Monolith -3-
“Because of time?”
At Rohan's question, Sion Testarosa glanced at the silent Clara before nodding cautiously.
“It might be presumptuous to worry about that already, but it's true that things could get tricky after we escape.”
“How much leeway do we have? From when we left Academy City.”
“...About five hours.”
Sion's voice and expression weren't great as she gave her answer.
Rohan had just said it could take days. This was beyond tight—it was an impossible deadline that forced you to give up.
“Sion.”
“Mm, sorry for bringing up the gloomy stuff. We'll think about the aftermath later.”
“No. That's not what I was going to say.”
Rohan spun his dagger between his fingers, curling up the corner of his mouth.
“There's at least one hopeful angle.”
“Finding the Monolith in a short time?”
“That'd be ideal if possible. But this space has a little special something.”
“What's that?”
The moment he'd regained control of his body, Rohan checked his smartphone, which he'd turned on right away. The screen was frozen on “setting location.”
But the timer was ticking steadily: 8 minutes and 36 seconds elapsed.
He'd activated it remembering this dungeon's trait—no sunsets, no night—but there were other reasons too.
“Time might flow differently here than outside.”
“!”
The two girls' eyes widened in shock at Rohan's revelation.
Of course, it was possible the original world ticked by at the same rate, second for second.
But not in Rohan's memory. From the protagonist's experience in the first dungeon, a day inside equated to about 50 minutes to an hour outside.
There were even little side stories between characters born from that time difference.
“It could be passing faster outside, or slower.”
“So ultimately, this boils down to luck.”
“Exactly.”
Most cases showed some difference, but nothing extreme—no dungeons where one second inside equaled ten years outside, at least not in Abyss City.
“Valuable info. I feel a bit more at ease.”
“Good to hear.”
Rohan brushed it off lightly, figuring any Orion Academy cadet focused on class would know it.
Sion and Clara accepted it without question.
If I'd gotten separated with Ichinose Yui or Noah Frozenheart... just thinking about it gives me a headache.
Only because it was these two could Rohan gloss over it so casually.
In that sense, having Clara and Sion for his first dungeon was pure luck.
They weren't trained to hunt monsters—they were educated to efficiently sever human lifelines.
“They teach some amazing stuff at the academy...”
“Wanna go too, Clara?”
In truth, the source was Rohan's unique game knowledge.
If he shared his dungeon escapes with Juyeon, this info—along with new dungeons up to next year—would get compiled into the curriculum.
“I-I'd like it if O-Oppa was there... but alone... maybe not...”
“Yeah? Then I'll teach you, Clara.”
“Heehee...”
With that, Rohan gripped the door.
Seeing Sion stay quiet, it seemed safe to open now.
Creak! Grind!
The long-neglected door screamed under Rohan's strength, letting in hot sunlight.
What came into view: precariously tilted or toppled buildings, piles of stone debris.
Guardrails, cars, poles cluttered the streets—but nothing intact.
It evoked a world where humanity had vanished.
Sion pulled down her goggles against the harsh sun and drew a spare weapon from her bosom: a collapsible three-section staff.
“Temperature's high. Might exceed 40 degrees.”
As her calm assessment went, the heat was intense.
Still, with unknown attacks possible, they couldn't strip down.
Sweat or not, keep the gear on. Rohan had a fix for dehydration.
“If you feel dizzy or dehydrated, say so immediately. Holding back could lead to real trouble.”
“Okay!”
“Where to? No mana signatures I can sense.”
“Let's secure a view first.”
Rohan climbed atop a fallen building, stepping over huge debris.
Sion and Clara followed with light steps.
Let's see...
From the high vantage, Rohan scanned for the incongruous building from his memory, head swiveling.
Found it!
At the end of the ruined buildings, barely visible to the naked eye: a lone skyscraper, standing tall unlike the others.
“See that? Tallest one, looks fine.”
“Hm... No objections to making it our goal. Nothing else stands out.”
Finally, they looked to Clara.
She startled like she hadn't expected it, then nodded that she was good too.
Thud!
Rohan hopped down and took point naturally.
Clara and Sion were agile and deadly, but not tanky enough for the lead.
Dagger in hand, Rohan advanced under the shadows.
“If monsters show, try to hold off on guns. Noise could draw a swarm.”
Sion nodded agreement and eyed Clara, stuck to Rohan like glue.
At the intense gaze, Clara's shoulders twitched, and Sion spoke.
“Clara. Ammo spare beyond the combined mags?”
“I-I have one mag...”
“Not much. Using subsonic rounds?”
“...!”
Sion's deduction from the silencer and habits.
It hit: Clara slowly nodded, unable to hide her surprise.
“Sadly, my pistol's different caliber, no silencer mount. If you have another, I'd share ammo.”
“N-No, don't have one now...”
Clara's pistol was niche, silencer custom-fit—no helping it.
Sion backed off quick. The girl's real weapon was elsewhere.
As talk wrapped, Rohan patted Clara's head.
“I'll refill when we get out, so use 'em freely if needed. Got it?”
“Y-Yeah...!”
From a step back, Sion watched Rohan and Clara, chuckling in disbelief.
She's totally smitten.
What even was their deal? Safe to pry deeper?
As she debated opening her itchy mouth—
Tsssk!
Rohan halted abruptly.
One hand raised, fist clenched: signal to stop. Clear as day.
“It's here.”
His lowered voice made Sion's pointed ears twitch.
She caught the odd noise.
Tick. Tock. Tick-tock.
A clock?
Friendly second and minute hand ticks. Getting closer.
From behind a massive fallen sign.
An analog clock, perfect for wall-mounting, emerged with weird footsteps.
How? Four green vines extended like limbs, propelling it.
Tick. Tock.
No eyes, yet it saw them—gave that sensation.
Rohan's grip tightened visibly.
Thwip!
The thing suddenly launched a clock hand like a dart.
Rohan dodged easily.
Then closed in, stomping it hard.
——Crunch! The clock shattered.
Rohan confirmed the point gain and warned them.
“As you saw, it strikes first. Stay sharp.”
“...A seriously grotesque monster. First time seeing one like this.”
To Sion, used to piercing vital organs and blood with bullets, “grotesque” was all she had.
No eyes but saw; no ears but heard.
“No intelligence to play dead. Check the vine limbs sticking out like legs—tells if it's dead or alive.”
“O-Oppa... Th-that's a parasitic plant, right...?”
“Far as I know, can't parasitize humans. Targets machines, furniture.”
“Phew...”
Clara sighed in relief and drew her balisong.
All three heads turned toward the sensed presence.
Beep! Bip! Beep!
A bulkier mass appeared, draped in thicker vines.
“Traffic light?”
Like Sion said—but not quite.
Plant stems as legs, quadrupedal like a beast. Alternating green and red without power.
Red flared intensely—attack incoming?
But Clara moved past; it ——shwick! split into five clean pieces.
Then the girl shyly trotted back to Rohan.
“O-Oppa...! S-sorry for moving without saying...”
“Nah. Good job.”
Now she automatically tilted for pets.
Rohan stroked her bowed head fondly.
And one curiosity resolved.
Points came to Rohan even though Clara killed it.
As expected... allies' kills give me points too.
A question since the quest specified “allies.” Solved.
Now greed stirred to farm points here.
After poking the dead monsters for a quick grasp—
The group moved on.
Three more kills, a bit over an hour later.
Clara tugged Rohan's collar.
“O-Oppa...”
“Yeah?”
“Th-that...!”
“Dizzy? Thirsty?”
She shook her head; face flushed, like heatstroke.
Avoiding eyes, twisting her body, she whispered head down.
“Bathroom...”
“Ah.”
Rohan straightened, scanning around.
For safety, Sion should escort.
As he turned to ask—
Sion lifted her goggles, eyes pondering.
“Rohan. Wait a sec.”
“What's up?”
“We don't know how long we'll be stuck.”
“True.”
Rohan nodded at the obvious.
Sion pressed on, emboldened.
“If survival's the goal, cut activity—but can't here. We're not waiting for rescue.”
No clue on drinkable water or food here, she explained.
Dead serious, she got to the point.
“I know isolation manuals say no drinking urine without water—it's poison.”
“Hmm...”
“But healthy urine from a non-dehydrated body? Mana users can handle it easy.”
Basically, collect now while healthy.
“Correct me if I'm wrong. Dead serious.”
She eyed Rohan, already the group's decider.
Rohan turned to Clara.
“...”
Meeting eyes, Clara's face went from red to inferno. Frozen, babbling.