Hidden zone
He touched the lion’s thick fur. It felt warm, but inert. Like touching an iron that had just been turned off.
"You need a name," Michael said. He thought for a moment. Giving something a name meant forming an emotional attachment. He didn’t need that. This Chimera was just a tool. Just like the pocket watch in his hand.
"Unit One," Michael decided. "Your name is Unit One."
The Chimera didn’t react. Of course not.
"Unit One, sit."
Thud.
The massive monster dropped its rear to the floor, sitting like a trained dog. The ground trembled slightly from its weight.
Michael nodded in satisfaction. At least he had one thing he could control in this insane world.
Suddenly, a low rumbling sound echoed again. This time it didn’t come from the collapsed entrance, but from deep within the cave walls themselves.
The stone walls around them began to shift. The grinding of massive rocks was deafening, like giant teeth chewing.
Michael stepped back warily. "What now?"
[Warning: Dungeon Mutation Ongoing.]
[Spatial structure is being reorganized.]
The floor beneath Michael tilted sharply. He slipped, nearly falling into a crack that had just opened in the center of the chamber.
"Unit One! Catch me!"
The Chimera moved like lightning. Its serpent tail wrapped around Michael’s waist and pulled him back to safety near the wall.
Michael hung from the serpent tail, breathing hard. He looked down into the crack. Pitch black. Yet from its depths, he could hear sounds.
The sound of thousands of footsteps. The sound of metal clashing against metal.
"That’s not the sound of wild monsters," Michael whispered, eyes narrowing as he peered into the darkness. "That’s the sound of an army."
He saw small blue lights appearing at the bottom of the chasm. One. Ten. A hundred.
They were the eyes of Skeleton Warriors.
Unlike the fragile skeletons Unit One had destroyed earlier, these skeletons wore rusted iron armor and carried swords and shields.
[Enemy Analysis: Skeleton Infantry (Rank D+).]
[Quantity: Uncountable.]
"Damn it," Michael cursed. "This dungeon didn’t just increase the monster level, it changed genres from Survival to Tower Defense."
He couldn’t fight an army that large. Even with Unit One, they would be overwhelmed by numbers. Unit One’s stamina was limitless because it was a corpse, but Michael’s aged body would be finished if even a single stray arrow hit him.
He needed weapons. A rusted spike and Ellian’s small dagger wouldn’t be enough.
Michael’s eyes fell on the remains of Michel, the Healer, lying near the collapsed doorway. Her lower body had been crushed by rocks, but her right hand still tightly gripped her magic staff.
The staff was made of White Oak wood with a yellow gem at its tip. A Rank C item.
"Sorry again, miss," Michael said as he limped over.
Unit One followed closely behind him, loyal like a massive shadow.
Michael tried to take the staff, but Michel’s stiff fingers clung to it tightly in rigor mortis.
"Let go," Michael said as he pulled harder.
Crack.
The corpse’s fingers broke. Michael managed to take the staff.
He felt a faint warmth of residual mana inside it. But that was the problem—Michael had no mana. He couldn’t use the healing or protective spells embedded in the staff.
"System, can I use [Temporal Rewind] on inanimate objects?" Michael asked.
[Affirmative. Non-organic objects require lower cost.]
A mad idea formed in Michael’s mind.
This staff was a magic catalyst. Its function was to channel energy. What if he rewound the staff to the time when the tree it came from was still alive? Or manipulated its age?
No, that was too complex.
He spotted the longsword belonging to one of the skeletons Unit One had destroyed earlier. The blade was broken in half and heavily rusted.
Michael picked up the broken sword.
"This makes more sense."
He grasped the hilt of the rusted weapon.
"Rewind."
Gray light enveloped the old iron.
The red rust flaked away like dust. The dull metal regained its edge. The broken portion didn’t regrow, but the fracture became clean and gleaming, turning the ruined longsword into a deadly short sword.
[Item Restored: Iron Shortsword (Quality: Good).]
[Cost: 10 Minutes of Lifespan.]
Michael swung the short sword. Light. Sharp.
"Ten minutes for one weapon," he calculated. "I could build an armory if I had enough raw materials."
The vibrations in the floor grew stronger. The crack in the center of the room widened further.
An armored skeletal hand appeared at the edge of the chasm. The first Skeleton Warrior had climbed up.
Then the second.
Then the third.
They didn’t attack recklessly. They formed ranks, assembling into a phalanx formation with shields in front.
"Unit One, defensive position," Michael ordered.
He retreated into the narrowest corner of the chamber, using Unit One as a living wall in front of him.
This was no longer about killing a single boss monster. This was about surviving wave after wave.
"Welcome to level two hell," Michael muttered.
Suddenly, a different notification sound rang out. Not the flat system tone, but a clear chime.
Ding!
A golden message box appeared in the center of the chamber, floating above the marching skeleton army.
[Dungeon Territory Announcement.]
[Evolution Process Complete.]
[Dungeon Rank C: 'Rat Cave' has evolved into Dungeon Rank B: 'Tomb of the Forgotten Knights'.]
[Exit Condition Updated: Kill the 'King' or Survive for 72 Hours.]
Michael’s eyes widened.
Seventy-two hours?
Three days?
He looked at his supplies. One ration bar. Half a bottle of water.
And a sickly, aging body.
He would starve to death before the monsters killed him.
"Three days..." Michael laughed bitterly. "You’ve got to be kidding me."
One of the skeletons in the front ranks, seemingly the squad leader, raised its sword high. Its jaw opened soundlessly, issuing a silent command.
The skeletal army began to advance in unison.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Their synchronized footsteps battered the mind of anyone who heard them.
Michael patted Unit One’s flank.
"Conserve your energy. Don’t use area attacks unless absolutely necessary. Crush their skulls one by one."
Michael gripped his new short sword tightly.
"And don’t let them touch me. Not even a little."
Unit One lowered its body, its serpent tail hissing loudly, ready to greet the uninvited guests.
But before the first clash occurred, Michael felt a cold sensation on the back of his neck. Not from the front, but from behind. From the wall he was leaning against.
He turned sharply.
The stone wall behind him rippled. Like the surface of disturbed water.
A face emerged from the stone. A face made of black shadow.
Not a monster. Not a skeleton.
It was a human face. Or at least, it had once been human.
"Who..." Michael gasped, stepping back from the wall.
The shadowy face opened its eyes. Pure white, without pupils.
Its lips moved, whispering something that froze Michael’s blood colder than any death he had ever experienced.
"You... smell... the same... as... Him..."
The voice was hoarse, like two gravestones grinding together.
Michael raised his sword toward the face. "Who are you?! What do you mean?!"
The face stretched into a wide smile, tearing its smoky cheeks.
"The... Thief... of... Time..."
The shadow then exploded into black mist, engulfing Michael and Unit One, separating them from the advancing skeleton army.
Michael’s vision went completely dark.
"Unit One! To me!" Michael shouted into the darkness.
But there was no answer.
His mental connection to the minion was severed.
Michael swung his sword wildly in panic, but it cut only empty air.
"Where is this?!"
[Warning: You have entered a Hidden Zone.]
[Location: False Treasure Room.]
The floor beneath his feet vanished.
Michael fell.
Fell into darkness deeper than the bottom of any Dungeon.
Wind roared past his ears.
And in the middle of his fall, he heard a woman’s laughter—soft, yet terrifying.
"Welcome, little would-be king."
