Chapter 391

Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 391

Defense Specialization and the Royal Castle

After entering the inn –that is, the 9th Layer’s Guild Home–, the party headed for the Royal Castle as indicated by the quest they had taken.

“Hey, Sally, is that the place?”

“It certainly looks like it.”

What the party of eight that had just left the Guild Home had set their sights on was the big white castle that could be seen clearly from afar.

There was a wide road leading to it, and not only other players but also many NPCs were walking on it, giving it the impression of a busy main street.

“The town itself is quite large. And here I thought the town in the 4th Layer was big...”

“This town seems to be larger than that one. It looks like it’s going to take some time to learn our way around here.”

The eight of them looked at the town below while climbing the stairs leading to the Royal Castle. They could see the townscape leading to the side of the high outer walls and some main streets. Walking around them should lead them to the various shops around the town.

“And we even have the other side left to explore, so maybe we’ll have twice as many places to visit in this Layer.”

And just as Sally said, something that looked like a castle town could be seen on the other side. Though contrasted in color and theme, both towns seemed to be similar in size and structure.

“Oh... We’ll have to work together to be able to look around everywhere!”

The field was very wide, but the size of each town seemed to be unprecedented. Field exploration was also important, but their experiences in previous Layers have confirmed that most hints and quests are triggered in towns.

“I wonder if I’ll be taking care of exploring the town center this time.”

“This time as well as the others.”

“Ahaha, you’re right.”

“With an area this big, even the moments when we’re not fighting are going to be very entertaining.”

While they continued talking like that, the eight of them finished climbing the stairs leading to the front of the castle that could be seen in the distance. From the open gate, they could see the road leading to the building, and two well-maintained gardens could be seen on each side of that road.

Two more soldier-looking NPCs were standing at each side of the gate, and approached Maple and the others as they drew near.

“Welcome, travelers. You’ve come at a wonderful time.”

“Ooh, what could be going on, Sally?”Reêad latest novels at novelhall.com

“Who knows? Maybe it’s some kind of event?”

“We’ll show you around. Please follow me.”

One of the soldiers then entered the castle, leading the way. Thinking that they had no choice but to follow him, Maple and the others walked right behind the soldier.

The inside of the castle looked gorgeous. Its walls, floor and ceiling were beautifully decorated, and there were many corridors offering many ways to go immediately after entering.

“I wonder if we can actually go through those other corridors?”

“The king is going to be tough, huh...”

“That gramps seems to be very strong at the game. I don’t know his fighting style yet, so the soldier’s right I won’t know what I’d be facing until I actually fight him.”

“Looks like it.”

Maple nodded at Sally’s words. Then, while everyone shared their own impressions, Maple and the others eventually had gone all the way back to the entrance.

“We are preparing for the big battle ahead of us. If you look towards the town as you leave the castle, you should soon see a large building that stands out among all others. If you are willing to help, go there. There should be quite a few requests posted there.”

“Okaaay~!”

“So that’s where we should head next, huh?”

“Right. Ah, it looks like the quest has progressed to its next stage as well.”

“If there’s a lot of requests for us to take there, then that’s probably where we make the split.”

“The NPCs seem to be taking part of the battle as well, and if we were to change sides now, we would be making the opposing side stronger, right?”

“Possibly, yeah. But I’d like to take a look at those requests before anything else...”

“I hope there are some easy ones for us to take...”

“Neither I nor my sister had actually done many quests, to be honest.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be a problem. After all, it’s been all made part of this 9th Layer’s main quest. It’s likely been made to be quite manageable.”

“Yeah!”

“But we’ll still do our best...!”

It was quite understandable that Mai and Yui, whose strengths and weaknesses were quite distinct, couldn’t normally clear most side quests that came their way. They had the raw power needed to defeat any number of monsters, but they couldn’t do anything else that required other stats.

“Well, let’s start by heading over there!”

“Yeah. Besides, I’m sure there’s plenty of other events aside from this main quest for us to enjoy.”

The castle towns were large, and the fields were even larger. Considering the size of the Layers so far, there could be many hidden events waiting to be found somewhere.

“You’re right! It’s not just quests!”

“Hehe, I hope we can find many interesting things.”

“Yeah! And the building... Oh, is that it?”

Maple pointed to a magnificent building that was larger and taller than anything around it, and which could be seen from a distance.

“Looks like it. The quest also marks its destination in that direction, so that has to be it.”

“Alright~ Let’s go, Sally!”

“Yeah, yeah, but be careful not to fall here.”

Thus Maple and the others quickly went down the long stairs and headed for that building.