Defense specialization and HP secured.

Side by side, Maple and Sally reached the Boss Room, a passage leading into the clouds, having ruthlessly ravaged through Lilie and the malevolent forces.

Once defeated, the rest could be bypassed. As Lilie had said, the boss was no longer there.

“Phew, here we go!”

“Yeah. She said ‘up, up,’ so let’s go up fast.”

“Ooh!”

The two moved straight toward the magic array appearing deeper within. Their destination: the clouds. The entrance to a colossal dungeon, where enemies stood in their way, and they pressed onward toward the peak.

Immediately after stepping on it, they were enveloped in light. When surroundings became visible again, they were already inside a maze made entirely of white clouds.

“Haven’t been in clouds like this in a while.”

“Not surprising. You don’t get this kind of place until the fifth floor.”

The ground sinks beneath them, just as it does on the fifth floor. They move carefully, avoiding being caught in the softness, scanning their surroundings as they walk.

The space they have arrived in is vast. Five paths extend from it. Only one can be chosen.

“Which one?”

“I heard we’re going upward… so the uphill path should be better.”

“That’s true. Then let’s go with the most straightforward one upward.”

“Yeah!”

They stand at the entrance of the passage, peering into the darkness. Among the five paths, they choose the steepest.

Clouds jut out here and there, forming footholds. Yet they must climb like climbers up a sheer wall. This is where their order of progression proves effective.

“Going up now. You’ll be fine with the controls?”

“I’m good!”

Having already cleared the third-floor area, the elevation difference is no longer a significant obstacle.

They bypass the prepared scaffolding and fly forward through the air.

“Ah! Sally, a monster!”

“Yes. Hmm… no long-range attacks, it seems.”

Hovering in midair, they study the path ahead. Several figures resembling soldiers in pure white armor move about, nearly blending into the white clouds in the background. They carry spears and swords of the same color. From a distance, no mages or archers are visible. Closer inspection reveals their gear is made of cloud, just like the floor and walls.

Observing them for a moment, they appear to sink into the clouds beneath their feet, vanishing, only to reappear moments later.

“Hiding and waiting in ambush.”

“Even if it looks harmless, we must stay alert.”

“Will flying be safe?”

“Safer than on the ground. I’d like to try a preemptive strike to assess the situation this time.”

Understood!

Maple adjusted the weapon with practiced ease, firing a crimson laser toward the ground.

The laser spread like a veil over the cloud floor, striking the cloud soldiers.

Yet the damage was less than expected—whether from high stamina or high defense. The soldiers turned toward them, weapons raised.

—Wait…!

As they watched, the soldiers created a path of clouds in midair and ascended swiftly.

They had anticipated the players’ use of flight machinery. Being airborne offered no advantage in attack.

I’ll stop them—cover me.

Understood!

Sally accelerated forward, drawing the soldiers’ attention. Maple continued generating rifles in rapid succession, maintaining a barrage that inflicted continuous damage.

Sally avoided Maple’s bullets and entered combat without hindering her attack on the soldiers.

A spear wielder stood before her. Two swordsmen with longswords. The enemy showed no unusual movements. They advanced, but focused on evasion rather than attack.

……!

Her concentration on evasion proved effective. Sally dodged the enemy’s strike. The cloud sword and spear extended from a distance thought to be out of range. They stretched with the force of the thrust, piercing through the wall behind Maple without pause.

Good weapon.

It snapped back to its original length as soon as extended. No opening remained after the attack.

Yet the first strike—still untested by Sally—had missed. The weight of that fact settled upon her.

Range may extend, but trajectory remains unchanged. A simple thrust or sweep, even slightly faster, cannot reach Sally—she evades Maple’s barrage from behind.

“Not effective… but—【Water Wrap】! Dusky 【Fire Child】!”

Using the skill, three types of follow-up attacks accompany Sally’s assault, including 【Pursuit Blade】.

A single slash with the dagger releases water and flame. The attack deals four times the normal damage.

Maple’s bullets are high-powered and potent, but damage does not increase with level-up stat gains.

That is why Maple remains strong—but her damage output is no longer as high as before.

In contrast, Sally’s attacks grow stronger with 【STR】 investment.

Sally’s flurry of attacks, bolstered by both 【AGI】 and 【STR】, and amplified further by 【Sword Dance】, carried enough force to wound even the monsters of the tenth layer deeply.

She slipped between them, each strike leaving a wide damage effect.

Where survivors seemed likely, a rain of bullets struck to finish them.

The power was fading. Still, ignoring it would not end well. Dodging the swirling cloud weapon, the two dispersed the enemy quickly.

After waiting a while, they confirmed no new monsters emerged from the cloud floor. They landed.

“Nice support fire.”

“Sally, as expected!”

“Common monsters seem manageable. I was surprised by the platforms forming and weapons extending, though.”

"Hey. If we had weapons like that, Sally could handle them well."

"Thanks to the new Unique Series, we can do similar things, but we can't stretch that far. Still, maybe I should ask Izu about it. There were new materials in the Third Layer, right?"

"Let's ask next time!"

"True. Maple could get new gear too. You know, before the final battle, we should have the best equipment ready."

"True..."

Maple already carried multiple powerful sets of gear. Her skill slots made the Unique Series her standard choice. She had enough equipment. Still, changing accessories based on the situation would be better.

"Adding more HP would help. Or adding resistance to other status effects would be good too."

She must be doing something incredible, if she’s the Demon King.

"That is the way of it."

Maple resists poison and paralysis, but remains vulnerable to sleep and stun. Resistance can be improved through certain skills, yet to ensure stability, as Sally says, the best course is to prepare one's equipment properly.

She no longer needed to fret over gold or materials. To ensure a clean victory at the end, Maple adjusted her focus and set her mind to doing what she could now.

Since acquiring the aerial machine, she moves through the clouds without hindrance from the terrain. After advancing for a time, a landscape appears ahead—unnecessary to traverse by flight.

The ceiling is low. The floor is level. The passage narrows to barely fit two walking side by side. White covers all. Hard to tell, but the path splits left and right.

It’s like a maze, isn’t it.

Then we’ll have to check one by one. Oh, right—should we walk with our hands on the wall?

We’ll have to watch the corners. They might come out from around them. If they emerge from the floor like before, we won’t sense them until the last moment.

Understood.

Maple steps forward, her great shield raised, and enters the maze of clouds.

If only we could fly.

The ceiling’s sealed off everywhere, I suppose.

Yeah.

Still, plenty can fly without machines. Better to have roofs, or else it’ll be cold.

There’s no choice but to navigate this maze properly. The two advance, alert for ambushes.

After several dead ends and a return, they move deeper into the cloud, losing track of how far they’ve come. Maple notices the ground beneath her feet growing slightly softer.

…?

Something wrong?

The floor has grown soft...? Wait!?

Maple!

The moment Maple stepped forward, she sank deep into the ground. Sally extended her thread and caught her.

Maple was buried up to her waist. Thanks to Sally’s thread, she stopped sinking further.

"Slowly. Calm down. Rise with the air machine."

"Yeah... phew. That startled me."

Maple ascended via the air machine and popped free from the surface. The two looked down into the hole.

"Uwah..."

No wonder they both gasped. At the bottom of the hole, distant ground stretched far below. A fall would mean a straight drop to the earth.

"What if it were me? Would I be safe if I fell?"

—Here, they said even flying wouldn’t reach it. So just falling wouldn’t be enough. Might just be instant death if you slipped even a little.

—So that’s how it is.

—Keep in mind you can stop quickly with flight machinery. There’s likely some time to spare.

—Got it!

—Well, now that we know the floor will vanish, I’d like to fly off right away…

Already strengthened and extended, but sustained flight has limits.

Don’t want to be left stranded mid-air when it matters most.

—How about riding on the shield?

—Hmm, yeah! Haven’t done that in a while.

—Alright! Getting ready!

Maple switches her accessories. Two hands hover in midair, holding the shield level with the ground.

Sally had grown accustomed to the unsettling hands, as Mai and Yui wielded them without pause.

"Go ahead, go ahead."

"Handle the controls."

"Leave it to me!"

One of Maple’s methods when encountering traps on the ground. This time, riding atop the levitating shield, the two soar once more into the depths of the labyrinth.

At the turn of the corridor, the spear-bearing soldier emerges as if crawling from the floor, launching a preemptive strike from his side.

The cloud spear streaks forward at a velocity equal to a bullet, straight along the passage, striking Maple’s forehead.

It collapses her HP to zero in an instant. The ability 【Unyielding Guardian】 activates.

Stunned by the unexpected damage, Maple freezes. Sally pulls Maple’s body sharply back, rejecting the enemy’s follow-up.

"…!"

"Maple, retreat! 【Ice Pillar】!"

The corner had been fortunate. Breaking the ray with 【Ice Pillar】, she raised her shield before the enemy could strike, and the two retreated along the path they had come.

…Shocked. So strong.

Indeed, high damage. But… just the right timing, perhaps.

…?

Perhaps Maple’s HP had finally run low.

…! I see. Still unchanged, then.

Maple’s defense increased endlessly through her Unique Series. HP, however, was merely boosted slightly by accessories. When needed, she’d either equip a high-tier headgear with the Archangel’s Tiara, or use 【Quick Change】.

I’d prepared that move, anticipating everyone would target Maple’s low HP, but we won’t be fighting again, so it doesn’t matter.

Yeah, yeah.

If Maple’s HP exceeds recognition thresholds, calculations will fail. That weakness can only be exploited in duels—but there will likely be no more such fights.

Adjusting equipment now to raise her HP will only matter when it is too late. When the moment comes, it will be the final battle.

"Let’s have Iz make something unobtrusive. We’ll raise her HP where it won’t trigger the 【Unyielding Guardian】 ability unexpectedly."

"Then let’s go back."

"Right. We’ll resume the strategy once 【Unyielding Guardian】 has recovered."

"Got it!"

When the situation turns dire, retreat without forcing. The tenth layer—this opponent is strong enough to strike back. It is wise to yield, for now, and withdraw.

A rare occurrence for the two: encountering a strong enemy, then retreating. They now head toward Iz, the reliable artisan.

"Iz-san!"

"Please help us."

The workshop door opens. Iz turns, waiting.

"Currently the fifth-floor area... was it? Something has happened."

After hearing their explanation, Iz understands immediately what is being asked.

"HP-focused equipment. Not for HP cost this time—something for everyday use."

"That is correct."

"Of course I can prepare it. Unlike unique series or rare gear, there are no special skills. But the stat growth after enhancement will be unmatched."

"Could you... do this for us?"

"Yes. Better done quickly. I’ll begin right away. May I see the materials you have on hand?"

If good materials are available, Iz will use them to craft the finest possible item. The two immediately show their inventory, selecting from the wide variety of materials gathered during their previous adventures.

You’ve certainly earned this. You’ve fought monsters across many lands. I believe I could prepare it in a few days.

Really!?

That’s a relief.

You may rely on me as much as you wish. Equipment isn’t something everyone needs—my arms are aching already!

Many use the Unique series. Even without that, you already have the finest quality items.

It’s heartening to know they’re well cared for. Still, I do want to make new gear.

“Thank you so much!”

With Iz’s willing acceptance, a solution to Maple’s HP issue appeared at once.

Still, it would be wise to refrain from entering the fifth-layer area until the equipment is ready.

A few days of safe sightseeing might be best. There may be similar monsters elsewhere.

That’s right. She’s making it for us after all!

There are options available—such as the [Unyielding Guardian] or an early [Ruthless], yet if one falls before completion, regret will be endless.

Maple decided, here, to refrain from overexertion. She would remain quietly in Town, awaiting Iz’s equipment.