Defense Specialization and Exploring the Underground

The two headed downstairs, wary of every step they took.

The voice was getting louder and louder. They were walking down the stairs with Kaede in front,
ready for a surprise attack, when they saw an old door.
Kaede put her hand on the doorknob.

「…It’s not locked. I’ll open it.」

「O-okay. Alright, do it!」

Kaede held up her great shield while opening the door. The voice became clearer and more
audible as she opened the door.

「It hurts… it hurts… ahhh… ah…」

Kaede peeked out from behind her great shield and peered inside.
There was a half melted candle on the ground in the room.
What it illuminated was a man tied to a chair, covered in blood.

「He doesn’t seem hostile…? Not a player, either.」

Following Kaede, Risa also fearfully peeked out from behind Kaede. Then she cringed at this
pitiful sight.

「What should we do?」

「U-uh… he says it hurts… I want to heal him…」

「I have 【Heal】, okay? Should I try?」

「Yup… please do!」

The plan was decided and Risa used 【Heal】.
A gentle light enveloped the man and the man’s wounds healed a bit. It was still far from full
recovery.

「Once more! 【Heal】!」

Risa used 【Heal】 over and over again while checking how the wounds were healing.
The man’s wounds were finally all healed after she used the two MP potions she brought with
her.
The two smiled in satisfaction.

「Thank… you…」
The man, whose wounds had healed, smiled, and his body gradually turned into white light that
slowly faded and finally disappeared.

「Does that mean he’s… passed away?」

「I don’t think so. Maybe he wasn’t alive and… hmm?」

Risa found something on the chair the man was sitting on. In this dimly lit room, it was shining
faintly in the light of the candle.
Risa picked it up.

「Is this… a ring?」

「Oh! Is it a thank you from that man?」

Risa checked the abilities of that pitch black ring.

【Ring of Life】
【HP＋100】

「Hmmm… a higher level replacement for Maple’s Toughness Ring? The conditions
for acquiring it being so simple and it being to that extent an amazing piece of
equipment, I’d like to…」
Risa said and handed the ring to Kaede.

「Offer it to Maple. I don’t see much point in increasing my HP.」

「Eh… but are you sure? It might be event-only equipment, you know?」

「If you really don’t like the idea of accepting it for free, then you owe me. I’m sure
you will get some equipment you don’t need from this event, Maple, so if it’s okay with
you…」
「I get it! Then I’ll give it to Sally!… Well then, I am grateful to receive and equip
this…」
With this, Kaede’s HP doubled from 100 to 200.
It could be said that the number became quite comfortable.
At the same time, her accessory slots were filled, so it would be difficult to raise her HP from
here.

「Let’s go back to sleep again…」

「Is this the only event in this forest?」

「Um… well, maybe? There might be at least one more but… the time of day seems
to affect it. And this one looks like an event that occurs at twelve o’clock.」
Other events, like the time when the ghosts appeared, were probably time-dependent, so they
concluded that they would have to spend a few days exploring here to properly find out.

「Then tomorrow, we’ll head out of the forest.」

「Yeah, let’s do that.」

For Risa, this forest wasn’t a place she wanted to stay in for too long.
When they came out of the basement, they decided to put the furniture back in its place and
take turns sleeping as they had originally planned.

「Well then, good night, Maple.」

「Good night! I’ll keep a close watch, don’t worry!」

「He-he… thanks.」
And so the night went on as they took turns keeping watch.
The second day.

「Alright, let’s do our best today!」

「Mhm!」
The two had a light breakfast and then left the abandoned house and proceeded out of the
forest.
To save time, Risa carried Kaede on her back in the usual style.
They ran for an hour, with Risa occasionally climbing a tree to check which way the
mountainous area was.
Finally, the end of the forest came into view.

「Alright! We are out!」

「Yep! It’s been so long since I was out in the light; it’s so bright, it’s blinding…」
Kaede put her equipment back on and stretched.
In front of them was a wasteland with almost no grass. And it extended into the mountainous
region.

「Can’t have such a change in environment outside a game!」

「It’s exciting to not know what the next scenery will be like!」
The two chatted as they made their way through the wasteland. Because of the terrain, it was
easy to spot monsters approaching, so it was easy to search for them.
That was why they were able to spot the three player-like figures walking in the distance.

「Maple. Someone’s there.」

「What about the equipment? Should I save 【Eating Inedibles】?」

「I think you might want to use 【Eating Inedibles】 if it’s going to be a battle straight
away… you should be able to rush in with 【Cover Move】… and then…」
Risa told Kaede the other plan in a whisper.
「Got it.」
The two proceeded with increased caution. Since Maple came third in the last event, most
players would know her face.
With some people, there was a chance that they would attack her to take away the medals.
As they made their way forward, the other side also seemed to notice the two, so they stopped
and began to discuss.
Then, without raising their weapons, the three walked towards them.
The three players were an unbalanced party, all three of them male, with a great sword, a short
sword, and a one-handed sword.
When they came close enough to hear each other, the three of them spoke out.

「Woah! Considering it’s the first time we’ve met someone… I didn’t expect it to be
a ranked player from last time…」

「I’m really scared… and we aren’t trying to fight, so please, let us go…!」

「We’re just going to climb the mountain now, you see… and I don’t want to waste
my skills.」

「Alri-ight. We’re going to climb the mountain now too, you know. I’m sure there’s
something about that mountain…」
The three seemed to be on the same page with what Kaede had said and offered to come
along.

「What do you think, Sally?」

「…sounds good, I guess?」

And so, the five of them headed for the mountains.

「Then I’ll take the lead… and Maple will stand in front of you three to protect you.」

「O-okay! I’ll protect you from whatever monster we face!」

Kaede held up her great shield vigorously.

「You sure are reliable.」

「For real.」
They walked while listening to the three whispering to each other behind them.
Although they met several monsters along the way, Risa defeated them without Maple having to
worry about protection.
And like that, they approached their destination.

「Alright, one final push!」

Kaede stretched herself out.
At that moment.

「Attack now! 【Armor Crush】!」

「【Defense Break】!」

「【Throughblade】!」
The three people behind Kaede slashed at her together.
Defense piercing skills approached Kaede.
Their coordination was smooth, as if they had been watching for Kaede to show an opening all
along.
It was a surprise attack that couldn’t have been more unexpected.

「【Cover Move】!」
However, these deadly blades would not reach Kaede.
The other strategy Risa told her was that if the three were to accompany them, Kaede would
deliberately show an opening and expose their true intentions.
Risa had figured that if they offered to accompany her, there was a good chance that they would
attack her.

As long as Risa was nearby, Kaede had the fastest way to dodge the attack.
Though she said it wasn’t absolutely safe, Kaede agreed with Risa’s suggestion.
And she had been paying attention to the three men.
The men failed to notice that Kaede and Risa were observing them.
They were so intent on hunting their prey that they couldn’t think about the fact that they might
become the prey themselves.

「Wha!?」
The men were astonished that their surprise attack was unsuccessful and stopped moving.
They must have been absolutely confident.

「【Hydra】!」
The poison dragon, unleashed as a counterattack, mercilessly swallowed the three of them and
shaved off their HP bars.

「I didn’t expect them to actually attack…」

「Well, you’re a target for a reason, Maple, and it’s a good thing we’re on the lookout
for that, right?」

「I managed to activate 【Cover Move】 straight away! It could have been a close call
without it…」

「That aside… any medals? They may have dropped some.」

At Risa’s suggestion, Kaede proceeded through the sea of poison. She searched the ground
around the area where she defeated the three of them, but no medals had dropped.

「I guess that means getting rich quick isn’t something to aim for.」

「Exactly.」
This first PvP of the event ended with Kaede and Risa winning.

「Let’s get back into the swing of things… let’s go and climb the mountain!」
「Mhm!」
The two started walking toward the mountains again.