There was Maple, and there was Pain.
But of course—they weren't the only ones out there.
Specifically, Sally was also deep in the jungle. Quite a distance lay between her and
Maple, but Sally didn't know that.
This was a field devoid of obvious landmarks, making it impossible to meet up with
anyone by design, so it didn't really matter who else might be playing.
And so Sally was darting through the jungle with speed.
"Anything heeere?"
She vaulted over a fallen tree and was about to keep running, but then something
caught her eye, and she drew up short.
"Hmm? Is that…?"
She narrowed her eyes, peering into the distance.
Something in all that green seemed out of place, but at this range, she couldn't tell
what.
"Guess I'd better get closer."
She drew her daggers and pushed her way through the rustling underbrush.
Proximity improved her view.
"Yeesh, a spiderweb. I'm not great at fighting things that fling sticky crap around…"
She made a face but kept going. She was that hungry for skills.
"If the tide turns against me, I can always run. Anyway, let's see what we've got here."
Sally stopped near the web, scanning the area.
Webs of thread ran between several different trees and across the ground itself. No
sign of any spiders.
But she did see some white cocoons near the ground.
"That looks like a trap… but if I'm quick, I oughtta be able to check that."
Her mind made up, Sally nodded to herself.
"Superspeed!"
She darted out from behind the tree and tapped one of the cocoons.
"Items? Skills? Nope! Argh…"
Unsurprisingly, it was a trap. She had figured as much.
What she hadn't counted on was how large an area it affected. The thread on the
ground around her covered such a large area that even with Superspeed, she couldn't
dodge it in time.
That was how Sally found herself hanging upside down, thread snarled around one
foot.
"I swear one of these got me before… that's why I hate them! Dammit."
A large spider scuttled into view.
"Argh, crap, crap!"
She put her abs to work, making herself swing.
The thread on her foot was not coming off, but she wasn't completely snared yet so it
wasn't all bad news.
"Better than I'd feared…"
That said, she'd still have to do whatever she could and try to stave off sudden death.
The spider didn't give her time to plan.
It scurried up a web-wrapped trunk and was right on top of her in no time at all.
This had happened to her in another game, and the result had been an untimely death.
"I could… or… argh, I can't think straight! Ice Pillar!"
The spider had made it close enough that one ice spike after another plowed into it.
"Not expecting much damage, but… there we go!"
Sally saw the spider change its pathing, grabbing onto one of the pillars to hang on.
From there, it could not directly attack Sally—but since it was bigger than her, it made
for a perfect target.
"Fire Ball! Wind Cutter!"
Her spells were relatively feeble, but they were definitely doing damage.
"Mirage!"
Sally cast an illusion of herself, and the spider took the bait.
Certain it was heading away, Sally made an attempt at cutting the thread with magic.
It remained impervious.
She glanced over at the HP bar hovering above the spider.
Still at 85 percent.
"…I'll have to one-shot it when it comes close again."
The damage she'd done so far proved she didn't have enough MP to down it with
ranged spells. Once it was back in effective range, she'd have to finish it off so fast that
it wouldn't even have a chance to hit her.
"Time for some Doping Seeds? I can still null one hit—so I'm not ready to give up yet."
It slew the fake Sally and then came back along the tree trunk toward her.
She took out a Doping Seed and popped it into her mouth.
This raised STR at a cost of VIT, boosting her DPS. She armed herself with her daggers,
practiced her plan of attack a few times, then waited for the spider to get there.
The spider was directly above her now. It started climbing down the thread attached
to her leg.
"Double Slash!"
She used the backswing to right herself, her daggers striking the spider's face and legs
just before its fangs sank into her knee.
But these attacks were from such a precarious position that several of them missed.
The spider still had a solid 20 percent HP.
And it didn't let her assault go unpunished.
The spider's entire body flashed, and thread came flying out.
For a moment, it hovered near the spider, but then it rocketed toward Sally.
"Argh…!"
There was no way for her to dodge it properly. By guarding with her left side and
throwing the right-hand dagger, she managed to keep her right hand free.
"Impact Fist!"
This was a skill that fired air bullets—one she'd used to propel Maple after the giant
squid.
The attack hit the spider's face, and red sparks flew around its many little eyes.
It shot back even more thread, and that was when Sally realized something serious.
All her skills were sealed.
This applied to her gear as well—she couldn't even summon Oboro.
That wouldn't have mattered if she'd managed to down the spider—but it was still
hanging on.
"Seriously? That didn't kill it?"
There were only a few dots left on its HP bar. One more hit would finish it.
It wound more webbing around her, moving toward her throat in preparation for the
finisher.
"There's gotta be—"
As she racked her brains, the spider's mandibles scraped at Sally's neck.
Shed Skin activated, canceling this damage—but now she had no way of preventing
whatever came next.
"...!"
She twisted herself, making the thread sway.
The spider's fangs closed in again.
But a moment later, red sparks flew—and its HP hit zero.
"Heh-heh… tough break, buddy!" Sally crowed.
She was laughing her head off.
And rolling a little eye around her mouth.
The spider began dissolving into light.
Just before the head changed, she thought its remaining eyes met hers through the
shower of sparks.
"Blame Maple," she said.
And with a shattering sound, it was gone.
"Blegh, that's nasty!"
An emotionless voice echoed in her head.
The sound of a new skill.
When the battle ended, the thread binding Sally began to vanish.
Once her upper body was free, she pulled her head up—
—and when the last of the thread vanished, she began to fall.
"Hokay…"
She managed to get her legs down in time and land upright.
"I know I got a skill… Yup, there it is!"
She had her stat menu open.
Web Spinner I had just been added.
She read the description.
Web Spinner I
Manipulate spiderwebs.
At skill level V, adds control of elasticity.
Five-yard range. Can be fired from both hands and legs.
Use again to release.
"So not an eater skill? Oh, but it has the same conditions."
When she was done reading, she decided to try the skill out.
"A test-drive seems in order. Web Spinner!"
Her stat screen was still up, and as she spoke, it changed.
The words Web Spinner appeared by her name.
She read the description again and this time held out her right hand.
"Right Hand: Web."
The same spider silk that had bound her a moment ago shot out of her right palm. It
hit a tree ahead of her, binding it.
She put her back into it, tugging, but the thread wouldn't let go.
Sally thought about this one.
"…Maple, I'm gonna take a page from your book this time," she muttered.
She released the web, then headed deeper in, looking to raise the skill level.
Sally would have preferred to get on Maple's level by entirely different means.
But perhaps she was just being obstinate.
Firing and releasing webs, she moved through the jungle—then paused.
"I've at least gotta get it to level V and see what the elasticity does for it."
But she felt like it was too risky to level the skill here. She decided to leave the jungle
for now.
This skill was more compelling than the event.
"Can't afford to die just yet. Time to go."
Her body soon turned to light, leaving the jungle behind.
Armed with her new skill, Sally arrived back at the fifth stratum Guild Home.
Inside, she found Kanade and Chrome.
She talked to them a bit and found they were both about to head into the jungle.
"I'm giving it another run," Chrome said. "Haven't found anything yet but materials for
Iz."
"There's something I've got my eye on, but I'm not sure if I can make it there or not.
Gotta try, though!" Kanade said.
Each of them had their own goals, and if they succeeded, the guild would be that much
stronger for it.
"Have fun. And good luck."
"Yeah, I'll bring something back."
"Same here!"
They all waved and were soon out the door.
Around this time, two members of Flame Empire were headed to the jungle, too.
They started their exploration shortly before Chrome and Kanade.
Perhaps destiny played a hand in this development, but the Maple Tree members
happened to spawn right in their paths.
That was how Kanade and Marx paired up, while Chrome ran into Misery.
Mages or any other MP-dependent classes were after only one thing—skills that
buffed MP.
Both Kanade and Marx wanted those—and since their motives aligned, they readily
agreed to work together.
Chrome similarly agreed to help Misery with the same thing.
And then Maple came charging through the jungle with Pain on her back.
"Oh," he said. "Supposedly, you can get an MP boost skill that way."
"Sounds good!" she said.
Pain was getting strangely used to riding monsters.
All three pairs independently converged on the MP buff skill location.
Then Chrome and Misery ran into a pack of monsters.
"Take that!" Chrome's cleaver struck a moss-covered golem.
Unlike Maple, he had a formidable attack and was able to hurt these things.
But the golem was not their only foe.
Wolves and monkeys were trying their best to flank him.
"Not on my watch!"
Misery's bolts of light blew several of them away.
And that gave Chrome time to get his shield in position.
This map's conditions blocked any and all healing, which left them both very
underpowered.
This team composition would normally mean Misery's healing spells and Chrome's
self-healing skills would make him an impregnable fortress, but that wasn't the case
here in the jungle.
So they both had to proceed with a lot more caution.
"Holy, there's no end to them!"
"Let's make a run for it. I've got an escape item somewhere… here!"
She scanned through her inventory, pulled out a white ball, and tossed it at the ground.
Smoke filled the area, temporarily blinding the monsters.
That distraction allowed the two of them to make a clean getaway.
"Whew… there's a limit to how much I can tank alone."
"Sigh… Having an attacker with us would make it much easier for me."
"When the twins or Maple are around, I never have to think like this…"
"With Mii or Shin in my party, I know they'll handle everything."
Everyone they just named was among the game's most powerful players, but these
two were handling combat perfectly fine, really. Neither of their classes was really
built for exploration, so getting by despite their grumbling just proved they were also
top players. And the farther they went, the more they learned, and the better their
internal maps of the route to the heart of the jungle became.
While they grimly hung in there, Kanade and Marx were battling their own group of
monsters.
"Here they come…," Marx announced, never even breaking stride.
Kanade had his bookshelves out but wasn't reaching for any grimoires.
Just as the monsters were about to pounce, thick vines shot out of the ground, coiling
around the monkeys and birds.
Above Marx's head, the monsters were flailing about, trying to free themselves to no
avail.
"And now, detonate."
Red magic circles appeared around the vines, and the ensuing explosions hit all the
monsters.
Marx's next spell polished off the stragglers.
"Oh, nicely done."
"Once they're snared, it's nothing."
Marx didn't exactly look excited, but there was a noticeable flicker of pride.
But then he spotted a moss-covered golem several times his size.
And its red eyes met his.
"Oh, nope. Nope on that one."
"Mm, then… well, I don't know where else I'd use this. Death's Call."
A slim black book slipped off Kanade's shelves.
The cover was speckled with blood. The pages flipped automatically, and there was a
low tone that seemed to echo in their guts.
The massive golem was then sheathed in bottomless darkness before exploding into
countless motes of light.
"Oh, it worked. Low chance of instant death."
"You're lucky, then?"
"A little."
They started walking again.
Clearly having a much easier time than Chrome and Misery.
Elsewhere, in the noisiest part of the jungle…
Tossing aside monsters in passing, or burning them, or trampling them underfoot. If
anything tried to run, it was hit by glowing sword strokes.
This was how Maple stampeded through the dungeon, not caring if any monsters came
her way, and Pain had come along for the ride.
"Oh? Maple, stop for a second. I saw something."
"Yeah? Okay!"
She took out one last foe as she skidded to a halt.
A fair distance from them, several trees were strangely misshapen, as if they'd been
partially melted.
Both of them moved closer to inspect the scene.
The bent trees led them farther in. Eventually, they came upon an extra-large tree
made by winding the trunks of several others together.
There was an opening at the base, containing a room with a staircase that led higher
into the tree.
"Oh, is this…?"
"The place I told you about, yes."
Maple compared her monstrous bulk to the size of the door.
It didn't look like she would fit.
She was forced to come out of Atrocity mode.
The monster's belly split open, and Maple fell out with a splat.
Pain watched that happen, bemused, then went to confirm the entrance was safe.
"Not seeing anything wrong."
"Then I'll go first!"
Maple waved her shield emphatically, and Pain gave her a nod.
They started picking their way up the stairs.
They were on guard the whole way but reached the end without incident.
At the top, there was a bough so wide, it could easily accommodate both of them.
There was a gentle breeze, and the leaves rustled softly overhead. Soothing sights and
sounds all around.
At the end of the branch was a green magic circle.
"We wanna go in, right?"
"That's why we're here."
Their footsteps ran down the length of the branch. As they came closer, the circle's
glow grew brighter, seemingly inviting them in.
When Maple stepped on it, her body was wreathed in green light, and she vanished
from view.
Pain followed shortly after, and they both found themselves somewhere else entirely.
Where the jungle had been filled with noise, this new forest was eerily silent.
Rows of trees. Green leaves.
Shrubs laden with glistening red fruit. The blue sky far above.
But not a single sound to make the forest feel alive. No birds singing, no leaves
rustling—even their footsteps seemed silent.
"Are we…?"
Maple ventured to ask a question, making the first sound they'd heard since arriving.
"This is the source of the MP buff skill," Pain explained. Maple seemed lost, so he was
reminding her of their goal. Pain wanted a higher MP recovery rate, and Maple was
intrigued by the possibilities.
"Got it!" she said. "We've come all this way, so let's give it a shot!"
"Then we should get moving. This place requires us to follow the right path, so I'll take
the lead."
Pain had done his homework and knew exactly which way to go. He checked their path
against his intel and led them through the soundless woods.
"Don't leave my side. If you step off the prescribed route, monsters will spawn."
Maple stuck to him like glue.
They moved on. Pain began giving her the rundown on the boss.
She listened close, ready to tackle this fight effectively.
They made it through the forest to their destination without hearing so much as a
single monster roar.
Leaves danced on the wind at the clearing's center. At the back was a single stump,
maybe measuring a yard across.
"The boss should spawn any second."
"The what?! Oh, okay!"
Maple hastily drew her short sword and raised her great shield.
As she did, a green light appeared above the stump, quickly taking shape. Stepping out
of the light was a creature that looked like a man made of wood.
The monster was on the small side, less than five and a half feet. It wore a hat made of
vines and leaves.
In one hand, it held a simple wooden staff that had a flowering vine woven around the
shaft.
Before either could attack, the creature waved the staff. Leaves swirled upward and
toward them.
Pain moved swiftly, circling around the leaf swarm and landing a powerful hit on the
boss. Maple did nothing of the kind.
Even armed with prior knowledge, she simply wasn't fast enough to dodge.
"Eep!"
The leaves surrounded her.
Anyone affected by this ability was forced to swap their current equipment with
random gear from their inventory, locking those selections in until combat ended.
"...Uh?"
When the leaves vanished and Maple opened her eyes, she found herself in white
armor.
Unlike Pain, Maple didn't really haul that much gear around.
Her accessories were scrambled, and the crown she'd found in the jungle earlier was
on her head, but the rest of it was simply her sub-equipment.
"Yeah, I'm all good!"
She drew her new short sword, caught up with Pain, and used her usual skill.
"Martyr's Devotion!"
Wind blades shot at Pain, but Maple soaked the damage. None of them hurt her; she
simply canceled out the attacks completely.
And if Maple was serving as the shield, Pain could devote himself to swinging his
blade.
Blond hair. Blue eyes.
Both clad in pure-white armor. Like brother and sister.
Protected by the blessing of devotion, the knight showed no mercy, his divine blade
gleaming even as it sliced through the creature's limbs.
Few could match his damage output, and it slashed the boss's HP.
"This should be real quick!"
"Looks like! Look at it go!"
Pain rained down more blows.
The boss raised wooden walls and summoned vine armor, but he hacked at them until
they fell away.
And Maple's tanking never once faltered.
The boss's wind blades and leaf tornadoes both bounced right off her impotently.
This boss never stood a chance against this duo.
Its wooden body withered away before crumbling completely.
Pain immediately checked the new skill they got while Maple fixed her gear.
Green's Grace
10% boost to MP recovery speed.
Maple had sacrificed some HP to activate Martyr's Devotion, so she took a potion out
of her inventory… and then finally remembered.
"Augh! I can't heal!"
She'd just used the skill out of habit.
Pain watched Maple flail around, wailing aloud.
Thinking that if he'd only seen her like this, he'd have been certain victory was his.
Since Maple had accidentally destroyed her HP bar during the boss fight, she decided
to leave Pain and the jungle behind.
With her HP this low, a single piercing attack would be the end of her.
And in the jungle, combat was a fairly common occurrence… it had already worn her
out quite a bit.
She told him her plans and thanked him for his help.
"This was a valuable experience," he said. "I'd be honored to work with you again."
"Good luck!"
"Same to you."
Maple waved and vanished in a puff of light, returning to the regular map.