I hate being in pain, so I think I'll make a full defense build

328 Part 3

Her counter attacks were perfect. Sally didn’t need to use her skills. She tore the stone statue apart by pure technique. Even without flashy and powerful skills, you could tell at a glance how amazing it was.

“This is my first time seeing it in person…”

“Yes… It doesn’t look like she’s using any debuffs on it. Uhh, Miss Sally really is…just dodging.”

“Ehehe. Isn’t she amazing!”

“She is!”

Maple was just as proud as she would have been if they were talking about her. To the side, Velvet stared hard at Sally’s every move. Even she could tell that Sally wasn’t using any special skill that allowed her to dodge like that. And as Sally was currently only relying on basic combat and physical ability, you could not really say that she was going all out yet.

“Hmm! I’m really looking forward to it!”

Velvet relished the thought of the upcoming fight as she watched Sally, who never seemed like she was ever in any real danger of being hit.

In the end, Sally did destroy the stone statue with the great sword. And she was not hit a single time. The only skill she used was Fire Child.

“Good work, Sally!”

“Oh, thanks.”

“Great job! I’m suddenly…much more excited about it!”

“That’s good.”

“I want to watch you fight again and again! I don’t think that statue was strong enough.”

As long as their attacks could land, they had the power to easily erase a single player with low defense ability. However, when it came to players who could repeatedly use stun attacks or could dodge perfectly, well, it was no wonder that they appeared weak.

“But the boss is pretty strong, right?”

“Not when compared to you. So let’s hurry up and get that out of the way so we can get to our main business!”

“At least you’re enthusiastic.”

Velvet talked excitedly, and Sally listened to her as she walked to the next gate. Maple and Hinata watched the two as they followed.

“They seem to be getting along. Almost like they’re in sync?”

“They’re both…similar in some ways.”

“I think so too!”

Perhaps the reason they seemed to be getting along so well even though they just met, was because their disposition was very similar.

“Do you know how many checkpoints there are?”

“Uhh…there’s one left. So if you include the boss, there will be two more battles.”

“Thanks! Well, since they already fought, I guess it’s our turn now.”

“Um, I’m not really…fit for fighting alone. So either you will have to fight by yourself…or team up with me.”

Hinata specialized in debuffs. Even if she could weaken an enemy greatly, she did not have the abilities to defeat them completely on her own.

“Then we’ll do it together! And all four of us can fight the boss!”

“O-ok… I’ll do my best!”

“Alright, Sally! The two of use will do the next one!”

“I heard you. That poor statue.”

“Huh, what do you mean?”

“Uh, um. I just felt sorry for the statue for a second. Since it has to face you two.”

“That’s right. Hinata is really strong!”

“Maple is strong too.”

“Ahaha! I learned that the last time!”

These two had much more obvious advantages and disadvantages than Sally and Velvet. And so unless the next statue was dramatically different, then the result was as good as known.

They reached the final checkpoint as they neared the top. And just as planned, Maple and Hinata would challenge it.

“Let’s do our best!”

“Ye-yes.”

Maple held her great shield up as if to protect Hinata. Then they entered the room. The battle area was just like the previous one, but unlike before, there were two statues.

One of them was holding a giant bow that was made of stone, and the other wielded a great hammer.

“Woah, there are two of them!”

“Uhh, umm… I will stop their movements…!”

“You can do it! I’ll use ‘Dedicated Affection’!”

First, Maple activated Dedicated Affection so that the attacks would not reach Hinata. Then she called out Syrup and waited to see how Hinata would move.

“‘Cocytus.’”

The cold air that emitted from Hinata spread throughout the circular room in an instant, freezing the movements of the two statues. Maple’s own ‘Frozen Earth’ did not compare to this skill, which covered the statues in ice. This allowed the two to do whatever they wanted.

“Syrup, ‘Enlarge,’ ‘White Garden,’ ‘Red Garden,’ ‘Sinking Earth’!”

Maple and Hinata got onto Syrup’s back, and with that, they transformed the field into something that would be advantageous to them.

“‘Chain of Stars,’ ‘Disaster Spread,’ ‘Weak Ice Statue,’ ‘Gravity Creak.’”

It was the same skills she used when she and Velvet had fought the boss. And like that, the two statues were assaulted by cold winds and gravity attacks, which kept them from moving.

“More… ‘Rusting Armor,’ ‘Footsteps of the Dead.’”

Black mist flowed out of Hinata’s doll and started to cover the ground. As the statues could not move or escape it, they were enveloped, and their defense ability dropped even further. They were bound for a long, long time. Once your movements were stopped, there was no escaping the chain of skills that were activated. They were not permitted to attack even once.

“Miss Maple… Uh, if you could attack them now.”

“Yes! ‘Deploy all Weapons,’ ‘Commence Attack’!”

After being sunk into the ground, frozen, and crushed by gravity, the two stone statues were then subject to Maple’s guns, and without any way to resist.

“Woah! That’s so much damage!”

It was much higher than Maple was expecting, and their HP went down rapidly. Amidst the sounds of bullets flying, she could occasionally hear Hinata’s voice, which suggested she was still activating skills. As if to prove this, there was a split second where the statues began to move again, but then they were immediately frozen. On top of this, their defense ability continued to drop.

Even though Maple’s guns weren’t any more powerful than before, the enemies defenses had fallen so low that every single bullet hit with incredible weight.

“Maple told me about this…but it’s more than I imagined.”

“There’s no way you can get out of that!”

As Velvet and Sally watched, Hinata’s gravity and ice, and Maple’s terrain transformation and status effects made the statues nothing but targets. And the fight continued to be a one-sided affair until it ended.