337 Part 2

“Would you like to meet Velvet next time? I can introduce you!”

“Yes, I’d like to. From what you told me, she sounds like a fun person.”

“Okay, I’ll ask her next time!”

After Maple finished updating Mi on everything, Mi started to talk about what she had been up to. And there seemed to be no end to their conversation.

In the meantime, Sally was in the guild home, thinking about the two guilds she had made contact with recently.

“Hmmm…”

How could she win? She thought about the information she had acquired, but none of her conclusions seemed feasible.

“It will definitely be difficult if I do it alone… But with Maple next to me…”

Still, there were too many uncertain elements. And so there were many ways an advantage could be lost. Velvet had declared that she still had trump cards. And who knew how far the hole went when it came to Lily and Willbert.

As Sally pondered over all of this, the guild home doors swung open, and a familiar face entered.

“Uhhh. Ah, there you are, Sally!”

“…You come in here like it’s your own guild now. What do you want today, Frederica?”

“The usual. Is something wrong?”

Sally looked at Frederica spin her staff, and she remembered something.

“Hmm. That’s right. You’re in charge of information, aren’t you?”

“Yes?”

“…Oh, but it’s probably going to be false information.”

“Ah, well, you’re about the only person who can do it right.”

“Well, nevermind. Do you know ‘Rapid Fire’ and ‘thunder storm’? I had the chance to team up with them recently.”

“Hmm. I’ll tell you if you beat me in a duel.”

“That’s a strange thing for someone who’s never won to say…but, sure. Let’s do it.”

“Yes, yes. But I’m going to win this time.”

And so the two relocated in order to fight.

A few minutes later, the two returned. Frederica walked in the lead with a sulky expression. She then collapsed onto the sofa and flailed her legs around.

“You seemed like your heart wouldn’t be in it today. I thought I had a chance.”

“Even I can switch once the battle starts.”

“Hmph. You’re like a machine.”

“Yes, yes. Now, keep your promise.”

“Fine. I hope you crush each other.”

So saying, Frederica checked her memos and told Sally what she knew.

“That being said, some of this isn’t confirmed. I’ll start with ‘thunder storm.’ Hinata is in charge of debuffs. Most of them have to do with hindering mobility. However, they are limited, so it’s possible to take advantage of that.”

This meant either deactivating the debuffs or tricking her into using them. So it was harder than she made it sound.

“You sound confident.”

“I guess. On the other hand, Velvet can bring down lightning for an eternity. And they will keep getting stronger. So she’s good with drawn out battles. She’s usually seen on the 5th layer, but people say that she’s become a shut-in on the 6th layer recently. So maybe something happened. Velvet has rain of thunder, so you should probably be careful?”

“I’m fine. I was able to dodge it.”

“You can dodge rain? Isn’t that a little ridiculous?”

“My dodging is improving.”

“I know that better than anyone, but… Nevermind. Next…”

Frederica went to the next page and started to talk about ‘Rapid Fire.’

“I’ll leave out the stuff you already saw. People say that Willbert never misses a target. Of course, it’s not something that’s been proven. Also, Lily is more dangerous as a king than when she’s a maid. They say that there’s a limit to how many she can summon at once.”

But if she just summoned every time they were broken, it could be considered unlimited in a way. However, Sally was more interested in Willbert than the strength of numbers.

“Never misses… Well, I always thought that such a thing existed.”

It was a skill that Sally couldn’t do anything about. If anything, she should count herself lucky that it was so rare that she hadn’t encountered it up until now.

“Oh, right. Don’t fight them until I find that skill. After all, we already decided that I’m going to be the first to beat you.”

“Ah, you’re a bit too late for that. But thanks. I see that you actually do gather information sometimes.”

“…I just made a mistake that one time. Honestly.”

While she was quite embarrassed about the time Sally had given her false information, she threatened to do the same to Sally if she teased her too much.

“I’ll see right through it.”

“Gah. I hate that you probably would do just that. Oh, one more thing. No one has seen the tamed monsters of those four.”

“I see. Thanks. I was actually quite surprised.”

“…Maybe I’ll throw you down to the 6th layer…”

“S-sorry.”

They joked together. After that, Frederica regained her enthusiasm and challenged Sally a few more times. But the results were the same as always.

After some time had passed since they met Lily, the day arrived that the date for the 8th event was announced.

125 Name: Anonymous Spear Wielder

It’s a completely cooperative event then.

126 Name: Anonymous Archer

It’s not as soon as I thought.

And unlike the last one, there are no PVP elements at all.

127 Name: Anonymous Great Sword Wielder

Then the monsters must be very strong.

Players will form alliances.

128 Name: Anonymous Great Shield Wielder

Well, I guess I can take it easy if there’s no PVP.

Not that I dislike the more exciting events.

129 Name: Anonymous Archer

But then again, we really don’t know much of the details yet.

All we know is that it will focus on exploration, and that it will affect the 8th layer.

130 Name: Anonymous Spear Wielder

I think it will be kind of like the pass for the 4th layer.

131 Name: Anonymous Great Sword Wielder

There was something like that, wasn’t there?

Since it’s cooperative, maybe everyone will get it depending on the results.

132 Name: Anonymous Great Shield Wielder

In any case, it seems like there won’t be time acceleration, so we’ll be able to train if we’re not strong enough.

133 Name: Anonymous Sorcerer

Get stronger… Sorry, but I don’t think I can.

134 Name: Anonymous Spear Wielder

What happened?

135 Name: Anonymous Sorcerer

I don’t know if it’s a tamed monster or a rare event. But there’s this white monster in this secluded valley.

I wouldn’t call it a shell, but it has something like armor. It just looks ridiculously dangerous.

136 Name: Anonymous Great Sword Wielder

Woah, really? I never heard of that.

137 Name: Anonymous Great Shield Wielder

That’s nice. Maybe it’s a holy beast or a guardian.

138 Name: Anonymous Archer

I think he’s going to beat you to it.

139 Name: Anonymous Sorcerer

I wasn’t prepared at all, and so I ran away the moment that it looked at me.

I’m planning on going back. Maybe I’ll try fighting it for a while.

140 Name: Anonymous Spear Wielder

Good luck!

141 Name: Anonymous Great Sword Wielder

You can do it! Become the next Maple!

142 Name: Anonymous Sorcerer

Ahh! I’d be so happy if I could catch up with her. I’m going to go and look for it.