Intermission: Defense Build and Flame Empire

Flame Empire's party of four was in the blizzard on the seventh floor, peering over the

cliff.

The snowstorm was raging too hard to see the bottom.

"This floor's all snow and ice," Shin said. "Bet you'll do well, Mii."

He drew his sword, ready to do his bit as the team's secondary damage dealer.

"We'll have to reach the bottom… and those footholds look precarious."

"I'll take the lead. There might be traps."

"Yes, you do that. Misery, keep him alive."

"But of course."

The only way down was a series of tiny platforms jutting out of the cliff face.

"Whew… one slip and you're done for."

"Hang on… I bet there's something on that one."

In the lead, Marx was pointing at a platform that was slightly wider than the others.

And to progress, they'd have to cross it.

"With my skills sealed… I can't actually be sure, though."

He could normally use an equipment skill to locate traps, but this floor was locking all

of those.

Marx suspected a trap purely on instinct. But it was enough to stop the party dead.

"If you think it's sus, it's sus."

"I agree."

"What now? It doesn't look like we can just jump over it."

"Shin, try attacking."

"Mm, got it. Splinter Sword."

Shin's blade split into several smaller swords, floating in the air around them. They

shot forward, stabbing into the platform and the walls around it.

The platform lit up—and a giant ice spike shot out.

A moment later, it vanished, and Marx pointed forward—to move before it reset.

They did, following his lead. He spotted every trap with uncanny accuracy. Eventually

they found a cave and took a rest.

"Wow… Marx, how are you spotting this?"

"And without your skill."

"J-just… guessing?"

He didn't seem to fully understand himself, but the results spoke for themselves. Even

without the skill that revealed all traps, his experience and instincts compensated.

"It's keeping us alive. Were it not for Marx, we would long since have been flung to the

bottom."

"I've got you covered on the way. But the boss fight…"

"Is all mine. No ice boss can stop me."

"Mm. Just gotta get you there."

When they'd rested up, they headed deeper into the cave. The passage was a gradual

downward slope, and the ceiling was covered in icicles. The walls and floor were

frozen solid. It was barely wide enough to walk two abreast, and they moved very

carefully.

"So slippery… Really hard to walk here."

"Eyes up—something's coming!" Marx cried.

A moment later, a colony of white bats flew from the back of the cave.

"That's it? Ha!"

Before the bats could unleash their icy breath attack, Shin's flying swords ran them

through.

In a narrow cave, it was tough to dodge the whole cloud, but that was equally true for

his signature move. The splintered blades were unstoppable and took out all the bats

before any reached the party.

"Cool. Having one of them good days."

"We never even got a chance to act."

"True."

"You're holding back until the boss fight, right? Lemme handle the mobs on the way."

Several more colonies attacked, but Shin shot 'em all down.

The next challenge was a vertical shaft, forcing them to lower themselves down on

ropes.

After that was an open room, with an icy floor studded with pits.

"Pretty big."

"Watch out for those pits. Might be something in them."

"Turns out you're right!"

Little hedgehogs popped out of the holes, screeching—and sealing the way in and out.

"Icicles falling from above!"

"And from below?!"

"Pyre!" Mii roared.

Flames belched forth, bathing the icicles, the hedgehogs, and the ice over the doors.

They filled the entire room—but the icicles were coded differently and were

impervious.

"Ack…!"

"God's Breath! Healing Light!"

Misery activated a skill that reduced damage and healed over time, then a standard

HP recovery skill.

The damage the icicles had done was quickly healed.

The flames died down. When the rain of ice and floor spikes stopped, they were all

still standing.

"Sweet! You bailed us out there, Misery."

"Thanks…"

"We're not safe yet! We need to deal with the cause!"

"Here they come again. Don't let them burrow!"

Mii and Shin worked together, playing Whac-A-Hedgehog. When the last of them was

slain, there was a shattering noise—and the ice over the doors crumbled away.

"Whew… at least they had no health."

"That got us pretty good, but with Misery on board, we can pull through."

"I am just not good at ambushes… Thanks."

"Thank you. But with my equipment skills sealed, the amount I can heal is much

smaller. You'll need to fight with caution."

"It's still more than enough! But fair point. We'll be careful."

They headed deeper into the cave, and it brought them back to the cliff face—over

halfway down.

The snow had eased up, and they could finally make out the ground below.

"Whoa, look at all those spikes."

"Indeed. If we can see the ground, we don't have much more to go."

"And the boss might be right behind. Stay combat ready."

With the end of the cliff in sight, their thoughts turned to the fight ahead.

There were many traps and frequent attacks by swarms of weak monsters, but neither

of those posed a threat to this party. Marx and Shin got them to the base without major

incident.

"We've come pretty far."

"Yeah, but that cave in the middle makes it tough to gauge the distance."

"A very monster-light floor. Which way next?"

"Maybe there…?"

Marx pointed at a gap in the ice spikes. If they went single file, they should fit through.

"Hmm, not seeing any traps."

"Then let's move."

Mii flexed both hands, ready to activate Flame Empress the moment they spotted a

boss.

Once they were through the icicle forest, a snowy field opened up before them. They

braced for combat, and a giant hedgehog emerged, its back covered in icy spines.

"There's the boss, Mii!"

"Like a big version of those mobs!"

"Flame Empress!"

The instant it faced them, Mii held up her palms, spawning balls of fire. They blew back

the driving snow, illuminating the snowy plain.

"I know you're all ready! Let's do this!"

And at her cry, the fight ignited.

* * *

The hedgehog rolled up into a snowball, the surface covered in icy spikes. It shot

toward them at extraordinary speeds.

Marx quickly laid down some ranged traps, trying to stop the charge, but it tore right

through the vines and rock walls, not even slowing down.

"Pyre!"

Flames erupted from Mii's body, shooting forward. Far too hot for a body made of ice

and snow to withstand.

But to her surprise, the boss just rolled right through the inferno, gouging Mii's

shoulder. It took a huge chunk of her health with it, but Misery instantly healed that

up.

"You okay?"

"…I'm fine."

Watching the boss roll away, Mii chugged an MP potion, topping up her mana pool.

"Didn't hurt it at all, huh?"

"No, you did something."

When the snow cloud faded, it was clear the bulk of the boss's spines was gone.

Nothing could soak Mii's flames head-on. A single strike had devastated its weaponry.

"Let's try and knock off the rest. Misery, MP refills are on you."

"Understood."

"Flare Impetus!"

Fire burst from Mii's feet, propelling her forward. She closed in before the boss could

start rolling and threw herself into combat at a range far closer than any other mage.

With a fireball wreathing each hand, she melted all the spines off the boss, then flew

up to the air above, hurtling lances of flame down upon it.

This boss took no damage while it was rolling, but between charges, it was a different

story. She was carving huge chunks out of its health bar.

"Mii, another charge coming!"

"I see it!"

But without any spines left, attempting to roll just made it slip—and land on its back.

Wide open.

"MP Transfer!"

"Flamation!"

Misery passed Mii some MP, and she used it to fuel a big move. A red magic circle

deployed around Mii, coating the ground in flames.

For any players in range, it upped their raw damage output and applied the fire

element to their attacks. This gave the whole party a huge boost.

"Hmph!"

Mii lit the boss up with her dual fireballs and generated spheres of flame in the air,

hurling them at it. Swords on fire flew in from both sides, and fiery brambles entangled

the boss from below.

"Blue Fire!"

For her finisher, Mii slammed her palm into the boss with an eruption of bright blue

flames—sacrificing her own health to diminish the boss's.

"Turn to ash!"

The blue flames burst through its back, spreading out along the ground—and the

boss's HP hit 0.

The boss shattered, turning to light, and the residual flames subsided.

"Damn," Shin said. "Talk about firepower…"

"Yup."

"All I could do was keep you max HP."

"Thanks for that, Misery. Without you, I'd never have pulled it off."

Misery's skills could refill Mii's HP and MP on the fly, giving her the freedom to bust

out all her big moves in rapid succession.

Usually, she'd have drained those pools long before.

"That was definitely not a foe we were meant to end in one go."

"Mii was clearly having too much fun… Even more all-out than usual."

"W-was I?" Mii blinked, then started reflecting on the last few minutes.

"Maybe I'd better boost my own attack…," Shin muttered.

"That boss was a good match for you."

"Yeah. Who's up for more?"

"I am. You did all the work this time, after all."

"I'm good to go…"

"As am I."

"Then let's hit the eighth floor."

They still had more than enough fight left in them. Mii emptied another MP potion,

her thoughts turning to Maple.

Wonder if she's making good progress…?

One big reason her team was only four strong was that she'd heard Maple and Sally

were running the tower together. Thinking back on the bosses so far, she was pretty

sure those two could handle them.

"What's up, Mii? We going or not?"

"Gasp…! Yes, my apologies. I'm on my way!"

The thought had stopped her in her tracks, but she set out once again—and the Flame

Empire quartet headed to the floor above.

Mii quietly resolved to go hang with Maple once they cleared the tower.

"What does the eighth floor have for us…?"

"Looks like… a jungle."

Big trees, brush, vines—could work for Mii, could work against her.

"We'll have to see if these trees are flammable."

"If they are, we'll have you go to town again!"

"...Let's not expect a repeat of the last floor yet."

Perhaps she'd gotten a bit too excited about fighting an ice boss. Mii was a bit ashamed

of herself.