The building's entrance, sealed for ages, gave way under Rohan’s powerful kick—BOOM!—his strike hitting it like a battering ram.
The rusted hinges shattered, revealing the dim interior.
Inside, the only light ca from the sunlight filtering through the glass windows, while the floor and walls were overrun with thorny vines, tangled like unorganized cables.
Yet, unlike the previous monsters, these vines remained still, even when the intruders entered their range. The eerie stillness made Shion furrow her brow in suspicion.
“Are these vines that failed to parasitize anything?”
“Hard to say. They might already be parasitizing the building itself,” Rohan replied, drawing on his mories to locate a clue.
He pointed to a poster plastered on the wall.
Though faded and torn, a few words remained miraculously intact, hinting at what lay ahead:
“Introducing the Latest Centralized Managent System!”
The centralized managent system described here was on an entirely different level from the technology Rohan rembered in his previous life.
It wasn’t just a system that detected issues and alerted administrators; it was an ultimate system designed to autonomously manage and resolve problems within the entire building.
“If that’s the case… this could be the worst scenario,” Rohan muttered grimly.
“Phew…”
Shion and Clara, though not experts in technology, understood enough from the words to raise their heads and look at the towering building.
There was a strong possibility that the entire structure was now a massive, living monster.
The realization hit them like a weight, making it hard to shake the feeling that they were walking straight into the maw of a beast.
Rohan sensed the shift in their deanor.
“Clara, Shion.”
“…Yeah?”
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll make sure we get out of here sohow.”
The calm reassurance in Rohan’s voice wasn’t re bravado—it carried a strange, grounding confidence that lightened their hearts.
“With no proper lighting inside, we’ll stick to areas with windows as much as possible. If we need to search darker sections, we’ll use phone flashlights.”
Since Clara’s phone had the most battery life left, Rohan planned to borrow hers when necessary. Clara quickly nodded in agreent.
With a signal to move, Rohan adjusted his dagger and stepped forward, taking the lead as they entered the building.
Thud!
The sound of Rohan’s footfall echoed through the interior.
Creak!
At the end of the corridor, a rusty security cara whirred into motion, its grating noise alerting them to its presence.
As expected, the mont they entered, the system recognized them as intruders.
The thorny vines began to writhe and surge like snakes, opening gaping maws as they lunged.
“Tch…”
Clicking his tongue, Rohan lowered his stance and swung his dagger, now glowing red-hot with Scorching Blade.
Shion and Clara quickly stepped in, cutting down the vines that ca at them from all directions.
Slash! Crack!
The thick, thorny vines lashed out wildly, swinging like blind weapons.
They were tough and resilient, requiring significant force to cut through.
[ 3P]
[ 3P]
[ 3P]
***
“Three points for each vine… definitely a higher tier.”
Rohan grimaced as he noticed one vine’s sharp thorns nick his arm, drawing blood.
It wasn’t the wound itself that concerned him—such minor injuries were hardly worth ntioning.
The real issue was that the thorny vine had not only torn through his reinforced academy uniform but also pierced his skin, which was strengthened with magic.
“This is a clear sign—we need to stay sharp from here on.”
The vines were more dangerous and precise than any blade fight he had encountered so far.
Crack! Snap!
Ignoring the points accumulating on his interface, Rohan stayed focused.
Swinging his glowing dagger, he fought relentlessly, carving through the vines.
Eventually, the number of vines filling the hallway began to dwindle, and their view cleared.
Without looking away from the path ahead, Rohan kept swinging his blade and spoke up.
“Shion.”
“Speak. I’m listening.”
In the ga, there was no ntion of this detail, but Rohan had a hunch.
The security cara that had moved earlier might serve as the monster’s “eyes.”
While cutting down all the vines was possible, it was worth trying another approach to test his theory.
“Take out that cara at the end of the hallway.”
Click! Bang!
The mont Rohan finished speaking, a gunshot rang out.
The result was imdiate and unexpected—the vines stuttered and stopped moving.
Rohan seized the opportunity to charge forward, swinging his heat-infused dagger in wide arcs.
Shion and Clara quickly followed suit, cutting down any remaining vines in their sight.
“Hup!”
Rohan severed the final, upright stalk of vine, watching as its thick, thorny body collapsed to the ground with a wet thud.
[ 3P]
The system confird the kill, and Rohan finally exhaled.
“Whew!”
“O-Oppa! You’re bleeding…!” Clara’s voice trembled with worry as she pointed to his injuries.
Rohan dismissed her concern with a wave, cutting off the mana flowing into his dagger.
“It’s just a scratch. But this shows how sharp these things are, so be careful.”
“…”
The two girls exchanged uneasy glances but didn’t argue.
Rohan shifted his gaze to the end of the hallway.
“I figured the cara was acting as its eyes. Glad it worked.”
“An excellent observation,” Shion remarked.
“I’d love to just set everything on fire, but these plants probably wouldn’t burn from ordinary flas.”
“They’re so tough… it’s insane,” Clara added, shivering at the thought.
Moreover, any attempt to burn the vines would likely activate the building’s fire suppression system, which might be controlled by the parasitic plants themselves.
Since the Monolith remained their primary objective, Rohan reluctantly chose to take the more straightforward path.
“We’ll leave the basent for now and head upward.”
“No objections here. Splitting up to search would be suicide.”
With that, Rohan strode ahead, followed closely by Clara and Shion.
They didn’t even glance at the elevator—it wasn’t operational, and even if it was, using it would be madness.
The first ergency exit they checked was too dark, filled with thorny vines that made breathing difficult.
Instead, they opted for the central staircase, which was wider and more manageable.
“Reaching the 35th floor will take so ti.”
Rohan was the only one who knew the full extent of their climb.
Including the five basent levels, the building had 40 floors in total, with the boss stationed on the 35th floor, guarding the Monolith.
***
As they ascended, thorny vines poured out on every level.
Thanks to Shion’s precise shooting, destroying the caras made so battles easier, but areas thick with vines still forced them into fights.
While Shion and Clara remained unhard, Rohan accumulated more injuries, so even causing minor bleeding.
When the girls’ worried glances beca too much, Rohan drank a 100-point health potion and imdiately purchased another.
Ti flew as the battles raged on.
By the ti they checked the tir, 50 hours had passed.
On the 20th floor, they ate combat rations and took turns resting.
By the 59th hour, the climb grew even slower.
The vines’ aggression had increased, and they now seed to adapt to Shion’s gunfire, attempting to counter her shots.
Still, Shion’s accuracy was impeccable, each bullet striking its target with lethal precision.
At the 62nd hour…
The building, having lost its “eyes,” seed to send replacents in a fit of rage.
This ti, they weren’t ordinary security caras.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of heavy machinery echoed ominously.
Robots stationed on the 30th floor activated, recognizing the intruders.
“Looks like the security robots installed inside,” Rohan muttered.
Though he’d seen plenty of them outside, it was his first ti encountering parasitized robots inside the building.
It was also a clear sign that they were finally facing serious opponents.
─In…trud…er detec…ted?
─Inf…ormation… you require? Guid…ance in prog…ress.
Of course, no robot here was intact.
Their displays flickered erratically, their voices distorted with static, and thorny vines coiled through their chanisms, rendering them grotesque.
Rohan channeled mana into his dagger, turning it red-hot, and addressed his team.
“You’ve seen how tough these vines are, right?”
“Yeah…!”
“Experienced it plenty. That likely ans these robots are just as durable,” Shion added.
Her assumption was spot on.
The parasitized robots were essentially elite versions of the Parasitic Ivy monsters they’d encountered earlier—stronger, tougher, and deadlier.
“Let’s take them out before reinforcents arrive.”
“Agreed.”
“Got it…!”
There was no need for further discussion.
The two girls spread out, while Rohan charged straight ahead.
─Sentry… unit… cle…aning in prog…ress.
With a chanical whirr, the robots’ displays stabilized, and their arms shifted into mounted guns.
Rohan didn’t need to wait to know what they were assembling.
“A minigun?”
While his magically enhanced body could likely withstand pistol fire, this was a completely different story.
Ratatatatatat!
Rohan quickened his pace, closing the distance rapidly.
As if trying to block his advance, the robots unleashed waves of thorny vines from their bodies.
But Rohan knew he had to break through.
Covering his face with his arms, he launched himself forward, his feet shattering tiles beneath him.
BOOM!
Rohan shot forward like an arrow, slipping through the vines before they could close the gap.
Arriving right in front of the robot, his body was battered and bleeding, but he pressed on.
Just as the minigun finished assembling, Rohan reached out and grabbed the robot.
“Grant Weakness.”
[Granting the target vulnerability to physical attributes.]
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