Some time had passed since Sally gained her new skill. It was February, and the sixth
event was fast approaching.
Sally, Chrome, and Kasumi—the gamer group—were all ready to dive in.
Maple was back from a long break, finally motivated to explore again. She logged in
soon after the event began.
As Maple reached the Guild Home, Chrome and Kasumi were flying out the door.
She turned and watched them go. Sally came up behind her and patted her shoulder.
"Glad to see you're back. Gonna explore today?"
"Yep! Finally felt up to it."
"Then lemme give you a quick rundown on the event. Like the second one, this one's
exploration-based. The goal is to find some stuff and make it home in one piece."
She proceeded to fill Maple in on the finer details.
The first thing players had to do was hit up the regular field, searching for an item that
looked like a green crystal. Using those would transport them to the event map. But
where the crystal took them was completely random.
There were no PVP elements or time dilation.
"Also, the event map is a jungle. Most rewards are gonna be valuable materials.
Maaaybe some skills?"
"Cool, cool."
"Oh, and the clincher—while you're in the jungle, you can't rely on HP recovery items
or skills. In your case… Meditation is outright unusable."
Anyone who died or hit the LEAVE MAP button on their stat menu would be
immediately sent back to town.
"So I'd better not use Martyr's Devotion lightly?"
Sally nodded.
Using any skills that cost HP was a big risk.
But since Maple rarely had to worry about attacks in the first place, she had a big
advantage over other players.
"Anyway, I'm gonna go look for a crystal myself," Sally said, one foot already out the
door.
"Have fun!"
Maple headed to the field as well, moving at her own pace.
"Okay, let's look this over again…"
Sally had explained the gist, and Maple had a solid idea what she was doing.
There were no specific monsters that had to be defeated. Jungle tickets could drop
from any monster on the stratum.
This was Maple's first time properly exploring the fifth stratum, and she decided to do
just that while hunting monsters along the way.
She stepped out on the springy ground, keeping her head on swivel.
"Sally said there were lots of cloud monsters…"
Maple clambered over a cloud wall before heading down the hill. The terrain sure was
rolling.
"But I don't see any enemies. Should I head back down a floor?"
She considered it but then spotted a cumulonimbus up ahead, which gave her an idea.
These specific clouds had come up in tales of Sally's exploits. There was a good chance
she would find monsters inside.
And Maple had already used up the bubble items Sally had given her, so she figured
she could also get a new one while she was at it.
"All right, I'm going— Yikes?! Aughhh!"
Maple slipped and went rolling all the way down the hill.
"Ugh… at least it doesn't hurt. But I'd better be careful."
She got back up and started picking her way forward.
Right inside the cumulonimbus entrance, Maple found a thunderhead.
"I haven't fought in so long!"
She sprouted artillery and aimed it all at the little cloud.
But before she could attack, the crackling cloud started splitting off mini monster
clouds.
"…So cute!"
Forgetting all about attacking, she reached out to pet the little clouds, which tried to
electrocute her, but it only made a bunch of zaaap sounds. Nothing else happened.
"I really do have to get one of these items. Sorry!"
She stepped up to the main cloud and tapped her shield to it.
"Aaaand… no drops."
Ultimately, Maple failed to get the event access item.
All she earned for her troubles was another bubble item.
But Maple had fun exploring, so whatever the results, she didn't mind.
Maple didn't get a jungle access item until two days later.
Not exactly first in line, but she'd found one with plenty of time left in the event, so she
picked a day when she could play for a while and decided to scope out the event map
until then.
"Okay! It's time! Crystal, go!"
She held up the item and was wreathed in light.
The beam shot toward the heavens and left without a trace.
When the light cleared, she found herself in a quiet jungle. The only sound was the
rustling of leaves in the wind.
Trees towered overhead, vines dangling between them.
"Well… not much around me."
She detected no players or monsters.
The event map spawns were totally random.
Sally, Chrome, and Kasumi were probably here somewhere, but finding them would
be a tall order.
"I wanna find at least one good item or skill. That would make the trip worth it!"
Maple enthusiastically set out into the jungle.
She looked right and left, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Then she spied a
pretty red flower.
It had five big petals, each as long as her arm, and gave off a sweet scent.
"Wonder if that's something?"
She moved closer to investigate.
As if it had been waiting for that, the flower's stem extended, and the petals wrapped
around Maple's upper body.
And they knocked her sword and shield aside, forcing her to drop them both.
Objectively speaking, it absolutely looked like she was being eaten.
"Wha—?! S-stop that!"
Maple was thrashing her arms and legs, more out of reflex than conscious choice.
The flower refused to let go.
But it also wasn't doing any damage.
"Oh, right!"
Recovering from the shock, she remembered that she had a way to attack without
equipment. She deployed a bunch of guns.
The flower was wholly focused on eating Maple and never realized what peril it was
in.
"Commence Assault!"
Bullet after bullet tore the flower to shreds, eventually freeing Maple.
"Wow, that was a rough surprise!"
She picked up her sword and shield… but the fight wasn't over yet.
Just before the flower monster vanished, it sprayed something sweet into the air.
As the fragrance spread outward, it soon became clear this was no aromatherapy.
"Wh-what now?"
She could hear the brush swaying, leaves rustling, and something heavy thudding
toward her. The jungle was quiet no longer.
The noises grew louder, quickly surrounding Maple. Birds, monkeys, moving plants,
and even a giant made of moss-covered boulders all appeared at the same time.
"Uh-oh…," Maple said, making a face. The horde was only ten yards out and closing in.
Even Maple could easily surmise the flower's scent had drawn them here.
The noble sacrifices of players before her probably meant everyone else was already
well aware that the flowers' death throes summoned a mob, but since Sally was
basically Maple's only source of information, she'd had no clue.
But unlike her predecessors, Maple was not so easily martyred.
"Kinda hard to fly away in a jungle… so I guess I gotta fight!"
Maple wasn't particularly fanatical about standing her ground, but nevertheless, she
was perfectly capable of doing so when push came to shove. She deployed all her
weapons, ready for combat.
"Commence Assault!"
Not even attempting to aim at any monster in particular, Maple just sprayed the area
with cannon shells and lasers, devastating her surroundings.
The trees blocked a lot of it, and her artillery couldn't unleash its full potential, but
that was more than enough for the weaker monsters.
Unfortunately, there were some more agile foes using the trees as cover to slip past
her initial bombardment.
"Predators!"
A pair of monsters lurched up from the ground on either side of her, letting nothing
get close.
Maple was just too tanky. Unable to realize the futility of their assault, the monsters
kept coming, only to be rent asunder.
"Any damage? Nope, nope! I'm all good!"
She kept a close eye on the stone giant in case it did anything noteworthy, backing
steadily away even as she attacked it.
Her summons handled anything that tried approaching her from behind, so she didn't
ever need to look back.
The sounds of death and destruction coming from that direction made that perfectly
clear.
"Okay, if I keep this up…"
Some bird monsters above were using ranged attacks, but those simply bounced off
her. The ground was more or less clear of enemies.
Things were going well, and she started to relax.
"Guess it was nothing to worr—mm?!"
She'd just seen a red flower pop out from under the giant's feet.
Maple quickly halted her attack but was a second too slow—a laser struck the flower's
stamen.
"Nooo!"
The same sweet fragrance from before filled the air, and the noisy jungle became even
noisier.
"Why was that there?! Aaaargh!" she wailed, waving both arms up and down.
The formerly quiet jungle was now filled with the riotous sounds of combat.
More players were spawning—and Pain was one of them.
"Ha!"
He bashed a monster with his shield and finished it with his blade.
Pain had been surrounded, but he made short work of his foes.
"All done. Let's see what I got for my trouble."
He checked the items the monsters had dropped but found nothing worth writing
home about.
Pain had already found several moss-covered ruins but hadn't unearthed anything
valuable from any of them.
"I should be more careful."
His HP was already down 30 percent.
He hadn't suffered any serious direct damage, but the sheer number of monsters had
steadily chipped away at his health reserves.
And since recovery was impossible, he had to avoid damage wherever he could.
Pain set out once more, hoping to find something new.
As he walked, his ears picked up the faint sounds of battle in the distance. He'd been
in this jungle a while but had rarely heard fighting this close by.
He'd been making full use of the intel he'd gathered and avoided challenging foes or
circumventing picked-over areas. Even so, he still had yet to find a new skill.
"I wouldn't mind seeing if they're onto something."
Pain drew near the battle, but the underbrush was too high, and he couldn't get a good
look.
But his instincts were telling him this was no ordinary fight.
He'd never seen foliage this thick, and that alone was enough to arouse his suspicions.
If he simply bypassed this, he might miss out on valuable items or skills. With that in
mind, he drew his sword, pushing forward with caution.
"…Let's see what lies within."
Just as Pain parted the last of the brush, the noises up ahead stopped.
There was a rustling that marked something's passage—something that was headed
right toward him.
Pain braced his shield and stepped out of the brush, ready to fight whoever was
coming his way. The sound grew louder and louder until finally, a hideous face loomed
overhead.
"Ah-ha!"
Pain looked up and saw the visage of a monster. One he would not soon forget.
"I'm so tired… oh, hey! You're Pain, right?"
The monster's face had no eyes.
But Pain had heard this voice before.
Maple's voice was quite distinctive, after all.
They moved a short distance away, settling down in a clearing.
Maple was still in monster form.
Since recovery was limited, she didn't want to release Atrocity until she had to.
Pain sat down on a tree root, and Maple leaned her long body against the tree itself.
"You're… just gonna stay like that?"
"...? Um, yes."
"Okay then…"
Pain was a tad unsettled by it, but he assumed she had limited uses, so he didn't argue
the point. Besides, he was well aware of just how powerful this form was.
They were together for a reason—they'd decided to explore that way.
Two top players had happened across each other on a field so vast, it was more likely
to encounter no one at all. Maple might not have realized the significance of that, but
Pain hadn't failed to notice. And it was a prime opportunity to observe anything new
she had up her sleeve.
He'd been the one to propose they team up, and Maple had no objections.
She hadn't spared the suggestion much thought. To her mind, playing with someone
strong was always a good thing, and Pain seemed like he could be relied upon.
And thus the most powerful duo in the game's history was born.
"Luck is with us. This should speed up our explorations."
"Totally! I can handle all the defense!"
Maple and Pain continued pushing deeper into the jungle.
"Maple…"
"What's up?"
"Uh… never mind. I was just thinking… you're really good at handling yourself in that
form."
"I don't really get why, though! I just can!"
"Huh…," Pain said, his eyes turning upward.
The green canopy hid the sky from view, flowing by as he remained immobile.
In other words, he was sitting on monster Maple's back.
She was threading her way through the trunks, definitely feeling a little constricted.
"Maple, turn left. There was nothing to the right."
"Got it!"
Maple lurched sideways. If any other players saw them, they'd almost certainly ready
themselves for imminent combat.
Or possibly cling to a nearby tree trunk. Maybe even race off through the trees with
their tails between their legs.
Pain found it pretty easy to stay put on her back, so a few sudden moves on her part
wouldn't be enough to shake him off.
There was nothing impeding their search.
"Oh, monsters! I'll just kill them."
There were, indeed, foes up ahead.
"That's a treant. Careful, Maple," Pain warned. For good reason—these were the
enemies that had managed to damage him. "They've got a piercing attack that comes
from below."
"Mm? What was that?"
Before he could finish, Maple had turned the area in front of them into a sea of fire.
The inferno didn't spread out, but they were definitely not the kind of wimpy flames
anything made of wood could easily withstand.
The treants turned to ash and yielded their items.
"Never mind," Pain said. "You should pick those up."
"Good call!"
Maple used her monster hands to collect the items and tuck them into her inventory.
Seeing her steamroll all these enemies without a care in the world drove home once
more the gap between her and everyone else.
They were attacked several times on the way, but Maple simply trampled the monsters
underfoot or otherwise knocked them away.
"...Did you just run over something else?"
"They just keep attacking!"
"I feel like you're the one—actually, forget it. Just watch out for trees. They're tougher
than the monsters."
He watched her flatten yet another foe. This was definitely not your typical field
expedition. But since she was handling all the combat and movement, he was left free
to focus on other things.
"Maple, stop. I hear something."
He'd only noticed because he was free to scan their surroundings.
And his ears had caught the sound of buzzing wings.
"Should we go take a look?"
"Let's."
Maple wasn't really built for stealth, but she felt like she was sneaking. As they neared
the buzzing, they saw a bee's nest at the top of a tree.
And a black stripe surrounding it.
Since the buzzing was coming from that stripe, they could guess why it was
undulating.
"Interesting. Thoughts?"
"I could draw them away and keep you safe?"
"Will it really be that easy? Well, I guess it would be."
Pain had started considering the idea's pros and cons, then realized there was no
point.
Since there was an HP restriction in effect, and Pain was good at gaming, Maple
decided she didn't need to baby him and left Martyr's Devotion inactive.
"Let's do this!"
Maple jumped out into the clearing under the bee's nest. Up near it was a bee—one
nearly four yards long.
It had a beautiful crown on its head.
It was literally a queen bee.
"That looks stronger than the first bee I fought!" Maple observed aloud.
The queen bee buzzed.
In response, the black bee belt above turned as one, immediately launching
themselves at Maple like a torrent of arrows.
They hit her hard and proceeded to bounce right off.
"Taunt! Keep coming!"
The queen bee continued buzzing orders. It tried focused attacks, encircling Maple
and hitting her in the flanks, but all the bees bounced away, dizzily awaiting the next
order.
"…Holy Rain."
In the shadow of a tree, Pain drew his sword, whispering. The blade began to glow.
A swing of his blade sent the built-up energy surging forward.
It stopped ten yards away—right above the clearing where Maple was fighting. Then
it began to rain streaks of light down upon the battlefield.
The bees were too focused on Maple to realize the light was killing them.
While Maple was frolicking with the bees, Pain became a machine, using all the AOEs
he had.
"What am I even doing…?"
"Keep chewing through them like this!"
"…All right! Leave it to me!"
He spied a bee breaking its stinger on her monster hide.
If you ignored… a lot of things, this was… an effective approach. Really, it was all
upsides.
It was just… The visuals were far removed from what most people saw on a day-today basis.
It took about twenty minutes to dispatch all the bees. Once that was done, Pain finally
joined Maple in the clearing.
"Uninjured? Naturally."
"Pain, the queen bee's coming!"
He looked up.
She was right—it was slowly descending toward them.
"I'll finish it in one."
Pain cast stray thoughts—and Maple—out of his mind and raised his sword.
"Yeah, let's do this!"
Maple raised her head.
Courageous or foolhardy, the queen bee was descending into the jaws of death.
When the bee reached the halfway point between the nest and its foes, the hives
themselves came loose, falling away from the tree.
The queen nimbly avoided them, and the fragments hurtled directly toward Maple and
Pain.
"Cover Move! Cover!"
This was one of the few combos Maple had managed to memorize. She placed herself
directly over Pain.
The fallen hives splattered, coating them with the honey inside.
"Uh… I—I can't move!"
Sticky honey had Maple completely immobilized. If Maple had met a certain STR
threshold, that would have posed no problem, but since her base Strength was zero,
even in Atrocity form, her stats didn't reach very high.
The queen bee charged at the sticky Maple, trying its hardest to get that stinger in, or
maybe bite her.
The attack patterns weren't particularly complicated—the queen was still at full
health—and the only trick it seemed to have was a wind spell.
But naturally, none of those did anything to Maple, so it was all as futile as it was
industrious.
"Guess it's up to me."
Pain emerged from beneath Maple's bulk, approaching the queen from behind.
That was enough to draw the queen bee's aggro, and it fired a poison needle at him.
But he easily deflected it with his shield and took a swing before it recovered from the
attack motion.
"Holy Condemnation!"
The horizontal sword stroke sent his gleaming blade right into the queen bee's torso.
Pain's attack carried all the force he'd once used against Maple herself.
No miraculous salvation was there to protect the queen, so the fatal blow cut it clean
in half. It quickly turned into particles of light.
And all the honey imprisoning Maple vanished with it.
Once the boss was gone, it left behind a number of honey bottles and two crowns.
Pain examined both of these.
Honey Jar
Ingredient found only in the jungle area.
Increases maximum HP by 50 for two minutes. Does not stack.
Queen Bee's Crown
When equipped, increases equipped player's maximum MP and MP recovery speed by
10% each.
They split the drops evenly before setting out again.
That small a boost in MP wouldn't grant Maple an extra use of Hydra or her other big
spells. She knew the crown would not be immediately useful, but it was pretty, so she
was happy with it.
"Wanna try going that way?" she suggested, indicating a direction with one of her
many limbs.
"Why not? This jungle's huge. There's bound to be something good out there."
"Then come on!"
Maple let Pain climb aboard again and began threading her way through the trees once
more.