Time Limit
Masaru touched the large wooden box.
As if it judged that a choice had been made, the box made a gotorii sound and began to crack open, seemingly preparing to unseal itself. Meanwhile, the small treasure chest that had been in his left hand vanished in an instant—not gradually like an approaching disappearance, but with the swiftness of an illusion.
"Aww, the treasure chest…"
Ninami-san let out a deeply disappointed voice, lamenting the lost chest.
"Hey, Masaru! What the heck are you doing?!"
Serai-san, who had been eyeing the large wooden box, scolded Masaru for his reckless actions, clearly thinking this was pushing it too far.
Hmm… So the small treasure chest disappeared, and the big wooden box remained.
Wait, no—we don’t have time for this. Though slow, the dungeon’s collapse was steadily approaching. If we dawdled, we might end up having to abandon the remaining box too.
"Both of you, for now, let’s just be careful of traps and check what’s inside quickly."Pulling Masaru away, the wooden box unfolded like a stylish kitchen storage unit—not just opening simply, but sliding forward while the top flipped up.
And what appeared from the box was…
"What is this…?"
"Pretty big, huh. But what even is this…??"
Inside the box was something like a thick, white pillar.
"Hmph, this is unexpected…"
As Serai-san said, given the size of the box, I’d expected weapons or armor—but instead, a pillar? Ugh, what the heck is this?
And worse, the room still had no exit.
"…Hey, Egetsu-san. You mentioned going drinking with a Self-Defense Force officer the other day, right? Didn’t you ask them about clearing dungeons?"
"Hmm… That time, huh? I did ask about that stuff. But they said it was classified and wouldn’t tell me. So we’ve got no hints about our current situation."
Yeah, even Nina-san didn’t let anything slip about it.
"So, we got this weird pillar but still no exit, and the dungeon’s collapse is right on our tails… Uh, isn’t this, like, super bad?"
"Ugh, c’mon! What’s with this pillar thing? Sure, I said I wanted a big weapon, but not some log or pillar…"
Hmm… The mood soured fast thanks to our underwhelming loot.
Still, we should at least check the pillar and take it with us. Maybe it’ll help us progress.
"Alright, let me see it too. Hey, Masaru, stop playing with the open lid."
Pushing Masaru aside—who was wobbling the upward-flipped lid—I took a closer look at the white pillar.
(Hmm… It really does look like a pillar from the Parthenon or something.)
Thick, white, with evenly spaced grooves. But it’s only about as tall as a person, so it feels more like a fragment of a full pillar.
"Anyway, we got it in the dungeon, so let’s take it. Oh? There’s a groove here too… Wait, could this be—?"
I crouched to lift the pillar, and as I looped my arm around it, I noticed a strange groove on the hidden side.
"Huh? What’s up, Egetsu-san?"
"This pillar… seems to have joints."
"Whaaat?!"
Yeah, their shock was understandable. From the front, it’s just a pillar. But when you reach behind, the grooves and surrounding gaps look suspiciously joint-like.
"Right… This is probably a leg part. Judging by the weight distribution, I’d guess the left leg?"
As an otaku, I once got really into model kits.
Back then, I even modified robot joints for cooler poses. So while others might miss it, my eyes don’t lie.
"Wait, so… is this a golem part? I think there was stuff like that in online games!"
"Hmm… A golem component, huh? That might actually be a solid guess, Serai-san."
"Hey, you two! Forget that, we gotta get outta here! If we don’t hurry, we’ll get caught in the collapse!"
"Right. Then I’ll lift this—move the box. Hup!"
The pillar-like suspected golem left leg had a texture hard to place—stone or metal?
It was white and matte, so it looked stone-like, but cold and hard to the touch like metal. Hmm… Some kind of ceramic hybrid?
"Zubyuun…!"
"Whoa—?!"
As I hoisted the leg onto my shoulder, a glowing golden magic circle suddenly appeared on the floor nearby. Startled, Masaru leapt away in panic.
The magic circle emerged slightly toward the back of the conical room. Combined with the two treasure spots, it formed a perfect triangular layout at the center.
"A m-magic circle?! But will this take us outside?!"
"No idea! But timing-wise… it’s gotta be, right?!"
The two were visibly shaken by the sudden appearance of the circle.
"W-w-what do we do, Egetsu-san?!"
"The collapse is right behind us!!"
They kept glancing between the magic circle and the approaching wave of disintegration, panicking.
Yeah, I get it. In games, I’d see a magic circle pop up like this and think, "Oh, sure, this is the stage-clear trigger. Next level, here we go." But when it’s right in front of you? Total panic.
Still, we had no other options—the dungeon’s collapse was nearly upon us. All we could do was take the leap and hope for the best!
"Both of you, grab my hands! Hold on tight, and let’s jump in together!"
""Y-yeah!""