Hollow Knight Maps

"Um, Godwyn."

Verdant Dungeon, the City Lord's Room.

Hai Nisi's face was full of worry; she rubbed her little hands together anxiously as she said:

"With this design, will adventurers really be able to get through? Won't that place called the Path of Suffering make people angry?"

"Don't worry, adventurers are creatures that the harder you try to deal with them, the more active and happy they become. Sometimes you can't even imagine what they might do to your dungeon."

Gong Qiying was watching a video recording of the adventurers in the Verdant Dungeon throughout the day.

Although he usually watches videos of adventurers from the Zane Dungeon for entertainment, watching videos of adventurers from other dungeons now has a different kind of fun to him.

Although the adventurers in the Verdant Dungeon were more or less influenced by Soul 5 in the Zane Dungeon, most of them were still kind-hearted little knights, and their behavior when exploring the dungeon was surprisingly simple.

Simplicity has its advantages, such as the "Path of Suffering Challenge Video" he is currently watching.

If adventurers from the Zane Dungeon were to encounter the Path of Suffering here, they would probably start pulling some unexpected tricks.

Lu Lu Wo will definitely try swinging around with spikes and thorns on chains to cosplay as Spider-Man, Si Telan will probably try the Hound Step, Da Er will probably ignore the pain and just grab the thorns to climb the wall.

Besides these, there might be adventurers using their Greatshield as skateboards on the spikes, flying adventurers taking flight, Construction Magician softening the spikes, Orcs relying on their thick hides to withstand the attacks, and so on.

Having spent a lot of time with adventurers, Gong Qiying could roughly guess what kind of trouble these people would cause.

Therefore, when he learned that Hai Nisi had designed the Path of Suffering, he prepared strategies to deal with all the things he could imagine. While he wouldn't completely deny the actions these adventurers might take, he also wouldn't let them have it too easy.

Throughout the design process, every time Hai Nisi added a trap, she would tremblingly ask, "Is this really okay?" She repeated this question probably hundreds of times.

For her, who still harbors love and peace within her, this "Godwyn Direct" truly broadened her worldview.

It seems that moral standards have been declining somewhat without us even realizing it.

However, the adventurers of the Verdant Dungeon proved one thing with their performance.

That means the two city lords' worries seem unnecessary.

As it stands, what they are seeing are adventurers forced to embark on the Path of Suffering of challenges.

Surprisingly, they were very law-abiding.

Because Hollow Knight is a side-scrolling 2D Yugi, recreating it in a 3D world would be quite troublesome, so Gong Qiying only tried to make the current design somewhat similar to the original.

For example, in Hollow Knight, the little knight can use his weapon to slash down at the spikes on the ground to achieve the result of rising or even jumping continuously. The Path of Suffering is a great test of the player's ability to master the jump slash.

But I have to complain that the Path of Suffering should be someone's place, right? Who would decorate their own home into a place full of chainsaws, spikes, and iron thorns!

Since Hollow Knight only has one weapon, Gong Qiying thoughtfully suggested leaving two High Nut Fragment for the adventurers, which is quite a nice perk.

Adventurers in the Verdant Dungeon discovered its existence and attempted to develop the possibility of jumping by striking the spikes.

The vast majority of them were surprisingly honest enough to only use this method to complete the challenge.

He's honest to an unbelievable degree.

Throughout the entire day, Gong Qiying and Hai Nisi watched the adventurers challenge the Path of Suffering, only to discover it at the very end.

There doesn't seem to be much to say about fancy tricks.

They were honestly using the designed methods to pass the level, figuring out the right force and distance through repeated trial and error, dancing on the spikes amidst pain and unhappiness, chasing a reward they didn't even know what it looked like.

Seeing their appearance, Gong Qiying recalled his own first encounter with the Path of Suffering, and those distant memories flooded back.

If this were his own Zane Dungeon, he probably wouldn't be able to resist giving these hardworking adventurers some practical rewards as encouragement.

Hai Nisi was quite kind; she divided the Path of Suffering into different sections, with corresponding rewards for completing each section. She was much more compassionate than Gong Qiying.

Even so, this project, which Gong Qiying believed would definitely attract people, was still full of uncertainties in her eyes.

"However, to be able to design such a scene, one can only admire Godwyn."

Regardless of the adventurers' reaction, Hai Nisi clapped her hands in praise:

"This evil—no, I mean, this extremely funny design is really your style!"

"It's just drawing on the experience of those who came before."

Gong Qiying shrugged and did not linger, suggesting that they leave for the time being.

After all, it will take time to see how the new design is received by the adventurers, and he's just sitting here with nothing to do.

"Yes, yes!" Hai Nisi nodded vigorously. "I will definitely let you know as soon as there are any new developments!"

And so, the great Dungeon Lord completed his first instruction to his lovely junior.

However, just three days later, they extended another invitation.

"Lord Godwyn, great news! The adventurers actually don't dislike these new designs, and there are even a few more people coming!"

"You still need to continue maintaining it to make the dungeon more vibrant."

"Yes! I will remember your teachings!"

Hai Nisi gave a soldier's salute, then couldn't help but chuckle, the joyful atmosphere impossible to conceal.

This is what young people are like; their youthful energy is completely different from that of Chiya and his group.

Even Gong Qiying couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

He congratulated the other person, then looked at the images of the adventurers, and then came the final part.

Take his payment.

"Then I'll take these with me."

Gong Qiying took away were monsters from the Verdant Dungeon.

To be precise, it's a plant from Plants vs. Zombies, specifically a mutated version.

The adventurers of the Verdant Dungeon took these plants out, and after coming into contact with the outside world, these plants underwent changes to adapt to this world.

For example, the Ice Archer actually knows ice magic, the Fume-shroom can open its eyes during the day without coffee beans, and certain plants seem to have developed a strange symbiotic relationship with the local monsters.

Gong Qiying valued two things the most.

First, there are those plants that have grown to Megamorph sizes due to their local characteristics.

Secondly, almost all plants that leave the Verdant Dungeon acquire the quality of "delicious" after being nurtured in the outside world for a while.

The taste is just as good as the vegetables in the Gourmet Area.

It's amazing; even Gong Qiying couldn't explain this change.

So he collected some samples from the Verdant Dungeon, planning to go back and study them, and also to enrich his monster resource library and Gourmet Area. He needed to update them frequently to keep the area active.

"If any new plant mutations occur, please let me know so I can come back and collect more samples."

Moreover, he didn't take Hai Nisi's things for nothing. Although the entire Plants vs. Zombies set was lent to her by Gong Qiying, he considered it as operating expenses.

"If you manage to create a mutant plant that is of considerable practical value, I can then offer you further guidance."

As he spoke, he showed several map designs that were deeply connected to the Path of Suffering.

Verdant Path, Fungal Wastes, Crystal Peaks, City of Tears.

A series of maps, all from Hollow Knight.

Although Hai Nisi didn't quite understand them, just hearing these names gave her a sense of awe and anticipation, and she nodded heavily with even more expectation in her eyes!

"Goodbye, Godwyn!"

Goodbye, I look forward to your future activities.

And just like that, the troubles of the Verdant Dungeon were perfectly resolved.

That is, the day after Gong Qiying brought the mutated plant back.

Workers who frequented the Gourmet Area to collect ingredients were surprised to find that the Gourmet Area had added common vegetables such as peas, cabbage, corn, and mushrooms. These vegetables did not have the strange appearance of the previous ingredients; they were just the things that people could see in the market every day.

However, although they looked ordinary, their taste amazed the adventurers.

These are not ordinary vegetables at all, but a brand new creation in another Gourmet Area disguised as ordinary vegetables!

Chefs from all walks of life set off again to purchase these vegetables, each filled with anticipation for their future careers.

With these new varieties that are no different from ordinary vegetables, they can use the high-quality ingredients from the Zane Dungeon to make dishes that are already very popular in this world, instead of creating something unique based on the exotic ingredients of the Gourmet Area. This undoubtedly further enhances the quality of the restaurant's dishes.

The chefs also noticed the plants in the Verdant Dungeon and made a considerable purchase, but the supply still falls short of demand.

The biggest beneficiaries of this incident were actually the chefs and diners.

While he was engrossed in cooking in the Arnor Kingdom.

The state of the Warrior Country has undergone further changes.