Chapter 62: Monolith (9)

The entrance to the long-closed building.

Rohan’s kick landed there ─ Boom! Like a battering ram.

The rusted hinges shattered, revealing the interior.

Inside the building, where the lights were dead and the only light came through the windows,

Thorny vines, like tangled electrical wires, covered the floor and walls.

But unlike the monsters encountered so far, they remained quiet, not attacking even at a recognizable close range.

Shion, puzzled by the inexplicable scene, asked,

“Vines that haven’t parasitized anything?”

“Well, they might already be in a parasitic state.”

Rohan, recalling his memories, immediately found a clue.

He pointed to a poster on the wall, as if showing off.

The faded poster. Miraculously, only the letters that hinted at what was to come remained.

The Central Management System mentioned here is of a different technological dimension than the equipment Rohan remembers from his previous life.

It’s not just a system that contacts the administrator when it detects problems or abnormalities, but the ultimate system.

The Central Management System here aims to manage the entire building unmanned and handle problems autonomously.

“If that’s the case… it’s the worst-case scenario.”

“Haah…”

Even though Shion and Clara weren’t familiar with the details of the equipment, they felt something from the words themselves and looked up at the towering building.

This building itself might be a giant monster.

““…””

From the moment they thought of that, it was hard to shake the feeling that they were walking into a monster’s mouth of their own accord.

Rohan also felt the girls’ changed atmosphere.

“Clara. Shion.”

“Yes…?”

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll get you back somehow.”

“…”

It was a strange sense of stability, too much to dismiss as mere bravado.

They felt a vague feeling that Rohan would somehow manage, and their hearts felt lighter.

“The only real light inside is from the sun, so we’ll mostly stick to areas near the windows. When searching dark areas, we’ll use the flashlight on our phones.”

He planned to borrow Clara’s smartphone, which had a relatively full battery.

Clara, of course, nodded in agreement. Rohan straightened his dagger, signaling their departure.

He entered the building first.

Thud!

Rohan stepped inside.

Whirr! A security camera at the end of the hallway moved with a rusty sound. As expected, they were recognized as intruders the moment they entered.

The thorny vines on the floor stirred, lunging like snakes opening their mouths.

“Tsk…!”

Clicking his tongue, Rohan lowered his center of gravity and swung his Blazing Blade, the dagger glowing red.

Shion and Clara also quickly cut down the vines rushing from various directions.

Pak! Crack!

Thick thorny vines swung like blind blades.

These vines wouldn’t be cut unless you put proper force into it. They were tough and sturdy.

Just cutting the vines gives 3 Points each. The level is definitely different.

Rohan frowned at the thorny vines that drew blood at the slightest touch.

It wasn’t a problem that this was the first injury he’d sustained in the dungeon.

In fact, this level of injury was laughable.

The real problem was that the thorns of the vines tore through his sturdy Academy Uniform and his mana-reinforced skin, inflicting lacerations.

I definitely need to be on my guard from now on.

Each of these vines was sharper and more dangerous than an average knife attack.

Crack! Snap!

Ignoring the accumulating points, he focused.

How long had he been swinging his red-hot dagger? As the number of vines cluttering the hallway decreased, his vision cleared.

Rohan, keeping his eyes fixed forward, moved his arm and spoke.

“Shion.”

“Speak. I’m listening.”

A vague guess, not specifically mentioned in the game, that the security cameras that moved when they first entered were the monster’s eyes.

It was possible to deal with all the vines this way.

But this method was also worth trying for the future.

“Can you take care of the camera at the end of the hallway?”

Click! Bang!

A gunshot rang out almost before Rohan finished speaking.

“!”

And an unexpected reaction followed. The thorny vines stuttered and stopped.

Rohan, without hesitation, plunged deeper and swung his heat-wreathed dagger in a wide arc.

Shion and Clara also quickly dispatched the vines that came into view.

“Haa!”

He cut down the last vine, standing upright like an angry snake.

Pak! A wet sound. The thick, thorny vine tumbled to the floor.

A clear sign. Rohan finally exhaled.

“Haa!”

“Oh, Oppa! Blood…!”

Rohan reacted lightly to Clara’s panicked voice, cutting off the flow of mana to his dagger.

“It’s just a scratch, I’m fine. Anyway, these are sharp, so be careful, both of you.”

““…””

Rohan turned away from the two, who were silent with complex expressions, and looked towards the end of the hallway.

“I thought the cameras might be providing vision, so I just tried it out. Glad it worked.”

“Good insight.”

“I’d like to set fire to this place, but I doubt normal fire would work on these plants.”

“Yeah…! They were incredibly tough…!”

Besides, these things would probably activate the building’s internal fire suppression system.

Collapsing the building itself was pointless, as the building itself was a giant plant.

He contemplated ways to take shortcuts, but since finding the Monolith was the ultimate goal, he was forced to choose the honest path.

“Let’s leave the basement for now. Let’s go up together.”

“No objections. Splitting up to search would be suicidal.”

Rohan strode forward. Clara nodded at Shion’s words and followed.

Rohan and the others didn’t even glance at the elevators they passed.

They wouldn’t work anyway, and even if they did, using them here would be insane.

They tried opening a fire exit slightly, but it was a dark place.

It was narrow, and filled with thorny vines that threatened to suffocate them, so Rohan and the others chose the wide staircase in the center.

It’ll take a while to get to the 35th floor.

Only Rohan knew that fact.

This building had 40 floors, including 5 basement levels. The boss was located on the top floor, the 35th. The Monolith was also in its possession.

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Thorny vines poured out every time they went up a floor.

Thanks to Shion destroying the security cameras with her pistol whenever she saw them, there were sections where combat was easy.

But in places overflowing with plants that obstructed their view, they had to keep fighting.

Shion and Clara were still unharmed, but Rohan’s lacerations were increasing one by one.

Bleeding appeared in his Status Window, and the girls were looking at him with worried eyes. Rohan drank a 100-Point Health Potion and purchased another one.

Time passed quickly as they continued fighting inside the building.

Looking at the timer, it was already 50 hours.

On the 20th floor, in a corner, they filled their stomachs with combat rations and took turns taking short naps.

The 59th hour.

It started taking longer and longer to go up floors.

It wasn’t because Rohan and the others were having problems. The aggressiveness of the thorny vines was increasing, and they began to show signs of trying to counter Shion’s gun.

Despite their struggles, Shion’s bullets pierced the cameras with perfect accuracy whenever there was an opening.

62 hours had passed.

The building, having lost the eyes that observed the intruders, sent other eyes, as if in anger.

This time, the class of security cameras was different.

Clank! Clank!

A heavy, mechanical sound that felt weighty.

Robots, recognizing the three who had entered the 30th floor, rose from their positions.

“Looks like security robots stored inside.”

They had seen them plenty outside, but this was the first time seeing parasitic state monsters inside the building.

This was a signal that they would encounter proper enemies from now on.

─ In, in, intruder de, de, detected?

─ If you need in, in, information? Guide, guide, guiding…

Naturally, none of the robots were intact. The display-equipped heads rotated erratically, and the voices were filled with terrible static.

It felt like the thorny vines had parasitized them and completely broken them.

Rohan, dyeing his dagger red, reminded the two,

“You’ve felt that the thorny vines are tougher than the ones outside, right?”

“Yes…!”

“I’ve experienced it firsthand. Then there’s a chance that the monsters themselves are more durable.”

Shion’s guess was right.

The type of monster the thorny vines parasitized was the same as the monsters outside.

To easily explain the difference, among the Parasitic Ivy, these were like elites or named monsters.

Individuals with superior health and attack power despite having the same level.

Stronger than regular monsters, but weaker than the boss.

“Let’s take care of these before more come from elsewhere.”

“Alright.”

“Understood…!”

There was no need for more words.

The two girls moved in their respective directions, and Rohan dashed straight ahead.

─ Se, Sentry…! Cle, cle, cle, cleaning… commencing.

With a bizarre voice, the spinning display fixed itself.

Then the robot’s arms assembled into a firearm.

Even before it was fully formed, Rohan guessed what kind of weapon it was.

A minigun?

With Rohan’s mana, a pistol would probably only cause superficial damage.

But this was different.

Rat-tat-tat-tat──!

Rohan increased his running speed, quickly closing the distance.

As if trying to block his approach, thorny vines poured out from the robot’s body like waves.

Yet, Rohan knew he had to break through.

Covering his face with his arms, he kicked off the ground and threw himself forward.

──Boom! The floor tiles shattered as Rohan’s body shot forward like an arrow, passing through the gap before the thorny vines could bunch up and close it.

By the time he reached right in front of the robot, his entire body was torn, and blood was flowing freely.

Seeing the minigun assembly just finishing, Rohan reached out and grabbed the robot.

Weakness Inducement.