[+5P]
"This thing only gives 5 points? These points are way too stingy. This is a loss, a total loss."
The robot, slashed with a dagger and beaten by fists and kicks, had lost its original shape entirely.
"Rohan, drink a potion quickly. If you don't have any spares, I'll give you one of mine."
"I've got spares. Keep your potions safe."
Among the three of them, Shion finished her battle the quickest.
While Rohan was taking down one robot, Shion shattered two of them in an instant with her baton.
Shion must have also realized that monsters transformed into parasitic forms were particularly vulnerable to electricity.
After finishing her battle, Shion kicked off the wall, flying towards Rohan to help him wrap up his fight.
Clara, meanwhile, took care of the remaining robots as Rohan was finishing his battle.
Fighting robots was entirely different from killing creatures with blood and guts, so it seemed Clara found the process quite challenging in its own way.
Thus, the 30th floor was cleared.
Though Shion and Clara emerged unscathed from this battle, Rohan's injuries were quite dramatic.
Because of that—
As Clara approached after the battle, the balisong knife slipped from her hand.
––Ting! A sharp sound echoed as it hit the floor.
"O-Oppa...!?"
When Rohan turned his head, the sunlight streaming through the window made everything clear.
Clara's expression was heartbreaking. Her eyes brimmed with tears, ready to spill at any moment.
The silence was broken only by her sniffles. Rohan, for the first time since arriving at Academy City, was completely flustered.
His feet instinctively carried him toward the girl.
"I'm really fine, Clara. Don't cry, okay?"
"You always... always say you're fine..."
Clara pouted her lips like a duck and lowered her head.
Rohan gently took her hand with his clean, blood-free one.
"It's just a scratch. It's not deep. I'm sorry for worrying you."
"..."
Clara seemed just as bewildered by her uncontrollable emotions as Rohan was.
Even Shion, who had been watching them silently, seemed taken aback.
After about a minute, Clara, still sniffling, seemed to regain her composure and whispered softly.
"Oppa... I-I'm sorry..."
"I'm the one who should be sorry. I'll train harder when we get back."
Rohan had no intention of asking her what she was apologizing for.
Even Shion, standing nearby, could understand the meaning behind her words.
In battle, injuries were inevitable. Clara knew this all too well.
She also knew that showing such emotions and burdening others with her concern wasn’t the right thing to do. That’s why she pulled herself together and apologized. But instead of feeling burdened, Rohan was happy to see her display such emotions.
It was a great motivation for him to push himself even harder in training.
***
After drinking a potion and stopping the bleeding, Rohan rejoined the group.
They ascended to the 31st floor, only to find it completely empty, much to their surprise.
The reason for this became clear when they reached the 32nd floor, where a loud commotion was reverberating.
As they climbed further, they encountered robots descending from the 33rd floor. They were the same security robots they had seen on the 30th floor.
Perhaps the parasitic plants realized they couldn’t win with their current numbers.
From one robot standing in the middle, thorny vines suddenly spilled out, wrapping around the nearby robots and pulling them together.
Screeetch! Crrrack! Creak!
The robots groaned under the sheer force of the vines, twisting and crushing as they were forcibly pulled together, the vines tangling tightly around them.
Robots from the 31st to the 33rd floor fused together in an absurd amalgamation.
Using principles completely at odds with the precision of machines, they combined their strength in a grotesque display. This is why they were considered monsters.
"..."
The tangled vines thickened several times over, and miniguns jutted out in chaotic directions.
From the cracked displays, shards of glass rained down as static flickered on the screens.
─ Intruders detected.
─ Commencing cleanup.
The machine's voice was clearer and more distinct than before, its presence far more menacing than the earlier robots.
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However—
The group worked much better together when facing a single enemy compared to when they were scattered.
Having spent about three days fighting side by side, their coordination, while not perfect, was solid and efficient.
Rohan handed Shion a handgun. The end was truly near now.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
An entire magazine was emptied in a single burst.
With the deafening sound of gunfire, the battle was over.
Shion’s bullets, imbued with her unique magic, quickly brought the situation to a close.
Rohan had expected high points for the combined monster, but it was only worth 7 points.
He couldn’t help but feel it was a loss.
The 34th floor was devoid of monsters.
Not a single thorny vine was in sight, and while the space was pristine, it exuded an unsettling sense of unnaturalness.
According to Rohan's memory, this floor was meant to be a resting area before facing the boss.
Shion and Clara, unaware of this, remained on high alert for some time. However, after thoroughly inspecting the area and confirming it was safe, they finally turned their attention to Rohan's words.
"You saw the sign on the 1st floor, right? This building has 35 floors—it’s the top. Just one more to go."
"What? I didn’t know that..."
"You managed to keep track of that kind of information in all this chaos? Then there’s a good chance something stronger is waiting for us next."
In truth, no such information was written on the 1st floor.
Rohan was making it up as he went.
"Let’s prepare thoroughly. If you feel like you’re running low on magic, just drink a potion."
At Rohan's suggestion, Shion and Clara both gulped down a blue potion.
The bitter taste made the girls scrunch up their faces, and Rohan, anticipating this reaction, popped a macaron into each of their mouths.
"Say ‘Ah~.’"
When Rohan offered the macarons, not only Clara but also Shion opened their mouths to accept them.
He could feel how much closer they’d grown after enduring so much together.
35th Floor
Unlike the floors below, the top of the staircase ended in a pair of heavy iron doors, an unusual design despite not being the rooftop.
Rohan turned the doorknob as quietly as possible.
"Oppa, there’s something strange inside!"
"As always, it’s unsettling."
After peeking inside, the girls made faces as if they’d just seen a bug.
Rohan checked through the gap to see the monster he remembered from his past.
‘Oh.’
Countless thorny vines were tangled together, forming a massive pillar.
From the pillar extended smaller vines, undulating as if dancing, their ends adorned with clusters of televisions of varying sizes, each displaying an emoticon-like expression.
It looked like a piece of modern video art.
[^^] [^^] [^^] [^^]
Like all the monsters they’d encountered so far, the dungeon boss matched Shion’s description—it was grotesque in every way.
Rohan glanced around and whispered softly to the girls.
"That’s the Monolith, right? Do you see it?"
At his words, the girls leaned in closer, focusing on the thorny vines he mentioned.
And they spotted it.
Amid the tightly entwined, tree-like vines, a tiny black obelisk the size of a fingernail writhed in a narrow crevice, faint letters engraved upon its surface.
It was indeed a Monolith, as Rohan had said. Unlike its first appearance, it no longer emitted a radiant light but glowed faintly and softly instead.
"Oh, it’s real!"
"It definitely is."
The moment they spotted it, a shared instinct arose within them.
Destroying that would allow them to escape this place.
“!”
The three exchanged glances and nodded, quickly forming a plan.
They were confident that the information ingrained in their minds was correct.
"Can you shoot that from here?"
Both Shion and Clara had the special ability to imbue projectiles with magic.
If everything went smoothly, they might be able to avoid a drawn-out battle and return without further hassle.
"That tiny gap? It’s no problem."
"I-I can do it too!"
The target wasn’t the monster but the Monolith—their way back home.
The two girls nodded confidently at Rohan’s question.
Shion pulled out a heavy handgun from her holster and checked the magazine, while Clara readied her pistol, loaded with subsonic rounds.
They were convinced this was the moment to use their ammunition without reservation.
"Rohan, don’t expect too much destructive power, though."
"Why not?"
"If the gun and bullets aren’t specially crafted, they’ll break if I overload them with magic. At best, it’ll be as effective as it was against those robots earlier."
Clara nodded slightly in agreement, and Shion looked disappointed, wishing she had a sniper rifle instead.
‘Good to know,’ Rohan thought as he memorized the information, but assured them it would be enough.
The girls pointed their pistols through the crack in the door.
Shion crouched, taking a stable firing position, while Clara stood and aimed.
"Clara, fire when you’re ready. I’ll follow up."
"Okay...!"
Fwoop! A soft whizzing sound was followed by a thunderous gunshot—Bang!
The bullet flew straight through the gap in the writhing vines, heading for the Monolith.
But the vines reacted, stiffening and contracting in an instant as if sensing the attack.
The bullet tore through several layers of vines before losing momentum and stopping.
Hissssss! Steam rose, evidence of the intense impact and friction.
[⸌⸍] [⸌⸍] [⸌⸍] [⸌⸍]
The emoticons on the televisions changed all at once.
Their state was clear—they were angry.
Though the bullet didn’t reach the Monolith, it had definitely inflicted some damage.
"O-Oppa! Those faces... they look scary now!"
"Rohan, it seems the creature’s nature has changed."
Rohan placed a calming hand on each girl’s shoulder, his voice steady and devoid of tension.
"Don’t worry about it. Let’s just keep doing what we’re doing."
It was time to leave.