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 499

Defense Specialization and the Third Floor Area (3)

After reminiscing for a while and relaxing while gazing at the underground lake, the two of them were satisfied. When they returned to town, they immediately proceeded with the upgrade.

With this, two important enhancements had been completed. Flight Speed and Flight Time—the flying machine had been upgraded by one level.

“Although it’s only the first level, the flight time has increased considerably.”

“The 10^th Floor is so vast, so it’s helpful.”

Quests, free explorations… As the two of them were thinking about what to do next, they received a message.

“It’s from Iz.”

“She also forwarded the message to me. She asked us to come if we have time. What do you think?”

“Why not? Let’s go!”

“Okay, I’ve just finished my quest. Let’s go right away.”

After replying to the message, the two decided to head to where Iz was waiting.

Taking advantage of the flying machine’s enhanced flight speed, the two fly towards the center of the town.

Looking around the town that was still largely unexplored, they had high hopes for future tourism.

The sight of large gears meshing together, an elevator-like device that went up the walls of a tall tower, and the townscape, with its height differences due to the presence of flying machines, seemed to be just as rewarding to explore as the other terrains.

Of course, there were towns other than the one in the Third Floor Area that served as bases.

There are still many places to explore.

After enjoying the view from the skies, the two arrived at the guild home. They had promised to meet Iz there. Soon, they opened the door.

The first thing that caught their eye was Iz, who was reclining against the back of a large sofa in the guild home, seemingly dead tired

“Iz! Here I am!”

“Thank you for your hard work… It seems like something happened?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Iz filled Maple and Sally in on what happened in the Third Floor Area before they got their hands on [Magic of the Demon King].

“After a while, the four of us, including Mai, Yui, and Kanade, headed to the Third Floor Area, and the content of the quest became clear to an extent.”

“Everyone wants a flying machine.”

Apart from the main quest on the 10^th Floor, the questline in the Third Floor Area would reward the player with a flying machine, so it was only natural for that particular area to become popular among the players.

“—I’ve heard from Mai and Yui that the content of the quest is mostly incomplete.”

“That’s right. I don’t think anyone has cleared it yet.”

““…?””

According to Iz, although there were some difficult quests, they weren’t something that a player who was able to smoothly reach the 10^th Floor couldn’t win. Contrary to their imaginations, many of the quests had been completed by someone else at least once.

“Amazing! Is that so?”

“So it’s unfinished… Does that mean nobody has found the [Magic of the Demon King] yet?”

“That’s right. That’s just how it was. The Magic of the Demon King wasn’t mentioned in any of the quests they’d taken…”

“I see. In that case, it wouldn’t be strange if there were some undiscovered quests.”

The Third Floor Area had a huge number of quests. Nevertheless, it was a bit jarring that there was no [Magic of the Demon King] to be found there.

It was precisely because of that belief that many players, including Iz and the others, went on to comb the area in search for unsolved puzzles.

“Then, how did it go?”

“I couldn’t find anything. In the first place, if I can find it, someone else would’ve probably discovered it already.”

Apparently, Iz wasn’t able to achieve the results she’d hoped for through her exploration, but that was only to be expected since no one had a clue.

“It’s just—…”

““What is it?””

“It isn’t the case for Kanade.”

When Iz spoke with a smile, the two waited for the continuation, waiting for a good report.

[Maple Tree], which consisted of dependable members, was an expert in solving these puzzles. A member with impeccable memory, who wouldn’t forget what they saw. A member with reasoning ability that could decipher the creative language of the game. A member who could sense something out of place, which would’ve normally gone unnoticed.

“Kanade discovered quests that otherwise wouldn’t appear in the normal questline, and apparently, they were connected to the next quests… So, they cleared some of them.”

The questline that Kanade found was probably connected to the [Magic of the Demon King]. The difficulty level had also increased rapidly. There were quests that couldn’t be completed with a party consisting of Iz, Kanade, Mai, and Yui.

“Ah, come to think of it, what happened to the three of you?”

Mai and Yui were the main attackers that Kanade relied on to solve the puzzle. The three of them were nowhere to be seen at the guild home.

“They are on the Eighth Floor Area… It’s a place with underwater exploration. It seems like there’s a puzzle-solving element there as well, so I asked them to go there first.” (Iz)

“You made the right call. When it comes to an unknown language, there’s nothing we can do.” (Sally)

“I have to thank you again!” (Maple)

“That’s why I’d like to ask the two of you to help me clear the quest.” (Iz)

“Of course!” (Maple)

“Let’s be the first to find the answer before everyone else does.” (Sally)

“How reassuring. I’m counting on you.” (Iz)

““Yes!”” (Maple & Sally)

The two girls had a wide range of abilities and were the top two of Maple Tree in both name and reality.

They had the strength to follow the path that their guild members had paved for them.

“Then I want you to help me right away.”

“Let me take care of it!”

“I’ll take you to the quest location. My flying machine can accommodate multiple people.”

“Oh, right…”

Back in the Third Floor, it was an unpopular type because it made it difficult to use weapons during battle. However, if it was only for moving around, then it wasn’t so bad. Iz was also the type of player that didn’t place emphasis on combat, so her choice made sense.

“Hehe, it’s a little different from when we were on the Third Floor.”

““…?””

“You’ll understand once you see it.”

Although they still didn’t understand exactly what Iz was getting at, the three of them decided to go on the quest as they had decided.

The two of them left the guild home and immediately saw the flying machine that Iz was using.

“This is my flying machine!”

“Ooh—!”

“Uhm… What is this?”

What was in front of them was a foreign object that couldn’t be thought of as a flying machine. If anything, it resembled Maple’s [Machine God]. A large amount of additional armor made it seem more like an armored car or tank than a normal vehicle. The flying machine had clearly been modified with attachments obtained by clearing many quests—including multiple cannons, lasers, various elemental weapons, and boosters.

“Because of the large body, it can be equipped with many attachments. It comes at the cost of reduced mobility, though…”

Advantages not found in boot types. With this, Iz could play a more active role in the fight than usual. At least, the strange-looking armored vehicle in front of them was impressive enough to make them think so.

“Although it seems pretty strong, this alone isn’t enough to guarantee that we’ll win, right?”

“That’s right. Of course I’ll support you.”

“I’ll do my best!”

No doubt, a powerful enemy was waiting. Maple and Sally boarded the flying machine while listening to information about monsters from Iz.

While the inside resembled a car, it also had a cockpit. Along with many levers and buttons. A bunch of radar screens were projected in the air, emitting light. However, it was unclear what they were showing.

“Wow, it seems complicated…”

“I modified it too much and it ended up like this. But once you learn it, it’s useful in many situations.”

When Iz pulled the lever and operated a few buttons, there was a startup sound as the machine soared into the air.

“It’s a little far, but I don’t think it’ll take long.”

With that said, the flying machine piloted by Iz sped up through the skies at a speed that was incomparable to Maple’s.

Within a few minutes, Iz had reached her destination and dropped Maple and Sally off, before pressing a few buttons to alight from the flying machine.

Then, the flying machine carrying the three people suddenly became smaller and floated near Iz.

“I can use this right away whenever we fight.”

“As expected, it has been remodeled anew…”

“Basically that.”

“Uhm, what should I do here?”

There were many large springs, gears, and things that looked like mechanical parts lying in front of Maple and her friends. At the same time, the complete lack of monsters made it difficult to guess what to do at first glance.

“It looks like something is waiting to happen, but…”

“Without any clue, it’s impossible to know what to do.”

“Actually, we need to supply the right amount of energy. Kanade found out the detailed numbers and… The conditions themselves.”

After saying that, Iz handed over a number of items while giving instructions to the two.

“W-wait, there are so many…?”

“Uh, yeah, I wonder if I can hold on to these many…?”

“You might want to put them in a basket. If we put them inside our inventory, they might disappear.”

“Let’s do just that!”

“Certainly, finding these by accident won’t help.”

All of the items given to them could be used for elemental attacks. Judging from the amount, if they were to find it by chance, they’d definitely use them up. Perhaps, there were no monsters in the area to make it less likely for that to happen.

“Let’s get ready. Kanade was the first to find it.”

“Uh-huh!”

Maple and the others quickly finished their preparations, reported to Iz, and waited.

“Fei [String of Water]!”

With Fei’s skill, a thin layer of water stretched out, connecting the springs and gears like a fuse. It was the preliminary preparation for activating all items at once.

“Ready. Let’s go.”

Once triggered, the items would take effect all at once. The electric shock that burst from the yellow crystal crushed in Iz hand ran through the extended string of water, scattering effects everywhere.

It was followed by a deep bass sound. After a while, the various parts started to move, scattering blue sparks right in front of them, conjuring a magic circle of the same color.

“It’ll disappear soon, so hurry up and get on it.”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

When they lined up the timing and jumped on top of the magic circle, a crackling, intense light illuminated the area, transporting the three to another location.