Ancient.

It was the first word that echoed in their minds the moment they stepped into the danger-zone beyond the portal.

The hall was single and vast, rising so high it felt like it had no ceiling at all. The walls were old, brown, and sturdy, resembling historic structures from centuries ago. Marlon even guessed it might be older than the Egyptian pyramids back on Earth.

Aside from the strange look, the interior was wide and quiet, and huge torches lined the walls, filling the place with a steady glow.

They currently stood in the middle, and within the reach of their visions, numerous doors came into view.

Marlon did a rough count, and there were over two dozen of them.

A frown appeared on his face. What could be behind those doors? he wondered.

His danger sense was already picking up on something, but he could not tell what it was exactly.

"So this is how it looks from inside?"

Behind him, one of the gang members sent by Tinubu muttered as he scanned the room with an exhilarated expression.

They've never been inside a danger-zone before?

Strange.

None of them were actually weak, so for them to never have stepped foot into one, Marlon could only wonder what they must have done to be so strong.

Although he already knew half of it, he decided not to think too deeply about it.

"You're the leader, right?"

The same guy from earlier snapped Marlon back and asked. It sounded more like he was confirming what he already knew.

"Nah." Marlon shook his head and pointed at Dagon, who was already boiling with annoyance.

"Ehh, that guy is our leader?" the man said, clearly confused.

"What do you mean? What did your boss tell you?" Dagon asked, glaring sharply in an attempt to intimidate him.

But the guy seemed unfazed. He simply shrugged.

"Boss Tinubu told us to only follow orders from the young, handsome leader, and I can only see one person that fits that description."

Ignoring Dagon's infuriated gaze and the strange looks from Emma and Davidson, he turned back to Marlon.

"My name is Bola," he introduced.

Then he pointed to the other two who had been silent since the beginning.

"These are my brothers, Chike and Ramson. We're triplets, and we'll be following your orders from now on."

Marlon was taken aback. He didn't expect such a connection between the three. With masks covering the lower halves of their faces, it was difficult to tell their true appearances, talk more of their resemblance.

Still, he smiled and stretched his hand for a handshake.

"No problem. I'm not an expert like the others, but I can assure your survival if you fight beside me."

"We can't wait," Chike and Ramson responded, clenching their fists with readiness.

Dagon scoffed at the sudden connection forming right in front of him. His gaze lingered on Marlon for a few seconds before shifting back to the massive interior.

Emma and Davidson had been dismissive of Marlon from the beginning, and seeing this development, their feelings dipped even lower.

Only Clarissa remained the same, watching everything with a gentle smile.

"I thought danger-zones, especially portal-type ones, are usually filled with monsters and challenges. Why does this place feel so dull? I haven't even spotted a fly since we stepped in," Chike said.

"Yeah, boss said every minute inside one is laced with danger, but I don't see any," Ramson added.

Marlon didn't respond.

He studied each doorway one after another, just as confused as everyone else. Even the experts in the group did not seem to understand the nature of this hall either.

"I think we have to enter one of these doorways to clear it," Emma suggested.

"There are so many doorways, and who knows what could be behind them?" Davidson said.

"Something about this place gives me the chills, seriously," Clarissa muttered as she hugged her shoulders.

The three turned to look at their leader. Among all of them, Dagon held the most experience, having been a hunter far longer than any of them.

But even he was speechless.

Just as everyone was trying to contemplate the nature of this place—

[ First wave approaching in 10 seconds ]

A loud robotic voice echoed across the hall, startling them.

And the moment the voice faded, loud footsteps erupted throughout the place.

This caused all sorts of reactions from them.

The party reacted quickly with troubled expressions as they readied themselves. The triplets were the opposite, looking thrilled instead of cautious like the others.

As for Marlon, he fixed his gaze on the doorway he predicted the first wave would come from, running the ten-second countdown quietly in his head.

"Eight o'clock."

Once it struck zero, he barked out, alerting the others.

Following his words, everyone turned in that direction, and, lo and behold, monsters of different sizes and appearances poured out of a single doorway one after another.

Creeper-type monsters.

Humanoids running on two limbs.

And monsters with forms that could not even be described with mere words.

They all poured out.

SHRIEK! ROAR! HISS!

Their distinctive cries filled the hall within seconds as they flooded toward the humans standing in the middle.

"Attack!"

Dagon barked as he equipped a sword from his inventory and charged toward a tall, blue-skinned humanoid monster.

Davidson summoned a small group of golems, sending some forward and keeping four of them around Clarissa for protection.

Emma charged alongside Dagon.

Since her fire magic was more potent against creeper-type monsters like the giant spiders, she focused on them.

Marlon could not deny that the party was pretty good when it came to attacking efficiently.

But still.

Standing in the middle, he turned toward the triplets, who were attacking fearlessly.

"Ice Barrage!"

Chike waved his hands in the air as dozens of Ice Lances appeared and shot toward the monsters.

Beside him, Bola stomped the ground, making it shiver and stumbling several opponents as they lost their balance.

Ramson was also a fire mage, but he used his magic differently from Emma. Emma conjured attacks like fireballs and other long-range spells, while Ramson shrouded his hands and feet in flames and fought his opponents head-on.

His ability was the same as Ashton's, only a stronger version.

"They're not bad," Marlon concluded.

At that moment, he stood in the middle of all the chaos, untouched.

Both the party and the triplets had naturally formed a protective wall around him, giving him enough time to do what he wanted.

"But now it's my turn."

Concluding that, he decided to use a skill he had been wanting to use ever since he got it.

"Mirror Clone," he called out.

It was brief.

Beside him, a glowing humanoid figure appeared. The light vanished immediately, replaced with an exact copy of him.

"It looks just like me."

From the height to the body proportions, it was as though he was looking at himself through a mirror.

"Its face though…"

The face was unusual. It looked blank and soulless, even though the eyeballs moved in a lifelike motion. If one looked closely, they would notice how unnatural they appeared.

"But who cares?"

Marlon shrugged and, without hesitation—

"Attack."

He commanded the clone to strike.

The clone nodded and blasted into the chaos, stopping in front of a nine-feet-tall giant spider with sturdy, sharp legs.

Not wasting a second, the clone charged forward, lifting its fist as it activated their basic punch.

[ Your clone has used Titan Punch ]

The punch connected, and with a soft explosive sound, the gigantic arachnid was sent flying into the wall where it shattered into scattered limbs.

[ Your clone has slain a giant spider, you've gained 8500 EXP (+8500) ]

Just as he thought, he gained experience points from his clone's kill. And with the double-reward blessing activated, the amount he earned per kill was enviable.

Observing the prowess of his own clone operating at only sixty percent of his strength, several bright ideas appeared in Marlon's mind.

Ways to grow stronger faster without even lifting a finger.

And so, without hesitating—

"Mirror Clone."

"Mirror Clone."

Expending five thousand aether points, he summoned more clones and sent them into battle.

Each of them blasted out instantly, taking down monsters after monsters as more continued to pour out from the same doorway.

Since the others were very occupied at the moment, only Clarissa saw what he had done.

She stared at him with a dumb expression on her face, unable to speak a single word.

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