On the day of the event, Maple stood in the waiting area, having chosen her category and now simply counting down the minutes until the match began. At the appointed time, she’d be automatically sent to the PvP field. Beside her stood Sally. In truth, their starting positions would be random, but they’d promised to stay together until the very last moment before the teleport.

“Alright, let’s do this! Ugh, I’m so nervous…”

“You’re as strong as anyone—probably stronger than anyone here. Now breathe slowly.”

“Okay… in… out… in… out…”

“Feeling any calmer?”

“Yeah! Even though it’s PvP, I am completely alone this time. I have to watch out for surprise attacks…!”

“True, this is the first solo PvP event. If you get worried, just call for help—”

“Call you, Sally?”

“No, call out for monsters like ‘Abnormal’ or ‘Toxic Splinter’—”

“Oh, right! If things get dangerous, I’ll call everyone!”

“I hear messages don’t reach outside the field, but you can call me in-game. All our cooldowns reset at the end of each match, so it’s worth summoning me every time.”

“It’s amazing you can use ‘Rebirth of Darkness,’ ‘Atrocity,’ and ‘Voracity’ every round!”

“Ugh, it’s horrifying to hear it all listed out like that.”

As they chatted, the countdown began. A soft light enveloped the two of them.

“Good luck, Maple.”

“You too, Sally!”

They bumped fists and vanished into the PvP arena.

Maple reappeared in a rocky area, huge boulders rising overhead—perfect for ambushes and hiding spots. She’d trained on similar terrain before, so she already had in mind where danger might lurk and how to react.

A small smile of growth crossed her lips… just before the announcer’s voice summoned her full shield:

“Battle Royale area now active. Zone confirmed. Deploying barrier walls.”

In an instant, a dome of red light expanded overhead, sealing the entire play area off from the outside.

“Battle Royale rules: last pair standing. Got it.”

Maple closed the rules window. She couldn’t see any other players nearby, but she knew they must be scattered around inside the red barrier. Teams of up to two were allowed—hence ‘last pair standing.’

“Should I look for them, or…? No—let’s go!”

Unlike her first event, where she waited, Maple decided to take the initiative and seek out her opponents.

“Heh heh heh… let’s do this!”

As she strode forward, two players watched from behind a boulder, unnoticed.

“…Phew.”

“…We’re so screwed!”

They’d waited until Maple passed before slumping in relief—only to immediately clutch their heads in horror.

“Her opening move? That was her opening move!?”

“Do we go for her? What do we even do now?”

“Calm down. Even if we lose, we lose nothing. If we somehow win, we might catch the eye of a major guild.”

They spoke of Maple with awe—she was, quite frankly, monstrous. They’d seen equally brutal battles in previous events, but if they could beat her, their reputations would explode.

“Thankfully she’s not the best at large-scale scouting. Let’s try to follow her and find the right moment.”

“Got it. I thought this would be a fun festival… but now I’m freaked out.”

“I know. Alright, let’s go!”

To any who saw Maple, the first reaction would be to watch and wait. Some might even team up—but defeating her alone would grant the highest honor. Maple truly was the ‘Demon King’ of this match.

Humming to herself, Maple wandered into a more vegetated area beyond the rocks. Suddenly, she froze at a rustling behind her.

This field had no monsters—only players. If it were an ally, they’d have called out. No, this was an ambush.

Maple snapped into combat stance. Even without meaning to intimidate, her deadly skills radiated in that moment.

“‘Mother Nature!’ ‘Predator!’ ‘Demon King!’ ‘Rebirth of Darkness!’ ‘Ancient Sea!’”

A towering, twin-sword–wielding Abnormal emerged behind her from the shadow of vines—Syrup’s ‘Mother Nature’ had summoned a trailing ally, Predator. Darkness from ‘Ancient Sea’ shimmered at Maple’s feet as the Abnormal’s spawn burst forth.

A sudden, full-power onslaught. Hell itself had opened before her. The Abnormals poured toward every hiding player.

“Squeals of panic… they’re running to regroup!”

“I didn’t see them at all… they’re so good at hiding.”

“No choice—if we wanted to fight her, we should’ve expected this!”

“Let’s take her down together!”

Over a dozen players, perhaps even twenty, rose to face Maple, who recalled her first event and braced herself.

“Heh heh… okay! I’ll take you all on!”

Though her smile was innocent, her actions would be anything but.

“Let’s go!”

“Y-yeah!”

Magic did almost nothing to Maple. If ranged pressure couldn’t work, then she had to dive headlong into the fray.

“‘Paralyze Shout!’ ‘Hydra!’”

Waves of paralysis and poison fell, but Maple was well prepared—immunity to them was a core rule in every top guild’s PvP strategy.

“‘Large-Scale Magic Barrier!’”

Maple shattered one of their defenses but still kept the damage to a minimum. The poison from Hydra couldn’t actually harm her, yet its hit effect did hefty damage.

“‘Grand Cleave!’”

After cutting through the Hydra spawn, she and her new Abnormal ally downed one player—only one? More appeared as if by magic.

“Oi, get your heads out of the clouds!”

“Ah!”

The Abnormal that had whispered behind her lashed out, swallowing a player whole, splitting them apart with a sickening crack. The bottom half dissolved into light.

The players realized just how utterly otherworldly these summons were.

“Wh-what…!?”

“This is nuts…”

“Don’t panic! We knew this could happen!”

“‘Syrup, Sleep Petals!’”

Soft pink petals drifted through the air, and some players succumbed to sleep right before Demon King Maple’s twin sword. Spawned Abnormals feasted on them, a truly traumatising sight.

Magic, paralyze, poison, sleep—Maple had mastered them all. But seeing it used against you in PvP was a new horror. It broke their spirits faster than any damage calculation.

“Ah… she’s no different from the Demon King himself.”

“Maybe she is.”

“‘Ancient Weapon!’”

Blue laser fire killed another player, and Abnormals converged on their falling form. Anyone left standing was on borrowed time.

“Next time, I’m starting with a surprise attack!”

“Yeah! Dying here doesn’t matter—we can respawn until the event ends!”

“I’ll fight with all I’ve got!”

Maple wasn’t holding back—far from it. She met the best PvP players head-on, feeling their strength, but also seeing how to bridge the gap.

Though battered and far from a huge upset, she learned much from that clash.

As their numbers dwindled, Abnormals attacked from every side. The players chose lay down, closing their eyes so as not to see their final moments.

After mowing down enemies one-on-one with ruthless ease, Maple unleashed her Abnormal in full force, walking the field. Any player who spotted her from afar thought, ‘Whoa, there she is’, and kept their distance.

But this was a Battle Royale: the zone would shrink over time, forcing players closer together or teleporting them inside the safe area.

Shouts, spells, explosions, and terrified screams rang out as the field tightened.

“I’m used to getting sliced by swords, but this… this is on another level!”

“Even monsters are usually cuter than this!”

“‘Full Arms Deployment! Attack!’ ‘Invitation to the Deep!’”

“Ugh! ‘Multi-Heal’!”

“Ack!”

“Damn it! Those tentacles are insane!”

A bionic foe sprayed bullets while extending a tentacle arm. Anyone it touched was devoured in an instant—an effect players had only heard about before, terrifying in practice.

Maple fought it, but it was beyond monstrous.

“Ah!”

As Maple’s Abnormal grabbed the last player and converted them into mana, all her skills reset. The red barrier faded, returning the zone to a free-for-all PvP area.

“Battle Royale winner: Maple.”

“I did it! Heh heh, I’ve gotten pretty strong.”

Maple couldn’t help hopping for joy. She’d collected skills, leveled up, and was no longer the player who once could only rely on poison and paralysis.

In that single match, she felt the full weight of her journey and all the friends who had helped her along the way.

“All right! Let’s keep this up!”

Maple walked on, not actively hunting anyone, but with a light step and a bright heart—ready to enjoy the event to the fullest.