Chapter 56: Monolith (3)

“Because of time?”

At Rohan’s question, Shion glanced at Clara, who remained silent, and nodded carefully.

“It might be a premature worry, but it’s true that things will be difficult after we escape.”

“How much time did you have? When you left Academy City.”

“…About 5 hours.”

Shion’s voice and expression weren’t good as she answered.

Rohan had just said it could take days, even weeks. It was such a ridiculously short time that it was more than just tight; it was practically forcing them to give up.

“Shion.”

“Hmm, sorry for bringing up such a gloomy topic. Since things are like this, we’ll have to think about what comes after later.”

“No. That’s not what I was going to say.”

Rohan spun his dagger between his fingers and smiled.

“There’s a glimmer of hope.”

“Finding the Monolith quickly?”

“That would be ideal. But this space has something special about it.”

“What is it?”

Rohan looked at his Smartphone, which he had turned on as soon as he regained his freedom. The time on the screen was frozen, saying it was setting the location.

However, the timer was working diligently. 8 minutes and 36 seconds had passed.

He had turned it on remembering that this Dungeon didn’t have nights because the sun never set, but there was another reason.

“Time might flow differently here than outside.”

“!”

The two girls’ eyes widened in shock at the information Rohan revealed.

Of course, there was a possibility that 1 second here was the same as 1 second in the real world.

But Rohan’s memories were different. He remembered the first Dungeon, from the protagonist’s experience, having a day-night cycle where one day inside equated to 50 minutes to 1 hour outside.

There were even small side stories between the characters based on that time difference.

“It could be passing faster, or conversely, slower.”

“So, we have to rely on luck in this regard.”

“Right.”

While most Dungeons had time differences, there had never been one with a truly absurd gap.

In other words, a ratio like 1 second in the Dungeon equaling 10 years in the real world had never appeared in Abyss City.

“Valuable information. I feel much better now.”

“That’s good.”

Rohan brushed it off lightly, saying any Cadet at Orion Academy who paid attention in class would know this.

Shion and Clara accepted his words without a doubt.

If I had been separated from Ichinose or Noa… Just the thought gives me a headache.

It was only because it was these two that Rohan could get away with such a bluff.

In that sense, having Clara and Shion as his companions for his first Dungeon experience was a stroke of luck.

These two girls had been trained solely for taking human lives, not for hunting Monsters.

“The Academy teaches amazing things…”

“Does Clara want to attend too?”

The source of the information was actually Rohan’s own experience.

If Rohan were to tell Juyeon about his Dungeon experiences after escaping, this information, along with data on newly emerging Dungeons until next year, would be compiled into the curriculum.

“I, I like being with Oppa… but I’m a little… scared to be alone.”

“Really? Then I’ll teach you, Clara.”

“Hee hee…”

With those words, Rohan reached for the door.

Seeing Shion standing quietly without any objections, it seemed like it was okay to open it.

Creak! Crack!

The long-abandoned door screamed under Rohan’s strength as it began to let in the bright sunlight.

What came into view were precariously tilted or collapsed buildings, and piles of stone debris.

Guardrails, cars, and utility poles filled the street, but none were intact.

It was a place reminiscent of a world where humanity had disappeared.

Shion lowered her goggles against the stinging sunlight and pulled out a spare weapon from her pocket: a Telescopic Baton.

“The temperature is high. It might be over 40 degrees.”

Just as Shion observed, the heat was intense.

Still, he couldn’t just take off his clothes because he didn’t know what kind of attacks might come.

Even if he sweated, he had to keep his clothes on for now. Rohan had a solution to prevent Dehydration.

“If you feel dizzy or dehydrated, you absolutely must tell me. Not saying anything will lead to serious trouble.”

“Okay!”

“Where should we move? I don’t sense any particular Mana.”

“Let’s get a better view first.”

Rohan stepped onto the large debris and climbed onto a collapsed building.

Shion and Clara followed with light footsteps.

Let’s see…

Standing high up, Rohan moved his head from side to side, searching for the distinctive building that existed in his memory.

Found it!

At the end of a line of Abandoned Buildings, he pointed to a building barely visible in the distance.

Unlike the other buildings, this one stood tall and straight.

“See that? The tallest one that looks undamaged.”

“Hmm… I have no objections to making that our destination. I don’t see any other notable buildings.”

Lastly, the two looked at Clara.

The girl, as if surprised that they would ask for her opinion, flinched and then nodded shyly, agreeing.

Thud!

Back on the ground, Rohan naturally took the lead.

Clara and Shion were agile and had good offensive capabilities, but they weren’t physically robust enough to be at the front.

Rohan walked along the shaded areas, dagger in hand.

“Let’s try to refrain from using guns even if Monsters appear. Loud noises might attract them.”

Shion nodded in agreement and glanced at Clara, who was stuck to Rohan’s side like glue.

Clara’s shoulders flinched at Shion’s pointed gaze, and Shion brought up her point.

“Clara. Besides what you have combined, how much ammunition do you have left?”

“I, I have one magazine.”

“Not very much. Are you using subsonic rounds by any chance?”

“…!”

Shion’s deduction stemmed from the silencer and Clara’s characteristic behavior.

As if her guess was right, Clara couldn’t hide her surprised expression and slowly nodded.

“Unfortunately, my pistol is a different caliber, and it can’t be equipped with a silencer. If you have another pistol, I’ll share my ammunition.”

“Ah, I don’t have any others right now…”

There was nothing they could do since Clara’s pistol was a rare model with a custom-made silencer.

Shion quickly agreed and backed down. The girl’s real weapon was something else entirely.

As the conversation ended, Rohan placed his hand on Clara’s head.

“I’ll refill it when we get out, so don’t hesitate to use it when you need to. Okay?”

“Okay…!”

Shion, a step behind, watched Rohan and Clara and chuckled in disbelief.

She’s completely smitten.

What kind of relationship did they have? Could she ask about it a little more deeply?

Just as she was contemplating whether to open her itching mouth,

Screech!

Rohan stopped abruptly.

He raised a hand and made a fist, a clear signal to stop.

“There’s something.”

At Rohan’s lowered voice, Shion’s pointed ears twitched, and she picked up an unusual sound.

Tick. Tock. Tick.

A clock?

The familiar sound of a second hand and a minute hand moving. It was getting closer.

From behind a large, fallen signboard,

An analog clock, the kind that would look good hanging on a wall, walked out, accompanied by strange footsteps.

If you ask how a clock could walk,

Four green vines, like arms and legs, stretched out and moved it.

Tick. Tock.

Despite having no eyes, it seemed to be aware of them, giving the feeling that it was looking at them.

Rohan’s hand tightened.

Flick!

The clock suddenly shot its hands like darts.

Rohan easily dodged.

He then stepped forward and stomped hard on the clock.

Crack! The clock shattered.

The vines twitched like human limbs and then went limp.

Rohan confirmed the increase in Points and warned the others.

“As you can see, they attack first, so be careful.”

“…A truly bizarre Monster. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

For Shion, who had only ever pierced Monsters with normal vital points like blood and organs, there was no other way to describe it than bizarre.

It seemed to see despite having no eyes and hear despite having no ears.

“They don’t have the intelligence to play dead. You can tell if they’re alive or dead by looking at these plant-like limbs.”

“Oppa, are, are those parasitic plants…?”

“As far as I know, they can’t parasitize humans. They’re Monsters that parasitize machines and furniture.”

“Phew…”

Clara breathed a sigh of relief and took out her Balisong.

The three heads turned in the direction they sensed the presence.

Beep! Beep beep! Beep!

A lump with thicker vines than before appeared.

“A traffic light?”

As Shion said, it was a traffic light, but not quite.

It moved on all fours like an animal, using the plant stems as legs. It alternated between green and red lights without any power supply.

The red light shone intensely as if it was about to attack.

But as Clara moved past it, the traffic light — Shatter! — split cleanly into five pieces.

Then the girl shyly trotted over to Rohan.

“O, Oppa…! I’m sorry for moving without saying anything…”

“No, you did well.”

Asking to be petted was now automatic.

Rohan gently stroked the girl’s head as she lowered it slightly.

And one question was answered.

Even though Clara defeated it, the Points went to Rohan.

As I thought… I get Points even if my companions defeat them.

Since the Quest specified “companions,” he had been curious about this point. Now, he felt a surge of greed to earn a significant amount of Points.

After briefly examining the dead Monster,

Rohan and his companions started moving again.

They defeated three more Monsters and walked for a little over an hour.

Clara tugged on Rohan’s sleeve.

“Oppa…”

“Yes?”

“Th, that…!”

“Are you dizzy? Thirsty?”

Clara shook her head, her face red. She looked so flushed that Rohan wondered if she had heatstroke.

Unable to meet his gaze, the girl fidgeted and whispered,

“Bathroom…”

“Ah.”

Rohan understood and straightened up, looking around.

For safety, Shion would have to accompany her.

Just as Rohan was about to ask Shion,

Shion raised her goggles, her eyes thoughtful.

“Rohan. Wait a moment.”

“What is it?”

Rohan nodded at her obvious statement.

Shion, as if emboldened by his agreement, opened her mouth to share her thoughts.

“If our goal is to survive, simply reducing our activity level would be best, but we can’t do that here, and we aren’t waiting to be rescued.”

Shion continued, explaining that they didn’t even know if there was drinkable water or edible food anywhere.

With a completely serious face, she got to the main point.

“Of course, I know that you shouldn’t drink your own urine when you’re stranded. I’ve read survival manuals that say it’s like drinking poison.”

“Hmm…”

“But I’ve also read that if you’re healthy and not dehydrated, a Mana-imbued body can easily tolerate drinking urine.”

In short, she was suggesting they collect urine while they were still in good condition.

“If I’m mistaken about anything, please correct me. I’m being completely serious.”

Adding one last remark, Shion looked at Rohan.

It seemed Rohan had already become the decision-maker of the group.

Rohan turned his head towards Clara.

“…”

Clara’s face, upon meeting Rohan’s gaze, turned a shade of red that seemed to verge on combustion.

The girl stammered and froze.