An Adventurer's Diary

After the skeleton legion left, Ji Xun pocketed the cash he had looted from the two corpses on the ground. Altogether, it came to over two thousand.

That was roughly the amount of wages they had withheld from him before.

Now they were even.

Not knowing whether the gunshots would draw trouble, he did not dare linger. He followed the trail left by the skeletons.

After passing through several corridors, he saw several hundred skeleton monsters packed into a passageway and a mangled corpse lying on the floor.

It was Baldy Liu.

With the corpse found and all witnesses dead, there was nothing left to worry about.

By then, the sounds of battle in the corridors had grown extremely intense.

Ji Xun raised an eyebrow as he listened.

After determining that the fighting was coming from the nine o'clock direction, he decisively plunged into the corridor at three o'clock and headed deeper into the maze.

Earlier, Ji Xun had worried about moving too quickly and running into monsters. Now that the skeleton monsters posed no threat, the road ahead suddenly opened up.

He no longer had to tread as cautiously as before and could even jog along.

He had deliberately chosen corridors with more skeletons.

Skeleton monsters that had not been provoked by humans were, most of the time, just piles of broken bones on the ground.

Only a small number of intact ones wandered through the maze.

Ji Xun completely suppressed his fear fluctuations and calmly stepped over those skeleton bones without incident.

Whenever he encountered a Skeleton Commander, the Elite Skeletons would sense something odd and turn their heads to look.

Once he activated the Clown Mask, the Skeleton Commander immediately lost its target and stood there blankly.

If there were only skeletons and the maze, Ji Xun felt that this Alternate Dimension was far less difficult than 407.

Moreover, the people from the Governor's Mansion had drawn most of the danger in the maze toward themselves.

Even regarding that mysterious Keeper of Secrets, Ji Xun was gradually forming some ideas.

He had not chosen corridors packed with skeletons on a whim. He had a hypothesis.

The maze's prompt said that this was an Alternate Dimension born from the resentment of three hundred thousand laborers who had been massacred.

So the question was—

Who had killed those three hundred thousand laborers?

The Keeper of Secrets' hint happened to say that it would guard the tomb's secret and kill every living being.

Could the Keeper of Secrets have been the one that killed those laborers?

If that were the case, would the resentment left behind by those it killed forget their murderer?

That was why he believed that the more skeleton monsters there were, the less likely the Keeper of Secrets was to appear.

Of course, another of Ji Xun's judgments supported this deduction: the essence of an Alternate Dimension was not to kill people.

He had learned that Alternate Dimensions in this world came in many different modes.

Pure monster hunting, puzzle-solving, survival, battle royale, bloody slaughter, scenarios, solo challenges, team competitions, hell.

Different modes had different ways to break through them.

If encountering the Keeper of Secrets meant certain death, then the Great Cemetery Maze would not be a "puzzle-solving mode" at all. It would be nothing but luck.

Since it was a puzzle, then there had to be a way for anyone who encountered that monster to survive.

Ji Xun had no idea what that "way" was for the moment.

But for now, staying in corridors with more skeletons could not be wrong.

If Ji Xun could think of such things, some others could probably think of them too.

But thinking of it did not mean they could pull it off.

At least, the people from the Governor's Mansion could not.

There were certainly plenty of capable people in the Frost Knight Legion. Perhaps some could keep their Sanity Value from fluctuating too sharply, just like Ji Xun.

But Governor Cao had too many guards. It was impossible for every one of them to remain absolutely calm.

The more people there were, the more targets there were to draw aggro. Yet they had no choice but to stick together to protect the governor.

So their only method of clearing the maze was to force their way through by killing monsters.

Ji Xun could already see how they would end up.

They would draw monsters all the way and kill all the way.

In the end, they would fight until not a single man remained.

Ji Xun also suspected that the trigger for drawing the skeleton monsters' aggro was not merely a drop in Sanity Value.

Even intense emotional fluctuations such as "bravery" and "excitement" might draw aggro as well.

Just as hunters entering the maze to farm monsters would inevitably trigger them.

Once battle began, such fluctuations in rationality were unavoidable.

Therefore—

No matter the circumstances, the governor's group was doomed.

But deductions were only deductions.

Whether the people from the Governor's Mansion lived or died had nothing to do with him. Ji Xun still had to get out of the maze if he wanted to survive.

As he walked, he carefully searched for clues.

And so, Ji Xun strolled leisurely through the maze.

Solving mazes had also been one of his favorite forms of entertainment in his previous life, so being trapped did not make him panic in the slightest.

Without a sense of danger, his rationality fluctuated less, and he would not trigger the skeletons' aggro.

A virtuous cycle.

He explored corridors dense with skeletons, occasionally finding glowing bones amid the piles.

Ground into powder, this kind of bone was called Bone Dust, an extraordinary material.

It was widely used in crafting many Undead Type and dark-type cards, and demand was high.

It was also the most abundant material produced by this maze.

But Ji Xun's Storage Ring had limited space. Even filling it to the brim would not bring much money, so after picking up a little, he stopped bothering.

As for killing monsters, he had not considered it at all.

Even when he saw elite skeletons that clearly might drop valuable materials or cards, he had no such intention.

The best choice now was to do nothing.

He would wait until the people from the Governor's Mansion had all died first.

And so he walked for over half an hour.

Whether he had guessed right or was simply lucky, he had chosen corridors with more skeletons and had not encountered a single Keeper of Secrets.

Ji Xun had a photographic memory. As he walked through the maze, a maze model like a QR code gradually took shape in his mind.

Even so, he kept taking out his notebook to jot down and sketch things.

For the time being, he could not be sure whether this was a physical maze or some supernatural labyrinth like a ghost wall.

He feared that some mysterious factor might interfere with his perception.

So he marked his route as he went.

Physical notes allowed for more room for error.

Gradually, he also realized that this maze was truly absurdly huge.

He walked, picked up materials here and there, and wandered through the dark maze for a long time without finding the slightest sign of an exit.

But the maze normally took three to five days to leave anyway.

He was in no hurry.

Besides skeletons, he occasionally encountered some unusual things.

But as he walked, Ji Xun suddenly paused. He spotted a skeleton in a corner carrying an adventurer's backpack.

"Another one."

Seeing the monster, Ji Xun slightly raised his brows.

This unusual skeleton had once been a Treasure Hunter who had died trapped in the maze.

Although the Alternate Dimension reset whenever people entered it, hunters who had died in the maze before might remain here if they had left behind valuable items.

Like an "easter egg."

The corridor Ji Xun had chosen saw few human visitors, so his gains were a little better.

He had previously encountered two sets of dry bones and found some relatively valuable undead materials.

Now he had come across a third.

Ji Xun walked over and had just reached for the backpack when the skeleton's bony claw suddenly sprang up and grabbed his arm.

This was also a small trap for obtaining an easter egg.

Usually, that scare would cause a fluctuation in Sanity Value and draw the surrounding monsters.

Ji Xun had been startled the first time, but by the third time, he felt nothing at all.

Watching the skeleton awaken, he did not even spare it another glance. He drove a dagger into its pale skull with a backhanded strike.

The skeleton immediately fell still.

The attack caused several nearby wandering skeletons to seem to notice something. They turned their heads, their hollow eye sockets fixed on him, but their aggro vanished in an instant.

Ji Xun was already very practiced at handling this.

He pulled out the dagger and opened the bag beside the bones.

Inside were some exploration tools, such as ropes and grappling hooks. They had a strong sense of age and looked like styles from decades ago.

There was also a yellowed notebook.

None of it looked particularly valuable, which was somewhat disappointing.

But when Ji Xun casually flipped through the notebook, his attention was drawn to it.

Only then did he realize that this was more valuable than treasure.

It was an adventurer's diary.

As Ji Xun read its contents, he immediately guessed the man's identity.

He was not merely a Treasure Hunter, but also an adventurer.

"My name is Yuri, an adventurer who enjoys solving puzzles. I hope whoever gets my notebook in the future will know that I came here and nearly solved this maze."

"March 11: I entered the legendary Great Cemetery Maze. I discovered that suppressing the fear in my heart reduces the chance of attracting skeleton monsters. That is good news for me, because now I can explore the depths of the maze."

"March 25: I reached the depths of the maze, but the bad news is that I discovered I am trapped."

"."

Ji Xun's interest was immediately piqued.

This guy had discovered the monster aggro mechanics by himself. He was a true puzzle-solving expert.

But what he read next in the notebook surprised him even more. "Yuri triggered the Hidden Scenario too?"

So it had not happened for the first time.

Someone had triggered it before.

"28th: I finally deciphered the meaning of several Taren Script characters on the mural and triggered a Hidden Scenario. Hahaha, I finally discovered an area no one had ever entered. Oh, how marvelous. So this is how the maze was designed. Please forgive me for not leaving the solution method in this notebook. If I wrote down the answer, no one would ever be able to appreciate the maze's ingenious design again. If you see my notebook, then here is a hint for you: Run."

Ji Xun raised an eyebrow when he saw this and chuckled inwardly.

It gave a hint, but did not spell everything out.

It seemed completely useless.

An ordinary person would probably curse the writer for cruelly cutting things off.

But Ji Xun seemed to see the deeper meaning behind the words written by those dry bones.

It was like reading a novel: once the suspense was spoiled, the whole story lost its luster. That was why authors often wrote what seemed like filler and planted foreshadowing, even if they got cursed for it.

This notebook was for fellow adventurers, not people who could not understand the spirit of adventure.

And if someone could not even reach the place Yuri had once reached after being given a hint, then Yuri likely believed they did not deserve to see his discovery.

Of course.

That was probably also why the will of the space had left this notebook here.

This was also a "clue" left behind by the space.

Seeing this, Ji Xun pondered inwardly, But what does "run" mean?

Actually, while walking through the maze earlier, he had already made a rough assessment of its difficulty.

No matter how complex a purely two-dimensional maze layout was, it could never have remained unsolved for so many years.

Therefore, the ultimate solution to the Great Cemetery Maze had to involve some special mechanism or an unexpected design.

Judging from the notebook's contents, that was indeed the case.

Of course.

Even without the notebook, Ji Xun was confident that given enough time, he would find the correct route.

And to him, the most important clue in this notebook was the account of Yuri's cause of death.

As he read on, his expression gradually turned serious.

"April 2: I did not choose to return, because I know I cannot achieve a perfect clear. But I am getting close. I discovered another hidden passage in the maze. I avoided the monsters and encountered a stone door marked with a crescent moon. I suspect that the final Hidden Scenario in the maze lies beyond that door. But the Taren Script carved into the stone is too profound, and it also conceals Encrypted Information. I tried every possible method but could not open it. There are also too many wandering Elite Skeletons and Skeleton Commanders nearby. Even though I tried my best to suppress my fear, they still discovered me."

"Damn it, the Keeper of Secrets is truly terrifyingly powerful. They cannot die, cannot be destroyed, and never tire. The monsters have an enormous detection range and great numbers, and one can run into them with the slightest carelessness. Their only weakness might be that they possess dynamic vision like snakes and react slowly to unmoving objects, but that alone is not enough to keep me alive."

"April 5: My injuries are growing more serious, and my supplies have run out. I probably have no chance of leaving. What a pity. I was clearly only one final step away."

"I came to this world. My name is Yuri, Yuri the adventurer!"

"."

The notebook ended abruptly.

After reading the entire diary, Ji Xun finally found the most important piece of information.

It was the crucial description of the Keeper of Secrets: dynamic vision!

This was the proper way to approach a puzzle-type Alternate Dimension.

A necessary clue was provided within a dead end.

"So the Keeper of Secrets really cannot be killed?"

Ji Xun pondered the contents of the diary.

When he had first read Revelation, Ji Xun had thought the monster prefix was an exaggerated adjective. He had not expected it to be literal.

It should have belonged to the "Spatial Rules."

Just like the walls here, no matter what rank of Calamity the Keeper of Secrets was, it would not die.

This eliminated the possibility of high-rank hunters bulldozing their way through by killing monsters.

So this was the proper puzzle-solving mode.

Ji Xun suddenly understood. "No wonder the mastermind wanted to make a move here."

Who would have thought that a beginner Alternate Dimension could conceal a danger capable of wiping out the Governor's Mansion's elite legion?

This truly was the best place for murder.

The killer would not even need to show up. The monsters could take care of everyone trapped in the maze.

There was also a "" mark?

When Ji Xun saw the symbol in the notes, he suddenly remembered seeing the same symbol on the cellar wall beneath Tailor Street.

Perhaps the two were connected?

But the most useful piece of information was still the description of "dynamic vision."

Knowing that, at least if Ji Xun truly encountered the Keeper of Secrets, he would have some way to deal with it.

Thanks to '20221009215637694' for the tip.