Defense Build and Tower Conquest

The next day, Maple and Sally were back on the third floor, all skills refilled and ready

for anything.

"Okay, today we beat the boss!"

"Mm-hmm. These third-floor foes are not much fun—and I bet the boss is right

through this room."

They'd decided not to look for more Firn. Instead, they headed right for the room with

all the molten lava jets. It was still spraying magma everywhere.

"Okay, I'm gonna use one. Clearly that's what they're for."

Sally used a Firn, and a blizzard sprang up. All the molten rock turned black, solidifying

—and was coated in ice.

In the blink of an eye, the molten ground turned to a frozen wasteland.

"Uh… well, that froze more than I expected, but let's get a move on, Maple! If it starts

thawing, we'll have to use another."

"O-oh! Right."

Maple was already pinned between her floating shields, so she had them hover away.

But even on her floating shields, Maple couldn't go much faster than she did on foot.

Halfway across the room, lava started breaching the ice.

"Maple, it's time! Get down!"

"Ack! Right, I'm coming."

Maple slipped out from between her shields. Sally webbed her up and started dragging

her across the molten zone. They weren't sure if she could actually block everything

in her shield sandwich, and the lava might just break the shields, so they were opting

for the standard strategy of running for it.

But as they ran, the lava geysers came back to life, shooting so high, they hit the ceiling.

"Urp… M-Martyr's Devotion!"

She wasn't sure if this was a great idea, but she did it anyway, hoping it would keep

Sally safe.

Ready to soak some damage, she closed her eyes—but instead of pain, she felt herself

floating.

"This should get us through before the lava hits!"

"...? O-oh!"

This was the skill attached to the boots Maple had found on the sixth floor and given

Sally—One Step in the Grave.

It allowed her to create several footholds in midair. She kept climbing higher, bounding

safely over the rising threats.

"And you kept me from taking any fall damage. Nice."

"Thanks, Sally. Whew… we didn't catch fire!"

Maple looked back at the glowing lava, seeming relieved. She'd activated angel form

to protect Sally but definitely preferred to avoid anything that hurt. Certain that they

were in a safe area, she turned off the skill.

They headed onward and faced no further obstacles before reaching the doors to the

boss room.

"It really was just past that room."

"I knew it!"

"Well, it was clearly the toughest obstacle around. Shall we?"

"Yeah, I'm all set!"

Maple was getting revved up, so Sally pushed open the door.

Inside, the entire floor was lava. The only footholds were stepping-stones—movement

on the ground would be very limited.

"Ughhh… Welp, I'm flying."

Maple immediately resorted to her shield-sandwich tactic.

With limited options for dodging, this was a tough room for Sally's build.

"I don't like it, but the boss ain't waiting."

As they watched, the lava at the center started bubbling. A spray crested, and a figure

loomed.

It was a giant—made entirely of glowing lava.

"Sally, Sally! That thing looks crazy strong!"

"If it throws out a move so big you can't avoid it, use the Firn!"

"You got it! I'll be watching from up there."

Maple and her shields rose into the air and flew away.

Since molten foes were highly likely to do fixed damage to Maple, it wasn't really safe

to use Martyr's Devotion.

"Ice Pillar! Yeah, thought not."

She ruled out that option first with a quick test, then started nimbly hopping across

the stepping-stones, closing in.

"Ancient Ocean!"

Once she was in range, she used a skill she'd earned in the second event. Fish appeared

around her, glowing with a blue light and swimming through the air.

"Water Ball!"

Like with the lava birds, Sally was going for water-based attacks.

The giant wasn't quick to begin with, and the fish were stacking an AGI debuff on it. It

was easy to land a spell, and each time she did, the surface turned black.

"Okay. But each time it moves, the stepping-stones— Yikes!"

The giant surged forward, and the lava dripping off it melted the stepping-stones.

After a while, new ones took their place, but it was definitely something to watch out

for.

Meanwhile, the giant was raising one molten arm, taking a swing at Sally.

"...!"

She used One Step in the Grave to dance up into the air, narrowly avoiding it.

But when its arm hit the ground, waves of fire shot out, nipping at her heels.

"Good thing I was watching!"

Just before the fire hit Sally, Maple came down between them.

She left the two floating shields where they were, angling her black shield down and

blocking the spurting flames.

"Sally, evac! Evac!"

"Y-yeah! Thanks!"

Sally jumped on top of Maple's shield, and she lifted them straight up like an elevator.

"Wow, it's going crazy down there."

The giant was surging around the ring, slamming its arms down, causing pillars of fire

to erupt in every direction.

"Looks like the pillars don't reach this high, but we still need a plan."

"This isn't the steadiest platform. Lemme summon Syrup."

Maple called out her pet turtle, then used Giganticize on it. They carefully picked their

way from the shields onto its back.

"As long as the enemy isn't good at hitting us in the air, we can take our time studying

its attack patterns and figure out a strategy. Not… something anyone else can do…"

"Please relax and enjoy the ride!"

"Don't mind if I do."

They relaxed above the burning boss room, hashing out their approach.

After a long talk, Maple made full use of their airborne advantage to drop Acid Rain

and Machine God's artillery fire down on the boss.

The results were discouraging. It was equally immune to poison and bullets. Syrup's

Spirit Cannon worked but had a lengthy cooldown. Sally's water spells would have to

be their main damage source. For safety's sake, Maple switched to her white armor,

boosting her max HP enough that she had access to her damage-negation angel skill,

Aegis.

She drank a potion, topping up her new HP pool, and waited for Sally to give the word.

"Ready when you are! Heh-heh, haven't used anything but Martyr's Devotion in ages."

"Okay, Maple. Float those shields, would ya? Yeah, just like that. Now…"

Maple adjusted the heights, making two shields float. Sally got on the lower one,

attaching her feet to it with her webs.

"And down you go. How's that? Can you reach yet?"

Maple slid the shield down until Sally was just in range to hit the giant with her magic.

"If we keep adjusting to match its movements, this should work. Anything goes wrong,

I'll evac."

The second shield was floating between Sally and Syrup at the midpoint.

Maple could move her shields only a set distance from her, but she kept them at that

range, wheeling around the sky as the giant continued its rampage on the ground.

"Hngg, this is hard. Sally! How's it going?"

"I dunno if I'm solidifying much of anything, but I'm aiming for max effect! It's

definitely doing damage at least."

"Righty-oh! Keep it up, Syrup!"

Cannon barrels sprouted from her arm and back, and she aimed them down.

Sally wasn't exactly a pure magic build, and all on her own, it had taken a while—but

the blackened surface was gradually growing, and after a few more spells hit, all

remaining molten bits formed one solid mass.

There could be no clearer sign that this was their chance to rack up some damage.

Maple wasn't about to pass that up.

"Commence Assault! Syrup, Spirit Cannon!"

They both unleashed a hail of lasers, hitting the cooled surface of the giant and

whittling away its HP.

"All right! My guns work now!" Maple yelled—just as the giant started glowing red

once again. "Awww, it's already over. Sally, the rest is up to you—?"

But before Sally could get to work, the flaming giant slowly wheeled toward Maple,

raising an arm, flames roiling.

"Maple, defend!"

"O-oh, right! Aegis!"

A burst of light enveloped her, Syrup, and Sally.

A wave of red molten lava washed over them—and Maple's glow negated all that

damage.

As the light faded and their vision cleared, they located the giant again.

"Ha?! Sally, what the—?"

Where the giant had stood, Maple now saw a glittering bluish lump hovering just

above the ground.

"It's not fire anymore? It's ice?!"

As if answering Sally's questions, ice began spreading across the room, radiating out

from the blue lump.

It coated the lava floor, climbed the walls, and began making giant icicles on the ceiling.

And from the lump itself, ice rose up like a sprouting tree, forming—an ice giant.

"A new form? But the same HP. And…"

Sally looked at Maple, grinning.

"I can fight ice, right, Sally?"

"It went and debuffed itself!"

"Mwa-ha-ha! Commence Assault!"

Maple started firing. Unlike the lava version, this time she did damage from the getgo.

But the new form was not entirely to their advantage.

"Okay, next we just— Erp!"

Maple had been focused on the target below, but she saw a shadow at her feet and

jerked her head up.

And found an icicle falling toward her.

"Eep… Owww! Urgh…"

With a tremendous noise, the icicle shattered Maple's weapons. She'd tried to dodge,

but it landed right on her back, and red damage sparks sprayed. The lava form's main

tactic was dealing damage from below, but this ice version rained death from above.

"Piercing damage? Maple, put Syrup away! More are falling!"

Sally quickly made a pillar of her own ice, sliding down it.

Maple returned Syrup to her ring and then just fell straight down.

"Quick Change… Okay!"

"Right, hit it hard!"

"Yep, all-out attack!"

With Maple back in her black gear, she got ready to rumble—one eye on the threat

from above.

Sally could utilize her Ice Pillars again, and she was making good use of them.

But just as they were about to attack, a wave of glittering white chill rippled across the

floor—a torrent of ice.

"Look out, Maple!"

"Saturating Chaos! Commence Assault!"

Her monster hit the ice wave, smashing a hole in it—but part of it still struck Maple

and knocked her down.

But it didn't do damage.

"Normal attacks ain't no thang!"

Sally ran up her Ice Pillar, jumped onto the giant's shoulder, and started slashing at its

neck and head.

Trying to protect that area, the giant fired ice spikes at her, and more icicles fell, but

Sally nimbly slipped through the barrage, her Sword Dance aura aglow.

"Yep, way easier if it isn't on fire."

"Um…?"

Maple was on the move, attacking and avoiding icicles but ignoring ice waves and the

giant's fists. Then she noticed her body was covered in a layer of frost.

She tried brushing it off, to no avail.

"Sally, look out! Something's… trying to freeze me? I think?"

Maple didn't sound that worried. She called a warning to Sally, but the frost wasn't

slowing her down, so she kept attacking.

"…So many things just don't work on you. But I'd better be careful!"

As the giant's HP dropped, its attacks grew more intense and more powerful—but this

was not a foe built for speed, and Sally was dodging everything with such ease that

she had plenty of time to think.

Once they hit a certain damage threshold, an extra-cold wave radiated out—and the

red glow of molten lava appeared at the giant's core.

"Maple, let's finish this before it switches back!"

Sally dropped one last furious combo, then dashed up out of harm's way.

"Got it! Hydra! Saturating Chaos! Atrocity!"

The parade of fearsome blows made the giant stagger, and then Monster Maple

charged in.

Dispersing the chill with her fiery breath, she used her talons and teeth to tear into

the massive icy body.

"That should do it!"

A slew of ice spikes shot up from the floor, but Maple breathed fire once more—and

sealed the deal.

Cracks spread across the giant—and it crumbled, the shards of ice shattering into

grains of light that melted into the air.

"We won! Hnggg, and I thought we'd be safe in the air."

Still in monster form, Maple hung her head in slight disappointment that things hadn't

gone according to plan.

"Good work. Mm? A new skill?"

"Oh, I got one, too! Lessee…"

They had not expected this message, and they quickly opened their menus, checking

out the new skill.

"I really don't know why that works in that body…," Sally said, watching Monster Maple

flip through her screens.

But the new skill soon had all her attention.

Cataclysmic Eruption

MP: 50. Locks movement for three seconds before activation. Three-minute cooldown.

Creates a field on the ground that launches lava directly upward for one minute,

dealing damage that ignores all defense.

"Nice. Good move for you, Maple. What do you think? Gonna put that on a slot?"

Skills on slots could be used a few times at no MP cost, even if your MP wasn't high

enough to use them otherwise.

"Thinking about it."

"…Wanna check out the fourth floor first?"

"Yeah, let's do that."

Cataclysmic Eruption wasn't necessarily something she had to have. Better to see what

lay ahead before making any decisions.

342 Name: Anonymous Greatsworder

How far y'all get?

343 Name: Anonymous Great Shielder

I'm taking my time, so only just cleared the second floor.

We ain't got Maple with us.

344 Name: Anonymous Mage

We just cleared the fourth boss.

345 Name: Anonymous Spear Master

Mid–fourth floor.

Wait, no Maple? Whaaat?

Well, even without her, you can probably do just fine.

346 Name: Anonymous Greatsworder

She's like your ultimate weapon.

You can activate her anytime.

And no boss can stand against her.

347 Name: Anonymous Great Shielder

Maple and Sally are tackling the highest difficulty together.

With no issues apparently.

348 Name: Anonymous Archer

These ain't foes you can handle in pairs.

Normally.

349 Name: Anonymous Spear Master

They're both off the charts.

I've seen Sally run across air. Once you own the skies…

350 Name: Anonymous Greatsworder

That wouldn't keep you safe on the third floor.

Those geysers went all the way up.

351 Name: Anonymous Great Shielder

I saw a FAQ, but what's it like for real?

352 Name: Anonymous Spear Master

First half all fixed damage.

Back half dropping piercing icicles.

Big hit boxes but clear telegraphing so you can dodge if you wanna.

And the boss's second phase debuffs you every time it hits.

353 Name: Anonymous Archer

Yeah, on the third floor your best bet is avoiding instead of soaking.

There are lava and ice items you can find that make it easy.

354 Name: Anonymous Mage

About those items…

I hear you'll get skills if you don't use 'em.

But since we did use them, we mopped the floor with the boss.

355 Name: Anonymous Spear Master

Wonder if we missed anything like that on other floors…

Not much intel out there yet, so I'm just guessing.

356 Name: Anonymous Great Shielder

Like, not using bombs on the first floor?

Maybe we shoulda tried to hammer through it.

The twins' regular attacks smashed its barriers.

357 Name: Anonymous Greatsworder

Even without any skills?!

358 Name: Anonymous Great Shielder

Maple's star pupils.

359 Name: Anonymous Mage

I'd sign up for that class.

360 Name: Anonymous Spear Master

I bet Maple used the bombs.

Dunno what key items that second floor had, so maybe just the third.

If Maple got the third-floor skills, she'll be flinging ice and fire around now.

361 Name: Anonymous Greatsworder

She already breathes fire!

362 Name: Anonymous Archer

This skill is technically lava.

If you can breathe fire, why not lava, too?

363 Name: Anonymous Mage

Madness.

Players aren't meant to breathe ice or lava!

At least throw them.

364 Name: Anonymous Greatsworder

Even I'm alarmed that "breathing" was my go-to verb here.

365 Name: Anonymous Great Shielder

I wouldn't put it past Maple to manage it in monster form.

366 Name: Anonymous Mage

Don't encourage her! She's inhuman enough!

367 Name: Anonymous Great Shielder

I bet they clear the tower easily.

Meanwhile, I'm actually being a proper tank. Been a while.

368 Name: Anonymous Spear Master

Maple Tree is plenty strong even without her around.

Her absence just brings y'all down from secret boss to last boss.

369 Name: Anonymous Mage

But I bet Maple will have more trouble with the fourth floor.

The dungeon is one thing, but that boss…

370 Name: Anonymous Spear Master

Agreed.

371 Name: Anonymous Great Shielder

Seriously? That rough? I'll have to scope that.

372 Name: Anonymous Mage

I think it'll at least inflict some SAN damage.

373 Name: Anonymous Greatsworder

I see…

374 Name: Anonymous Mage

Naturally, if I beat a boss, ain't no way it takes out Maple.

But the thing is—it also flies.

Even as the forum buzzed, Maple and Sally were about to reach the fourth floor.