Chapter 300

Defense Specialization and Base Building

Some time afterward . After they had finished the dungeon, they flew around to a few of the other locations that Sally had marked . But they were all misses .

“Phew… It sure is hard to find them…”

“Yes . And it’s almost time for the monsters to come out . It might be better to reunite with the others instead of entering another dungeon . ”

They still didn’t know how strong the monsters were, so it was a bad time to take any chances . Getting through dungeons was important, but so were the medals they would acquire through survival .

“I’ll try to get in contact with Chrome then . ”

While Sally sent the message, they rode on Tsukimi and Yukimi until they reached a clearing . As they didn’t have to fight other players this time, this would be a good place . Monsters would not be able to ambush them .

“Oh, they stopped entering dungeons and are looking for a place they can turn into a base . Seems like they found a promising cave . ”

“Ohh! Let’s go and meet them then!”

“Now we won’t have to worry during the night!”

“I’ll send you the location, can you take us there, Mai and Yui?”

“Of course!”

“Of course!”

They raised Tsukimi and Yukimi’s speed as they rushed through fields and forests in order to reach Chrome and the others .

While they encountered some monsters on the way, they were no threat to these four, and they were able to unite with the others without trouble .

“Ah! Over there! Heey!”

Maple shouted as she waved her hands . Chrome and the others noticed them and came running .

“Ah, you’re here . It seems like things went well for you too . ”

Everyone in the guild had earned two silver medals . That meant they just needed to gather three more and survive until the end, and they would reach their goal of getting ten medals .

“Oh, that’s right . We found a cave that we can use as our base . It’s over here . ”

Chrome led the others into the cave . It seemed to continue quite far back, and while there were no lights like in the dungeons, there were several interconnecting chambers inside, like an ants nest .

“It does remind me of a dungeon…but I guess it’s empty…”

“Yeah, there are quite a few places like this that resemble dungeons . I think they’re for resting in . ”

“Alright, then we better get this place ready for the night! We have to make it more comfortable!”

The surface of the cave couldn’t be all exposed rock if they wanted to spend the night in comfort . Some modifications were necessary to keep their morale up .

“I have items that won’t disappear even if they are taken out . While I don’t have much furniture, I can make some now . ”

“Hmm . I’m so glad you’re here . I should receive some items from Izu and set up defense traps . ”

“I’ll help you!”

“I’ll help you!”

“We don’t have much time . Maple and I can share the load . We have to complete a defense system . ”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

Due to Maple’s nature, Maple Tree was better at protecting, rather than attacking . They needed to ensure that there was only one entrance and use items to their fullest . Like this, an average cave could be turned into a fortress with incredible defense ability .

Maple also received items from Izu, and started to customize the room .

“Hmm…what should I do… There’s a lot of space, and I need to make it so you can’t pass through here…”

And so just like before, Maple used Venom Capsules to fill up the space in the room . And then she waited for the room to be filled with poison .

“Alright . Hmm . But that’s not enough . It will break if they attack from the passage…”

The poison that Maple created caused instant death at a very high rate . So as long as they hit their target, she could kill them in one hit .

“…I know! Uh, the item I got from Izu…here!”

Maple moved loudly through the poison and started to set the items .

These were traps that reacted to attacks by spraying water and throwing the enemy into the air . However, Maple didn’t want to throw monsters into the air, but the poison . Once she was finished installing enough of them, she tried to block the passage so that the poison wouldn’t flow to their side .

“Hmm… I don’t have any good items for… Ah, that’s right . ‘Throne of the Heavenly King’!”

Maple placed the throne inside of the narrow entrance, and then used pieces of wood to forcefully fill in the gaps and complete the blockade .

“Alright! This room is finished! Next!”

Maple ran to the next room in order to strengthen their defense . After she had repeated the process in a few rooms, she found Mai and Yui .

“Are things going well?”

“Ah! Maple!”

“Y-you shouldn’t come in…!”

“Huh? Wa! Ah?!”

It was just as Maple had taken one step inside . A boulder that was so big that she wouldn’t have been able to wrap her arms around it, suddenly fell from the ceiling and landed on her head . There was a loud bang as it bounced off and rolled onto the ground . As if that was the trigger, more and more boulders began to fall .

Once it was finished, Mai and Yui hopped around frantically towards Maple, who came out of the rubble unharmed .

“Th-that was a surprise… I’m sorry! I activated the traps you set up!”

“It’s okay! Besides, I’m just glad that you’re okay . ”

“I’ll help you set them up again . But I can’t call Syrup…so you can climb on this shield!”

Maple changed her equipment so that she had the three great shields . Mai and Yui picked up the boulders and stood on top of the shields so they could set up the traps again .

“Uhhh… I’ll have to be careful when checking the other rooms . ”

“You can get through if you walk carefully… So you shouldn’t have any trouble when getting out . ”

“Oh, I see… The same can’t be said for the rooms I did . ”

Apparently, Maple was not very good at setting traps . And she felt a little disappointed as she thought back on the rooms that she had customized .

There was no question about those rooms being able to defeat intruders, but on the other hand, no guild members would be able to go in .

“I might have to discuss it with Sally and remake them…”

“Wh-what kind of room is it?”

“Ehehe . Well…”

And so Maple answered Yui’s question as they finished setting up the traps again . And then they left the room .

As Mai and Yui’s room was also incredibly lethal, they almost felt sorry for any monster that might go in .

From there, the three of them set up rock and poison traps in the remaining rooms . Then with satisfied expressions, they returned to the area in the far back . Here, there were now lights and a table . And partitions had also been set up so they had a place to rest . Perhaps she had even gotten a little ambitious, as Izu had spread out a carpet and was even hanging up some wallpaper .

Half of the room had not been altered, and it was there that they would drive back any monsters that managed to get past the traps .

“Wow! It’s so nice now!”

“Ah, welcome back . Did you finish setting up the traps then?”

“Yes! All set!”

“We finished everything . ”

“We’re almost finished here too . I think it’ll be a lot more comfortable than it was during the 4th event . ”

As a finishing touch, Izu set up a cannon in the area facing the entrance, and then put up a wall so the enemy wouldn’t be able to get in all at once . Then she sighed .

“That was a lot of work . But it was a good experience . Also, it was really fun . ”

“Th-that’s amazing . You must have used up a lot of materials? We have to gather more…”

“I didn’t use much that was valuable . Still, I’d welcome your help later . ”

“We’ll help you whenever you want!”

As the four of them talked like this, the other four finished setting up their traps and returned .

“Ahh, I finished . However, you’ll have to be very careful when going out . It’s crazy, and a lot of them will kill you if you make a mistake . ”

They were all in agreement about this and nodded . Then Maple suddenly raised her head as if remembering something .

“Ah! That’s right . What should we do if other players come in? They’ll trigger the traps!”

“Mmm . Ah, it’s fine . I put up a sign outside . ”

“Huh? Oh, you did? Thank you, Sally! Uhh, what does it say?”

“‘Maple Tree’s Base – High Quantity of Dangerous Objects . No Guarantee of Survival . ’”

“…Well, that’s not wrong . ”

“If anything, you could say that it couldn’t be more correct . ”

“Yes . This place is covered in traps . ”

After preparing this dungeon full of deadly traps, the time for the appearance of powerful monsters finally came .

“In any case, let’s get ready to face them . ”

“Yes . We don’t know what kinds of monsters will come out . ”

They hid behind the wall that Izu had built between the areas, and held their weapons ready so that they could attack immediately . As they waited, they heard the sounds of the earth shaking above them, and they knew that something had entered the dungeon .

“Something is here . ”

“Yes, I’m ready to attack . ”

A nervous air filled the room . However, the shaking soon subsided, and no matter how long they waited, nothing appeared .

“…Did they die?”

“Probably… But it will be necessary to confirm the state of the traps . ”

Not only would they be able to find out what kind of powerful monster had come in, but if they had succeeded in killing it, it would be necessary to reset the trap .

“I’ll go with Maple . We’ll be able to run even in the worst case scenario . ”

“That’s true . And even if you accidentally trigger a trap, it will be fine if Maple is there . ”

And so the two of them stepped out of the resting area . In the passage leading up to the surface, they found a single monster that had horns like Maple’s Savagery . It looked like a demon without eyes and nose, but had demonic wings and a spear as it flew around, spreading damage effects everywhere . Then it splattered over the floor and disappeared into light .

“Ahh… It must have been desperately trying to survive . ”

“Yes . Well, that’s our goal as well . ”

While it was hard to tell which of them were the dungeon boss now, this devil had given them some valuable information .

“I think this means we’re lacking in anti-aerial measures . ”

“That’s true . But we can improve the traps now . ”

And so Maple and Sally went around to check the other traps . All of them had been triggered from the entrance onwards . And judging by the immense amount of materials on the ground, they had been monsters that walked on the ground .

“It’s not that difficult to set them up again . Let’s call the others so we can get to work . ”

“Yes . Oh, that’s right! Mai and Yui can carry the large boulders . We can block off passages and force the monsters to head into traps!”

“That would be great . I want to sleep soundly, so our defenses must be rock steady . ”

They took pictures that would show the situation and then returned to the back .

Just as night started to fall, they finished resetting the traps and decided to take turns resting .

“Now, it seems like the strong monsters will come here on their own . So there’s nothing to do but take turns sleeping . ”

“But why don’t we just block the entrance, just in case? It should be easy for Mai and Yui . ”

“Can you, Mai and Yui?”

“Yes, it will be fine!”

“Yes, it will be fine!”

Yui and Mai headed towards the entrance of the area and then blocked it with the same kind of large boulders that they had used for the traps .

“Alright . Now we’ll know if something is trying to force their way in . ”

The monsters would have to break a number of boulders first . So they would have time to react when they heard the sounds of them breaking . You could say that an ambush would be very difficult .

“Now, there’s nothing to worry about…”

“Heey! Sally! Why don’t we play over here?”

Just as Sally sighed in relief, Maple called her from the living space . She had several items in her inventory that would help them kill time . Sally looked at Maple, who smiled and waved her hand like she always did . She smiled just a little in return, and walked towards Maple . And like that, they played and rested on their first night, just as it got darker and darker outside .