“Because of time?”
At Rohan’s question, Sion glanced at Clara, who remained silent, and then cautiously nodded.
“Thinking about this part already might be overthinking, but it’s true that things could get troublesome after escaping.”
“How much free time did we have when we left the academy city?”
“…About 5 hours.”
Sion’s voice and expression as she answered weren’t great.
Didn’t Rohan just say it could take days? The time is so tight it’s almost forcing us to give up.
“Sion.”
“Hmm, sorry for bringing up such a gloomy topic. Guess we’ll have to think about the rest later.”
“No. That’s not what I meant.”
Rohan spun a dagger between his fingers and raised the corner of his mouth.
“There’s still a hopeful part.”
“Finding the Monolith in a short time?”
“That’d be the best if possible. But this space has something a bit special.”
“What is it?”
Rohan looked at his smartphone, which he turned on as soon as he regained his freedom. The time on the screen was stuck, saying it was setting the location.
But the timer was steadily ticking. 8 minutes and 36 seconds had passed.
He remembered that this dungeon doesn’t have nightfall, so he kept it on, but there was another reason too.
“Time here might be flowing differently from outside.”
“!”
At Rohan’s revelation, the two girls’ eyes widened in shock.
Of course, there’s a chance that the original world is still ticking the same seconds.
But in Rohan’s memory, it’s different. From the protagonist’s experience, a day in the first dungeon was equivalent to 50 minutes to an hour outside.
There were small side stories that happened between characters because of that.
“So it could be passing faster or slower.”
“Ultimately, this part relies on luck, huh?”
“Exactly.”
Most cases show this difference, but there hasn’t been a dungeon with a completely hopeless gap yet.
Like a second in the dungeon being 10 years in the real world—that’s never happened in Abyss City.
“Valuable info. I feel a bit more at ease.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Rohan brushed it off lightly, saying any cadet at Orion Academy would know this.
Sion and Clara accepted his words without doubt.
‘If we were separated from Ichinose or Noah… just thinking about it gives me a headache.’
It’s only because of these two that Rohan can brush it off like this.
In this aspect, having Clara and Sion as his first dungeon experience was a stroke of luck.
These two were trained not to hunt monsters but to effectively end human lives.
“The academy teaches some impressive stuff…”
“Clara, do you want to attend too?”
Actually, the source of this info is Rohan’s own experience.
If Rohan shares his dungeon escape experiences with Juyun, the dungeons that appear by next year and this info will be summarized into the curriculum.
“I, I’d like it if big brother was there… but alone, it’s a bit…”
“Really? Then I’ll teach you, Clara.”
“Hehe…”
With that, Rohan grabbed the door.
Seeing Sion standing quietly without a word, it seemed like it was safe to open it now.
*Creak! Thud!*
The long-neglected door screamed under Rohan’s strength as it began to let in the scorching sunlight.
What came into view were buildings precariously tilted or collapsed, along with piles of stone fragments.
Guardrails, cars, and utility poles filled the streets, but none of them were intact.
It was a place that reminded you of a world where humanity had vanished.
Sion lowered her goggles against the harsh sunlight and pulled out a spare weapon from her arms—a collapsible baton.
“The temperature is high. It might even exceed 40 degrees.”
As Sion calmly observed, the heat was intense.
Still, since they didn’t know what kind of attack might come, she couldn’t just strip off her clothes.
Even if she was sweating, she had to keep her current outfit on. Rohan had a solution to prevent dehydration.
“If you feel dizzy or dehydrated, say something immediately. Not speaking up could lead to serious trouble.”
“Okay!”
“Where should we move? I don’t sense any magical energy around.”
“Let’s secure a better view first.”
Rohan stepped on large debris and climbed onto a collapsed building.
Sion and Clara followed lightly behind, stepping carefully.
‘Let’s see…’
Standing high, Rohan moved his head around, searching for a building that stood out in his memory.
‘Found it!’
At the end of a row of ruined buildings, he pointed to a distant building barely visible to the naked eye.
Unlike the other buildings, it stood tall and upright, not leaning at all.
“See that? The tallest one that looks intact.”
“Hmm… I have no objections to making that our destination. I don’t see any other notable buildings.”
Finally, the two turned their gaze to Clara.
The girl, startled as if she hadn’t expected to be asked for her opinion, nodded in agreement.
*Thud!*
Rohan naturally took the lead as they landed on the ground.
Clara and Sion were quick and strong in combat, but they weren’t sturdy enough to take the front.
Rohan moved forward under the shade, holding a dagger.
“Even if monsters appear, let’s try to avoid using guns if possible. Loud noises could attract more.”
Sion nodded in agreement, then glanced at Clara, who was sticking to Rohan like glue.
Under Sion’s piercing gaze, Clara flinched, prompting Sion to speak up.
“Clara, aside from what’s already loaded, how much ammo do you have left?”
“I, I have one magazine.”
“That’s not much. Are you using subsonic rounds?”
“…!”
Sion’s deduction, based on the silencer and Clara’s unique behavior.
It must have hit the mark, as Clara couldn’t hide her surprised expression and slowly nodded.
“Unfortunately, my pistol is a different caliber and can’t be fitted with a silencer. If you have another pistol, I could share some ammo.”
“Ah, I don’t have another one right now…”
Clara’s pistol itself was a niche model, and the silencer was custom-made for it, so there was no helping it.
Sion quickly accepted this and stepped back. That girl’s real weapon must be something else.
As the conversation ended, Rohan placed his hand on Clara’s head.
“If you go out, I’ll refill it for you, so don’t hesitate to use it when you need it. Got it?”
“Yeah…!”
Sion, standing a step behind, looked at Rohan and Clara and let out a disbelieving chuckle.
‘They’re so cute it’s killing me.’
What kind of relationship is that? Should I dig a little deeper?
Just as she was debating whether to open her itchy mouth or not—
*Tsk!*
Rohan suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He raised one hand, clenched into a fist, signaling to stop.
Anyone could tell it meant “halt.”
“There’s something.”
At Rohan’s lowered voice, Sion’s sharp ears perked up.
She caught the strange noise.
*Tick. Tock. Tick.*
‘A clock?’
The familiar sound of second and minute hands moving. It was getting closer.
From behind a large, fallen signboard—
An analog clock, perfect for hanging on a wall, walked out, accompanied by strange footsteps.
If you’re wondering how it walked out—
Green vines stretched out like limbs, moving it forward.
*Tick. Tock.*
Despite having no eyes, it felt like the clock was looking at them.
Rohan’s hand visibly tensed.
*Flick!*
The clock suddenly shot its hands like daggers.
Rohan dodged lightly.
Then, in one step, he stomped on the clock with his foot.
—*Crunch!* The clock shattered.
The vines flailed like human limbs before going limp.
[ +1P ]
Rohan checked the rising points and warned the two.
“As you can see, monsters attack first, so be careful.”
“…That’s a pretty bizarre monster. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
For Sion, who had only dealt with monsters with blood and organs as weak points, there was no other way to describe it besides “bizarre.”
It felt like it could see without eyes and hear without ears.
“It’s not smart enough to play dead. You can tell if it’s alive or dead by looking at these plant limbs sticking out.”
“Oppa. Is that… a parasitic plant?”
“From what I know, it can’t parasitize humans. It’s a monster that parasitizes machines or furniture.”
“Phew…”
Clara let out a relieved sigh and pulled out her balisong.
The three turned their heads toward the direction of the noise.
*Beep! Beep! Beep!*
A chunkier mass with thicker vines appeared.
“A traffic light?”
As Sion said, it was a traffic light, but not quite.
It walked on all fours like a beast, using plant stems as legs. It alternated between green and red lights without any power supply.
The red light glowed intensely, as if preparing to attack.
But as Clara moved past it, the traffic light—*Crunch!*—was cleanly split into five pieces.
Then, the girl shyly approached Rohan.
“O-oppa…! Sorry for moving without saying anything…”
“No, you did well.”
The act of asking for a head pat was now automatic.
Rohan gently patted the girl’s head as she slightly bowed.
And with that, one curiosity was resolved.
[ +1P ]
Even though Clara took it down, the point went to Rohan.
“As expected… even if a teammate takes it down, the points still come.”
One of the things I had been curious about since the quest specified “teammates” was now resolved.
This opportunity made me even greedier to rack up a decent amount of points.
After poking around the dead monster and quickly assessing it,
Rohan’s party started moving again.
After taking down three more monsters, it took a little over an hour.
Clara tugged at Rohan’s sleeve.
“Oppa…”
“Yeah?”
“Umm, umm…!”
“Feeling dizzy? Thirsty?”
Clara shook her head, her face red. So red it looked like she might have heatstroke from the heat.
The girl, unable to meet his gaze and fidgeting, lowered her head and whispered.
“Bathroom…”
“Ah.”
Rohan straightened up and looked around, understanding the situation.
For safety, Sion would have to accompany her.
Just as Rohan was about to ask Sion,
Sion lifted her goggles and gave a thoughtful look.
“Rohan, wait a second.”
“What’s up?”
“We don’t know how long we’ll be staying here, right?”
“True?”
Rohan nodded at the obvious statement.
Sion, seemingly encouraged, opened her mouth to share her opinion.
“If the goal is to endure, reducing activity would be best, but we can’t do that here, and we’re not in a position to wait for rescue either.”
Sion continued, explaining that they didn’t even know if there was drinkable water or edible food around here.
With an extremely serious face, she got to the point.
“Of course, I know that even if you’re stranded without water, you shouldn’t drink urine. It’s like drinking poison, according to survival manuals.”
“Hmm…”
“But if it’s urine from a healthy, non-dehydrated body, a body with magic power can handle it easily.”
In short, she was suggesting they should collect urine now while their bodies were still fine.
“If I’m wrong about this, correct me. I’m being completely serious.”
Adding one last remark, Sion looked at Rohan.
It seemed Rohan had already become the decision-maker of the group.
So Rohan turned his head toward Clara.
“…”
Clara, meeting Rohan’s gaze, turned from red to a color that looked like she was about to burst into flames.
The girl froze, stammering and at a loss for words.
