Towards the Summit (3)

“So this is the new skill that unlocked from the level-up just now… I can’t even begin to guess what it does just from the name.”

I muttered quietly while staring at the text floating before my eyes after opening the status window. My body, which had lost all shape moments ago, had already returned to its original form. But the reconstructed appearance wasn’t that of a gray-haired girl from reality—it was the so-called ‘magical girl form.’

Ulthar must have done something again. Thinking back, the whole situation of gaining experience and leveling up felt strangely off. This was clearly a dream space, yet it carried an uncanny sense of realism. The system operated almost identically to reality, and now this new skill had unlocked as well.

I had roughly expected my level to rise since experience kept accumulating, but the new skill was unexpected. According to him, this space was a world constructed almost perfectly like reality. That meant I could obtain a new skill in reality too by raising my level just one more time. The connection between this space and reality still eluded me, but ultimately, he was the one who had granted me this power. It wasn’t an entirely impossible assumption.

While I was examining the status window and reviewing the new changes, Nabi—who had remained silent until now—spoke up.

[“Question” It seems you have fully regained your senses, Master. I was worried because you did not return to your original form for a while after defeating the floor boss. Did something happen?]

“!!......”

My shoulders flinched sharply at the question that struck right at the core. My eyes slowly widened into circles as my face flushed red like a tomato. It was clearly not a normal reaction. But I turned my gaze away and opened my mouth in a trembling voice.

“…N-nothing happened? No need to worry. Look, see! What part of me looks like there’s a problem?”

[“…” Hmm…]

Nabi sent me a suspicious glance instead of speaking further as I grabbed the frilled hem of my skirt with one hand and spun in place. She clearly had a lot she wanted to say but chose to keep quiet to avoid upsetting me. Still, there was nothing outwardly wrong with my current appearance. My body looked perfectly fine—doubtful that it was the same one whose head had been half-blown off just moments ago. It was a clear display of this body’s absurd regenerative power.

In the end, the truth behind Nabi’s question lay elsewhere.

‘…I just dozed off for a bit while feeling drowsy from being full. There’s no way I could tell her that!’

I screamed inwardly, a cry I could never voice aloud. It felt strange to even have this feeling, but… the monster I had absorbed earlier had been the most delicious one I had swallowed on the first floor. As a result, the relief of successfully defeating the enemy loosened my tension, and combined with the drowsiness from being full, my consciousness had briefly grown hazy.

If I ever said that out loud, what would happen next was obvious even without seeing it. Right now she was submissive and crawling on the ground, but I had no desire to reveal such an embarrassing fact to the AI in front ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of me, whose insolent nature could surface at any moment.

[“Affirmative” Understood, Master. Also, the strategy you used earlier was excellent. I thought you were completely unfamiliar with this, but… you do have a sharp sense after all.]

Fortunately, Nabi didn’t seem intent on digging any deeper and smoothly changed the subject. There was a subtle feeling of her praising me, but half of it also felt genuine. Honestly, even I—the one who had come up with the plan—hadn’t expected it to succeed so cleanly.

Creating a momentary opening, widening the gap, and then landing a single strike mixed with a feint. To do that, I first had to block that mercilessly flying lump of metal head-on. The card I pulled out for that was the longsword carried by the guards I had just dealt with. Since I had absorbed their weapons along with them, there was no problem materializing it using Transform. Of course, I could have used the sharp ant jaws I had been using as weapons until now, but I chose the longsword. The biggest reason was that a sword I could directly grip and swing was far easier to handle than the ant jaws, which required transforming my entire arm. Moreover, the longsword wasn’t inferior in durability either. Naturally, the fact that I could secure enough muscle strength to wield the sword by altering my body structure also influenced ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my choice.

After deflecting the lump of metal beyond the enemy’s expectations, I used a bit of trickery. Instead of throwing my body forward to close the distance, I launched a powerful kick aimed directly at its head. If I had used the straightforward former method, the risk would have been high because it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠might instinctively pull its body back. So instead, I twisted my body slightly and kicked with all my might—as if the small opening I had created was solely for this kick.

As expected, the enemy, flustered by my relentless movements, acted exactly as I had predicted. The moment it judged it was too late to dodge, it instinctively grabbed my leg. But if that single strike had simply landed cleanly, things wouldn’t have resolved so easily. What appeared at the end to finish it was the powerful viscosity. The enemy, unaware of that fact, grabbed my leg without any suspicion, allowing my hidden aim to hit perfectly.

In short, it was a tactic that made full use of this body’s characteristics.

‘There are still four of those guys left… Some of them will be tricky to deal with even with this body. My head already hurts just thinking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about it.’

Recalling the enemies my former party had faced one by one, I furrowed my brow and let out a troubled groan. None of them were easy opponents. For some, I couldn’t even guarantee success on the first attempt. The one fortunate thing was that my level rose along with each enemy I defeated.

Residual (Lv.4) [16/16]

I poured all the stat points I gained this time into Residual. Last time I hadn’t felt its importance much and barely invested in it, but recently I had come to painfully realize how crucial it was. Raising attack power was important, but my own safety came first above all else.

After finishing the stat distribution, what remained was the long-awaited new skill. Among the three existing abilities—Absorb, Transform, and Dissolve—there was a suspicious skill attached beneath Transform like an additional ability: Ability Doppelgänger. Just from the skill name, it was hard to tell exactly what it meant. I never dreamed I would obtain a new skill during special training, so feeling bewildered was only natural. Ulthar was the one who usually explained these things, but he had hidden himself, saying he wouldn’t interfere during training. Of course, he had said to call him if something important or urgent came up, but this didn’t seem to qualify as that level of event.

[“Suggestion” Master, you have spent too much time here. Considering the time limit, you should start moving soon.]

“Yeah, I should… !!!...”

While I was lost in thought for a moment, Nabi’s voice reached my ears. As I was about to give a vague reply, my eyes widened. The one closest to me who might know about this ability was right beside me. Come to think of it, he had told me to ask Nabi if I didn’t know something, so perhaps she had foreseen this situation. Once my thoughts reached that point, I immediately brought it up. Nabi, who had been silent for a moment, soon responded positively as I had hoped.

[“Affirmative” Search results show information regarding that skill exists. I will transmit it to you right away.]

“!!!”

At the same time, new information flooded into my mind like a tide. It was information being absorbed directly into my brain, as if watching a recorded video. The sensation was very alien, but regardless, upon learning the true nature of this skill, I couldn’t help but be shocked.

“…Is this for real? You’re not lying, right?”

[“Denial” I merely transmitted the stored information. If you truly cannot believe it, I recommend testing it in the next battle using the obtained information.]

There was nothing suspicious in Nabi’s voice as she immediately drew a line at my doubt. In the end, I set aside my suspicion, opened my small hand and looked down at it for a moment, then stared at the circular staircase leading to the next floor. If I could make good use of this skill… the upcoming conquest wouldn’t be without possibilities. The ability of this newly acquired skill was versatile enough to influence the battle itself.

Having gained an unexpected stroke of luck, I reluctantly moved toward the stairs at Nabi’s repeated urging. But my steps were lighter than before.

-----

The conquest that followed was not much different from the first floor. I moved quickly along the appropriate route Nabi had transmitted while hunting monsters along the way. However, as the floors rose, the difficulty increased as well, so the battles were not as easy as on the first floor. Not only were their overall stats higher, but the systematically organized monster packs—unlike the ragtag groups from before—were very difficult to deal with. Thanks to Nabi’s help and my gradually improving combat ability, it wasn’t at an impossible level to conquer. Moreover, as I went to higher floors, the internal space area narrowed, so there wasn’t a significant difference in conquest time. As a result, there weren’t any major difficulties in terms of speed and combat power training, but the greatest ordeal was still the enemies standing between each floor.

From the head maid in a neat maid uniform firing off an enormous amount of hidden weapons, to the head butler who unleashed overwhelming attacks at incredible speed despite his aged body, the chief mage of the castle in bizarre attire, and the knight commander who displayed swordsmanship in a league of his own compared to other monsters—every single one of them was a powerful opponent with no easy weaknesses. Especially the mage I encountered in front of the circular staircase on the third floor—I nearly died without even getting a chance to use my hand. Among elemental magic, fire and lightning attributes boasted the strongest firepower. The enemy who freely wielded both was, without exaggeration, the most troublesome opponent among the monsters I had faced inside the castle. If it weren’t for the new skill I obtained on the first floor, conquering it in one go would have been difficult.

Additionally, due to numerous battles, my level had already reached 25. It was nearly impossible for one’s level to rise this much inside a single dungeon, but it seemed the fact that I monopolized all the experience alone, combined with the generous bonus experience, played a major role.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

After defeating the final floor boss waiting on the fifth floor, I was walking up the last staircase leading upward. The atmosphere inside the circular staircase illuminated by faint candlelight was very eerie. The narrow interior echoed like a cave, making the sound of footsteps particularly clear. With each step—one, two, three—my once-vibrantly beating heart gradually grew cold. The expression behind the mask had also hardened stiffly at some point. That reaction was understandable in a way. There was no way I didn’t know what awaited at the end of these stairs. Truthfully, I wanted to turn around and go back down right now. But having come this far, I couldn’t give up. If I couldn’t avoid it… at the very least, I wanted to face that place by my own will.

The staircase that seemed like it would last forever inevitably reached its end, and I emerged from the gentle darkness to face the wide space before me. Familiar air and familiar scenery. What greeted me first was the thick scent of blood piercing my nose. The tragedy of that day was being reenacted once more right before my eyes.