Chapter 395

Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 395

Defense Specialization and Arrival

As the two walked away from the field that was overflowing with ice, water, and green, the grass and flowers at their feet started to disappear, and the vast forest could no longer be seen.

The borderline of the two fields was like a mixture of wastelands and rich forest. And so when it came to which side had the advantage, it changed depending on where you were.

And once they had passed that border area, the field on the opposite side spread out in front of them.

Here, tall boulders stood as if to create a forest of rock, and the gaps between them were filled with sand. Electricity and flames shot from the boulders regularly, creating a distinct atmosphere in the field, much like the water roads and ice crystals on the other side.

Furthermore, instead of rivers, there were streams of thick running lava that illuminated the area.

“I guess we shouldn’t be touching that.”

“Yes. Lava will burn.”

Maple could do nothing against something that dealt fixed damage. No matter how high your defense ability was, it meant nothing if that wasn’t taken into account.

As they would need to cross the field in order to reach the town, that obviously meant they would encounter monsters along the way. And as the two walked through the rocky area, great lizards that were over a meter long began to slither out from behind the boulders.

“Hehe, I’ll use this! Deploy All Weapons!”

Maple’s weapons expanded out and indiscriminately scattered bullets in every direction. In general, dodging the bullets was impossible, and it hit the oncoming lizards one after another and chipped away at their HP. However, as this was still the ninth layer, it was not enough to destroy all of them, and they were soon surrounded by the lizards who then started to spew violent flames from their mouths as a counter attack.

“I’m retreating for now!”

As Dedicated Affection was not activated, Sally quickly made invisible platforms in the air and escaped into the sky in order to avoid getting hit. As for Maple, both she and the enemy were getting hit as they attacked each other. However, the difference in defense ability was too large. And though the lizards did have hard scales with impressive defenses, they were still far behind Maple’s body. Even as she stood within the flames, the weapons were remade every time they were destroyed.

Sally watched this scene after landing a short distance away.

“It’s...crazy that she’s fine. But I guess she can handle it.”

Maple’s HP bar had not even budged, and in the meantime, the lizards that had been hit the most began to fall and disappear.

If you had no real countermeasures, then it didn’t matter how many times you attacked, or how great your numbers were.

The flames around Maple decreased in size along with the number of lizards, until it finally disappeared entirely.

“That was a little dangerous.”

“It’s fine if it’s just normal flames!”

“So lizards are fine... But we’ll have to see the other monsters.”

“?”

“You know. If they are going to use this field as it is for the fight, then it’s possible that the monsters will appear as well, right? So it will be better if there aren’t too many monsters we’re not good at fighting ahead of us.”

“Ohh! That’s true!”

“I don’t want it to be sealed off, but I don’t want there to simply be a lot of aggressive monsters either... Especially if we don’t know how to deal with them.”

“Hmm. Hmm. I see...”

Maple decided that she would also keep track of what kind of monsters were here. Unlike past times, the content of the next event had been disclosed quite early, and so even during ordinary exploration, you would pay attention to different things more than usual.

“So, I guess that means we should search for good hiding places!”

“Yes. It will make it harder to get ambushed and easier to ambush others. Also...we won’t have to worry about jumping into a puddle of lava.”

“Now that sounds important!”

In that case, it seemed best to go to the town while observing the monsters for now. And so they decided that they wouldn’t fly in the sky on Syrup, and would instead inspect the terrain as they walked.

Like this, they arrived at the town before too long, and then they looked back at the monsters they had encountered.

But with magic, you might be able to cover for those weaknesses.

“Besides, Kanade has a few magic books that allow attacks with ridiculously long range.”

“That’s true... Not being able to get close can mean trouble, but magic is great because it doesn’t have that problem!”

With Maple, due to her status, there were often times when she couldn’t get close to an enemy, and so she understood well how important range could be.

Like this, they eventually reached the room the king was in, and just like before, the guards opened the door and they were invited in.

“It’s so big...”

“It really is!”

At a glance, this throne room was at least 1.5 times larger than the one from the water and nature country. Furthermore, aside from the kingly figure who sat on the throne, there was no one else in the room, which made it look even bigger.

“King! You have guests! Travelers!”

Said the guards, and then the king got to his feet. And then, the king’s knees bent, and she leapt powerfully into the air, and after closing the gap between them, landed quietly on her feet.

Now that they had a closer look, they could tell what kind of person this was. She was just a little taller than them, and had black hair that was slightly longer than Maple’s. And though she was slender in build, what was more notable was the fact she was covered in hard-looking scales, had sharp claws protruding from her hands and feet, and had dragon wings stretching out from her back. And then there was the large tail.

“Hmm?”

After looking at them appraisingly for a while, she stepped back with a satisfied expression. And then her tails and wings turned into black light before disappearing, and her hands and feet transformed into those of humans.

“Oh? Looks like we have even more weaklings!”

“People aren’t always what they seem. Isn’t that true about you, Your Majesty?”

“Haha! That is true. Travelers. You have come far! I welcome you to this country!”

And so once again, the two heard the welcoming words, and listened to the talk related to the upcoming event, and the explanation about which side they would belong to, and about quests.

“I will have no mercy if you become our enemy. If you don’t want that, then you should join us!”

Said the king after the explanation was done. Clearly, she was very confident in her strength. And then she ordered the guards to escort the two outside.

On their way out of the audience chamber, the two shared what they had felt during the short visit.

“...I wasn’t expecting that.”

“She does seem really strong!”

“If it comes to a fight, we’ll have to take into account that mobility she showed in the beginning. And she’ll likely be able to fly with those wings... But compared to the other king, it’s easier to imagine what the fight will be like?”

As expected, this was someone who had the air of a strong physical fighter. And if she had the strength of a dragon, then her attack ability must be very high.

“Also, humanoid enemies that are fast have the advantage of being a small target.”

“It sounds very persuasive when you say it, Sally.”

At least, it would be back-breaking work for Maple to keep up with that speed.

“If we’re going to have to fight against a king, I think it will be easier for us to side with this one. Besides, your area magic will be a good fit. You know, because that old man looks like he’ll use magic.”

“I see, I see.”

That being said, this was still all speculation at this stage. And so their decision would depend on the information they gathered after this.

Regardless, they had been able to meet the leaders of both countries, and seen some of the monsters. It was from here that they would start gathering information so they could decide which country they would ultimately join.

“There is still plenty of time until the event, so let’s take it easy.”

“Yes!”

They had only just started exploring the ninth layer. And so it was from this point that things really started.

With this new piece of information acquired, the two left the castle behind them.