Chapter 335: That Thing

Chapter 335: Chapter 335: That Thing

It was a lot of information to take in. Alaric Hawthorn’s brow furrowed as he seriously considered what her words meant.

But Lyra Lowell, the famously simple-minded "paramecium," accepted Fayestar’s words in a mere second.

"Then why is the hard hat different?"

Alaric Hawthorn looked at the hard hat in Lyra Lowell’s arms and asked a new question.

Fayestar chuckled and turned to Seraphina Sinclair. "Shouldn’t you explain something, too? You can’t make me do all the talking."

Seraphina Sinclair glanced at her but didn’t argue, continuing, "It’s certain that we’ve entered a loop. As for this..."

"My theory is," Seraphina Sinclair began, "that the space can loop infinitely, but these props can’t. If a prop from a previous loop is destroyed, ’that thing’ has to make a new one."

"’That thing’?"

"What thing?"

Alaric Hawthorn and Lyra Lowell’s questions came at the same time. Fayestar, however, just chuckled and retorted, "What else could it be? Besides us and those monsters, there’s only one other living thing here, isn’t there?"

"What’s left?" Lyra Lowell asked again. Alaric Hawthorn, having had enough, rapped him on the head. "The monster that brings the Embers," he said impatiently.

"Oh, oh! Those things!" Lyra Lowell’s eyes widened in realization, but then his face tensed up. He whispered, "If it put this here, then... it’s not watching us from some corner right now, is it?"

"Perhaps," Seraphina Sinclair said, her tone level. Her gaze swept over the dark corners of the hallway that the wall sconces couldn’t reach. In a low voice, she added, "It’s been watching the whole time. It might just pop out at any second."

Lyra Lowell’s breathing suddenly quickened. He clutched the hard hat tighter, almost crushing the fragile plastic in his arms.

Alaric Hawthorn’s muscles tensed instantly. He held his long spear horizontally before him, pointing it into the empty space ahead.

Fayestar, however, was composed. She scoffed, "Stop scaring them. It would be a good thing if that monster actually came out on its own."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

Lyra Lowell’s body was rigid, not daring to relax for a second. His eyes were slightly moist, as if he was about to cry from fear.

"Scaring us? Boss Sinclair? Do you really have the time for jokes right now? And how is that thing coming out on its own a good thing? What is even going on?!"

This time, Alaric Hawthorn didn’t react, but three deep lines formed between his brows. He was clearly just as confused.

Fayestar sighed, not planning to explain any further. But Seraphina Sinclair suddenly said, "I’m not joking."

Every instance ran on its own logic. The job of the survivors participating in it was to figure out that logic and exploit it as much as possible.

Only then could they ensure their survival and receive the highest possible Evaluation.

They had more or less figured out this instance. They’d found the loop, and they understood the situation with the props.

Fayestar and Seraphina Sinclair agreed on one thing: after killing the monster that brought the Embers—the source of this whole disaster—the instance should end perfectly.

This was why Fayestar had said the monster wouldn’t just appear on its own.

As for why Seraphina Sinclair thought it *would* appear on its own, the reason was simple: they had already searched every place they could.

’In her view, the creature wasn’t in any of the instance’s existing areas. That left only one possibility.’

’The true final boss of this instance would only appear after the survivors met a certain condition.’

’As for that condition...’

’Seraphina believed it was entering the hallway for a second time.’

’She believed that many survivors would choose to perform the sacrifice immediately after reaching that room the first time.’

’The effort they had put in was already enough to secure a decent Evaluation.’

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t explain any further, and Fayestar didn’t ask. Consequently, Lyra Lowell and Alaric Hawthorn certainly weren’t going to ask either.

The four of them continued onward in silence. Unlike before, this time they chose to walk backward, toward the start of the hallway.

When they reached the end of the corridor, what greeted them was the exact same sight as when they had walked forward the first time: a flight of stairs stretching down into a bottomless darkness.

Fayestar stood before the steps and glanced down. "Do we even need to go look?"

Having come this far, Alaric Hawthorn finally understood. "The rooms on either side of the hallway aren’t fixed... no, they *are* fixed. It just has nothing to do with the direction we walk. It’s determined by the number of times we reach the end of the hallway."

"This is our first time reaching an end of the hallway..." Alaric Hawthorn took a deep breath, speaking as if he’d just confirmed it. "So we’re bound to see this room."

"No need to go in."

Seraphina Sinclair raised a hand. The lantern she held had dimmed at some point. The area in front of this door was swarming with Ember’s Victims. Without the lantern, they couldn’t get in at all. Going down would be a waste of time.

Based on their last experience, they were about to have a thrilling, life-or-death race down the hallway.

Seemingly realizing this as well, Lyra Lowell’s face paled considerably.

He shot a pleading look at Seraphina Sinclair, his eyes darting toward Fayestar from time to time.

Fayestar threw up her hands and rolled her eyes. "Relax. I’m not going to mess with my own reward."

Though her words dripped with disdain, Lyra Lowell let out a genuine sigh of relief.

The group turned around and paused briefly before the first door.

Seraphina Sinclair looked at the other three one by one. Lyra Lowell was nervous, Alaric Hawthorn wasn’t exactly relaxed either, and Fayestar was just staring at her.

Seeing no major issues with them, Seraphina Sinclair didn’t say much else. She stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets and, as if she were about to go for a stroll, said, "Let’s go."

Just those two words.

The moment the words fell, two of the four shot forward like arrows loosed from a bow.

’So when we were running for our lives earlier, those two weren’t even going all out?!’ Alaric Hawthorn and Lyra Lowell were so stunned by the sight that they froze on the spot.

’With that kind of Speed, forget the two of them being unable to catch up—even if the final boss of this instance showed up, it would be left eating their dust, right?’

"Who the hell are these two? How did we end up matched with them?"

Lyra Lowell’s voice was filled with clear astonishment, but Alaric Hawthorn completely ignored him, just putting his head down and charging forward.

"Hey, hey... you don’t have to push yourself that hard, do you?"

"Alaric Hawthorn! We’re brothers in misfortune, aren’t we? No need to be so cold and heartless!"

"Damn it! Wait for me!"

...

Their argument—or rather, Lyra Lowell’s one-sided tirade—faded into the distance, but neither Seraphina Sinclair nor Fayestar paid it any mind.