Return

Before heading from the 30th floor to the 31st.

Seeing the injured Rohan, Clara made a confession after steeling her resolve.

"Oppa. Actually, I..."

Clara revealed her true weapon to Rohan and Sion.

It was something Rohan had never mentioned but had known about from the start.

Sion had also suspected as much from their brief standoff back at the academy dormitory—that Clara's real weapons weren't the dagger or the pistol.

Just as Ichinose Yui had her Yoru and Noah Frozenheart her Fimbulvetr,

Clara too possessed a special exclusive weapon.

"Sorry for telling you so late... I wasn't trying to hide it or anything..."

"I'm just happy you told us. Don't say it like that."

It wasn't empty words at all.

Rohan felt her growth and gratitude toward Clara for bringing it up on her own.

The trigger for sharing her secret was worry for him—who could complain about that?

"Clara. Is it okay for me to hear this too?"

It was Sion, who had been watching quietly.

Clara nodded with a shy smile at the question, and Sion smiled back, her chest warming with quiet satisfaction.

The distance between the two, narrowed through life-and-death struggles in the dungeon.

That made Rohan even happier.

"Let's head up."

"Ah, yeah...!"

He knew the reason she hadn't used such an impressive weapon from early on, even without her saying it. That was Clara's story in Abyss City too.

The weapon had incredible range and attack power, but operating it consumed an enormous amount of mana.

Given Clara's personality, she must have been worried about running out of mana and becoming a burden to the group.

It was a prolonged battle from the start anyway. She probably never felt the need to pull it out.

But that was the girl's identity—her standout strength and weakness.

Clara was famous as a dealer who could unleash freakish DPS in an instant based on that trait. It was a flaw that could be overcome with proper setup and growth.

Finally, I get to see it in person?

Rohan felt a childlike excitement building ahead of the fight.

The throbbing pain from his pounding heart's thrill made him forget the ache.

The monster that had successfully protected the Monolith expressed its fury through the television.

The wriggling thorn vines stiffened into attack formation.

Along with that—boom! Rohan and Sion's kicks blew the doors wide, securing a clear line of sight.

The boss monster's room with the Monolith.

There was no option to enter politely.

"Let's go. We gotta get home."

"Yeah!"

"Good."

The moment they entered, Rohan took point, dyeing his dagger red.

Heat shimmered along the blade, rising in hazy waves.

Everyone knew their roles.

Whoosh! Vines whipped wildly as they surged forward.

In the gap as the thick thorn vines lunged in attack,

Click!

Sion aimed her pistol barrel at the emotion-displaying television.

The handgun spat electric sparks—tic-tic!—firing attribute-infused bullets.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Baaang!

If you couldn't pack full mana into a bullet, just distribute it across multiple shots.

Sion demonstrated her skill at loading mana right up to the razor's edge before the bullets or gun exploded, continuing her barrage.

The monster changed expressions, dropping shards from its pockmarked display as if in pain.

"It's hitting properly."

As if it'd stop there. Sion dodged the vines targeting her and swapped magazines,

while Rohan evaded the ones coming at him, slashing them with his dagger,

popped a blue potion in his mouth, and reached out. He grabbed the thorn vine without hesitation.

Ignoring the pierce through his hand, just as he tried to use Weakness Infliction, the boss monster flinched and retracted its vines.

As expected.

Guys at this level sense anomalies—humans and monsters alike.

Rohan shook off his left hand, riddled with holes and spilling blood, and charged forward.

Perfectly timed, Sion resumed shooting, making the vines shrink back. Seizing the moment, he hooked one thick vine around his left side and squeezed.

Even with mana focused on body reinforcement, pain ripped through as the blade-like edge tore into his flank.

He checked his status window simultaneously.

HP at 71%. Status: Bleeding.

Pain was bearable. With certainty he was far from death, this was still fine.

To the monster questioning through its shattered TV,

Rohan poured in his mana.

Weakness Infliction.

Over 70% of his rested-up mana drained in an instant.

Headache and dizziness spun wildly, but Rohan savored the potion's bitter aftertaste lingering in his mouth to anchor his mind.

He flung the vine from his side and leaped back, creating distance.

Doing better than expected.

Unlike with Juyeon, his consciousness didn't fly away. Good enough—he was satisfied just that it landed.

Placebo or not, thanks to the potion, the ground only swayed lightly. Manageable.

"Clara."

The girl who had sliced through elephant-leg-thick vines landed beside Rohan.

Seeing his wound, Clara frowned, biting her lip.

"Take care of it. Give it hell."

"Yeah...! I'll give it hell!"

Fury hardened the softness in Clara's eyes.

She stowed the pistol and balisong in her clothes, then drew a pitch-black ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cylinder.

The thing Sion had mistaken for a pistol suppressor at first sight.

The cylinder was only as thick as two fingers combined, but it began devouring Clara's mana, revealing its form.

"... Arachne."

The object's true nature was no suppressor—a spool of jet-black thread.

Infused with Clara's mana, threads shot out like spiderwebs in all directions.

Shred!

Dozens of vines severed at once, tumbling to the floor.

Thud! Sion swapped magazines and landed beside Rohan and Clara.

"Impressive power."

"Right? That's our Clara."

As Rohan boasted proudly, Sion smirked and jabbed, "Stop bragging and staunch that bleeding first."

Clara blushed at Rohan's words and moved her fingers.

"...Oppa. Drink the potion and wait just a bit."

The fully unfurled spool connected to Clara's fingers like rings.

Her slender fingers and mana finely manipulated the threads.

Thorn vines surged like waves again, whipping like lashes.

Clara moved her hands, and they fell severed in heaps.

No matter how thick, with Weakness Infliction applied,

they couldn't withstand Clara's attacks even normally—now weakened, it must feel like slicing tofu to her.

Thud!

Clara kicked off the floor, leaping into the air and perching on a thread strung midair.

Like floating suspended.

Looking up, what caught Rohan's eye was Clara's thigh pressed firmly against the thread.

"..."

The girl astride the thread surveyed the scene, moving her hands.

Like playing piano, her elegant finger movements made

threads flash and connect here and there.

"Sion. The Monolith will be exposed soon. Get ready."

"...Got it."

Rohan snapped Sion out of her daze watching Clara and assessed the situation.

The threads Clara wielded had standout properties.

Sharpness and cutting power rivaling famed blades, elasticity unbreakable by crude force.

Plus, Clara's Arachne consumed the user's mana to generate various deadly poisons on its own.

"Spider Thread."

Clara connected the threads to her hands and feet,

then leaned back, dropping from her seated thread.

The falling girl, laden with mana, acted as a weight,

tensing the spread threads to bind the monster at once.

Crunch!!!

Hundreds of layers of thorn vines shredded by thin threads. A spectacular sight.

The expression on the TV changed. The plant withered, drooping limply.

Sion, guessing the boss dead like others she'd seen,

squeezed the trigger through the gap exposing the Monolith.

Bang!

One shot enough?

Rat-tat-tat-bang!

Sion emptied her magazine in a flash.

"It's broken."

Rohan's voice confirming the achievement. Sion ceased fire,

and cracks spiderwebbed across the Monolith before it shattered cleanly.

"Phew, really over?"

Sion holstered her pistol with a sigh,

but

"Wait—!"

Rohan widened his eyes and moved.

Too late for words—it was instinct.

The boss hadn't given points yet.

Thwip—!

The boss's final thorn. A deathbed tantrum.

The harpoon-like spike launched silently at Sion,

Rohan rushed to bat it away, but mana shortage and haste ruined his stance, causing the mishap.

Splurt!

Rohan's right arm severed, dagger and all, hitting the ground.

"Ah, that was pointless?"

Late counterattack? Seeing Sion gripping her telescoping baton, Rohan smiled.

Her skills were top-notch, as expected.

"You...!"

Sion froze, staring at Rohan's mangled shoulder.

First time seeing her so shocked.

Clara, staggering from mana exhaustion, landed nearby,

and froze solid at Rohan's severed arm.

Only now did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the boss-kill points arrive, tactlessly.

First traces of taking down a plant-type boss.

Achievements poured before Rohan's eyes.

The world began crumbling.

Crack! Fissures split the air, and the fake sun that had endlessly poured heat shattered.

No need to fear this mystical, inexplicable situation.

Rohan's group instinctively knew this process would return them to their original place.

What terrified Sion and Clara was Rohan's condition.

"Rohan! This is my fault for being careless...! The second we arrive, straight to the hospital...!"

"Oppa...! Don't lose consciousness, no matter what! Got it?!"

Rohan tried to calm the panicking girls, but his legs gave out, and he collapsed.

He wanted to say he was fine, but his body wouldn't obey. Accumulated bleeding from the fight dulled his head too.

It hurts.

Amputation pain—he'd felt it a few times before, but it never got familiar.

The broken world swirled.

And collapsed.