Tolen continued walking through the dungeon's corridors, with the six students he had saved following closely behind. The environment remained silent, and the fact that their watches still did not work left everyone increasingly anxious.
"It still isn't working, Mr. Tolen."
It was Liam, Rank 139 of Class D, who spoke while checking his own watch again in the hope that it would start working.
Tolen watched the watches with apprehension weighing on his chest.
"This is bad. Let's move faster. The longer we stay here, the greater the chance that we'll run into another problem."
The seven continued advancing until they turned a corner. To everyone's surprise, they found Enrico a few meters ahead, holding his own watch while trying to establish contact with the teacher.
"Enrico!"
The boy immediately turned around and widened his eyes upon recognizing the group.
"I finally found someone. Are your watches working?"
Tolen shook his head.
"No. It seems this area causes them to stop working."
"It's good that you all reunited. We need to find the others as soon as possible. I found some signs of battle farther ahead, and I'm going to follow the tracks. They might belong to other students."
Tolen remained silent for a few seconds, analyzing the situation.
'This is good. The more people we have together, the greater our chances of surviving.'
"Then it would be better if we went together."
Enrico turned around to continue walking, but stopped when he noticed the condition of the students. Some could barely remain standing, while others were clearly exhausted after everything that had happened.
"Alright. I'll go ahead. You all look exhausted, so follow at whatever pace you can manage. I'll leave some marks along the way to make sure no one gets lost."
Without waiting any longer, Enrico began running, following the signs of battle scattered throughout the corridor. His eyes quickly scanned the floor and walls, searching for any mark that could indicate where the students had gone.
The students remained watching until he moved farther away and his figure gradually disappeared down the corridor.
"He has changed a lot... could it be that he isn't..."
Another student looked at Liam with a confused expression, understanding what the first student was trying to say.
"A demon in disguise?"
Liam shook his head.
"I don't think so. He just seems to be improving while still retaining some parts of his old personality."
While the students talked about the situation, Tolen approached the tracks left by the battle and crouched down to examine them more carefully. His eyes moved across the marks on the floor, the damaged walls, and the blood scattered throughout the corridor.
'These marks... seem to belong to more than two students. There's a lot of blood scattered along the path, and the tracks indicate that they retreated in a hurry.'
He observed the corridor for a few more seconds, trying to find any information that could reveal what had happened before Enrico arrived at that location.
'They were probably being chased by something.'
Tolen looked in the direction where Enrico had disappeared. For a few seconds, he remained silent, worried about what might be waiting for the boy farther ahead.
'Enrico... be careful.'
He then turned toward the students.
"Let's rest a little longer. After that, we'll continue as quickly as possible."
"Alright."
The students settled down in the corridor, trying to regain their strength before continuing their search for the others. Some leaned against the walls, while others simply remained seated on the floor, taking advantage of those few minutes of rest before moving forward again.
Serenya and Valença walked side by side in silence, keeping their senses alert as they advanced through the dungeon's corridors. However, when they turned a corner, they found the body of a student lying on the ground. The two immediately ran toward him, and Valença knelt beside the boy to check his vital signs.
"What happened? His heart isn't beating."
Serenya observed the blood scattered across the floor and then followed the trail leading to the left with her eyes.
"He's already dead."
She didn't want to believe Serenya's words, so Valença tried to do something to save him, pressing against the wound and attempting to stop the bleeding, but soon realized there was nothing else she could do.
"What's happening?"
Serenya took out her watch and activated it. The device began emitting a beeping sound, and a message appeared on its screen informing her that there was a problem with the portal. According to the warning, it would take three hours before anyone could enter the dungeon.
"I sent a warning, but it'll take three hours before anyone can get in here."
Valença felt her body tremble and ended up leaning against the wall, trying to catch her breath while still looking toward the trail of blood.
"What if the other students are also in danger?"
Serenya looked at her for a few seconds before answering, keeping a serious expression as she assessed the situation.
"If you want to save them, go ahead. I'm going to look for my subordinates first."
Valença raised her eyes, surprised by the girl's direct response.
"You only care about them?"
Serenya frowned with some irritation at the plebeian standing in front of her. She clearly didn't like the question, but still decided to answer.
"What a stupid question. Of course I care. If I find someone who needs help along the way, I'll help them. But I'll look for mine first."
She began walking away, heading in the opposite direction from the trail of blood spreading through the corridor.
'It's better not to follow that path... I hope that blood doesn't belong to one of them.'
Serenya took a few more steps but stopped after realizing something. Her expression became serious as she remained motionless, thinking about the possibilities.
'What if it does?'
She remained still for a moment, her expression becoming increasingly worried. Then she gritted her teeth and turned around again. Without saying anything, she began following the trail of blood, keeping her eyes focused on the path ahead.
Valença stood up when she realized her decision and ran after her, catching up a few seconds later.
"I'll go with you. If we find other students, I'll help them too."
Serenya did not respond, but continued advancing through the corridors. Her steps remained firm, yet her expression was much more worried than before as she silently followed the trail of blood.
A blow passed just a few centimeters from Kai's head. He threw himself to the side and rolled across the floor, managing to block the next kick with his sword, but the impact still made him slide several meters backward.
"So heavy..."
Kai was slammed against the ceiling as the impact pushed him upward, but he used the force to spin in the air and assume a combat stance before falling back down.
"First Lunar Technique: Crescent Slash!"
An energy slash was launched toward the strange zombie.
The creature's head rotated unnaturally, and at the same instant, the attack was violently redirected toward the floor, as if an invisible force had increased its weight. The energy blade opened a deep fissure in the ground.
Kai, however, felt something even stranger. It was as if his own body had become heavier.
"Damn... what is this?"
Before he could understand, the zombie advanced and landed a blow that struck his body and sent him crashing into the wall, immediately followed by another attack that forced him to defend himself.
"Second Lunar Technique: Half-Moon Guard!"
Kai's sword moved almost instinctively. His wrist turned at exactly the right moment, deflecting the blow and using the opponent's own strength to redirect it.
It was a technique created to take advantage of the enemy's momentum and turn it into an opportunity for a counterattack. And that was exactly what happened next, as Kai found an opening in the zombie's right leg.
"Crescent Sla—"
Before he could complete the movement, the zombie's head rotated again, and this time its body suddenly became light.
Kai was launched upward as if he had lost almost all of his own weight.
"What is happening?!"
The zombie jumped and kicked his body, sending him crashing into another wall.
Kai fell to the ground, rolled several meters, and stood up again. Frustration began to take over his face, but then he realized that his body remained extremely light.
'If my body is lighter...'
He took advantage of the change and rushed forward, using his increased speed to appear beneath the zombie, but unfortunately, the creature's head rotated once again, violently increasing Kai's weight.
The ground broke beneath his feet.
"Damn!"
Another attack came toward his head, but before the blow could reach him, a fireball appeared in front of the zombie, forcing it to retreat.
"Huff... you're having quite a hard time, huh?"
Kai looked to the side and saw Enrico approaching. The boy was slightly sweating and breathing a little faster than normal.
On the way there, Enrico had found the bodies of several students. The sight still remained in his mind, but he had no time to think about it at that moment.
"Can you stand?"
A determined light appeared in Kai's eyes as he used his sword for support and stood up again.
"Yes. I'll defeat it, no matter what happens."
A small smile appeared on Enrico's face.
'Yeah... this is the protagonist I've followed for more than five hundred chapters.'
Without wasting time, he created two fireballs in his hands and brought them closer together. The two flames fused into a single larger sphere, which he launched directly at the zombie.
However, the creature's head rotated again, causing the fireball to completely change direction and be launched upward, disappearing into the dungeon's ceiling.
Enrico's eyes widened.
"What is this?"
Kai tightened his grip on his sword.
"I don't know. Suddenly, my body and even my attacks become heavier or lighter."
Enrico carefully observed the creature, trying to understand the pattern behind its movements.
"Gravity magic?"
"I think so."
The two prepared to attack together, but before they could advance, a second zombie appeared behind them. Kai and Enrico noticed the movement at the last moment and barely managed to dodge, retreating several meters.
Enrico immediately recognized the creature.
"You..."
It was the same blue-blooded zombie he had faced earlier.
The two exchanged a quick glance before realizing that they were no longer dealing with just that one creature. More zombies began appearing through the corridors, gradually surrounding them. Within a few seconds, more than a hundred creatures were scattered around them.
Enrico observed the monsters and noticed an important difference.
"These bleed black... unlike that one."
Then he finally understood.
'So this is what the System meant by the increased difficulty.'
The situation was much worse than in the original story.
"Kai, attack the floor."
Kai did not ask why. He simply raised his sword and struck the floor with force while Enrico fired a fireball at the same spot.
The floor could not withstand the combined impact and finally gave way, creating a large opening beneath the two and causing them to fall to the floor below.
"As I thought... this place has several floors."
Kai looked around as he stood up.
"Very well, Enrico. But what now?"
Enrico stared at the hole above them, where the sounds of the zombies were beginning to approach.
"Do you want to face them head-on or run?"
Kai looked at his own body, still injured from the previous fight.
"In my condition? Run."
The two began advancing through the corridor while the zombies started descending through the opening behind them.
"Let's turn right. And, Kai, if you hear footsteps above us, tell me immediately."
"Understood."
As they ran, Enrico quickly analyzed the situation. All of Kai's senses were superior to his own, so he could make good use of them.
'His hearing is better than mine. This could be quite useful.'
The two turned the corner, but did not have time to advance very far because the blue-blooded zombie was already behind them.
"Kai!"
The two turned around and attacked together with the maximum strength their magic could produce without consuming too much mana.
"Crescent Slash!"
"Fireball!"
The fireball fused with the energy slash in midair, forming a combined attack that struck the zombie head-on and pushed it several meters backward.
Kai did not waste time celebrating.
"Enrico, I'm hearing a lot of footsteps above us!"
Enrico looked at the ceiling and mentally apologized to his companions, even though he had saved their lives by preventing them from going to that place.
"Alright. Attack before they pass us."
Kai immediately understood, and when the footsteps grew closer and closer, he retreated several meters and raised his sword.
"NOW!"
The two attacked the ceiling at the same time with the same magic they had launched together.
The combined impact opened a large passage, allowing them to jump to the floor above.
When they emerged in the middle of the corridor, several people walking there looked back, completely frightened. It was Tolen and the students who had been following the marks left by Enrico.
"Enrico?"
"Run! To the right, not the left!"
Enrico did not waste time explaining. Tolen quickly looked at the hole in the floor and then at the zombies beginning to appear below. Upon noticing Kai running alongside Enrico, he did not question the order.
"Run!"
Everyone immediately fled in the direction indicated by Enrico.
Serenya and Valença continued walking through the dungeon's corridors, following the trail of blood they had found earlier. However, after several turns, the trail simply disappeared. On the ground, there was only a completely unrecognizable body, surrounded by a large amount of blood.
Valença brought a hand to her mouth, feeling her stomach churn.
"The trail ends here."
Serenya observed the corpse for a few seconds before looking toward the corners of the corridor, searching for any sign of movement or any clue that could indicate where those responsible had gone.
"How can you stand this?"
Serenya turned her eyes toward the corpse after hearing Valença's question.
"Not feeling anything when you see a body? Please. We'll see many more in the future. And besides..."
She lowered her gaze for a moment, and her expression became more serious.
"I've seen worse."
Valença tightened her grip on the staff, trying to control her discomfort. Before she could say anything, the two heard someone crying from a nearby corridor.
They immediately ran toward the sound and found a black-haired girl trying to stop the bleeding from the stomach of another girl who was lying on the ground.
Valença knelt beside them.
"What happened?"
The black-haired girl raised her eyes, still desperate.
"I don't know. A zombie appeared out of nowhere and killed several of our people. My friend stayed behind to give us time to escape, but she ended up seriously injured."
"And the zombie?"
"I don't know. It simply went somewhere else after injuring her like this. When it left, I came back while the others continued running."
Serenya raised her hand and used her control magic to apply pressure to the wound and reduce the bleeding.
"You're Rank 131 and she's Rank 129, right?"
"Yes."
Serenya looked at Valença.
"Valença, cauterize the wound. And you, put a cloth in her mouth."
The two quickly obeyed. Valença concentrated her magic and cauterized the wound while the other girl placed a piece of cloth in her friend's mouth.
She bit down hard on the cloth to endure the pain, tears filling her eyes. After a few moments, the bleeding finally decreased, causing the two to release a sigh of relief.
"What is your name?"
The black-haired girl took a deep breath before answering.
"Sílvia. And my friend is Vanessa."
Serenya decided to remain on guard for a while, carefully watching the corridors while Valença helped the two girls get settled. During that time, no other creature appeared.
Half an hour later, they continued on their way, with Vanessa leaning on Sílvia's shoulder as they walked slowly.
After advancing through several more corridors, an extremely loud noise came from the right when the ground exploded in the distance, and the four immediately looked in that direction.
A few seconds later, Enrico appeared running down the corridor, accompanied by Tolen, Kai, and six other students. Behind them, dozens of zombies advanced in pursuit.
Serenya and Valença were surprised to recognize the group.
Enrico also saw them and slowed down just enough to speak while continuing to run.
"Sorry! I think I should have gone another way."