Before heading from the 30th floor to the 31st floor.
Clara, seeing the injured Rohan, finally mustered the courage to confess something.
“Oppa. Actually, I…”
Clara revealed her true weapon to Rohan and Sion.
Rohan had never mentioned it before, but he had known about it all along.
Sion, too, had sensed from their brief standoff in the academy dormitory that Clara’s real weapon wasn’t a dagger or a pistol.
Just like Ichinose Yui has Yoru (Night) and Noah Frozenheart has Fimbulvetr.
Clara also possesses a special, exclusive weapon.
“Sorry for telling you so late… I didn’t mean to hide it…”
“I’m just happy you told me. Don’t say that.”
It’s definitely not an empty statement.
Rohan felt a sense of growth and gratitude towards Clara for voluntarily sharing her story.
The reason she revealed her secret was out of concern for him. Who could blame her for that?
“Clara. Is it okay if I listen too?”
It was Sion, who had been quietly observing, who asked.
At that, Clara shyly smiled and nodded, and Sion smiled back, feeling a warm happiness rising in her chest.
The distance between the two, narrowed through life-and-death situations in the dungeon.
That made Rohan even happier.
“Let’s go up.”
“Ah, yeah…!”
Even though she had a powerful weapon, the reason she hadn’t used it earlier was obvious without saying. Clara’s story in Abyss City was like that too.
That weapon had an incredible range and attack power, but the amount of mana consumed in its operation was enormous.
Given Clara’s personality, she must have been worried about becoming a burden to the group due to mana depletion.
‘Originally, it was a situation where the battle would drag on. She probably didn’t feel the need to bring it out.’
But that was the girl’s identity and her most striking strength and weakness.
Clara was famous for being a dealer who could unleash grotesque DPS in an instant based on that. It was also a problem that could be compensated for with the right setup and growth.
‘Can I finally see it in action?’
Rohan felt like a child, excited before the battle.
He could even forget the throbbing pain from his excitement.
[⸌_⸍] [⸌_⸍] [⸌_⸍] [⸌_⸍]
The monster protecting the monolith expressed its anger through the television.
The swaying vines stiffened, ready to attack.
Along with that───Kwoong! Rohan and Sion kicked the doors open, widening their field of vision.
The room with the boss monster and the monolith.
There was no option to enter politely.
“Let’s go. Time to go home.”
“Okay!”
“Good.”
As soon as they entered, Rohan took the lead, his dagger glowing red.
The blade shimmered with heat, creating a mirage.
Everyone knew what they had to do.
Pabababak! The vines swung wildly, surging forward.
As the dense, thorny vines leaned forward to attack.
Click!
Sion’s gun aimed at the television expressing emotions.
The pistol sparked with electricity, ticking! ticking! as it…
A bullet imbued with attributes was fired.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom!
If you can’t fully infuse a bullet with magic, just distribute the power and shoot it out.
Sion, showing her skill of infusing bullets with magic right before they explode, continued her barrage.
[ㅜ_ㅜ] [ㅜ_ㅜ] [ㅜ_ㅜ] [ㅜ_ㅜ]
The monster, as if in pain, changed its expression as pieces fell from its hole-riddled display.
“That’s hitting the mark.”
No way she’d stop at that. Sion dodged the thorny vines targeting her and reloaded her magazine.
Rohan, avoiding the vines raining down on him, slashed through them with his dagger.
With a blue potion in his mouth, he reached out and grabbed the thorny vines without hesitation.
Ignoring his pierced hand, he was about to use Weakness Affliction when the boss monster, startled, retracted its vines.
‘As expected.’
Creatures of this level notice anomalies. Both humans and monsters do.
Rohan shook off his left hand, which was dripping blood from the holes made by the thorns, and charged forward.
Just as Sion resumed her shooting, causing the vines to flinch, Rohan managed to trap one vine under his left side and squeezed.
Even with his body reinforced by magic, the pain of his side being sliced by the blade was intense.
At the same time, he checked his status.
‘HP at 71%. Status effect: Bleeding.’
Pain is something you endure. With the certainty that death is far away, this much is still manageable.
[?] [?] [?] [?]
To the monster expressing confusion through its broken TV display, Rohan poured out his magic.
‘Weakness Affliction.’
Over 70% of his magic, filled with rest, drained away in an instant.
Simultaneously, a headache and dizziness hit him, but Rohan, savoring the bitter taste of the potion in his mouth, steadied his mind.
[Physical attribute weakness has been inflicted on the target.]
Throwing aside the thorny vine he was holding, he leaped back to create distance.
‘This is doing better than expected.’
He was satisfied just by the fact that it worked, without losing consciousness like when he tried it on Juyun.
Maybe it’s a placebo effect, but thanks to the potion, the ground only sways a bit. It’s bearable.
“Clara.”
The girl, who had just sliced through a vine as thick as an elephant’s leg, landed beside Rohan.
Seeing Rohan’s wounds, Clara frowned and bit her lip.
“Please. Teach them a lesson.”
“Okay…! I’ll teach them!”
Clara’s usually gentle eyes filled with anger.
She hid the pistol and balisong she was holding inside her clothes. Then, she pulled out a black cylindrical object.
Sion, seeing it for the first time, mistook it for a pistol silencer.
Though the cylinder was only as thick as two fingers combined, it began to take shape as it absorbed Clara’s magic.
“…Arachne.”
The object wasn’t a silencer but a spool of black thread.
Threads imbued with Clara’s magic spread out like spider webs in all directions.
**Swish!**
Dozens of vines were cut at once, falling to the ground.
Pop! Sion, reloading her magazine, landed beside Rohan and Clara.
“Impressive.”
“It’s strength.”
“Right? That’s our Clara for you.”
When Rohan spoke proudly, Sion chuckled and told him to stop the bleeding first.
Clara blushed at Rohan’s words and moved her fingers.
“…Oppa. Take a potion and wait a bit.”
The completely unraveled thread was connected to Clara’s finger like a ring.
The girl’s slender fingers and magic finely controlled the thread.
Once again, the thorny vines surged like waves and lashed like whips.
As Clara moved her hand, they were cleanly severed and spilled onto the ground.
No matter how thick the vines were, they had a weakness applied.
They couldn’t withstand Clara’s attacks to begin with, and with the added weakness, it must have felt like cutting tofu for Clara.
*Thud!*
Clara, who had kicked off the ground and leaped into the air, sat on the thread she had connected in mid-air.
It looked like she was floating.
From Rohan’s perspective below, he could see Clara’s thighs pressed firmly against the thread.
“…”
The girl sitting on the thread observed the overall situation and moved her hands.
As she moved her fingers elegantly, like playing the piano, the threads began to connect here and there.
“Sion. The Monolith will be exposed soon. Get ready.”
“…Got it.”
Rohan snapped Sion out of her daze as she watched Clara’s movements.
He began to assess the situation.
The thread Clara handled had a particularly striking quality.
It had a sharpness and cutting power that rivaled any famous sword, and an elasticity that couldn’t be broken by clumsy force.
Moreover, Clara’s Arachne consumed the user’s magic and generated various poisons on its own.
“Spider Thread.”
Clara connected the thread to her hands and feet.
Then, she leaned back and fell from the thread she was sitting on.
The falling girl, filled with magic, acted as a weight.
The spread-out thread tightened around the monster in an instant.
*Crash!!!*
Hundreds of layers of thorny vines were bound by the thin thread and severed all at once. It was a spectacle.
[X_X] [X_X] [X_X] [X_X]
The expression on the television changed. The plant wilted and drooped.
Sion, assuming the boss had died like the monsters she had seen before, pulled the trigger through the gap where the Monolith became visible.
*Bang!*
Would one shot be enough?
*Ratatatat!*
Sion emptied the magazine in an instant.
[Monolith Legally Removed! – Achievement Unlocked.]
[You have earned 50P as an achievement reward.]
“It’s destroyed.”
Rohan’s voice as he checked the achievement. Sion stopped shooting.
The Monolith cracked cleanly and shattered.
“Phew, is it really over?”
Sion exhaled and holstered her gun, but.
“Wait…!”
Rohan’s eyes widened as he moved.
It was too late to say anything. It was an action driven by instinct.
The boss monster hadn’t given Rohan any points yet.
*Whoosh─!*
The boss’s final thorn. A last-ditch effort before death.
The harpoon-like thorn silently shot toward Sion.
Rohan charged to deflect the thorns, but his lack of magical power and haste prevented him from assuming a proper stance, creating an anomaly.
*Thud!*
Rohan’s right arm was severed, falling to the ground along with the dagger.
“Ah, was that a waste of effort?”
Perhaps trying to counterattack belatedly, Rohan laughed as he saw Sion holding a three-section staff.
As expected, her skills are impressive.
“You…!”
Sion, holding her breath, stared at Rohan’s severed shoulder.
It was the first time she had seen Sion’s face filled with such shock.
Clara, staggering from magical exhaustion, landed beside them.
Clara froze upon seeing Rohan’s severed arm.
[+10P]
Only then did the points for defeating the boss come in, unnoticed.
Simultaneously.
[Gardener’s Final Pruning – Achievement Unlocked.]
[Received 50P as achievement reward.]
[Annoying Weed Pulling – Achievement Unlocked.]
[Received 30P as achievement reward.]
The first sign of defeating a plant-type boss.
Achievements poured down in front of Rohan’s eyes.
[We Are a Community of Fate – Achievement Unlocked.]
[Received 30P as achievement reward.]
[Complete Survival – Achievement Unlocked.]
[Received 30P as achievement reward.]
[Lost Tourist’s First Success Story – Achievement Unlocked.]
[Received 10P as achievement reward.]
..
..
The world began to collapse.
In the void—*crack!*—a fissure appeared, and the fake sun, which had been pouring out heat, shattered.
There was no reason to fear this mysterious and enigmatic situation.
Unconsciously, Rohan’s party realized they would return to their original place through this process.
What frightened Sion and Clara was Rohan’s condition.
“Rohan! It’s my fault…! I’ll take you to the hospital as soon as we arrive…!”
“Oppa…! You mustn’t lose consciousness! Understand!”
Rohan, trying to comfort the panicked girls, collapsed as his legs gave out.
He wanted to reassure them that he was fine, but his body wouldn’t obey. The accumulated blood loss from the battle made his head feel numb.
‘It hurts.’
He had experienced the pain of amputation before, but it was still not something one could get used to.
The shattered world swirled.
And then it collapsed.
[Quest Completed.]
[Rewards Acquired.]
[Distributing clear rewards based on contribution.]
[Party fully restored.]
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