Itai no Wa 204

Defense Specialization and the Towers First Floor

Maple and Sally go to the Magic Circle in the center of the towns plaza.

With this Magic Circle, they can teleport to the towers front door.

Umm Isnt this going to be really hard?

Of course! Im all fired up!

Seeing Maple in such high spirits about it makes Sally start to walk with a little more excitement.

He he Well, here we are! Lets clear the first floor quickly, okay?

Yeah, lets do this!

Maple replies with enthusiasm after Sally says that with a confident expression on her face.

The two of them step on the Magic Circle leading to the most difficult tower and disappear in a flash of white light.

As the light fades, they find themselves in front of a tower so tall that it seems to pierce through the heavens.

The top part of the floor cannot be seen as it is above the clouds.

Looks like this is going to take some time.

Right. Judging by its looks, its about one-fourth of a usual field maybe? But there might be transitions and stuff like that along the way.

Uh Ah! Lets do our best!

Yeah, but lets not overdo it.

The two of them go straight towards the towers huge door, open it, and walk inside.

Inside the tower, they see four passages that could fit one person each, and each passage appears to branch off along their ways.

The ceiling is about four meters high.

Well then

Yeah, it looks like a maze. We need to be careful not to get lost.

Umm Okay then, Dedicated Affection!

Maple activates her Dedicated Affection so that she can protect Sally in the unlikely event that they do stray away from each other.

White wings spread out of Maples black armors back.

After theyre done with their preparations, they begin walking inside the dungeon.

By the way, Maple. Arent you going to equip those two shields?

Huh? Im still practicing that. I think itll still take some time before Im able to do many things at once like that. Dont you like it like this, Sally?

Um well, no, its fine I guess?

Aside from Sally, Maple has to take care of many other things, like using Poltergeist, so she had decided not to equip those for now.

She believes that if and when she needs to change her equipment, she can change one piece at a time without a problem.

Its not like she cant buy some time doing things like that.

I have to get used to it too Ah!? Hey, Maple! Look out!

Huh?

As Maple replies, she steps on a section of the ground with a slightly different color than the rest.

The spot where Maple stepped on opens with a crack, and she falls down.

Sally quickly shoots some webbing against the walls down below, preventing Maple from reaching the bottom of the hole.

Maple! Are you okay?

Im all right! Its just a poisonous bog down here!

Hearing Sallys voice, Maple replies from below the dark pitfall she had fallen into.

Shortly after that, a white hand reaches out to Maple and she emerges to the surface, surrounded by two shields.

He he! If you have the right equipment, pitfalls are not scary at all!

I wish it was safer around here Lets be more careful when walking around here.

Sally narrows her frown and turns away from Maple.

Oh, right! Hair Growth!

Maple turns into a hairball. Her face and angel wings stick out of her white spherical shape.

Maple?

We dont have to worry about traps with this, and you dont have to be afraid, Sally! Its like killing two birds with one stone! Lets continue our search like this.

Maple moves towards Sally, and then Sally enters the hairball.

Ready to take off?

Ah? Can we really search around the dungeon like this?

Maple and a confused Sally softly bounce around the maze-like passages.

Oh, Maple! Theres a monster there!

A bird with red wings, about two meters tall, appears as Maple and Sally turn around a corner.

He he he come right at me! Deploy All Weapons! Commence Attack!

Black guns and cannons of all sorts sprout from the hairball.

Maple starts to attack the bird, but even as it gets hit it, it quickly makes its way towards her. The bird changes its shape into a flame and tackles Maple at full force.

Maple!

Hey! You cant do that!

Since the hairball is in midair, it cannot dodge the attack. The bird darts right through it, burning hair away as it goes.

Since Dedicated Affection is still active, Sally took no damage, but she cant go back inside the hairball anymore.

Ugh

Ill fight! Please protect me!

Okay! Provoke!

Maple takes up her shield and uses her skill, attracting the attention of the firebird.

Then, as she takes a blow to her body thanks to her Bizarre Eater, Sally gets a direct hit on the bird with a Water spell.

After that, the bird displays a large red damage effect, and falls to the ground.

Its fire blows away, and becomes a regular red bird once again.

I knew it! Water did the trick!

Sally then continues to attack with her daggers, further damaging the bird.

Maple!

Sally gives a signal to Maple.

Heres payback! Hydra!

A purple stream swallows the red bird whole.

The insta-kill effect of Venom Incantation activates, and the bird disappears without a trace.

After the battle ends

You can stop using Helping Hand Phew

Okay, we did great! It might not have been quite the impressive monster, but Im still glad its over.

I cant use Hair Growth anymore

You cant do that anymore? Oh well, were going to have to get good at seeing through traps then.

Yeah. Lets give that a shot, shall we?

And so, Maple steps over several traps as they make their way through the inner part of the floor.