Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World

A greatsword made from the horn of a Minotaur. The power that came from its mass, almost my body’s size, was truly satisfying.

“As expected, brute force is the answer…!”

I clenched my fist as I sheathed the greatsword. How tiring had it been to run away, hide, and just sever necks all this time.

Of course, sneaking and slashing suited my nature and my skillset was tailored for it…

But perhaps because it was my first time using a greatsword, I couldn’t forget the sensation from a moment ago.

As I trembled without realizing it, Benny looked me over and tilted her head.

“What? Are you hurt? Why are you suddenly shaking all over?”

“Hmph. It’s something mages like you, Benny, wouldn’t understand.”

“What?!”

“That’s right. Now you understand why I use multiple weapons, right Jonah?”

“Miss Lydia…! You weren’t just someone who spends a lot of money on weapons for no reason!”

“…Is that what you thought of me until now?”

Lydia stiffened as if slightly shocked. She glanced briefly at Benny, who was giggling as if amused, then gestured to Shadow next to her.

-Gurgle.

Shadow wobbled toward them as if asking what the matter was. Lydia pointed to the scattered remains of the Human Golem.

“Can I ask you to handle this?”

-Growl!

Shadow readily nodded its tentacles and began to sluggishly devour the Human Golem piece by piece.

Before long, large Magic Stones and thin metallic cloth started to emerge.

Lydia looked on with satisfaction as the byproducts piled up, then walked towards the Human Golem that was still twitching.

I had only stirred its insides enough to collapse it; it wasn’t completely dead.

The scattered parts like toppled armor decorations. As I rummaged through them, it didn’t take long to find a brain wrapped in white metallic cloth.

Of course, the brain had no muscles, so it made no movement. Only the long connected hoses were sparkling in various colors.

One peculiar thing was that the brain was somewhat deformed, likely due to the Curse of Madness.

Looking at it, I thought I could see some kind of pattern, but then again, maybe not…

I’m not sure, but what is certain is that even at this moment, it continues to send out some kind of signal.

It’s just that the body to receive this signal is broken, rendering it meaningless.

“Sigh.”

With a bitter smile, I cut open the deformed brain and extracted the Magic Stone from within.

Before long, the remains of the Human Golem turned to ash and scattered.

All monsters have succumbed to the curse of the God of Madness, but the monsters on the 3rd Floor are a bit different.

They are equally mad, but the monsters on the 3rd Floor have managed to suppress that madness to some extent.

Well, the method was a bit insane, replacing human bodies with mechanical devices, but they achieved results nonetheless.

The important point here is that they only managed to suppress it to some extent, not completely control it.

However, even that little bit makes a big difference. Thanks to this, the monsters on the 3rd Floor are relatively free from ‘obsession’.

And the obsession of the Human Golems was certainly honor.

“To think that’s what it means to be relatively sane.”

Well, compared to the goblins on the 1st Floor, they are indeed much more decent opponents.

At least they prioritized eliminating the intruder, me, over their own obsession.

I shook my head internally and stood up from my seat. Only then did Shadow, having finished everything, start circling around me.

“Good job. Want me to praise you?”

-Grrr.

“Hold on.”

After gathering the loot scattered on the floor, I petted Shadow’s tentacles vigorously.

Then I shook my head towards Lydia and Benny, who were still bickering.

“Sigh. You two are such kids. We’re leaving now, so wrap it up.”

“…Jonah is the culprit though?”

“To be called a kid by a kid is a bit too much.”

I chuckled at their unanimous disgust, and resumed walking the path I had paused on.

Despite walking for quite a while, we hadn’t encountered another Human Golem even once. Although, it’s understandable since the reason we met several just now was because they came looking after hearing the magical explosion.

How many times did we keep moving forward? In front of us awaited a landscape that was clearly unusual at first glance.

Countless gear dolls were hung by their necks as if they were executed. They stretched out to the sides, forming a path of sorts.

A path that continued uninterrupted without any hindrance. At the end of it, a large, black, fortress-like structure stood tall in the mist.

That colossal metal fortress is indeed the core machine structure of the 3rd Floor.

…We’re not supposed to enter it now, though.

Isn’t it like the center of the map if you compare it to other Floors? In fact, inside it lies the remains of the God of Machines.

Of course, the monster inside there is one of the strongest even on the 3rd floor.

For that reason, the clock tower at the center of the black citadel. I briefly looked at the intricate machinery visible from here and then turned my gaze away.

Not the path made by the hanging dolls, but a secluded path no one tells you about.

No, it’s not even a path. After all, where I’m about to go is the bottom of the moat surrounding the citadel.

“Let’s go down there. But taking the long way around is a hassle, so I’ll just jump straight down. Is that okay with you, Miss Lydia?”

Thanks to the Crest of Aerial Leap, I can jump from any height as long as I time it right.

Benny is a high-level mage, so there’s no need to say more.

However, Lydia is different. It’s true that she carries various equipment, but no matter what, she wouldn’t normally carry gear related to falling.

So, she needs to borrow the power of Benny and…

“Yeah. At times like this, we have Shadow.”

Lydia, smiling contentedly, reached out towards Shadow.

Unlike with Benny and me, Shadow seemed a bit distant with Lydia, but it started to transform as if it was used to this.

And what was finished was something like a thin, large piece of cloth.

When I touched it slightly, it trembled every time my hand touched it, but it boasted a thinness comparable to cloth.

I wondered where on earth such a thin Shadow could be used…

“Hmm. Hm-hmm.”

Humming a tune, Lydia firmly secured the ends of Shadow. Only then could I understand.

“This is a Shadow parachute…”

My goodness. I’ve never thought of using Shadow this way.

As I stared at the parachuted Shadow, dumbfounded, suddenly eyes appeared on its thinned-out body, watching me.

Every time it pops out like this, it boasts a terrifying visual that could haunt my dreams…but now that I’m used to Shadow, I know.

It’s just asking how its new form looks.

“Impressive. Next time, could you do it for me too?”

-Grrr.

Shadow let out a pleasant growl, as if to say, ‘Anytime.’

Come to think of it, this makes sense. Though it’s taking care of me now, Lydia and Benny have been a frontline party for a long time.

They must have had minimum preparations for all types of unexpected situations.

With a smirk, I stood with Lydia and Benny in front of the dried-up moat, having completed all preparations.

The thick fog still obscured the bottom, but…it was certain that the path we needed to take lay below.

The unfinished map of the 3rd Floor indicated a path leading down to the moat’s bottom, and the Guild often mentioned it to adventurers.

It’s just my guess, but…perhaps there were too many instances where adventurers rushed straight to the visible fortress only to be suddenly overpowered by stronger monsters?

Thus, fully prepared, our party threw ourselves into the deep mist below.

Benny descended slowly using her self-cast levitation and fall control spells.

Similarly, Lydia, who opened her parachute-like cloak and fully utilized air resistance, also descended slowly.

…However, unlike the others, I activated an aerial leap at the precise timing to reduce the falling energy.

“Whaaa!”

It was practically at free-fall speed. Regret started creeping in suddenly.

On the map, falling from here would save the most time, so I did that…but maybe I should have taken the long way around.

Or perhaps it would have been better to ride on Lydia’s back and descend using the Shadow parachute.

Of course, Benny had cast a fall control spell on me as a safety measure.

It would activate on its own if I made a mistake or if it became truly dangerous unexpectedly….

Even knowing this, the fact that I kept falling was somewhat terrifying. How should I put it? Instinctively, my body was rejecting it.

Besides, the moat was unnecessarily deep, so the fall time was prolonged.

Downward, further downward, the fog cleared and the ground began to come into view.

At that moment, I infused mana into the curtain and lightly kicked the air in succession.

Tat-tat.

My rapidly falling body slowed significantly with the first leap, and with the second leap, it even ascended a little.

And then a gentle landing ensued.

“Phew.”

I wanted to see if I could use it when falling from a high place and also to get accustomed to the Crest of Aerial Leap.

If I have to fall like this again, I’ll definitely cling to Lydia and Benny.

Resolving so inwardly, I took a moment to look around before Lydia and Benny landed.

Ground that squelches like the earth after rain. A heavy, settling fog. A stench of something rotting that stings the nose. And broken clockwork dolls crawling on the ground.

Exactly as I imagined… No, even better than I imagined, I couldn’t help but grin.

“This is it.”

Muttering to myself, a sharp scream echoed from afar.

“Kyah! Please save me! Is anyone here?!”

It was the voice of a woman being chased by a giant clockwork golem.

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