Patrick's Relics (23)

The middle-aged nobleman let out a startled cry. He sprang to his feet, his face turning extremely grim. "How can this be?!"

It was not jealousy.

To be honest, Viscount Grant believed he understood things like Maze Lords better than ordinary adventurers did.

Whether they were people or Magic Beasts, although they possessed enormous authority over a Labyrinth, they would suffer terribly if they failed to maintain it.

Mental stimulation, withdrawal symptoms, even sleepwalking control—all of these could occur.

The larger the Labyrinth, the greater its hold over its Maze Lord.

Sometimes, the Magic Beasts and adventurers who became Maze Lords would even be completely brainwashed by the Labyrinth itself, utterly transformed into the Labyrinth's self-defense mechanisms.

At that point, rather than Maze Lords, they were better described as slaves of the Labyrinth. Like worker bees in a hive, they exhausted all their strength and lives maintaining the hive itself.

But at least a hive had many worker bees. A Labyrinth only had one Maze Lord!

Taking the South Sea Grand Labyrinth as an example, if Ian had not reached the Second Energy Level, he probably would not even have been able to preserve his own will.

Fortunately, under Bishop White Mist's protection, they had charged all the way out of the Labyrinth. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

But most importantly, there was that Maze Lord.

"How could this be? I thought that Crystal Dragon's death was a great blessing. But now, if people from the Imperial Capital come and demand that Ian, as the Maze Lord, cooperate with their research into the Labyrinth, what excuse can I use to refuse?"

At that moment, the viscount's expression was dark and solemn.

The exposure of the South Sea Grand Labyrinth had become a foregone conclusion. Next, professional appraisers from