Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World

The charm intended for the Lord of the Clock Castle somehow ended up affecting Benny.

In the midst of preparing for the fight, my energy was suddenly drained…but there’s no turning back now.

“H, here I go…!”

With a strangely deflated shout, I kick off the ground.

Tat!

Even if my voice was weak, the acceleration, enhanced by all sorts of doping, was not to be underestimated.

A speed difficult to keep up with, even with heightened senses. The closest one is clad in thick armor, but why target an obvious tank?

Passing by the thick-armored entity trying to block me with its heavy arm, and the sword-and-shield entity charging with rotating saw blades on its edge, I dashed towards the spear-wielding entity right behind them.

It seemed that it had handed their armor to the leading tank, leaving it practically defenseless.

Either way, a fighting style dependent on speed.

But I have confidence that I won’t lose to anyone in terms of speed.

Instead of reducing my running speed, I sharply twisted the foot I had planted.

My body naturally spun. Though held in one hand, the greatsword, with added momentum, swung towards the spear wielder’s shoulder.

“Heup!”

It’s light for me to swing so easily, but others would feel its original weight, so it must be quite a shock.

As expected, the opponent, moving half a beat slower than me, raised its spear shaft.

Not a bad choice. The spear shaft itself is thick, and the material is likely as strong or stronger than the monsters I’ve faced so far, so it must think it can withstand my attack.

But why would I swing a greatsword with one hand? Knowing that the monsters on the 3rd Floor are all tough.

Clang!

The moment the greatsword struck the spear shaft. Using the recoil, I spun my body half a turn in the opposite direction.

“Let’s see how you block this!”

Of course, the shock to my body is significant. My muscles might tear slightly, and in severe cases, internal bleeding could occur.

However, for me now, such things are mere trivialities. Especially since the Sanctuary shrouds my body.

The heat rising from within, as if to announce that I’m recovering. Enduring that warm yet ticklish sensation, I swiftly dive inside the spear shaft’s range.

Using my small build to approach. Followed by a dagger thrust.

I’ve never seen anyone perfectly counter this sequence. They usually lack experience dealing with someone of my height, struggle to react to my speed, and the Unicorn Dagger is so sharp it’s hard to block.

This time was no exception.

Thunk!

The dagger pierces deeply. Armorless, it lodges between the exposed complex structure.

“Die…huh?”

But that’s all. Though it flinched, it didn’t stop functioning, nor did it even show signs of creaking from within.

Realizing something was wrong, I quickly withdrew the dagger.

Clatter!

A cog popped out from where the Dagger had been embedded. Not aligning to fill each other’s grooves, but at an angle where their teeth collided.

If I stayed still, my wrist would have been crushed between the gears.

Thanks to that, I suddenly realized why the previous strike didn’t work.

“What kind of crazy gimmick is real-time transformation?”

Just like the golems earlier that pooled their equipment and modified themselves for a form change.

The moment the Dagger went inside, it quickly pushed out the main components and intended to crush my wrist in reverse.

“This is really a good weapon though…”

A sigh escaped as I looked at the Unicorn Dagger that sparkled today, proving my purity.

Surely, this is an unbelievably good weapon. But on the 3rd Floor, it keeps becoming a useless weapon.

If it can change its structure in an instant like that, weapons with a narrow strike range like a dagger will drop drastically in efficiency.

Even if it gets cut, that part can be left empty, or if it somehow gets damaged, the damaged part is small enough to be quickly patched with another component.

With a sigh full of regret, as soon as I put away the Dagger I had painstakingly taken out.

The slight gap created during the attack. And although I was storing it in my Subspace Ring, the momentary gap while storing the weapon is exploited by the Lord of the Clock Castle’s golems as they attack all at once.

The one wearing thick armor charged forward, shaking the ground, and the one holding a sword and shield, thinking it couldn’t compete in speed, threw its shield like a boomerang, while the spear-wielding entity that was stabbed earlier flew with radiant magical light emanating from the wings on its back.

“Tsk.”

I click my tongue and throw myself in a still awkward posture.

The heavily armored entity has significant pressure from its bulk, and it indeed blocked a wide area by itself…but it’s too slow.

The same goes for the shield. It’s faster than a direct charge, but not so fast that it surpasses my reaction speed, so I dodged it easily.

The problem is that spearman guy.

Swoosh!

The spear grazed my side. I saw the thrusting speed with my eyes, but I didn’t expect the spear shaft to suddenly spark and extend by a hand’s breadth.

“I want a transforming weapon too!”

Letting out a shriek, I grabbed the spear shaft with my armpit and spun my body around.

Thus, using the spear shaft as a springboard, I intended to swing my greatsword at the burly entity charging at me belatedly.

…As if timing it, the shield I dodged earlier returned to target the back of my head.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

I hastily lifted my greatsword. As it blocked the rotating saw blade with its broad blade, a savage sound echoed.

And it wasn’t over yet.

The burly entity, slow but with a certain strike, raised its fist.

A little distance away, a rotating cog the size of half my fist was fired along with a series of gunshots.

From the opposite direction of the flying bullets, the beast-like entity, seemingly a mechanical wolf, was charging with its mouth wide open.

It was a perilous situation that could truly be described as a dilemma, a candle flickering in the wind.

I wanted to cry out for help right away, but…still, shouldn’t I try everything I can and then ask for help?

“Exploding Flame…!”

I tucked away the Unicorn Fagger and aimed my empty hand at the ground.

Simultaneously, magic shot towards the ground. It consumed a vast amount of mana, and its momentary power was the best among the skills I possessed, but…

No one can be taken down in a single strike. Even if it were possible, the remaining four would just retaliate.

Thus, it’s at the bottom. Every magic has a safety formula, ensuring the caster doesn’t get harmed by their own magic, or if they do, it’s only minimal.

The idea is to take advantage of this.

Boom!

An explosion erupts from the ground, flames and smoke obscuring the view.

At the same time, I feel a scorching heat on my body, suffering slight burns, but thanks to the Sanctuary, I recover quickly.

What’s important is not the heat, but the recoil from the explosion.

The torrent of force spreading in all directions pushes me upwards. Simultaneously, the Lord of the Clock Castle’s golems, converging on my location, are caught up in it.

A brief moment of air-time. I looked at the golems, bewildered in mid-air.

There were no significantly damaged entities, as none seemed to have been directly hit by the explosion.

However, the saw blade shield was flung far away by the impact, and the modified spear shaft was slightly melted and bent.

The beast-type entity had some armor on its face damaged, likely because it charged in bare-bodied.

Of course, those too will soon recover in no time.

So, reduce their numbers by at least one before that happens.

Taking advantage of the momentary disappearance from sight, I infused the noticeably depleted mana into the Cloak.

Wooong-

The sensation of the organized magic power of the magical tool enveloping my entire body. Feeling this, I erased my presence with Sound-Eating Footsteps.

With this, the stealth was successful. So, the only thing left is an ambush.

I drew out the remaining aura as much as possible and slammed it into the greatsword. Then, I naturally transitioned into a vertical slash by spinning in mid-air.

The target had been the annoying spear-wielding entity. The Minotauros Greatsword struck the root of its wings.

Crrrack!

With a dreadful sound of metal twisting and breaking, the spear-wielder’s wing was half-torn apart in an instant.

Swinging the greatsword again, I completely shattered it.

Crash!

The startled spear-wielder turned around, and the other entities shifted their gazes towards me.

“Die, you beast bastard!”

I kicked the broken wing that had fallen to the ground towards the beast-like monster.

Thud!

Using the sound of metal clashing as a signal, I charged at the beast-like entity this time.

Into its gaping maw, I threw a handful of seeds I had taken out at this moment. And the Crown of Thorns was placed on my head.

The tree, rapidly grown by Basilieus, pierced the beast-like entity from within.

Crack!

It wasn’t dead, but it was skewered and immobilized.

The golems were about to pinpoint my location and launch another barrage, but I squeezed out my remaining mana, ready to face exhaustion… Fortunately, I was a step ahead.

“Explosive Flame…!”

Due to the lack of mana, the fireball I shot was very small. Its power would be significantly reduced when it hit the target and exploded.

But this should be enough. To take down the armorless spear-wielding golem.

The concentrated flame burrowed into the gap where the broken wing was. And then.

Boom!

With a grand explosion, the upper body of the spear-wielding golem shattered into pieces.

Having incapacitated two of them in an instant, the remaining three should be manageable.

They should be manageable, but…

“Ugh.”

As expected, the anticipated mana exhaustion hit me, and strength drained from my body.

The golems, bewildered in their dizzying vision, seized the moment without hesitation and raised their respective weapons.

Is this the end? I did well enough, I suppose.

With a resigned sigh, I shouted.

“Help me, Miss Lydia! Benny!”

As I cried out, my body plummeted backward. By the time I caught my breath, which had briefly halted from the shock, everything was over.

Crash!

Lydia created a vortex of aura, instantly turning the bulky entity into a ragged mess.

Benny used a vertebrae, with its clinging bits of flesh, as a spear to impale the sword-wielding entity from the crown to the ground.

Shadow dashed toward the gun-wielding entity, spilling its familiar acid magic.

As the metal rapidly corroded, Shadow deliciously devoured the now crispy parts.

Yes. In just a few seconds, all the Floor Guardians I had struggled with were neutralized.

“Ha…”

I lay on the ground, blankly staring at the sky, and spoke.

“Shouldn’t you have just asked us to destroy all but one from the start?”

Lydia, crouching right beside me, poked my cheek and gave a faint smile.

“Still, you did well. You held on, and even though it was practically a self-destruct, you sent off two.”

Then, she picked up my collapsed body in a princess carry and said,

“Now, there’s only one left. That tank.”

“Yes. Let’s go meet the real Lord of the Clock Castle.”

Comfortably nestled in Lydia’s arms, I headed towards the tank on the giant hand.