Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 242
Defense Specialization and the 9th Tower
But when Maple tried to call Syrup, the skill would not activate . Similarly, Sally was not able to activate ‘Web User . ’
And so the two braced themselves for a rough landing . However, they started to slow down after a while, until they stopped completely in the air .
Once they were calm, they looked at their surroundings . There were several star-shaped platforms in the air that shone brightly .
Their own bodies were shining as well, and it seemed to be the reason that they could float in the air .
“Look, Maple . I have a buff . It’s called ‘Power of the Star . ’ It looks like it only lasts for 2 minutes, though… We have to step on one of those star-shaped platforms in order to be able to float for an additional 20 seconds . ”
“So, we have to take breaks in order to not fall down!”
“It seems like we can use our skills again now . So that means we’ve entered the battlefield as well . ”
“That’s a relief . I’m counting on you again, Syrup . ”
Maple made Syrup enlarge, giving them the advantage of free movement .
Sally would also be able to shoot her webs at Syrup for an emergency escape .
And then, as if it was waiting for the two to finish preparing, the sky started to change .
As the stars glimmered in the night sky, a black pillar that was so wide that both of them wouldn’t have been able to wrap their arms around it began to descend . And then two arms that were at least 10 meters long and had claws, sprouted from the pillar . Then the top part disconnected from the sky, and two lights appeared like eyes where the face should be . A hole opened below the eyes and roared loudly .
This was clearly no throwaway monster . Maple and Sally immediately felt nervous .
“Probably! Maybe everything after the 8th floor is a boss fight . ”
But unlike the boss on the 8th floor, this one didn’t seem to have any special gimmick . And the HP bar was displayed above its head . And so the two of them held their weapons ready for what seemed like a traditional fight .
“Let’s go straight to the boss!”
Unlike the 8th floor, there was nothing to block their vision . Maple blasted off as if to say that she didn’t require the ‘Power of the Star . ’ And she carried Sally until they were right in front of the boss .
However, the boss had its eyes on them as well . And it swung its great arm towards Maple .
Maple twisted away and then used her great shield, which had ‘Bizzare Eater’ in order to block the arm and deal damage . However, she was thrown into the air .
“There’s Knock-back too!”
“It doesn’t pierce through my defenses, so it’s fine!”
While they hadn’t gotten that close, they were relieved to see that they had taken no damage . And so they recovered their position .
“Alright, ‘Deploy all Weapons’! ‘Commence Attack’!”
Just as Maple started firing her guns, the light that enveloped them disappeared, and they started to fall towards the ground .
Sally pulled the web that was attached to Maple . Then she sacrificed her status in order to make a transparent foothold beneath her . She hopped around on them until she reached the closest star-shaped platform .
“Phew… I think even you would have died instantly, Maple . Be careful . ”
“Uh, yeah . I forgot that it was for 2 minutes . ”
“Uh! Uh! Ah! ‘Heavy Body’!”
As her STR was lower than her VIT, she would not be able to move . But in exchange, she would be immune to Knock-back for 1 minute .
With this, she wouldn’t be forcefully blown away, and Dedicated Affection would protect them .
“Ehehe . Mi told me about it! So I might as well make the most of it!”
“It won’t be any good if we just attack it randomly and it does something unpredictable . We should watch it for a while . Bring Syrup a little closer . ”
“Maple . If you’re fine on your own, then I think I’ll attack it from a different direction . I know that I can dodge it and it might be better to have it target me . ”
As they had continued from the 8th floor, Maple had already used her weapons multiple times, so there was not much left . Because of this, it was decided that she keep them just in case they fell again . And so Sally would focus on attacking with webs and air walking .
“Yeah . And don’t you fall down, okay?”
Sally disconnected the web and then rose into the air to get her bearings .
She was slower when moving in the air, and it was necessary to read the enemy’s attacks with precision .
“If I distract it, Maple should be able to get to it with Hydra… Oboro! ‘Awaken . ’”
Sally had Oboro sit on her shoulder and then she moved towards the boss .
“With a target this big… ‘Wind Cutter’!”
First, she unleashed some magic in order to direct its attention away from Maple . It hit the boss and carved away a little bit of its HP .
At the same time, the boss moved its body . And with that, black blades flew towards Sally .
“Uhh… It uses the same type to counter, huh . ”
Of course, such an attack had no chance of hitting Sally, and she dodged it easily . Sally unleashed magic a few more times until she was sure that this was its way of countering .
At the same time, she saw that it was no longer attacking Maple .
“The enemy copies your attacks! And there may be Knock-back, so think about your timing when you hit it!”
As for Sally’s Sword Dance, she hadn’t had to dodge much on the 8th floor, so its effects were still weak .
The boss also had a lot of HP left, which suggested that it had very strong defenses .
Maple would understand more than anyone that she had to get in some attacks as well .
“It’s hard with nowhere to stand… Hmm, I know!”
Maple was wondering if she couldn’t think of a good idea before the next attack, when she suddenly clapped her hands as if to suggest such an idea had just come to her .