Chapter 102: Another interesting function~

"...Yeah, I'm bored."

I sprawled across the wagon's interior, my head hanging off the edge of the seat, my arms dangling limply to the floor.

Leah sat cross-legged beside me, sketching something on a notepad she got from Serena.

Mika was happily chewing on a piece of bread, crumbs scattering everywhere, while Serena reclined with her arms behind her head resting after looking through her account book.

Serena finally allowed us in here because there were space now unlike when we first set off before.

I have no idea where the things that was supposedly taking up space went to, but if I ask I just know she'll say it's a merchant's secret again.

"Serena," I whined, hoping to elicit a reaction. "I'm bored."

"And I care…why?" she replied without even opening her eyes. Though I could swear I heard trembling in her voice?

Still though, ouch.

"Leah," I turned to the currently absentminded Leah. "Any fun ideas? Something to pass the time?"

Leah didn't look up from her sketch. "You could… I don't know, help with the horses?"

"That's what Jin and Io are for," I said, waving her suggestion away. "I'm not touching those sweaty beasts."

"Lazy," Serena muttered under her breath.

I turned my attention to Mika. "Mika, kiddo, got any ideas for your bored sister?"

Mika tilted her head, thinking deeply. Her eyebrows creased as she used her brain. Then, with the seriousness of a philosopher delivering groundbreaking wisdom, she said, "We could play rock-paper-scissor!"

Cute, but no thanks.

With no one offering a solution, I resorted to my last hope: the System!

System, I'm bored. Do you have any interesting functions I don't know about yet?

[System Response:

You'll have to find that out yourself. I only provide what you already know of, so explore it.]

....Noted.

I sat up, narrowing my eyes. The System was clearly messing with me. But then again, was there something I hadn't explored yet? I'd been so busy lately that I hadn't had the chance to dive into every little thing it could do.

"Alright, let's see…" I murmured, pulling up the System interface in my mind.

"What are you doing now?" Serena asked lazily, cracking one eye open to look at me.

"Nothing," I said, flipping through menus insude my head like I was browsing a catalog.

I could feel her eye me suspiciously but what am I supposed to say?

'Oh, actually I'm talking to a holographic blue thing inside my head' Yeah if I said that she'd think I'm crazy and even if she accepts that it's too much of a hassle if she ask how, so no thanks.

So I spent the next half an hour looking throught the system. All it had was a manual saying how to use it, what it does and functions I already know off well, that was until I saw a very conspicous one on the bottom.

Oooh~, what's this?

[Clone Link ]

What does this do system?

[System Response:

It links you to your clones host. Allowing you to see what they see and talk to them, think of it as something like possession. ]

Can I control them?

[System Response:

No. Control over them will not happen unless they allow you to. They are a version of you host. This allows them to have their own will and thoughts, but if you want to control them you'll need permission. Of course you could force it, but knowing you, you wouldn't do that. ]

That so.

Hm...Lemme try it out real quick.

I activated Clone Link and immediately felt my consciousness split. Half of me was still lounging in the wagon, while the other half—

"GAH!" Uno yelped, spinning in place. "Boss?! Are you—are you in my head?"

"Yep, just dropping by to check on you."

"Well, warn me next time! I thought I was being possessed by something!"

Dos snorted. "Wouldn't be the first time something weird happened with this group."

I ignored the comment and focused on the task. "Status update. Did you find any signs of the duke's daughter yet?"

Uno folded her arms, glaring at Dos. "Ask Miss 'It's Probably Fine' over here. She's the one who thought it'd be a great idea to touch a creepy glowing door."

Dos rolled her eyes. "It was already open! Besides, we're here to explore, not chicken out every five seconds."

Tres raised a hand timidly. "Uh, technically, we're here to rescue someone, not argue. Shouldn't we, you know, focus?"

Uno threw her hands up. "Fine! Let's focus. How about focusing on the fact that this place screams trap? The duke's daughter probably got eaten by some monster already."

"Morbid," Dos muttered. "And unhelpful."

Tres tapped the glowing glyphs on the wall. "These markings look like a map. If I'm reading this right, there's a central chamber deeper inside. Must be where she is."

"'Probably' doesn't sound very reassuring," Uno grumbled. "For all we know, this place could be rigged to explode the second we step in."

"Then walk carefully," I said from the comfort of the wagon, smirking.

"Easy for you to say," Uno snapped. "You're not the one walking into a cursed ruin filled with who-knows-what."

"Hey, I'd be there if I could," I lied.

Dos smirked. "You absolutely wouldn't."

Ignoring her, I watched as the clones entered a massive stone hall. The ceiling loomed high above, supported by intricately carved pillars, and the air felt heavy with an eerie hum.

And...another weird place, how fun! (*^▽^*)

"Wow," Tres whispered. "This place is…beautiful."

"And creepy," Uno added. "Let's not forget creepy."

'By the way, where are the others?' I asked on our link. Why are these 3 the only one here?

"We separated. It's easier that way, they're outside while us 3 went inside. If we really need their help they can just teleport on our shadow." Dos replied as they ventured further in.

'Wait, they can?' I asked, I didn't know they could do that? What else do I not know!?

Author: A lot, maybe you should've spent time finding out rather than thinking of food all the time.

Tres paused near a broken statue, kneeling to inspect something. "Hey, I think I found a clue."

Uno peered over her shoulder. "What is it? A treasure map? A magical artifact?"

Dos held up a delicate ribbon, dirtied but unmistakably fancy. "It's a crest. Probably belongs to the one we're looking for with how luxurious it looks."

Uno groaned. "Great. So she was here. Let's hope she's not a skeleton by now."

Tres shivered. "Could you not say stuff like that?"

Suddenly, a low rumble echoed through the hall. The clones froze.

"…What was that?" Tres whispered.

Uno immediately drew her sword. "See?! I told you this place was cursed! Something's waking up!"

The rumble grew louder as a nearby statue's eyes began to glow. Its stone limbs groaned and creaked as it came to life.

"NOPE!" Uno yelled, scrambling backward. "Nope, nope, nope! Boss, if you're listening, we need backup right now!"

I just stiffled a laugh from the wagon. "You'll be fine. Like you said, you won't die~"

"Not helpful!" Uno shouted as the statue started moving toward them.

Dos raised her staff. "It's probably just a guardian. If we stay calm, maybe it won't attack."

The statue swung a massive stone arm, narrowly missing Uno.

"Maybe?!" Uno screamed. "That thing just tried to squash me like a bug!"

Tres pulled out a small dagger, her hands shaking. "Do we fight it? Run? Negotiate?!"

"Negotiate with what?!" Uno snapped. "It's a giant rock!"

Back in the wagon, I tried not to laugh too hard. "Alright, alright, just focus on dodging. And maybe find a way around it—it's probably guarding something important."

"Gee, thanks for the amazing advice," Uno muttered, ducking under another swing.

As the clones dodged and scrambled, Dos noticed a narrow passageway to the side. "There! That might lead to the central chamber!"

Uno didn't hesitate. "Great! Let's run before Rockzilla here smashes us into paste!"

The three clones bolted for the passageway, the statue's thunderous steps shaking the ground behind them.

"Boss," Uno panted as they ran, "I'm putting in a request for hazard pay after this!"

"Noted," I said, smirking. "But no promises."

As they disappeared into the passageway, I leaned back in the wagon with a satisfied sigh. Supervising from afar had its perks.

Now, let's see what they find next~

（￣～￣）