Floor 1,321—-
Zaria, Rika, and Rei pulled themselves out of the freezing river, completely drenched.
"Wonderful," Rika groaned. "My curls are ruined."
"Forget your curls, where's the others?" Zaria worried.
Rei pointed to a train car grounded by the river. "I think they're over there!"
As soon as the girls tried to run toward the car, a band of hunters suddenly surrounded them, raising their weapons.
"And now the bad guys are right here…" Zaria sighed.
"Wait…" Rika realized. "These guys have the same outfits as those jerks that trapped us on the boat!"
"Dōkko-something," Zaria recalled. "Whatever they call themselves."
"Dokkōdan!" one corrected.
"Yep, that's it."
Behind them, a van started up, the statue strapped in the back.
"Hey!" Rika demanded. "That's ours!"
"Well," Zaria pointed out. "Technically not—-"
"It is now, Zaria!"
Rika tried chasing after the van, but the hunters blocked her path.
〈Path A: Chase.〉
〈Path B: Stay and Fight.〉
"What are we waiting for?" Rika insisted. "Our prize is getting away!"
"Mr. Nyugawa and Han are still over there though!" Zaria replied. "What if they're in trouble?"
"Are you DOUBTING our leader? If we don't get that statue, what do you think he'll say?"
Zaria thought for a moment. "Fine. Fine. Let's go."
Zaria turned to the UI. "Path A, ASAP!"
〈Confirmed. Rerouting Party.〉
As the hunters jumped them, the girls disappeared.
〈*Temporary Vehicle* Granted.〉
By the time they reappeared, they were inside a high-tech, metallic sports car, with Zaria in the driver's seat.
"Whoa," she gasped. "My mom never got me shit like this!"
"Well, that's great," Rika stated. "If you can, hit the pedal and speed off!"
"Uh, where IS the pedal?"
Rika sighed. "Switch with me, sis."
Zaria shrugged and swapped places with Rika, who frantically searched the seat. "The hell? Why is there no wheel? And no pedals?"
"I TOLD you!"
Rei pointed to the van speeding off. "Van's gone, hehe!"
Rika pounded her arms on the dashboard. "Move, you crappy piece of junk!"
As if in response, the car whirled to life, racing after the van.
"Hey!" Zaria cheered. "You got the car working! Now floor it!"
Rika frantically looked around. "Wait, I didn't do that—-!"
With a jerk, the car threw the girls into the right-side doors, and Rika collided with Zaria.
"Ow!"
Zaria rubbed her head. "If you're not driving, who is? Rei, are you doing some magic trick or something?"
Rei held up her hands. "Nope!"
The van in front noticed them, and Dokkōdan members began throwing bombs at them, but the car swerved around them all.
"The hell's going on…?" Zaria wondered.
Rika's phone, which was abandoned in the driver's seat, suddenly came to life. "Guess who?"
"AHHH!"
Rika jumped into Zaria's arms. "It's a ghost! A ghost!"
A bright smiley face appeared on her phone. "There you are, friends! Friends Zaria and Rika!"
Rika gripped Zaria tighter. "It knows our names!"
Zaria squinted. "Wait, isn't that—-?"
"Yep! It's me! Your best friend, Sōshin!"
Rika composed herself. "You? You're still in my phone? Oh no, have you seen my messages?"
"Yep!"
"Forget that," Zaria interrupted. "How are you driving this CAR?"
"Easy! I can use Jugen-Sōunsha! See? Watch this!"
The car began to shake and drive twice as fast. "Jugen-Sōunsha: Jiritsu Sharyō Henkei!"
Rei pumped her fists up. "Woohoo! Fast! Do a barrel roll!"
"Okay!"
The car drove over a ledge, spinning around and dodging another array of bombs, before landing perfectly on its tires.
"That…just happened," Rika remarked.
"Yep," Zaria replied. "It sure did."
Rika slowly got back into the driver's seat, placing Sōshin on the dashboard. "Okay, Sōshin, I'm trusting you not to kill us so please drive like a responsible adult—-!"
BOOM.
The car went into overdrive, driving alongside the Dokkōdan van.
"Hey!" Zaria pointed. "It's Yūto and those other jerks!"
On top of the van were Yūto, Airi, and Rio. As soon as Yūto caught wind of them, he grimaced.
"Geez, what's my luck to deal with these broads for the second time in a row?" he moaned.
Zaria rolled the window down. "Hey, idiot! We're gonna need that statue!"
"Girl, please. We didn't come here to argue with you!"
Airi tapped him on the shoulder. "That's exactly what you're doing."
"Not now, Airi!"
Zaria got up out of her seat, attempting to climb out of the window. Rika grabbed her arm.
"What are you doing?"
"Bout to fight on top of a moving van. Why? You got a better idea?"
"That's dangerous!"
"So am I."
Zaria flipped onto the top of Sōshin's car. "Alright, kid, keep this thing steady!"
"Okay!" Sōshin answered back.
Zaria extended her hand. "Jugen-Tōshi: Cursed Spear!"
〈Error. Error. Skill *Not Applicable.*〉
"Oh. Right. Uhh, what was it? Uhh…Jugen-Tōshi: Seishitō?"
A katana formed in her hands, stunning Yūto. "The heck? Did you unlock your second skill?"
"Nope! Just busted out a new one! Now die!"
"Gah!"
Zaria jumped onto the van's roof, using her sword to anchor herself. "Who's first?"
Yūto pushed Rio forward. "G—get her ass!"
Rio sighed. "Whatever."
As the wind rippled through the air, Rio's body started to glow. "Jugen-Sōunsha: Camouflage."
And without a second to waste, he tackled Zaria.
Meanwhile—-
"I'm no thug, old geezer. Throw the first punch."
Han watched from behind as Zan slowly paced around Omariro, sizing him up.
"Well? Did age dull your edge? Or have you just grown to be a coward in your final days?"
Omariro remained still.
"Such a shame," Zan taunted. "Okay then. I'll handle this quick."
With a flash of dark energy, bombs appeared in the air.
"Jugen-Metsusha: Rei Myaku Shuryūdan!"
With a wave of his arm, the bombs headed for Han and Omariro.
"Sir!" Han shouted. "Watch out!"
"Hmph."
A bright golden light appeared, and Omariro shot all the bombs down with his bow.
"Huh," Zan clapped. "Not bad, not bad. Men!"
Bombs landed in the hands of each of his hunters, and with a snap of his fingers, they all threw them.
"Jugen-Tōshi: Seijin Rangeki!"
A barrage of blades met them in the air, causing a wave of explosions.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
When the smoke cleared, Omariro found an assault rifle pointed directly at his head.
"Jugen-Metsusha: Senmetsu Totsugeki Jū!"
He fired a stream of bullets at Omariro, who blocked them all at point-blank range with his blade.
"You're not taking me lightly, are you?" Zan questioned. "Your movements are so slow, yet so deliberate!"
He swung the rifle at Omariro, who side-stepped it. The two began exchanging blows with each other, with Omariro perfectly matching Zan's attacks.
"Jugen-Kōbisha: Hexagon Cube!"
A pair of tripwires wrapped around Zan's body, and Han ran over to Omariro. "There you go, sir! I got him in place!"
Zan chuckled. "You're a funny one."
His eyes glowed with dark energy.
"Jugen-Metsusha: Kyūkyoku Seimei Shōmetsuki."
Omariro's expression briefly changed, and he pushed Han out of the way. "Watch out, boy!"
A powerful wave of dark energy hit them both, sending Han flying into a tree, and Omariro sliding back. When Omariro lifted his arms, he noticed they were severed from the elbow down.
"Told you," Zan stated. "Your model is outdated, Omariro Nyugawa."
Han briefly opened his eyes, to find Zan pointing the rifle at Omariro's head, before passing out.
"Sir…"
???——
〈Han Jisoo. Not ideal. But I'll take him.〉
〈Hey. He's the best I can do. The girls are too rough around the edges, too chaotic. Unpredictable.〉
〈And if he finds out? Don't underestimate his intelligence.〉
〈That's a you problem. Good luck. Seems his vitals are draining. Might wanna hurry.〉
〈Ugh. You're insufferable.〉
"Hello?" Han called out. "Is someone talking?"
Silence. Utter silence.
"I know I just heard something," Han mused. "It sounded…dark. Ancient. That didn't sound like two humans indulging in a conversation…"
Memories began to flood Han's mind, causing him to grab his head and fall to the floor.
"Argh!"
〈Trauma. Solitude. Failure. Such a poor, broken boy. Such is fate, indeed…〉
Years ago—-
"You've been exploring DUNGEONS?"
"Yeah! My Jugen percentage hit 50% yesterday! Guess they lied when they said it's set in stone!"
"But, why? Aren't they dangerous?"
"Many things in life are dangerous, Han. Doesn't mean we don't still do them every day."
"Name one.
"Driving a car, flying in a plane, heck, even walking outside you might get hit with a stray bullet. You gotta take risks, Han! Smart is cool, but strength doesn't come from smarts alone."
"Ugh. The mindset of lesser beings."
Inside his bedroom, Han and his friend, Kiyoshi, were busy working on homework. Han typed away at his computer, while Kiyoshi held a floating holo-cube in his hand.
"This baby's come in handy dozens of times," Kiyoshi bragged. "It helps to have a live dungeon encyclopedia in your hand at all times!"
"You know, even with that cube, it's still a high risk of death," Han shrugged. "Just saying."
Kiyoshi waved him off. "Pessimistic as always. "How about after school tomorrow, you and me clear that Itabashi Dungeon?"
"I'll wait outside," Han shrugged. "Remember, my only Jugen skill is Eikyū Jubaku, so not like I have any reason to go in there anyway."
Kiyoshi got up. "You never know. That skill might come in handy."
"Maybe," Han agreed. "But I can only use it one time."
Days later—-
At the gate to the Itabashi Dungeon, Kiyoshi put a hand on Han's shoulder. "You sure you aren't coming inside?"
Han shook his head. "Nope. Too risky."
"Alright. Well, if anything happens to me, I want you to have this."
He held up his cube. "Maybe it'll quell your fear, haha!"
Han rolled his eyes. "Relax. I doubt things come to that end. Just get to a safe floor if you get stuck in a bind."
Kiyoshi gave him a thumbs-up. "Alright. See you on the other side."
He went through the gate, which closed behind him.
"He'll come back out soon," Han thought. "Not like he'd make it to Floor 10,000 anyway."
But hours passed, and there was no sign of Kiyoshi. Han eventually grew worried, pacing around the area.
"He probably just made it farther than usual, right?" Han assumed. "He's only level 3,500, there's no way he got all the way to the lower floors!"
The gate suddenly rose, turning red.
"Red?" Han gasped. "What's that mean?"
Han almost swore he could hear screaming coming from the gate.
"Shit! Kiyoshi! Hang on!"
He steadied himself and jumped through the gate.
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 10,000〉
Han fell on his face, and when he got up, he saw a horrific sight.
There were bloodied corpses all around the hellish landscape, with fires raging and lava pouring.
Han landed in the center of a throne room, where Kiyoshi was lying, bleeding out.
"Kiyoshi!" Han cried out. "What happened? Why are you on the final floor?"
"The Paths…" Kiyoshi muttered. "They…they appeared to me…I had a chance to clear…the dungeon…in one go…had to take it, haha…"
"Are you STUPID? You're not level 10,000!"
"No…but people down here needed help…" he said. "Even though…I failed most…some got away…"
Han tried to lift him. "Well, now we need to get you out of here! Come on, the gate should be close."
"Han," he warned. "You need to run…the raid boss will be here soon…he'll tear us both to shreds…"
"I'm not leaving you, man!"
"RAHHHHH!"
Outside the room, a terrible wail could be heard, along with thundering footsteps.
"There's no time…Han, take my skill…"
"No, it's your skill, not mine!"
Kiyoshi lifted his shirt, showing his bisected stomach. "It's no good to me now, man. With your brain…you'll use it better."
"But—-!"
As the footsteps got closer, Kiyoshi grabbed his arm. "Take…it…Han…please…"
Han closed his eyes, tears falling down his face. "A—alright."
With a trembling hand, he gripped his friend's arm. "Jugen-Kōbisha: Eikyū Jubaku."
Dark energy bathed them, and Han felt a rush of energy. "I think it worked."
Just then, the beast burst through the door.
"FLESH!"
And as it charged at the two, time seemed to stop, and two paths appeared before the two.
〈Path A: Save Han.〉
〈Path B: Save Yourself.〉
Before Han could respond, Kiyoshi had already opened his mouth.
"Path…A."
"No! What are you—-?"
〈Confirmed.〉
An invisible force seemed to drag Han toward the gate, just as Kiyoshi gave him a thumbs up.
And then, the beast snatched him up with its talons, never to be seen again.
Floor 1,321—
As Zan pointed his gun at Omariro's temple, Han slowly opened his eyes.
〈Awaken, Han. Awaken.〉
Unbeknownst to everyone, Han's eyes briefly flashed purple…
…just for a moment.
——