"And the racers have reached the 2nd floor now! We currently have no dropouts, but in this pirate paradise, who knows what will happen!" - Announcer

Things are going smoothly for Rolf's team. They're currently in 2nd place, just behind the Crow team. A little further behind them again are Al Azif and that crusader team. They're not going to catch up to the Albino Arachnid anytime soon though.

"Aren't those things a little too heavy on the fanservice?" - Garami

"You don't see me complaining! Good job, Aino!" - Black Bone

We're watching our crew on our menu screens as they're dodging water spouts generated by old-fashioned cannons as they race through a corridor that looked like a merge between a coral reef and the inside of a pirate ship. "Pirate" because there are lots of jolly rogers, sabers, and even pirate costumes decorating the path as they race past various pirate-themed monsters. 

And as for my complaint? Excluding Rolf, all the girls on the racing crew are wearing swimsuits. And they all are produced by Aino if I'm to judge based on their fetish levels. Aino's has a fox theme, while the twins, who are accompanying the other two for today's race, are wearing white and black school swimsuits.

Note to self: never allow Aino to pick my clothes if I ever decide to get a new outfit from her. 

Those outfits are the main reason why I asked Aino to participate in today's match. In addition to her [Weaver] class, she has also picked up [Alchemist] recently, which gave her an advantage when it came to crafting stuff of otherwise impossible-to-handle materials. That combined with her mentioned main class has increased her cloth-making abilities to a new level, even if she's still sort of a newbie with [Alchemist] at the moment.

Other than that, she's also picked up a class known as...[Cosplayer]. Why is this a class...? Anyway, it's a class categorized as a "Path of Armor" class, but with more focus on the "armor" part than actually being a class aimed for tanking hits like Nala's [Bouncer] class or [Water Protector] class...

Anyway, [Cosplayer] is something akin to an all-around version of other Path or Armor-type classes focused on the defensive equipment instead of the techniques, such as [Heavy Warrior] (uses heavy, full-plate armor), [Light Warrior] (stuff like light-weight leather armor), or [Robe Warrior] (for mages who wants some extra defense, probably). 

The main gig when it comes to [Cosplayer] is that it focuses on swapping armor equipment nicely and cleanly along with improving their effects. This combined with Aino's EXTREME amount of outfits she has been making has given her a build that's practically an armor supporter. A handy thing actually, when one suddenly encounters a water-themed area that is hell to go through without the right type of equipment. 

Her taste aside, the swimsuits Aino provided to herself and the fairy twins have given them an edge when it comes to fighting off the various pirate monsters that keep on attacking the Albino Arachnid. 

"The other teams are making a decent effort, but this race will either see us or the 'Pirates of Craftsmen' as the winner." - Palug

That's right. The other team did a quick change of their equipment when they saw Crow's crew being dressed for the beach, but providing equipment for a specific purpose on a moment's notice isn't the easiest thing to do. Aino is an exception, as making fashionable, top-tier equipment is the main goal for her in this game, but the other people had to settle with whatever they had on hand. 

"That Soso-person's team isn't giving up though." - Black Bone

He's right. I switch the screen from the Albino Arachnid, who was trying to gain a lead on the Pirates, to focus on the fight to decide the race's #3 spot. Al Azif and those crusader dudes are duking it out while dodging attacks from the local sea rats.

The human Soso is using two swords that are fashioned with extra-large guards so they double as shields to slash and bash away monkeys armed with flintlock guns away from their chariot. A wolf-person that I have a vague memory of is holding the reins to the chariot while protecting himself from a bunch of slimes that have boat parts attached to their slimy bodies by releasing a shock wave cannon of a howl against them.

A magician dressed like a nun is casting a magical shield around the chariot, while a fairy releases tornado-like spells at Al Azif's rocket. Jill, the Incubus player I teamed up with before, created walls made out of salt to block the attacks. Then Ferno, the Amazoness-like Fiend I also met back then, kicked the large chunk of salt toward the chariots. What a musclehead, as always...

A guy armed with a tower shield blocked the salt meteor, who was then followed up by that spear-user armed with a round shield throwing his weapon at the unguarded Ferno. A giant demon armed with a shield made out of rocks blocked the attack. I think he's one of the famous demon-type players, a guy called Valier. Maybe I've talked to him on the demon BBS? 

Al Azif is busy handling the steering wheel on that strange rocket of his, so he can't join the fight. As for the other two members I saw before..., they're not here. Where did they go?

Anyway, when it comes to overall combat power, Soso's crusaders are in the lead, but Al Azif's demons have dressed up for the occasion. Just...why is Jill wearing a bikini? Not to mention he's doing it better than the other girls...

And they've reached the third floor now. The elemental focus seems to have shifted from the non-elemental type typical for the Common Monster lines to a Water-focus. Lots of strange fish monsters are swimming in the air (for some reason) and attacking the two teams with water blasts. Ah, the nun-dressed healer got soaked off the chariot. Goodbye. 

The wind fairy tried to use a big magic spell, but Ferno threw a fireball at the Crusaders to knock them off the road. Too bad Soso stepped in and blocked it. Tch. 

Just as the wind fairy's magic spell seemed to be ready, a small fish swam by and snitched the fairy's clothing on the way. Stripper fish!? Ah, a bigger fish came by and swallowed the fairy whole while she was busy covering herself (and the other male crusaders were busy having a nosebleed). Nice!

Using this opening, Ferno and Valier boarded the chariot and brought the fight to close range. As the muscleheads were busy duking it out on top of the chariot, Al Azif kicked the rocket into overdrive and left the Crusaders in the dust. Saving the nitro booster for the last lap, ey? Too bad, but you're not gonna keep up that speed when you catch up to the Albino Arachnid... Uh-oh.

*CRAAASH!!*

"Aaaand that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you do not fly a rocket within the confined space of a pirate ship corridor. Now, to more surprising news, the Crusader Paladins have just met their untimely end at the hands of..., am I reading this right? The Sahuagin pirates?" - Announcer

And like domino bricks, the teams are starting to drop out. Not that there was any other mention of...fish-faced pirates. Man, that is weird to say.

Rolf and the gang are still in the play, so let's change the channel.

Hey~, they've reached the 4th floor~. And they're facing a gigantic turtle in the middle of a winter wonderland loaded with firework tubes~... Hold on. What was that again?  

Oh, wow. It is a giant turtle. And not the kind that's getting beaten by jumping plumbers. This guy is in the "world turtle" class. He is covering most of the floor! There is no space left for any walls or hindrances that prevent the racers to go straight to the next floor!

Unfortunately, its big size is a hinder all on its own. And the giant shell is loaded with even more firework tubes, all aimed at the Albino Arachnid and Crow's amphibious pirate ship. 

The fireworks were launched, and Rolf is showing off his driving techniques. Like, for real. The guy is evading the rockets by the millimeter. Aino and Dawn are working together to shoot down the rockets that get too close, while Dusk is having a giant metal slab of a shield ready in case they miss a homing bastard. Shields aren't her main weapon, but with something that thick and solid, it should hold out at least one blast without skill backup before it breaks.

As for Crow's group...they're struggling. They got these suited-up cannons ready, but the persons manning them..., to keep it simple, they're bad shots. Too bad. They're taking one hit after another...and one more...two at once there...and they're done. Their ship exploded.

"Wow, talk about a letdown." - Garami

"Can't blame them. They were looking forward to summer vacation and got a snowstorm instead." - Black Bone

Huh? Oh, right. Cold damage, I think it's called. The environmental-type stuff that occurs when you're not equipped, aka dressed up, for chilly locations. The swimsuit gear aimed for the pirate paradise Dungeon doesn't fit with the Season Guardian of the far north, or wherever this guy came from.

Aino and the twins, on the other hand, had changed to fluffy fur coats when I wasn't looking. Aw, those look warm and toasty. I wish I had one...

"Why are you looking at me like that?" - Palug

"No reason." - Garami

While I was playing mind tricks on Palug (seriously), the Albino Arachnid had found its safe passage to the next floor's door: by driving on top of the turtle's legs! What is that slimehead thinking...

But despite the craziness of the idea, it works. The Albino Arachnid seems to have some sort of "sticky wheels" function that allows it to drive......OOOOHHH! So that's the reason why he called it an "arachnid"! I thought he was just currying a favor to me.

Back to the race. The turtle doesn't seem keen on aiming fireworks rockets at itself. I bet it could tank the blows, it's a freaking turtle after all, but the weirdness of the situation must prolly keep its AI confused. It doesn't know how to react in this situation. It's just as stuck as Aino and the girls are trying to make themselves, as they grab onto their seats for their dear lives. 

The wicked turtle trip didn't take long, and with an impressive jump of the ramp, aka the turtle's back, the crew had entered the 4th floor.

"YES! We're closer to the goal now than ever!" - Garami

"Even the BBS said nobody had managed to get past a Guardian yesterday. We may win this whole thing!" - Black Bone

I returned my attention to the screen, anticipating a victory banquet later today, and saw that the Albino Arachnid had reached a new Water-type floor..., scratch that. There's too much water here to be just a Water-type element floor. Maybe Ocean? That would explain the waves that are washing over the floor..., and now I get why Crow was using a ship with caterpillar tracks instead of a proper tank. That lousy elf...

But no problem. Rolf is a master mechanic. The Albino Arachnid seems to handle even seawater great. I hope it is. ...Let's have Rolf take a look at it afterward.

"Where are the monsters?" - Palug

"What monsters? ...Seriously, what monsters! The floor is deserted!" - Black Bone

They're right. I was too preoccupied with the high water levels, but other than our crew, the floor is emptier than my plate after pizza night. 

The girls (and Rolf) seem as confused as we are, as they're driving slower now in anticipation of any sudden monster outbreaks. Nothing's happening at the moment... Why is there a big jar in the middle of the road?

*CHOMP!*

...Huh?

"AAAAAND THE DARKLAND WALKERS ARE OUT!! A Lesser Behemoth Pot got the better of them! Poor lads. But despite their anti-climatic end, the Darkland Walkers still managed to get farther than any other contender today, so give them a warm round of applause, people!" - Announcement

"...What?" - Garami

"Huh?" - Black Bone

"This is..." - Palug

...It will take some time before our brains get back into gear. Stupid...what was that? A giant sea snake that suddenly emerged from the jar like a jack-in-the-box? **** that elf!! No, I won't do it for real, but still! To think he'd placed such a devious trap on the last floor! GAAAH!!

*Beep*

AND WHAT NOW!? ...A message from Bloom? This..., aha~. So "that thing" is ready now. Nice~. Let's hope it can help with tomorrow's race. Because I'm going in guns blazing! I got more secret aces in my sleeves than just this unexpected piece of happy news. Time for war!!