NOVPUBIt was hard not to feel tense, apprehensive, with a racing heart and confused thoughts after seeing those messages in the group of the people who had created the dungeon.
William wanted to get out of there. He wanted to return to the Demon Island and see if Victoria and the others living there were alright. Whether he liked it or not, he felt like he was part of that island, felt like the people there were his family.
But sometimes, it just wasn't possible to do the things we wanted. William had to stay in that cabin and rest for one more day before moving forward with his exploration of that dungeon floor.
He knew very well that it was way too risky to keep exploring while feeling weak and injured. Not to mention that Burt looked even worse than him.
Knowing this, William focused on resting as much as he could to speed up his recovery. Eating well and drinking plenty of water was also part of the process.
He didn't make any physical effort, and he spent most of the day lying on that makeshift bed in the middle of the cabin. At night, he chatted with Rena and Burt — without saying a word about the invasion.
"Do you think this floor is big or dangerous?" Burt asked while lifting a wooden mug full of water to his mouth, the refreshing liquid giving him some comfort. "I really don't wanna stay here too long. I need some rest too."
Rena, who had been awake longer and had explored more of that floor, had no idea what to expect. It was impossible to know. Each floor was vastly different from the last, so there was no real pattern they could rely on to guess if this one would be easy or not.
"We have no idea," William said, still lying on his mattress on the floor. "If we find another adventurer tomorrow, maybe we can ask."
"The problem is that the higher the floors, the fewer people we see," Rena replied. "The floors are huge, and every adventurer appears at random spots. To find someone, we'd probably have to reach a town or something."
There were just too many variables. William tried not to think too much about it, since it made his mind restless and anxious. What he really wanted was to sleep and for the next day to come, so he could move on with his journey.
A few drinks wouldn't hurt either. Burt had brought some with him. William had gotten closer to him mostly because of that.
While sipping from a jug of wine, William said, "After this, I might just forget about all the bad blood between us. And... sorry about your friend back there."
William was referring to the man from Burt's old group — the one William had killed. He still believed that, deep down, Burt might be holding a grudge or looking for revenge. But that wasn't exactly the case.
"Don't worry about it. I wasn't even that close to those guys," Burt said. "We just teamed up to explore the dungeon. Honestly? One less person means fewer people to split the loot with."
No adventurer liked to split loot. That was something pretty much everyone agreed on.
William felt a lot better after hearing that. It meant he could actually become good friends with Burt — or at the very least, he didn't have to worry about getting stabbed in his sleep.
Speaking of sleep, after all that wine, William slept like a rock on that makeshift mattress in the cabin. It was one of the best nights of sleep he'd ever had.
Maybe because he was injured and desperately needed rest, or maybe it really was Burt's wine that did the trick. Either way, the important thing was that his mind calmed down, and his anxiety didn't keep him awake.
The next morning, William woke up feeling a lot better. He was the last one to get up. Rena and Burt had already woken up earlier and prepared some things to take with them — mostly a lot of water, since that was essential.
They had also prepared something to eat before heading out. William was greeted with a nice breakfast — lots of fruits and some fish — along with some fresh water.
They didn't exactly have the luxury of picking the best foods for breakfast. They had to make do with whatever was available in the region.
And they were lucky to have found fruits that were actually edible. Otherwise, they could have ended up eating something poisonous and made their situation even worse.
"Did I oversleep, or did you guys wake up super early?" William asked while munching on the fruits they had gathered for him.
Rena smiled. "Maybe a bit of both. How are you feeling?"
William stood up and moved around a little to test his body. He was feeling way better than he had expected.
Maybe now that he was fully awake, his extraordinary healing ability had finally kicked in, speeding up the recovery of his wounds and exhaustion.
At least, that was his guess.
"I feel great," William replied, throwing a few jabs into the air. "Ready to hit the road?"
This time, there were no more excuses to stay longer in that cabin. William was feeling better, Burt too, and everyone wanted to keep moving and get the hell out of that dungeon.
So after eating and checking the cabin one last time to make sure they weren't leaving anything behind, they left.
First order of business: figure out where to go. If they went the wrong way, they'd just waste even more time trying to find the portal to the next floor.
"Which way?" William asked Rena and Burt. They had been exploring the area longer than him.
Rena pointed to a muddy path cutting through the forest. "I think that's the only way we can go. Otherwise, we'd have to cut our way through the forest."
The path was narrow and dark. Again, just like the day before, it was raining. That made everything even darker, not to mention the thick vegetation blocking out most of the light in the first place.
With no better options, they moved forward. The muddy trail was full of holes and puddles. Walking there felt like playing a game of Minesweeper.
And no matter how careful they were, it was impossible to stay clean. Their pants were covered in mud halfway up, and their shoes were absolutely soaked.
Their hair and clothes were wet from the rain too, which at least helped a little with the mud, but not enough.
The feeling of being dirty stuck with them. They kept walking, staying alert in case any creatures tried to jump out at them.
But the area was quiet, with no obvious signs of danger. That was great. The best way for William to recover was to avoid fights altogether. Everything seemed to be going perfectly.
Until it wasn't.
After walking for what felt like a long time, they ended up right back at the cabin.
"No freaking way," Rena cursed.
The craziest part was — it really was the same cabin. For a moment, they thought it might just be a coincidence, but when they went inside, everything was exactly the way they had left it.
"How is this possible?" Burt said, pressing both hands against his temples. "Are we stuck here forever?"
Burt was the kind of guy who always thought in extremes: either everything was going great or it was a complete disaster. No middle ground.
William hadn't said anything yet. He was analyzing the situation — and also speaking with Asura mentally.
"Do you think it's really the same cabin?" he asked Asura mentally. "Or could something be messing with our heads?"
He needed to be sure. Some weird creature could be messing with their minds, making them believe they were caught in a loop. It could even be the effect of a plant, or maybe those fruits they ate earlier.
Asura was there exactly to provide the answers William needed. After all, Asura was a magical artifact, unaffected by illusions that could deceive William and the others.
"It's the same cabin," Asura said. "Something teleported you guys back here. But it's more than that..."
"More than that? What do you mean?" William asked, curious.
"If it were just a teleportation, it'd be easier to figure out how it's being done. But from what I can tell... it seems like the time has also reset. In other words, you were sent back in time," Asura explained.
William didn't know what to say or what to do. The situation was one he never anticipated.
"William, are you alright?" Rena asked when she saw how strangely William looked.
The thoughts were consuming him, but he quickly returned back to reality. "Yes, I am. This is so weird," he said, "let's look for answers."
Rena and Burt nodded, and each one of them went to a different location to look for clues. William stood there, staring at the drops of water falling into the ground.
