The first thing that woke me was the firm yet warm sensation at the back of my head.
A strange ceiling—this time, there wasn’t one.
Instead, there was Hill’s mischievous upside-down face.
She looked down at me with a mature gaze, making Siloque’s heart skip a beat.
No, no, no, it’s just my little sister’s cute smile.
There’s nothing to be excited about.
Siloque rolled his eyes, realizing he was in the corridor where he had acquired the skill and entered the room.
He could still see through the corridor window—the sky outside had already collapsed in a huge section.
“Brother? You’re awake? The surgery was a success, you’re a girl now.”
As long as it’s not a Magic Girl, it’s fine. That’s a high-risk profession.
He intended to respond that way, but what came out was:
“.As long as… it’s not a… Magic Girl… it’s fine…uh…”
Strange, I can’t speak properly?
As consciousness returned, his body grew more unsteady.
His breathing was rapid.
His mind—no, his whole body felt hot, parched, and powerless.
It was just like having a high fever.
“What’s wrong?”
Hill looked at him with concern.
“Brother? You look terrible. Hill already gave you an antidote and MP Potion. D-Did Hill mess up the medicine…?”
“No… I think… this is… the side effect… of using… a skill… Didn’t that nurse say so when I was hospitalized…?”
“Ah… Hill remembers now, Hill should take brother to the hospital!”
“No. It’s fine. Just need to rest.”
“Really? Don’t push yourself.”
“It’s really fine.”
Siloque lowered his gaze, speaking softly, placing his hand over Hill’s.
“Understood. Hill will stay by brother’s side and won’t leave.”
“More importantly, how’s the BOSS… did it die…?”
Hill smiled gently.
“Yeah, with that power, it was probably erased at the molecular level. The sight of brother destroying the BOSS—Hill will never forget it. It was so cool.”
Her voice was soft and comforting. Every time her delicate hand stroked his head, it felt like a gentle stream easing his discomfort.
“After brother destroyed that huge skeleton, the Skeleton Soldiers and Golems disappeared too. So you can rest easy for a while. By the way, it’s been 10 minutes since brother lost consciousness.”
Fortunately, just as he’d hoped, the death of the BOSS was the condition to leave here.
Otherwise, he’d be suffering from the “aftereffects” caused by the for nothing.
If I didn’t have this skill, both Hill and I would have perished here.
“.I see. The sky is fracturing. Soon, this place will disappear completely. We can return to the first floor…”
“Yeah.”
“By the way…”
Siloque finally realized what that addictive comfort at the back of his head was.
“This secret room… there’s a small pillow inside… you can use it for me… resting my head on your lap is too heavy… your legs will go numb…”
The exquisite sensation was the lap pillow of a 14-year-old girl.
Hill was sitting on the floor, and his head was resting on his sister’s knees.
He couldn’t explain why, but Siloque felt it was inappropriate.
“Hill doesn’t mind. Besides, if my legs go numb, I’ll just lose feeling and won’t feel the weight anymore.”
“You…”
“Just kidding. After brother took down the big skeleton, Hill leveled up from the experience. So brother’s head won’t make Hill’s legs go numb, and besides…”
Hill lifted a strand of Siloque’s white hair.
Not a single split end—pure white, smooth, and flawless, radiating a sacred aura.
‘Hehe, brother’s hair is so fun. It turned into Hill’s favorite white again. Hill is happy.’
“Heh… is that so… suit yourself.”
Siloque smiled wryly.
He reached to check the Ring Chart, but even that was exhausting, so Hill helped bring it closer.
＜Name＞
Siloque
‹LV› 1-
＜Race＞ Human
〈Layer〉 2nd Layer
***
＜Attribute＞ Heat
＜Skill＞ Incarnation of Stone
Not good.
His vision was blurry—he couldn’t make out the numbers.
“Still okay….”
What concerned him most was the skill.
The skill display was the same as always.
He’d thought using would make it show up again on the Ring Chart, but thankfully it hadn’t.
No exposure. No need to have Bellen erase it again.
But what caught his attention even more was a symbol next to the status bar’s HP value—so obvious even a dizzy person could see it—
A purple half-body figure, its expression painfully sighing.
“This debuff… am I in an extremely weak state now…?”
Defeating the Abyssfire Dragon Remnant from a distance, with the BOSS not exploding or releasing toxins, meant he was indeed in a debuff state caused by overusing skills.
Is this also part of the aftereffects?
No wonder I feel so terrible all over.
As expected, I went too far, drained myself too hard.
“Hill…”
Just sitting up left Siloque gasping for breath.
“…Help me up. There’s something… hurry… I have to get it…”
“Eh… Hill wanted brother to lie down a little longer.”
Don’t make such a disappointed face!
Siloque almost wanted to lie back down.
But since he’d made it to this area—triggered only 5% of the time—he had to hurry and retrieve the item before this place completely collapsed.
***
In the BOSS Room, at the place where he first saw the Abyssfire Dragon Remnant lying.
The treasure chest it guarded.
Because of the fear of a treasure chest trap, Hill hadn’t wanted to touch it at first, but after Siloque repeatedly assured her, she supported him and opened the chest with her left hand.
“That big skeleton was guarding this? It doesn’t look valuable. Hill’s a bit disappointed… does it have a special effect?”
A piece of artwork.
Lily of the Valley Ornament—five centimeters long, with three crystal-encrusted lilies blooming on the stem. It looked so tiny in the empty treasure chest.
“No… just a normal… ornament…”
Hill lifted Siloque’s hand, helping him scan the ornament into the Ring Chart.
“If brother wants it, there must be a reason.”
“Yes… though it’s… not valuable…”
Buzz—
The Ring Chart issued a notification. Siloque didn’t even need to look.
It was the Dungeon Task prompt.
A massive, complex, and troublesome plan began to take shape in his mind.
Getting swept into this area wasn’t all bad.
Obtaining this item would make the mission to rescue Parenoa proceed more smoothly.
***
They reached the plaza. Hill carried Siloque on her back, surveying the aftermath of the Abyssfire Dragon Remnant’s defeat.
“Brother, your skill is too much of a bug… the whole map changed.”
A huge, pitch-black hole scarred the ground—about the size of a city block.
Peering in, it was just endless darkness.
No smell, no heat, just an abyss that radiated coldness.
This was… brother’s skill.
Hill broke into a cold sweat and swallowed hard.
“.An isolated space… my skill’s damage… won’t affect other floors… Hill… Hill?”
“Hm? Oh, Hill is here.”
“Isn’t… it heavy?”
“Not at all. Brother is light. Hill doesn’t feel heavy at all—can even carry you with one hand.”
“Haha… is that so…”
After being princess-carried by his little sister, he was now getting piggybacked.
A brother’s pride was utterly destroyed.
Hill scanned the ground—here and there were dropped items from other monsters.
“Look left… Hill…”
“Ah! Crystals!”
Hill ran over and picked up several orange crystals dropped by the Oakwood Golem, scooping them up like corn and putting them into her Ring Chart.
“Help… save me!”
A voice rang out—not from Siloque behind her.
Hill looked around, following the faint sound until she found its source.
A man with a short ponytail—his lower body was gone, and organs were spilling from the cross-section.
“Aduofa… are you cosplaying Teacher Gojo…?”
“Brother, Hill remembers this humanoid monster. It used an electric shocker on Hill.”
“What I did before was wrong!”
Aduofa, drenched in blood, shouted.
“I underestimated the BOSS, abandoned my companions, but it was a tactical retreat—only this way could I ensure personnel survival… you must save me… if my Organization finds out…”
Aduofa rambled incoherently.
Siloque frowned.
Crunch!
“?!”
Siloque felt a jolt.
Hill stepped on Aduofa’s head.
There was some resistance at first, but in the next instant, it burst like a watermelon.
“So messy…”
She muttered indifferently, wiping off brain matter from her boots, the faint golden magic light fading as she scraped it on the ground.
“Brother’s enemies are Hill’s enemies. Didn’t you see brother was troubled? For a wild monster, you talk too much.”