"That thing created copies of itself?!"
"Oh God..."
"We are so fucking done for."
Valen places his hand on the old man’s shoulder.
"I need you to focus, what we should do?"
"R-Right, of course... First we need a mana crystal."
Levia showed him the mana crystal she had taken earlier.
"Like this one?"
"Yes. Exactly."
Broxi took the crystal from her hand and examined it for a moment.
"But how does this thing even exist?" Levia asked. "It doesn’t make any sense."
Broxi stared at the crystal.
"That’s because you’re trying to understand this place using normal rules."
He slowly turned the crystal between his fingers.
"Time doesn’t work normally here. In fact... it doesn’t have rules."
"Think about it like this. Let’s say a person enters this cave and somehow travels into the past. Then they find their own parents before they had them, and goes to kill them."
Qasim frowned.
"According to logic, that person should disappear, right?"
"Yes."
Levia nodded.
"If their parents died before they had them, then that person would never have been born. And if they were never born, they could never have entered this dungeon in the first place."
He raised the crystal slightly.
"But things don’t work that way here."
"The cave would let that person kill their parents... and then they would simply continue living as if nothing happened."
"It doesn’t care about logic."
Broxi looked toward the endless tunnels.
"That’s what makes this place so incredible... and so mysterious."
He paused.
"Because what is more impressive than creating an effect on time?"
His eyes narrowed.
"Breaking the logic of time itself."
For a moment, Broxi seemed lost in his thoughts.
"Sometimes I wonder..."
He looked deeper into the dungeon.
"How did this place even exist in the first place?"
Broxi eventually shook his head and returned his attention to the crystal.
"So, to answer your question..."
He handed the crystal back to Levia.
"My theory is that the mana inside this cave created this mana stone, but in the future."
"The creation of the crystal happens in the future..."
He pointed toward the crystal.
"But the crystal itself already exists here in what we consider the present."
Broxi gave her a tired smile.
"So... This can guide us?" Valen asked.
"Yes."
Broxi nodded.
"We only need a mage to put some mana inside it."
He smiled.
"By putting mana into something that shouldn’t have mana yet, we’re creating a paradox."
"I used to do it myself but... I am not in the best shape right now."
Levia nodded.
"Then I’ll do it."
She held the crystal with both hands and slowly began feeding it her mana.
Almost immediately, the crystal started shaking aggressively.
"Hold it!" Broxi shouted. "Don’t stop!"
Levia gritted her teeth and continued.
"It’s creating the paradox!"
The crystal shook violently for another few seconds.
Then it began to shine.
Broxi smiled.
"Good."
Valen looked toward the tunnel ahead.
"Then we should enter the next chamber."
He stepped aside and gestured toward Broxi.
"After you, Grandpa."
Broxi raised an eyebrow.
"Ohoho~ So polite, aren’t you, young man?"
He chuckled before slowly walking toward the tunnel.
The others followed.
Soon, they entered the next chamber.
Qasim’s eyes widened.
The environment was completely different.
Plants covered the ceiling, their roots hanging down like vines.
The floor was covered in a thin layer of water that reflected the faint light around them.
Even the atmosphere felt different.
It was pleasant.
"Okay."
Broxi looked around.
"This is the first chamber."
He pointed toward the surroundings.
"Now we need to take another mana crystal from this chamber and repeat the same process."
Levia quickly searched the area and found another crystal.
She picked it up and began feeding it her mana.
Qasim watched her for a moment.
"You should let me do it."
"I can basically have infinite mana."
"No, it’s fine."
Levia continued feeding the crystal.
"I think it’s better this way."
Qasim tilted his head.
"Why?"
"We don’t know if the mana inside this cave will remain available, so it’s better to keep you as emergency battery."
She looked at him.
"S-Sorry if this comparison was rude..."
"Hahaha, not at all teacher!"
Levia felt relief seeing Qasim back to his cheerful self.
The crystal soon began to shine and once again, they moved forward.
The third chamber looked more like a small underground cove.
There were multiple entrances and exits scattered around it.
The walls were red, and an unpleasant smell filled the air.
"Let’s search for the mana crystal."
The group split up.
They searched every corner of the chamber.
Then suddenly—
"There is a body here!"
Everyone immediately rushed toward the voice.
A Goblin corpse was lying on the ground.
The dead Goblin was wearing a special uniform and a helmet.
A giant axe rested beside his body.
Zyra was the first to approach.
Her expression immediately changed.
"This..."
She slowly crouched down.
"This is one of the army soldiers."
Everyone became alert.
"So is he..."
Doran looked at the body.
"The soldier who entered after us?"
"I..."
Zyra examined the uniform.
"I don’t know."
She paused.
"But this is the newest uniform... So perhaps you are correct."
Zyra then lowered her head toward the corpse.
She remained silent for a moment.
In Goblin culture, searching the corpse of the dead was strictly prohibited.
It didn’t matter whether they were friend or enemy.
The dead were to be respected.
But they were in an dangerous dungeon and were trapped.
And the lives of her students and allies were at stake.
So Zyra put her pride aside and carefully searched the soldier’s belongings.
Then she pulled out a small device.
She turned the object around.
"It’s a barrier seal."
Valen immediately stepped closer.
"A barrier seal?"
"We tried to exit when we first encountered the monster."
Valen placed a hand on his chin.
"But we found a barrier blocking the way."
He looked at the device.
"Perhaps this was also created by this soldier."
"Why?"
Selena asked.
Zyra didn’t answer immediately.
She stared at the barrier seal.
"That can only mean one thing."
Her voice became colder.
"Something very dangerous is happening outside."
"I don’t know exactly what."
She looked toward the tunnels.
"But according to our protocols, this kind of behavior cannot be decided by a normal soldier."
"It came from the government."
Broxi raised a hand.
"Well..."
Everyone looked at him.
"Maybe the end of the world is happening outside."
Nobody laughed, they simply stared at him.
Broxi’s smile disappeared.
"Ahem..."
He scratched his beard awkwardly.
"Sorry. I suppose my sense of humor has been ruined after all this time."
The group continued searching.
Minutes passed.
They checked every corner.
Behind rocks.
Under the water.
Inside the cracks in the walls.
Nothing.
Not a single mana crystal.
"I’ll look over there."
Qasim pointed toward another tunnel.
Valen nodded.
"Alright. Everyone split up more. Search as many places as possible."
Qasim disappeared into the tunnel.
Meanwhile, Valen, Zyra, and Aluna stood together.
They quietly discussed their situation.
Eventually, they were about to ask Broxi whether he knew another way forward in case they couldn’t find a mana crystal.
But then Qasim came running out of another tunnel.
His clothes were covered in scratches and his breathing was heavy.
"Boy!"
Valen immediately rushed toward him.
"What happened to you?"
Qasim didn’t answer.
He simply walked toward Valen and placed something in his hand.
A mana crystal.
Valen stared at it.
Qasim looked at him.
"You can count on me."
Then he immediately turned around and rushed into another tunnel.
Everyone stared after him.
"...What?"
Valen looked down at the crystal in his hand.
Nobody understood what had just happened.
Several minutes passed.
Eventually, the entire group gathered together again.
They looked exhausted.
And disappointed.
Despite searching the chamber for so long, they hadn’t found another crystal.
Valen looked toward Qasim.
The boy was visibly disappointed.
"Boy?"
Qasim looked up.
"Yeah?"
"Did you go searching for more crystals or what?"
"More?... I don’t understand what you mean by this."
Valen frowned, then looked at Qasim’s clothes.
"And by the way..."
"What happened to your clothes earlier?"
Qasim blinked.
"My clothes?"
Valen pointed at him.
"They were covered in scratches and blood. And now they’re perfectly fine."
"Huh?"
Qasim looked down at himself.
"What are you talking about?"
"Wh..."
Valen’s eyes narrowed.
He was about to ask another question.
But Aluna interrupted.
"Valen, give the crystal to Levia... We need to keep moving."
Valen hesitated.
"Right..."
He handed the crystal to Levia.
Then he looked back at Qasim.
The boy was still staring at him with a confused expression.
Levia began pouring her mana into the crystal.
Once again, it started shaking and the group moved forward.
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