Ten minutes after Tunnel Team 1 was rescued…
"I didn't expect him to make his move here."
The voice belonged to a tall man with a well-built frame. His hair was neatly combed, his posture unwavering. The black mask on his face reflected the cave lights just enough to reveal a faint dragon-shaped pattern curved into its texture—visible only at certain angles.
The instructor finally stood without his usual hood. The crystal light of the cavern illuminated every detail of him.
"What should we do, Sir?" the two instructors beside him asked, bowing slightly. They wore similar masks, but their engravings formed the shape of a wolf clinging to the letter D.
"Should we inform the King?" one suggested.
"…"
He didn't answer immediately. The Dragon Mask stood still, weighing the consequences of acting alone versus waiting for reinforcements.
After a moment, he exhaled and walked toward one of the awake students.
"William, yes?"
"Y-yes," William said, pushing himself up respectfully. "Thank you for saving everyone."
Kalina's wound was slowly closing as healing spells worked on her. William sat back down, letting his mana recover.
"Did you notice anything strange during the trial?" the instructor asked.
William blinked. "Did… did you know something?" His voice carried a mix of curiosity and irritation, as if itching for answers.
"Not the reaction I expected," the instructor muttered under his breath. "Let's hear what you have to say first. Tell me exactly what happened."
William lowered his head slightly. "Forgive my behavior."
He took a breath. "Well… everything was normal at first. Completely smooth until…"
He understood what the instructor was asking about.
So he explained everything he remembered—every detail, every shift, every abnormal event.
When he finished, the instructor nodded.
"Thank you for telling me everything. Continue resting. All of you did well."
He turned and rejoined his colleagues.
"Did you learn anything?" the right-hand instructor asked.
"Yeah."
"And?" the left-hand instructor pressed.
"Well…" The Dragon Mask crossed his arms. "According to his side of the story, inside the tunnels over an hour passed. But out here? Barely twenty minutes. Even though we responded immediately, we still arrived late by several minutes."
He paused, voice growing colder. "With such a huge gap in the flow of time… sending reinforcements might not even matter."
"So… should we go and help the students?" one of his men asked.
The Dragon Mask didn't answer. He simply stood there, deep in thought.
If he went now, success wasn't guaranteed.
If he waited for reinforcements, the children's chances would drop by the minute.
What is the best option? he asked himself.
Even if I go now… it may already be too late.
After several cycles of internal debate, he exhaled sharply.
"We'll split roles. Since the situation is critical, we move with a layered plan."
"We're listening."
"One of you will go to the King. Report everything. Tell him… we found him."
A subtle tension entered his voice.
"The other will stay here and guard these kids."
"What about you?"
"I'll go look for the remaining students."
"Very well, I shall carry out my duty right away." one of the instructors said, leaving immediately.
"I'm heading out too," the Dragon Mask added and walked away.
He moved without delay, entering the first floor of the cave system.
The place was empty—eerily so. The glowing crystals bathed the stone walls in faint blue light. But as he advanced, the cave gradually lost its brilliance, shadows thickening until he reached the split where five tunnels diverged.
Something brushed past him—like the aftertaste of a presence.
"What was that just now?" he murmured.
He scanned the surroundings, senses sharpened. Nothing seemed out of place.
At least, nothing visible to a normal eye.
"What… just happened?" he muttered again.
He retraced the sensation in his mind.
I walked into the first floor.
The path here wasn't unusual.
Halfway through, the light dimmed.
Then—
He stopped. No matter how he tried to piece it together, it slipped through his thoughts.
He wanted to dismiss it… but his instincts refused.
Something had happened.
Something subtle.
Something dangerous.
And he had missed it.
"I can't be wasting time here," he muttered, jaw tightening.
He pushed forward—not walking, not running—launching himself with full speed.
Air cracked around him as he activated his skill.
A sharp boom echoed behind him.
He had broken the sound barrier.
A transparent shell shimmered faintly around his body—imperceptible to the normal eye, but its presence was unmistakable to him.
Phase Barrier.
A high-tier mobility spell that neutralized air resistance, allowing its user to move at impossible speed.
It didn't phase solid objects, only the wind, but that alone made it invaluable.
Fluid, efficient, overlapping seamlessly with other spells—even for those incapable of dual-casting.
The barrier's duration depended entirely on mastery.
And his mastery was absolute.
He streaked through the first-floor tunnel like a silver arrow shot through darkness.
Yet…
Not a single monster.
Not even the faint trace of mana that indicated one.
That alone was a bad sign.
In just seconds, he reached—
A wall.
A clean, unbroken wall.
"Shit!"
He almost crashed into it. His boots dug into the stone, sparks scraping off as he forced himself to stop with a violent skid.
"A dead end?"
He clicked his tongue, turned sharply, and bolted back the way he came.
At first, everything looked normal.
Then the sensation crept in—slowly, quietly.
He passed the same protruding rock formation again.
Then the same cracked crystal.
Then the same faint blue shine on the left wall.
And the path back?
Still nowhere in sight.
The tunnel stretched on, longer than before.
Too long.
His expression stiffened.
"…It can't be."
Then a low, humorless laugh escaped him.
"So you caught me. Hah. You really got me."
He was stuck inside a loop.
A spatial entrapment. A recursive distortion.
And he realized it immediately.
But that didn't mean surrender.
"I won't give up that easily!" he snarled, planting his foot against the ground, mana exploding beneath him.
He leaned forward like a sprinter at the line.
"I won't let you have your way!"
He kicked off with enough force to shake the cavern.
A thunderous shockwave burst behind him—
—and he shot forward again, tearing through the endless tunnel with reckless resolve.
"I'm being watched."
The thought slithered across his mind, cold and certain.
Whoever—or whatever—was out there wasn't just trying to trap him. They wanted him dead. Both things could be true at once. That was the scary part.
If he went full speed, he might outrun this.
Might.
It was a stupid gamble. Moving at that velocity, even with air resistance nullified, was basically suicide. Ordinary bodies turned to dust on impact at such speeds. Only monsters with absurd durability—natural or enchanted—could survive a collision. And with his mass? Hitting even a solid wall would unleash destruction whether he intended it or not.
But that was exactly the bet he was placing.
If he built up enough momentum and rammed straight into the wall, he could blow it open—obliterate it, even—no matter if the hallway ended abruptly. Sheer kinetic force would bulldoze through whatever obstacle lay ahead.
His chest tightened. No more time to think.
"Come out, you coward!" he barked, voice cracking through as he pushed his legs harder—faster—until the world blurred around him.
At the pinnacle of his speed he crashed into the walls and punched it. But nothing happened
"Alright, you win," he muttered, exhaling through his nose. The echo of his own voice bounced endlessly along the looping corridor. "I'll take this slow… until you show yourself."
He lowered his stance, muscles still trembling from the recoil of his last strike. Even with the Phase Barrier active, crashing into a solid wall at such absurd speed should have shattered the entire section of the tunnel.
Yet the stone hadn't even cracked.
A space-time loop that could absorb that kind of impact… Whoever set this up wasn't just toying with him—they were displaying dominance.
He clicked his tongue.
"I'm definitely being watched."
The oppressive sensation lingered. It wasn't killing intent. It wasn't mana. It wasn't even presence.
It was something more subtle—an attention that wrapped around him like an invisible thread. A predator observing a trapped animal, studying how much pressure it needed to apply before the prey broke.
He straightened his spine and rolled his shoulders once, forcing the tension out.
"He's trying to corner me, but at the same time… he wants to see how far I'll go."
His fingers twitched, as though itching to reach for the hilt of a blade that wasn't there.
If I keep sprinting blindly, I'm dead.
If I stay put, I'm a sitting duck.
If I waste time, the students…
He stopped that thought before it could form completely.
The instructor closed his eyes, inhaled once, and placed a hand on the cave wall. Cold, smooth stone. No irregularities. No mana distortion. Just an endlessly repeating prison.
"Impressive trick," he admitted quietly.
"It's been a long time since someone forced me to think."
"This is gonna take a while." He muttered under his breath. " I wonder how the kids are doing. I hope they don't end up dying."