Chapter 75

One hour had passed since Maple was eaten.

The devil’s HP bar was continuing to decrease.

In reaction, it’s pattern of movement began to change. It struck out in varied attacks, but the enemy herself was nowhere in sight.

The enemy was inside its body.

“I wonder how much…uumph…oomph…it’s HP has decreased now?”

Maple mumbled as she tore at the walls of flesh with her teeth.

This was because the Archangel short sword that Izu had made for her, had lost so much of its durability to the poison, that she gave up using it to attack.

She had also returned Syrup into her ring, so this was the only method of attack left to her.

“It’s really going wild out there…”

Maple would sometimes be thrown from the wall or washed away, but it’s HP was definitely getting chipped away.

And after another hour.

Maple finally ate through the entirety of the devil’s life.

In the same instant, the devil’s body turned into light and then exploded. Maple fell to the floor.

“Woah…phew, it’s finally over.”

A notice arrived just as she picked up the great shield and short sword.

“I thought it was because of ‘Devil Eater’…but it was because of ‘Dedicated Affection,’ huh.”

This skill had certain requirements related to ‘Dedicated Affection.’

In any case, Maple had got her hands on a new skill.

And this was a skill that could be a new way to attack.

“‘Oozing Chaos’…This is… Hmmm… Oh, I see, I see. This is a similar skill to ‘Poison Dragon.'”

This skill had three other skills inside of it.

Maple inspected this skill and then set it into her armor without hesitation.

“Well then… I should get back and test it out.”

Maple’s vision was already enveloped in a red glow as she muttered this. By the time the light disappeared, she was already back inside of the church.

“It doesn’t use MP so I might as well try it out now! Umm…  ‘Predator’!”

Just as she shouted the word, the area around Maple’s feet was covered in a pitch-black light. And from that blackness, two black things came stretching out.

They were 3 meters long.

Appearance-wise, they resembled the devil she had just fought after it had transformed.

They had big mouths in the front, but unlike the devil, neither had any arms or legs. They looked very much like snakes, and they were coming straight out of the ground.

“…Can you move?”

Maple tried moving forward, the black light on the ground followed with the two snakes in it.

“Then let’s go!”

Maple left the church.

And so it was that two newborn devils left the old church building.

As Maple was walking, there was one thing that she was soon able to realize.

“Oh! They automatically defeat any nearby monsters for you!”

The two devils that were on either side of Maple, would bite and crush any enemies within their reach.

On top of that, they had their own HP, Attack Power and Defense Power independent of Maple, and their firepower and speed were more than enough.

Furthermore, their attacks had a ‘Binding’ effect.

“Well then, I think I’ll try a skill that uses MP next… ‘Oozing Chaos’!”

Once Maple used the skill, a black light began to ooze out of her. This was followed by the two devils on her sides becoming gigantic. They shot out to the front like ‘Hydras’.

If she ever had to fight against another player, and that miserable player was dealt such an attack, the player would end up witnessing a 2-meter wide mouth closing in on them.

The range was also more than enough.

“The last one… I think I’ll save it for next time. Okay then, ‘Seal.'”

She said the word to seal the ‘Predators,’ sending the two eye-catching creatures back into the shadows. And instead of testing out the final skill, Maple decided to walk inside of the forest.

“The third event…what should I do…maybe I’ve had enough…”

Because Maple had lost a lot of her interest in the third event, she ultimately did not hunt any more cows before the time was up.

After that, the third event ended peacefully, without Maple doing anything in particular.

And after the third event was finished, everyone gathered together at the guild home.

“Hahh… I’m tired.”

Sally leaned all of her weight on the backrest of her chair. She must have been incredibly tired because she looked drained of all energy.

“Ahh…me too.”

Kasumi’s arms and head rested on the table.

Sally and Kasumi had killed an especially high number of cows, so their fatigue was strong.

After that was Chrome, then Kanade.

Maple wasn’t tired at all.

With the exception of Izu, Maple would rank the lowest in terms of kill count. Towards the end, all she did was play around with ‘Predator’ in the forest where no one could see her. So it was no wonder that she was not tired.

“You didn’t do much this time, Maple.”

“I didn’t really feel like it…”

“Well, it can’t be helped. It was a really hard event for players like us.”

As Chrome said, it was a difficult event for people with low ‘AGI.’

Even more so for someone like Maple.

“But, as far as guild rewards went, we went to the highest point, you know.”

Kanade was right, the four others had covered for where Maple fell short, and together they had reached the highest reward.

“It’s already arrived here at the guild home.”

So saying, Izu took out the reward.

It was the stuffed head of a cow that you could mount on your wall.

As far as effects went, it raised the ‘STR’ of all members of ‘Maple Tree’ up by 3%.

“It’ll be more effective as we get stronger then.”

“Yeah, that’s true.

“It’s pointless for me…no, wait, it’s not!”

As soon as Maple said this, the faces of everyone except for Kanade changed.

Considering Maple’s ‘STR,’ it was strange to think there was any point in it.

And so the four of them all thought the same thing.

“Maple…did you go somewhere during the event?”

“I was on the second layer? …I think.”

Maple wasn’t sure if she should call that ash-colored world part of the second layer.

She told them this, and Sally and Kasumi put their hands to their forehead in exasperation.

Chrome and Izumi had also thought that it was unstoppable.

“…The third layer will be added eventually, after all. If possible, could you show it to us when we enter the dungeon when the time comes?”

By now everyone had realized that Maple had done something.

And it smelled of a rather dangerous skill.

Well, they were in fact, right.

However, the incredibly dangerous skill was not ‘Predator’ or ‘Oozing Chaos,’ but the last skill that Maple had not used back there.

There were now three days left until the third layer would be added.