First Boss Battle
“What the hell is that…?”
According to everything I’d seen on the community boards, the boss of the tenth floor was supposed to be a goblin tribe.
But what had appeared right in front of me was a single chair—something that had absolutely nothing to do with goblins.
Temporarily reconfiguring the current floor.
The voice that had rung out inside my head came back to me.
“It actually changed…?”
The Tower applied the exact same rules to everyone. That had been an ironclad law without a single exception so far. It was supposed to be absolute… yet the black chair sitting right in front of me was cheerfully smashing that rule to pieces.
“Urrgh… Okay, let’s think this through.”
I wasn’t exactly the type with a steel-trap memory—I could forget last night’s dinner without even trying—but I wasn’t so dumb that I’d already forgotten what I’d just heard. Some incomprehensible words had made a request, something about testing the qualities of a queen, and then the Tower had changed.
“Uh… is that right?”
Even as I tried to organize it, I still had no idea what any of it meant.
Just then, Meonji split into two and floated in front of me, circling. Then the pair slowly drifted forward.
“…You want me to go over there?”
As if they were telling me to approach the chair. Sitting still wasn’t an option, so I followed Meonji toward it. Even up close, the chair was pure, pitch-black.
The two Meonji floated up onto the seat and bobbed their bodies up and down.
“Sit…?”
At that, the two little fluffballs spun around excitedly. Up until now, Meonji had been the kind of sweet, well-behaved summon that almost never expressed any real opinions, even while exploding for me over and over. And yet here they were, clearly telling me with their whole bodies to sit in the chair.
Thump.
I settled into the seat comfortably. The instant I did, a brilliant light swallowed the entire space.
When I came to my senses, I was in an endless white expanse. It felt like nothing existed there except me and the black chair.
“Meonji’s presence… is gone…?”
I searched for them, but I couldn’t sense Meonji anywhere at all.
Status window!
Nothing appeared. I stood up from the chair to look around and hunt for Meonji, and a hollow, empty feeling washed over me. When I glanced back, the chair had vanished in that brief moment.
“Wh-what the hell….”
The horror movie I’d watched recently started replaying in my head, and my whole body shuddered.
“Ah.”
I hastily shoved a hand into my pants and confirmed that, yeah… I’d wet myself a little from pure shock.
Right then, an unpleasant growling sound began to echo through the white space. I turned my head and found the goblin tribe waiting for me. They licked their lips like they were staring at a delicious meal. There was some distance between us, but I had zero confidence I could shake them. My legs wouldn’t listen.
A goblin with two white lines painted across its forehead brandished its club and charged straight at me. The others stayed put, snickering and laughing.
Then something sliced through the air.
—Whoosh.
A throwing star flew in out of nowhere and buried itself in the goblin’s head. Strength drained from its body in an instant, and it crumpled where it stood. Green blood slowly trickled down from the star embedded in its skull.
Something else came racing toward me at blinding speed. It happened like a flash of lightning. A figure wrapped tightly in blue cloth, a throwing star in each hand.
A ninja! A ninja had appeared—!
The ninja turned to look at me and spoke.
“The eyes never lie.”
The ninja’s face was covered in fur.
“Form a contract with me.”
The words that followed. So… this ninja was a summon?
My brain couldn’t keep up with how fast everything was happening.
“A contract…?”
I ended up using formal speech without even realizing it. Facing a blue-clad ninja whose whole body crackled with sparks and who was still holding throwing stars, I had zero courage to talk casually.
“Yeah. You’re a summoner, aren’t you?”
The ninja was right. I was a summoner.
“What do I have to do?”
I asked first.
The ninja pointed a throwing star at my stomach.
“First, you have to sever the contract. Only one contract is allowed.”
The moment those words left its mouth, I felt Meonji wriggling around inside my belly.
“Meonji!”
I was so happy to feel their presence return that I pulled them out of my clothes. Meonji hadn’t even self-destructed, yet they looked completely limp and drained of strength.
“But… break the contract?”
I looked back at the furry ninja.
“Exactly what I said. You have to cut ties with that one if you want to form a contract with me.”
“Then… what happens to Meonji…?”
“That one will simply return to the dimension it originally came from. It’s not like it’ll die.”
The ninja spoke as if trying to ease my guilt.
Abandon Meonji…? And form a contract with a ninja instead?
The ninja standing in front of me radiated strength. Just its presence alone made it clear this was a being on par with an S-rank hunter.
But…
Becoming an S-rank hunter. Climbing the Tower. Saving everyone from the ogre. Making enough money to spend every night stuffed with delicious food and heat. Getting to see the Association President’s wig… Ah. Maybe not that last one.
Anyway, I believed every single one of those things was thanks to Meonji. And Meonji was cute. Completely unlike the giant furry ninja standing in front of me.
“N-no. I can’t… I absolutely can’t give up Meonji!! Because Meonji is cuter and fluffier and more lovable than any ninja!”
I wasn’t smart enough to put my thoughts into pretty words. But one thing was certain: Meonji had already become someone far too precious to me. Until now, no one had ever stayed by my side. Meonji was the first one who had chosen to stay with someone like me.
“Then… there’s no reason for me to remain here.”
The ninja gazed into my eyes and gave a small smile.
“Huh? Wait, since you’re already here, couldn’t you at least kill those guys before you leave?”
The ninja vanished without another word. My voice lost its direction and echoed emptily through the white space like a fading cry.
“Meonji! Let’s just run!!”
I clutched Meonji to my chest and sprinted for all I was worth. But the distance between me and the goblins didn’t shrink at all, and the wriggling Meonji slipped from my arms and tumbled to the floor. The goblins raised their clubs and spears high, as if they meant to avenge every last comrade who had been blown to pieces.
“Meonji!!!”
I lunged forward on pure reflex. Going there meant certain death—that much was obvious. But I couldn’t just stand by and let Meonji die.
“Hah!”
I threw a pathetic punch at the weakest-looking goblin. The thing toppled over onto its butt.
“Huh…? Am I actually pretty strong?”
The second those words left my mouth, my stomach burned with unbearable heat. It was the exact moment the spears of the surrounding goblins punched cleanly through my body.
My vision blurred. Strength drained from my limbs, and my legs gave out. I forced my heavy eyelids open and searched for Meonji. They crawled into my arms. The goblins had already vanished, but the spears remained lodged in my stomach. Meonji climbed over my body. Their soft fur felt wetter than usual today. I lifted a hand and gently stroked them.
Thank goodness.
Meonji was alive.
■■’s request confirmed.
Accepted.
The trial regarding the Queen’s quality Embrace is now concluded.
As my consciousness faded, a guidance voice flowed through my mind, followed by a language I had never heard before ringing inside my head.
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
“You don’t need to know how much I like you.”
I couldn’t understand the sounds themselves, but somehow I knew exactly what they meant.
“Haaahhh!!”
It felt like a breath that had been completely blocked suddenly burst free. If it had stayed blocked any longer, I might have been done for for real.
“Huh…? Wait, I died, though?”
I opened my eyes to find myself in the rest area. The Meonji were still floating around me, soft and fluffy as ever.
“Was that… a dream?”
I was sure I had died after getting impaled by the goblins’ spears while trying to save Meonji. The guidance voice and that first-time voice… I couldn’t remember either of them clearly. Just to check if it had really been a dream, I stuck a hand into my pants.
“Definitely not a dream.”
It was still a little damp. And right in front of me, the door leading to the combat zone still stood there, grand and imposing as ever.
“I should go, right…?”
I looked at Meonji. They spun around even more excitedly than usual, urging me on.
“Yeah… let’s go.”
I creaked the door open once more, and waiting on the other side was the exact same goblin tribe I’d seen on the community boards.
“You guys again.”
Familiar faces. But this time the situation was going to be the opposite.
“I’m not alone this time.”
I toyed with the Meonji in both hands as I spoke.
—Kirrrrk kerek.
They raised their clubs and spears high, showing off their strength at my words.
“You really had the nerve to stab your spears into my beautiful stomach….”
Of course there were no wounds left. But the sensation remained. And most importantly, because of them my underwear had gotten dirty…! Thank god it was black.
The goblins charged all at once. I stayed right where I was, waiting until they got closer, and then—
“Meonji!”
I merged the ones in both hands into one and cradled it against my chest.
“Self-Destruct!!!!!”
An explosion larger than any before swallowed the entire space. The brilliant light and searing heat pouring from Meonji wrapped around me. The goblins sprayed green blood in every direction and left nothing behind—not even a scrap.
I’d self-destructed with them more times than I could count, but this one felt different. I’d never experienced anything like it before, so I wasn’t sure if this was even the right word.
But the warm, massive explosion that bloomed from my arms… it felt like love.
Congratulations on clearing the 10th floor.
Reward: ?????
A different kind of guidance voice rang through my head, and then—
Transferring outside the Tower.
I was expelled from the Tower.
“Haaaaah….”
For some reason it felt like I’d just fought the boss battle twice. Meonji was just as limp as I was, stuck to my stomach. I didn’t have the energy to head to the Association. I just plopped down right there and stroked Meonji.
“Thank you.”
At my words, Meonji’s whole body gave a little shudder. They were happy too.