The sensation of weightlessness lasted only a heartbeat.

Soren landed in a silent crouch, his spear leveled before him. Correcting his stance, he took a look at his surroundings.

"Whoa..." His mouth hung open as he took in the view.

Polished gold and white marble stretched out in every direction, reflecting a shimmering light that seemed to come from the walls themselves. Gargantuan pillars rose into a misty, vaulted ceiling so high the details were lost in the haze.

The scale of the architecture was staggering, dwarfing everything he had seen in the lower circles.

Creak~ Creak~

’Hmm?’

Soren quickly spun around.

Creak~ Creak~

The golden ripple of the portal was shrinking, folding in on itself with the sound of grinding metal. Within seconds, the light winked out, leaving nothing but a smooth, seamless marble wall behind him.

’...Damn it. I really did dig my own grave, huh?’

With a wry smile, Soren shook his head, his gaze lingering on the blank wall where the exit had once been. He had known the risks the moment he stepped through, but seeing the door slam shut still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He didn’t let the thought linger, since he had an important job to do. Shifting his grip on the spear, he began searching the vast hall, his eyes scanning the reflective marble for any sign of the kid.

’Please don’t be dead,’ he thought, a flicker of genuine concern breaking through his professional calm. ’If you are, everything will be for nothing.’

Thankfully, though, he didn’t have to search long.

He found Ryan not far away, his small body sprawling awkwardly on the polished floor. The boy looked tiny against the gargantuan scale of the pillars.

Soren hurriedly closed the distance and dropped to his knees. He checked the boy’s breathing first, then pressed his fingers against the side of Ryan’s neck.

"Thank goodness..."

He sighed in relief. Ryan was fine, just unconscious, probably from the transition.

"Hey, kid. Wake up."

Soren reached out and shook the boy’s shoulder, his eyes darting toward the shadows between the pillars even as he tried to bring Ryan back to his senses. This palace was too quiet, and in a place like this, silence was rarely a good sign.

"Ryan! Open your eyes!"

"Urgh... No..." Ryan’s brow knitted together, his head tossing weakly against the cold marble. "No... don’t... get away..." he muttered, his voice strained and thick with a lingering terror.

Soren watched him, eyes narrowed. ’Is he having a nightmare?’

"No... please..."

’Let’s check just to be sure.’

Soren didn’t waste time. He focused his gaze, pulling up the data he had already memorized, but refreshing it to see the current fluctuations.

’[Investor’s Insight].’

Immediately, the familiar interface flickered back into his vision.

════════════════════════════════════

Name: Ryan

Status: Unconscious

Age: 16

Rank: 2nd Circle (Early Stage)

Current Mana Level: 10,244

Core Condition: Stable (Recently Expanded)

Mana Pathways: 94% Functional

Abilities:

- [Two-Faced Fortune]

- [Amplification] (Awakening...)

Mental State: Experiencing a nightmare / High Stress / Disoriented

Investment Value: SUPREME

Potential: 9th Circle+

════════════════════════════════════

’Huh? He actually broke through?’

Soren stared at the flickering text, surprised.

When he had checked the kid back at the gate entrance, Ryan was firmly rooted in the 1st Circle. And it shouldn’t have been more than a few minutes since he was pushed through that rift. How could he have advanced so fast?

’Could it be...?’

A wild idea popped into his head.

Records mentioned that certain high-grade anomalies operated on a shifted temporal axis. Time inside didn’t always align with the world outside.

’Did he spend hours or even days here?’

Soren gulped inwardly, his gaze dropping back to the data. Thankfully, the boy’s core was stable, and his pathways were in excellent condition. Clearly, the breakthrough had been a perfect success.

’Was it because of this?’

He lingered on [Two-Faced Fortune]. He had no idea how the mechanics worked, but the name alone suggested a volatile nature. Luck was a terrifying variable. If the kid had caught a streak of good fortune during the transition, it could explain the sudden, clean breakthrough.

Then, his eyes drifted lower.

’And is this it?’

He squinted at the [Amplification] ability. Earlier, during his first assessment, this slot had been nothing but a string of greyed-out question marks and a "requirements not met" notification. Now, it was pulsing with a dull, white light.

’...Amplification.’

It was a simple name, but in the hands of a high-potential hunter, it was terrifying. What kind of ability was it? A multiplier for physical force? A boost to mana output? Whatever it was, the "Awakening" tag suggested the kid was currently undergoing a massive internal shift. And if his guess was correct, this was the thing that made him a Supreme Grade investment target with 9th Circle potential or beyond.

Finally, he looked at the mental state section.

’He really is having a nightmare...’

The "High Stress" and "Disoriented" tags were flashing red. Whatever Ryan was seeing behind his closed eyelids was clearly worse than the silent, golden tomb they were currently standing in.

’I have to wake him up!’

He shook the boy harder, his hands gripping Ryan’s shoulders with enough force to bruise.

"Ryan! Wake up! This is no time to be dreaming!"

But the boy’s head just lolled back and forth, his eyes shut tight while his body continued to tremble. He was locked in whatever hell his mind had conjured, slipping deeper into the nightmare.

"It is no use."

"No, I hav-!"

Soren froze mid-sentence, goosebumps spreading all over his body.

"He is currently in a state of forced mental isolation. His consciousness has been severed from his body. You cannot reach him through physical touch."

The voice was cold and hollow, echoing through the vast space as if the pillars themselves were speaking.

’...Gulp.’

Gathering his courage, Soren slowly raised his head, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his spear. He stared straight ahead, every nerve ending on fire as he waited for the speaker to reveal themselves from the shimmering light of the hall.

In front of him, he saw... nothing.

"Huh?"