The mana crystal started shaking and shining, so the group moved to the next chamber.
The moment they stepped in, a cold chill ran through their bodies. If the previous chambers were warm, then this one was the total opposite. It had icy walls, with pillars hanging from the ceiling.
Suddenly, Broxi fell to the ground.
The group looked at the old man and was stunned to see him in an even older state. His grey hair had become longer, and his eyelashes, which were already long, now reached his cheeks, which were thinner than before.
From the shrinkage of his body, it was obvious that he had aged another 10 years.
"Ah, this is it for me... I can’t walk with you any longer."
He was talking slowly and coughing a lot.
"Is this what you meant by growing old each time you get closer to the dungeon center?"
"Yes, exactly... And it’s very dangerous to keep moving if you reach the state I am in right now."
"If you do so, you’d better get ready to turn into ashes... That’s what happened to my arm, haha."
"So you will be stuck here? Forever... And even if you go back, you won’t reverse this effect, right?"
"Yes..."
He coughed tiredly.
"Well, at least I did one last good thing before I died... Please be careful on your journey, and I hope you get to exit safely."
The group had some mixed emotions, especially Team One and Team Four, since they knew how evil the Scientists’ organization was, but... they could not help but respect Broxi.
Qasim looked at the old man and said nothing, but his expression was stronger than words.
The old man was confused by the boy’s look. Was it an angry look? A sad look? A happy look, perhaps?
He didn’t know what expression this was called. No one had looked at him this way before.
But then it hit him.
*Ah, I see... This is what they call pity.*
As the old man slowly closed his eyes, a voice calmly announced.
"I don’t consider you dead yet, young man."
Aurora stepped in, and she summoned a dolphin-like spirit with a chest instead of its stomach.
"C’mon, my lovely child, store him."
As she commanded, the spirit shined and opened its mouth wide and swallowed Broxi whole.
Selena noticed the confused look on the others, so she raised her nose in pride.
"My Lady Aluna has a spirit that can store things and living things inside its own dimension, even this cave’s rules won’t apply to it, isn’t that amazing? That’s just a small glimpse into my glorious Queen—"
Valen interrupted Selena and asked Aluna,
"With this ability, we can theoretically move through the chambers more safely. The second one of us gets old, we just store that person inside your spirit. Finally, a useful person other than me!"
Everyone agreed with Valen until they heard the final phrase.
"Mind if you repeat what the fuck did you say?"
...
After ’educating’ Valen to be more humble, the group continued moving. Aluna’s ability increased their confidence and hope of escaping.
They entered the next chamber and were greeted by a nasty smell and yet another chaotic room.
"Well, at least it’s not cold," Valen commented, but the group were focused on something else.
"Doran... you..." Levia said with a worried voice.
Doran now had some white hairs and some wrinkles.
"It’s not just him... Look at all the old people here."
Some goblins looked older, Levia looked older, and Valen looked a bit older.
The elves were still holding on since their lifespan is very large and can reach 1,000 years sometimes.
Yasmin and Qasim looked the same, but Yasmin looked like she was now in her 20s.
"We better find the return point fast," Doran commented.
"Don’t worry, weak human! We, the elves, will protect your old asses and continue the mission easily."
At that moment, something moved in front of them.
They quickly got into formation, waiting to see the possible threat.
There was silence at first, then a dark silhouette appeared behind one of the pillars.
It was a head peeking at them. It had red skin, dark hair, and long visible teeth.
Everyone was shocked upon seeing the familiar head.
Zyra spoke with a trembling voice, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"Cirix..."
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