The next day.
The two bought tickets to the maze.
The convoy drove along the South District Avenue towards the West City Gate Wengcheng, passed through the majestic archway like a barrier, and a vast wilderness and woodland unfolded before them.
Near noon, the convoy stopped in front of an enormous camp.
The ground near the maze entrance had rapidly developed into the prototype of a bustling temporary town, and it was foreseeable that it would continue to expand.
The muddy dirt road was crowded with adventurers carrying backpacks. The morning rain had left numerous puddles on the ground, which boots stepped over without a care.
"Anyone looking to form a team for the second level? We need a priest!"
"Top-quality health potions, essential for survival while exploring, warriors! Take a look!"
"Today’s goal, break through to the second underground level!"
The camp bustled with noise.
There were shouts to form teams, vendors selling goods, and discussions on exploration plans, with voices clamoring to be heard over each other.
"Should we stock up on more food?" Aaliyah asked.
"It should be enough," Gauss pondered. "We need to leave some space in the storage pouch for any loot."
Besides the supplies bought in Gray Rock Town, the bag contained dried frog meat and newly made dried frost snake meat.
And there’s probably some edible demons in the maze, too.
For this first exploration of the maze, Gauss didn’t plan to delve too deep. The food they prepared for a few days was already more than sufficient.
If they packed too much, there wouldn’t be any room for the loot they find in the maze.
"That’s true." Aaliyah nodded, realizing she was a bit overly nervous.
After all, it was their first time exploring the maze, and subconsciously, they just felt their preparations weren’t thorough enough.
The two, along with a wolf, merged into the crowd heading towards the maze entrance.
Finally, a massive collapsed opening appeared before them, tens of meters in diameter, bottomless, as if leading straight to the earth’s core.
Below it were orderly stone stairs.
Adventurers headed downward eagerly or returned upward, exhausted and covered in dust.
Gauss and Aaliyah took a deep breath, blending into the crowd, stepping down the long staircase, venturing into that deep and unknown subterranean world.
The staircase was quite long, descending at least a hundred meters underground.
Reaching the bottom, their view broadened.
First to appear was the entrance hall of the first underground level.
The Adventurer’s Guild had fully equipped it with functionality.
The space was expansive, featuring fountains, temporary structures, and rows of tent camps. Fully-equipped adventurers made their final supplement and gathering there.
According to the "Maze Guide" provided by the Adventurer’s Guild,
this maze is vast in size, the number of levels unknown, and the further down one goes, the more dangerous it becomes, but also more rewarding.
The maze is a creation of an ancient civilization, with characteristics that are particularly magical, much like a gigantic living being.
So even the uppermost level, thought to be fully explored by adventurers, extends new areas and monsters each day.
It’s like a colossal beast that continues to grow and refresh itself.
Based on this concept, the Adventurer’s Guild proposed a "Lifespan" theory for the maze.
The maze’s growth stages are divided into infancy, adolescence, maturity, and finally, the late stage.
After the late stage ends, it’s when a maze withers away. It will cease to grow, stop refreshing, and the number of monsters and treasures will dwindle until it’s completely depleted and disappears from the world.
There is also a term among adventurers known as clearing the maze.
Some mazes have a very long "lifespan," lasting for centuries, while others have a short one, possibly "dying" after only a few years of exploration. This is impossible to foresee and can only be gradually discovered through continuous exploration.
This uncertainty is precisely why it’s called a "maze."
Currently, this maze is in its infancy, in the burgeoning stage, which is also the most favorable stage for lower-level adventurers like Gauss.
"Slimes are here again!"
A shout came from somewhere in the hall, and several newly appeared slimes were instantly swarmed by adventurers.
"Shall we set out?" Gauss looked at Aaliyah. After a night’s rest, they were both full of energy.
"Alright, you lead the way."
Entering the maze for the first time, they were both particularly cautious.
Surrounding the hall was the vast area of the first underground level.
Within sight were some crumbling walls, ruined structures, and various types of underground vegetation.
Indeed, a variety of plants grew in the underground maze, thanks to the light filtering down from above, its source unknown, allowing plants to grow freely underground.
Gauss randomly chose a direction.
Walking in front, he cast a Gauss Force Field protection for himself and Aaliyah.
Though the guide indicated that the first underground level mainly housed low-level monsters and posed little threat, it was wise to be cautious when entering the maze for the first time.
"The entrance to the second underground level will periodically change location..." Gauss recalled the contents of the guide.
The entrance and exit between different levels change every so often, creating a dynamic challenge that prevents the formation of a fixed route, necessitating renewed exploration every time.
With good luck, one might descend several levels consecutively, with bad luck, it could be impossible to find the entrance.
But after some time, once maze exploration stabilizes, at least for the initial levels, there should be a real-time map available.
Thankfully, they were in no rush to head straight to the second level.
As they carefully explored—
"Waaah!!"
A few goblins, swinging crude wooden clubs, came howling from behind a low, broken wall.
Seeing these familiar green-skinned figures, a trace of nostalgia flashed across Gauss’s face; it had been almost an entire winter since he last saw these goblins.
Feeling the stir of the "Crawling Species" talent within him, he held back the excited Ulfen and drew the Fine Steel Longsword with a backward swipe.
"Swoosh!"
The long sword was drawn from its sheath, the sword’s tone clear and crisp.
Even though he switched weapons, from a rapier to this Fine Steel Longsword designed to reduce wind resistance, with the bonus from Basic Swordsmanship and many days of training, he quickly adapted.
"Swish!"
The air flowed smoothly along the ridge of the blade.
A flash of white light.
A deep blood gash opened on the first goblin in line, the wound exposing bone, blood gushing out.
Gauss moved swiftly, like the wind, striking with the second sword, the third sword... In the blink of an eye, several goblins lay in pools of blood.
"Killed goblin *5"
"Phew—" Gauss felt a slight warmth in his body.
He knew it was the Crawling Species and Energy Storage Glands talents absorbing "nutrients," enhancing himself.
It had to be goblins...
"The monsters here are quite aggressive." Aaliyah walked over.
Normally in the wild, five goblins would probably not dare attack two Professionals and a large wolf.
"Is it the influence of the maze?"
Gauss looked at the soil beneath him, already starting to absorb the goblin blood that had flowed out from the wounds.
Of course, this wasn’t a bad thing for him.
During winter hunts, those lower-tier monsters that would flee at the drop of a hat indeed added to his workload.
He wished all the lower-tier monsters here were fearless battle maniacs.
Quickly scouring for loot, the two looked toward the direction the goblins had charged from.
"There should be more goblins over there?" Gauss pondered.
Immediately, he continued onward with Aaliyah.
Along the way.
As expected, they encountered other monsters.
Some in small numbers, solitary, while others came in groups of three or five.
But no matter what, they couldn’t cause any trouble for the two.
Besides goblins, the duo also came across kobolds, skeletons, and slimes, these common lower-tier monsters.
They continued onward for several hours.
The two took a brief rest on the second floor of a damaged building, lighting a small campfire.
"Total monsters killed: 1386"
Gauss checked the Monster Atlas’s information.
Currently, they’ve killed a total of 60 monsters.
About forty of them were goblins, the rest were other small monsters.
He was generally satisfied with this kill count.
Though the maze environment did seem a bit eerie.
"This maze floor is really vast."
During their exploration, they only encountered others a few times.
Moreover, something Gauss couldn’t figure out from the start was how, being so deep underground, the light managed to shine in.
Or rather, whether it was actually sunlight, he couldn’t really tell.
"Gauss! Look what I’ve found!" Aaliyah’s voice came from downstairs.
After eating, she had been exploring several empty rooms downstairs, saying she’d heard at the surface camp that some treasures were found in the ruins, so she went to look.
Gauss followed the sound downstairs. In a corner of a room, Aaliyah was holding several heavy, silvery white metal bricks.
"Is this silver?"
"Genuine." Aaliyah knocked on a silver brick, emitting a crisp, pleasing ringing sound.
"Should be worth three to four hundred Silver Coins." Gauss was a bit surprised, a few Gold Coins at hand. "You’re really lucky?"
"Hehe, it was hidden here."
Aaliyah smiled smugly, pointing with her toe at a few loose tiles she’d pried up.
Gauss gave her a thumbs-up.
No wonder adventurers flocked here. Even on the first underground level, they managed to find such treasure, and many areas there had already been searched by the time they arrived.
Just as they were delighted with the unexpected windfall.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, without warning, the earth beside the ancient well in the courtyard of the ruined building trembled violently.
Immediately following, a gigantic shadow, several meters high, rose up from the ground!
"Shh!"
Gauss heard the noise outside and instantly became alert, putting away the silver brick and exchanging a look with Aaliyah.
He moved silently like a cat to a room facing the courtyard, pressing his body against the wall, peering out through the window towards the open space of the courtyard.
"Boom!"
A massive clump of dark brown, thick, earth-smelling substance shot through the window like a cannonball, heading straight for the two!
Quick-eyed and quick-handed, Gauss swiftly pulled Aaliyah aside.
"Bang!!!"
With a dull thud, the clump of viscous material smashed through the loose brick window frame, sending shards of mud and rubble flying everywhere.