Mii changed back to her usual red clothes and partied up with Maple, and then they
headed out of town together. She was back in character.
"So, uh, why do you role-play?" Maple asked.
"I just… missed my chance to stop," Mii admitted.
"…Then let's call it our secret!"
"Um… heh-heh. Thanks."
Mii looked relieved, and Maple gave her a reassuring smile for good measure. Together,
they set out to find some monsters.
"I'm really slow, so… Atrocity! I'll give you a ride wherever you want to go."
"…C-climbing aboard!"
Mii clambered up a hideous leg, taking a seat on Maple's back.
She had not imagined herself doing this today.
But as soon as she suggested a destination, Maple said, "You got it! Away we go!"
The Maple monster lurched into motion, looking far more terrifying than any of the
actual monsters around.
She ran for a while, and they reached their destination. It was an abandoned village
filled with run-down houses—all of which had paper talismans plastered on them.
Mii leaped down, stretched, and activated a skill.
"Here goes nothing… Flame Empress!"
As if in answer, wisp after wisp appeared in the air around them. These tried to attack
with fires of their own, but Mii's inferno struck first. However, fire-based monsters
weathered burning attacks well, and she was taking her share of hits back. Knowing
this was bound to happen, Mii had been ready to do some fancy footwork to minimize
incoming damage, but before she did, Maple activated her skill.
"Martyr's Devotion!"
This skill completely protected Mii from all attacks.
Terrifying to fight against, but when Maple was on your side, you might as well forget
evading and blocking even existed.
Mii no longer needed to take any defensive measures.
With Maple beside her, she could focus entirely on carving through monster HP.
They wandered, hunting as they went, and once there was nothing left to go after, Mii
went limp.
"…No wonder we couldn't win," she muttered.
She sat down by the shore of a lake. They'd started in the early evening, and it was
now so late the date was about to change.
"Thanks, Maple. Sorry if I've kept you up."
Mii usually had to stay very focused when she hunted, so being able to relax and chat
had been too much fun to stop. She had even unconsciously slipped into her normal
speaking voice.
"Nah, I had fun, too! But maybe we should wrap things up. I am getting sleepy."
It was late in the real world, too. Maple was usually logged out by now.
"Thanks again! I'll call it, too. I don't usually get to go all out like that, so I'm extra
wiped."
"Oh, that reminds me! How about one for the road?"
Maple released her Atrocity form, falling out of the monster's belly with a splat.
Once she was human again, she activated a different skill, turning into a two-yard-tall
ball of fluff.
"Come on in!"
"Uh, inside that…? S-sure…"
Gingerly, Mii parted the wool.
Once inside, she found herself cushioned from every angle, and all her tension just
started to melt away.
"Oh… this is nice."
"Glad to hear it."
Mii burrowed in above Maple and spent several minutes like that.
But right as they hit peak relaxation, they felt something tugging on the wool.
"Wh-what's that?"
"Hmm?"
Both their faces popped out of the woolly ball's side.
The fluffball had been freed from the constraints of gravity and was bobbing along just
above the lake.
"Maple, wh-what's going on?"
"Don't ask me!"
They reached the center of the lake and began to ascend.
"Is this… some sort of Easter egg?"
"Maybe? If we fall, I'll keep us both safe!"
But once they were a good twenty yards above the lake's surface, the water itself began
rising upward as well until a column of it enveloped them.
That only lasted a second—an instant later, they were bathed in light and found
themselves somewhere else.
"W-we'd better get out."
Mii squirmed her way out of the wool, landing to one side.
Maple was helpless to free herself, so she asked Mii to burn the wool off.
She felt her feet hit the ground, except technically, it was something else.
"Where… are we?"
"I think… these are clouds?"
The earth they were expecting had been replaced with soft white… clouds.
Maple looked up, checking the skies above.
"So many stars…!"
She'd never seen them shine so bright. She couldn't tear her eyes away.
"Yeah, it's gorgeous. The kind of night you expect the stars to fall."
For a while, they gazed in rapture with nary a word passing between them.
The sight was so breathtaking that it stripped away the drowsiness Maple had been
feeling, and eventually, it occurred to her to look around.
"…What now? Keep going? I mean, we've got no idea how to come back here even if
we want to later…"
Mii agreed with this suggestion, and they clambered over a low cloud wall, moving
onward.
Before long, they found a cloud road leading straight ahead. It stretched away into the
distance, and there was every indication that something was waiting for them at the
end.
It was just wide enough for them to walk side-by-side.
"Mm? Maple! Look up!"
"Up? Martyr's Devotion!"
Maple quickly activated her skill again, keeping Mii safe.
She was just in time, too—because a moment later, glowing objects began falling on
them.
Maple took several hits as she backed away.
And that made the shower stop.
Looking closer, it was clear what these things were.
"You were right, Mii! The stars did fall."
"I didn't mean it literally…"
"Hard to tell how fast they were going, but I can soak them. Let's keep moving."
They set out once more.
The stars began falling on them again, but they didn't do anything besides bounce off
Maple.
"Sally could probably dodge 'em all."
"I dunno, there's a lot."
They were getting pelted relentlessly.
It didn't seem like something you could just slip through.
They forged on, and after a short while, the end of their path came into view.
"A seriously big one is coming right at us…"
The words had barely left Maple's mouth as a massive star scored a bull's-eye on her.
Mii flinched, but Maple didn't even break her stride.
"No problemo! And here we are!"
At the end of the road was a wall made of clouds, with a tunnel in it.
Having come this far, they had to go in. They proceeded with caution.
The tunnel wasn't particularly long, and they soon came out the other side.
Light poured down from above.
Softly, like unspooling thread.
These rays led to a vessel made from clouds.
"Oh…"
"Wow…"
They drew closer and touched the light within.
It didn't feel like anything, but both of them received an item.
"Divine Dew?"
"Doesn't say what you use it for… Maybe it's a crafting material?"
"Is this all we get here? What do you think, Mii?"
"Probably. It was a straight path, after all."
Maple nodded in agreement, and they decided to end their search.
"Okay, this time we're wrapping up for real! This was fun. Let me know if you wanna
play together again!"
"Definitely. I'd love to. I've had enough for one day, though. Thanks again."
And with their unexpected adventure over, they both logged out.
The next day…
Maple told Sally about her impromptu team-up with Mii and about the Divine Dew.
"Hmm… it might be some sort of key item, so better hold on to it," Sally said. "But you
and Mii wound up exploring together, huh?"
"Yeah, uh… one thing led to another."
It was pretty normal for Maple to just do things her way, accidentally stumbling into
greatness, and Sally had always figured as long as she was having fun, nothing could
be better. As such, she asked no more. Since Maple had promised Mii to keep her
secret, she didn't volunteer anything else and changed topics.
"I've really gotta get my access rank up."
This stratum had far more things to do than any before, and every day felt like a whole
new event.
"Reaching ten soon would be nice. After that, I'll just be waiting for you at the finish
line."
"I will catch up!"
Kasumi had been first, but one by one, other players were getting to the ninth
checkpoint.
And eventually, one of them spread the word. By early November, everyone knew the
town's ultimate goal—
To gather three key items.
The leaders of Flame Empire and Maple Tree had already claimed one—the Divine
Dew. They'd spread the word through their respective guilds, and everyone had tried
to get a hold of it, but the members of Flame Empire were struggling with the sheer
DPS of the stars that rained on that cloudy dungeon.
Mii wound up regularly calling Maple in to help get them through.
The payments for these escort missions kept her wallet in good health.
Meanwhile, the members of Maple Tree had taken a single run all together, and then
Sally took a solo run afterward, easily scoring enough Divine Dew for everyone in their
guild. As long as Maple was around, it was nothing more than a pleasant stroll.
The only question that remained was where to find the other items.
A few days later, the player base's combined efforts finally revealed how to get the
other two key items.
The info began to circulate, and it wasn't long before anyone could easily obtain
detailed intel on the monsters protecting them.
There was no requirement to solo the monsters, but they were tough, and not many
players had managed to beat them.
"Hmm… I'll pass for now, then. We'll go once everyone's ready."
Sally had concluded that it would be a bit rough on her own.
And she had plenty of powerful allies to rely on.
"Focusing on my access rank seems better."
Right as she hopped up to leave, the door opened.
It was a familiar face.
"About to head out?"
A mage from the Order of the Holy Sword—Frederica.
She'd developed a habit of popping in, challenging Sally to a duel, losing, and dragging
herself home.
Sally may have won every time, but Frederica's attacks were getting very close to
actually connecting.
"Yeah, gotta waste some trash mobs to boost my access rank."
"Gotcha… Well, I don't wanna stand around waiting, so I'll help out. Let's get that out
of the way and then duke it out!"
"Works for me. C'mon, time to grind."
"I've got a whole new plan for taking ya on!"
"You always say that."
"What choice do I have when you always ruin my latest plans on first contact?! Just let
me land one hit!"
Frederica was perfectly aware that Sally didn't have the endurance to survive that hit.
And Frederica's build was all about AOE attacks.
Sally couldn't afford to make a single mistake.
Wondering how she could win this time, she and Frederica headed out into the field.
"Magic is pretty nice."
While Sally had to cut down each target individually, Frederica could just bombard
whole swaths at once.
Seeing her in action made Sally want more magic.
The only spells she was using at the moment were defensive ones—anything that
turned attacks away from her.
Her MP wasn't too shabby, but she'd put most of her focus on AGI and STR, her primary
damage drivers.
She'd focused on leveling more than Maple and was closing the gap.
Sally was currently level 34.
"And that's the last one!"
Sally dealt the finishing blow, and the monster's HP bar disintegrated.
As it did, Sally's level went up to 35. With this, she met another requirement to raise
her access rank.
"Mm… mm! Hee-hee."
"What's so funny?"
"Oh, just got a level-up at the same time. I'm all done here. Wanna have that duel now?"
Frederica nodded emphatically—clearly, she hadn't forgotten why she'd come in the
first place.
Once both of them agreed to the duel, a bright light enveloped them. The sensation of
the teleportation was very familiar by now. Once more, they were in a zone cut off
from the rest of the world.
The countdown began, and the pre-fight tension took hold.
As the duel started in earnest, Sally took a step toward Frederica…
"Oh?"
…and then drew up short.
If Frederica had commenced with her usual barrage, Sally would've had no trouble
handling it, but this time around, she'd opened their match by making a bunch of
walls—impeding Sally's movement.
Water and sand were closing in on her from all sides.
"Leap!"
There wasn't an attack she needed to avoid or anything, but Sally took off diagonally,
moving forward while angling left.
She just had a bad feeling. A sense of impending danger.
Sally had honed this instinct during the last event, and she let it guide her.
She quickly slipped past the walls, so when wind blades tore through them a moment
later, they caught nothing.
Sally had kept her defense and HP at rock bottom, so a broadside like this would
instantly take her out if any of it hit.
"Precognition again?!"
"Nothing that fancy!"
Sally was already charging Frederica at top speed, forcing her to quickly switch to plan
B.
""Ah!""
It was pure chance.
Their yelps of surprise came at the same instant only because of a fluke in timing.
Frederica had thrown up more walls, and one had just happened to catch Sally's toes
ever so slightly, making her suddenly stumble.
She lost her balance—but that actually brought her outside the path of the wind
blades.
"Multi-Firebolt!" Frederica yelled, not about to let this chance slip past. This was the
spell she used the most, and she was casting it before her mind had even fully
processed what was happening.
Sally had no choice but to keep rolling to avoid it.
To Frederica, the next bit happened in slow motion.
The last firebolt landed square on Sally's shoulder and burst.
That meant she was physically there—not a mirage.
Frederica was sure she'd finally won.
"Yesss!"
Pumping her fist, she shivered with delight.
But the victory she'd yearned for made her careless.
She didn't notice Sally's approach. By the time she realized Sally was still alive, there
was a dagger buried deep in her chest.
"What the…?"
"Afraid you were counting some unhatched chickens there."
Before she could fire back, Frederica's HP was gone.
The last thing she saw before being transported back was Sally's HP bar—still
completely full.
"Um… huh? How?!"
"I can't tell you all my secrets. We're enemies."
"Urgh, that's true. Mm. Fine! I'll win next time! You'll see."
She waved good-bye and ran off.
"…That was seriously close," Sally muttered. "I really can't let my guard down."
She glanced at her status.
Shed Skin
Negate a fatal blow once a day.
50% boost to AGI for one minute.
A skill she'd acquired for reaching level 35 without taking damage.
And because she'd acquired this, she hadn't been quite as focused.
Knowing she couldn't ever afford to take a hit had helped her concentrate.
"Gotta do more evasion practice. Hmm… I can't afford to get damaged for the first time
until the big day."
Muttering to herself, she ran off to bait some trash mobs into chasing after her.