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 492

Defense Specialization and Toxicity (2)

“Let’s catch one for the time being. It seems that I can survive the poison as long as I’m healed.”

“Hmm… But how do we catch it?”

“It’s a bit risky to test it amidst the poisonous mist, so I want to bring the snake to the top of Syrup… Well, that sounds impossible…”

Most monsters wouldn’t slow down even if they were weakened. As long as they still had HP—even if it was only 1—they’d remain aggressive.

“Do you have any ideas, Sally?”

“Hmm, I guess I have…”

“Huh!? Let me hear it!”

Maple leaned closer to Sally, eagerly anticipating her next words. Thinking that it couldn’t be helped, Sally decided to tell Maple about the strategy she’d come up with.

“That works!”

“…That’s why I hesitated to tell you. It’s a bit dangerous.”

“It’s okay. If it gets dangerous, I’ll attack first.”

“…I see. Got it. Then, let’s try it. Maple, stand over there.”

Sally helped Maple stand up, stretched a thread from her hand, and entangled Maple with it.

“When the chance arises, give me the signal.”

“Okay!”

Sally stood at the edge of Syrup, before slowly lowering Maple towards the ground. The prey was the snake, while the bait was Maple.

Let’s start fishing!

The ground was engulfed in a purple mist, so Sally waited patiently for Maple’s signal.

—And then.

“Sally! Now—!”

At the voice that came from beneath her, Sally reeled the extending stretch. When she was met with heavy resistance, she tacitly understood that they’d caught their prey.

“Potion, please—!”

“Okay, okay—”

After pulling up Maple for a bit, Sally repeatedly threw healing potions at the end of the thread. The snake had coiled itself around Maple, biting her neck. Unable to move, Maple could only lie on top of Syrup.

“Can you open your mouth?”

“S-somehow!”

“Then, let me heal you. I’ll also apply a debuff to reduce your defense.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll add some seasonings as well.”

“T-thanks?”

If not for the poisonous mist, even if they could reduce Maple’s resistance, it wouldn’t be as effective. At the same time, whenever Maple suffered some damage from the poison, Sally’d be sure to heal her.

As long as Maple devoured the snake, she’d continue to sustain damage. Nevertheless, the snake had no means of recovery, and the difference was significant.

“Let’s change the taste.”

“…I feel tingly!”

“…It’s probably snake venom.”

“I see.”

Maple continued to eat slowly, and finally the snake’s HP was reduced to 0.

She was enjoying her catch. With a snap, the snake disappeared, and Maple was also released from her restraints.

“What do you think? How’s your skills?”

“Uhm… I don’t know. I don’t think there’s any change…”

“Well, that’s that. There are a lot of monsters out there. If there’s another similar type, it might be a good idea to test it out.”

The resistance debuff skill would greatly expand the range of Maple’s strategies.

While exploring the 10^th Floor, they might encounter similar monsters or events.

Staying optimistic because they had one more thing to look forward to, the two decided to avoid the ground and head deeper into the area.

“Will something get in our way?”

“Who knows. I hope they’ll overlook us.”

They rode Syrup to reach the source of the poison in the back. Praying that the monsters wouldn’t interfere with them, the two resumed their peaceful journey through the air, praying that no monsters would get in their way.

This time, there was no interference, and the two safely reached the bottom. On top of Syrup, they scanned the ground.

“I can’t see anything…”

“We have no choice but to get off.”

If they couldn’t see the enemy at all, even the two would get overwhelmed.

Well, they might be able to pull it off by exhausting Iz’s bombs and the projectiles of [Machine God], but there was no need to invest that much effort and resources.

“Maple, lower the altitude.”

“Of course!”

Unable to check the vicinity, instead of jumping off as usual, they gradually lowered their altitude. After all, there was no saying that they wouldn’t be swarmed by monsters or fall into a hole if they went in blind.

…Not to mention, last time they did that, they almost got impaled. This time, they had to watch their steps.

“Is there something here?”

“I can’t hear anything.”

“Then let’s get off.”

Thus, Syrup landed with a thud. The area was still enveloped in purple haze, but there was no signs of any monsters.

“Where’s the source of the poison mist?”

“Maple, look over there.”

“…?”

Sally pointed to a wide crater in the ground. The width was about the size of two people standing together, with their hands outstretched. When Maple drew closer and peered inside, a powerful surge of purple mist rushed at her.

“Uwaah!”

“Unless we do something about this poison, we might not be able to proceed.”

“My [Dedicated Affection] is always active!”

“It’d be helpful if you can keep that up.”

Upon closer inspection, they could make out a scaffolding that ran along the edge of the crack. When it came to their destination, they couldn’t ride Syrup. The only option here would be to use the available scaffolding.

“There’s no saying we won’t trip and fall, so be careful. Also, if we stray too far away, we might not be able to see each other.”

“Let’s be careful.”

The two moved towards the bottom of the crater, careful of their steps. When they arrived underground, they discovered that it was filled with poisonous mist, and the sound of poison spewing echoed from everywhere.

“Be careful.”

“Yep. You never know what’s going to come out.”

When she checked her surroundings with caution, she found out that the place was fairly spacious. However, the ceilings weren’t very tall and the space was limited. It’d be difficult to fly around as they pleased.

—Splash!

Drowned by the sound of spewing poison, the two heard the popping sound of viscous liquid and started looking around.

A dark purple liquid flew through the purple mist The two of them immediately spotted it. It’s definitely a threat. A mass of poison similar to that of Maple’s [Poison Dragon] rained down on the two of them. Sally was the first to react.

“[Flash Flood]!”

After distancing herself, Sally used a powerful stream of water to repel the poison. Maple also rushed next to Sally, holding up her tower shield in the face of an unknown enemy.

“What’s going on?”

“…A boss?”

“Maybe.”

They couldn’t decide without seeing the figure first. However, the enemy didn’t seem to be willing to wait, and poisonous chunks started flying at them one after another.

The firing speed was slow. Sally could easily dodge it, and Maple could somehow, too. Nevertheless, considering that the enemy was a poison-user, direct combat wasn’t an option.

“It stays on the floor!”

“Sally, watch out!”

The moment the poisonous projectiles hit the ground, they formed a poisonous pool. Along with the purple mist that compromised their vision, the battlefield was advantageous for the enemy.

Without the protection of [Loving Sacrifice], they wouldn’t even have time to talk.

“Just try shooting the ones that fly at you!”

“Got it!”

Maple deployed her weapon and fired a barrage of bullets in the direction of the poisonous liquid. Then, she changed the angle, causing one of the bullets to ricochet from the ceiling to the ground, before hitting something and shaving a chunk of its HP.

Sensing a response, the two continued to close the distance. Sally, who took the lead while staying within the range of [Dedicated Affection], discovered the true identity of the boss.

“It seems to be slime…!”

A large, fluid purple body, from which the purple mist continued to leak out. Apparently, the entirety of its body was made of poison. No limbs, no eyes, no mouth. Almost like a living poison.

“[Cover Move]!”

With Maple catching up, Sally could expand her range of movement.

The Boss slowly approached. Of course, Sally could handle that with ease. She summoned [Oboro], coated her weapon with fire and water, before driving them into the boss, quickly closing the distance.

“[Quintuple Slash]!”

The blades struck deep, leaving deep marks and scattering damage effects. Regardless, even with the additional triple damage dealt by the skill, it wasn’t as hard-hitting as she expected.

“How difficult… Damage Cut?”

Before the Boss could fight back, Sally temporarily retreated. She narrowed her eyes, watching the Boss’ every move.

Then, the boss began to swell, and immediately spewed out a toxic gas that was a darker shade of purple than what was filling the area.

“Sally!”

The rapidly spreading gas was difficult to avoid. Although there was [Dedicated Affection], Maple told Sally to stay close just in case. Then, the gas enveloped them both.

“Ugh…!?”

“Well, I did expect it to take effect!”

An icon appeared, indicating that Maple was poisoned. Once again, she suffered from a reduction in resistance, just like with the snakes on the ground. Unsurprisingly, the Boss could inflict the same status ailment.

…But this time, they had nowhere to escape.

“Maple, please recover all your HP.”

“[Throne of the Heavenly King] [Afterglow of Salvation] [Meditation]!”

In addition to Maple’s self-healing ability, the items received from Iz when fighting the boss generated a healing green mist that had a sustained healing effect. The five-fold recovery effect, including the strategically used potions, rapidly restored Maple’s declining HP. After seeing Chrome in action, Maple understood the strength of constant recovery.

“I think it’ll work if it’s just poison.”

Nevertheless, Maple couldn’t leave the throne. She also couldn’t attack due to [Meditation]. Currently, Maple was akin to a structure that spread absolute protection over her surroundings.

“I have no choice but to draw the Boss here… But I wonder if it will work?”

The Boss would only shoot poisonous bullets when they were far away and wouldn’t engage in close combat. They didn’t expect the boss to be able to fight an endurance battle in this poison. At the same time, unless one of them—more precisely, Sally and the others—made a move, they’d forever be at an impasse.

But Sally couldn’t leave Maple’s protection.

Should she use [Flash Flood] to attract the boss? As Sally pondered that, Maple called out to her.

“Sally! This might be your chance!”

“…?”

“Looks like the boss has reduced resistance too!”

“…! Okay, leave it to me!”

Somehow, her close friend never entertained a single thought of Sally having a difficult time—or losing, for that matter—in this battle. Did Maple believe in her strength? Or was it the belief that they could overcome anything as long as they were together?

Hoping it was the latter, Sally tweaked her plan.

The snake was simply an appetizer, and now it was time for the main course.

The Boss might be precisely what they were looking for. Sally began preparing herself to deliver the poisonous mass to Maple.