Chapter 149

Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 149

Defense Specialization and the 5th Layer

After the fox completely turned into light and vanished, a path that led to the 5th layer appeared in front of them .

“Thank you, Frederica . I’ll help you if you ever need it . See you later then”

“…Ah, uh, sure . ”

Frederica had not quite fully comprehended the situation yet, and could only mumble in reply . But Maple had already left to the 5th layer .

“Maple, but where? Oh, there…”

As Frederica stood motionless in her thoughts, the player who was next to her started to talk .

“Where? If we knew where she got that skill…”

As his head started to function properly again, a certain possibility had struck him .

“Hmm, it was probably the white Oni from the 4th layer . ”

“Did she find out a way to weaken him…?”

“I don’t know . It’s Maple…”

Frederica thought that Maple would have killed him without weakening him .

She had no proof of course, but that was how much faith she had in Maple .

A conviction that Maple was that strong .

“Finally, in the 5th layer!”

Maple stepped foot onto the 5th layer a little late compared to the rest of Maple Tree .

The somewhat springy and soft ground was a stainless white .

This was a country of clouds . A paradise in the sky .

“It’s softer than my bed at home . ”

She enjoyed the sensations under her feet as she made her way to the guild home .

“So this is the new town, huh . ”

Beyond the cloud walls was an almost blindingly white town .

The walls and roads were white in a way that would have been impossible in real life .

“Oh? But this isn’t made of clouds?”

Maple touched the walls of a house and felt that it had a smooth texture .

Unlike the clouds under her feet, this felt like polished stone .

“Well, I’m standing on clouds right now, I bet this layer has all kinds of different materials . ”

As Maple walked, she realized that not everything here was made of clouds . She checked her map several times until she arrived at the guild home .

Maple opened the white door and went inside .

“No one…is here . Okay, I guess I’ll log out for today . Ahh, I am so tired!”

Maple brought out the blue panel and tapped the logout button .

She sprawled out on her bed when she returned to reality .

“Really, I think I might have fought more today than any day ever . But at least I was able to get to the 5th layer…I think I’ll relax there for a while . ”

And so she slept more deeply that day than usual .

A few days later .

Maple was talking with Sally in the guild home .

“Ah…you went over there…”

“Yep . I’ve never been so tired…”

“I bet . I thought something wasn’t right . ”

Translations by AsianHobbyist Website

“Now that I think of it, yeah . ”

And then Maple told her how she went to the 5th layer after defeating the Oni .

Maple then realized that she had shown Frederica ‘Pandemonium . ’

“I was so tired that I wasn’t thinking…”

Maple laughed apologetically, but Sally told her not to worry about it .

“Well, it’s fine, I guess? I don’t know if anyone is surprised anymore . ”

She had assumed that Frederica was at a level where she would know to expect anything, but Frederica was not really at that level yet .

That was Sally’s view as someone who had just stepped foot in that territory, and Sally was the person who was closest to Maple .

“I see . Oh, by the way, did you already explore this 5th layer?”

Sally thought about this question for a moment before answering .

“Not the whole layer, but a lot of it . There are many vertical areas with stairs and slopes . Also…”

“Also?”

“The ground here is very different, and I almost tripped while running . ”

“Really? Maybe I should be careful . ”

“It’s a matter of life and death for me…”

Having unreliable ground was a bigger problem for Sally than ferocious attacks and going against large numbers of enemies .

She would have to make adjustments, or all of her moves would get messed up .

“Are you going to go exploring now, Maple?”

“I’m fine for now . I feel like I did a week’s worth of fighting already . So I’ll explore some other time . ”

“Right… You should enjoy it at your own pace . It will last longer that way, and I want to play with you more . ”

Without a doubt, this feeling that hadn’t changed or wavered in Sally from the beginning was what drove her .

“Yeah, I’ll play and have fun . ”

“I hope so . Well then, I’m going to explore a little . Maybe I’ll find a nice view that you’ll like . ”

Sally stood up from the chair she was sitting on and smiled at Maple .

“Oh! How nice!”

“I’ll explore for you, so look forward to the results, okay?”

“I will! I will!”

“See you later then . ”

“Be safe . ”

Sally then left and closed the door carefully behind her .

“Right . So she won…”

Translations by AsianHobbyist Website She leaned back on the door and looked up at the sky .

The vast blue sky reflected in Sally’s eyes .

Sally closed her eyes and took in a quiet, deep breath before moving away from the door and walking .

“I don’t want to lose . Yes . ”

Sally started to run in order to shorten the distance between them .

“I’m the one that asked you to play, but I hate losing… I’m sorry . ”

Sally mumbled, even though no one could hear her .