A Little Gift

I stepped forward toward Grideon, who glared at me with humilation. He was clearly annoyed because I had called his questions mediocre.

“Mediocre, you say? It’s been a very long time since I’ve heard those words... Then I’ll show you my greatest questions!” Grideon sneered as matrices began spilling out of his body.

I dashed at him, sword in hand, but my path was immediately blocked by walls of matrices, three layers thick, completely shielding him.

“Damn it, no matter how many times I slash this cursed wall, it won’t break!” I shouted in frustration, striking again and again. I couldn’t use my trump card yet—I needed to save it for when I was certain I could land a decisive blow.

Mikan, Zack, and the raid members attacked as well, but they also couldn’t get close. Our frustration grew.

Grideon chuckled, declaring my efforts meaningless. He had full control over the data of this dungeon floor, and I wouldn’t be able to lay a finger on him unless I solved three of his questions.

“Whatever your questions are, I’ll answer them. Hurry up and throw them at me!” I barked.

“Hahaha, don’t be so hasty. You won’t be able to solve my greatest puzzles!”

With a wave of his hand, Grideon wrote the first problem into the air for all of us to see.

[ANSWER THREE QUESTIONS FROM GRIDEON CORRECTLY! IF YOU FAIL, INSTANT DEATH AWAITS!]
[FIRST QUESTION]
Solve each matrix operation and convert the result into a letter using 1 = A, 2 = B, …, 26 = Z.

Let
A = [2 2; 1 2]
Compute the sum of all elements of A.

Let
B = [3 4; 2 6]
Compute the sum of all elements of B.

Let
C = [2 0; 0 2]
Compute the determinant of C.

[YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE TO ANSWER!]

“Hahaha, can you solve this? Show me if you—”

“The answer is ‘GOD.’” I cut him off, giving my response before he even finished.

[CORRECT! THE FIRST LAYER OF THE MATRIX BARRIER HAS BEEN REMOVED!]

I pressed forward toward the second layer.

“What? How could you answer so quickly?!” Grideon was visibly shaken.

“I told you, your questions are mediocre. Too easy. I didn’t even need to look at the whole problem.” I smirked, mocking him.

Fury twisted across Grideon’s face. “Fine, genius! Try this one!”

[SECOND QUESTION]
A = [1 0; 0 0], B = [6 6; 1 1], C = [9 5; 3 7], D = [5 4; 2 1], E = [1 2; 3 4], I = [1 0; 0 1], G = [2 4; 1 10], H = [2 5; 0 0], J = [4 1; 0 0], K = [4 0; 1 0], M = [1 0; 0 1], N = [4 0; 0 0].

[YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS TO ANSWER!]

“This is a layered problem. You’ll never solve it in thirty seconds. Let’s see if you’re truly worthy!” Grideon laughed hysterically, clearly savoring the moment.

Mikan, Zack, and the others rushed to solve it, but their time ran out. Their answers were wrong.

Only I remained. Calmly, I entered the response.

“The answer is ‘ALREADY DEAD.’”

[CORRECT! THE SECOND LAYER OF THE BARRIER HAS BEEN REMOVED! YOU HAVE REACHED THE FINAL LAYER!]

Now only one last problem stood between me and striking Grideon.

“I don’t believe this… You really solved it… Hahahaha, it’s been so long since I’ve felt this alive!” Grideon laughed with manic excitement.

“Enough games. Give me the final problem. I’ll answer it instantly.” I challenged him, my grip on my sword tightening.

“Very well,” he said, his tone suddenly serious. “The last question… one that only he has ever answered.”

I frowned, not understanding who he meant.

[FINAL QUESTION]
S1 = ((12×7) + (45÷3) − (28−16)) + (61×20)
S2 = (75−18) + (11×2) + (89×6) − (32)
S3 = ((144÷12) × (5+6)) − ((9×2) + (25÷5))
S4 = ((25) − (18÷3)) + (7×2) − (30÷5)

[YOU ONLY HAVE 10 SECONDS TO ANSWER!]

“What is this?” I muttered in shock. This wasn’t like his usual matrix puzzles—it was far too simple. Suspiciously simple.

Was this deliberate? What was he playing at?

I glanced at Grideon. He smiled faintly, as if expecting something from me.

And then, without calculation, without hesitation, a word appeared in my mind.

“YOKA.”

I didn’t know why or how, but I was certain it was correct. I submitted the answer.

[CONGRATULATIONS! CORRECT ANSWER! THE FINAL LAYER IS BROKEN! YOU CAN NOW ATTACK THE FLOOR BOSS!]

Everyone gasped, myself included. The strange way the answer came to me left me unsettled.

The raid group charged at Grideon, but he stopped them all except me. It was just him and me, one on one.

I raised my sword, but Grideon didn’t move to defend himself. Instead, he clapped his hands slowly.

“You really knew the answer… I’m sure now. You are the one. Tell me, Player, what is your name?”

“Kyouze. The name of the one who will kill you.”

“Kyouze, is it? What a curious coincidence… But you won’t need to bother defeating me.”

“What do you mean? Are you toying with us again?”

“No. I’m serious. Today is the day… I’ve grown tired of this place.” He summoned a sword made from matrices, but instead of raising it against me, he smiled.

“I surrender. You win. Proceed to the next floor.”

Before I could react, Grideon plunged the blade into his own chest. No blood spilled—only data particles.

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE DEFEATED GRIDEON, THE DEMON OF INFINITE MATRIX!]

[ANOMALY DETECTED! BOSS DEFEATED IN AN UNEXPECTED WAY! NO EXP WILL BE AWARDED!]

Cheers erupted from the raid members, but I stood frozen, confused.

“Why did you do this? Why are you helping us?” I asked.

As his body slowly faded, Grideon looked upward. “You’ll know soon enough. My role here is finished. I’ll return to ‘Them.’”

“‘Them’? And what about those strange answers? ‘GOD,’ ‘ALREADY DEAD,’ ‘YOKA’? What do they mean?!”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “I can’t tell you everything. But Kyouze, promise me this—continue conquering the dungeon floors, all the way to the last one.”

His gaze pierced through me. I nodded silently, and he seemed satisfied.

“Oh, and those goggles you wear—they’re my creation. [Brainstreams Goggles]. They were lost when I was imprisoned here… Strange that you have them.”

“The system gave them to me when I first cleared the fifth-floor dungeon. They let me process calculations faster.”

“I see… then I’ve lost to myself. That makes it less shameful when I meet him again.”

His words made little sense, but I didn’t press.

“I’ll upgrade them for you. Unlock more of their potential. With this, you’ll see what should remain unseen… the truth.”

A green light flowed from his hand into the goggles, upgrading them with a new skill: [Vision of Truth].

“One day, this will serve you well.”

“I don’t understand, but… thank you.”

“Hah, I never thought I’d hear gratitude from someone like you. Usually, you’re cold and sharp-tongued.”

“I don’t know you.”

“Hahaha, maybe I imagined it.”

His body was nearly gone now. Before vanishing completely, he added, “You and your friends are in a rush. Let me leave you with a gift. Since you won’t gain any EXP from defeating me, take this instead.”

He conjured a glowing matrix circle, resembling a teleportation gate.

“Focus on your destination, and it will take you there.”

"But...this is going to shake the dungeon. Maybe that fake god will be angry too, haha. So get ready, Kyouze!" Grideon smiled broadly.

"Get ready for what?!" I confused.

"A counterattack!" Grideon said it and he raised his hand proudly and disappeared.

I'm still confused, but one thing I know: I have to prepare myself for the worst!

The raid team and I stepped into the circle, the world dissolving around us like a collapsing vortex.

I focused my mind on my goal, the place where Ayane is.

“Please… hold on.”

I clenched my fists.

“I’m coming for you, Ayane!”

.....

This can't be...this is the 9th floor!!!

All my raid team members screamed hysterically. I couldn't think of anything else; I just charged forward.