The dungeon that Shiori and Chika entered was the Tower of One-on-One Duels.

Upon entering, they immediately noticed a single terminal mounted on a pole extending from the floor in the circular plaza. Also, a staircase leading to the upper floor spiraled along the wall.

"This is the Tower of One-on-One Duels... Huh? There’s something that looks like a terminal here."

"What is it? Um..."

There were no monsters in sight. Shiori and Chika approached the terminal and began reading the instructions. What was described there was the system for this Tower of One-on-One Duels.

First of all, this dungeon was exactly as its name suggested. It featured one-on-one duels against monsters that were stronger than normal, and players had to win these battles to progress.

The battlefield was a place where—once a player entered—iron bars descended at the entrance, preventing them from leaving. Once the iron bars were lowered, the fight would begin when the signal to start the duel was given. Until the duel began, neither the player nor the monster could attack each other. If the player won, the iron bars would open, allowing them to proceed further.

The player had to ultimately fight and defeat five monsters to clear the stage. Incidentally, the types of monsters that appeared were somewhat random. After clearing the stage, players could fight any of the monsters they had encountered during the challenge at any time by operating the terminal on the first floor.

Since this was a simultaneous play session with two players, if one side won, the other did not need to fight again—it was sufficient to defeat the monster in a one-on-one battle. It was also stated that if both players entered the field at the same time, there would be no signal to begin the duel.

"I see. Chika, are you okay with this?"

"Okay, I understand. I’m fine."

After reading and understanding the message on the sign, Shiori and Chika nodded to each other and immediately began climbing the stairs.

They reached the top. There was an entrance there that led to a field—a dueling arena where one-on-one battles against monsters took place.

"Oh, so it’s this shape."

"So this is what it’s like."

Shiori and Chika turned their gaze beyond the entrance, toward the field. According to the sign, the battlefield was also randomly generated. The field’s features varied greatly, including areas with lots of cover, unusual terrain, and mazes. Furthermore, the system was designed so that even the same monster would appear differently each time it was challenged.

This time, the field was a circular arena with a diameter of about fifteen meters. In this simple space with no obstructions whatsoever, on the opposite side of the entrance, stood the monster that would be the first opponent in the one-on-one battle: a Goblin Lv45.

"Gugyagya... Gugyagya."

"So goblins first... What do you think, Chika? Which way should we go first?"

"What should we do? It seems like one of us needs to win... So how about we play rock-paper-scissors and take turns, starting with the winner?"

"Yes, let’s do that."

While gazing at the unremarkable goblin—who held a tattered dagger in his hand and wore only rags around his waist—Shiori and Chika played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would go first. Chika won, so she stepped into the circular field.

"Ah... phew, alright..."

"Chika, do your best."

"Gugyagya, gugya!"

The moment Chika stepped inside, iron bars descended on the entrance, making escape impossible. Shiori cheered her on from behind the bars. Chika’s fighting spirit burned as the goblin directly in front of her let out a cry and stared at her body with lecherous eyes.

"Hehe... I’d like to lose, but... it seems like I can fight again if I clear this. So I’m going for the win this time."

"Gugya, Gugya Gugya."

The goblin’s lewd gaze sent shivers down her spine, but Chika—burning with fighting spirit—assumed a stance ready to move at any moment.

The duel begins.

"Alright! Water Lance!"

As soon as she heard the signal to begin the duel, she launched a preemptive strike. The spear of water—unleashed without hesitation—flew straight toward the goblin...

"Gugya! Gugya, Gugya Gugya!"

"He dodged it...?!"

The goblin dodged the water spear with a swift leap to the side, then, dagger in hand, began charging toward Chika.

Shiori had heard about it from Chika beforehand. Although the sign did state that the monsters would be stronger than those that normally appeared, when the goblin actually displayed agility uncharacteristic of a goblin, Shiori—watching from behind—cried out in surprise.

Chika was calmly preparing to unleash a new spell.

"Not yet! Thunder Area!"

"G-Gugyagya!?"

The spell she chose was Thunder Area. Instantly, a black circle spread across the ground with Chika at its center, and lightning began striking in rapid succession. Having entered the area of effect, the goblin was unable to dodge the lightning. It was struck, and its body became paralyzed.

"Flame Wall!"

"Gugyagyaaaaah!?"

Its body went numb, and it stopped moving. Without missing the opportunity, Chika followed up by casting Flame Wall—a spell that created a wall of fire. She activated it so that the goblin was caught in the flames rising from the ground. Its body was instantly consumed by fire.

"This will finish it off! Wind Sword!"

"Guh, gah!? Gah, gah gah...!"

As the goblin blazed, Chika activated Wind Sword—which generated blades of wind—and sliced through its body. That single blow seemed to be the decisive factor. The goblin was sent flying with the force of being cut apart... and its body vanished.

"...Phew, I won."

As soon as the goblin’s body disappeared, the iron bars that had been lowered over the dueling field opened, allowing access to the next floor. Seeing this, Chika relaxed her body and took a breath. Shiori came over.

"Good work, Chika. That was amazing—casting so many spells in a row."

"Hehe, thank you, big sister."

Chika smiled in response to Shiori’s words, then turned her gaze toward the staircase leading to the next floor.

"Okay... let’s go to the next floor."

"Yes, it’s my turn to fight next. If even goblins can get that strong, it’s going to be quite a challenge... but I can’t lose that easily. I’ll do my best."

They quickly finished off the first monster—the goblin—and headed to the next floor.

"---,---..."

"Yes! Victory!"

"Congratulations, Chika."

In the Tower of One-on-One Duels, Shiori defeated the second monster—a Skeleton—without any particular difficulty.

The third match continued. Because of its high physical strength and sturdiness, it took some time, but Chika successfully defeated a monster called the Stone Golem—a creature with a body made of rock. At that moment, the iron bars opened, and Shiori stepped inside and spoke.

"Thanks, big sister. Now let’s go to the next floor."

"Yes, shall we?"

Since there was no need to linger, the two quickly began walking toward the stairs leading to the next floor.

"The next one will be the fourth battle. I wonder what kind of monster will appear?"

"We’re almost at the end, so it wouldn’t be surprising if some troublesome monsters started showing up soon... Hehe, I’m looking forward to it."

Chatting amongst themselves, the two headed to the next floor.