"Get out of the way, Yuto!" Kurenai screamed, throwing her heavy nodachi aside and sprinting desperately toward him.
"He cannot move!" Ayase realized, her eyes widening as she saw the pool of blood forming at Yuto's feet. "The recoil of his technique is pinning him down!"
The Goliath fired. A pillar of blinding green plasma, hot enough to melt titanium, erupted across the room.
I can't dodge. I can't block. I have to spend it, Yuto's survival instincts screamed.
His trembling, blood-soaked hand hovered over the holographic [CLAIM ALL] button. If he pressed it, he would become a god. He would obliterate the beam, the boss, and half the Tower. But he would lose the 150% multiplier. He would have to start his agonizing savings account all over again.
No. Taking the first scrap they offer you gets you killed, the memory of his sister echoed in his mind.
Yuto roared. He didn't click the button. Instead, he channeled the sheer, suffocating gravitational pressure of his 95% Vault Capacity directly into his right fist. He planted his feet, cracking the floorboards, and threw a punch straight into the incoming plasma beam.
He wasn't using a skill. He was just hitting the laser with a fist that mathematically weighed a hundred tons.
The collision defied physics. The compressed red energy of Yuto's Stigma hit the green plasma beam and simply parted it. The beam split in half, washing harmlessly past Yuto's sides and melting the steel walls behind him.
The shockwave from his punch didn't stop there. The kinetic force traveled up the beam, struck the Cobalt Goliath square in its nuclear chest, and imploded its core.
The massive beast froze. Its hydraulic joints groaned, and then it shattered into a million pieces of glowing blue data.
[Boss Defeated!] [Loot Dropped: 1x Platinum Boss Core. 10x Rare Code Fragments.] [Consume or Discard?]
Vault it. God, vault it right now, Yuto mentally gasped, falling to his knees as his vision went completely black at the edges.
[Loot Vaulted. Current Stack: 60 Common, 5 Uncommon, 13 Rare, 1 Boss Chest, 1 Platinum Core, 3 Milestones.]
"Alpha!" Kurenai slid across the metal floor, catching him before he completely collapsed. She pulled his shirtless, burning body against hers, completely uncaring about his blood or the heat of his Stigma.
Ayase was there a second later, her hands hovering nervously, wanting to help but terrified of breaking his "martial concentration."
[System Prompt: Dual-Affinity Proximity Detected! Harem Synergy Bonus Available. Claim 20% Stat Boost?]
Yuto's head was resting against Kurenai's chest. Ayase was leaning over him, her lotus scent mixing with the ozone of the ruined room. It was the ultimate goonbait trap. The System was practically begging him to cash out.
"I'm fine," Yuto wheezed, forcibly pushing himself out of Kurenai's incredibly soft, completely distracting grip. He stood up on shaking legs, refusing to look at either of them. "Just... catching my breath."
[Synergy Milestone Vaulted. Multiplier: 151%]
"You are a monster," Kurenai whispered, staring at his back with absolute, feral devotion. "You punched a plasma beam. You literally punched light."
"We must rest," Ayase said gently, looking at the blood dripping from his chin. "You have conquered Floor 10, Kurosawa-dono. The path to the Guild's stronghold on Floor 13 is open."
Yuto wiped the blood from his mouth, staring up at the dark stairwell leading to the next floor.
Guildmaster Ryūzen was waiting at the top. The man who ordered the tax that starved his sister. The man who ruled the slums.
"No resting," Yuto said, his voice cold and echoing with the lethal pressure of 151% compounded fury. "We climb. Today, the Ouroboros Guild goes bankrupt."