Defense Specialization and the Current Status

A chapter about learning skills and future directions.

One day, Izu and Kanade were talking inside of the Guild Home.

“Generally, it seems that we will be relegated to supporting roles for those four.”

Izu as non-combat support.

Kanade would be an important rear guard.

“I tried learning offensive magic as well… But it’s not likely that they will need my help. So I tried switching direction a little.”

Because the four advance guards would end up defeating monsters before Kanade even had a chance to attack, Kanade ultimately did little but use status raising skills or recovery magic on his comrades.

“I’m the only one who uses a staff, and there are skills that I can get that no one else can.”

Kanade was capable of learning a much broader range of magic than Sally.

That was what made Kanade unique within the guild.

“Those four will just deal with everything by themselves once I’ve buffed them up.”

“That’s true. They really count on you… Ahh, also, your equipment is ready now.”

Izu tells him that this was the reason that she had called him today.

Kanade had only bought small additions since his very first set of equipment. His overall appearance had barely changed since the 2nd event.

Izu passed over the equipment that she had made for him.

There was a red hat that was the same color as his hair.

The rest of the equipment came in mainly black and red, though they looked more like normal clothing than equipment.

These also used Maple’s sheep wool as part of its materials.

Every piece of equipment had ‘INT’ and ‘MP’ raising effects, which meant that Kanade would be greatly strengthened just by wearing them.

“Armor doesn’t really suit me after all.”

Kanade put on the equipment he received and left the guild home.

Today, he would go out in order to learn ‘Magical Barrier.’

Currently, Kanade was learning more and more skills faster than anyone else in the guild.

Unless Kanade was defeated, the support and healing would never stop.

However, depending on the situation, you would likely have to defeat Maple in her Archangel form in order to get to Kanade.

And Maple’s ‘VIT’ would be strengthened by Kanade.

Maple’s depleted HP would also recover.

It would not be long before avoiding a battle with Maple and the others became the norm.

No, perhaps it already was the norm.

In a different location. The edge of level two.

Sally was in a certain forest.

“Fu… I haven’t received any damage yet… But I should probably make preparations for when I do.”

Sally had already learned several skills within the past few days.

But even then, she still did not have nearly enough to reach what was her ideal.

“I also need to raise Oboro’s level too.”

Monsters kept appearing one after another as she walked through the forest.

This time Sally put more emphasis on evading. She would hurt the monsters a little and then allow Oboro to do the rest so it could raise its level.

After fighting like this for a while, Oboro’s level increased.

“Fu…I should check it out. Oh?”

Sally checked Oboro’s skill level and then patted it happily.

“Well…I may not need to prepare for receiving any damage after all.”

Saying this, Sally stopped looking at Oboro’s level and returned to the town.

Chrome was in the level two desert.

“This is crazy. I don’t feel like I could die.”

He blocked the monster’s attack with his great shield and slashed at it with his Japanese hatchet.

That alone caused his HP to go way up, but he also had ‘Battle Healing’ which healed him too.

On top of that, he could just use ‘Light of Spirit’ if he started to run out of HP.

Chrome cut down the last of the monsters he was fighting and put his weapons away.

“Maple’s equipment is without a doubt from the Unique Series. I’ve decided on my greatshield and short sword and they already have skills. It’s only the armor that doesn’t have any, I guess.”

The ‘Indestructible’ was also good news for Chrome.

Because he wouldn’t need to do any maintenance on his equipment.

“I bet Maple’s equipment also has ‘Indestructible’ on them too.”

Chrome did not know that in fact, she had much more incredible skills on her equipment.

“Maybe I’ll go and hunt a little more.”

While he used a greatshield, Chrome could now safely fight while soloing. And so he continued to fight.

Maple Tree’s shield user was not exactly the norm.

As the greatshield job was not necessarily a job that came with both good offensive and defensive abilities.

Kasumi was also right in the middle of a fight.

Within ‘Maple Tree’, Kasumi was the player who had the most balanced firepower.

As Sally had her shortsword, while Chrome and Maple their Japanese short swords, she had the furthest reach and offensive power out of any in the advance guard.

In fact, she had the highest ‘STR’ of the whole group, and her ‘AGI’ was also quite high.

The status of her defense capabilities was a little worrisome at first, but the Archangel Maple had solved that problem for her.

Indeed, now she was overwhelmingly balanced.

“Alrighty…I think I’ll go home now.”

Kasumi then noticed that a message had arrived for her.

“From Maple? Hmm…”

There was the following brisk lines:

Straight west from the town in level two.

Please come to shear some wool.

I would be happy if you hurried.

“Hm? Well, I guess I could go?”

Kasumi turned to the direction Maple was at and started to run.

10 minutes earlier.

Maple was headed west in order to test the skills to increase the sheep’s wool.

“‘Hair Growth’!”

Maple said once she found a good spot, and then her vision was filled with the fluffy wool.

“It looks like you can’t adjust the amount of growth after all…mmm…mmm! Yo!”

Maple moved her body down diagonally from the center and poked out her head from the sheep’s wool.

She pushed out her arms and legs in the same way.

“Maybe I can move like this?”

Though, that would hardly mean anything.

However, because Maple was able to see the monster attack her in this state with her own eyes, she was able to notice something.

“Is this sheep’s wool somehow the same as my defense ability?”

It was.

As long as it was growing from Maple’s body, it was part of her, so her status would be reflected in it.

“So I will be strong as long as I stay in this wool without ‘Shearing’ it?”

After that, Maple tried to come up with different ways of utilizing it but was unsuccessful. So she tried to disable this wooly situation but then realized something.

“Ah!? I can’t even do anything when I’m alone!?”

She could see other players walking towards her from afar. They had noticed the mysterious hairball.

If she remained like this, she would only be an exposed quadrupedal person.

Maple frantically got in contact with Kasumi.

“B-back, back!”

Maple hurriedly went back into the center of the wool and made it so that poison exuded from the inside, in order to keep other players away.

“Ah!? Don’t come any closer Kasumi!”

She couldn’t undo what she had already done.

She could hear more and more voices coming from outside, but no one could ‘Shear’ her because of the poison.

After some time had passed and the poison disappeared, Maple was rescued by Kasumi and the news that it was her quickly spread. And so her incomprehensible acts became the talk of the message boards once again.