Immediately I felt the weight of the door crush my arm. Sparks started flying and the horrible grinding noise filled the air.

But, I was in one piece.

I pushed myself as hard as I could and tried to push open the massive sliding door aside…

But, it didn’t budge.

That was new. I honestly didn’t expect to actually lack strength. I didn’t think it was possible.

I wanted to maybe try and enhance myself magically somehow and push even harder, but then I noticed that there was no pressure on my arms any more.

Yeah, I broke the mechanism.

I should’ve seen that coming.

But, broken or not, the mechanism that was holding them incurrent position and preventing them from being opened further was not to be trifled with. If it managed to stop me, what the hell was that?

-If not aside then, why not outward, then? - I said to myself and instead focused on trying to make an opening that way.

Another grinding noise and shower of sparks later, I figured that it might actually work.

While I wasn’t bending the door or anything like that, I did manage to actually push them off their actual rails. A little bit, but still, I managed to find a weak point.

Also, “weak” was a very relative term.

With that much force, any door would be done. Hell, most of the walls would be down, and yet this thing was holding on pretty well.

I paused for a second before I pushed myself again, just to notice movement behind the door.

Not the one I’ve been destroying, no. The next one.

The small airlock was still between me and the outside world, not including the door I was messing with, but unlike the white room, this small space was not preventing me from seeing people on the other side. Or, at least their mana.

It seemed like they were preparing to “receive us”, so to speak.

They were grouped around the airlock and it definitely looked like they had trained weapons right where you were supposed to leave this place.

Of course.

Still, there was another wall between me and them, so it wasn’t an issue. Yet.

Hell, if their earlier exploits were a hint on their abilities, we shouldn’t have much problems.

Right. We.

What about “us”?

Since I slowed myself down back to normal, human speed, I couldn’t sense Mike.

I think it was the first time I had that problem.

Maybe it had something to do with the whole white room messing with my perception? Not sure…

In any case, I had a door to work through.

It took me a good couple of minutes to actually do some damage and literally rip the thing off the rails.

Besides it being an annoyingly long process, I also managed to actually chip my own flesh in more than a couple of places.

It wasn’t an issue, I healed almost instantly, but knowing that this thing was actually sturdier than me was a bit concerning.

Wouldn’t that mean that they were also able to use this material for something a bit more effective against me?

Finally, with one last push, I managed to make enough room for me to pass through and into that airlock.

It was smaller than I thought. I’d say the size of a large elevator. And honestly, it somewhat looked like that, too. Down to the sliding door, from both sides. One of it is now ripped out, but still. The walls were made out of metal that looked almost normal, but I bet it wasn’t.

Or maybe…

Well, I was able to see through it, so it was weaker than the one that was the white room made out of…

Just to feel it out, I touched it and attempted to scratch it a bit, grinding my fingernails against the wall. Or rather just fingers, because there was no difference between the two any more.

The reaction was… normal.

A screeching, grinding noise, followed by a large scratch mark on the metal.

-Oh.

Even the people on the other side reacted. Not sure if that was the issue of the noise or something else, though.

Something else being the fact that the wall that they were standing right in front of suddenly exploded.

Okay, exploded might be the wrong way to say it.

Sure, it was just as sudden as an explosion and it definitely released a lot of flames, but it wasn’t it. Something has melted through the whole wall and, leaving a nice and almost perfect circular opening in the wall, sent every single one of them flying away from it, charred and smoking. Hell, some of them were still on fire.

Definitely not a pleasant sight.

But, that wasn't the end.

Before I even blinked, I started hearing noises of stabbing and groans of pain with some random spells flying.

None directed at me, though.

Ah. So he actually was doing something this time.

There was no mistaking it. It was Mike.

As soon as I managed to make a path outside, or at least to the “airlock”, he had to launch some kind of spell to get us out.

For the first time, he actually was pretty straightforward: just a fireball. Or, something along those lines: the perfect circular opening glowing with heat was not easy to make with just a ball of flames.

And he wasn’t done with just it. To make sure, he’s been zipping around them, stabbing them to make sure they were done for.

Speaking of stabbing… I had a feeling I knew what he was doing with that.

He most likely was using his own crystal to again try and create more “soldiers” for him. Or at least batteries.

He liked collecting those.

I wasn’t really for nor against it, but I was a bit worried about those not being permanent solutions. Or fast.

While the second problem was less of an issue, the fact that not so long ago a supposedly pacified group had attacked was leaving me… restless.

But, looking at those guys, at least at their mana flames, I wasn’t that worried. They weren’t strong, especially after being weakened by that blast. And stabbing.

Even if they were to act against us, it shouldn’t be much of an issue.

So, I decided to let him do his thing.

Stepping through the melted wall I entered the room.

By that time, Mike was already standing next to one of his “victims”, tapping his foot, impatient.

-Come on, come on… - he stood there, muttering.

-I’m coming, I’m coming… - I grumbled at him. - You know how your time works when enhanced.

-Oh, not you. I meant those guys - he pointed towards the bodies on the floor.

-Again…?

Yeah, they were already standing up.

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But not because they wanted to attack us. It was just Mike and his commands at work once more.

-I thought you were going to reconsider after the last failure.

-Yeah, but I changed my mind. Have you looked around?

-Do I have to remind you again about the time thing?

-Right. That means no. Well, as you clearly remembered, I had time. Time to actually inspect this room at least and… let me just ask you. Do you feel anything?

-Feel…?

I gazed around the room.

What did he mean by “feel”?

This room was just as plain as it gets. Sure, it was a bit weird, since it was supposed to be a passageway to that “jail cell” or whatever the white room was. I expected some mechanism. Or a spell. Anything, really. Not just a concrete room full of nothing. Hell, if not for the glowing bits of the wall that was burned through and some bodies still on fire, there wouldn’t be any light here.

-No?

-Yeah. And that’s the problem.

-Prob…

Wait.

Yeah, there was nothing.

Nothing as there were no people nearby. No living things nearby. Or anything else for that matter.

I could only feel the group that was downed on the floor and us two.

-Yeah, this is pretty barren. Where the hell is this?

-Wherever we are, we need to get out of this building. I only hope we don’t need to burn through the walls again.

-Eh, it wasn't that bad.

-Bad? Do you have any idea how much heat you made?

-Hm?

-If I wasn’t defending myself, I would’ve been dead. Cooked on the spot.

-Don’t blame me. Besides, you had plenty of time to prepare.

-Even with infinite time, I am sure that no one would be able to survive this!

-And yet you did.

-I mean nobody normal. But I guess that’s what I get for asking you…

-Fuck you too. If you prefer being stuck in there, be my guest, go back in there.

-Yea, no.

-So let’s get out of here. And stop complaining.

-Hmh.

But, it wasn’t going to be that easy.

-Don’t you think this is strange? - he asked, while collecting the soldiers in one spot.

-What, that we are alone?

-Yeah, that too. But I meant this place.

-It is empty, you’re right - I said, dropping a body in the corner.

Sure, Mike intended to convert these people into his own thralls, but he wasn’t precise enough with some.

Be it a missed stab or just straight up the heat has done enough damage for them to not be able to stand up ever again, even if injected with a whole leyline worth of mana.

I was just gathering them in one spot so they won’t clutter the whole room. Not the most useful way to pass time, but it’s not like I had much else to do: Mike was making me wait for him anyway.

-”Empty” is an understatement.

-I mean, we didn’t have to be dropped into some research facility. It could be a jail or something.

-Probably is - he agreed - but still. Just an empty room? In the middle of nowhere?

-We don’t know where we are…

-Oh come on. And wouldn’t jail have guards? Or prisoners?

I gestured towards the pile on the ground.

I gestured towards the pile on the ground.

-You dealt with both. Most likely.

-Yeah, right. If that was true, they would at least be dressed differently.

Yeah, he was right. I was just being annoying.

Besides the obvious, they were… just too similar. Power and all, almost like clones.

I honestly doubted that such a thing was being used just to make random soldiers, especially that weak.

That is, if they had access to something like that in the first place.

While I wasn’t sure it actually even existed here, I had no doubts that if it did, MIRE would be one utilizing it.

Power of Origin Crystal and all.

-So? What is it then? - I asked.

-Fuck if I know.

-Maybe from the outside we’ll be able to tell.

-Maybe.

If only it was that easy.

Well, leaving the room wasn’t hard, really. But that was just a start.

After we’ve dealt with the aftermath of the combat and the remaining group was safely in Mike’s control, supposedly at least, we started looking for an exit.

-You sure you don’t want us just to bust a wall or something? - I asked.

-And bring a ceiling down on top of our heads? No thanks - he said, shaking his head. - For all we know, we might be underground.

-Well that would explain the emptiness a little bit.

-True.

Yeah. Since we left the room, we only found one corridor. Not even a long one: after a few meters it turned into a “T” section led further into the darkness, to the left and right of us.

-Any preferences? - I asked.

-Like it matters. Neither has different magic, so no.

-Right it is.

-Sure.

Just as he said, there was absolutely no way of telling where we were going. It was getting stranger by the minute.

-I swear this just looks like a polished cave - I pointed out.

-It very well might be. Someone melded rock into this.

-Hm. So we really are underground.

-Probably should look for stairs…

-Probably should look for anything - he said. - This place has LITERALLY NOTHING.

A minute later we came to another “T”.

-Right again?

-Labyrinth rules? Works for me.

But, the path we’ve chosen ended in a dead end.

No door, no room, no nothing.

-Some hidden passageway? - I mumbled, inspecting the wall.

-If there is, it’s not magical.

Yeah, there was definitely nothing magical about that spot. Doesn’t mean that there are no physical switches.

-Seen this shit before… - I mumbled. - They do like their strange mechanisms…

-Well, it’s not like we have anything better to do… - he sighed. - Okay.

He waved his hand, and from his palm a small orb of light emerged.

Despite the size, it was bright enough to make the room completely bright. Even a bit too much: since it was so empty, the lack of shadows was making the place eerie. I mean, beside ours, that is.

-Gonna help me look, or…

-Yeah. I’m not going to just stand and look at you.

-I meant those guys - I gestured to the group that was behind us.

-You think they are capable of something as precise as this?

-Don’t know. You tell me. Shouldn’t they be?

-No. Told you, they have their minds suppressed.

-Hm. I guess that’s a bit different…

-Nah, doesn’t matter.

After all, what I was thinking about was very different.

I mean, how do I compare some random person being overwhelmed by magic to my own self… The other self, that is.

Speaking of… what happened to him? I mean, me?

I never explicitly just reabsorbed them into my own being… Did they die?

I mean, possible. There was a lot of stuff going on back there, so I can’t be certain.

Although…

Judging by my own resilience…

Nah. That’s just my own stupid speculation.

Feels kind of bad, though. After all, it was my own self we’re talking about.

-Mor?

Mike broke me out from my thoughts.

-Eh? Wha…? I mean, no, I haven’t found anything.

-But I did. Look.

I walked towards him and looked closer.

-Can’t see shit.

-Yes. But I can feel it.

He swiped his hand along the floor, stopping mid-way.

-Here. I can feel a crack.

I couldn’t see a thing, but mimicked his hand movement to feel it myself.

Nothing.

-I don’t feel anything.

-No wonder. With those fingers…

-Crystal…?

I never really paid much attention, but he could be right.

While I definitely had feeling in my fingers, it’s not like I ever compared how much more or less I could feel minor details on objects.

Seems it wasn’t the best.

-Ha. A first.

-First?

-First time I actually see an upside of having regular fleshy fingers.

-Pff.

-Okay then… So, how do you think we open this…? Or whatever.

-It does feel like a pressure plate…

He pushed the spot down, but nothing happened.

He even tried stepping on it with his full body weight, but nothing happened.

-Hm…

-Want me to try?

-Sure. You are a lot stronger.

-And heavier.

I put my whole weight on the spot he was pointing to, but also, nothing happened.

-No dice?

-Seems so. Want me to be a bit more forceful?

-How more forceful can you even get…?

-I’ll just punch this thing. If it’s a pressure plate, we might be able to get to its guts.

-Ah. Well, sure, fuck it.

-It’s not like we haven’t broken walls in this place already.

-Ha.

-Okay… here goes nothing…