Double Dungeon Returns: trapped in a time chamber[2]

The campfire's scorching heat danced on my face, my gaze remained fixated on the flames, and my mind was lost in thoughts.

Everything around me was engulfed in a sea of darkness, sporadically punctuated by the faint glow of mana stones protruding from the ground.

Seated on the rocky terrain, I softly clutched a ring between my index and the thumb.

The ring's band was adorned with runic inscriptions that would glow in golden hues before diminishing. And a strange S-shaped mark graced the inner side of the ring, like a hallmark.

The S mark...it felt like I had seen the symbol somewhere, but the memory just wouldn't surface

"Status," I exhaled, my voice tinged with weariness.

Before long, a ghostly, white hologram materialized before me, hovering in the air.

──────────────────────

┌─────────────────┐

│ 𝐒 𝐭 𝐚 𝐭 𝐮 𝐬 𝐖 𝐢 𝐧 𝐝 𝐨 𝐰 ➙

└─────────────────┘

𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞: Noah Grey ⇔ 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤: (𝐃)

𝐀𝐠𝐞: 17 +(24?)= 41?

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬: Homosapien

𝐒𝐮𝐛-𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬: [Meta-Huma...]

𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬: [Technokine...]

𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬: Marksman/Tank

■𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐒 →

⌜ ⌝

Health: D 550/ 550(+20)

Mana: (E+) 400/ 400

Strength: D 600/ 600(+45)

Dexterity: D

Intelligence: ???

Mana Capacity: Undefined

⌞ ⌟

■𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐒→

⌜ ⌝

Armor: (E+) 35

Resistance: (C-) 55

Stamina: (C-)

Charm: (B+)

Durability: (D+) 50

Flexibility: B

⌞ ⌟

𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐒:

Momentum Transfer [Info...]

Perception [Info...]

𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐒: None

𝐀𝐑𝐓:

Consecutive Archery ┃Bronze ➙

(100%)

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: None

𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐬 [Info... ]

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 0.50% [Info...]

𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬:

[Mystery of Teleportation]

[Solaris Amulet]

𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬:

[3x Legendary Achievements!...]

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With a swift gesture of my hand, I swiped over the status display, navigating to the notification section.

──────────────────────

𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭: Find the throne room.

𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭: The one who can survive the test of time!

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Claim the throne and pass the test in order to escape the clutches of the double dungeon.

𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭: Equivalent to 552 hours...

──────────────────────

It's been a good while now since we got trapped in this—this 'double dungeon.'

Univited monsters have been constant visitors at unusual hours, making sure that we can't sleep.

Someone always had to remain on watch while the rest tried to sleep.

We've lost track of day and night in this place. In here, there was no sun or moon. The only thing we had for the sky was just darkness.

I volunteered for the task, since I could stay awake for days without sleeping. But I wasn't invincible; my mind still got tired from time to time.

Still, earning extra favor from the team wasn't bad, and besides, I had Nano to help me through my exhaustion.

I tried infusing mana into the ring, attempting to channel it to the inside, but the ring remained unresponsive.

This place felt 'like' a subterranean expanse. Like a cave.

Rocky walls and hills that created a never-ending labyrinth in every direction.

Direction...erm, actually, I couldn't even tell which way was north or south, or if there were any directions at all to this place.

Obviously, I wasn't actually underground—I deduced that the moment I arrived here.

But for the sake of saying it, 'subterranean' was the only word that could fit this peculiar setting.

The terrain was rugged and rocky, punctuated by 'subterranean' lakes and accented by weird black vegetation—some kind of mushrooms, I assumed.

The landscape lacked traditional greenery. An alien pedosphere.

'An alien pedosphere...an alien-no. No, actually...doesn't this place somewhat match the description of the demon world?' The thought suddenly crossed my mind. But just as quickly, I dismissed the idea.

Demon world...there was no way...right?

Right.

Anyway...

After getting trapped in this place, the first thing I noticed was that all cellular signals were jammed.

Radio waves were blocked completely, leaving me without any GPS signal or satellite connection. I had no idea in which part of the world...or if I was even in the world anymore.

There was definitely some kind of barrier to stop signals.

As for our phones—after losing internet connectivity, the internal clock somehow started malfunctioning.

Even relying on compass proved useless.

[Nano's information update available!]—All of a sudden, a vivid red flash appeared in my field of vision.

"What is it, Nano?"

Nano began to inform me of reports on some data concerning my own body.

"Unusual? Tell me more," I asked, my eyebrow raised.

Through augmented reality, Nano projected images and videos of my cells.

[The turnover rate of your skin cells has come to a complete halt. Over the past two weeks, neither your nails nor your hair has grown a single millimeter. Remarkably, all your bodily functions, including digestion, metabolism, and other processes, are still operating in real-time. However, the natural aging processes within your cells have been put on hold. You've essentially stopped aging, as if...]

Before Nano could finish, I furrowed my brows as the conclusion itself escaped my lips, "As if time itself has frozen."

Slowly, a deep frown etched itself on my face.

My eyes narrowed, and my mind couldn't help but question, 'Time has frozen...is it just metaphorical or potentially literal?'

In that moment, the information from the 'Quest window' suddenly flashed across my mind.

"The quest window...what was it again? Time left 'equivalent' to 552 hours?" I mused, tilting my head.

The emphasis on the word 'equivalent' struck me.

'Why not simply state 552 hours? Why 'equivalent'? Unless...' a realization began to take shape in my thoughts.

"The cellular and other networks are 'jammed' in this place, my body has ceased aging, the sky is just dark, and an 'equivalent' time limit," I mused aloud. "Could it all be somehow connected to some sort of..."

'Temporal distortion?...messing with traveling of electronic signals. The quest's 'equivalent' time limit suggests time isn't...I don't know, an illusion? And, couldn't the dark sky be linked to...to...the perpetual night...electromagnetic rays freezing in place just like my cells...making no light escap—ughh! Fuck this shit!'

"Fuck this shit! How am I always in this kind of mess?"

A few instinctive curses escaped my lips for some time.

After I calmed down, I finally focused on the topic which should be my main priority: The quest.

'The quest's time limit...what would happen if we failed to complete the quest within the given time frame? What awaited us once this time limit expired? Death? Trapped forever?'

I stopped channeling mana to the ring which wasn't responding to my calls at all and stored it back to its place.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps resonated from behind.

The earth being my messenger, alerted me with beats of footfall. But I was too tired to turn my weary gaze away from the comforting flames.

"Having hard time sleeping?" I asked Aeravat who gently sat beside me before rubbing his hands and soothing them over the fire.

"Riley says that the food ration will only last one more week. It's kind of worrying," Aeravat replied while facing me by the side.

Despite his composed countenance, the lines of worry subtly marked his face.

"Don't worry, we can always dine on monsters, eh?" I quipped, trying my best to lighten the mood and calm my own damn nerves. But...

'Can we even eat monsters?' I wasn't sure.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about running out of water in this place," I added, trying to find a silver lining amidst the chaos.

Aeravat replied, his words laced with both amusement and concern, "Your jokes just aren't hitting the mark. I can tell something's 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 eating at you. You've been acting a bit off lately..."

For a while, I remained silent, simply contemplating the weight of his words. Eventually, the smile faded from my face, revealing the unease within.

Aeravat didn't press further on the matter, but I could feel his gaze on my left hand, stealing occasional glances without saying a word.

'It's about time, huh?' I couldn't help but think to myself.

"Ask?"

"Can I ask somethin-" Aeravat initiated, but paused mid sentence as I cut his question before it even began.

In the distant backdrop, I could make out Riley and Sylvie near the subterranean lake—our makeshift oasis spot.

"Fire away, fire away," I uttered, prodding at the crackling flames with a stick, coaxing out showers of airborne embers.

"That bracelet," Aeravat pointed his index finger at the mystery of teleportation, "where did you get...buy it?"

A glint flickered in Aeravat's eyes—a subtle something...some emotion, it seemed premature, out of place, and looking at it left me warring between a disdainful sneer and a wistful smile.

'Fate has a way of guiding us to our destined end, doesn't it?' I inwardly scoffed at the cosmic irony. 'Aeravat asking about a mystery...a twist of fate indeed.'

What was I suppose to even tell him?

I had no answers for him.

"It was a gift from my mother," I lied, scratching my cheek absentmindedly.

My lie was the only firewall against any probing questions he might throw my way.

"Is that so?" Aeravat arched his brows softly as he smiled. "Must be precious."

"It certainly has some personal attachmen but, why the curiosity? You like the bracelet or something?"

I feigned ignorance.

"No, just..." Aeravat eyed the bracelet for a good moment before exhaling a fatigued sigh. "Forget it. Forget it, it's a stupid reason anyway..."

"Don't worry, I won't judge."

For a few moments Aeravat just went silent, and that silence was heavy.

Finally, he broke the silence. "I actually feel some kind of connection to that bracelet."

"Connection?"

He cleared his throat and stumbled through his words, hesitating with each syllable. "Yeah, like...a soul connection, if that makes any sense, you know-"

"Did you guys figure anything out on your part?" Riley's voice suddenly cut through the air, breaking our conversation. Sylvie was sharpening her dagger with a stone by his side.

Right, we needed to figure a solution to complete the quest. To find the throne room.

"Nope, not a single idea." I spoke truthfully.

Riley sighed in defeat and looked at Aeravat.

Strangely, the later just smirked in response.

"I think I know where the throne could be," Aeravat revealed with a certain confidence which gave me some unexpected hope.

***

Noah, Aeravat, Riley, and Sylvie—the determined party, delved deeper into the unknown, hoping to find the throne room.

The terrain was rugged, and the constant spawns of monsters were extra troublesome, eating away at their already limited time.

But the fact that none of them was a supporter was especially worrisome in this place.

Potions were limited. Without a supporter, there was no special method to heal.

This also meant that damage in a battle, no matter how small, would accumulate over time. Weakening them bit by bit, until that bit would be too much to handle.

The party had yet to figure out what level the 'double dungeon' even was.

They constantly came across monsters ranging from G rank to C rank.

This place did not follow the typical logic of a world either, and there were no directions.

Noah took out his machete—the grade type 3 razor-sharp weapon, now etched with cracks and hairline fractures, its edge dulled.

The double dungeon took a test of their weapons as well. And Noah did not bring any spare blades with him.

It seemed like today even his machete would break.

But how were they suppose to find a 'throne room' in a place they didn't even know directions?

Aeravat actually came up with a clever solution to the prob-

"Wait a minute, did that tree just... move?" Suddenly Sylvie exclaimed, her extended finger pointing towards a cluster of dried logs in the distance. They stood upright, devoid of leaves or branches. It was difficult to classify these brown husks as 'trees', but they were.

"T-trees? What tree-" Riley stammered, bewildered, as he followed Sylvie's gaze.

In that moment, he realized something eerie—they were somehow surrounded by trees.

"How come I missed them?" Noah gasped, now disturbed and alarmed.

It was true. There weren't supposed to be trees in this pedosphere.

How did he managed to overlook something so glaringly out of place?

And it seemed like the trees just appeared out of nowhere.

Aeravat drew his talwar, sensing something 'off.'

In that moment, one of the trees 'moved'.

Slowly, the upper part of the tree shifted, unveiling a face-like structure—but without eyes or a mouth.

Its body morphed further, revealing hands, and its roots surprisingly turned into legs. The face split open with petal-like sections, revealing a mouth filled with hundreds of bony spines. And in the place of a tongue, it had human-like fingers. Even more unsettling, its limbs—displaying...tongues? instead of fingers...

"What the fuck?!" Noah exhaled, thoroughly grossed out by the unsettling display. He quickly pulled out his magic revolver, ready to take a shot.

—"Over here!" At that very moment, another cry echoed from a distance, originating from the hills the party had previously passed.

Noah turned his head, only for his whole body to freeze in fear.

Two humanoid figures stood there. However, it was the horns on their foreheads that revealed their true identity.

Aeravat, having noticed the scene, gritted his teeth. The entire party became dead serious, each drawing their respective weapons.

The demons locked eyes with the party, acknowledging the presence of these four humans for the first time.

In that pivotal moment, the question of 'Will we survive?' that had plagued Noah's thoughts was swiftly replaced by a far more chilling inquiry— 'Will we die?'