Defense Specialization and the Tower’s Third Floor 3
Maple and company left the lava covered area and decided to head somewhere else. The monsters that had been flying around where the magma had been didn’t seem to be crossing the same way, so they felt safe for the time being.
"I know we’ve come this way now... but there was another path, right?"
"The only way we can know is to check out each one of them. Be careful with the ground, Maple.’’
"Got it! Hmm, there’s a bit of a slope here."
When Maple said that, Sally took a glance at the floor to confirm her words and noticed it was indeed slightly curved downwards.
Both of them sensed they were entering a whole different place than before and couldn’t help feeling excited as well as a little bit wary.
Then, after passing through the corridor, they entered a wide area where the walls and ground were made out of solid black lava.
It didn’t change much in size compared to the other one, and every once in a while, a small flame would come flying out from under the floor.
"This area seems to have solidified? It will be easier to walk like this, and we can also see better when any monster is approaching."
"Right now, there seems to be no one around... we have to take our chance!"
At the same moment Maple was about say she understood, she turned to look at Sally.
"Yeah, we should think of where to hide...and just as I’m saying this one shows up!"
A huge rock giant with a height of around 3 meters rose slowly from the ground.
With black fists and feet larger than both of the girls together, the sound of his steps resonated loudly. It looked way stronger compared to the other monsters they had found on their way there.
"’Deploy All Weapons’! ’Commence attack’!"
Maple started shooting. The bullets hit the slow-moving giant directly, and she kept going on until there weren’t any left.
"Ugh... Is it a golem after all? I hate them!"
Maple narrowed her eyes in annoyance and proceeded to disarm herself and stop shooting. At the same time the giant raised one of its enormous fists and hit the ground.
The dull sound of rock hitting rock resonated across the room and lava suddenly splashed out from under the crushed ground, overflowing in a wave that came their way and threatened to swallow them.
"Eh!? Wa-wait a second!"
"Maple, run! If you stay here it will..."
Sally stepped back just in case, and as she did that, she conjured an "Icicle".
Like Sally expected, the ’Icicle’ she made didn’t melt down as it had previously done in the flowing lava area.
"I’m sorry, here I go!"
Sally extended a thread towards Maple and she climbed the icicle with the thread firmly held in her other hand as well.
"It’s time to fly Maple! ’Leap’!"
"Uh? Wh-what do you mean by that... Waah!?"
Right before the ’Icicle’ broke down from the lava’s impact, Maple and Sally jumped over the wave and straight into the giant’s direction, while still connected by the thread they held.
"It’s now or never! ’Defense Break’!"
Sally let go of the thread she had extended to Maple while still in midair and started spinning as she cut the giant’s arm, which then separated from its body.
Meanwhile, Maple, who was also still midair, realized that if she fell the way she was headed to at the moment, she would collide straight against the giant’s head.
Maple grinned slightly as she remembered that this was also a way in which they could do a cooperative attack.
"Just as expected from Sally! Well now, how do you like... this!"
Maple held a large shield with both of her hands and plunged into the giant’s body while consuming part of it with her ’Bizarre Eater’ ability. She then fell to the ground and rolled.
"Damn... We have to get away before it attacks again."
Maple raised her head from the ground, as she kept her sight on the giant while putting some distance between them.
Meanwhile, Sally cut the giant’s feet and returned to Maple’s side.
"It moves quite slowly; don’t you think that maybe we could run past him?"
They had already jumped over the giant and the passage that would take them to the next area laid just ahead of them.
"I’ll go defeat him!"
Maple used ’Bizarre Eater’ again while still wary of the giant’s movements.
Sally observed what she’s doing and timed herself so she would know when to create an ’Icicle’ next.
The giant hit the ground once again, in the same way as before, but this time no wave of lava came out.
"Maple, watch your feet!"
"Eh? Wah!?"
Before Sally could extend a thread to help Maple, a huge pillar of rock suddenly appeared where they stood and Maple, who couldn’t avoid it on time, was sent flying into the air.
"Come oon, could you stop using ground attacks?! Ugh! ’Hydra’!"
As if trying to get her revenge on the giant, she let go a "Hydra" attack while spinning and jumping through the air.
Even though the giant broke though the poisonous cluster with its fist, it still got countered by Maple’s ’Bizarre Eater’. Maple was blown away by the impact and rolled onto the ground, but she took no damage.
"I’ll be fine as long as it’s not a piercing attack! ’Oozing Chaos’!"
The mouth of the monster that came out of her armor caught the slow-moving giant and caused even more damage.
"The sea of poison is more dangerous, but... take this!
As Maple hit him with her powerful ability, Sally used the threads and the "Icicle" to slash into the giant’s body while running around it. She used ’Sword Dance’ as well, so her attack ended up being quite strong.
"And we’ll end it with this!"
When Sally cut the giant’s neck with a dagger its body turned into light and exploded. While taking care of not stepping into the poison Maple had shot out, Sally made her way back to Maple’s side.
"That was quite tough, right Sally?"
"Yeah, it was. But...its movements were slow, so I think the correct way to deal with it was just to avoid it altogether. Since it wasn’t even a boss."
"You’re probably right, and the bullets didn’t work either."
"That could’ve been because it might be immune to long distance attacks. Since other, even more powerful attacks like ’Hydra’ didn’t have much of an effect either."
"I see. So that kind of thing can happen too, uh?"
Maple nodded to herself as she thought how many different powerful monsters were out there.
"Well, let’s keep advancing Maple. I really don’t want to be here if that one comes out again."
"I agree! Ah- wait a second."
Maple quickly opened her inventory and changed her equipment so she could use "Helping Hand". A white hand appeared, and she made it hold her shield. Then she maneuvered with it for a bit so that two shields could fit into the same space and after that they floated up into the air.
"Since we keep getting attacked from the ground, I think it will be better if we continue advancing this way!"
"...okaay. I might’ve already gotten used to it though."
Sally narrowed her eyes a bit and gave a quick look at both white hands to check them out.
"You don’t want to use them? I got them when I was looking for a lot of different things to help you, so it’s fine you know?"
"Just not this once, okay?"
As they kept talking Sally advanced into the next path on foot. Next to her, Maple was gliding along while being held in the middle of both shields.
They went down the passage little by little, and they immediately noticed a change.
"Sally! Sally!"
Maple stared in round-eyed wonder and then turned to look at Sally.
Sally, who was also surprised, stared in Maple’s direction, and then turned to check the scenery in front of her again.
"Yeah, that’s right... it feels a little strange though."
After having made their way down for a while, a white, snow-covered floor spread in front of them, as well as a huge wall made of ice.
It was a white world that seemed to be frozen.
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