Nomephins said that they would encounter three forks ahead, but in reality, there were far more than just three.
However, eighty percent of them were useless branches that ended in dead ends.
Only three branches were the correct routes, leading to the next area.
Liriel and the Decayer had already explored several side paths. They chose a direction and entered a new second-level branch, only to find a dead end after proceeding. They retreated to the Origin Point, tried another entrance, and found another dead end.
All four branches of this second-level fork had been wiped out in one stroke.
Although they had not found the correct entrance, this second-level fork had not yielded nothing.
At the end of one branch, they saw a treasure chest.
"How could there be a treasure chest in a labyrinth?" The Decayer stared blankly at the obviously exquisite and luxurious chest ahead.
"Isn't it normal for labyrinths to have treasure chests?" Liriel said softly. "I've never braved a labyrinth myself, but as I recall, don't labyrinths usually have treasure chests as rewards for explorers?"
Seeing Liriel look as though it were only natural, the Decayer had not wanted to respond. But after a moment of silence, it could not help saying:
"There are indeed treasures in the Abyss, such as the treasure Nomephins once guarded. But there is no such thing as a treasure-chest setting. Treasure chests basically only appear in adventure novels or dramatized storybooks. They are supposedly rewards for heroes, but in reality, they are merely positive feedback meant to lure readers into continuing."
After thinking carefully, Liriel realized that her impression that "labyrinths have treasure chests" really had come from the adventure novels she had read in her youth.
Embarrassment was hard to hide on Liriel's face.
The Decayer finally added