Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World

“Ellie. Do you notice anything different about me today?”

“Huh?”

Ellie froze for a moment. Her expression was solemn, as if she had expected this moment to come.

I blinked, wondering what she could possibly be so tense about, and noticed that not only the waiters preparing to open, but also Lydia and Benny, who had arrived early, were swallowing nervously.

It was then that I realized how my words might be interpreted in this world.

‘Oppa. Do you notice anything different about me today?’

That question used to make my past self tremble with fear. It was like a declaration of war.

‘If you don’t satisfy me from now on, I’ll be a nuisance all day long.’

Of course, it doesn’t hold such deep meaning for me. I was just curious about how much influence the new skills or Powers I obtained would have on the atmosphere or momentum.

Her eyes moved so quickly that they seemed to tremble minutely. It was a gaze that thoroughly analyzed the opponent, befitting a former high-ranking adventurer.

Of course, beneath that, I could sense her desperation, knowing that she couldn’t afford to get screwed over like this.

I could clear up the misunderstanding right now…but honestly, it was a bit fun, so I decided not to. I can clear it up after teasing her a bit more, right?

Instead, I spread my arms wide open, making it easier for Ellie to examine me. I couldn’t help but keep smirking, though.

Ellie, who had been watching me for a long time, opened her mouth with a face as dark as someone who had foreseen their own end.

“Did you…cut your hair?”

“…Wow.”

I understand how she feels, but isn’t this the worst possible reaction?

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought so, as others around us began to rub their foreheads or sigh deeply.

Sensing that something was wrong, Ellie urgently reached her hand out.

“Wait! Again! If you give me another chance…!”

“Hey. It’s fine. Why go that far?”

“…Huh?”

“Oh. I see. Ellie thought I cut my hair. Hmph. Ah, of course, my hair is still the same as it was.”

“……”

Ellie, pale as a ghost. I approached her with my arms wide open. And then.

Squeeze.

Rising on my tiptoes, I hugged her tightly. Then, I whispered softly into her stunned ear.

“The answer is that I like Ellie more today than I did yesterday!”

“What.”

Ellie was at a loss for words. She fidgeted with her empty shoulder for a moment before dropping her hand.

“Then, I’ll go to the Labyrinth today and earn some money, so Ellie, please take care of the shop!”

“…Saying it like that makes me sound like a useless woman living off a man’s money!”

Laughing at Ellie’s delayed reactions, I waved my hand.

“I’m just joking. Well, anyway, I’ll be back, so look forward to it.”

“Okay. It’s your first time on the 3rd Floor, so don’t overdo it… But what do you mean, ‘look forward to it’? Look forward to what?”

“It’s a surprise.”

I chuckled as I turned around. Of course, I couldn’t tell her that I was going to look for her prosthetic arm starting today.

On the 1st Floor lies the World Tree, on the 2nd Floor slumbers the God of Earth, and buried on the 3rd Floor is the God of Machinery.

The technology that developed at an abnormal speed throughout a long war. At the end of it, a new field of study emerged from the fusion of magic, metallurgy, and alchemy, which were thought to never mix. Magitek.

The God of Machinery was born from the concept of magitek.

By the time it was born, the God of Magic had already died, and magic was widespread.

Alchemy, by its very nature, is a study that reveals mysteries and cannot give birth to new ones.

Because alchemy is called the study to reach omniscience through the means of truth, there could be no God of Alchemy.

In the end, the God of Machinery, born from the concept of magitek, tore apart the body of the still-living God of Blacksmiths from the inside and devoured his corpse to use it as the foundation for his divinity.

A god so powerful and so alien, that was the God of Machinery.

The place where he was buried, who viewed everything in the world as a single intricate device, had a distinct appearance compared to other levels of the Labyrinth or the outer Pangrave.

Yes. Specifically… It resembled steampunk.

“Finally…!”

As soon as we ascended to the 3rd Floor, what greeted us were the steel walls surrounding us.

This space, enclosed on all sides by thick metal like a kind of shelter, must be a Safe Zone.

I fiddled with the Unicorn Dagger for no reason and opened the closed door.

The first thing that came into view was a thick fog. And beyond the fog, the faint silhouette of a rectangular building.

“Yawn. No matter how many times you see that square building, you can never get used to it. Right, Lydia?”

“Whatever else, the metal is a waste. Why on earth would they build an entire building out of solid metal?”

Benny, stretching with her flat chest pushed out, asked, and Lydia sighed deeply.

Is that so. Is that how those two see it ?

To me, it reminds me of an apartment or building, so it feels rather familiar.

However, as Lydia said, it’s all metal…and that dull metal close to black is a bit off-putting.

It feels stifling just looking at it.

The sound of steam escaping from somewhere, and the constant clanking sound also bother me.

I don’t hate it by itself, but it’s a bit annoying… It’s a minus for someone like me who sharpens their senses to detect their surroundings.

My vision is limited, and I can’t fully use my hearing.

Thinking that I’ll be fighting here instead of just sightseeing, it certainly raises the difficulty level.

The surroundings were dark, but unlike the narrow space of the 2nd Floor where encounters with enemies were limited, the 3rd Floor was an open space despite the many buildings.

In reality, adventurers could only see the fog, making it hard to gauge, and the atmosphere was unfamiliar to the people of Pan Continent.

No wonder the map of the 3rd Floor is still incomplete. Just thinking about wandering around and recording such a place makes one sigh.

Well, even without a map, the rules for finding the way don’t change.

In the distance. The tall tower with the cogwheel, which couldn’t be hidden by the thick fog, is faintly visible.

That place with the large clock embedded in it is where the God of Machinery rests in eternal slumber and where the Floor Guardian is summoned.

In other words, it is the central point that one must know to find the way and gauge one’s position.

I looked up at the clock tower, obscured by the fog, and spoke.

“Shall we get going if you’re done sightseeing?”

“Yeah. Don’t stray too far; the fog is thick.”

“Ha. Finally, I can stretch a bit. I’ve been cooped up researching for so long, it was suffocating.”

Lydia and Benny nodded and stood behind me. As if to say they wouldn’t take the lead in finding the way or handling minor tasks.

Their goal is to improve my skills, so it’s only expected.

I rotated my shoulders lightly to loosen my muscles, then carefully observed the surroundings.

“Let’s go this way first.”

As I moved, Lydia and Benny followed silently.

How many times did we cautiously walk through the fog? Suddenly, amidst the clanking of metal and hissing of steam, a discordant noise interjected.

Creak.

A sharp sound, like trying to force open a rusty hinge, pierced the eardrums.

Lydia and Benny signaled to stop and hid themselves in the corner of a nearby building.

After hiding and waiting for a few seconds.

Creak. Creak creak.

The hinge noise grew louder, and a large figure appeared through the fog.

A height that seemed to be around two meters. Unusual-looking turquoise metal. And a dwarf-like sculpture protruding from its chest.

At first glance, it looked like an armored golem wandering alone, but to me, who knew the power of the God of Machinery and his followers, it appeared differently.

That thing. It was something that had a human brain transplanted into a golem. The official term is Human Golem.

As a result of transplanting the brain of someone whose limbs were destroyed in war or was on the brink of death into a golem, they were given a second life.

In the realm of the God of Machinery, worshippers with lubricants flowing instead of blood began to thrive.

The problem is that as they abandoned their original flesh, they became vulnerable to techniques that target the mind or soul.

The curse left by the God of Madness clouds reason and gnaws at the soul.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Thick armor protected their fragile brains from most external pressures, but it could not shield their souls.

In the end, the Human Golems, unable to even properly resist, went mad and became monsters wandering the Labyrinth.

Given such a setting, they show extreme resilience to physical attacks…

“But they won’t withstand this.”

I plan to take this opportunity to test the 3-star magic, Explosive Flame.

Reaching out and reciting the incantation. Though the forcibly injected knowledge doesn’t tell me its meaning, it’s clear that it consumes an enormous amount of mana.

So much so that Benny, watching from behind, widened her eyes in surprise.

After a long incantation, the prepared magic. Pointing slowly at the back of the head of the Human Golem dragging its feet with my index finger, I uttered the activation words.

“Explosive Flame.”

A blue-white fireball flew in a large arc.

The Human Golem, realizing it too late, curled its arms in a defensive posture, but…

BOOOOM!!

After the deafening explosion, nothing remained.

“…Huh.”

What the heck. Give me back my Magic Stone.