[Inflict the target with a physical attribute weakness..]
“Hup!”
Rohan thrust both hands through the gap between the metal plates he had cut with his dagger.
And then, he tore them apart. Ignoring the writhing vines, he flexed his arms and forced the metal plates wide open.
Baaang——!!! Vroooom——!!
The car, which had been crawling on all fours using the vines, spun its wheels as if they were about to burst.
Its horn blared like a scream, and the dagger lodged in its bumper was spat out, clattering to the ground.
Was this parasitic monster acting out of an instinctual sense of danger, or was it writhing in pain?
Sadly for the creature, neither reason was enough to weaken Rohan’s iron grip.
—Crunch!!! With a rough yank, Rohan tore the door apart with his bare hands. The vines supporting the car’s frame lost their strength and wavered.
A kick finished the job, flipping the car onto its side with a loud crash.
[+3P]
A clear signal that the monster was dead.
Beyond the wall, a cacophony of thuds and crashes erupted as more points flooded in.
[+3P]
[+2P]
[+2P]
[+3P]
Sion and Clara’s handiwork.
Rohan wiped the sweat dripping from his face as he confirmed that the two girls had returned unharmed after dealing with the swarm of monsters.
Man, this insane heat.’
As they drew closer to their destination, the monsters’ level was unmistakably increasing.
The problem wasn’t just the monsters. The temperature was rising to an absurd degree as well.
If not for his magically enhanced body, he would undoubtedly have succumbed to this murderous heat by now.
Whether this phenomenon was caused by their approach to the center or simply a result of time passing, he didn’t know.
And he didn’t want to find out.
There was no answer but to move forward.
“Oppa! The path is clear now!”
“Fighting against a motorcycle and a utility pole… This battle felt like a particularly ridiculous nightmare.”
It was so hot and humid that Rohan couldn’t help but wonder if this was what hell might be like. Yet, the girls showed no signs of irritation or conflict.
Rohan found that part of them especially admirable.
[You have bought a water bottle.]
“Good job, both of you.”
He handed a cool bottle of water to Sion and Clara, then moved on, sticking to the shade as much as possible.
Rohan who led the group glanced at the timer on his smartphone as they walked.
…28 hours and 6 minutes.
It had been more than a full day since they entered the dungeon.
Since he only used the phone to check the time, the battery was just below halfway, leaving them with a decent margin. For now, his priority was making sure the heat didn’t fry the device before the battery ran out.
Step. Step. Step.
They passed quickly under precariously tilted buildings and each leaned against the other for support.
Past those buildings lay an overpass. There were two pedestrian bridges, shattered and crisscrossed in an X-shape.
As Rohan approached, pretending to be unaffected, he let the familiar structure jog his memory.
It took the protagonist’s party three days to reach this point.
He thought back to a rest event that had taken place in Abyss City.
He compared their current progress.
Good. Much faster than I expected.
He had assumed it would take at least two full days to get this far, even at a good pace. But as Sion and Clara’s synergy began to click, that estimate was pleasantly shattered.
After spending all day fighting together, the three of them had developed a solid understanding of each other’s styles and worked together in perfect harmony.
He felt pleased, thinking they had grown closer than before as they crossed the front lines. It also seemed that Sion had more or less figured out how to talk to Clara.
Rohan moved closer to the destroyed overpass and carefully checked that there were no vines.
He made a suggestion to the two girls who were following him.
“Shall we rest here for a bit? There’s a fairly large patch of shade.”
“Mhmm!”
“Let’s do that.”
As soon as Rohan decided to take a break, he shrugged off his jacket and tossed it aside, then took off his shirt.
He twisted it as if wringing out a pretzel, not caring if it got creased. Sweat dripped onto the ground in a thin stream.
Sion also hid behind a piece of debris where Rohan’s gaze couldn’t reach and wrung out her sleeveless top in just her underwear.
However, Clara only went as far as taking off her thick, long boots.
Among the three of them, she sweated the least, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t sweating at all. The real problem was that her outfit made it tricky to deal with.
“Clara. Do you need more water?”
“I still have some left…!”
Rohan who was wearing his crumpled shirt loosely sat down beside Clara.
The anxiety she had shown right after falling into the dungeon was no longer visible on the girl’s face.
“Are you hungry? Or maybe you want something sweet?”
“We only ate a little while ago. I’m fine.”
Clara answered with a shy smile at Rohan’s question.
She could sense Rohan’s kindness in the way he kept checking on her and Sion’s condition.
Really… I’m so glad Oppa is here…
At moments like this, she strongly felt that Rohan was indeed older than her.
It was an intuition that couldn’t be proven clearly, but that skill was only part of Rohan’s abilities.
She felt certain that if she followed his broad back, she would definitely escape this dungeon. Because of that, her mind felt at ease.
“Rohan. Wouldn’t it be better to eat during the next break rather than now?”
Sion who was fully dressed now came out and sat next to the two who were resting.
“Shall we? Clara, are you okay with that?”
“Mhmm! I think doing what Unnie suggests is best.”
Before they knew it, even the way the two girls addressed each other had changed like this.
It was a remarkable improvement.
“””.….…”””
And so, the three of them leisurely enjoyed their rest beneath the shade of the overpass.
They didn’t talk much. But it was a comfortable silence.
“Let’s get moving now.”
That was Rohan’s remark after finishing his water bottle. Sion and Clara got ready without a word of complaint.
Clara slipped her feet back into the boots she had taken off and began to tie the laces while Sion repositioned her goggles and stood up.
Sion turned her head left and right to check that she hadn’t dropped anything.
Rohan watched Sion as he put on his clothes.
Then he saw something curious.
Huh?
It wasn’t his imagination. The corners of Sion’s lips were slightly raised.
Instead of feeling pleased, Rohan felt his heart drop.
What…?
He couldn’t think of any reason why Sion would be so happy.
After all, they had been engaged in tiring battles under this scorching heat. Seeing her looking genuinely pleased only made him worry more.
Rohan stopped adjusting his clothes and gave her a look.
Reading that gaze, Sion who was unusually embarrassed lifted the cloth to cover her mouth.
“…Did I look ridiculous?”
“You’re okay, right?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going crazy from the heat.”
“Well, that’s a relief…”
Even as Rohan resumed what he was doing, his expression remained uneasy.
Seeing that, Sion replaced the faint smile on her lips with a hollow laugh.
And she spoke her mind without hiding anything.
“It’s just… I found it quite fun to spend time like this, without being bound to anything.”
Clara, who didn’t fully grasp Sion’s situation, showed an ambiguous reaction.
But Rohan immediately understood why Sion was smiling.
“Sion.”
“Mhm?”
“When we get out, I’ll take care of it as soon as possible.”
“…….”
The expectations surrounding Rohan’s actions in the dungeon had risen compared to before.
Because of this, Sion was at a loss for words. What should she say in response?
“Let’s go.”
However, it seemed Rohan wasn’t interested in hearing an answer, as he simply grabbed his dagger and took the lead.
Clara, though wearing a puzzled expression at their brief conversation, quickly followed behind him.
··
··
36 hours had passed since they entered the dungeon.
The number of monsters Rohan and the girls had dealt with along the way was impossible to count on their fingers.
The fortunate thing was that, despite the sheer number of monsters, none of the three had sustained any injuries.
But Rohan knew.
The real challenge starts here.
After finishing their meal and taking turns catching some brief sleep, the group was in the best condition they could manage under the circumstances.
Rohan lifted his head and looked up.
In their line of sight, the building they had been aiming for finally appeared.
“Looks like we found the right place, doesn’t it?”
“It does. It’s definitely different.”
“Haaa…”
One glance at the windows of the building was enough to confirm it. The interior was filled with thick vines.
Unlike the other monsters they had faced until now, the vines inside were covered with menacingly sharp thorns.
“Rohan, are we going to enter this building now?”
“Yeah. We have to.”
“Then from this point on, wouldn’t it be better if Clara and I took turns leading the way?”
Clara, as if she had been thinking the same thing, nervously bit her lip and nodded her head.
But Rohan shook his head firmly.
“No. I’m the one with specialized training in handling monsters.”
“Hmm…”
“And even if my skills aren’t perfect, at least I’m sturdy. It makes sense for me to take the lead, absorb the hits, and deal with them accordingly.”
Rohan said this based on his knowledge, but the two girls looked as though they wanted to argue against the part about him being “sturdy”.
But by this point, they all knew. Rohan would never back down.
“And don’t forget, we need to prepare for attacks from behind, not just from the front. I’ll leave that to you two.”
“…Understood.”
Sion and Clara nodded their head in agreement.
Rohan ended the conversation there and opened the shop.
[You have bought a Low-Grade Health Potion.]
[You have bought a Low-Grade Mana Potion.]
Each low-grade potion cost 100 points. Rohan bought three health potions and three mana potions.
The potions were about the size of a thumb; they were small enough to carry around easily. The health potion shimmered with a red liquid, while the mana potion held a deep blue liquid.
“Each of you, take one. Don’t hesitate to drink it when you need to. Don’t try to save it.”
“Wait… are these potions?”
Sion examined the items with wide, astonished eyes.
“That’s right. We can always get more, so don’t hold back. Clara, you understand too, right?”
“M-Mhmm…!”
Rohan didn’t think the 600 points he had just spent were a waste.
Even though clearing the area would lead to full recovery, for now, it was essential to be fully prepared.
Unlike in the “Abyss City” game, they only had one life here.
“Alright, let’s head in.”
At Rohan’s words, the two girls quickly pocketed their potions and took defensive stances. They were ready to handle any monsters that might pour out at any moment.
“One… two!”
Boom! With a powerful kick, Rohan blasted the building’s door off its hinges.
The interior was revealed.
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