Tôi Không Thích Bị Đau Nên Muốn Dồn Hết Điểm Vào Phòng Thủ. - Chuyên thủ và ánh sáng cùng ngọn lửa.

「 thereof, everyone still hasn't started yet... I wonder if they're doing well. Maple seems to be showing up on the map the whole time...」

With time running short, Sally took a deep breath. Many players had died, encounters had become rare. Thus, monsters would be easier to hunt.

「I think it'll be fine if we hunt enough... It was a good opportunity, but I couldn't find anyone with powerful tame monsters fighting」

Whether there were other players to watch out for besides 【Gathering Holy Sword】 and 【Land of the Flame Emperor】—in events where many players seriously tried to survive, the rewards would change accordingly.

「Oh, My is on the map! Time's running short... Maybe I'll head there while hunting monsters」

Sally dashed toward My's location, casually slicing down monsters along the way.

「Gloom【Binding Barrier】!【Quintuple Slash】!」

If we stop their movement, they won't attack. Then we can unleash powerful skills. Unless it's super high difficulty, attacks are simple, HP isn't too high—Sally's not their match.

「Yep, over there... uwa... My is really making a mess too, huh」

There stood My, burning monsters and players to ash. The wasteland around My crackled with flames everywhere, hinting at intense combat.

「That's Ignis Maple mentioned. Let me observe」

Sally climbed a high tree using threads, to avoid surprise player attacks. From here, approaching enemies would be noticed.

「Hmm, will monsters or players come...?」

Sally squinted and spotted a familiar figure in white armor with a sword—Pain.

「I knew you were on the map, but didn't expect you to come」

My adjusted her stance, drinking MP potions, ready to fight at any moment.

「Yeah, I've hunted enough monsters. So I came to test my rival's strength. Ray,【Awaken】」

Pain's command summoned a silver-scaled baby dragon from his ring. It was about the size of a large bird, folding its wings to perch on his shoulder.

「What a coincidence. I was just about to finish hunting monsters too」

My summoned Ignis and activated【Flame Emperor】, while Pain drew his sword. That was the signal.

「【Blazing Flame】!」

「【Radiant Holy Sword】!」

From My came hellfire, from Pain came a stream of light, raging across the wilderness.

「Ignis,【Chain of Flames】!」

「Ray,【Holy Dragon's Blessing】!」

Each received buffs and surged forward. My had no intention of keeping distance, using【Flare Accelerator】 to close in.

「【Azure Flame】!【Explosive Flame】!」

「【Demon-Slaying Holy Sword】!【Holy Light】!」

Every clash erupted with intense effects, skills clashing and canceling out. Each was ultra-powerful, capable of deciding a battle in one hit.

Pain swung his sword; My dodged perfectly, countering with magic. But Pain also avoided her attacks cleanly, turning back to offense.

「Ray,【Growth】【Holy Dragon's Breath】!」

「Ignis,【Growth】【Unextinguishable Blaze】!」

Ray's breath and Ignis's flames burst between them, gouging the terrain, but evenly matched.

「Impressive, a fine monster」

「Your dragon too. But... if you're hiding power, I'll burn you to ash」

My showed no hesitation, recovering MP before commanding Ignis.

「Ignis,【Phoenix Flame】【My Body to Fire】!」

First skill buffed My, then Ignis transformed into a mass of flame, engulfing My and spreading across the wasteland.

「So that's how it is. Ray,【Holy Guard】!」

「Here we go!【Inferno】!」

As My shouted, scorching flames erupted, burning the entire space around her. The blinding light collided with an equally blinding light from Pain, exploding and devastating the surrounding forest and plains.

When the dust settled, My stood unharmed, while Pain had lost some HP, his armor scorched.

「Tch, thought I'd use Ray's ultimate... but can I take it with damage reduction and holy sword power? You're tough」

「Haha, I can't give you that info」

「So you didn't plan to defeat me from the start... but don't expect to walk away unscathed」

「Yeah, same here. If you're going to do it, let's go」

Pain raised his holy sword, ready to fight.

Just as round two began, a sound of splintering wood echoed.

Both paused, looking toward the forest. Multiple lasers flew chaotically from the trees.

「What...! Ray!」

「Tch, let's retreat for now! Ignis!」

Both Pain and My mounted their tame monsters and took off from the ground.

After a moment, a massive crocodile—ten meters tall—emerged, knocking trees aside. The oddity: it had lasers shooting from its mouth.

「...Fun's over. Pain, let's save the rematch for another time」

「Sure, I don't mind. At least I got to see【Inferno】」

Thus, the intruder ended their match without a winner.

And Sally, of course, had witnessed everything.

「Oh, that's Maple...」

Maple's icon rapidly approached. Looking closely, the crocodile wasn't shooting lasers—it had a laser cannon stuck in its mouth, grown into its wool.

「I'll run around till the very end!」

A familiar voice echoed faintly, and Sally watched it leave with a deadpan stare.