Jax left Lucy where she was.
The massive B-Rank Crystal Locust Queen settled into the cavern floor like a living engine, her shadow form pulsing softly as she coordinated the lesser shadows under her command. Streams of shadow-insects moved in organized paths, harvesting crystals with mechanical efficiency.
"She's not cannon fodder," Jax said calmly. "She's infrastructure."
No one argued.
By the time they moved on, the cave behind them was no longer empty—it was working.
Jax released Fang next, the massive shadow serpent coiling silently along the tunnel walls, his presence felt more than seen. Gryph followed, wings tucked tightly, claws scraping stone as he moved ahead like a living scout.
Dante remained sealed.
Too large. Too destructive. Too much.
With the three shadows leading the way, Floors Three and Four barely slowed them.
The monsters were stronger—larger crystalline beasts, armored constructs, and territorial predators—but none of them were prepared for a coordinated advance supported by perception skills, layered barriers, and overwhelming force.
Every fight ended quickly.
Every corpse fed the system.
Jax extracted shadows relentlessly—not everything, but anything with structural integrity or utility. Ground units. Scouts. Burrowers. Crystal-adapted beasts.
He didn't summon them to fight.
He put them to work.
Each new floor expanded the operation. Excavation flowed downward and upward simultaneously. Shadow units passed harvested crystal to relay teams. Routes were reinforced. Choke points secured.
By the time they reached the fifth floor, the Crystal Cave was no longer reacting to them.
It was being processed.
And then—
The cave stopped.
The corridor opened into a circular chamber carved with deliberate precision.
At its center stood a stone pedestal.
Above it, suspended by invisible magic, hung a perfectly balanced scale.
Resting on a shelf were nine smooth spheres, each the size of a baseball, identical in color, texture, and shape.
A plaque floated in the air.
ONE BALL IS SLIGHTLY HEAVIER.
YOU MAY USE THE SCALE TWICE.
IDENTIFY THE HEAVIEST BALL.
The Vixens gathered around.
Bunny picked one up, then another, squinting. "They all feel the same."
"They're not meant to be felt," Zee said quietly. "The difference is microscopic."
Nyxian groaned. "Oh gods. Math."
Llandra studied the scale, eyes narrowing.
"We could do four and four," Bunny suggested. "If one side dips, we narrow it down."
"And then what?" Nyxian asked. "We'd still need another weighing just to guess."
"That leaves a fifty-fifty," Zee said. "Not acceptable."
Jax hadn't touched the balls.
He was already smiling.
"No," he said. "We do three and three."
Bunny blinked. "That… doesn't sound better."
"It is," Jax replied calmly. "Watch."
He placed three balls on the left pan.
Three on the right.
The scale settled.
Even.
"That tells us everything," Jax said.
Bunny stared. "It tells me nothing."
Zee's eyes widened slightly.
"The heavier one is among the three left out," she said.
"Exactly," Jax replied.
Llandra nodded, already following. "Second weighing: one and one."
Nyxian tilted her head. "And if those are equal… then the last one is heavier."
Bunny's mouth slowly opened.
"Oh."
Jax chuckled and lifted two of the remaining three balls, placing one on each side of the scale.
This time—
The left pan dipped.
"There," Jax said, lifting the heavier ball. "Solved."
The pedestal glowed.
The scale vanished.
The stone wall ahead rumbled and split apart, revealing the descending path forward.
Bunny stared at Jax. "I don't like puzzles that make me feel stupid."
"You're not stupid," Jax said easily. "You just prefer solutions that involve hitting things."
She brightened. "That's True."
Nyxian smirked. "I stopped listening when numbers happened… but somehow I still knew you were right."
Jax glanced at her, amused. She wasn't wrong—Nyxian wasn't slow. She just didn't care to race minds the way Zee and Llandra did.
The System chimed softly.
FLOOR FIVE CLEARED
Jax checked the timer.
Two hours.
Thirty minutes.
Still no indication of total depth.
He frowned.
"How many floors do you think there are?" Zee asked quietly.
Jax shook his head. "Could be fifty. Could be a hundred."
Bunny rolled her shoulders. "Good thing we're not on a schedule."
Nyxian smiled, eyes gleaming. "Good thing they are."
Jax looked back once—toward the shadows moving in disciplined lines, the Queen directing operations, Fang and Gryph waiting patiently for orders.
Jax whistled and then Lucy joined their group.
They weren't just raiding anymore.
They were occupying.
He turned toward the open passage.
"Let's keep moving," he said.
The Crystal Cave had tested their strength.
Now—
It was testing their endurance.