[+5P]
A guy like this is only worth 5 points? These points really lack flexibility. This is a loss, a total loss.
The robot, which had been slashed by the dagger and pummeled by fists and feet, completely lost its original shape.
“…Rohan. Hurry up and drink a potion. If you don’t have a spare, I’ll give you one of mine.”
“I do have a spare. Keep your potion.”
Among the three, the one who finished the battle the fastest was Sion.
While Rohan dealt with a single robot, Sion destroyed two robots in an instant with her baton.
Sion must have also noticed that monsters in their parasitic state are exceptionally vulnerable to electricity.
After finishing her own fight, Sion kicked off the wall and flew in to help Rohan, who was wrapping up his battle.
Clara cleaned up the remaining robots around the time Rohan finished his fight.
Fighting robots was completely different from killing creatures that had blood and entrails, so it seemed she found it all rather cumbersome.
And so, the 30th floor was settled.
In this battle as well, Sion and Clara emerged unscathed, but Rohan’s wounds looked quite flashy.
Thanks to that—
Right after the battle ended, the butterfly knife slipped out of Clara’s hand as she approached.
—Ding! The knife struck the floor.
“O-Oppa…!?”
When Rohan turned his head, thanks to the sunlight streaming through the window, he could see it clearly.
Clara’s expression was beyond description. Tears were welling up and ready to overflow at any moment.
In the hush, the sound of her sniffling was all that could be heard. Since falling into Academy City, this was the most flustered Rohan had ever been.
His steps naturally carried him toward the girl.
“I’m really fine, so don’t cry. Okay?”
“You always… always just say you’re fine…”
Clara pouted her lips like a duck and hung her head low.
With a clean, blood-free hand, Rohan gently took Clara’s hand in his.
“It’s just the skin that got cut; it’s not a deep wound. I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“……”
Clara herself was startled by the uncontrollable emotions. Likely as much as Rohan was.
Sion, who had been watching the two, was also quite surprised.
After about a minute passed, Clara who had been sniffling seemed to come to her senses and whispered quietly.
“O-Oppa… s-sorry…”
“I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ll train hard once we get back.”
Rohan had no intention of asking her what she was sorry about.
Even Sion who was watching from the side could easily guess the hidden meaning behind Clara’s apology.
It was inevitable to get hurt in battle, and Clara fully understood that fact.
She also knew well that showing her emotions like this and adding to the burden of someone’s injuries wasn’t really a good thing. That’s why she came to her senses and apologized, but Rohan felt not the slightest burden; rather, he was glad to see Clara’s heartfelt feelings.
It also provided good motivation to push his training even harder.
··
··
Once Rohan finished stopping the bleeding after drinking a potion—
The group proceeded to the 31st floor. When they arrived there, they were surprised to find it completely empty.
They discovered the reason when they reached the 32nd floor, which was making a clamor loud enough to echo between floors.
Heading further up, they encountered robots descending from the 33rd floor. They were all the same security robots they had seen on the 30th floor.
Perhaps the parasitic plant had judged that it couldn’t win with its current numbers alone.
One of the robots standing in the middle suddenly spewed out thorny vines, which began to wrap around and pull in the surrounding robots.
Shrrrrip! Crack! Crunch!
The robots crumpled under the physical force of the thorny vines. They were forcibly pulled together and bound by intertwining tendrils.
Robots from the 31st to the 33rd floors merged into a ridiculous fusion.
They amplified their power by methods completely incompatible with precise machinery. This was why they were called “monsters”.
“……..”
The thorny vines tangled together, growing several times thicker, and miniguns protruded randomly in all directions.
From the shattered display, shards of glass rained down as it sparked and flickered.
– Intruders detected.
– Starting cleanup.
This time, the machine spoke in a clear voice.
Its sense of pressure was on a completely different level from the previous robots.
However—
When Rohan and the girls stood together instead of splitting up, they handled a single massive foe with far better coordination.
Hadn’t they fought side by side for about three days straight? Even if not perfect, their teamwork was more than sufficient.
Rohan had Sion draw her pistol. After all, there wasn’t much left to do now.
Ta-da-da-dang!
One magazine was consumed in one go. Along with the ear-ringing gunshots came the conclusion.
Sion swiftly ended the situation with bullets imbued with her magic l power.
Rohan expected some high points from the fused monster but only got 7 points.
He felt it was a loss.
There were no monsters on the 34th floor.
It was clean, with not a thorny vine in sight. Yet that very cleanliness was unsettling in its own way.
From Rohan’s memory, this place was a rest area before heading to the boss.
Unaware of that, Sion and Clara remained on high alert for a while, but after checking every corner and confirming it was safe, they listened to Rohan’s voice.
“You saw what was written on the 1st floor, right? This building’s top is the 35th floor. We have just one floor up.”
“Ah! I didn’t know…”
“So even in all that chaos, you managed to notice? Then there might be an even stronger foe next.”
In reality, nothing of the sort was written on the 1st floor.
Rohan was simply making it up as he shared the information.
“Let’s be fully prepared. If you feel your mana is running low, just drink a potion.”
At Rohan’s words, Sion and Clara gulped down the blue potion.
The bitter taste made the girls frown. As if expecting that, Rohan popped a macaron into each of their mouths.
“Say ah~.”
When Rohan held out the macaron, not only Clara but also Sion opened her mouth to take a bite.
He realized they had grown closer after enduring hardships together.
<35th Floor>
Unlike the floor below, there were iron doors on both sides at the end of the staircase. Despite not being the rooftop, it had a unique structure.
He carefully turned the doorknob while minimizing any sound.
“Oppa, there’s something strange inside!”
“I say it every time, but it really is bizarre.”
The girls, having peeked in, looked as if they’d seen a bug.
Rohan also peered through a gap to see the monster that matched his memory.
Oh.
An unknown number of thorny vines were intertwined to form a huge pillar.
From that pillar, vines extended and writhed as though dancing.
At their ends, variously sized television screens dangled like fruit, drawing emojis to convey expressions.
It looked like a form of modern art known as video art.
[^_^] [^_^] [^_^] [^_^]
As with all the monsters they’d encountered so far, this dungeon’s boss was just as bizarre as Sion had described.
Rohan darted his eyes around the place, then whispered to the girls.
“That’s a monolith. Can you see it?”
At Rohan’s words, the two girls leaned in with renewed interest.
Focusing on the thorny vines he mentioned, they found it.
Between the narrowest gaps of the thorny vines intertwined as thickly as tree trunks, a small, fingernail-sized space squirmed and shifted, subtly revealing a jet-black monolith with engraved letters.
Just as Rohan had said, what appeared to be a monolith was indeed there. Unlike when it had first appeared, it had lost its brilliant light and now emitted a faint, subtle glow.
“Ah, it’s real!”
“It really is.”
The moment they spotted it, an instinctive realization set in.
Knowledge seeped into their minds that destroying it would let them escape this place.
““!””
The three exchanged glances, nodded, and shared their thoughts.
They were convinced that the information rooted in their consciousness was likely true.
“Think you can hit that with a gun?”
Sion and Clara possessed a special talent for infusing magical power into projectiles.
If all went according to plan, they might be able to leave without the hassle of fighting.
“Piercing a gap that size is no big deal for me.”
“M-Me too…!”
The target wasn’t the monster but the monolith. Another name for their path home.
The two girls confidently nodded at Rohan’s question.
Sion drew a hefty handgun from inside her coat and checked the magazine, while Clara produced a handgun loaded with subsonic rounds.
They were certain the time had come to unleash their bullets without reservation.
“Rohan, don’t expect too much firepower, though.”
“Why not?”
“If it’s not a specially made gun and ammo, the moment we pour in too much magical power, it’ll just explode. At best, it’ll be as strong as it was against those robots earlier.”
Clara gave a small nod as if affirming that what she said was true. Sion, on the other hand, wore an expression of regret, as though lamenting the lack of a sniper rifle.
So, that’s a thing too,
Rohan thought to himself, mentally filing away this new information. At the same time, he assured them that their current setup would be enough and made his request.
The girls aimed their handguns through the gap in the door.
Sion crouched down to steady her posture, while Clara stood and carefully aimed the gun.
“Clara, take the shot when you’re ready. I’ll hit my mark.”
“Understood…!”
Flick! A faint sound rang out, followed by a sharp bang! as the intense gunshot echoed.
The bullet flew straight toward the narrow opening in the vines, aiming precisely for the monolith.
However, as if sensing the attack, the vines stiffened instantly and shrank back.
The bullet tore through the vines with a crackling sound but eventually lost its momentum and stopped short of its target.
—Ssssss! A thin wisp of steam rose, evidence of the intense friction and impact.
[⸌_⸍] [⸌_⸍] [⸌_⸍] [⸌_⸍]
The emojis displayed on the television screens shifted all at once.
Their current state was now painfully clear.
Although the bullet hadn’t reached the monolith, it seemed to have done some damage.
“O-Oppa! Look… its expression changed! It looks so scary now…”
“Rohan, it seems like there’s been a change in that thing’s behavior.”
As the two girls hurriedly reported what they observed, Rohan placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
He calmed them with a voice devoid of tension.
“Don’t worry about it. We just need to keep doing what we’re doing.”
It was time to head back.
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