10:55 AM

Team One had officially entered the tunnel. Their mission was simple: surprise the enemy from behind. Aurora had chosen this route because it was supposed to be the easiest and least dangerous.

*If I really had a choice, I wouldn’t be here at all...*

The tunnel itself wasn’t particularly pleasant, but it wasn’t terrible either. There was an old, nasty smell in the air, along with rust, rotten debris, and...

Suddenly, the team stopped.

Something was ahead.

"What the hell?..."

In front of them stood a strange creature with a massive head, purple skin, and countless tentacles in place of arms.

"It’s an octopus Beastkin..." Aurora said, her expression turning serious. "Everyone, be careful. The enemy is right in front of us."

The octopus Beastkin sensed their presence and turned toward them.

Aurora stared at its faceless head sitting atop those countless writhing tentacles. Something about it made her deeply uncomfortable.

Then, without warning, the Octopus attacked.

It moved so fast that one of Aurora’s teammates barely had time to react before two tentacles wrapped around him.

"AGH—!"

The tentacles pulled in opposite directions.

His body was torn apart.

The rest of the team immediately launched their counterattack.

Some Beastkin transformed, growing larger and stronger, while others shrank down and became faster. Claws and sharp teeth emerged as they rushed the creature.

Aurora stayed behind them, throwing potions and stones while using them to create various reactions and explosions.

*I’m a fucking support, damn it! Why am I even fighting?!*

Then she froze.

According to what was supposed to happen, they should have killed this enemy and continued through the tunnel.

But Qasim’s warning suddenly came back to her.

*Yeah... I have a bad feeling about this too.*

"Everyone, start falling back slowly! We’re retreating!"

Aurora had never tried to hide the fact that she was a coward.

Being a coward had actually kept her and her team alive for a very long time. It made her cautious, and that caution allowed her to provide excellent support that everyone in Black Seed respected.

So when Qasim warned her about the mission and she developed a bad feeling herself, she had absolutely no shame in retreating.

But then she heard something behind them.

At first, it was barely noticeable.

A distant sound.

Step.

Step.

Step.

The sound slowly grew louder.

Aurora’s expression changed.

Then she saw them.

Naked, deformed humans were running toward them.

Each one had a bomb attached to their body.

"Fuck! How didn’t I hear them before?!"

Cold sweat ran down Aurora’s face.

She immediately grabbed her communication crystal.

Nothing.

It wasn’t working.

"Fuck! That’s why my detection ability was useless!"

She quickly changed her orders.

"Forget retreating! Push forward! We need to kill that Octopus and get out of here!"

The team rushed forward.

But the Beastkin was incredibly tough.

Their attacks barely managed to slow it down.

Aurora herself was a support-type fighter. Even though she was a Hilal-Awal, the Octopus was at least as strong as an average Mahik, meaning she couldn’t simply overpower it.

"Agh... whatever. I’ll do it."

Aurora’s red hair and eyes suddenly began to glow.

An intense aura erupted from her body.

She pulled out a notebook and a pen and immediately began writing.

Something strange happened.

The Octopus’s movements became increasingly awkward.

Its own tentacles began striking each other. Its footing became unstable, causing it to stumble and fall.

But the most noticeable change wasn’t happening to the Octopus.

It was happening to Aurora’s teammates.

Their attacks suddenly became more accurate.

Their movements became sharper.

They found openings they hadn’t noticed before.

Even their injuries seemed to heal faster.

Slowly but surely, the team began pushing the Octopus backward.

"Yes! Just like this, and we—"

One of Aurora’s teammates suddenly stepped on something.

*Click.*

Aurora’s face went pale.

A hidden bomb.

The first explosion triggered another.

Then another.

Then another.

"No..."

Aurora’s vision slowly turned white.

But before everything disappeared, she desperately scribbled something into her notebook.

Then—

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted inside the tunnel.

Another explosion followed from behind as the bomb-carrying humans continued running toward them.

The so-called secret tunnel became a living hell.

Fire and pressure tore through the narrow passage, leaving nowhere for the explosion to escape.

The walls shook violently.

Dust and debris filled the air.

Then, at the far end of the tunnel, there was a door.

Or what remained of one.

The explosion had destroyed it.

Slowly, the damaged door began to move.

Once it was fully open, someone stepped through.

An old woman with red eyes and gray hair.

Tears ran down her face.

...

11:10 AM

Qasim, Valen, and Yasmin stood in front of a bookshelf.

They had encountered several enemies along the way, but they dealt with them rather easily.

Part of that was because both Valen and Yasmin were Hilal-Awal.

But more importantly, Qasim had warned them about the ambushes before they happened.

Now, Qasim carefully removed several books from the shelf while Valen watched him with an interested expression.

"What are you doing now? Is this another special thing about you? Are you going to show me something new like you used to?"

Valen continued staring at the boy, deep in thought.

There was still so much he didn’t understand about Qasim.

But before he could ask anything, Qasim called out to him.

"Here. Let’s move. The enemy is inside."

Valen looked puzzled.

There was now a secret passage hidden behind the bookshelf.

*How did he know about this?*

That was what Valen wanted to ask.

But he didn’t want to make Qasim uncomfortable.

Instead, he chose to trust him.

Without asking any questions, he followed Qasim and Yasmin into the hidden passage.

After walking for a while, they finally reached the other side.

There, waiting for them, was a Beastkin with the face of a lion.

"My master is impressed that a human managed to find this place..." the Lion said calmly.

He paused.

"But that’s about it."

His body suddenly began to change.

Two new arms grew from his back.

Then another head began forming beside his original one.

In an instant, the terrifying form Qasim remembered from his previous timeline stood before them.

Qasim’s expression became cold.

*It’s him...*

The Lion stared at the three of them.

"I shall kill you all here."

Then he charged.

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