The transition between floors wasn't smooth this time. The portal that led to the sixth floor flickered unnaturally, pulsing like it was trying to stabilize itself. Arios noticed it first. He looked at the others and said nothing for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly at the faint distortion. The air around the portal wasn't the same dull blue hue as before — it rippled with streaks of red mana, faint but visible if one looked closely.
Liza, already holding her weapon at her side, frowned. "Why's it doing that? The last few floors were stable."
Pokner looked at the distortion for a few seconds before responding. "It's not supposed to look like that. The instructors wouldn't have programmed something unstable. Unless…" she trailed off, not finishing the thought.
Lucy tilted her head, slightly uneasy. "Unless what?"
Pokner sighed. "Unless someone tampered with the system manually."
