Defense Specialization and Puzzle Solving, Part 2

After traversing through several rooms and correctly choosing the safe paths in the perilous underwater ruins, Maple and her friends continued to advance along the correct route.

“Whew, we’ve come across another strange place,” Maple remarked.

“It feels ominous. Something’s not right here,” Sally added with a hint of caution.

“What should we do?” Maple asked.

Upon opening an iron door, they found themselves in a large, square room. There were identical iron doors on each wall, but it was impossible to tell which one was the correct exit. Before entering the room, they carefully inspected the area around the doors and the corridor for any clues or hidden symbols, but they found nothing.

“Let’s check the back of the room. If there’s nothing, we’ll have to go in,” Sally suggested.

“Yeah, we don’t have much choice but to move forward,” Kanade agreed.

“Here, use the binoculars,” Maple offered.

“Thanks,” Sally said, taking the binoculars and thoroughly scanning the room. Although it meant using up some of their oxygen, it was better to be cautious when dealing with an unknown area.

“…There’s nothing. Nothing at all,” Sally concluded after her inspection.

“Hmm, what should we do? We could all go in together, or maybe just have Maple go in first,” Kanade proposed.

Sending Maple in alone could neutralize most damage-based traps, but if the doors locked or they were teleported, it could backfire. After discussing the risks, the group decided it was safest to enter together.

“I’ll prepare a defensive spell,” Kanade said, readying his magic.

“I’m ready to use any of my skills if needed!” Maple added confidently.

With Sou’s “Mimicry” allowing him to transform into Maple, their defensive capabilities were more than sufficient. If the trap was damage-based, they felt they could handle it together, so they focused on preventing the risk of being separated.

“We’ve been split up enough recently,” Sally said, recalling their previous encounters.

“Yeah! Let’s go together!” Maple agreed.

“Alright, we’re going in,” Kanade said as the three of them stepped into the room in unison. As soon as they entered, the door behind them slammed shut with a loud clang, locking them in. While they remained on guard, a mechanical sound echoed through the water, and symbols were projected into the room. Sally frowned at the sheer length of the text.

“It’s long…!” Sally exclaimed.

“Kanade, read it!” Maple urged.

“…Got it!” Kanade responded, focusing intently. He quickly and accurately read the symbols, ensuring no mistakes. The projected text disappeared within seconds, but Kanade’s memory and speed were more than enough to capture all the necessary information.

“I’ll break it down! Stone pillars will start extending from all directions in this room. If you’re crushed, it’s game over. We need to find the safe coordinates or the safe room indicated!” Kanade explained.

“How will we know where it’s safe?” Sally asked.

“The coordinates will be shown through a combination of floating text and lights. Monsters will also appear to hinder us, so we need to deal with them!” Kanade continued.

They needed to combine the information from both the text and the lights to identify the safe zones. Kanade was crucial for deciphering the symbols.

“Maple, handle the monsters! Kanade, keep reading the symbols! I’ll focus on the lights!” Sally directed.

“Understood!” Maple replied.

Reading and interpreting long strings of symbols in real time was too difficult for Maple and Sally, but they could rely on Maple’s strong area attacks to deal with the monsters. Sally, with her sharp memory and quick thinking, took charge of the lights. Though Kanade would have been ideal for both tasks, they had to work with what they had.

“You sure you’re okay with this? If it’s too hard, I can handle both…” Kanade offered.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this. I may not have your memory, but I’m good at remembering safe spots,” Sally reassured him.

“Alright then, I’m counting on you!” Kanade said, trusting her.

“Okay!” Sally focused, readying herself for the task ahead.

The room quickly came to life as small squares of the floor lit up, marking some areas in red. Sally’s eyes immediately identified the non-red areas as dangerous, and she quickly memorized the safe spots. She employed her evasive techniques, treating the entire room as one large attack pattern, ensuring she perfectly remembered the safe zones. This skill, honed through countless battles, made her a master of avoiding damage.

“”Deploy All Weapons”! “Commence Attack”!” Maple shouted, unleashing her arsenal to create a protective environment for her teammates. Mechanical fish with gaping mouths emerged from holes in the four corners, but Maple systematically destroyed them with her weapons.

“”Ancient Weapon”! “Oozing Chaos”!” Maple continued to unleash her attacks. While she couldn’t use “Poison Dragon” underwater, her other skills were more than enough to annihilate the enemies. Despite being a shield user, Maple’s offensive capabilities were formidable, ensuring the monsters didn’t pose a threat to her friends. With her defensive skills like “Self-Offering Love”, “Afterglow of Salvation”, and “Aegis” at the ready, Maple was prepared for anything.

“Yes, I made the right choice to read the symbols,” Kanade confirmed as he processed the symbols in his mind. The text was deliberately filled with extraneous characters designed to mislead, but Kanade swiftly extracted the relevant information, using his unparalleled skill to decode it accurately.

“Okay, Kanade, I’ve finished with the lights!” Sally called out.

“I’m done here too. Let’s combine our findings!” Kanade responded.

They quickly cross-referenced the information and determined the correct safe zone. At the same time, Maple had successfully eliminated all the fish, and stone pillars began to rise from the floor and ceiling.

“Maple, over here!” both Kanade and Sally called out simultaneously.

“On my way!” Maple responded, following their lead to the safe corner of the room. The stone pillars ground together with a grating noise, gradually filling the room, but they stopped just short of the spot where the trio huddled together.

“Whew, we made it,” Sally said, relieved.

“There are still more rounds to go. Let’s stay focused,” Kanade reminded them.

“Don’t worry! No monsters will get near us!” Maple assured them, her determination unwavering.

The key was to make no mistakes. A single error could lead to instant death by crushing. With that in mind, Kanade and Sally steeled themselves, ready to face the next challenge.

—

After successfully surviving multiple rounds of the deadly trap, Kanade and Sally finally discovered the answer they had been searching for.

“Maple, the iron door straight ahead!” Kanade instructed.

“Let’s go! Quickly!” Sally urged.

“Right behind you!” Maple shouted as they swam towards the iron door, opened it, and quickly escaped into the corridor beyond.

The long hallway that greeted them signaled their successful escape from the dangerous room.

“Whew… We made it,” Sally said, catching her breath.

“Nicely done, Sally. You really memorized all that?” Kanade asked, impressed.

“It wasn’t easy, but I had to. Even with Maple here, I wouldn’t have survived this long without it,” Sally admitted.

“So we really did make it out?” Maple asked, confirming their success.

“Yes, we did it. We survived,” Kanade said with a satisfied smile.

“Yay! You guys were amazing!” Maple cheered, thrilled at their teamwork.

“And you didn’t let a single monster through, Maple. Thanks to you, we could focus entirely on the puzzle,” Kanade praised her.

Each of them had played their part perfectly, and they congratulated one another as they prepared to venture further into the ruins.

—

The long corridor led them down more staircases, through traps that Maple tanked, and past monsters that Maple eliminated. Finally, they had nearly completed their exploration of the underwater ruins.

“We’ve solved a lot of puzzles… but wow,” Maple said, reflecting on the journey.

“Yeah, beating Kanade’s speed is tough,” Sally agreed, a hint of frustration in her voice.

“I’m glad you two are challenging me. It’s fun. But I don’t plan on losing, you know,” Kanade teased with a playful grin.

“It’s a serious competition, after all!” Sally said, returning the banter.

“Exactly,” Kanade replied, clearly enjoying the challenge.

Despite the handicaps Kanade gave them, Maple and Sally couldn’t keep up with his incredible decoding speed. Given Kanade’s ability to instantly decode even the most complex puzzles, it wasn’t surprising.

As they continued swimming through the ruins, Sally peeked around a corner to scout ahead. She quickly turned back to the others and stopped them.

“…There’s a puzzle here,” Sally announced.

“…Kanade, stop!” Maple called out.

“Hehe, got it. This time, I’ll give you one minute,” Kanade said, setting a target for himself.

With their goal in mind, Maple peeked around the corner and spotted the text. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Kanade!” she called out excitedly.

“Still within the first few seconds, you know?” Kanade responded, amused.

“It says ‘Treasure Room’!” Maple exclaimed.

“…I guess I lost the final puzzle battle,” Kanade said, chuckling.

It was a simple phrase, easily decoded by Maple and Sally in under a minute.

“It feels like you let us win, but… maybe we’ll challenge you again next time!” Sally said, feeling a bit proud of their small victory.

“Anytime. I’ll be ready. But for now, let’s go. This treasure room is our final destination,” Kanade said as they headed towards the treasure room.

With their sights set on the treasure, the three of them opened the door to the treasure room, revealing its contents.

“Whoa!” Maple gasped.

“This is a fitting reward for our efforts,” Sally added, impressed.

“Yeah, it’s just what we needed,” Kanade said, nodding.

The treasure room was protected by an energy field, preventing water from entering. Inside, gold and silver treasures glittered in the light, but Kanade’s true goal lay elsewhere.

“Ah, is that it?” Kanade said as he picked up a circular disc from the room. The disc was a dull iron color, with a symbol engraved in its center.

“This? Is it really that valuable?” Maple asked, curious.

“Yes. It’s an important item. It’s the final key to the Eighth Floor,” Kanade explained, inspecting the item, which was named “Emblem of the Sunken Kingdom.”

“With this, we can retrieve the final “Demon King’s Power”. It’s essential to enter a sealed area,” Kanade continued.

“So, this means we’ve unlocked the way forward?” Sally asked.

“About eighty percent, I’d say. We still need to defeat a few more bosses, but they shouldn’t be too difficult for us,” Kanade replied.

“Alright! Let’s finish this!” Maple said, her enthusiasm returning.

“Yeah, I’m counting on you two to help me see this through,” Kanade said, grateful for their support.

“Of course. We can’t miss out on getting the “Demon King’s Power”,” Sally added.

“Leave it to us! We’ll clear it in no time!” Maple cheered.

The three adventurers gathered as much treasure as they could carry and stepped into the teleportation circle, leaving the underwater ruins behind and ready to face the next challenge.