As they reached the top of the stairs, they found themselves in a comparatively open
area. Walls of natural rock were lit by the red glow of molten lava.
"They're certainly providing variety, Sally."
"Yep. Guess it's not all corridors. Seems like there are a few obvious paths, though."
"Let's start knocking them out, then."
Sally was still taking stock of their surroundings, but Maple ventured a step forward.
And a jet of lava shot out from underneath, burning her foot.
Maple's HP bar budged.
""Ah…!""
Neither of them moved an inch.
A second later, Maple's mind rebooted, and she jumped back, scrambling to Sally's
side.
"Why? How?!" she wailed.
"Uh… Maple, check your skills!"
The second-floor boss had stolen a bunch of Maple's skills, so this was worth
checking—but the screen showed her full list once more.
"Er, um… they're all here! Full defense!"
"Huh. Um… okay, deep breaths."
Taking her own advice, Sally took a deep breath, nodded to herself, and realized this
was actually pretty straightforward.
"I bet this is one of those damage floors. Fixed damage that ignores your defense. I
suppose we should have thought of that; they're pretty standard with volcano zones."
"It did… 20 damage. Sally, you'll probably have to avoid them outright."
"Yeah. That would definitely hurt. But look closer, Maple."
Sally was pointing at the floor—the same spot that had hurt Maple.
The ground was cracked. And the cracks had a faint red glow—the lava beneath.
A clear warning.
"Oh… if I'd been looking for it, I could have avoided it."
"And if we're anywhere narrow, we'll have to watch the walls as well. Which just leaves
what kind of monsters this place is going to throw at us…"
Maple listened intently, but something jogged her memory, and she looked crestfallen.
Their whole goal had been to clear this tower without taking damage.
"Awww… I took damage. And after we got through two bosses with no issues…"
"Hmm. Then let's just say terrain and traps don't count? I mean, technically—they ain't
monsters."
Sally's grin suggested she knew that was a dubious compromise, and Maple screwed
her eyes closed and made all kinds of thinking noises.
"Hngg… all right! They don't count! Let's just try not to take monster damage. But I
will watch my step from here on out."
Maple switched to her black gear, looking motivated again.
"Okay. Then let's move out! Doesn't seem like there're any monsters around here."
"It's nice to have a clear view!"
"My eyes are peeled, and I won't miss a single foe."
Once again, they ventured out onto the third floor.
Maple was very focused on the ground, so Sally was watching their surroundings.
There were three paths in front of them, but they could see nothing but rock walls in
all directions.
"What do you think, Maple?"
"…I bet if we took the middle path, that would give us the best chance of keeping an
eye on the other two."
"Then let's take that one!"
Maple hefted her shield and made sure Sally was in Cover Move range.
Avoiding the lava traps, they moved down the path until it opened up again.
"Stop, Maple. Something's here."
"Mm?" Maple said, putting a hand to her brow and peering ahead. "Oh, I see it. With
all the lava pouring out of the walls, it's hard to spot. Hmm, these aren't like the lava
birds from the first floor."
They were definitely avian monsters, each about a yard long, with molten rock
dripping from their wings.
And these lava birds seemed to spawn in the lava jets on the walls, so there was no
way to stop more from coming.
"Odds are the stuff dripping off them does fixed damage, too. Careful you don't get any
on you."
"Got it. If it comes close, I'll do this!"
Maple held up her shield like an umbrella.
They conferred and decided to take a run at one. When the moment was right, they
shot forward.
"Ice Pillar… Hngg?!"
Sally had used her skill to try and get above the lava bird, but she quickly canceled that
plan.
The pillar had melted as soon as it formed, leaving her with no foothold.
"No ice, huh? What about water?"
Sally hit the lava bird with a water spell, and the molten surface turned black,
hardening. Unable to fly, it crashed to the ground in front of Maple.
"Weak to water! But I don't have any… Uh, Full Deploy! Commence Assault!"
Maple turned her artillery toward the downed bird, unleashing a volley of bullets. It
was just a trash mob, so it didn't hold out long.
"And the one above!"
Maple turned her sights upward, but her bullets hit the bird and went right out the
other side.
"Wh-what? It's not working!"
"Guess we've got to hit 'em with water first. I'll down 'em for you!"
"Please!"
Any birds that hit the ground never flew again.
These might be nothing like the enemies on the floors below, but once the girls had
figured out how they worked, they were evenly matched.
After easily dispatching the entire molten flock, they took another look around.
Lava was flowing down the walls like waterfalls, illuminating the sides and the ceiling.
Maple bent down by a lava pool, gazing at the sea of molten rock before her.
She didn't feel any particular urge to try touching it, but this was a sight you could
never see this close up in the real world, and the bubbling magma flow intrigued her.
"It's definitely out of this world. I guess we can take a minute to admire."
Sally kept one eye on their surroundings but joined Maple in savoring the views of the
game world.
The lava falls churned endlessly, filling the molten pond—like a volcanic crater. In
theory, this was but one floor in a tower, but the ceiling was obscured by smoke and
heat haze—too blurry to get a clear look. An impossible view in an impossible locale—
half the appeal of NWO, Sally thought.
And that brought pleasures that simply clearing a dungeon never could.
"Wonder what the fourth floor'll be like?"
"Seems like there's no info available yet. But based on this floor, it won't all be narrow
corridors. Let's hope you can take Syrup for a spin."
"That would be nice! And I'd definitely like it better if the floor can't hurt you."
This clearing was one thing, but the paths led them through areas where giant Syrup's
bulk just couldn't fit. And with flight not an option, they had to pick their way along,
watching every step.
But as their thoughts got ahead of them, a new bird popped out of the lava flow—
reminding them they were in a combat zone.
Maple spotted it and tore her eyes away from the molten lava pool, pointing at it.
"Augh, Sally! A new bird!"
"Ignore it. Let's go… Maple!"
"Mm? Yikes!"
Maple turned her eyes back to the nearby lava lake and saw a fish monster crawling
out—its burning scales melting off. It immediately hurled a lump of molten rock her
way.
She reflexively yanked her shield up, and Devour safely swallowed the incoming rock.
The monster splashed out of the lake, flinging its yard-long burning body at Maple—
and vanishing into her shield.
"Th-that got me good…"
"Same. I was all focused on the bird… Sorry, that was too close."
"It's all good. But we'd better hurry before anything else spots us."
Maple got up and backed away, eyes on the lava lake's surface. Then she ran toward
the nearest exit.
"...That shield's so good!" Sally muttered, impressed anew.
With all the new tricks at her disposal, Maple didn't fall back on Devour nearly as often,
but it remained the perfect match for her build. It swallowed up everything, making it
great not only in combat but also for remaining unharmed in emergency situations
like the moment before.
"There's a passage!"
"I see it!"
They made it into the passageway without the birds spotting them and paused to catch
their breath.
"Whew… can't really stop to smell the lava, huh?" Maple said, keeping an eye on the
passage behind them. "No telling what monsters'll come at you!"
The passage had fewer places for monsters to hide and was probably safer than the
open areas.
"The higher we go, the trickier the monsters'll get. More of 'em'll have a gimmick to
them, so look out for piercing attacks or fixed damage. And, like, recovery seals."
Sally explained that they should expect to see monsters that prevented you from
healing or using other support skills.
"Yeah, that does sound worse than just regular attacks."
"I'd prefer to avoid taking any fights at all, if we can. But if we do, be extra careful."
"Okay, I will!"
They made their way down the passage and carefully scoped out the next clearing.
This was an super-dangerous area. Lava was spurting out all over at regular intervals.
The glowing red geysers were so strong, they hit the ceiling. The girls exchanged
glances.
"S-Sally? What do we do?"
"I'm pretty sure you could just bulldoze through, Maple… but that can't be the
intended solution."
They discussed a few strategies, but even if this entire area did damage to them, if
Maple used Martyr's Devotion, and Sally focused on healing, they figured they could
probably force their way through.
"Otherwise, we'll have to try a different path. Water Ball!"
Trying the lava-bird trick, Sally hit the floor with a water spell, but that didn't stop the
magma spurts.
Maple had been convinced the water trick was the right answer, so when it proved
otherwise, her shoulders slumped.
"Ugh, it didn't work…"
"What now? Brute force it?"
"Hngg, I'd rather do it the right way. We can't always count on Martyr's Devotion, and
I'd rather not take damage in the first place."
"Yeah. And if this goes like the second-floor boss and something steals or seals our
skills along the way, we're done for."
"Uh, any backup plans?"
"Guess we'll have to turn back for now and check the other paths. This route had its
share of branches, so I guess we'll just have to check 'em all."
"Right. Ugh, but that means we've gotta double back through the bird room…" Maple
sighed.
After all that work slipping past the flock.
They were trying to avoid getting hit, so they wanted to give a wide berth to anything
with attacks that did fixed damage.
"I bet those things show up all over."
"Arghhh, then let's have items ready."
Maple pulled some water-based orbs out of her inventory, holding them at the ready.
"You really did buy all kinds of stuff…"
"Heh-heh-heh! They're pretty useful!"
And they headed back the way they'd come.
They made it across the lake clearing into a new passage and made sure none of the
birds followed them.
"…I think we're clear?"
"Yeah. Don't need to watch our backs that hard, at least."
"We picked a different path this time… and it wasn't the only option, right?"
"We'll have to check 'em all. Hmm, this path is changing things up on us, Maple. Keep
an eye on the floor."
Where the previous areas had been filled with red cracks, this floor was obsidian.
"I'm on it! Huh. Is this a downslope?"
Sally double-checked, and it did seem to be a slight decline.
Feeling like this would lead somewhere significant, they got excited—but stayed
cautious. And when they reached the end of the slope, they found themselves in an
open area lined with hardened black magma.
The size of the space was not much different from the other clearing, but there were
only a few stray spurts of molten lava.
"The lava in this area is already turning solid. Easier to walk and easier to spot
monsters."
"I don't see any right now, which means…"
Maple was starting to get the hang of this.
"Yup," Sally said. "Best to assume they're waiting to ambush us. Oh, here it comes!"
The ground had bulged upward, and a three-yard-tall rock giant rose up.
With fists and feet larger than either of them, its every step was echoing.
Clearly far stronger than the monsters they'd faced thus far.
"Full Deploy! Commence Assault!"
Maple kicked off her barrage, and the rock monster was too slow to dodge it. Every
bullet struck home and… bounced right off.
"Ugh, so it is a golem? I hate golems…"
Scowling, Maple canceled the volley and put away her artillery.
The giant's massive fist pounded the ground.
The thud of rock against rock rang out, and the ground split. A sudden wave of lava
threatened to bury them both.
"Eep! W-wait—"
"We gotta dodge, Maple! This way!"
Sally took a quick step back and threw out an Ice Pillar.
Her gamble paid off—in this area, they didn't instantly melt.
"Sorry about this!" Sally yelled and grabbed Maple with her webs on one hand, and
the top of the pillar with webs on her other. "Up we go! Leap!"
"Huh? Wh-what do you mea—? Aughhh!"
Just before the lava melted the Ice Pillar, Sally launched herself at the giant itself,
clearing the wave—hauling Maple along in her wake.
"And here… Defense Break!"
In midair, Sally released the webs attached to Maple, spun, and slashed the giant's arm
as they passed overhead.
And she was perfectly aware that momentum would carry Maple right down onto the
giant's head.
Belatedly, Maple remembered that this was one of the combo moves they'd discussed
in advance.
"Nice, Sally!" She grinned. "How do you like this, golem?!"
She grabbed her shield with both hands and slammed it down. Devour gobbled up the
giant's face, and she hit the ground, rolling away.
"Whoa… better get some distance before it attacks again."
Maple looked up and saw the giant turning toward them.
Sally had been busy slicing away at the legs, slowing it down, but now she dashed back
to Maple's side.
"This thing's real slow. We could probably just run away."
Behind the giant, they could see a passage leading onward.
"Nah, let's beat this thing."
She had only a limited stock of Devours, and she'd used one on it already, so… Maple
wasn't going to let it get away.
Sally nodded and got ready to time her Ice Pillar.
The giant's arm went up—and once more slammed the ground.
But this time, there was no lava wave.
"Maple, below!"
"Huh? Yikes!"
Before Sally's webs could grab her, rock spikes shot out from underfoot. Unable to
dodge, Maple was sent flying.
"Argh, quit with the ground attacks! Hngg! Hydra!"
Still spinning upward, Maple hit back—with a poison dragon.
The giant punched right through the Hydra, hitting Maple as she descended—and
caught a Devour counter for its trouble. The giant pulled its arm back, red sparks
spraying from it. Judging by the HP bar over its head, this was no basic enemy—it
would take several Devours to kill it.
Maple was sent flying and rolling across the ground—but took no damage.
"Not piercing, so I'm good! Let's take this fight back! Saturating Chaos!"
A monstrous maw flew out of her armor, easily catching the lumbering giant and
laying down the hurt.
"I'm more worried about that pool of poison than the giant… Hup!"
While Maple was going to town, Sally used her webs and Ice Pillars to flank the giant,
slashing away.
Her Sword Dance move buffed her attacks the more times she dodged, and that effect
was making her strikes hit pretty hard.
"This should do it!"
She slammed her dagger into the back of its neck—and the giant exploded in a shower
of light.
Careful not to fall into the poison, Sally rejoined Maple.
"Good job, Sally."
"Hmm, you too. Something that slow, maybe we're better off not engaging. Not like it's
a boss or anything."
"True. And my bullets bounced off it—if a boss does that, things could get rough."
"It might just deflect attacks from too far away. Hydra's way stronger, but it didn't do
much at that range, either."
"Makes sense. Didn't know enemies could do that—that'll be tough to fight."
"...I mean, you deflect attacks at close range and hit back way harder, so…"
"...Eh-heh-heh, well, it's a good thing we're on the same side then," Maple said,
looking sheepish.
"No arguments here," Sally replied, clearly meaning it. "Let's move on, Maple. Don't
want another one of those spawning on us."
"Agreed! Oh, but gimme a sec."
She opened up her inventory screen and changed her gear, equipping Helping Hands.
Pale hands appeared, and she gave them White Snow and Amythest Geode, then
moved them around until she was floating between the two.
"I'm getting tired of constantly staring at the ground," she explained.
"…Riiiight. I might be getting used to those…"
Sally took furtive glances at the pale hands from the corner of her eye. They'd dropped
on the sixth-stratum horror zone, and she wasn't the biggest fan.
"You want 'em? I got them for you, after all."
"Nah, once I go 'nope,' there's no going back…"
As they chatted, Sally led them down the next path. Maple bobbed along beside her,
surrounded by shields.
As the path continued its gradual descent, the terrain kept on changing.
And when they reached the next open area, their surroundings started to get weird.
"Sally, Sally!" Maple said, gaping at the view.
Sally was just as astonished. She looked at Maple, then back at the view.
"I can't believe it. A moment ago, it was all molten rock… Feels weird."
Before them lay a field of virgin snow and walls of pure ice.
The volcano had given way to a winter wonderland.
They stepped into the cave of ice and snow, Maple still floating on her shield sandwich,
head constantly swiveling.
"You can probably get down now."
"You sure my feet won't suddenly freeze?"
"Well, I haven't had any problems."
Though she seemed sure that there wasn't much to worry about, Sally would probably
dodge traps without even trying, so Maple ultimately decided not to risk it.
They moved on out into the open—and were exposed for mere moments when their
ears caught the sound of ice cracking.
"Maple! Above!"
"Right!"
The ice on the ceiling cracked open, and an ice-covered snake fell toward them.
Big enough to swallow them both whole.
"I'll kite it!" Sally yelled, striking the snake in the air and running off. It turned to follow
her, and Maple slid along its flank.
"Coming through!" she yelled.
She held up her all-consuming shield as she slid, and Devour chewed huge chunks out
of its side.
"And why not? Hydra!"
Maple's poison splash did more than just hurt the snake. The poison visibly spread
through its icy body.
"It worked! Nice!" Maple yelped, glad that poison actually worked on it.
But since she'd done a ton of damage, the snake switched to target her instead of Sally.
"Okay, okay! You aren't getting through my defense!"
She was lying down between two shields and had Night's Facsimile held out in front
of her—and it still had Devour. She was tanky to begin with and currently holed up in
her shell.
But the snake's AI wasn't dumb—it didn't attack head-on. Just as Maple had done, it
hit her flank, biting her out of reach of Night's Facsimile.
"Ah! I can't Devour you there… come at me from the front!"
Maple tried to get her hands around, but the shields it was biting were quickly covered
in ice—and that was carving away at the shields' durability.
"Oh nooo! Don't do that!"
"We'll just have to kill it," Sally said, leaping onto its head. She started stabbing away
at it, and the snake vanished in a puff of light.
"Thanks, Sally."
"You got it most of the way there. Any time you land a good hit with your poison, it
really packs a punch."
She took in the lake of poison that had formed around them—then noticed objects
submerged in it.
"Maple, I think it dropped some stuff."
"Mm? Oh, in the poison. I'll go take a look."
She hovered herself over, reached down, and pulled one out.
It was a lump of ice the size of a softball. There was a blue light inside making it glitter.
Definitely a key item of some kind.
"Let's see…," she said.
Firn
Using this can harden the lava in an area.
Effect lasts thirty seconds.
"Sally! These things are pretty good!"
"Then pick 'em up and bring 'em here."
"Will do!"
Maple scooped up all three of the Firns and gingerly brought them back to Sally.
"I think you'll be better at using these. You want 'em?"
"Mm? But if I'm not able to use 'em, it could be bad. You'd better keep one yourself."
"Will do. Here!"
Sally took two Firns from Maple, checked the description, and nodded.
"If we use these, we should be able to get through that molten zone no problem. Still…"
"What's up?"
"Just wondering if the boss is lava or ice. If this item exists, there might be more lava
waiting for us…"
Sally stared thoughtfully at the glittering ice in her hand. Maple frowned.
"It seems a waste to use something this pretty. I wish it dropped more."
Maple gave the Firn a wistful look.
Once you've used a consumable, it disappears.
"Then let's keep looking. That snake wasn't that strong. I bet your guns would work
on it."
And if they couldn't find any more snakes, Sally promised she'd try and get them
through using only her two.
"You're sure?"
"No prob. Just keep me safe!"
"You got it! As long as it isn't a monster, I can handle… a bit of pain."
"Remember to use Pierce Guard. And we for sure don't wanna get hit by those molten
rocks."
A few more snakes and they'd have nothing to worry about. They tried hunting but
found only two-yard-tall humanoid ice sculptures and bats with ice breath.
Either the spawn rate was low or there had only ever been one. Either way, they failed
to find another snake.
After far too much time spent looking, Sally suggested, "We wrap up for today, yeah?
You've used most of your skills, and we did clear the second floor today."
"Well, we found something good, so why not?"
These items would definitely help them progress, and they'd mapped the whole ice
zone while searching for the snake.
And if the boss room wasn't in the ice zone, then odds were high it would throw molten
rocks at them. It was a long hike from the back of the icescape to the volcanic area—
enough that they might be better off logging out and restarting from the third-floor
entrance.
"Okay, then next time, let's plow through that lava zone. See you later!"
"Yeah. Bye!"
They took one last look at the tower above and logged out.
Both girls knew this boss could potentially be a real pain, and they wanted to be ready
for it.
Back in the real world, Kaede put away her console and stretched out on her bed.
"Whew… I've gotta float through that molten room. But what about the boss fight?"
She figured Atrocity wouldn't be of much use, so what skills could she use instead?
"Maybe Risa can figure something out. If we can come up with a good plan, that would
help a lot…"
Still pondering strategy, she headed downstairs.