Information from Himself

Benjamin sat cross-legged atop the base of a collapsed rune turret, his eyes half-closed as his consciousness fully sank into his Internal Grotto-Heaven.

Time was pressing.

The next battle could be triggered at any moment. With such a vast gap in intelligence between enemy and ally, it would be another hard fight.

The metal tag marked "2" lay quietly on the ground.

It was clear that during the first round, he had not been sure whether his Pocket Dimension would be affected, so he had simply hung up a tag as a precaution.

By the second round, he had realized this and begun deliberately gathering intelligence.

Benjamin's attention was drawn to the pile of Recording Crystals beside it.

He needed to review this intelligence as quickly as possible.

Because the enemy's next wave of attack—could arrive at any moment.

And this time, he had to stay ahead.

"So, this information is the key."

Benjamin looked at the pile of crystals behind the Number 2 marker.

A rough count put them at over thirty. Every one gave off faint spiritual ripples—his own soul imprint, left behind as identity verification and a key for reading them.

He picked up the nearest one and sent his divine sense inside.

Images began to flow.

What appeared before him was not a visual scene, but a "memory replay" poured directly into his consciousness:

Underground.

Dim, damp, and filled with labyrinthine nest passages.

Benjamin—or rather, his previous-cycle self—was leading a twenty-man wizard squad in a rapid advance.

Low-level Sickle-Skull Race creatures crawled across the surrounding walls, surging in like a tide, yet the squad cleared them with ease.

Suddenly, the ground shook.

Not from above, but from deep beneath the earth.

The nest floor cracked open, and scorching streams of energy erupted from the fissures.

Then,