Dark hallways stretched endlessly through the demon's labyrinth, only broken by the rhythmic hum of heavy machinery and the soft glow of headlights sweeping through the corridor.
"Why am I even dragged into this kind of mess?" Mister Claud muttered, seated atop a mobile turret, its mechanical legs clicking against the floor.
He grumbled as he adjusted the turret's controls. His eyes scanned the corridor ahead with sharp precision.
"If that demon is telling the truth, then there should be fifty floors. And if I'm on the second one…" Claud narrowed his eyes. "It seems like we were all scattered."
Earlier, right after being transported into the so-called 'Demon's Playground,' Claud wasted no time. A quick check outside the window confirmed it: he was on the second floor.
"Teleporting people randomly across all fifty floors? That'd be stupid. Someone could just spawn near the top and escape immediately."
He tapped the turret's side thoughtfully. "No, this has to be limited. Probably only random within the first five or ten floors. That way, escape is still possible, but not easy."
Claud might have been a cheeky slacker in class, but his IQ of 142 wasn't for show.
"If it's just the first five floors, there's a decent chance I might bump into someone. Maybe even the birthday boy himself."
As if on cue, monsters emerged from the shadows, but his turret's guns lit up in response, cutting them down with little effort.
Claud sighed, looking unimpressed. "Where could everyone be?"
Eventually, he reached a massive gymnasium. A wide stairwell stood on the far end, promising the next floor.
"Too quiet," he muttered. "Let's not let our guard down."
He made it halfway across when the gate before the stairs slammed shut. On the upper walls, small figures stirred—dwarven-looking monsters, each manning turrets of their own.
"Knew it was too suspicious."
The dwarves giggled and screamed in high-pitched laughter. A moment later, a barrage of attacks launched toward him. Claud activated his barrier drones, deploying them just in time to block the projectiles.
"Why did I have to run into the one enemy that counters me?"
He quickly scanned the battlefield. Twenty enemies total. Ten on each side. Half of the turrets shot rubber balls at rapid speed, while the others fired slower, plasma-like blasts.
"Okay… Ball turrets are faster but probably low-damage. Plasma ones are slow, high damage. Classic decoy tactic."
He noted the ball turrets were harder to shoot due to their positioning and small users.
"Take out the ball turrets first. That should expose the plasma gunners. All I need is an opening."
Then, he noticed something peculiar: every ball turret had a tube leading to the ceiling.
"What's hidden up there, I wonder?"
He smirked. "Let's do some renovations."
With a wicked grin, Claud aimed his main turret at the ceiling and fired. The explosion rocked the gymnasium. Dust, rubble, and dozens of ammunition balls rained down. The dwarves panicked, trying to flee through the smoke.
"Not on my watch."
Claud flipped open his tablet and activated the thermal camera. Through the haze, their heat signatures glowed bright. One by one, he picked them off.
"Pew! Pew! Gotcha! Hahaha!"
His gleeful laughter echoed as the dwarves screeched in defeat.
Twenty minutes later, the gym fell silent.
"Whew. That was fun, but I better move on."
As he stepped toward the stairwell, one last dwarf peeked out from cover. Claud's turret locked on and zapped it without hesitation.
"Persistent little guy."
He ascended to the third floor and found an empty classroom.
"Alright, turret, you're on guard duty. Don't shoot unless it's a monster."
[Command Acquired — Initiating Standby Mode.]
The turret settled, its legs flattening into a circular platform. Inside, Claud deployed a second turret—a sound-jamming, heat-regulating, portable heater-turret hybrid.
"Now I can sleep in peace without monsters hearing me snore."
---
"And that's the full story," Claud finished, lounging with his hands behind his head.
Lady Nishia crossed her arms. "You turned a life-or-death situation into a game."
"Life's a game. I just play it better."
She gave him a blank stare.
"Come on, admit it. You're glad I'm here."
"Shut up. I don't believe anything you say."
"Aww, the princess is grumpy because—"
"I. SAID. SHUT. UP!"
"Alright, alright! Sheesh. Let's just team up and find your prince charming."
Her face turned red. "I'LL KILL YOU! COME BACK HERE!"
Claud bolted, laughing as she chased him around the room.
> "Yep. This just got a lot more interesting."