For most low-level adventurers, the appearance of a new maze is a rare opportunity.
Once inside to explore, they might discover rare herbs, treasures, or even magic items.
Furthermore, due to the special rules of the unstable space in the new maze, only low-level professionals are allowed to enter in the short term, giving them relatively greater chances.
It is said that many people have broken through the bottleneck that had trapped them for so long during maze explorations.
This is the maze! A land of adventure full of traps, dangers, and demons, yet laden with hope and surprises!
After several monotonous days of white snow scenery, the land the convoy traveled became gradually more moist.
The area approaching the forest city of Barry seemed warmer.
As they continued on, green trees, grasslands, and moss began to appear sporadically, with only the slightly cold air reminding them that winter had not fully departed.
"Barry’s climate is really comfortable..." Aaliyah stretched lazily while gazing at the increasingly vibrant scenery outside the window and sighed.
As a druid, she naturally preferred the lush greenery over the monotonous winter snowfields.
"Yeah." Gauss nodded.
If he had known that Barry’s climate was so pleasant, he would have come sooner.
"I wonder how much the real estate costs in Barry? It should be much more expensive than in Gray Rock Town, right?" Gauss thought silently.
In large cities, security is good, commerce flourishes, and the climate is pleasant. Honestly, he had considered buying a house here and assumed that he was not alone with this thought, making Barry’s real estate prices significantly higher than those in Gray Rock Town an inevitable fact.
The question was just how much more expensive it was.
As the scenery rebounded with life, more and more convoys converged from other directions onto the main road leading to the forest city’s gate.
So lively...
Gauss lifted the curtain, for the first time seeing so many convoys, carriages, ox carts, and some special mounts.
Even before reaching Barry, the city’s prosperity and busyness were already palpable.
After a few more hours of travel, with Aaliyah’s reminder, Gauss looked out the window.
In the distance, a magnificent mountain city’s silhouette gradually emerged into view.
The forest city was lush with greenery, the terrain gently ascending from outside to inside. In the center of the city, a gigantic ancient tree stood towering, as if its immense canopy supported the entire sky.
The forest city! Barry! We’ve arrived!
"Rumble, rumble, rumble!"
Outside the towering city walls, the convoy formed a long line waiting to enter.
"Merchants register this way! Visitors, please walk this way!"
Guards clad in fine armor directed the order.
"Those are professionals!" Gauss took a deep breath as he sensed the familiar aura of professionals from the ordinary guards maintaining order.
This was merely one of Barry’s outer gates! Even the gate-keeping soldiers possessed professional strength—what about their commanders, and the other forces within the city?
He immediately realized that professionals were not particularly scarce here.
Indeed, for a city of millions, substantial security forces were necessary to maintain order.
After all, this was the sub-center of Cold Jade Province, the human stronghold facing the Jade Forest head-on.
He slightly tempered the slight arrogance that had come with his recent rapid promotion to Level 2.
Talent is talent, and strength is strength.
Even if he believed his abilities far surpassed the average Level 2 professional, and that his future advancement would greatly outpace common people, he was undoubtedly lacking when facing higher-level opponents, such as Level 4, Level 5, or stronger foes.
This wasn’t like Gray Rock Town, where a Level 2 professional stood out, as the vast majority there were Level 1 professionals, but in Barry, there were certainly many stronger individuals.
President Abelhard, for instance, possessed Level 9 or higher strength.
In Barry City, there eminently existed professionals above Level 10, and their numbers probably exceeded a handful, or even more.
While queuing to register, Gauss understood that he would likely have to operate in the vicinity of this forest city for a long time.
After a while, it was Gauss and Aaliyah’s turn.
"Gauss, Gray Rock Town, Level 2 Professional..." The guard verified Gauss’ identity and inquired, "Is your purpose for exploring the maze?"
"Yes, this is my companion Aaliyah."
The guard nodded. In the past few days, he had already received countless adventurers like Gauss and his companion.
Adventurers from dozens of nearby towns and even surrounding cities found it hard to contain their excitement and anticipation upon hearing news of a newly emerged labyrinth.
Adventurers are inherently a group full of action, and in the coming days, even more will continue to visit incessantly.
Barry City Hall has therefore bolstered the guard at the city gates to prevent any disorder.
After verifying their identities, the two were granted passage.
They passed through the small gate, through the dark and heavy stone passage in the city wall, where the light suddenly poured in from the front, opening up into a bright and clear view!
An expansive scene unfurled before their eyes like a painted scroll, with noise, color, and vibrant life force crashing unexpectedly into Gauss’s view.
A huge main road, wide enough for ten horse-drawn carriages to ride abreast.
Between the smooth stone pavement and sidewalks, there was a row of lush green trees.
His gaze moved past the bustling walled town, landing on the towering massive inner city wall adorned with vine engravings, and even from afar, the towering tree in the center of the inner city was visible!
Even from the walled town, one could feel the vast life force and ancient aura emanating from that giant tree. In the upper section of the tree, grandiose structures built attached to the trunk could be vaguely seen, resembling a city of elves in the treetops.
That is the heart of Barry—Mother Tree Talashil, the namesake of the Forest City, and the city’s greatest guardian and symbol.
"Whew—" Exhaling a long breath, Gauss calmed the overwhelming emotions in his heart.
The bustling voices, powerful guards, and the Mother Tree that seemed both distant and near... everything strongly impacted his senses.
Retracting his gaze, he temporarily turned his attention back to the street scenes around him.
On either side were rows of neatly planned, compactly arranged, colorful tiled houses.
The glass windows of street-side shops displayed a dazzling array of goods, fashionable and luxurious clothing, various meticulously crafted pastries and desserts, spices, leather and fabrics...
Even the citizens walking on the streets here had a completely different demeanor than those in the small town, dressed cleanly and neatly.
Seeing adventurers passing by them from time to time, they didn’t show much fear, at most slightly stepping aside before continuing their conversations.
Gauss could also occasionally see families strolling on the street, with children frolicking around their parents, presenting a peaceful scene.
And this is only a walled town?
Of course, Gauss also knew that perhaps this was just a more prosperous area, as it needed to accommodate visitors from other places to Barry.
A gigantic city with a population of several million definitely had underdeveloped districts like urban villages or slums, but even so, the sight before him still left him feeling amazed.
Even though in his previous life, he had visited the city centers of some ultra-large cities.
But the shock brought by a large city full of exotic charm was vastly different from that of buildings with concrete, glass curtain walls, and high-rise constructions.
Moreover, having lived in Gray Rock Town for half a year, he had long been accustomed to the nondescript street scenes of small towns. Arriving suddenly in Barry, he indeed felt like a country bumpkin entering the city.
"Sorry, let’s keep moving." Only after a long time did Gauss regain his composure.
Looking at Aaliyah, who was still quietly waiting by his side, he spoke out.
Aaliyah, having been here before, didn’t react with the same shock as he did.
"Yes, let’s first pass through the walled town, enter the outer city, and then look for the Adventurer’s Guild," Aaliyah softly suggested.
The two of them walked slowly while observing the shops along the street.
"It looks delicious." Gauss swallowed a bit of saliva.
Inside the shop’s glass windows, there were many exquisite foods displayed, fruit tarts, sponge cakes, puffs, caramel puddings, velvet cakes, preserves...
Clearly, the merchants were well aware of what travelers who had just gotten off a long-distance carriage most desired.
"Do you want to go in and buy some?" Aaliyah turned her head to ask, showing an understanding look.
"Forget it. Business comes first; let’s first go to the Adventurer’s Guild here to gather information on the labyrinth," Gauss said as he took some jerky from his storage pouch and started chewing.
He consoled himself inwardly, feeling satisfied just looking at them.
They were all flashy things without much substance; his jerky was more filling...
Suddenly, he remembered a promise he had made with someone when he first embarked on the adventurer’s path.
"West of Barry City, the Golden Beak Caravan..."
At that time, Aaliyah left in a hurry and didn’t have time to leave much information. He originally thought the information he had was sufficient.
But looking at it now, Barry seemed a bit too large and felt somewhat hard to find?