I hate being in pain, so I think I'll make a full defense build

Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 357

Defense Specialization and Flame Thunder

And so while the second half of the event had begun, Maple found herself on a quiet hill on the 7th layer, taking a nap under the warm sun. While it was true that there were new developments occurring in the event, the raid bosses only appeared at times that would be announced beforehand. This was because it would take time to gather together enough people, and so Maple had plenty of free time as she waited. Others were probably using that free time to continue to hunt the exclusive monsters and gather materials. However, according to Izu, they had enough materials already. And while you could never have too much, there was no need for Maple and the others to go out of their way to hunt.

“It’s nice to be able to relax… Time acceleration events are nice, because we all have to work together, but it keeps us so busy… Don’t you agree, Syrup?”

Maple called out Syrup and poked its head. As this event involved cooperation with all players, it was the best event for Maple, who wanted to play at her own pace.

They had already been told when the next boss would appear, and since it wasn’t in a place that would be difficult to reach, Maple wouldn’t have any trouble getting there on Syrup, even if she didn’t have a horse.

Then she just needed to protect Mai and Yui like a normal great shield wielder. And so Maple wasn’t worried about not having a clear role.

But while Maple was relaxing, a shadow moved overhead as if something had come up on top of her.

As she looked up to see what it was, the shadow moved to the side and descended towards the ground.

“Hey, Maple. How are you? Is the event going well?”

“Mi!”

Mi jumped off of Ignis and sat down next to Maple.

“Yes! It’s going well. You know the raid boss? I’m just relaxing until it spawns.”

“Yes, we already finished this mission to hunt down the exclusive monsters. I guess you already have enough materials as well?”

“Yes! Ehehe. Of course, almost all of it was gathered by the other guild members. Oh, but I did a lot at the monster house!”

It was true that Sally and Kasumi did most of the work. However, when they were all able to come together, they gathered materials at the monster house that Velvet had told them about. And it was during such time that Maple did a lot of work. After all, it was because of Maple that they could be surrounded by monsters and still be fine.

“My guild was also able to gather a lot. This event hasn’t been the best fit for me, but I can still manage.”

“Ohh! I knew you’d be fine!”

As most of the monsters in this event were related to water, they weren’t a good fit for Mi, who fought with fire. However, Mi had grown as well, and her firepower had increased. So she was still able to burn the weaker monsters without a problem.

“Yes. But this event seems like it’s leading into the 8th layer… That makes me think the 8th layer will be rough for me.”

“I think you’re right. It’s going to be related to water.”

“I don’t know how much of a hint these event monsters are, but when even the raid monsters are water types…”

“Water types are hard for me too… You know, I can’t even swim. And I don’t think I will ever be able to.”

“So you can’t fight underwater in general? I see. So I should be underwater if I ever have to fight you…”

Of course, since Mi couldn’t fight well in water either, it would be defeating the purpose. However it was still true that somehow dragging Maple into the water would make things difficult for her.

“Oh, but actually, I can use explosions to swim!”

“…?? I don’t know if that’s called swimming…”

On land, sea and sky, Maple had an ability to move by using the power of explosions. It really was strange, now that Mi thought back on it. However, she had experienced the kind of acceleration caused by Maple’s explosions first hand.

“If only you would actually take damage while doing it…”

“Hehe. My guard is tough!”

The reason why these explosions were nothing more than a method of transportation, was because of Maple’s defense ability. Mi could do something similar, but it was dangerous if she didn’t have sufficient HP. And so could not do it repeatedly.

“Well, at least I have Ignis. But you really do need mobility like your explosions in order to get around large bosses like the last one.”

This was why so few players put their points into one place. It was harder to succeed that way. Mobility, durability, attack ability. There were many problems.

“I can also attack from above, thanks to Syrup, and Mai and Yui are so amazing as long as I protect them with ‘Dedicated Affection’!”

“I heard about it from the other guild members. Eight great hammers? I bet they could one shot a raid boss!”

“They almost did it when facing the giant squid!”

“Woah, that’s crazy… I’ll have to tell our greatshield-bearer to be careful.”

There was no way that someone could survive against the kind of firepower that nearly crushed a raid boss. You could hold up your shield, but both it and you would be turned into dust.

And like this, Mi and Maple talked for a while. Just like how Maple was relaxing, Mi also didn’t have anything she needed to do in a hurry. And since Mi had decided to participate in the next raid boss, she and Maple decided to head to the location together. It was quite a distance away, and so it would be faster to ride on Ignis, since Syrup had a rather strange way of flying.

As the two talked about how they would spend the rest of their time, a familiar face passed by. Apparently, the person noticed Maple and Mi as well, and waved at them as she approached.

“Maple! And Mi!”

“Ah, Velvet!”

She was in her more graceful mode today. This meant that instead of her usual, challenging and lively demeanor, she had a calm and relaxed expression. Upon seeing this, Mi coughed once and replied.

“Mmm hmm… I don’t think we’ve actually met before?”

“Yes. But you are quite famous.”

“So are you. I’ve heard the rumors.”

As Maple knew what was going on behind the scenes for both of them, she watched the two who now had altered personalities with an awkward expression.

“So, you’re alone today, Velvet.”

“Hinata had business to attend to… I would usually adjust my schedule to fit hers, but I wanted to see the newly unleashed raid boss.”

While she was talking calmly, Maple could tell that deep inside, she was thinking, ‘It seems strong! So fun! I want to fight it!’ In fact, Velvet wasn’t even doing a good job at hiding her expression, and she smiled happily.

“But it’s quite far from here, you know?”

While she had come on a horse, the spawn location was a great distance from where they were. Maple wondered why Velvet wouldn’t wait closer to the location so that she didn’t miss it.

“Hehe. There’s still plenty of time. I received a report from a guild member and thought I might amuse myself by going out to see something.”

“Amusing? I didn’t see anything around here…”

Maple thought back on all the exploration she had done, but could not think of anything that was particularly interesting.

“What about you, Mi?”

“No, I can’t think of anything either.”

“I see. Then do you wanna accompany me then?”

Velvet smiled as if to hide the fact that she had shown her true face. Mi had heard about Velvet from Mi, and for a second she thought back on the reason she could no longer go back.

“I don’t have any plans. So I’ll go as long as we’ll still make it in time for the raid boss.”

“Mi doesn’t know about it either, so I’m really curious now!”

“Then it’s decided! Don’t worry, we won’t miss the raid boss! After all, I wanna participate in that too!”

“Ah.”

“Ah.”

“Ah…hehe… I would like to participate in it as well.”

“…”

Velvet smiled once again. Mi looked at her with jealousy and thought of a future that might have been hers. In any case, they decided to go with Velvet to see this interesting thing. And like that, Maple, Mi, and Velvet followed the navigator as they headed to their destination.