Stone Gate

Rein led the "Mountain Antelope Squad" out of the safe house and began searching for clues in the maze.

He needs to collect more stone carvings and murals to complete the "puzzle" of the entire Underground Palace in order to find the correct way to leave the maze.

Along the way, you can see corpses in almost every stone chamber.

There were as few as one or two bodies, and as many as dozens.

Most of the wounds were on their necks, and they died from having their blood drained.

Clearly, this is the work of the Kobold Monster.

Many hunters died, and there were also quite a few dog-headed monster corpses.

Inside the passageway, the two were almost in a one-to-one ratio.

This directly indicates that the tens of thousands of hunters who entered the ruins have already "consumed" all the kobolds in the maze with their lives.

Moreover, due to the large number of people, most of the traps and mechanisms in the Underground Palace have already been triggered.

Now, the entire maze is almost completely safe.

It simply became a trapping maze.

This is exactly the effect that the nobles of the Rosas Family wanted to achieve through their scheming. Only when the deadly threat was gone could their large official teams enter the scene.

Rein finally understood the purpose of those guys giving everyone a [Amulet Bracelet] before entering the maze.

The bracelet does indeed have some low-level warding-off enchantments.

But Rein felt that it was just a smokescreen; the bracelet's main function should be "location tracking."

Those guys could determine the number of survivors remaining in the maze by sensing the movement of the "magic marks" on their bracelets; they could also judge that the danger of the Underground Palace was gradually decreasing by the frequency of casualties; and they could even determine the structure of the entire maze by the distribution of the magic marks.

This achieves multiple benefits in one fell swoop.

Those guys also used this method to obtain a lot of useful information with almost no effort.

It must be said that this plan to sacrifice tens of thousands of ordinary hunters was somewhat insane, but it did allow those noble lords to achieve their goal of quickly exploring the labyrinth.

Rein's prediction was correct.

It was just past midnight when tens of thousands of hunters entered the underground labyrinth, but now it's almost dawn outside.

But in just seven or eight hours, the maze was already littered with corpses.

Underground Palace, however, lay a different scene of peace and tranquility.

Just as Rein and the "Mountain Antelope Squad" set off to search for clues in the maze, in the camp outside the temple, the high-ranking Rosas Family were staring at a magical screen, discussing something.

This is a magical location phenomenon device.

City of Radiance is a magical capital, so it naturally has no shortage of such high-level magical equipment.

The densely packed dots on the screen are the locations of the markings on each magic bracelet.

Through this light screen, these noble lords could clearly see the layout of the entire Underground Palace.

If Rein were here, he would surely be astonished that the entire Underground Palace was exactly the shape of the irregular polyhedron "Rubik's Cube" that he had guessed.

As time went on, fewer and fewer hunters survived in the Underground Palace.

Unless they are seriously injured and unable to move, no hunter will stay in the same place for too long.

At first, the "dog-headed monsters" seemed to be urging everyone to flee; now that there is less danger, the survivors are eager to find an "exit".

Then, those "spots of light" will continue to move on the magic screen.

More and more of the light spots became stationary, with less than one-tenth still moving.

It was the distribution of these points of light that allowed these nobles to clearly and in real time monitor the situation inside the Underground Palace.

Before long, the staff responsible for observation concluded that it was permissible to enter the ruins.

A steward addressed the two Green-haired Youth at the head of the tent, reporting, "Your Highness Prince Harper, Young Master George, there are currently about three thousand people in the maze whose 'magic marks' are still moving. The casualty rate is very low, and it seems that the monsters and traps have been triggered almost completely. The staff believes that the risk of entering the ruins is now very low."

Without having to risk their lives themselves, these nobles naturally wore smiles on their faces.

No one expected that such a dangerous exploration of the ruins would break the deadlock so easily.

"Alright! Let the vanguard clear the way. Also, take those polymaths and archaeologists with you; have them find a way to enter the second level of the tomb as soon as possible."

"Yes."

"."

At a command, large Scavenger Gang exclusively for nobles began to prepare their exploration equipment and entered the ruins one after another.

Meanwhile, the "vanguard" who had previously pretended to lead the way into the ruins had rested at some of the entrance passageways. Now, having received word, they were beginning to truly venture into the depths of the labyrinth.

Young Master George, the young lord of the "Black Wind Territory," was in a very good mood.

This is the best-preserved Ancient Monkell Script site discovered to date. The value of the treasures unearthed just from the outer perimeter of the site has exceeded expectations, so one can imagine that the treasures deep within the site will definitely not disappoint.

If the treasure were fully unearthed, it would be incredibly good news for the Rosas Family. With this wealth, they could recruit even more lordly cavalry and guards.

At this moment, he glanced at the black-robed witch with the green staff beside him and laughed loudly, "Hahaha, Master Gisela, your method really works! Otherwise, if we had to let our own people go in to explore, who knows how many people would have died before we could figure out the labyrinth. Now, only a few refugees have died, and the gates of the ruins have opened to us. You deserve the most credit!"

Hearing this, the black-robed witch's expression remained largely unchanged. She said calmly, "It was all done for His Majesty the King; a small contribution, nothing to boast about. But Young Master George, I must reiterate: this Underground Palace definitely contains a deadly poisonous treasure. I have no interest in anything else, but if the [Malakas's Holy Grail of Ten Thousand Poisons] is inside, I must obtain it. Also, if anyone else encounters it, they'd better inform me; otherwise, if something goes wrong, many people could die."

"No problem."

"."

On the other hand, the "Mountain Antelope Squad" led by Rein is also making rapid progress in exploring the maze.

The journey was filled with close calls but ultimately safe.

Rein now has a high resistance to Paralyzing Toxin. Even if he is attacked by three or five kobolds at the same time, the effects of paralysis on him are very weak, and he can easily fight back.

The members of the "Mountain Antelope Squad" followed him, and there were no further losses.

The number of monsters in the maze was already very small, and even if one occasionally darted out and bit you, it wouldn't kill you.

Each time you pass through a new stone chamber, a few more "puzzle" pieces will appear in the system.

The number of special symbols carved on the walls has increased, and the translated "meanings" have become more and more accurate.

Finally, an hour later.

Without even exploring the entire maze, Rein discovered the key to breaking the deadlock.

"'It's down,' 'it's up,' 'it's forward,' 'it's backward,' 'it's a trap."

Rein discovered a special pattern in the symbols on the rock face.

He also learned that this moving "maze" was somewhat like taking an elevator up and down floors.

However, it is not a single direct elevator, but a complex system composed of many "partial floor elevators".

Each "elevator" only operates on a specific floor, either left or right, up or down.

Keep walking in one direction and you'll never get out; it will only keep you stuck in a dead end.

You have to follow the signs on the wall, and occasionally turn back to take "another elevator" to reach the deeper parts.

This is also what makes this maze so ingenious.

Even for those who can read "Ancient Monkell Script," the meaning of those special symbols requires a lot of evidence to figure out. This necessitates having people collect symbols in the passageway and look for patterns.

If that dog-headed monster had still been around, this would have been an extremely dangerous situation with a slim chance of survival.

Now that the elusive dog-headed monster is gone, and with the help of the "Mind Core," Rein was able to easily crack the pattern.

The members of the "Mountain Antelope Squad" had no idea why this "Dr. Nicholas" was leading them forward and backward, yet no one complained at all.

They encountered so many corpses along the way that they made a fortune.

Tens of thousands of hunters had looted almost all the burial goods in the Underground Palace and carried them with them.

As Bart and his men walked, they picked up money along the way, and their bags became heavier and heavier.

Ultimately, due to limited manpower, they had to discard some pure gold artifacts and only take away some more precious gemstones and mithril, as well as more exquisitely crafted jewelry and antiques.

They explored the maze without encountering any further accidents.

Before long, Rein discovered that they had actually reached the end of the passageway.

In the distance, he saw a Stone Gate.

A prominent Stone Tablet stood nearby, inscribed with the following: [Trial Warrior, congratulations! Your wisdom and courage have passed the test of 'Osiris's Labyrinth'.]

He carefully examined all the markings on the wall and, finding nothing that might be a trap, continued forward.

Then, everyone saw the Stone Gate at the end of their field of vision and stopped.

Before they even reached the door, a strange odor assaulted their nostrils. Even through their gas masks, Bart and the others behind them felt dizzy.

"Oh no, it's poison gas!"

Instinctively, they retreated dozens of meters before stopping.

However, Rein didn't move an inch.

This level of toxin had no effect on his current body. He looked at the Stone Gate spewing out "poisonous gas," a moment of contemplation flashing in his eyes.

The sudden appearance of Stone Gate blocked their path, leaving the "Mountain Antelope Squad" members bewildered.

They no longer saw the endless, relentless stone chambers and passageways, and suddenly felt a little uneasy. After a moment of stunned silence, they realized that this "Dr. Nicholas" seemed to have truly led them out of the way.

"Have we reached the end of the maze?"

"It seems so."

"But this doesn't seem to be the entrance we came from before."

"."

The group had originally intended to leave the maze, but suddenly they reached the end of the passageway and felt uneasy.

They would never have been able to get here alive if tens of thousands of lives hadn't been sacrificed to build the previous maze.

Therefore, there is some concern that there might be new dangers behind this Stone Gate.

Rein listened to the whispers around him and considered the same question.

There are definitely unknown dangers.

But since it is a "trial ground", the maze is obviously just an appetizer.

He felt that the real harvest was probably behind this Stone Gate.

Even with risks, there is also hope.

For Rein, the greatest joy in this world, besides his Transcendent powers, was "exploring the unknown."

He naturally intended to go in and find out what was going on.

Seeing this, Rein realized that the road ahead was not suitable for him to continue leading the "Mountain Antelope Squad".

The toxins inside the door posed little problem for him, but they could be deadly to ordinary people.

He glanced back at Bart, smiled, and said, "Commander Bart, I'm planning to go down and take a look. I won't be joining you."

"But."

Bart's expression was slightly complicated, and he hesitated before speaking, "Then you..."

He knew, of course, that Rein had said those words to ensure their safety. But thinking about how much they had been taken care of along the way, and how he hadn't been able to help at all, he felt a little guilty.

But he also understood that they were not qualified to accompany this important figure on the road ahead.

Moreover, having narrowly escaped death this time, and having already amassed far more treasures than expected, there was absolutely no need to continue taking risks. His teammates felt the same way.

Don't worry about me.

Rein smiled and shook his head, saying nothing more.

Because he was an old friend and thought the person was alright, he decided to take care of him.

We weren't that close, not even close enough to need to say goodbye.

Without further ado, Rein took out a pen and paper and wrote down the meanings of the special symbols he had analyzed, saying, "I have deciphered the pattern of this maze. If you write down the meanings of these symbols, you should be able to get out."

He walked over, handed the paper to Bart, and said, "However, there may be no danger inside the maze now, but those nobles outside are a potential threat. If you go out now, you'll definitely get into trouble."

"This"

Bart looked at the paper in his hand, his expression somewhat complicated.

So, this important figure really did decipher the maze!

Shock, emotion, and bitterness intertwined in my heart. How fortunate I was to have met such a great person who took care of the "Mountain Antelope Squad" in every way.

But the other party didn't say much, so he naturally didn't ask any more questions.

Bart naturally understood the meaning behind Rein's words.

This maze is so complex that most people could not possibly get out alive. If they did, they would certainly arouse suspicion.

At that moment, he thought of something and said resolutely, "Mr. Nicholas, rest assured, even if it means death, we will not expose you!"

Upon hearing what the leader said, the members of the "Mountain Antelope Squad" all expressed their agreement. "Yes, we will absolutely not expose you."

"It's not that serious."

Rein smiled and shook his head, saying casually, "If it really can't be hidden, it's fine to tell the truth."

After all, Bart and his team knew that their intelligence was very limited, so even if they were exposed, it wouldn't be a big problem.

He paused for a moment, then suggested, "However, I think it's not too dangerous in the maze right now, so you can find a safe house to stay in for a while. Those noble Scavenger Gang will definitely enter the maze soon, and then you can just find an excuse to go out with them. That will save you a lot of trouble."

"Good."

Bart and the others nodded.

As for the details, Rein didn't say anything more. Bart was a shrewd old hunter, and he would handle the rest himself.

Rein waved and said, "Alright, see you again sometime."

"Mr. Nicholas, take care."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Rein walked steadily through the Stone Gate.