The wolves were dead within minutes.

  Once the first few monsters fell, the panic inside the chamber slowly turned into desperate courage.

  Players swung their weapons wildly. Some were clumsy. Some were terrified.

  But the wolves were not invincible.

  One by one they fell.

  Yuna stood near the center of the chamber, breathing slowly.

  Her blades were clean.

  In the previous timeline this room had been far worse.

  More than twenty people had died here.

  She looked around the chamber.

  This time only one body lay on the stone floor.

  Mark.

  The memory of his daughter still lingered in her mind.

  Yuna closed her eyes briefly.

  This was only the beginning.

  A loud grinding sound echoed across the chamber.

  The iron door at the far end slowly opened.

  A staircase descended into darkness.

  Floor Two.Several players exchanged nervous glances.

  "Are we supposed to go down there?"

  "I think so."

  One man laughed shakily.

  "We just beat those wolves. Maybe this won't be so bad."

  Yuna stepped forward. She already knew what waited below.

  Floor Two was a narrow dungeon corridor filled with hidden traps.

  Pressure plates. Poison darts. Falling blades.

  In the previous timeline dozens of players had died here before anyone understood how the traps worked.

  Yuna walked down the stairs without hesitation.

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  The corridor stretched ahead of her.

  Stone walls. Dim torches. A long path disappearing into shadow.

  Just like she remembered.

  She raised a hand. "Stop."

  Several players behind her froze.

  A young woman nearly bumped into her back.

  "What is it?"

  Yuna pointed toward the floor.

  "There's a trigger plate three steps ahead."

  The players stared at the ground.

  They could not see anything unusual.

  Yuna stepped forward carefully.

  One. Two. She shifted slightly to the right.

  Three.

  Her foot landed beside a thin stone tile.

  The tile sank slightly under her weight.

  A sharp click echoed.

  Darts shot out from the wall where the group had been standing seconds earlier.

  Several people gasped.

  "If we had walked straight..." someone whispered.

  "We'd be dead."

  Yuna continued walking.

  She remembered every trap in this corridor.

  Another pressure plate near the left wall.

  A blade trap hidden in the ceiling.

  A pit disguised as cracked stone.

  Each time she stopped the group.

  Each time someone looked at her with growing disbelief.

  "How do you know all this?" a man asked.

  Yuna did not answer.

  She simply kept moving.

  Halfway down the corridor she stopped again.

  Her eyes scanned the floor.

  Something felt wrong.

  She took another step forward slowly.

  The air was quiet.

  Too quiet.

  In the previous timeline there should have been another trap here.

  A large pressure plate that triggered a swinging blade.

  Yuna crouched slightly.

  Her fingers brushed the stone.

  Nothing.

  The plate was gone.

  Her eyes narrowed.

  That was impossible.

  "Wait," someone said behind her.

  "I hear something."

  A low growl echoed through the corridor.

  Yuna slowly raised her head.

  Dark shapes moved in the shadows ahead.

  Then the creature stepped into the torchlight.

  Yuna's breath stopped.

  It was larger than the wolves from the first floor.

  Its body was twisted and muscular. Black veins pulsed beneath gray skin.

  Two glowing eyes stared at the group.

  A Dungeon Hound.

  Yuna's mind raced.

  That monster should not exist here.

  Dungeon Hounds appeared much later in the Tower.

  Not on Floor Two.

  The creature snarled and lunged forward.

  Several players screamed.

  Yuna moved instantly.

  She stepped forward to intercept it.

  The hound's claws slashed through the air.

  Yuna barely dodged the attack.

  Her blade cut across the monster's side.

  The creature barely reacted.

  Too strong.

  This was far stronger than anything that should exist on this floor.

  The hound turned toward a terrified player standing behind her.

  A young girl froze in place.

  She couldn't move.

  The monster leapt.

  Yuna reacted without thinking.

  Her body moved between them.

  Her blade flashed upward.

  Spirit energy surged through the strike.

  The hound's head snapped back as the blade cut deep into its neck.

  It collapsed heavily onto the stone floor.

  The corridor fell silent.

  The young girl stared at Yuna with wide eyes.

  "T-thank you..."

  Yuna barely heard her.

  Her gaze remained fixed on the dead monster.

  Her memories were clear.

  In the previous timeline this corridor had only traps.

  No Dungeon Hound.

  No monster like this.

  The future had already changed.

  Somewhere behind her a player spoke quietly.

  "I thought you said you knew this floor."

  Yuna slowly stood.

  Her grip tightened around her blades.

  "I did."

  She looked deeper into the corridor.

  The shadows ahead felt different now.

  Unfamiliar. Unpredictable.

  For the first time since waking up in the past, uncertainty crept into her mind.

  If the Tower was changing...

  Then the knowledge she brought from the previous timeline might not save anyone.

  The future was no longer the same.