"Because of time?"
At Rohan's question, Shion glanced at Clara, who remained silent, and nodded cautiously.
"It's probably too early to be worrying about this, but it's true that things will get tricky after we escape."
"How much free time do we have? Starting from Academy City, I mean."
"...About five hours."
Shion's voice and expression as she gave her answer were far from optimistic.
Rohan had just mentioned that this could take days. Five hours wasn’t just tight—it was a window so narrow it felt like an invitation to give up entirely.
"Shion."
"Hmm, sorry for bringing up such a gloomy topic. I guess we’ll have to worry about what comes next later."
"No, that’s not what I was going to say."
Rohan twirled the dagger between his fingers, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"There’s a bit of hope here."
"Finding the Monolith in such a short time?"
"That would be ideal, if possible. But there’s something unusual about this space."
"What do you mean?"
As soon as Rohan had regained his mobility, he had turned on his smartphone. The time displayed on the screen was frozen, stuck on "Setting location."
However, the timer he had started was ticking steadily. Eight minutes and thirty-six seconds had passed.
He had started the timer partly because he remembered the unique characteristic of this dungeon—no night would ever fall here. But there was another reason, too.
"There’s a high chance that time flows differently here compared to the outside."
"!"
The revelation left both girls wide-eyed with shock.
Sure, it was possible that the outside world was experiencing the same passage of time, second by second.
But Rohan’s memory said otherwise. In the protagonist’s experience, the first dungeon’s time dilation meant that one day inside the dungeon equaled only fifty minutes to an hour outside.
It was a minor detail that had even spawned some side stories between characters in the original narrative.
"It could be passing faster, or it could be passing slower," Rohan explained.
"So this part comes down to luck," Shion said.
"Exactly."
While time discrepancies were common, no dungeon had ever shown such an extreme disparity that it became unmanageable. For instance, one second in a dungeon equating to ten years in the real world had never happened—not even in Abyss City.
"That’s valuable information. It’s comforting, in a way," Shion admitted.
"Glad to hear that."
Rohan dismissed it casually, saying it was something every student at Orion Academy would know. Shion and Clara accepted his words without question.
'If I were separated from Ichinose or Noah... just thinking about it gives me a headache.'
It was only because these two were with him that he could handle the situation so smoothly.
In hindsight, having Clara and Shion for the first dungeon experience was an incredible stroke of luck.
Neither of them had been trained to hunt monsters—they had been educated in techniques meant for cutting down humans.
"The academy teaches some impressive things..." Clara muttered.
"Do you want to enroll too?" Rohan asked.
Technically, this information came from his unique experiences, but if he escaped this dungeon and reported his findings to Juyeon, it would be incorporated into the curriculum within a year, along with details on the newly discovered dungeons.
"I... I’d like it if you were there, but alone... I don’t think so."
"Really? Then I’ll teach you myself, Clara."
"Hehe..."
With that, Rohan reached for the door. Shion remained silent, her lack of objections suggesting it was fine to proceed.
Creak! Clunk!
The door, neglected for so long, groaned under Rohan’s strength as bright sunlight streamed in.
What lay before them was a scene of tilted or completely collapsed buildings, with debris scattered everywhere—piles of rubble, broken guardrails, overturned cars, and fallen streetlights filled the streets. Not a single thing appeared intact.
It was a place that evoked the image of a world abandoned by humanity.
Shielding herself from the scorching sunlight, Shion lowered her goggles and pulled out a folding baton from her pouch, gripping it tightly.
"It’s hot. Probably over 40 degrees," she observed with calm indifference.
The heat was indeed overwhelming, but they couldn’t risk shedding layers of clothing—they had no idea what kind of attack might come their way. Even if they were drenched in sweat, it was better to keep their gear on. Luckily, Rohan already had solutions in mind to prevent dehydration.
"If you feel dizzy or dehydrated, you have to tell me immediately. Not saying anything could lead to serious trouble," Rohan warned.
"Got it!"
"Where are we headed? I don’t sense any significant magical energy," Shion asked.
"Let’s try to get a better view first."
Rohan climbed up the rubble onto a collapsed building, stepping over large fragments. Shion and Clara followed him lightly, their movements nimble and quick.
'Let’s see...'
From his elevated position, Rohan scanned the area, searching for a distinctive structure from his memory.
'Found it!'
Amid the endless stretch of ruins, he spotted it—a building far in the distance, barely visible to the naked eye. Unlike the others, which were either leaning precariously or completely destroyed, this one stood tall and unscathed.
"Do you see that? The tallest one, the one that looks intact," Rohan said, pointing toward it.
"Hmm... I have no objections to making that our destination. There don’t seem to be any other noteworthy buildings," Shion replied.
Both of them then looked at Clara, silently waiting for her input. Surprised that her opinion was being asked, she jumped slightly before nodding and saying she was fine with it.
Thud!
Rohan landed back on the ground and naturally took the lead. Clara and Shion were swift and strong attackers, but they didn’t have the physical resilience to be at the frontlines.
Gripping his dagger, Rohan began moving along the shaded path.
"If monsters show up, try not to use guns unless it’s absolutely necessary. The noise could attract more of them."
Shion nodded in agreement, then glanced at Clara, who was sticking to Rohan like a shadow. Feeling Shion's gaze, Clara flinched, her shoulders trembling slightly, as Shion spoke up.
"Clara. Besides the bullets you’ve already loaded, how many extra rounds do you have?"
"Um... just one magazine."
"Not much, then. Are you using subsonic rounds?"
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"...!"
Shion's deduction came from the silencer and Clara’s overall behavior. Clara couldn’t hide her surprise and nodded slowly.
"Unfortunately, my pistol uses a different caliber, and it doesn’t support a silencer. If you had a different pistol, I’d share my ammunition."
"Ah, I don’t have another one right now..."
Clara’s pistol was a rather niche model, and the silencer was custom-made to fit it. There wasn’t much that could be done. Shion quickly accepted this and stepped back, assuming Clara had another "real" weapon she relied on.
The conversation ended, and Rohan placed a hand on Clara’s head.
"Once we get out, I’ll restock your ammo. So don’t hesitate to use it when you need to, alright?"
"Okay...!"
Behind them, Shion couldn’t help but smirk as she watched the two interact.
‘He’s completely doting on her.’
What exactly was their relationship? Could she ask about it without overstepping? The question lingered on the tip of her tongue, but before she could speak—
Crunch!
Rohan suddenly stopped in his tracks, raising a hand into a fist as a signal for everyone to halt. The message was clear.
"There’s something," he said, his voice lowered.
At that moment, Shion’s sharp elven ears perked up, picking up on an unusual sound.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
‘A clock?’
It was the familiar sound of a second hand ticking, and it was getting closer.
From behind a large, overturned sign, something emerged—a wall clock, the kind you might hang in a cozy living room. But instead of being stationary, it walked with strange, vine-like limbs.
If anyone wondered how it was walking, the answer was clear. Four green tendrils extended like arms and legs, propelling it forward.
Tick. Tick.
Though it had no eyes, the clock gave off an eerie feeling, as though it were "looking" at them. Rohan’s grip on his dagger tightened.
Flick!
Without warning, the clock shot one of its hands like a throwing knife. Rohan dodged effortlessly, closing the distance in a single step and stomping down hard on the clock.
Crunch!
The sound of shattering glass echoed as the clock broke into pieces, its vines flailing like severed limbs before going limp.
[ +1P ]
Rohan glanced at the point notification and warned the others.
"As you can see, these monsters attack first, so stay on guard."
"...What a bizarre monster. I’ve never seen anything like it," Shion remarked, her voice tinged with disbelief.
For someone like Shion, who was used to dealing with monsters with blood and vital organs, this creature was beyond strange. It seemed to see without eyes and hear without ears.
"They don’t play dead. You can tell if they’re really down by looking at these vine-like limbs."
"Big brother... Is that... a parasitic plant?" Clara asked nervously.
"Not as far as I know. From what I remember, they don’t parasitize humans—just machines or furniture."
"Ahh... Thank goodness," Clara sighed in relief, pulling out her butterfly knife.
All three turned toward the direction where they sensed more movement.
Beep! Beep-beep! Beep!
This time, a larger mass with thicker vines appeared.
"A... traffic light?" Shion murmured.
It looked like a traffic light, but it clearly wasn’t. The creature walked on plant-like legs, moving on all fours like an animal. Without any electricity, its green and red lights alternated as it approached.
When it seemed ready to attack, the red light glowing intensely, Clara darted forward. Before the creature could react, it was neatly sliced into five pieces.
The girl hesitated for a moment before nervously shuffling back to Rohan.
"Big brother...! I’m sorry for moving without saying anything..."
"No, you did great."
It was almost automatic now—Clara slightly lowered her head, and Rohan gently patted it.
And just like that, one question was answered.
[ +1P ]
Despite Clara being the one to kill the monster, Rohan still earned the point.
‘So, points are shared even if allies make the kill.’
One curiosity he’d had since the quest mentioned "allies" was now resolved. With this system in mind, he grew more ambitious—this dungeon could be an opportunity to rack up a decent amount of points.
After quickly examining the remains of the monster, the group resumed their journey.
About an hour passed, during which they dealt with three more monsters. Clara suddenly tugged on Rohan’s sleeve.
"Big brother..."
"Yeah?"
"Um... that..."
"Are you feeling dizzy? Thirsty?"
Clara shook her head, her face red. For a moment, Rohan wondered if the heat was causing her to overheat, but then she avoided eye contact, fidgeting nervously.
"...Bathroom..." she whispered, barely audible.
"Ah."
Understanding the situation, Rohan straightened up and scanned their surroundings. For safety, Shion would likely need to accompany Clara.
Just as Rohan turned to ask Shion for help, she pushed up her goggles, a contemplative look in her eyes.
"Rohan. Wait a moment."
"What’s up?"
"We don’t know how long we’ll be stuck here, right?"
"That’s true."
Rohan nodded at her perfectly reasonable statement, encouraging Shion to continue.
"If survival is our goal, conserving energy would be best, but that’s not an option here. And we can’t just wait for someone to rescue us."
Shion explained further, mentioning the uncertainty of finding drinkable water or edible food in their surroundings. Then, with a dead-serious expression, she got to the point.
"I’ve read survival manuals that say drinking urine is equivalent to ingesting poison when you’re dehydrated. But if it’s from a healthy body and the person has magical abilities, it’s said they can endure it without harm."
In short, she was suggesting that they collect their urine while they were still in good health.
"If I’ve misunderstood something, please correct me. I’m genuinely serious about this," Shion concluded, looking straight at Rohan as though he had become the de facto leader of the group.
Rohan turned his gaze toward Clara.
"..."
Meeting his eyes, Clara’s face turned from red to crimson, looking as though it might burst into flames. She stammered incoherently, frozen in place.