Just past noon on the event's second day…
Sally slowly sat up in the back passage of the Maple Tree base.
"…How's she doing?" she muttered, opening her map to check Maple's location.
The icon's movements suggested she was on her way back home.
"Time I got going, then."
As a result of her ultra-focused forced march, Sally was still not feeling like herself,
but she couldn't exactly sleep all day.
Sally heaved herself to her feet and headed into the orb chamber.
As she joined the defensive line, she saw their own orb on the pedestal.
She looked relieved, stretched, and joined the other guild members.
"Oh, you're up!" Chrome said. "What's the plan? You headed out again?"
Sally shook her head. She was still feeling off her game and wasn't sure she'd be able
to evade properly.
It was the second day now, so surviving guilds were going to be far better at reacting
to surprise attacks. And if the element of surprise failed Sally, she was dead.
Consequently, she'd decided to stick to the base until dark.
She brought up the elephant in the room.
"What's up with Kasumi…?"
"Yeah, uh… she's been like that since she got her new katana."
They both watched her for a while.
Nobody had ever seen her smiling this much. She stared in absolute rapture at her
scabbard, then blissfully at her blade, then back again.
"Ahhhhh… perfection…"
She seemed unlikely to come back to reality any time soon.
"Sounds like she took out Splinter Sword. Wonder how many top-class players'll die
as we head into the back half of the event…"
"The last day will be pure chaos. They'll likely all still be up and kicking."
Dread and Shin had both died because they'd gone up against other top players.
But as long as the powerful avoided one another, they wouldn't die easy.
At this point, Maple strolled back in.
"I'm back! With nine new orbs!"
"Holy—you don't play around, huh?"
Maple had brought back almost as many orbs as Sally had without looking any worse
for wear.
"Only because I had your map, Sally. Otherwise I'd have been searching blind…"
"Glad to be of service!"
Maple dumped all her orbs on the pedestal and prudently chose to stay within the
base.
Her skill uses were running low, and while odds were slim, there was still a chance
all these guilds she'd attacked would show up to try and get their orbs back.
Not that many players were willing to charge blindly into almost certain death, but
better safe than sorry.
"Also, from what I could see while flying around, there's a lot of fighting going on. I
bet there's a bunch of people racking up deaths."
"We've already reached that point, huh?" Chrome said. "Everyone's given up on
getting orbs back from the big guilds, so their only option is to fight one another."
"Sounds about right. So nice of them to take each other out."
Players like Sally had spent the first day forcing everyone to the brink, and it was
hard to fight against that feeling of desperation.
If anything, it was getting stronger.
"Mai and Yui are real good at defense, and this cave has been a huge help."
Currently, the twins were playing catch. With an iron sphere.
Neither were quick on their feet or great when heavily outnumbered. In this event
format, they were unlikely to be very useful out in the field. That meant they were
more or less permanently stuck on guard duty. Unfortunately, when nobody was
attacking, having nothing to do got old fast.
"Once these orbs are scored, let's give them a chance to strut their stuff."
"Mm? Sally, aren't they already doing that?"
"Oh, I mean… outside."
Chrome frowned, but before he could say anything about mobility, Sally grabbed
Maple's ear.
"Maple, you making another run's not an option, right?"
She was asking how many skill uses Maple had left.
Sally might have been asleep all morning, but she had a good idea how much Maple
had burned through—they'd spent enough time together.
"Mm… yeah, I'd better not. Oh! You mean—?"
"Exactly. If you take them with you, you won't have to do it all yourself. Doesn't seem
like we've really gotta worry about defending this place anyway."
And Maple could rocket back here if the need ever arose.
She was the linchpin of their defense and their offense.
"All right, then once we're done guarding this pile, I'll take the twins out to play."
"Just lemme know if it's too much, okay?"
Sally had run herself ragged and didn't want to force that on anyone else.
"The second event toughened me up! And it's not like I've been walking anywhere."
There was no use in Maple trying to run around on foot like Sally did, and riding her
turtle around was actually quite relaxing.
"In that case, take it away."
"You got it!"
Three hours later, Maple set out once again with two of the most destructive beings
on the server. Though she was nigh invincible, her main weakness was her relatively
low DPS, especially if a fight dragged on. That wasn't a problem if she was with the
attack specialists, Mai and Yui—especially since Maple more than made up for their
lack of defense.
When the three of them joined forces, their horrendously unbalanced builds worked
in perfect unison, making them a nightmare for anyone unlucky enough to run into
them.
As the afternoon on the second day began, it was pretty clear who stood a chance at
finishing on top.
Maple Tree, Flame Empire, and the Order of the Holy Sword were way ahead of the
competition.
The two biggest guilds—and a tiny one. Everyone was acutely aware of how strange
this was.
Flame Empire was definitely concerned about them.
Scouts had brought back reports that Maple was on the prowl, and Marx had been
busy changing up his traps, trying to strategize against her.
"But… it's Maple… so let's just hope she doesn't come here."
"I know, right?" Misery said. "Fingers crossed. Shin already died once, so I pray they
keep their distance."
Neither the Trapper nor the Saint had builds that were much use against Maple.
And without an effective strategy, it would be hard for them to last long.
Shin had headed back out into the field, undaunted.
Mii was out, too.
But even as the defense leaders spoke, a frantic player came running their way.
"Marx! There's a turtle flying this way!"
"Eep. Oh no…"
"Okay. Now what?"
They'd only ever heard of one flying turtle.
The last foe they wanted to meet, the infamous code red… was inbound.
"Misery… call Mii back."
"Yeah, we'd better."
"I'll do my best to buy time. I should be able to— Well, let's hope I can."
"No use standing here."
They rounded up everyone with piercing skills and got ready to meet the
approaching turtle.
When they reached the front lines, they saw the shadow slowly flying their way.
As they watched, it grew steadily larger.
"Any word from Mii?"
"Headed our way."
"Got it. I think I can last ten minutes, but more than that…"
If Mii wasn't here by then, odds were their defenses would crumble.
"I'll back you up as best I can."
"Thanks. First, let's bring her to ground level. Archers and mages, ready!"
But even as they braced themselves, the turtle vanished just outside their range.
Three silhouettes fell toward the ground.
All three moved very slowly. None of them looked remotely normal.
On the first figure's back were a pair of beautiful white wings, and at her sides were
two hideous abominations.
The other two players each carried a pair of hammers—a feat that by all accounts
should have been impossible. The sheer size of the weapons in their tiny hands alone
sent shock rippling through the crowd.
Marx had wanted them on the ground… but if they'd simply flown directly at them, it
would have been a lot less intimidating.
"You can do it. You just have to buy time!"
He never even considered winning.
He just had to hold the line.
He knew full well that was his only option.
Maple came walking straight in, and the traps Marx had prepared went off one after
another.
Unfortunately, they didn't do anything.
There was no doubt they activated properly. Maple's defense was just so high they
didn't even faze her.
"Yeah… That's what I was afraid of…"
Traps that could have easily killed dozens had all gone to waste. Marx threw his
hands up in resignation.
But he'd also prepared some special traps just for her arrival.
"Got her…!"
As Maple stepped on one of these, a slew of plants started growing. The stems and
vines coiled around her arms and legs, preventing her from moving.
These blockers were pretty good against low-Agility players like her.
You had to do a fair bit of damage to them to break free, but with her limbs trapped,
Maple couldn't use her weapon. Based on how his own skills worked, Marx had
correctly deduced that most of Maple's big moves had a hard use limit.
He'd figured she wouldn't want to throw those around with wild abandon, and even
if she did bust one out, that would be one less threat Mii would have to deal with.
Marx was fully expecting to die before this was over, so if he could force Maple to use
up a big skill, that was all part of the plan.
"Huh…?"
His plan had not accounted for Mai and Yui turning his plants into a pile of kindling.
With a single strike at that.
"Uh, are you for real?"
Traps kept going off. Maple soaked up all the damage while the twins freed her from
the bonds, and they just kept coming. Completely unscathed.
"Misery!"
"On it!"
She started barking orders, and a barrage of spells with piercing effects hurtled
toward the Maple Tree spearhead.
Long-distance spells didn't usually deal lethal damage.
But they could force people to take evasive action. And that helped buy time.
Maple's group wasn't making good progress.
They kept dodging into trap after trap. The biggest delays came when the piercing
attacks and restraining traps overlapped.
This would be much easier if Maple could free herself from those.
"Right, Sally had a tip for this!"
She took a deep breath and then yelled a skill name—loud enough that her enemy
could hear. "Weapon Enlargement!" Then she said a real skill under her breath.
"Deploy Bayonet."
Metal covered her weapon hand, forming a blade as long as she was tall.
Another one of Sally's tricks.
She'd suggested hiding the true nature of Machine God, using pieces of it if needed,
but keeping anyone from guessing that all her deployments were parts of the same
thing.
The sword made her arm heavy, but the skill bonus kept it relatively mobile. Maple
pressed the blade against the plants pinning it in place, snapped them in two, then
swung around, cutting her feet free.
Marx was likely tearing his hair out by this point.
"Come on!" Maple said.
""Okay!""
Every step she took sprung another trap. Walls rose up, pits reared open from
beneath, and spells rained down from above.
But nothing stopped them.
Mai and Yui were too powerful for any obstacles to hold them, and the traps Marx
had been certain would slow Maple down… didn't.
"Right, then. Everyone, pull back."
Marx sent everyone but Misery to the base proper.
"Certain death, then?" she said.
"You got it."
Once Maple Tree cleared the traps, they'd have to face Flame Empire's top
defenders…
The Trapper and the Saint.
These two were the last line of defense and the only players present who had a shot
at handling this threat. They were both primarily spellcasters. And they'd figured out
the angel wings and her zone of defense. They were focused on piercing attacks from
outside that range—
—because inside the glowing circle, the twins were free to do as they pleased.
Stepping in there with them was extremely dangerous.
And with all the traps on this field, Mai and Yui weren't able to take a step beyond the
reach of Maple's skill.
To recover the HP she'd lost, Maple left attacking up to them, while she used her
Meditation skill.
""Farshot!""
Mai and Yui had ranged attacks that packed lethal force.
But at this distance, they were uselessly inaccurate.
For a while, they exchanged ranged attacks, without either side really accomplishing
much.
But that standoff only lasted as long as Maple's Meditation—which had just finished.
"Hydra!"
The poison dragon attacked out of nowhere, and Marx had no time to flee.
This was an attack so powerful it consumed everything in its path.
In the battle of Maple versus Marx, it was Maple who demonstrated her true power.
Traps were his specialty, so the moment she'd thwarted those, it was clear who'd
won.
"! Resurrect!"
White light shot out from Misery and wrapped around Marx.
This skill was what had earned her the Saint moniker. It only worked in the moment
directly after death, but it could reverse a fatal blow.
"Remote Installation: Rock Wall! Remote Installation: Wind Blades."
As soon as Marx was alive again, he started setting new traps, running interference
as best he could.
But Maple was targeting Misery now. Marx had assumed they'd hit him again, so his
traps did nothing.
"Hngg…!"
Misery couldn't use Resurrect on herself.
The cost of staying alive was incredibly high.
High enough that she was better off just dying here.
Recovery magic wasn't much good against the lethal damage the twins were dishing
out.
She'd made magic barriers, but their shock waves tore right through them, bearing
down on her.
"Guess it's my time," Misery said, resigned to her fate.
The twins were drawing near. Too near to miss.
"Never surrender."
However, a figure blocked their advance.
It was Mii, wreathed head to toe in crimson flames.
Mii immediately used Flame Empress, followed by Detonate, the explosive blasts
buffeting the advancing twins.
But since Maple was absorbing all the damage, the knockback only affected her, and
this did not directly impede their progress.
But if Maple moved, so did the area her skill covered.
Now exposed, Mai and Yui couldn't risk setting off one of Marx's traps and were
forced to retreat.
Mii's go-to defense approach proved remarkably effective.
"Detonate!"
"C-Cover Move!"
When Mii knocked Maple away, Yui and Mai ran back toward her while Maple
warped herself closer to them.
"Mai, Yui! Over here!"
Maple called Syrup out, put the twins on its back, and sent it upward.
If Mii was gonna knock her around the field, there was a strong chance the twins
would keep slipping out of her protection.
"Flame Spear! Flare Impetus!"
Mii was switching between the midrange Flame Empress and close-range attacks by
conjuring a spear made of fire and setting her feet alight.
Maple swung her giant sword hand around but simply couldn't match Mii's speeds.
Her summoned Predators couldn't catch Mii, either.
"Even the Flame Empress can't?!"
Despite putting up a good fight, Mii had yet to deal any damage.
She'd been hoping her strongest attack might be enough—but no dice.
"Misery! Marx!"
"Got it!"
"Yep!"
"Detonate!"
"Argh! C'mon!"
As Mii knocked Maple back, she was struck by Misery's piercing attacks.
And Marx's traps snagged her feet.
"Hngg…!"
Maple used her sword to free her feet and her shield to block the spells.
With her sword arm and great shield, she could stop most attacks from hitting.
And her Predators were such an obvious threat that the enemy fighters had to keep
their distance, which meant even with Maple's speed, she could react in time.
Still, if they stayed outside the range of her monsters, that meant they were also out
of reach of Maple's attacks.
She could use the skills on her short sword five times a day at no MP cost. But she
only had one of those uses left and didn't want to waste it now. It would be a terrible
idea to empty out her big guns.
"What should I do…? Hngg!"
Mii hit her again, and the knockback ruined her balance.
In fact, it didn't even need to hit Maple. As long as it hit her Predators, the effect
knocked her back instead.
And if she landed on a trap because of it—this was a mess.
"Argh!"
Mii, Marx, and Misery were maintaining a safe distance. All three were faster than
Maple, and the ground was covered in traps designed to trip her up.
Three high-ranking players wouldn't fight Maple the way a monster would. This was
a very frustrating strategy. None of them were foolhardy enough to attack head-on;
they were smartly using their mobility advantage to search for openings.
Maple could only watch them circle her, frowning all the while.
But the Flame Empire's defenders were well aware that landing the occasional
piercing blow wouldn't get them anywhere. The current situation left them with very
few viable offensive options.
"Misery, I'm going for it! I'll need you to adjust our defenses after!"
"Got it!"
Mii waited for the next trap to activate, then used a skill.
"Inferno Cage!"
"Mm? Wait— Huh?!"
Flames rocketed skyward all around Maple, enclosing her in burning walls.
There was an opening above her, but it was very high up. She tried hitting the walls
with her sword but failed to break through.
"Yikes, I'm taking damage?"
This cage did damage over time—damage that ignored defense. She canceled
Predators and drank a potion, waiting for the skill to time out, but it seemed
disinclined to do that.
This was Mii's ace in the hole—her last resort. She could only use it once a day, and
the skill duration was no joke.
"What now? Hngg!"
Maple would need another plan.
Outside, Mii was emptying one MP potion after another.
Inferno Cage lasted until her MP ran out or after ten minutes passed, whichever
came first. But reaching that theoretical max time forced her to down dozens of MP
potions.
Given the event format, that was something she'd wanted to avoid, but against
Maple, she couldn't afford to be conservative.
"Well," Mii said. "Thoughts?"
"I'm crossing my fingers this kills her."
"Yeah… I don't have many traps left in me."
But even as they spoke, Mii's flames scattered. A black mass leaped skyward, landing
outside the cage.
Their collective strength had made Maple flip the forbidden switch.
"Full Deploy."
Before their very eyes, Maple transformed. Every inch of her was covered in
gleaming black weaponry. An unnerving sight, to say the least.
Maple had decided she couldn't win while holding back, so she'd busted out another
power.
"It's my turn to attack!"
With a clank, every weapon turned toward them.
"Commence Assault!"
"Detonate!"
Maple was firing an insane number of lasers and bullets.
Mii hastily defended, then grabbed Marx and Misery and took cover behind some
trees, where Maple's attacks couldn't reach.
But if they were out of her range, then she was out of theirs.
Marx still had restraint traps out there, but those did little on their own without
anyone following up with additional attacks.
"Marx, what do you think?"
"It's no use… We're doomed…"
"That's what I thought. I'm assuming that's her ultimate move, so let's call ourselves
lucky we made her reveal it."
Mii made a face, then said, "Very well. We'll call it a loss, but we aren't about to go
down without a fight."
She popped up her screen and sent a quick message to all guild members.
"Come."
"Okay."
With Marx and Misery in tow, Mii tried to vacate the area.
A moment later, however, there was an explosion far louder than any she'd created.
They all flinched, turning toward the noise.
"Fooound you!"
Maple was right in front of them, shedding shattered guns and artillery tubes.
Before Mii could use Detonate, Maple's giant sword arm ran Misery through.
"Ack…!"
"Deploy Bayonets."
Maple's left arm generated dozens more weapons, each of them stabbing into Misery.
"Detonate!"
Mii knocked Maple away, grabbed Marx's hand, and tried to escape with Flare
Impetus.
But even as the flames propelled her, Maple caught up.
Maple's self-destruct rocketed her forward. An instant later, the tip of her blade
struck Marx in the back.
Like with Misery, more blades generated, piercing his arms and legs.
"Ah...!"
Marx looked down at the massive blade sticking out of his chest and slumped in
defeat.
"My MP…!"
Mii was no more cost-efficient than Maple.
She'd been using Flare Impetus this whole time, right after using a number of big
moves, and her Item Pouch was out of potions.
She could only use one more spell.
"...Immolate."
Mii gave up on running and turned back toward Maple, who was right behind her.
And then her body burst into flame.
"Er… trying to take me with you?!"
But even as Maple spoke, Mii's body turned into a towering column of fire that
seemed to scorch the very sky, enveloping both her and Maple.
This was the only spell she had left that stood a chance.
But as she turned to ash, the last thing Mii heard was…
"Self-destruct skills don't work on me!"
…Maple's merciless cheer.
When the flames died down, Maple was the only one left standing.
"With all my skills, my VIT is almost at five digits! I knew that wouldn't work!"
She put her armaments away and called Syrup, who was still carrying the twins, back
down to earth and hopped aboard herself.
"If I'd known there would be so many traps, I'd have stayed in the air!"
"Let's grab the orb and head to the next location!"
"Sounds good. I really didn't want to use that skill, either. They made me do it!"
But when they reached the Flame Empire's pedestal, they found neither orbs nor
players.
"Huh?"
"Wh-what does this mean?"
"...…They took the orbs and ran?"
A stolen orb would only come back once the thief took it to their base and kept it
there long enough to earn points. This process could take a while.
Mii's plan avoided that worst-case scenario, which meant Maple had wasted her time
fighting here.
"Wh-what now? The whole point was to steal their orbs… argh…"
"Um. Well, there's one thing we can do…"
"What?" Maple listened avidly.
"There's a lot of guilds around here," Yui said. "If we take them out while looking for
whoever has this guild's orbs…"
"…Ooh, yeah! That sounds good."
The wandering trio steamrollered every guild they found with a simple frontal
assault.
Countless players were chewed up and spit out. The twins' attacks shattered sword
and shield alike, as well as the players bearing them.
Six guilds were demolished in rapid succession, all because of their proximity to the
Flame Empire base and Mii's gambit.
Flame Empire had evacuated quickly, and Maple's team never caught up.
"If we hide long enough, Maple will ensure the area around our base is safe," Mii said,
after she respawned.
She was using Maple to eliminate the competition at the loss of the points they
would have gained from properly defending their own orb, and the points they could
have earned by stealing their neighbor's.
"That hurts… but there are benefits to it as well. And we know better than to mess
with Maple again…"
Flame Empire headed to distant pastures, snatching as many orbs as they could
while they waited for the Maple menace to vacate their home ground. They were
soon engaged in a fierce battle with another powerful guild.
And the second night would bring some twists of its own.