"Ha! I got 'em all!"
Maple made Syrup descend.
She tried to carefully climb down but wound up taking a tumble.
She returned Syrup to her ring and went over to Sally.
"I'm back!"
"You have evolved beyond my wildest imaginings, Maple."
"I have?"
"Yup."
During the second event, they'd obtained a great shield and some scrolls.
Both from the cave of snails.
They'd put them away, planning to check them out later, and had totally forgotten
about them until now.
Would these help Maple evolve even further?
"Let's see the scrolls first."
These scrolls allowed them to learn a skill called Inspire.
Kasumi had one, too.
Inspire
Increases STR and AGI by 20% for one minute for all party members within a 15-yard
range.
Does not affect user.
"A party skill… I can't see myself getting much use out of it," Sally said.
Raising these stats wouldn't benefit Maple at all.
Any percentage buff to 0 was still 0.
If it buffed VIT, that might change, but these two stats were pointless.
But Sally figured it couldn't hurt to learn it anyway.
And it was definitely worth Maple's while.
"Next, the shield."
They'd given Kasumi the wand and spear for it. The shield was made of purple crystal.
It immediately summoned vivid memories of the snail-filled cavern.
"The walls all looked like this!"
"Yeah… if it weren't for those snails, I might even want to visit again someday."
Maple checked the great shield's stats.
Amethyst Geode
[VIT +30] [Crystal Wall]
She tapped the skill name.
The VIT boost was less than White Snow, so the skill would determine this shield's
value.
Crystal Wall
Generates a wall around the user five yards in diameter. The wall's HP matches the
player's.
Five-minute cooldown after use.
"Hmm, might be useful, might not."
If it was based on VIT, it would be terrifying.
Every five minutes, Maple would have been able to summon a wall as tanky as herself.
"If your HP was higher, it would be pretty good."
Each stat point you put in HP raised it by 20. Same for MP.
Because of this, most players didn't go for Maple's pure defense build; instead, they
raised their HP and did whatever it took to get themselves some HP recovery skills.
This normally carried better chances for survival.
And the main reason why there weren't many defense builds.
You had to hit Maple's territory before VIT alone would break the damage system.
"I guess I'll try it out sometime," Maple said, putting the shield back in her inventory.
She figured the skill might come in handy someday.
"That's really the only shield you need, huh?" Sally said, pointing at Night's Facsimile.
They'd be hard-pressed to find another shield that good.
"Oh, and I leveled up."
"So did I! I killed all those fish while you were playing with the squid."
Maple
Lv29 HP 40/40 +160 MP 12/12 +10
[STR 0] [VIT 180 +141 ]
[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 [Bonding Bridge]
[Toughness Ring]
[Life Ring]
Skills
Shield Attack, Sidestep, Deflect, Meditation, Taunt, Inspire
HP Boost (S), MP Boost (S)
Great Shield Mastery IV, Cover Move I, Cover
Absolute Defense, Moral Turpitude, Giant Killing, Hydra Eater, Bomb Eater, Indomitable
Guardian
Psychokinesis, Fortress
Sally
Lv24 HP 32/32 MP 45/45 +35
[STR 35 +20 ] [VIT 0]
[AGI 85 +68 ] [DEX 25 +20 ]
[INT 30 +20 ]
Equipment
Head [Surface Scarf: Mirage] Body [Oceanic Coat: Oceanic]
R. Hand [Deep Sea Dagger] L. Hand [Seabed Dagger]
Legs [Oceanic Clothes] Feet [Black Boots]
Accessories [Bonding Bridge]
[None]
[None]
Skills
Slash, Double Slash, Gale Slash, Defense Break, Inspire
Down Attack, Power Attack, Switch Attack
Fire Ball, Water Ball, Wind Cutter, Cyclone Cutter
Sand Cutter, Dark Ball
Water Wall, Wind Wall, Refresh, Heal
Affliction III
Strength Boost (S), Combo Boost (S), Martial Arts V
MP Boost (S), MP Cost Down (S), MP Recovery Speed Boost (S), Poison Resist (S)
Gathering Speed Boost (S)
Dagger Mastery II, Magic Mastery II
Fire Magic I, Water Magic II, Wind Magic III
Earth Magic I, Dark Magic I, Light Magic II
Combo Blade II, Presence Block II, Presence Detect II, Sneaky Steps I, Leap III
Fishing, Swimming X, Diving X, Cooking I, Jack of All Trades, Superspeed, Ancient
Ocean, Chaser Blade
"I'm almost level thirty!"
"I'm trying real hard, but I'm not exactly closing the gap."
"What's the highest level anyone has?"
"Before the event, it was sixty-one, I think? The cap's at one hundred right now. But
they'll probably raise it once the top player gets there."
"Sixty-one?! Wow… that's amazing. I don't think we're catching up to whoever that is
anytime soon."
"People like that are in a league of their own. I mean… so are you, but…"
Sally herself was already earning a similar reputation.
Since there'd been no broadcast of this event, she wasn't that well-known yet, but
simply being with Maple was enough to get attention, and in time, people would learn
just how good she was.
"Back to school tomorrow… Feels like we're coming off a vacation."
"Yeah. Maybe we should log out early tonight?"
"Mm. Sounds good."
Both girls hit the log-out button…
And light filled their vision.
Back in the real world, Kaede checked the time.
"…It really was only two hours!"
It took a physical clock to make that feel convincing.
If she closed her eyes, everything that had happened during the weeklong event came
flooding back to her.
So many tough fights. But she and Risa had had a lot of fun together.
"I wonder when the next event will be. Hopefully this time, Kasumi and Kanade can
join in."
Kaede savored the memories a moment longer but then moved over to the desk to get
ready for tomorrow.
"Did Risa do her homework? I bet she went right to sleep."
She figured she'd better text Risa a reminder—didn't want her to get banned from
games again—but then a thought struck her.
"Wow… I really am addicted now."
Kaede had caught herself wanting to spend more time gaming with Risa—and a
similar impulse was what had led Risa to invite her to this game in the first place.
And she'd wound up thoroughly corrupted.
"Now I get why she was so dead set on convincing me to join her!"
She'd have to say as much tomorrow. But for now, she had to focus on her homework.