Defense specialization and lingering shadow two.

Even though a solution has been found, this is something thought of on the spur of the moment, not a tactic practiced beforehand. Aiming the bomb while manipulating the inventory remains imperfect. With no other skills, thoughts are fewer, yet still the mind feels overloaded.

The inventory operation lags. The bomb is placed too late on the chest. The man closes the distance in an instant.

"Wah!? M—uhh!"

Being too close favors the opponent. Rapid strikes tear through Maple’s body. Damage effects scatter.

"Get back!"

The delayed explosion pushes the enemy away. A large shield is raised midair and positioned like a wall, blocking the shortest path and buying time.

"Attach the bomb… drink the potion too…"

Maple uses her items in turn, restoring control over the situation. Fortunately, the battlefield is flat. The field behind her continues without interruption, allowing her to retreat endlessly, even without precise control. She maintains this tactic by minimizing the focus of her awareness.

The delayed explosion of the obsidian laser is intercepted and held at a distance by [Hand of Salvation]. As she skillfully deflects each strike, delivering damage in turn, her concentration falters—each lapse brings a counterattack.

Yet the opponent clearly lands fewer effective blows.

Maple can continue regrouping as long as the potion remains. The man’s stamina does not return.

“One more time!”

As the man approaches, Maple scatters a barrage of bombs. She does not consider type or effect—only quantity, enough to make evasion impossible. The moment she steps into the area of scattered bombs, fire erupts, detonating them. The blast wind engulfs Maple, dealing damage unilaterally, and flings her backward.

—phew… hah… good!

This has been a long battle, but never so frantic. Fatigue begins to show clearly in her expression.

No wonder. The man’s HP still stands at about forty percent, yet the fight has lasted three hours. To tire is natural.

Still, she maintains focus, accumulating damage from the bomb. Most urgent is the remaining adhesive bomb. It is used without hesitation to achieve high-speed movement, and cannot be replaced by any other item.

Three and a half tenths remain. She will not survive past that. If she slows, she will be cut to pieces and die—no surprise.

“Somewhere... with [Wasteful]...!”

[Wasteful] has seven uses left. If she lands them all, the outcome will be decided.

Maple sets the threshold at thirty percent HP. She attacks to reduce the remainder.

Thirty percent is the last moment the pattern may change. Beyond that, [Wasteful] can consume it entirely, ending the fight without resistance. If she has no HP left to endure, there is no need to worry.

Red flames from the explosion and the man’s pitch-black laser illuminate the battlefield. Their attacks strike each other, dealing damage in turn.

“How about this!”

A massive explosion engulfs the man in fire, reducing his HP further. It reaches the target—thirty percent.

As expected. Yet it brings a change in tactics. One he did not wish for.

The man leaps several meters into the air. Around him, he unfolds a large magic circle upon the ground. Maple sees it and immediately retreats. No matter how it turns out, she gains nothing from staying.

He restores his HP. Swaps his weakened great shield—once held by the [Hand of Salvation]—for a new one. Preparing in turn, the center of the magic circle erupts with thick, black mud-like substance rising and spreading.

“This time… die!”

The man speaks, turning his sword toward Maple. From the mud, grotesque entities resembling Maple from the era of Tyranny emerge one after another. Some bear wings, others are heavily muscled. Some have multiple arms or legs. Though their appearances differ, they share one trait: each is wrapped in black light that inflicts damage upon Maple.

……!

Maple acts swiftly, equipping her [Shadow Night’s Reflection]. She lacks the skill to evade this and win a prolonged fight. She has managed until now through deception, but her limits are clear—outmatched by sheer quantity and quality. Then there is only one course: end it now, with the only weapon Maple currently holds, and the strongest.

Her careful spacing proves fortunate. The horde of monsters will take time to reach her.

Maple swiftly wraps incendiary bombs around her body and ignites them.

Explosion. Maple rises into the air. On the ground, monsters block her path to the man. Then, let him come to her. Nothing changes from before.

Only monsters with wings and the man, capable of flight, can follow Maple’s ascent.

Among those descending from below, the fastest is that man, far above the summoned monsters. Yet the monsters closer to Maple reach her first.

……!

The monsters will interfere. She cannot strike the man directly with her great shield. On the ground, she would be prey. No time to stop. No choice. Maple executes her plan.

The upward thrust from wrapped bombs ends. Maple falls.

She twists her body midair and dives straight into the swarm of monsters. One is erased by [Evil Feast], clearing a path. She cuts through the swarm at full speed.

The man ahead is the one Maple must defeat.

As the man swings his sword, Maple thrusts her great shield forward. No matter the force—magic or blade—nothing can breach this shield.

The next strike she catches the sword within the shield. With the shield now unguarded, the shield itself crashes into the man’s body.

Maple knows [Evil Feast] well. She expected the man’s body to be pierced. She lands with a clang upon the makeshift platform formed by the two great shields she prepared in advance.

The man can regenerate his body after being consumed by [Evil Feast], but he cannot nullify the damage. This is the opening she seeks.

"Hey!"

Maple lands directly behind, then swings like a pendulum, striking with great shields from both sides. With regeneration consuming all her effort, the opponent can do nothing.

Having struck the remaining 【Evil Feasts】 into the man, Maple’s eyes widen at the sight of his HP barely clinging on. The damage from a single unused 【Evil Feast】 had been just short.

Yet his HP is now negligible. Whether bomb or item, one more push will end him.

But before Maple can draw her bomb, the monster—having momentarily broken free during its fall—catches up and lunges at her, preventing the throw.

Constant damage, ignoring defense, gnaws at Maple’s HP.

“Get… off!”

Maple curls into a ball, clutching the bomb she had intended to throw. She lets the force of the explosion push her body, falling away from the swarm. Her HP, bolstered by the great shield, barely holds. She activates her inventory, pulls out a crystal, and powers it, pulling her health from the danger zone.

The man, his body fully regenerated, appears in Maple’s falling view—wings spread, diving steeply to decide the fight.

This time, the man is ahead. If she lands on the ground, escaping the monster waiting below will be impossible.

This is truly the last chance.

Focusing on the sword rushing straight at her, Maple holds a small bomb in her hand. Iz’s special item. Narrow blast radius, high explosive power. This will finish it. Just need to hit.

But no matter how she concentrates, Maple cannot dodge. She lacks Sally’s training. This is a gap with no room for chance.

She cannot evade and strike back. Then.

As the sword nears, Maple tilts one of the large shields floating in midair slightly, pressing it against her back to halt her fall. She grits her teeth hard.

Immediately after, the man’s sword cuts deep into Maple. She is thrown back with a violent impact, slammed into the shield she had pressed against her back. The flashy damage effect flares.

The unstable wall rebounds her body with a dull thud. Maple grimaces in pain.

Still, Maple faced forward without wavering. Just after being struck, she kicked off the large shield, launching herself into the air to match the brief rebound. In that fleeting moment before the next attack, Maple extended her hand.

What Sally could do, Maple could not. What Maple could do, Sally could not.

It was the same defensive strength that had saved her countless times—unwilling to flinch even when caught in her own attack.

As the man advanced, she used the knockback recoil to surge forward. The distance between the two closed abruptly.

Too close to separate. The blast radius—normally impossible to enter.

"Ehehe, what do you think?!"

As Maple grinned with pride, the explosion erupted with a thunderclap. It engulfed both of them. In the flash, one shadow vanished.

A short while later, outside the game, during operations by the staff. A notification chime had been set to sound when certain hidden dungeons or events were cleared. On this day, the chime known as the pawn echoed into the ears.

"Who was defeated?"

"The Forbidden Tome..."

The man, checking the details, made a face that could not be described.

"Who was it?"

"Maple."

"…………？？？?"

Hearing those words, he tilted his head, puzzled. It could not be. He knew the boss known as the Forbidden Tome and the quests leading to it in full detail.

"Did I mishear? Say it again."

"...Maple."

"……Why?"

"That's something you'll have to see for yourself."

"In Maple's case, what happens to the seal?"

"Since she doesn't fit the mage class, it's Pattern A."

"Then all your passive skills are gone! Sure, defense remains, but how do you plan to defeat it?"

"Let's watch from the start of combat."

All present are fixed in stillness, eyes on the image projected before them. Something might have slipped through—some odd way of being defeated.

At the start of combat, the boss assaults Maple with a powerful strike. No damage lands, yet Maple is forced to stagger, barely able to stand.

"Damage is nonexistent, as expected."

"Of course."

After a moment, Maple shifts. She begins deploying bombs. At a distance, she halts midair, suspended by the [Rescue Hand], and lets out a low growl.

"Ah... I see."

"Reviewing the footage, it's been about an hour since the stones were thrown."

"Well done... But why does she carry so many rocks in the first place?"

"Who knows...?"

After a while, the boss too begins to rise into the sky. The management knew full well this would not end as it had begun.

Watching the footage continue, a low murmur stirs among the viewers.

"Theoretically possible... but adhesive bombs..."

"Maple can do something like this? I didn't think she was the type."

"Maybe Sally taught her. She's good at that sort of thing, after all."

"Huh... she moves so smoothly..."

"Being immune to damage is huge. Anyone else trying it would be suicide."

Not a victory born of some unforeseen glitch or backdoor, but a proper battle—hours spent, resources poured, and a deep understanding of one's own strengths. There was nothing left to do but stare in silence.

"Still, it's the passive skill, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Is this the time for talking? The skill..."

"…………"

The root of all evil. The management, once again, recognize that it is Maple’s defense that sustains her movement and is the origin of the problem.