The day of the event arrived at last. Maple pulled up the blue panels to check out her
final stats.
Maple
Lv20 HP 40/40 MP 12/12
[STR 0] [VIT 160 +66 ]
[AGI 0] [DEX 0]
[INT 0]
Equipment
Head [None] Body [Black Rose Armor]
R. Hand [New Moon: Hydra] L. Hand [Night's Facsimile: Devour]
Legs [Black Rose Armor] Feet [Black Rose Armor]
Accessories [Forest Queen Bee Ring]
[None]
[None]
Skills
Shield Attack
Sidestep, Deflect, Meditation, Taunt
Great Shield Mastery IV
Absolute Defense, Moral Turpitude, Giant Killing, Hydra Eater, Bomb Eater
"Okay! As ready as I'll ever be. Hope I don't take any damage!"
Maple had taken damage so infrequently that she was still unused to the sensation.
Plus, this would be her first time ever fighting other players. Naturally, she was a little
nervous.
She waited at the starting square as a crowd of entrants gathered.
There was a giant display floating in the air. It would be livestreaming the actions of
the most interesting players. The spectators were mainly crafters or players who'd
decided not to join in.
"It's time for the inaugural event! Let the battle royale begin!"
A roar went up from the ground. Maple raised a hand, yelling, too—only a little
embarrassed.
The announcement blasted over them.
"Allow me to explain the rules once more! The event will last three hours! The stage is
a special map created just for this event! You'll be awarded points based on four factors:
the number of enemies you defeat, the number of times you're defeated, damage dealt,
and damage received! Total points will determine your rankings, and the top ten
players will all get a special prize! Good luck, everyone!"
And with that, a countdown appeared on the screen. The moment it hit zero, Maple
and the other participants were surrounded by light and whisked away.
"Uh… where am I?"
When the bright light faded, Maple opened her eyes.
She'd spawned in the center of a ruined plaza.
She glanced around quickly, but there was no one else there. Maple had been worried
she'd have to fight immediately, so this was a relief.
"Well, even if I go looking for people, I'll never catch anyone… so I'll just wait here!"
Maple sat down on a large stone block and waited for another player to show up to
attack her. She was relaxed but kept her shield at the ready.
She spent some time drawing in the dirt with a stick, until she heard noises around
her.
They're here! she thought as she looked up, only to find someone already swinging a
sword in her direction.
"Gotcha!"
Maple probably wouldn't have been able to block this attack in time before, but now
she had Great Shield Mastery IV. Her body moved much more easily, and she handily
intercepted the sword.
And swallowed it without a trace.
"Huh? A-aughhhhhhh!"
Since the man's sword hadn't bounced off the shield, the momentum kept carrying his
hand forward until it hit the shield, too. The moment he made contact, half his body
was swallowed whole, leaving the rest of him to turn into particles and vanish. Since
he'd lost his main weapon, it was entirely possible he'd just been put out of the fight
entirely, sent to join the spectators. Even if he did have a spare weapon, he would find
the rest of the event significantly harder.
And his life force became a pretty red crystal decorating the front of Maple's shield.
"I guess I'll draw some more!"
She picked up her stick again, for a second time leaving herself completely open to
attack.
Maple was having so much fun drawing, she genuinely appeared to be full of openings.
She wasn't trying to set a trap or anything, but this time she managed to hook a party
of three.
Forming parties was not against the rules. They'd simply teamed up to try and get at
least one of the party members into the top ten.
A man with a sword charged right at Maple. Just a beeline dash, no feints or tricks. But
compared to Maple's AGI: 0, he was very fast indeed.
But closing a ten-yard gap still took much longer than the time Maple needed to make
New Moon sing.
"Paralyze Shout!"
There was a shrill scrape, and all three players fell flat on their faces.
The red crystal on the shield shattered with a crack. Maple stood up, hoisting her great
shield.
"Oh-ho… I win!"
This time, she just tapped the sword guy's head with the shield, avoiding his main
weapons. The man vanished in a cloud of light particles.
Then she quickly dispatched the other two.
Each turned into a new red jewel, gleaming on the front of her shield.
"Great shields are way stronger than I thought!" she said, nodding happily. Things
were definitely going her way.
She took a seat again, never once suspecting that she was the only great shielder who
could do anything this ridiculous.
[NWO] First Event Spectators 3
241 Name: Anonymous Spectator
I figure Pain's gonna win it.
Highest level in the game, can't beat that.
242 Name: Anonymous Spectator
He's nuts.
Dude doesn't even move like a human anymore, lol.
243 Name: Anonymous Spectator
The people racking up wins are all famous already.
244 Name: Anonymous Spectator
The top players are superstrong, what a shock.
245 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Huh? What the hell? That's crazy!
246 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Everyone they show looks so strong.
247 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Provisional score ranks
Great shielder named Maple
120 kills, no damage taken
248 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Bwah?!
249 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Is she cheating? No… can't be…
250 Name: Anonymous Spectator
If she's racking up results like that, they gotta show her soon, right?
251 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Is that her now?
252 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Her shield! Just ate a sword lol!
wtf
253 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Cute face, gnarly play style
Between the status effects and that shield, nobody stands a chance
254 Name: Anonymous Spectator
So slow!
She's just countering their attacks.
255 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Yeah, moving like that, you'd normally get hurt.
I knew it, look, she's… huh?
256 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Huh?
257 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Huh?
258 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Did that greatsword just… bounce off her head?
259 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Is that like, even possible…?
260 Name: Anonymous Spectator
If it was, we'd all be doing it.
261 Name: Anonymous Spectator
The girl is more wild than the shield or that status effect.
Back in the event zone, Maple had finally gotten tired of sitting around and was
currently trudging down a road.
There was a mob in front of her. More than fifty players had gathered together.
She'd seen a lot of parties, but none on this scale.
They were mostly mages, and the moment they saw Maple, they raised their staves
and started casting.
They'd likely polished off any number of players who'd made the wrong turn down
this road.
They were moving with practiced ease.
"Let's blow 'em away with magic!"
Her shield almost had too many crystals, making it more red than black. Maple was
itching to use some.
She didn't need any more crystals, so she just face-tanked all fifty spells.
When their magic had run its course, Maple drew her short sword.
Her strongest attack required revealing the full length.
A purple magic circle appeared on her blade, and light of the same color poured forth.
"Hydra!"
A three-headed dragon made entirely of poison consumed every crystal on her shield,
spewing an ocean of poison in all directions.
It took out the band of spellcasters and beyond, devastating every player in the
vicinity.
295 Name: Anonymous Spectator
She's a monster
296 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Weirdness:
Nerfs all magic with VIT stat alone, no defense skills activated
Stupid powerful magic
The hell's going on with her build?
297 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Sure it wasn't the armor or a broken passive that tanked the magic?
298 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Massive skills usually have some sort of visual effect, but her armor didn't glow or
anything
So prob not
Not sure tho
299 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Mm.
I don't think it's her armor either. Yet.
300 Name: Anonymous Spectator
She's like a walkin' fortress, lol
301 Name: Anonymous Spectator
Literally, rofl
There was only an hour left. This last leg of the event would decide the top ten.
Everyone braced themselves…
And an announcement blared.
"Current standings: Number one Pain! Number two Dread! Number three Maple! For
the final hour, anyone who defeats these three will receive a third of their points! Their
locations are all shown on your map! Good luck!"
"Guess they aren't letting me off easy," Pain said, not looking the slightest bit worried.
"Ugh, what a hassle," Dread said, rolling his eyes.
"Yay! Third place!" Maple said, delighted.
The event stream showed all three reactions, building hype for the grand finale.
And hordes of players rushed toward them, eager for a chance to take them out.
"There she is!"
A crowd rushed out of the forest.
Many of them had Agility to spare.
Maple couldn't keep up with their speed at all. A knife struck the back of her neck.
"Huh? Wh-what the hell?!"
But naturally, that didn't faze Maple.
The enemy player had been absolutely sure he'd landed a killing blow. Before he could
recover his wits, the great shield ate him. Several more players flung themselves at her
only to also wind up eaten even as they grumbled about their attacks not having any
effect.
After seeing this happen a few times, the remaining players took a more cautious
approach, slowly edging closer to Maple. Most of their attention was focused on the
great shield and its instant-death attack.
These players had forgotten that Maple's main attack technique was actually her short
sword.
"Fatal Poison Breath!"
Maple pulled New Moon halfway from its sheath, and a dense purple fog poured out.
"Paralyze Shout!"
Players in every direction hit the ground, unable to escape the lethal poison. The closer
they were to her, the faster they turned to light.
Ultimately, all the players who dared to come near her were just added to Maple's
score.
"And that's all she wrote! Final top three remain unchanged! Let's proceed to the
awards ceremony!"
The world in front of Maple turned white, and then moments later, she was back in the
starting square.
The top three players were asked to take their places on the podium, so Maple stepped
up to the third-ranked spot. There were a lot of eyes on her, and she found herself
turning red.
And just as her nerves made her mind go totally blank, someone shoved a mic in her
face.
"Next up is Maple! What do you have to say?"
The other two must have already spoken, but Maple had been too nervous to hear a
word of it.
"Er, uh, huh? Um, I'm glad I had enough defenth."
Maple totally flubbed the last word.
Utterly blew it.
And she had no idea what she was being asked about, so her answer didn't make much
sense to begin with.
Maple was too embarrassed to look ahead and never realized how many players were
recording this.
She accepted her prize and made a beeline back to her room at the inn.
All night long, the forums were full of posts about how cute Maple was and theories
about how she got so strong.