Defense specialization and cooperative synergy.

They crushed the dungeon, again and again. Maple and her companions continued their high-speed advance, keeping Mai and Yui alive. At a convenient point, the five parted ways, deciding to meet again after securing the 'Demon King's Power'.

On another day, it was time for information sharing with the members of the Gathering Holy Sword. Today, Maple and Sally were heading toward the guild home of the Gathering Holy Sword, having left the sixth-floor area behind.

"Progress on the sixth floor?"

"Un. I think we'll clear it next time—or the one after that."

Maple spoke to Sally, who stood beside her but looked at nothing. The lack of visual records and Maple's careful, vague descriptions allowed Sally to grasp the essentials without difficulty.

With Mai and Yui here, we should manage. Well, even so, I wouldn’t want to meet any foe that even Maple couldn’t handle while guarding the two of us…

The trio of extreme fighters possess an abnormal strength in monster combat. Since they are central to battle, if their role fails, even 【Gathering Holy Sword】 would find the path difficult.

Still, Crom says such monsters do not exist in the sixth layer during the current progression. Even if hidden areas remain, there is no need to worry. They proceed with the strategy.

As they speak, they arrive at the 【Gathering Holy Sword】 guild home.

“Hey! How’s the progress going?”

“Yeah! Pretty good!”

“Mm-hmm. But we’re not lagging behind either.”

Frederica waves her hand lightly at the entrance and leads the two inside the guild home.

Where are Pain and the others?

They were supposed to arrive soon, so we waited outside. Something about the strategy just came up—probably discussing that. Still, there’s nothing clear yet. It wasn’t much of a conversation.

Frederica stops before a single door and gestures for the two to enter.

Inside, Pain, Dread, and Drag wait for Maple and the others.

Has the discussion about the Demon King ended?

Yes. We’ve formed a party.

So we’ve secured the right to challenge?

Sharp intuition. Exactly.

The grand guild, Gathering Holy Sword, has reached the Demon King—the final goal of the ten-tiered dungeon. Now only victory remains. Yet the Demon King’s power is a consumable. Each attempt drains it, making further challenges costly.

High difficulty, no doubt.

"The proof of that is that the number of parties allowed to join the quest simultaneously is three."

"Three parties means..."

"Twenty-four people."

Each party consists of eight members. Though cooperation during events is common, no prior dungeon has explicitly required a three-party scale for completion.

"Several attempts will likely be needed to determine the proper party composition."

The number of tank units, such as those wielding large shields, and the number of spellcasters positioned in the rear to deliver damage. First, the foundational party structure must be established. Only then can the Demon King’s behavior patterns be analyzed, and a plan formulated to defeat him.

"Information can be shared with [Maple Tree] as well... but they recommend gathering multiple sources of the Demon King’s magical energy."

"If we’re challenging it alone with [Maple Tree], even more so. You’re Maple, after all? It’s not impossible, but this time—there aren’t enough of you."

Hmm... can we really gather the Demon King's power?

It’s impossible to collect anywhere near the number the Gathering Holy Sword would require. Even if we only need the boss, we still need people to reach the fourth-layer zones.

Even with a full team, Maple Tree only has eight members. If we’re significantly below the ideal number, it’s not unreasonable that the challenge was designed to be beatable without such numbers.

Frederica’s words—“maybe possible with Maple’s group”—show she holds Maple Tree in high regard. Still, she feels it remains difficult.

Then again... if we gather all of the Demon King’s power and reach the Demon King himself, wouldn’t there be nothing left to share from our side?

Sally’s point is valid. In truth, if it weren’t for the hidden area, Maple Tree would be the only ones who knew anything not already known to others.

They had gathered today for routine information sharing. Yet, given the progress of the Gathering Holy Sword, this meeting might well be their final one.

“Which is why we can share information with Maple Tree. Of course, cooperation as well.”

“If you need something, ask. I’ll help. But don’t make it too much trouble.”

“That’s kind of you… but there’s no benefit for the Gathering Holy Sword side.”

“Do you really think so? Well, maybe.”

“Of course I’m not thinking nothing. Hey, Pain.”

“Ah. I’ll lay out my intentions. Then you two decide whether to accept.”

The final decision rests with the two. Pain speaks his mind. His stance as guildmaster of the Gathering Holy Sword.

The Maplewood Guild is one of the key guilds to watch in person-to-person combat. The fact that they formed an alliance during the last large-scale battle carried significant weight.

Maplewood’s actions shifted the tide at critical moments. Their presence or absence may have altered the outcome of the event.

"So we should establish a debt. Or at least maintain a favorable relationship. We want them to think we’re worth allying with again someday."

Maple replies immediately, but the conclusion is set aside for now.

"Repeating: we provide information and offer cooperation. If they wish to take advantage of it, they may."

"Grateful, though it feels somewhat one-sided..."

"Perhaps that makes the offer easier to accept? Besides, forming an alliance would be preferable, but not essential. Even without Maplewood, we will win this person-to-person battle."

The words came with undeniable confidence. A pride as the guildmaster of the leading guild, the Gathering Holy Sword, radiated from Pain.

"We've grown stronger too... the skills of Maple are not unknown to us."

"That's right. Just ask for help without overthinking."

"Hmph. If you repay the favor someday... we'll team up again."

If she ever feels the urge to return it. Maple and her companions would not reject such generous terms offered by the Gathering Holy Sword.

Rivals. Allies. Even if they were to leave the game, both still intended to maintain this stance as the position of the Maplewood guild.

Having received information from the Gathering Holy Sword, the two departed the guild hall and returned once more to the Maplewood guild hall.

"Learned a lot, didn't we!"

"Yeah... but tackling it with three parties..."

"Perhaps it's still difficult even with everyone working together?"

"The Gathering Holy Sword might try it and see what happens. With Mai and Yui, overall firepower shouldn't be an issue. And with Maple, we won't lack a great shield user."

"Really!?"

"Yeah. But... there are more uncertainties than certainties."

Sally calmly calculated the combat strength of 【Maplewood】, listing possible scenarios and impossible ones.

"Maple's defense is central to our fighting style. But whether an unknown enemy's attack can break through Maple's defense—only testing it will tell. Even if they're weak, bosses will deal high damage. Not knowing which attacks pierce defense makes it a serious risk."

"That's true."

"Then if there's an attack so strong we can't survive without invincibility skills, we could all be wiped out instantly."

—The Demon King is incredibly strong, isn’t she.

—At least stronger than the boss needed to reach that point. Think about it—being stronger than the armored warrior of the fourth layer? That thought alone makes one uneasy.

The final boss of the fourth layer required a full strategy, perfectly executed, to defeat cleanly. Even if only a guess, facing an opponent surpassing that without any information would be far more difficult.

—Well, in any case, we must start by gathering the Demon King’s power. Without securing the right to challenge, there’s no point in considering what comes after.

—That makes sense.

By the time we face her, the Gathering Holy Sword will have new information. Using that wouldn’t be a bad idea.

—But… I’ll make one promise. I’ll make sure Maple wins.

—…?

I don’t want us to lose to some demon lord at the end. Heh heh, I’ll show you who the true demon lord really is!

Yes! I’ll do my best!

I’ll give it everything—I expect you to ride this wave with me.

Of course! I’m counting on you!

Sally has always been the strongest player I’ve ever trusted. I do not doubt her words.

If Sally says she’ll win, then she will. It’s better to trust Sally and our allies than to dwell on fear of the demon lord battle.

Then we must rush through the sixth layer area!

You can leave that to me… but…

You should say you’ll do your best too, you know!

Some things just can’t be done…

I felt so confident in you just now—like you could do it.

I’m cheering you on from inside my mouth.

"Hey! Ah, since I'm recording, take a look at the parts that seem viewable! Mai fought the boss so incredibly well!"

"Mi...n, mi... m, I'll watch it. After I finish the full walkthrough, okay?"

"Yay! You promised!"

"Since you went to the trouble of saving it, and I want to enjoy as much as possible the same things Maple did."

"Uh-huh!"

Though Sally had hesitated until the very end, she still decided to watch the footage of the sixth floor area recorded by Maple and the others. The two returned once more to their daily routine of progressing through the game.