Okinawa Dungeon—-Floor Three Thousand Two:
〈Rule: Match the Pattern.〉
Omariro and Han walked into a disco-themed room. On the far end of the room was a floating totem.
The floor in front of them was a disco floor, with red, blue, green, orange, white, and purple colored tiles.
"Do we just guess?" Han asked. "Or is it gonna tell us?"
As if in response to his question, the tile closest to them lit up, a red tile.
〈Red → Blue → White → Blue → Orange → White → Red〉
The tiles stopped glowing.
"Memory," Omariro ordered. "Use."
Han stepped onto the red tile. "Right…I think it was blue next!"
He jumped onto a nearby blue tile.
"White!"
He landed on a white tile.
"Blue! Orange! White! Red!"
Finally, he landed on the other side. By the time he turned around, Omariro was already behind him.
"Sir—-?"
"Pattern easy," Omariro stated. "Next."
The next section was twice as long, with additional colors: pink, brown, gray, and maroon. The maroon tile next to them lit up first.
〈Maroon → Blue → Pink → White → Gray → Brown → Blue → Blue → Orange → Green〉
Han stretched his legs. "Okay. That was fast. But I think I got it."
He hopped onto the maroon tile. "Now…"
"…Blue! Pink! White! Gray! Brown! Blue! Blue! Orange! Green!"
He crossed the gap, breathing heavily. Yet again, Omariro was behind him in the blink of an eye.
"Gah! Sir, please, warn me next time."
Omariro walked up to the final disco pattern. "Hmm. Different."
Unlike the first two patterns, this one was composed of four arrows. A screen hung over them, and the way to the totem was blocked by a transparent wall.
〈Phase 2: Repeat Pattern.〉
The screen lit up, flashing arrows on its screen.
〈← ↑ → ↓〉
The floor arrows lit up briefly before they stopped glowing.
〈Begin. Timer: 1:30〉
"I've got this, sir. These are just like the games back home."
Han stepped forth, pressing his foot on the left arrow. "And now…up! Right! Down!"
〈Level 1: Passed.〉
The screen flicked before a new pattern appeared.
〈↓ ↓ ↑ → ← ↑〉
Han quickly pressed the arrows in order, and they lit up brightly.
〈Level 2: Passed. Starting Final Level.〉
Once again, the screen popped up with the order.
〈→ ← → ↑ ↑ ↓ ← ↑ → ← ↑ → ↓ ↓ → → ↑〉
"What the—-?"
"Focus," Omariro said. "Match."
Han steadied himself. "Okay. Match. What did it start with? Right?"
He stepped on the right arrow, which glowed. "Okay, now…left?"
He did the same for the left arrow.
"Right…up…up again…down…left…up…crap, what was the rest of it? Down?"
He stepped on the down arrow, and a red buzzer sounded.
〈Incorrect. Lives Remaining: 2〉
"Dang it!"
Han stepped back as the monitor appeared again. Omariro pointed his staff at it. "Slow. Kōbisha senses better than others. Use."
"My senses? I guess I can give it a shot…"
Han slowed down his breathing, watching the pattern appear once more, but this time, he could concentrate better.
"Right, left, right, up twice, down, left, up, right, left, up, right, down twice, right twice, and up!"
Clicking the arrows in order, the screen lit up.
〈Level 3: Passed. All Levels Complete.〉
A bridge appeared, allowing them to cross over to the totem. Han grabbed it.
"So, what else is my class capable of, sir?" Han asked.
"Things," Omariro replied. "You will soon know."
The gate leading to the next room opened, and they walked into it.
Floor 3,003-—
〈Rule: Balance the Scales〉
Han and Omariro landed on what appeared to be a floating cloud.
"Okay, now we're in the sky?" Han questioned.
In front of them stood the Scales of Justice, which towered over the clouds. A golden path led to them.
"Hmph," Omariro grunted.
"Balance," Han repeated. "But there's only two of us?"
Just then, the area shook, and Zaria and Rika fell onto Han, crashing into the ground.
"Ow!"
"We made it!" Rika announced. "Sir! Han! Great seeing you!"
"My back…" Han complained.
Zaria got up. "Did we miss anything?"
Omariro shook his head. "Alive. Good."
Han slowly got up, cracking his back. "How did you two even get here?"
"We used a sigil!" Rika explained. "Just like the one that we used to summon Mr. Nyugawa!"
She dug in her pocket. "Oh! Almost forgot! Here!"
She handed Han a sigil. "Use this to level up!"
"Level up…where did you get this?"
"Long story. Don't ask."
Han squeezed the sigil.
〈Level-Up! +2,000 Levels!〉
"Whoa. That hit the spot! Got any more?"
Rika clasped her hands. "Uh, no. I literally broke my hand and had a creepy AI child forced into my phone for this one! So be grateful!"
"Ugh. Useless."
Rika punched his arm.
Zaria walked up to the edge of the cloud. "What's that, Mr. Nyugawa?"
"Scale," he replied. "Goal to balance."
One end was hanging far down, while the other was far above. Rika gulped. "Can I take the bottom end?"
"I'll go with her," Han said. "So she doesn't trip and die."
"Shut up!"
Omariro turned to Zaria. "You with me, girl."
"Sir, yes, sir!"
Omariro grabbed Zaria and jumped to the top scale. Han fired a zip line from his cube. "Come on, Rika."
"Just—just give me a second!"
"Okay. There. Away we go!"
"Han—-!"
He grabbed her arm, pulling her along as they zipped to the bottom scale. Once they made it, Rika fell over, curling up.
"Never…do that…again…"
Han gave a thumbs up to Omariro and Zaria. "We're in position!"
〈Scale: Uneven.〉
Han's side rose into the air, while Omariro's side fell down. All the while, Rika shrieked like a baby.
"SOMEONE HELP ME!"
"We've stopped moving," Han pointed out.
"Oh, thank goodness."
Zaria looked down at the scale. "I don't understand. I'm not fat, and Mr. Nyugawa, no offense, but you're kinda tiny."
"Hmm."
"Just an observation! Not a slight, sir!"
Omariro looked up at the anchor holding the scales. "More than meets eye. Must solve."
"How do we 'solve' a scale? Do we have to adjust partners?"
"Find what scale weigh."
"Like, what it considers weight? But how do we do that?"
Omariro jumped into the air, landing on Han's side. As soon as he did so, the scale on Zaria's side rose back into the air.
"Hey, I'm flying!" she called out.
"Weird," Han mused. "As soon as Mr. Nyugawa jumped scales, it rose. But weight clearly isn't a factor, so what is it?"
Han shouted up to Zaria. "Zaria! Trade places with me!"
"And how am I gonna do that, genius?"
Han fired a zip line from his cube. "There you go!"
She slid down, and Han used another to reach her scale. Sure enough, once they switched, the scale tilted downward again.
"Is it something to do with Han?" Zaria wondered. "First time he's been special."
"Please," Rika begged. "Stop moving…"
Han tapped his chin. "Very odd. Yeah, no, I'm stumped!"
"You're supposed to be smart!" Zaria exclaimed. "The hell are you here for, then?"
She turned to Omariro. "Do you know the answer, sir?"
Omariro jumped into the air again, landing on Han's side. The scale shifted again, making Rika throw up.
"Please…I'm dying here…"
"Girl," Zaria scoffed. "You're alright."
Han inspected the scale closely. "There's gotta be a way to balance this thing. What does it need?"
"Answer clear," Omariro stated. "You must find."
"Answer…answer…"
Han looked over at Zaria's scale, and underneath was a number: 3.
"3? But we've already had three people on it! How can it be three?"
"You found something?" Zaria shouted down.
"Wait…jump back over here!"
"Dude, make up your damn mind!"
"Just do it!"
With assistance from Han, she navigated back into the other scale. It rose into the air.
"Rika!" Han yelled. "What number does it say?"
Rika sat up, dizzy. "Hmm?"
"The number under our scale! What is it?"
She squinted. "Uh, 7?"
Han snapped his fingers. "I knew it."
"Knew what?"
"The numbers! We have to equal the numbers!"
"There isn't seven of us, Han," Zaria remarked.
"No! Our party numbers! You're 1, I'm 2, Rika's 3, and Mr. Nyugawa is 4!"
"Oh! So that means Mr. Nyugawa and Rika need to pair up?"
Han nodded.
Omariro was already on Rika's platform, and the scales lined up. "Boy found it. Boy did well."
〈Scale: Even.〉
A totem appeared for Rika to grab.
〈Totem Seal Acquired. Level 3,004 Clearance Enabled.〉
"That was light," Zaria laughed. "Wonder if all the floors are gonna be like this now."
Rika's face was green. "I think…I'm gonna faint…"
Omariro caught her as she fell, and they advanced to the next floor.
Floor 3,004-—
〈Rule: Don't stand at the same height.〉
The party made it into a mall-themed room, with two escalators going up and down.
"Don't stand at the same height," Zaria commented. "Well, we all aren't as tall as each other, so…"
〈Warning! Rule Broken. Enforcing Penalty in 5…4…3…2…〉
Han quickly dove to the ground, Zaria got on her knees, and Rika began standing on her tiptoes. Omariro stood in place, unbothered.
〈Penalty Lifted.〉
"Phew," Zaria sighed. "Looks like they weren't playing."
Rika balanced on one leg. "This is kinda uncomfortable. Do we have any other options?"
"Doesn't look like it," Han shrugged. "At least you don't have to crawl on the floor."
Omariro began heading for the escalators. "Come."
The room suddenly shifted upward, and the crew began to slide down.
"Shit, shit!" Zaria blurted out.
Omariro stabbed his blade into the floor, and Zaria did the same with her spear.
The room then shifted downward, and they plummeted toward the escalators.
"Why is the room turning into a slide?" Rika yelled.
The room adjusted back to normal just as they hit the escalators.
"We should get a move on before it does that again," Han insisted.
They got back into their positions, and one by one they got onto the upward escalator.
"Ow," Han complained, as the stairs kept hitting his face. "Ow. Ow. Ow!"
Zaria bumped into Rika, nearly making her trip. "Watch it!"
Omariro stood in the front, calm as ever. "Something close."
At the top of the stairs was a pair of mall guards with bent backs and sideways necks.
"Hello!" the one on the left greeted.
"Time to send you back!" the one on the right cheered.
〈Enemy: Mall Guards. Enemy Effect: All Party Members are restricted to their current position.〉
"I have to fight on my KNEES?" Zaria realized.
Han tried to get up, but he couldn't. "All you, guys!"
The mall cops both pulled out batons at the same time, which were made of metal. The one on the left swung at Omariro, who casually avoided it.
"Slow."
"You're a bit too old to be shopping at the mall, eh?" the guard taunted.
Omariro blocked his next swing with his arm, casually batting him away.
"Weak."
The other guard circled Zaria, Han, and Rika, who tried to attack in their awkward positions.
"Stabbing time!" Zaria declared.
"Seriously, please stop that," Rika pleaded.
Zaria summoned her spear and tried to stab at the guard, but she went too low and he kicked it out of her hand.
"Cube, trap him!"
Han summoned his cube and fired a wire at the guard, wrapping it around his ankles. Rika pushed the guard over, and he fell flat on his face.
"Damn kids!"
The guard got up, his neck swinging around as a Segway formed under him.
"Oh no," Han worried.
The Segway spawned a machine gun, firing it at the kids.
"When did mall cops ever have guns?" Rika shouted.
"Guns aren't shit against my spear!"
Zaria grabbed her spear and swung it at the Segway, causing it to shake and fire in every direction.
"Zaria! You made it worse!"
"Sorry!"
Han fired another wire, causing the Segway to crash into one of the shops. The guard wobbled around, and Zaria chucked her spear at him, impaling him.
〈Enemy Defeated.〉
"Nice work team!" Zaria smirked. "Now, Mr. Nyugawa, do you need our—-?"
Omariro walked over to them as the second guard charged at him. Without even looking, Omariro summoned his sword and slashed the guard in half.
〈Enemy Defeated.〉
"—-Never mind."
A totem appeared before them, and Rika grabbed it.
"How long have we been in here?" Rika asked. "We're still timed on this, remember!"
Han checked his phone. "It's been 21 hours since we were given the order. We need to speed this along."
The gate to the next floor opened.
"Then that's what we do," Zaria said.
As they walked over to the gate, a female in crimson armor appeared from thin air, hair crackling with lightning.
"Halt," she ordered. "Your descent ends here."
Lightning whips emerged from her body, wrapping around all three of the kids. A whip came for Omariro, but he blocked it with his staff.
"Surrender, Legendary Kaitansha."
Her form shifted into that of a dragon. "You've made an enemy of my father."
—-