Time?

Water drips from the ceiling of the damp cave, more and more mana stones start appearing, clinging onto the wall as Kael and Ryua walk a long narrow path. Turning to Kael, Ryua inspects him from top to bottom. 'There's something strange about him. Someone his age shouldn't be this serene. His breath is calm, and his eyes are as tranquil as the blue moon.' Stopping in her tracks, she blinks with curiosity. "Why would your professor seal both your magic power and your looks?"

Kael sighs with relief, 'She's been staring at me with a killer gaze. I thought she was going to kill me. Seriously, why did it take her 5 hours of glaring to ask a simple question?' Scratching the back of his head, Kael smiles awkwardly. "Actually, my master is responsible for my face. She changed my looks to make my life more difficult. She wants me to suffer as much as possible." 'I wonder how Isabella will react when she sees me. She'll instantly notice I reached 5th rank. Hehehehe, I bet she'll refuse to accept it.'

"How would changing your looks make life difficult?" She mumbles, tapping her chin in utter confusion. 'Am I supposed to decipher that response?' "If your professor isn't your master, why would you let them seal your magic power?" She asks with a cold yet respectful tone.

'What's with all the questions?' With a smile, Kael nods left and right. "I requested my professor to limit my magic power to the fourth rank to have a harder time in the academy. Being a 5th rank in the first year would make things too easy." With that, Kael continues to walk without looking back. "I see some light ahead." He smirks. 'Come on, lady, stop asking so many questions. When did she become so talkative?'

Pop

She blows one last bubble before spitting out her gum. Her face is unreadable, yet her eyes demand attention. How couldn't they? One, a beautiful black while the other, a striking blue. 'He's a first-year rank 5? So he's a genius. However, his attitude and behavior don't match his age. Could he be a spy?' With a calm exhale, she walks ahead of him. "With the current restrictions, your firepower should be similar to the rest of ours. But you lack the experience, skills, techniques, and the knowledge we have." She stops and tilts her head, glaring at him with cold, authoritative eyes. "We don't fight side by side. Listen to my orders at all times."

"You got it, boss," Kael smirks, raising his hands in defeat. 'I'm guessing this has to do with the room up ahead. It must be where she checked earlier while I was ranking up.' After walking for 2 more miles, a bright light can be seen. Reaching the edge of the cave, Kael's eyes widen. "What is this place..."

The scene before them is nothing short of breathtaking. They step into an enormous cavern with no visible walls or roof. The entire space is illuminated by the light of mana stones embedded in floating stones, casting a radiant glow over everything. A crystal-clear body of water spans the ground, shimmering with an ethereal blue light that reflects the glow from above.

Suspended in the air, rivers of the same crystalline water flow gracefully, defying gravity. These rivers twist and turn in mid-air, their movements creating an intricate web of liquid pathways. The dense mana in the room keeps them suspended, a testament to the sheer magical power concentrated in this place.

Floating dark grey stone staircases and walls constantly shift and turn, creating a labyrinth that extends upwards with no end or roof in sight. The entire structure seems to be in perpetual motion, the stones sliding and rotating seamlessly as if guided by an invisible hand. This ever-changing maze is both mesmerizing and disorienting.

Interspersed among the floating streams are four-petal white flowers that grow directly in the water. These flowers remain perfectly still, their petals emitting a bright white hue that contributes to the room's illumination. Their serene glow contrasts with the dynamic movement of the water and stones, adding a touch of tranquility to the otherwise chaotic environment.

"Wow... this is amazing..." Kael mumbles, looking in every direction. 'So much mana in here... Tsk, too bad I can't rank up. My body needs a couple of months to adjust to all the mana circulating in my core. If I try ranking up here, it'll start to clash with aura pathways, and then 'boom' I'm dead.' Taking a deep breath, he smiles. 'What a shame, I doubt I'll be able to return here.'

Watching him with a calculative look, Ryua clenches her gun before rubbing her head. "Ugh... not this again," she mumbles, jumping from the cave and standing on the water.

"Are we supposed to climb—" Kael stops midway as he follows her lead, his eyes widening. He turns his head. 'What was that? Something feels wrong.' He holds his head, feeling slightly disoriented. 'As soon as I jumped out of the cave, my senses skyrocketed.'

Ryua walks up to him and rubs her chin. "I see, your perception must be higher than mine."

"What do you mean?" Kael asks, rubbing his head.

"Look." She turns and points at two floating staircases. When they reach each other, they connect perfectly. A third staircase then joins in, but with no place to interlock, it crashes, and all three of them shatter. After a second, all the broken pieces freeze and begin reassembling themselves until all three staircases are rebuilt and begin to float in opposite directions.

"What the hell? The mana around them shifted and reversed itself..." Kael mumbles in utter confusion. 'There's no runes, no array, no spell, it just did that. That doesn't make sense. Sure, this world is full of all sorts of magic, but even magic has laws it must follow.'

"This place is unstable. Looks like the space and time within this room are broken. Luckily, it's not severe, and it'll do small shifts in time. The problem is the space..." Her eyes glow, coated in mana. 'The space is constantly expanding and compressing in random locations. It's not life-threatening, but moving through here will be a hassle.'

"Wait, wait, wait. Go back a bit. Are you saying the time is unstable? How is that even possible?" Kael exhales heavily. 'No, only demigods, gods, and celestials might have the ability to alter time. And that's a big 'might.' Is it because it's a dungeon?'

[✴Ding✴] [✴Ding✴] [✴Ding✴]

[Why are you surprised? Dungeons are allowed to manipulate laws thanks to the authority Mother Earth gives them.]

'Shut up, stupid system. I know what you're saying, but seriously? Time manipulation? Isn't that a bit much? Wait, can I do that with our dungeon?'

[Yes, why are you asking when you know the answer? As long as the space and time you decide to manipulate are fair and a necessary component for the core function of the dungeon or whatever floor test it is, it should work. Note: you cannot manipulate these laws if they're intended to kill anyone. The laws, just like all other laws, may only be used for confusion, manipulation, and test properties such as giving advantages to a 'boss' figure.]

"No one knows how dungeons work, they're a mystery. Your perception of time is greater than mine. Don't let it slow you down. Let's go." Ryua pops her neck, pushing her foot down against the water, leaving a ripple as she jumps up and lands on a staircase.

Kael takes a deep breath and follows her. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing," he mumbles, looking up and getting a headache seeing hundreds of staircases connect, disconnect, move, break, and connect to walls.

"The higher your perception, the more sensitive you become to shifts in time. It'll only make you more disoriented. I've seen people like you go insane." Her eyes shift to make eye contact.

'Damn, she's real cold,' Kael thinks, taking a deep breath. 'This is crazy. I see little gaps, and I can see up to nine miles, but why... why can't I see the roof? How high does this go? Wait. Are we even going up? If this is meant to mess with perception, we could be going down... Shit, now I understand why people go crazy.'

Swoosh!

Ryua jumps from wall to wall, staircase to staircase, leaving shockwaves and pushing the stone around. "H-hey, hold up! You can't just run off without saying anything! You're going to break the stone if you go any faster!" Kael yells, catching up to her. 'Fuck, she's fast, twisting her body like a damn acrobat,' he thinks, breathing heavily.

Stopping in her tracks, she turns and knocks on a wall. "Every single piece of stone is filled with mana. We won't destroy anything unless we make them crash into each other," she mumbles, jumping and twisting her body before stopping a bit higher and looking down. "Don't tell me you can't keep up?" She asks with a judgmental face.

"I can't keep up? Me?" Kael grins, gritting his teeth. 'Look at her challenging me. I'm not some damn child, but I'll play along. Let's see if you're faster than me while using Ilka's techniques.'

Her eyes widen, unable to blink while she attempts to read Kael's movements. 'What is this? A martial technique? But he's a mage, what's with those movements?'

Swoosh!

Ryua twists and turns, running up the stairs and jumping through small cracks right as they interlock. 'If he was using magic arts like I am, I'd understand, but he's using martial arts. And since I can't read him, it must be a high-ranked technique. The guild master must've noticed this, yet she didn't get rid of him... Is he really just a genius? There's a higher chance he's a spy, and with the current issues we're facing with the mercenary guild, he could be one of their core members.' Turning her head down, she can see Kael catching up. 'He's not pushing a single stone; his control over his body has surpassed mine. If he really is a genius, he must be the next hero.'

"O-oh shit... I... beat you..." Kael exhales heavily, lying on a staircase completely out of breath. 'She didn't say a single word for the last 10 hours. Now that I think about it, she doesn't know anything about me.'

Ryua leans on a wall that suddenly shifts, leaving her lying down instead. "Your stamina is extremely low for your age."

"My... My technique takes a toll on my body." Kael exhales, sitting up. "Now that I think about it, I haven't introduced myself." With a smile, he extends his hand. "I'm V."

"Your introduction is late and unnecessary." She responds calmly, her eyes closed. She shifts her posture away from him, ignoring Kael's hand.

"Ouch, that's rough. You're a cold asshole, you know that? You'll never make any friends with that attitude." He grins, punching a staircase and pushing it away before it collides with them.

"Friends? Only children make friends. Adults don't have time to play around," she mumbles, placing her arm over her eyes to block out the light.

"You know, at some point, I said a similar thing." Kael sighs, taking a seat and looking up. "But that's not true. People can make friends at any age, ain't that crazy?"

"That's a stupid ideology. This world is too barbaric. Making friends will only make you weaker. I promised myself I'll never gain another weak point."

Kael tilts his head. 'I see, she has trauma building up in her.' With a sigh, he looks up at the endless twists and turns. "What about connections?"

Moving her arm away, Ryua opens her eyes. "Connections are different. Connections give access to resources and information, which are necessary to survive." Her response is plain and quiet.

Time passes in an indiscernible blur, silence settling heavily between them. "Did you know that all friends are made through connections? It's a funny thing. You never know when a connection will turn into a friend. That's why people who refuse to make 'friends' are often isolated." Kael mumbles with a light laugh.

"Why are you focused on this subject?" She asks, sitting up with a cold face.

Without turning, Kael rubs his head, looking up. "I don't know, ever since I entered this place, old memories have started popping up in my head..."

"Your perception of time is messing with you." She exhales, reaching into her pouch, trying to find something edible.