Emerging from the passage, we found ourselves in a vast circular arena, an unexpected sight inside the Toy Castle.
“You’re finally here.”
The first greeting was a mocking voice. Turning towards it, I saw a group of people gathered a bit further away.
“Oh.”
Just as I was about to greet the familiar faces, Seika raised his voice first.
“You guys!”
“Lord Seika!”
Five people, apparently Seika’s companions, cheered upon seeing him. Oddly, they stood slightly apart from the others, but it might not have meant anything significant.
“You all made it! As expected of my subordinates.”
“We’re not your subordinates, but we did miss you.”
Their joyful reunion was touching.
Of course, I had people I was just as eager to see. I took a step towards them, ready to greet them, but was interrupted by a disgruntled voice.
“Did you come here to chat? Can’t you see we’ve been waiting?”
“Yeah, we’ve been waiting long enough. Stop wasting time.”
Sharp gazes pierced Seika’s group and us, making our side uneasy.
“Why are they so uptight?”
“Why were they waiting for us?”
Seika, understanding their frustration, shook his head with a sigh.
“It seems they were waiting for us to start the boss battle,” he explained. “The fifth floor is the boss’s lair, and we need to work together to defeat it.”
“Exactly.”
A voice from the other group chimed in.
“We’ve been waiting to face the boss together. It’s not something we can do alone.”
Realizing the importance of collaboration for the upcoming challenge, everyone gathered their resolve. The tension was palpable as we prepared for the fight ahead.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s get started.”
Seika clapped his hands a few times to get everyone’s attention and then shouted towards the empty stands.
“Hey, toys! Come out!”
Being an experienced adventurer, his actions seemed to carry some significance, but no monsters appeared, and the stands remained eerily silent. Then, Dain spoke up from the other side.
“You need to get into the arena first.”
His slightly tilted head gave him a somewhat rebellious look, but to my accustomed eyes, it was just his usual demeanor. However, it seemed to startle Seika, who wasn’t used to it.
“Oh, right, of course.”
As Seika scratched the back of his head, some people from the other group snickered, making me frown slightly. Our group and Seika’s companions also seemed displeased, but Seika himself didn’t seem to care.
“Let’s go inside!”
Following Seika’s lead, we entered the arena. He glanced at Kelian, who stood at the front of the other group, and puffed out his chest even more, as if making a declaration or showing confidence. His smaller stature, however, made his gesture less impressive than intended.
Kelian barely acknowledged him but gave me a light smile as I passed. That simple gesture made all the struggles to get here worth it.
“Isn’t that… the Warrior?”
“Now that you mention it, those people…”
Our group’s members recognized the Warrior and his companions as we entered the arena. Seika’s group, who had started from the top floor, stayed with us instead of rejoining the other side.
“They were all over the Warrior, fawning over him.”
“We believe Lord Seika is the true Warrior of this era, so we acted properly.”
“And those guys didn’t include us in their group!”
In the end, it seemed they failed to fit in and got excluded. Seika glared at the other group with fierce eyes, listening to his companions’ chatter. The other group had just entered the arena and stood before us.
―Welcome to the Toy Castle!
A loud voice echoed through the arena, as if amplified by magic, and a cute rabbit doll dropped from the sky. It landed gracefully, spun around, and bounced up to a high platform, looking down at us with inscrutable eyes.
―These toys look particularly entertaining today.
“Who are you calling toys?”
Dain, standing near Kelian, grumbled. His voice carried well, and the rabbit doll’s eyes rolled towards him.
―Why are you angry? It was a compliment.
“I’m not angry… just get on with it.”
Realizing it was a waste of time to engage further, Dain closed his mouth. The rabbit doll tilted its head but didn’t press the issue.
―My name is Jack. I am the master of ceremonies for this toy arena!
People murmured at the mention of an arena. Sensing the situation, I readied my club. I met Jenin’s eyes, and she mouthed, “Don’t worry too much.”
Her reassurance eased my tension, and I mouthed back, “I’m not worried. After all, I was trained by the best.” Jenin grinned playfully.
―Your task is simple: entertain the audience! That’s the most important thing.
“Where’s the audience?”
Someone questioned, and Jack spread its small arms wide.
―Here they come!
Waahhhh!
The previously empty stands were suddenly filled with toy dolls, numbering in the hundreds. Their red eyes gleamed as they cheered wildly, and the atmosphere became overwhelmingly intense. I stared at the audience in shock. When did so many dolls appear…?
―Thank you all for visiting the Toy Castle arena today!
Jack! Jack! Jack! Jack! Jack!
―Ha-ha, I’m honored by your warm welcome.
Jack, seemingly a popular figure—no, a popular toy—bowed repeatedly to the audience.
―Today, we have particularly special toys for you. They have shown exceptional prowess both at the top and the bottom floors.
Jack’s eyes rolled towards Kelian.
―Especially the toys from the top floor are going to be very interesting!
Waahhhh!
―Are you ready for the show?
Yesssss!
―How ready are you?
Especially special―!
Is that ‘especially special’ a popular phrase here? Just when I was getting tired of the heated atmosphere, Jack finally signaled the start.
―Alright, let’s get started! Toys on stage, have fun! Enjoy! Remember this!
At the same time, a shadow loomed over our heads. The enormous shadow swallowed almost everyone standing here, including me, and an ominous sound, like something approaching, echoed in my ears like tinnitus.
“Get out of the shadow!”
When Jenin shouted, the bewildered people hurriedly started running. I also blended with the crowd and ran out of the shadow. Fortunately, the arena was wide, so there were many places to escape to, and everyone scattered, looking back at the shadowy spot where they had been standing just a moment ago.
Soon, something fell from the sky with a thud, just like when the rabbit doll Jack had fallen earlier.
Unlike the light and small Jack, this new arrival was enormous, and its landing caused the arena floor to shake significantly.
“Boxer! Boxer! Boxer!”
The toy audience chanted its name. Slowly rising amidst the loud cheers, it resembled a giant knight. Hundreds of toy wooden boxes, nearly the color of blood, combined to form the shape of a muscular human body.
A toy box knight, with even its head made of wooden boxes.
I called it a knight because it held a large silver sword in one hand. It was the only non-box item on the entire body of the box knight.
“What the heck. It’s just a toy box monster?”
“I thought something impressive would come out.”
Though its size was quite intimidating, it was essentially a wooden box. People nearby ridiculed the box knight, thinking it would shatter if struck with a sword.
Perhaps it was natural to think so, but seeing Jack, the announcer, grinning down at us from the commentator’s box, it seemed like it wouldn’t be as easy as it appeared.
“Let me handle this!”
A man who appeared to be a wizard stepped forward. He wore a noticeable blue hat and walked up to Kelian, who was relatively far away, to ask for permission.
“Great Warrior, may I have the honor of stepping forward first?”
Kelian, with an indifferent look that seemed to say, ‘Why are you asking me?’ replied, ‘Do as you wish.’ He was already tired of being pestered by people because he was a Warrior, and seeing his expression, it seemed he had been quite harassed on the way here, which was concerning. Although things had calmed down lately, Kelian occasionally had bad impulses.
“Thank you for your generosity! I, Ankel, will take down this box monster!”
When he took off his blue hat and bowed to the audience, the toy spectators giggled as if they found it amusing. Meanwhile, the box knight, who had been standing idly since landing, seemed to recognize that Ankel intended to fight it, turning its… no, its box head towards him.
“Doesn’t even have the sense to attack first, huh? Well, what do you expect from a box head?”
Ankel, standing confidently in front of the box knight, raised his staff high.
“Let’s show this wooden box a taste of fire.”
“……”
“The power of the world gathers in my hand. Flames, rise and burn!”
With a rather flashy spell casting, a fireball flew towards Box. Since it was essentially made of wood, a fire-based attack was a suitable choice. The fireball quickly engulfed Box’s entire body.
However.
“What, what’s going on? Why isn’t it dying?”
Contrary to expectations, Box, which should have collapsed or burned away by now, neither perished nor vanished. It didn’t even turn to ashes but simply stood there, ablaze, staring down at Ankel as if glaring at him.
“Wait a minute…”
As Ankel took a step back, the burning Box roared.
RAAAHHHH!
The roar was so powerful it felt like it was pulling at my eardrums. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Box, with its massive body, ran unbelievably fast and grabbed Ankel, who couldn’t even manage to escape, with one hand, lifting him high.
“Ah, aaahhh!”
Flames covered Box’s hand as well, and Ankel, trapped in that hand, screamed in pain. Box violently shook Ankel in the air and then, as if losing interest, tossed him beyond the audience stands.
“Waaaah! Box! Box!”
The toy audience cheered enthusiastically at Box’s actions. But Box, still blazing, was just looking for its next victim.
“Everyone, scatter!”
Someone shouted, and everyone followed the command, scattering in all directions. Since even a light touch from Box could burn you, it seemed we should try to attack from a distance, staying as far away as possible.
No one could tell how Ankel’s spell worked, but Box, burning yet not burning, was a frightening sight.
“Eek, Jenin! I’m so scared. Please protect me!”
“No, you have to protect me!”
Even amidst the escape, I could hear loud voices, and turning towards them, I saw women almost clinging to Jenin, fighting over her.
“Alright, stop fighting… and don’t pull on my clothes.”
Jenin couldn’t hide her fatigue while running and supporting them to prevent them from falling. Just then, I saw Dain running alongside me.
“We need to put out the fire first.”
As he muttered that, he raised his staff, and a shower of water poured down from above Box. The flames were extinguished, and Box, which had been strengthened by the fire magic, became sluggish when soaked in water.
“Water, rather than fire, huh.”
I praised Dain, who smirked cynically.
“Thanks to you, the fire is out.”
“It won’t have much effect. It’s only slowed down a bit, but it’s still strong.”
Boom!
No sooner had Dain made that judgment than Box pounded its fist into the ground, crushing several people. Its strength was terrifying enough to send chills down my spine.
“What did they say to do in times like this?”
Dain, suddenly turning into a strict mentor, asked me. If I didn’t answer correctly, I’d receive a scolding.
“They said to find the monster’s weak point.”
“So, what’s the weak point of that monster?”
“Well…”
I wasn’t sure yet.
As I observed Box swinging its fists, I noticed something glowing on its back and froze. It was so small I almost missed it, but there was definitely something on Box’s back.
“Aine!”
At the sound of someone calling my name, I snapped out of it and ran hard to avoid the now close Box.
“Aine, are you alright? That monster dared to target you!”
Seika, who had approached me, reacted with excessive concern, but knowing he was worried about me, I didn’t feel as uncomfortable as before.
“Thank you, Seika.”
“It’s nothing, hahaha.”
“Did you face this Box during your previous clear?”
Thinking that Seika, an experienced dungeon clear, might be of help, I asked, but he immediately denied it.
“The monsters are different each time. This one didn’t appear when I cleared it.”
Oh dear. So, I can’t rely on his experience. It would be the same for Kelian and others who had cleared this dungeon before. Of course, since my goal was to show them my growth, I wanted to figure out Box’s weakness on my own.
“……”
Meanwhile, Dain, running nearby, looked extremely annoyed. Though he usually had a sullen expression, he now seemed genuinely irritated, which was surprising.
“What makes you think you can act so friendly?”
His aggressive tone was unmistakably directed at Seika. Seika, looking as surprised as I felt, pointed at himself.
Seika, now seemingly realizing Dain’s true identity, trailed off in his words.
Meanwhile, I found myself thinking an odd thought: Dain called my name. It felt really good, as if he had truly accepted me as a companion. But then, Dain’s target for his ire shifted directly to me.
“What are you smiling about? Find the weak point.”
Ah, right. There was one potential weak point that came to mind. It wasn’t certain, but…
“I think I might have found it. I’m not sure, but I need to get closer to confirm.”
I stopped running from Box and abruptly changed direction.
“Aine?”
Seika called out, startled, while Dain, back to his usual sullen expression, merely watched.
Even amidst this, Box continued rampaging around the arena, grabbing and throwing people left and right. I cautiously approached its back.
Despite its quick movements, its body was so large that its back was left exposed. And there, embedded in its back, was a single golden wind-up key. Up close, it was unmistakably a wind-up key. Despite being made of wooden boxes, it was still just a toy.
Unlike the other toy monsters we’d encountered on the way up, this one had a key, making me think it was definitely Box’s weak point.
To be safe, I should wait until the key fully unwinds and then think about pulling it out. However, if I waited that long, we’d likely lose half our people, so it seemed like I needed to act now.
Box! Behind you! Behind you! Behind you!
Just then, the audience alerted Box to my presence, urging it to look behind. Whether it understood their words or noticed their gestures, Box turned its head and spotted me just as I was about to pull the key.
Raaaah―?
Wait, the audience could do that? I didn’t have time to be annoyed by the unfair audience. Before Box could attack, I clung to its back.
RAAAHHHH!
As soon as I touched the key, Box reacted violently, stomping in place. This caused my body, clinging to the wooden boxes and gripping with my hands, to be shaken up and down mercilessly. Ugh.
“Aine!”
Seika, who had been anxiously watching from below, bravely charged with his sword but was sent flying by one of Box’s wild kicks.
Fortunately, it seemed he wasn’t seriously injured, as I saw his followers help him back up. I needed to pull the key out quickly. Grabbing the palm-sized wind-up key, I turned it clockwise.
Creak― Creak―
I couldn’t manage with ordinary strength, so I had to use both hands to grip the wind-up key and unwind it while hanging onto Box with my entire body.
RAAAHHHH!
As the key unwound, Box’s roars grew more intense. It swung its arms wildly towards its back to shake me off, nearly hitting my head. My heart raced as I narrowly avoided a fatal blow.
Through my shocked vision, I saw Kelian standing not far from Box. He stood there, unperturbed by Box’s rampage, looking only at me.
Witnessing his calm demeanor, my trembling heart began to steady. I wanted to show him my growth. My palms were torn from turning the key with all my might, but I didn’t give up and continued turning it.
Finally, the fully unwound key fell to the ground with a thud.
Grrrr…
The roaring Box suddenly grew quiet, and its enormous body slowly collapsed to the side. Just before it was swept away, I jumped down to the ground and landed safely.
―Oh dear. Box has lost?
The fallen Box’s body slowly disappeared. The announcer, Jack, stepped in to clarify the situation.
―The new toys win!
Boooo!
It seemed the “new toys” referred to us. The audience booed, apparently disappointed that the old toy had lost.
“We won…”
I thought I had calmly removed Box’s key, but hearing Jack’s declaration of our victory, my arms went limp. If it weren’t for the current situation, I might have collapsed on the spot.
I saw Kelian walking towards me from a distance. A smile naturally spread across my face as I was about to call his name.
“Keli…”
“Aine! You were amazing! As expected, you…”
Suddenly, Seika and the others who had come up with us surrounded me, showering me with praise. Both I, who was trying to approach Kelian, and Kelian, who was coming towards me, had to stop.
Rather than feeling proud of my achievement, I felt embarrassed by their praises. The reason I was able to shine was that my companions had refrained from stepping in and allowed me to take the lead. They could have easily dealt with Box without targeting its weak point, the wind-up key, but they waited to see my growth.
I hoped they saw my progress. Not only had my level increased significantly due to our level-up strategy, but my endurance and perseverance had also improved.
―Don’t be disappointed, residents!
Jack skillfully soothed the booing audience.
―Didn’t I tell you? These new toys are particularly special!
Boooo!
―But this won’t last long. The next opponent is ‘Angry Face.’
At the mention of Angry Face, the prolonged boos abruptly stopped. The audience, though silent, had a look of expectation in their eyes.
―Now, let’s call it out, shall we?
Yeeees―!
―Angry Face, come out!
As the eerie exchange between the audience and Jack ended, another monster dropped from the sky. It wasn’t as small as Jack or as large as Box. It was green, round, and squishy like a ball, with a face drawn on the front like a doodle… It floated in the air. Its name was Angry Face, but the monster’s face had a smiling expression, which felt oddly out of place.
“This one looks easy.”
People started talking, seemingly relieved that it wasn’t an overwhelming giant like Box.
“Should I try this time?”
“You just ran away during Box’s fight.”
“That one was too big. I can’t let just that person shine.”
A group that had been whispering about me stepped forward. I asked Seika, who was blinking in surprise.
“Have you faced this monster before?”
“No, this is my first time seeing this one as well.”
It seemed that the monsters we had to face really did change each time we entered the dungeon. After all, if the same monster appeared every time, the audience would surely get bored.
―Three brave new toys have stepped forward!
Waaaah!
―Are all the other new toys cowards? After all, the opponent is just a small toy.
Boooo!
Some people seemed upset by those words, but I only felt uneasy. Jack and the audience were blatantly trying to provoke us. Meanwhile, the three who had stepped forward first looked rather smug after being called brave.
“Who’s going first?”
“I’ll use magic, and you two can rush in and kill it while it’s distracted.”
“Alright. Let’s not use fire magic just in case.”
Remembering how fire magic had only made Box stronger, they decided not to use it. Although it was unclear whether fire would work on this new monster, all I could do was watch.
“Let’s go!”
The wizard raised his staff, and three streams of water shot towards Angry Face. While not as grand as the spell Dain had cast, it was still quite threatening. The two swordsmen followed closely, planning to strike while Angry Face was momentarily halted by the magic attack.
However.
As the water streams approached, Angry Face opened its mouth wide and absorbed all the water, as if sucking it in.
After a few chews, Angry Face’s body began to tremble in midair. Its previously hidden eyes snapped open, and its smile turned into an angry scowl.
The monster, now living up to its name, glared at the two swordsmen rushing towards it and spat out the water it had just absorbed.
