Though she was happy about her people being in a better mood, there was a thought that couldn't leave. Everything boiled to how the floor didn't appear to want them to leave. It was as though their first time leaving the floor was a fluke.
"We can't even use scouts to try and find a way out of here," Bella ground her teeth in frustration. "If I send anyone out into that dark, there may be a chance they never return due to this place changing the layout." Placing a hand to her templed, she used a finger to massage her temple.
In addition to the floor not wanting them to leave, it felt as though they were being led to some area. This only helped to reinforce her thought that this place was a trap or some kind of training ground.
Taking a deep breath. "When we first arrived, was it easy because we didn't set the floor off? By entering the floor from that outdoor area, did we set off some kind of training system? It may be that we have to fulfill some type of objective in order to leave." The problem was how it was impossible to know since they were like children jumping into a battlefield. Being trained to endure harsh conditions was all that was allowing them to survive.
"Make sure not to go too far out!" Sin reminded those in front with her.
Two of the Special Operation team members were standing next to Sin, carrying torches to light the area.
"It would be easier to get out of this if our equipment didn't get bricked," Olivia muttered next to Bella.
Shaking her head, "I don't know how useful they would've been even if we did have them." Bella looked forward and kept track of where everyone was located. She nodded in approval with how the members near the walls were paying attention to the ceiling and walls, while those in the middle supported the front and rear groups.
"Is this due to your theory about this being a training area?" Olivia asked, not entirely convinced of the theory. "If that was the case, then why were we able to leave?"
Bella appreciated that Olivia was on the same line of thinking like her. There was a reason why Bella relied on Olivia for handling the details while she kept an eye on the bigger picture. Olivia's ability to anticipate Bella's thoughts and push back allowed Bella the ability to spot the weakness in her thinking. "It's because we arrived by portal into this place. We must have entered through some kind of blindspot."
"Blindspot?" Olivia furrowed her eyebrows, as though testing the word in her mouth.
"A blindspot that allowed us to only activate the minimal parameters. But when we retreated back into this place, we activated some kind of security or something." Bella waved an arm at their surroundings. "We must have messed up by splitting up, like a rookie making a simple mistake."
Groaning, "I don't even want to think about the days when I was a rookie."
Bella snorted, "I remember when you forgot to properly clear the room and was shot on the ass."
"Squad Leader... Can we not bring that up?" Olivia begged.
"Sorry. Sorry." Bella let out a small chuckled, remembering the look of surprise on Olivia's face when she was eliminated from the training simulation with other PentaSoft Special Operation teams. The team ragged on Olivia for months, reminding her every chance they had about whether the room was actually cleared.
Sounding bitter, Olivia continued, "So by splitting up our forces, we had activated some kind of trap?"
Bella nodded. "It's why this floor is completely different from the one we'd seen. I don't know any other reason for our current predicament."
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"Do you want to get snatched! Properly pay attention, you rookie!" Cynth yelled at one of the newer recruits.
"Then how do we get out of this place?" Olivia continued.
Smiling grimly, "I get the feeling there's some type of objective we have to complete."
"Objective? What would that be?" Olivia's voice was laced with confusion.
Bella shook her head. "But I get the feeling we're being led towards it." Her eyes looked at the stone ceiling, thoughts going towards who had built such an elaborate trap. Making one of the lights from her powers float towards a darkened area, she sighed in relief to only see more of the stone hallway.
"I must say, it's a relief that your ability is able to be utilized in such a manner." Olivia pointed at the orbs of light floating around. "We were running low on torches, allowing us to conserve what little we have available."
Only a part of her listened to Olivia's words, thinking how strange it was that items formerly numerous were beginning to dwindle as drops from the monsters. "Were we meant to have a certain level of skills when entering? Is there some kind of monitoring system that's able to detect our strength?" Her thoughts roamed about as she tried to break open the puzzle they found themselves in.
Olivia stayed silent, detecting Bella trying to figure something out.
"How are our food stores?" Bella asked.
In a cheerful voice, "That's actually something we aren't in short supply, though it took a little bit for some of the women to get used to the taste."
"I'm thankful for Tracy's ability to turn leftovers into a gourmet dish," Bella grinned.
Olivia agreed, "It was fortunate that Tracy picked up some kind of fire ability. Even if her mastery in it is low, it's helpful for cooking the food."
"It's another reason why I think this place is some kind of training area, the unusual nature of the drops. They are too coincidental to what's needed to survive for a long duration." Bella was thankful that food wasn't an issue. Which made her think the torches were something they didn't need to have when entering this place. "I wouldn't be surprised to run into other people in this place with how the drops seem so specific for our race. With the number of people gaining special elemental abilities, it makes me think it's unusual for us to be so dependent on torches. But food is something that can't be packed in an unlimited quantity."
Taking a deep breath, she partially calmed her mind. She could feel the power in herself slowly filling up inside of her, the usage of the lights not being sufficient to drain her powers. "I'm going to need to unlock more secrets with this power if I'm going to get my people out of this place."
"Did any of our people develop the ability to detect enemies?" Her voice sounded hopeful, though she didn't expect their luck to be so good.
Olivia took a few moments, going through the names and who had developed abilities. Shaking her head, "Not at the moment. We only have a few that I can think of having some kind of new power, not many of them being useful. I believe Su is one of the few able to leverage her abilities in combat situations."
Hearing the woman's name, Bella scanned the group and quickly located Su. She was up ahead, further than the others and attempting to spot any enemies.
"We may need to take more breaks. I want everyone with powers to double their efforts to master them." Bella ordered.
Olivia nodded her head, accepting the order.
The thought in her mind still tugged at Bella. "I get the feeling we'll need their abilities soon."