can’t use anything except passive skills.

Hm, like a curse? That would be tough.

With Maple’s status, she’d be unable to do anything. A heavy restriction for someone whose strength lies in skills.

I’ve helped her through the first stage.

Ah, not a battle then.

Yes. A quest involving delivering equipment is near. The entity within her consumed a hundred pieces as if digesting them. It seemed to distinguish between strong and weak items too. Quite the gourmet, it was.

A hundred? If that’s the case, we might expect something worthwhile from it.

Indeed. Iz can produce them at will—hard to grasp the scale—but it’s still a significant resource. So onward to the next?

The next was a solo monster hunt. I gave her only items. She’s lost her means of attack.

Solo means it’s hard to assist... How about gathering materials for items instead?

That would be helpful. Given her pace, we’ll likely need a great deal. There’s an event soon. We should ensure we don’t run short.

Then I shall assist with that. Tell Maple she may rely on me if anything arises.

Indeed. Then may I ask for your help?

Aye! If Maple receives one final enhancement, we’ll be solid!

Map assessment is largely complete. Her quest’s priority will outweigh the others.

I’ll inform the remaining four. Their strengths differ. It’s best to assign tasks accordingly.

Knowing the situation in advance eases movement. Now that Maple is forced into solo combat, this is the moment to issue such directives.

Having followed the plan, Maple has finally succeeded in locating something. From here, we dedicate ourselves fully to supporting her.

Then I shall depart at once.

Let me go as well. Riding Hak will be more efficient.

Keep going. Gather anything you can. No matter the kind. It’ll be fine. Anything can be turned into coin and reconverted later.

Such a skill you have… Okay, I’ll collect it all.

Take care.

Thus the two set out into the field, to support Iz, and by extension, Maple.