During the time that Maple and Mi were on the quest, Sally was traveling from corner to corner on the map, while occasionally doing quests.

  “We’re given a general map of the area, but… I think I better actually see everything with my own eyes.”


  The map contained information such as locations of forests, rivers and lakes, as well as details of the terrain that could be understood at a glance, as long as they weren’t hidden areas.

  However, it was also true that the information wasn’t perfect. Even if you knew there was a river there, you wouldn’t know how wide or deep it was, and the entrances for caves, or other terrain that couldn’t be seen from far away were not on the map.

  Furthermore, you couldn’t know any details about the monsters that lived in the area unless you went there yourself.

  And there were some monsters that could be very dangerous if they took you by surprise, such as the freezing dragon that Maple had encountered. So she wanted to make notes of such dangerous places.

  Especially for people like Izu, Kanade, Yui and Mai, who had low HP and defense ability. It would be best to reduce any chances of accidents while exploring.

  “Though, there may not even be monsters on the field during the event.”


  She would say it again and again. You could not be too careful. Sally did not want to be taken by surprise due to a lack of preparation. After all, her defense stats could be said to be lower than a level 1 player. So this investigation to reduce accidents was for her more than anyone else.

  Now that she could transform her weapon into a shield, as long as she was able to fight at her best, there would be no attacks that she couldn’t deal with. In other words, this investigation was for those times when her concentration started to weaken. Though, even in situations where her concentration was lowered so much that she was unable to reflexively dodge attacks, there would be cases where knowing the attacks beforehand would allow her to prepare quickly and dodge them.

  For Sally, preparing before a fight was a very important thing.

  And so while she continued to level up and complete quests, Sally went around and studied the monsters on the field as well as the terrain.

  “The ones based on fire and thunder really do have a lot of offensive gimmicks.”


  If it was water and ice, then she could imagine the kind of attacks and traps that would stop your movement by freezing you, just like what had happened to Maple.

  On the other hand, her impression was that fire and thunder dealt more direct damage.

  In fact, Sally had felt the clear difference in terrain.

  In the country of water and nature, there were areas that released cold air that lowered your AGI, while in the burning wasteland, there were places where damage inflicting lava was constantly flowing.

  The former was terrain that robbed Sally and Kasumi of their strengths, and the latter meant that Maple, Mai and Yui could easily fall prey to fixed damage.

  So in terms of which terrain they would want to invade, or which would be an advantage for them, there were many things to base the decision on, but Sally was reminded of just how importants those points were when choosing a camp.

  And as she continued her investigation, she found another player who was inspecting the terrain and making a record.

  “It’s unusual to see you out alone.”


  “…? Oh, it’s you, Ms. Sally. I see that you’re working too…”


  After being noticed by Sally, Hinata greeted her and bowed her head.

  “Are you also investigating the terrain and monsters?”


  “Yes. Velvet doesn’t really like to do things like this… Of-of course, it’s because she is so strong that there isn’t much of a need.”


  “That might be true.”


  Maple had a lot of ridiculously powerful skills, but Velvet’s had thunder attacks whose power and range matched them. On the other hand, it was also possible for her to infight at a speed that equalled Sally, which showed how high her standard was.

  “But, I think I should still do what I can. Because she can be a little careless…”


  “While I haven’t known her for long…that’s probably true.”


  She was usually acting, but was the kind of person to betray herself after every few sentences. And so she was not the kind of person to construct a perfect plan and then put it into action without any mistakes.

  “If you prepare so thoroughly, there won’t be any openings, which will make things harder for us.”


  “…I could say the same thing to you.”


  ‘thunder storm’ had already declared that they would be on the opposing side as Maple. And so the amount of preparation that everyone did would greatly affect the outcome of the battle.

  “Though, depending on the timing of deciding the camp, we might end up on the same side.”


  “If that happens…I’ll be happy to work with you. Though Velvet…will likely be very disappointed if that happens. But it won’t change the power of her skills.”


  “She’ll be disappointed, huh…”


  “Yes…”


  Sally had been under the impression that she was the type whose performance was affected by how she felt that day. And judging by Hinata’s hesitant response, there was an issue of things unrelated to skills, such as precise body movements, which declined during such times.

  “But I wouldn’t want to fight her when she’s at her best.”


  “Is that so?”


  For Sally, even if she was fighting alongside the other guild members, Hinata and Velvet would be worthy opponents. Even if she was in peak condition, these two were good at using area attacks that she would have trouble escaping from. It was no wonder, since they had a lot more skills than your average dungeon boss.

  “Though, I’m preparing as well. That being said, you’ve studied our skills as much as you could, I’m sure?”


  “…Since you’ve been causing such a scene, we’ve done some…yes.”


  Maple wreaked havoc in the center of battlefields every time there was an event, and there was usually recorded footage of it left in the event highlights. At this point, there would be no players on the ninth layer who were unaware that Maple was capable of suddenly turning into a gigantic monster, or creating weapons.

  “Being famous sure is hard.”


  During the last PvP battle, they had been able to make use of the fact that they still weren’t completely the center of attention, and had been able to win. But it wouldn’t go like that this time. They had to be aware that all eyes were on them, and that people had designed countermeasures.

  “But compared to Maple, there isn’t a lot of information about your skills, Sally…”


  “That’s a relief. It means I should do just fine.”


  In the first place, Sally’s dodging ability had reached a level that was supposed to be nearly impossible, and so she didn’t rely on skills as much as others. That was one of the reasons there was little information about her skills.

  “Well, we should all do what we can, so that there will be no regrets.”


  “No regrets…huh?”


  Hinata looked there was something on her mind. And it was probably the reason that she was going around and investigating such small details here. Sally wondered.

  “…”


  And then Hinata nodded as if deciding something, and then she stopped next to Sally and whispered in her ear. Upon hearing it, Sally’s eyes opened wide for a second, and then she looked at Hinata with a serious expression.

  “…I didn’t expect that. She did seem quiet, but strong… Did you hear that from Velvet?”


  “Uh, a little, but…”


  “I thought she would be disappointed?”


  “Still, I think that it will push us closer to victory. And she’s regained her form like that plenty of times before… Besides, winning as a guild is one way of giving back to all the members of thunder storm.”


  “I see.”


  “I hope that you will consider it… I don’t think that it’s an entirely bad offer.”


  “…”


  “You can just send a message if you make a decision. To me or Velvet…”


  Hinata said with a bow of her head. And then she left. After being left alone, Sally stood there for quite a while.

  “Come and fight on our side…huh?”


  Currently, Sally had no intention of doing that. However, she could not declare that it would never happen. That suggested that a part of her was conflicted. A real PvP battle had not happened since the 4th event.

  What if the opportunity did not come again? Especially within the next half year.

  “…”


  And so right now, Sally could not find the answer.