"I'm impressed."
Elena’s voice rang through the cramped small room, echoing in the wake of the sudden violence.
A dog made of bones had lunged from the treasure chest inside the room. Setting aside Rei, who had expertly parried the surprise attack, the way Seto had instinctively leaped forward the next moment and swung its powerful foreleg to literally crush the Skeletal Dog was a display of reaction speed that Elena found truly magnificent.
"Guruuuu."
Seto seemed to understand the praise. He let out a cheerful purr, happily wagging his Lion's Tail and chirping deep in his throat.
While a brief smile escaped Elena at the sight, she quickly scanned the rest of the room.
Fortunately, there were no other traps besides the treasure chest, nor were there any other monsters lying in wait.
"So, this room was designed entirely to ensnare adventurers," Elena observed.
"Still... I don't think any halfway-decent adventurer would fall for such an obvious trap," Vel muttered, eyeing the remains of the Skeletal Dog and the chest it had lurked in.
"Well, that’s certainly true," Elena agreed.
"But look, didn't we actually fall for it?" Ara pointed out.
Vel could only offer a wry smile at Ara's blunt assessment.
Kyuste spoke up with a faint smirk of his own.
"Even so, it’s not as if we actually opened the chest. It was likely the type of trap that triggers the moment anyone steps within range. ...Though, knowing Ara, she probably would have just marched up and opened it anyway."
Rei listened to their banter behind him as he checked the remains of the Skeletal Dog that Seto had pulverized.
"The Magic Stone is... gone. And the bones are too shattered to be used as materials," Rei noted with a sigh.
"Guruu..."
Because Seto had struck with such overwhelming force, not only were the bones of the monster broken, but the Magic Stone protected within them had been crushed into powder as well.
Seto approached with a somewhat apologetic cry, but Rei gave a small shake of his head.
"Don't worry about it, Seto. If you hadn't jumped in, I might have taken an unnecessary hit."
Rei scratched the Gryphon's head affectionately, then stood up and turned to Elena.
"No luck here. At any rate, there's nothing else in this room. We should keep moving."
"Agreed. ...All right, let's resume the exploration. Vel, Ara, Kyuste."
At Elena's command, the three who had been chatting immediately wiped the smiles from their faces and nodded.
Maintaining their established formation—Rei and Seto in the vanguard, Elena and Vel in the midguard, and Ara and Kyuste in the rearguard—they exited the small room and proceeded down the corridor.
"Wait..."
Rei noticed it about twenty minutes after they had left the small room.
"Guruu?"
Seto also tilted his head, seemingly sensing that something was off.
Elena, puzzled by their behavior, looked around, but she couldn't detect any immediate anomaly.
"Rei, is something wrong?"
"Ah... no, I just have the feeling we've passed through this corridor before."
"What? But there haven't been any forks or turns, have there? Isn't it just your imagination?" Kyuste asked.
"Perhaps... but I'll leave a mark just in case. Seto."
"Guruu!"
Understanding his master's intent, Seto used his talons to gouge several deep scratches into the dungeon wall.
"This will serve as a landmark. Now, we keep going..."
"If we see the scratches Seto made, it'll be certain that we're caught in some kind of trap," Elena concluded.
"Exactly."
Nodding to Elena, the group resumed their march. Amidst the sound of their rhythmic footsteps and the clinking of gear, Rei called out to the man behind him.
"Vel, what's your take as our scout?"
Vel fell silent for a few moments, searching his memory before answering.
"I remember reading in a book before we came here that some dungeons have traps that cause space to loop. If that's what this is, it means this Dungeon Core is exceptionally high-performance. ...Or, there's an Undead lurking nearby capable of using Space Magic."
Space Magic was a high-level discipline that was notoriously difficult to master. When considering an Undead capable of such a feat, the first name that came to mind was...
"A Lich?" Rei asked.
"We have to consider the possibility. Honestly, it’s the last thing I want to deal with."
A Lich was a mage who had returned as an Undead. Sometimes mages performed dark rituals to transform themselves intentionally; other times, a mage who died harboring intense grudges, hatred, or strong regrets might rise as one spontaneously.
Their danger levels varied wildly depending on the mage's abilities in life. There were records of G-Rank equivalent mages rising as Liches, but also those who were A-Rank equivalent. Usually, they retained their human consciousness, though some were mindless monsters driven purely by instinct.
"True. An Undead that uses magic is a nightmare to deal with. Let's proceed and pray that's not what we're facing."
Everyone—Kyuste included—nodded at Rei's words. They continued forward, keeping a sharp eye on the right-hand wall where Seto had left his mark. After walking for another twenty minutes, they finally reached a spot where the wall was scarred.
"So this confirms it, then?"
Rei's words escaped with a sigh, though his tone held more bewilderment than defeat.
There was no doubt that the wall in front of them was the one Seto had scratched twenty minutes ago. However...
"Rei, is that really the same mark from before?" Vel asked. His voice was laced with disbelief.
"Yeah. There's no mistaking Seto's work. But..."
Rei narrowed his eyes at the wall.
The claw marks were indeed there. However, the reason Vel was doubting his eyes was the depth of the scratches. When Seto had first made them, they were nearly five centimeters deep. Now, they were barely a centimeter deep.
"Most likely, the walls have an enchantment that allows them to heal naturally. It's a nasty combination with an Infinite Loop," Rei deduced.
"Ugh, that really is the worst."
The fastest way to confirm an Infinite Loop was to leave a marker. As adventurers, most would use their weapons to scratch a wall, but if the scratches repaired themselves, that method was useless. Leaving tools behind was an option, but there was no guarantee roaming monsters wouldn't make off with them.
"It's certainly a nuisance, but let's count ourselves lucky that we noticed it so quickly thanks to Seto," Elena said, addressing the group.
It was true. Because Seto was a Gryphon with strength far exceeding a human's—augmented further by the Bracelet of Herculean Strength—he had left a mark deep enough to survive the wall's regeneration long enough to be seen. If they had wandered blindly for hours, they would have exhausted their mental energy along with their physical strength. In that sense, they were fortunate.
"But Lady Elena, how are we supposed to break out of this loop?" Ara asked.
"I don't have an answer yet. Give me a moment to think. Since we're stuck, it's better for everyone to conserve their stamina rather than moving aimlessly. If anyone has an idea, speak up."
"But if you can't think of anything, Lady Elena, I doubt we'll be of much help..."
"Ara, I am not all-knowing. You might see something I've missed, so don't belittle yourself. Everyone, think."
"I understand. I'll try," Ara said, closing her eyes to focus.
The others followed suit. Elena crossed her arms and stared down the corridor as if trying to see through the illusion. Vel examined the regenerating wall, while Kyuste leaned his chin on his hand, scanning their surroundings. Rei stroked Seto's back, sinking deep into his own thoughts. Seto, sensing the shift in mood, lay down on the floor and kept a sharp watch for any Undead.
(A Space Loop. That means we crossed a threshold into this trap at some point. If I can find that point... No, that's not right. The quickest way is to kill the monster maintaining the trap, but it's not guaranteed to be a monster. And even if it is, the creature might not even be inside this specific loop.)
Rei sought an exit while staring at the wall. Seto's scratches were now almost entirely gone, leaving only the faintest ghosts of marks behind.
(I have no choice. It's time to dig into Zephyle's knowledge again. ...Though, given how much time has passed since he died, I'm not sure if everything is still one hundred percent accurate.)
Muttering to himself, Rei began to sift through the inherited memories of Zephyle, the world's greatest mage, specifically seeking data on Space Magic.
(Ways to escape a looping space... Option one: kill the caster. Rejected for now. Option two: flood the loop with more Magic Power than its capacity. I could do that, but it would drain me too much. Option three: use Space Magic to shatter the loop. I can't use Space Magic, so that's out. Option four: the most reliable and simple way is to destroy the 'origin' of the loop. I know that's the best route, but finding the origin is the problem... Hmm. Wait, I see. If I do this, the drain on my magic will be manageable. It's worth a try.)
Having found a viable plan within Zephyle's knowledge, Rei looked up at Elena.
"Lady Elena, I've thought of something that might work."
"Oh? I'm listening. Tell me."
"Even if this space is looping, there has to be a physical point that serves as the anchor or 'origin' connecting us to the real dungeon. If we destroy that origin, the loop will collapse and we'll be back in the original space."
"Sure, but how are we supposed to find one specific spot in an identical corridor?" Vel asked skeptically. "Are we going to smash the walls bit by bit? I'm not doing that. It's a waste of time if they just grow back."
Rei gave a small shake of his head.
"The method isn't that tedious. I'll use my magic to fill the entire corridor with fire and use the heat to sense the spatial distortion of the origin."
Elena frowned slightly at the bluntness of the plan.
"Is that possible? Filling this entire corridor with flames would require a staggering amount of Magic Power."
"It shouldn't be an issue for me. Besides, with this bracelet, I can replenish my reserves if we run into enemies."
As he spoke, Rei held out his left wrist, revealing a magic item to the group.
"This is the Bracelet of Magic Absorption. It allows the wearer to absorb Magic Power from an enemy proportional to the damage dealt in an attack."
"Good heavens... for a mage, that's a treasure worth killing for. Did you inherit that from your master as well?" Elena asked.
"Yes. Though, as you know, I rarely have to rely on it. Besides, most mages don't get close enough to deal direct physical damage. ...Now, shall we proceed with my plan?"
"Since we have no other options, your way is the best. Do it," Elena commanded.
Nodding, Rei waited for everyone to huddle together to avoid the coming heat. He began to chant, channeling his magic.
"O flame, show your crimson glow and spread wide. Transform into a Carpet of Flames at my will!"
As the incantation finished, a fist-sized ball of fire manifested at the tip of the Death Scythe's shaft. Rei slammed the weapon into the ground.
"Faint Flame!"
The moment the spell was cast, the small flame exploded outward. Fire surged from the Death Scythe, coating the floor, ceiling, and walls in an instant. The flames expanded with unnatural speed, and within seconds, everything in Rei's line of sight was wreathed in fire.
"It's... it's not hot?" Ara whispered in daze.
Rei ignored her, focusing on pouring more magic into the spell to expand its reach. Even though it was a low-temperature flame of only about 20 degrees Celsius, the sheer scale of the area was draining his reserves rapidly. This continued for several minutes. Eventually, the flames surged back toward them from the opposite direction, confirming that the entire loop was now enveloped.
"Found it!"
Rei shouted as he caught the distortion. He swung the Death Scythe, causing the flames to vanish instantly, and broke into a sprint.
Seto followed a heartbeat later, with Elena and the others close behind.
By the time the rest of the party caught up, Rei was already standing before a section of the wall, raising his Death Scythe high.
"Hah!"
He brought the blade down. The edge sliced into the wall, and in the next moment, the sound of shattering glass rang through the air. The illusion crumbled, and in its place stood the door leading back to the small room where they had first fought the Skeletal Dog.