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 Chapter 51

Defense Specialization and the Sixth Day of the Event

After a while, the two got up.

The place where they were transferred by the magic circle was on top of that cliff.

Looking back, they could see the ruins.

The deep hole that pierced the sea was gone.

「So, I guess we’ve cleared it?」

「Looks like it… though we didn’t get enough medals.」

「Oh yeah… two to go.」

The two had slept for quite a while, and it was now 9 am on the sixth day.

「The dungeons that haven’t been cleared yet… must be either very difficult or… not even discovered.」

「I see… then we should start walking right away.」

Maple was about to walk off.

However…

「Yep. But you know what? Maple doesn’t have any more 【skills for today】, right?」

「Eh—? …ah—! That’s true!」

The battle with the squid took place late at night, past twelve o’clock.

Neither 【Eating Inedibles】 nor 【Hydra】 could be properly utilized on the sixth day anymore.

One of Maple’s weaknesses was this poor fuel efficiency.

Fighting right after a day ended would greatly restrict Maple’s actions for the day.

「Well, players, I can take care of them, and… we can figure things out after we find a dungeon.」

Had it not been for Maple giving it her all, the outcome of the battle with the squid would have been different, on the other hand.

There was no point in talking about the had-beens.

「Let’s go along the coast for now. It is still stretching on.」

The two left the ruins and moved on.

「After we get the two remaining medals, how about we train Oboro and Syrup?」

「I like the sound of that!」

Because Maple and Sally were fighting only strong enemies, they weren’t able to raise the two critters.

Therefore, their levels were still low.

「Dungeons… once they are cleared, you can’t enter them, right?」

「Kanade said something like that, didn’t he?」

The two of them would naturally not be able to enter the sea dungeon any more.

On the left was the sea. On the right, there was nothing unusual, just a forest that stretched on and on.

「I say we have to target the players in earnest.」

「Mmm… it can’t be helped, I guess.」

Maple was not very positive about player killing, but in this hunt-or-be-hunted environment, she could see that it was inevitable.

Among the players they had encountered so far, there were many who wanted to take Maple and Sally down as well.

For that reason, she thought this way of thinking was the norm.

「If so… let’s go into the forest. Maple? Do you see that mountain?」

「Hmm? I can see it.」

「Let’s go over there. I think a prominent place like that would attract a lot of players.」

What Sally pointed at was another mountain in a slightly different location than the mountainous area they had climbed on the second day.

A dungeon was likely to be there, though due to the conspicuous terrain, even if it was there, it was likely to have been cleared.

「Well then… let’s go.」

The two headed for the mountain.

It was three hours after they had decided on a plan.

The two were in a cave halfway up the mountain.

Although they were able to see several players from far away, those players ran away full speed.

Sally gave up chasing them, knowing better than to leave Maple, whose fighting ability had been reduced to the limit.

「That’s why… you are hiding here, Maple, okay?」

「Got it! Sorry, I guess?」

「It’s fine, it’s fine! You did a great job in the squid battle.」

Sally navigated the blue panel and handed Maple the ring she had equipped.

It was a ring to connect with Oboro.

「My HP will go down, but… Oboro will be staying with me as a bodyguard, huh?」

Maple took off her Toughness Ring, put the ring on and summoned Syrup and Oboro.

「Well then… I’m off!」

「Good luck!」

Sally left the cave.

Syrup and Oboro had about as much power as average players.

They were capable of serving as guards to some extent.

If Maple got defeated, the medals they’d earned so far would be lost.

「It’s a big responsibility… yes!」

Although there was no boss room, this cave had probably originally been a dungeon, so it was large.

The cave was structured like an ant nest inside a mountain.

Maple was at the far end of that cave.

「【Venom Capsule】!」

To prevent friendly fire, she put Oboro and Syrup back in their rings and unfolded the poison capsule.

This was an ability that Maple could use even in her bare-bones state.

「Until Sally comes back… I have to stay alive.」

Maple’s poison encroached on the narrow cave passageways at regular intervals.

The dungeon became covered with poison bog that actually poisoned the player on touch.

It was as if Maple had become the new boss of this dungeon.

「Do-on’t come! No-o one come!」

Maple enlarged the capsule.

By the time Maple was releasing the poison, Sally had come out of the cave.

「If it’s just me… there must be a lot of players who think they can take me down.」

Maple’s appearance was known to many players.

The players who fled did so because they saw Maple’s distinctive equipment.

Everyone understood the danger of Maple.

However, it was different for Sally.

Sally was not yet known for anything.

Sally had the same level of abnormal ability as Maple and was more belligerent than her.

Almost no one knew that.

And Sally had nothing to lose at the moment.

She had left all the medals in Maple’s care.

「It’s been a while… time for an all-out rampage, huh?」

For Sally, fighting with Maple was fun, but fighting alone had a different charm.

Sally ran down the mountain.

The time of day was still early afternoon and visibility was good.

「Oh! There’s someone.」

Sally spotted a pair of women walking through the forest. The two were watching their surroundings and noticed Sally’s approach just at that moment.

「Let’s do this!」

「O-okay!」

One was equipped with a one-handed sword and the other with a spear.

The one with the one-handed sword was also equipped with a shield.

「【Gale Thrust】!」

The player with the one-handed sword was anticipating Sally’s reaction to the spear thrust toward her and made her next move.

Since she was equipped with daggers, she would probably evade the attack, and the player would strike her when she was off-balance.

Maybe that was the plan.

A normal player would either back away or avoid to the side.

The woman with the one-handed sword was dashing to close the distance, expecting her to back away this time.

This was probably the best thing to do, as it would have made it easier to handle a sideways dodge.

If Sally was normal, that is.

「Eh—!?」

Sally’s evasion was different.

She twisted her body to narrowly evade the spear and move forward. The dagger closed in on the spearwoman, who was full of openings.

「【Double Slash】!」

Red effects flew around, but the woman managed to survive.

She quickly pulled back her spear and swung it sideways in a sweeping motion.

「Seriously!?」

Sally evaded that spear by bending backwards. It was a reaction so fast it was hard to believe she was human, and the woman froze in shock.

「And that’s done.」

Sally’s dagger brought the woman’s HP bar to zero this time.

「【Power Blade】!」

A quick vertical cut came from behind Sally.

Gotcha.

The woman thought.

「…—!!」

It was as if she had eyes on her back.

Sally put her body into a hanmi stance.

TL note: stance with legs in an L-shape, with one leg bent in front and other extended behind

With that, the sword, aimed at the center of Sally’s body, passed just barely by her as if it were avoiding her entirely on its own.

「【Slash】!」

Slipping by the woman’s side, Sally slashed at her.

The woman felt creeped out.

The more she attacked, the worse her situation became.

「Kuh—…」

「【Wind Cutter】!」

She was staring at Sally, thinking about how she could make her attack hit, and she had no idea that her opponent was going to attack her with magic.

That was how panicked she was in front of the unusual opponent.

「Kuh—!」

The women avoided it by jumping sideways.

That was exactly what they had tried to set up in the first place; the women realized it as she lost her balance.

「Farewell.」

It was tough for the average player to win a head-on fight against a player who was this off-the-rails.

This time, no miracle happened.

「Well, no medals… sigh.」

Sally walked off in search of her next prey.

Coincidentally, many players were in the area on the sixth day.

Those players all began telling their stories after the event.

They said, 【It disappears like a phantom】.

They said, 【The sword itself is dodging】.

They said, 【Surely it’s a vision】.

The beginning of the massacre was at this very moment, giving rise to the event dubbed 【The Nightmare of the Sixth Day】.