Resuming our march inside the dungeon with a child with us.

My clone's have been talking to her nonstop for a while now but she still seems to not want to speak.

"Woah, seriously, what a pretty child! Hey, kid! What's your name? It must be pretty like you right?" Clone #2 asked as she begins to circle around me, who's holding the chubby little kid with me.

*tug*

Hm?

"What's wrong?" I asked as I noticed that the child was now tugging on my shirt. Right now, I'm wearing a woolen white shirt, brown pants and a brown boots.

The child pointed down the corridor, towards the right, I could faintly feel the same feeling with the hidden room from back when we found her.

I nodded my head towards it, telling Clone #5 to go and see it since I'm still holding the child in my arms.

When Clone #5 finally opened it there were still cages there.

How many cages does this Enrai guy have?!

When we stepped fiot inside, we heard someone slamming themselves on one of the cages.

Wait....

"Me!?" A surprised voice was heard ringing throughout the walls of the room.

"Me!!" An excited voice was again heared inside the room.

Clone #8 quickly got our missing clone out from the cage she was in.

"So this is where you were?! What happened?!" Clone #8 asked as she dragged our clone who seemed to have no strength out.

"Haa...A misguidance that's what. I felt the mana from that woman from before here, see? And so I went in, but when I did I realized that she wasn't here it was just the residue, a clump of it. I heard footsteps coming so I planned to get out but before I did, I got hit in the back of the head and lost conciousness." She said with a sigh as she touched the back of her head.

"When I came to, I was here and for some reason I couldn't use magic..."

Clone #8 helped the weakened clone lean against the wall, frowning as she examined her. "So, you got outsmarted by a clump of mana residue? That's a new low for us," she said, shaking her head in mock disappointment.

I noticed that there were runes around the room she was in, maybe it's the reason she couldn't use magic?

"Don't start," the freed clone grumbled, her voice hoarse. "I've been stuck in here for who-knows-how-long, listening to rats squeak about dungeon gossip. Do you know how annoying dungeon rats are? They're worse than drunkards!"

You've only been there for a day, dude. Why am I so dramatic?

The child in my arms tilted her head, looking at the freed clone with wide, curious eyes. She tugged on my shirt again, pointing at the clone.

"She's like you?" the child whispered, her voice barely audible.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

I blinked in surprise. "Oh? So, you can talk," I teased lightly, earning a small pout from her. "And, well, kind of. She's part of me, actually."

The child stared between me and the clone, her brows furrowing as if trying to puzzle out how that worked. Clone #2, ever the opportunist for a joke, leaned closer with a grin.

"Think of us as one person but more awesome because there's more of us!" Clone #2 said, puffing out her chest proudly. "It's like having siblings, except we all share the same brilliant mind."

"And the same embarrassing moments," Clone #5 muttered, earning a glare from #2.

The child giggled softly, the sound so unexpected that we all paused for a moment, looking at her in surprise. It was the first time she'd smiled since we found her.

"Well, that's progress," I said with a small smile, adjusting my hold on her. "See? We're not so bad, right?"

The child gave a tiny nod before pointing at the clone again. "She got locked up?"

"She did," I confirmed with a sigh, giving the freed clone a pointed look. "Because she didn't think things through and got herself knocked out. Honestly, how do I even manage myself sometimes?"

The clone raised her hands defensively. "Hey! It's not like I planned to get hit in the head! Do you know how hard it is to differentiate between real mana and residue in this creepy place? Everything feels like it's been dipped in a witch's brew!"

"Excuses, all excuses," Clone #8 muttered as she helped the freed clone stand up.

"Speaking of brew," Clone #2 chimed in, rubbing her stomach dramatically. "I'm starving. Can we please finish this dungeon and get something to eat? Preferably something not ration-flavored."

Yeah, that used to be what I used to eat back on Earth. Good times (─▽─)

The child tugged on my shirt again, pointing toward the far corner of the room. "More cages," she said quietly.

I frowned, following her gaze. Sure enough, there were more cages, most of them empty, but one had a faint glimmer of movement inside.

"Me #3, check it out," I said, nodding toward the cage.

"On it," Clone #3 replied, striding over. She peered inside, then straightened with a groan. "You're not going to believe this."

"What is it now?" I asked, already bracing myself for whatever nonsense awaited.

"It's a...bird? A chicken?," Clone #3 said, stepping aside to let me see. Sure enough, a small chick was curled up inside the cage, its red fur marred with dirt and scratches. It looked up at us with wide, terrified eyes.

"Aw, it's kind of cute," Clone #2 said, crouching to get a closer look. "In a 'don't-eat-me' kind of way."

The child in my arms squirmed, pointing at the chick. "Help," she said firmly, her voice carrying more conviction than I expected.

I glanced at the bird, then at her. "You want us to let the bird out?"

She nodded.

"Well, you heard her," I said with a shrug. "Me #8, get the cage open."

Clone #8 muttered something about being a glorified locksmith, we're the same people though so that's just exaggerated.

Still, within moments, the cage door did open, so whatever.

The chick hesitated before flying out, keeping a wary eye on all of us.

"See? We're friendly!" Clone #2 said with a grin, spreading her arms wide. "Well, mostly. Don't get on our bad side, and you'll be fine."

The red bird didn't respond but stayed close to the child, as if sensing she was the safest option in the room.

Smart bird.

"Well, this just keeps getting weirder," I muttered, shaking my head. "First a child, now a chicken. What's next? A talking sword?"

"Don't jinx it," Clone #5 warned. "This dungeon has enough surprises as it is."

As we prepared to leave the room, the child tugged on my shirt again. "Thank you," she said softly, her gaze sincere.

I smiled down at her. "No problem, kid. Stick with us, and we'll get you out of here safely."

The clones groaned in unison.

"Ugh, now you've gone and made us sound responsible," Clone #2 complained. "Do you know how much pressure that puts on us?"

The child giggled again, and I couldn't help but chuckle as well. Despite the chaos, it felt like we were making progress—not just in the dungeon, but in earning her trust.

"Come on," I said, leading the way out of the room. "Let's finish this dungeon before Clone #2 starts complaining about hunger again."

"I'm already complaining!" Clone #2 called after me, but her voice was filled with humor.

We walked down the corridor leading towards outside, the red bird flew along beside us, and the child leaned her head against my shoulder.

We didn't bother going deeper inside this place since we already found what we came for, no way in hell am I going in to find out what that creepy voice was about, what made my clone unable to use mana or who knocked my clone out.

Nope!

Little Theater:

Clone #8: "Why do we keep rescuing things? First a kid, now a bird. What's next, a sentient rock?"

Clone #2: *picks up a pebble* "This is Rocky. He says you're mean."

Clone #5 *looks at the author* : "I quit."