Fairy

The five contestants were each teleported to one of the five corners.

Each contestant opened their performance differently.

Due to their personalities, both Hundred Beasts Abel and Hell Sean immediately began a rapid exploration of the maze area.

The mode of movement constantly switches between jogging and running.

To quickly navigate the maze and uncover the dangers lurking within the garden, prioritize speed.

Demps and Guli Chalidou maintained a normal walking pace, with their defensive shields activated at maximum throughout, scanning and capturing every suspicious corner, prioritizing a 'steady' approach.

However, Han Dong's speed was even slower than walking.

Using a cane, he takes one step and stops, but his eyes are fixed straight ahead... Observation is secondary; the focus is more on 'thinking'.

The most fundamental question posed to Han Dong was actually just one.

The high-difficulty trial of pairing up Elite Knight is definitely not just a maze problem; it's not just about the maze itself.

"My connection with the crow comes from a contractual relationship in Dark Magic... not a physical connection, but a connection of consciousness."

The ability to sever consciousness indicates that the maze itself can influence an individual's consciousness.

In this respect alone... it's still very advantageous for me.

Han Dong's uniqueness lies in his head.

The Faceless Head, combined with Han Dong's newly acquired Maniacal Laughter attribute, maximizes his mental defense.

Thinking about this...

Han Dong then used the black growth fluid that was dripping from the corner of his mouth to draw an exaggerated big mouth pattern along the outer edge of his mouth with his fingers.

Ha ha...

Hahaha...

He walked forward with a strange laugh, leaning on his cane.

The illusion that permeated the garden maze was dispelled by laughter.

Some dead ends that should have been blocked by plants slowly turned into a strange passage... allowing Han Dong to reach a certain important area of the garden.

Let's continue to explore further.

When we reached the corner of the passage.

Hehehe...

A burst of women's laughter echoed around.

Within sight.

A barefoot woman dressed in white and wearing a flower wreath emerged from the plants and headed towards the depths of the corner passage.

This outward appearance is similar to that of the fairies in Greek Mythology.

But their temperaments are completely different.

The way to move forward is not by walking... but by drifting.

Drifting into the depths with all ten toes perpendicular to the ground.

At the same time, this fairy seemed to suffer from some kind of neurological disorder; during the floating process, her neck was rapidly twitching and twisting.

Moreover, she was holding a virus-infected crow that had lost contact with Han Dong.

Splat! Splat!

With its exaggeratedly large beak filled with densely packed sharp teeth, it frantically devoured this rare, fresh food... Moreover, due to the virus, the crow would grow even more flesh and blood for her to enjoy.

With the appearance of this 'fairy'.

The maze passages where Han Dong was located also became dark.

On the plant walls on both sides, Human-faced Flower with a skin-like texture slowly grew.

This feeling... is like being in Destiny Space of evil spirits, which is terrifying.

Most importantly, the fairy who had just passed by posed an absolutely fatal threat to Han Dong; if he were to confront her head-on, there would be virtually no chance of victory...

The passage behind him wasn't blocked, leaving Han Dong with two options.

First, follow the fairy.

Second, go back and choose other maze paths.

Han Dong paused to think for a moment.

"Could it be that... in order to select the most outstanding knights, the Holy City spared no expense in spending points to exchange for living beings from the Destiny Space, creating a 'darkened' version of the [Twelve Trials]?"

Han Dong's guess was absolutely correct.

Make the best use of resources.

Since points can be exchanged for anything from the Destiny Space, whether inanimate or living.

Therefore, the basic value of each item exchanged must be considered.

Living things are, in some ways, more expensive than inanimate things...

Some living creatures not only require points, but also 'tokens' from corresponding Destiny Event in order to be obtained.

On an individual level, no one would be willing to exchange for living creatures.

Exchanging points for equivalent materials or items provides a far greater boost to oneself than living beings; only a few stitchers might consider exchanging for living beings.

Due to the gradual maturation of the knight training system.

Parliament formally enacted the 'points-based tax law'.

Knight-Errant must exchange points for a fixed amount of copper after each Destiny Event and hand it over to the Holy City.

Formal Knight who complete Destiny Event earn far more points than Knight-Errant... They are required to hand over 10% to 20% of their earned points to the tax department in the council that is specifically responsible for collecting points.

Points will be used for some special facilities in the Holy City later on.

The Twelve Trials are a typical example.

The trial called ' Golden Apple ' is the one that consumes the most points.

Han Dong quickly summoned Duoze Crow to help him observe.

(Because Han Dong belongs to the Mysticism Department, he can bring one [Summoned Item] when registering. And Duoze Crow also meets all the review criteria for summoned items.)

The Duoze Crow sensed danger as soon as it came out and perched on Han Dong's shoulder, trembling.

"Bring people here... This place feels almost like the atmosphere of some kind of Destiny Space, it's terrifying!"

"Help me observe the surroundings, and tell me immediately if there are any problems."

Gaa!

Han Dong slowly walked around the intersection.

In front of them is an open space in the garden.

A giant, dead tree that requires more than ten people to encircle grows in the center of an open space.

Completely withered.

There weren't even any leaves, let alone apples.

Although nothing was growing on the dead tree, something else was hanging on its branches.

A dried-out severed hand, tattered clothes, a rat carcass, the head of some kind of wild beast summoned by a creature, and so on.

They were all hung from the tree branches by a single, strong strand of hair.

current.

The fairy hung the half-eaten, still multiplying crow carcass on the tree using a single hair of her own.

Clearly, this tree is the fairy's 'storage cabinet'.

She sensed that a living creature had entered her territory.

Click click click...

The fairy, who was perched on the tree trunk, turned her head 180 degrees and stared at Han Dong, who was standing at the corner.

A gaping maw overflowing with blood and raven feathers,

The terrifying and bizarre smile...

Eyes that are completely protruding and look like those of a dead fish

She is as beautiful as a fairy...

Two tongues of different sizes intertwined in the mouth, producing a sound with alternating emphasis:

"It's been... it's been a long time since we've had any 'guests'."

"Come quickly! Outsiders who wish to pluck the Golden Apple must obey me to gain the chance to venture deeper into the ' Golden Apple Tree '."

The fairy opened the Wooden Gate at the bottom of the giant dead tree, and with her fingers covered in crow's blood, gestured for Han Dong to follow.

The fact that a battle didn't break out immediately surprised Han Dong.

"The rules... Observer Alonso has been emphasizing this from the very beginning."

To obtain the real Golden Apple, one may have to follow the various rules of the garden... If one recklessly kills the fairy, the path to the Golden Apple Tree may be blocked.

We have no choice but to go in and take a look.