Unexpectedly, the one attacking them turned out to be a plant.
It was his first time seeing the creature before him, naturally, he felt curious.
However, he didn’t sense a strong threat from it, it probably wasn’t at the level of an Elite Demon.
But he didn’t let his guard down either, after all, it was a creature from the maze, and it was his first encounter, it was wise to be cautious.
He stepped back a few more steps with Aaliyah, completely leaving the plant’s attack range.
Then he took out the White Bone Staff.
Because its head moved restlessly like a snake, he aimed at its root for convenience.
"Flaming Arrow."
Red light quickly appeared at the tip of the staff.
"Hmm?"
Gauss vaguely felt something off.
But he was about to cast the spell, so he didn’t think much of it, releasing a Flaming Arrow in the direction pointed by the staff.
"Boom!"
The Flaming Arrow accurately hit the base of the vine.
Its root was directly severed by the flame-burning arrow.
The entire plant fell off the wall.
"Splatter!"
After falling to the ground, the flower bud with sharp teeth and thorns still twitched and flopped.
But Gauss’s system had already flashed the kill notification.
"Snake Vine killed *1"
"Total monsters killed: 1479"
The 21st Ordinary Monsters recorded in the Monster Atlas!
"Gained Title [Snake Vine Hunter], this title will upgrade as the kill count increases."
"Current effect: Danger Foresight. When hidden Snake Vines attempt to attack you, you will foresee the danger ahead of time."
Gauss drew his attention back from the panel.
Shortly after entering the second layer of the maze, he started to continue increasing his Monster Atlas entries, which made him quite happy.
But...
Watching the flame cluster created by the Flaming Arrow quickly die out, Gauss became a bit concerned.
Did the fire extinguish faster than usual?
Was it because of the relatively humid air, or some other reason?
In fact, when he released the Flaming Arrow just now, he felt a kind of suppressive force, but fortunately, it was weak, and he was able to release the Flaming Arrow smoothly.
But it’s also a good thing, at least no need to worry about igniting a fire disaster in the plant-covered second layer of the maze.
In front of him on the ground, the flower bud of the Snake Vine continued to bounce persistently.
Gauss glanced at it, the panel already indicated the kill, likely similar to how many creatures can still move for a brief time after death, all being the residual effect of involuntary reflexes or stress responses.
This Snake Vine wasn’t hard to deal with, its movement range was limited, and by avoiding direct attacks from the flower bud, it was easy to cut off its vine.
But those encountering it for the first time might get caught off guard.
"Seems we need to be extra careful." Aaliyah also patted her chest. "There should be many more creatures like this on this layer."
Even plants that appear harmless might suddenly open their jaws to bite.
The rest of the journey, the two proceeded more cautiously.
After the surprise attack from the Snake Vine earlier, both Aaliyah and Gauss kept an eye on what was above them.
Soon, they encountered several similar Snake Vines.
However, being mindful of it, they didn’t pose much trouble for the two.
They simply became additional numbers on Gauss’s Monster Atlas.
"Gauss, can you identify this?"
Aaliyah pointed to a tall plant bearing lantern-like fruits.
Gauss found it somewhat familiar, but still approached cautiously, the tip of the staff emitting white light gently touched the fruit.
[Lantern Bulb]
Description: A fruit produced by a peculiar plant growing in humid, dark environments, edible, with a tough, semi-transparent skin, filled with sticky pulp emitting a warm yellow glow, containing rich nutrients.
Seeing the result of the Identification Technique, Gauss recalled seeing this type of plant in "A Comprehensive Atlas of Ingredients Surrounding the Jade Forest."
"Great stuff!"
Gauss swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
His frog jerky was already more than half consumed.
Although he had later added Frost Snake Meat jerky, the Frost Snake Meat was still limited, with a day it would be completely consumed.
So before entering the maze, he was already thinking about whether he could find another high-energy reserve food in the maze full of Demons and wondrous resources.
This seemed very suitable.
It could be made into dried fruit or simply made into jam for preservation.
Moreover, Aaliyah should be able to eat it too.
Hearing Gauss’s Identification Technique result, Aaliyah was also very pleased.
The two quickly took out their knives and carefully cut the stems connecting the fruits, soon harvesting palm-sized, plump, spherical fruits, which they piled on the ground into a small heap emitting an orange glow.
Seeing this scene, Gauss showed the joy of a harvest-filled farmer on his face.
"Let me have a taste first."
After walking a while, the two were somewhat thirsty.
The fruits looked incredibly juicy, whetting one’s appetite.
But Gauss still stopped the eager Aaliyah first.
He had an "iron stomach," so as always, he took it upon himself to explore first.
Taking out a plump fruit, he cast a Magic Trick on it, cleaning the surface of dirt, and then took a big bite.
As his teeth broke through the tough yet crisp skin, incredibly sweet and sticky juice flowed into his mouth, quickly releasing a rich, fresh fruit aroma on his taste buds!
Gauss quickly devoured the lantern fruit, skin and all.
After finishing, his lips were still stained with the glowing orange juice, making him look somewhat comical.
Aaliyah caught sight of this scene and chuckled quietly.
But Gauss didn’t mind at all.
Facing Aaliyah’s gaze, he immediately nodded, fully affirming the latest addition to their food supply.
"It’s delicious!"
He helped Aaliyah clean a piece of fruit as well.
She soon couldn’t resist and took a bite.
Like Gauss, her lips quickly became covered with the overflowing glowing juice.
Her lips and the area around them glowed, as if she had applied fluorescent lipstick.
"Haha..." Gauss broke into laughter.
The humor lay in the scene before his eyes, as if the usually plain Aaliyah was suddenly learning to apply makeup like others.
Aaliyah continued eating, rolling her eyes at him innocently.
Evidently, she hadn’t even laughed aloud earlier...
However, given how delicious the fruit was, she didn’t dwell on it for long.
After quickly devouring the fruit she held in her hands,
she gave a satisfied burp.
Then swiftly took out a handkerchief from her clothes to wipe her lips.
Gauss carefully licked the juice from his lips, and upon turning his head, he saw that after Aaliyah wiped her mouth, a wider area was glowing orange, and she pursed her lips.
"What’s wrong?" Seeing his expression, Aaliyah asked curiously.
"N-nothing."
Gauss decided not to say anything; after all, she couldn’t see it herself.
Packing dozens of fruits into the Storage Pouch,
the two continued forward.
Soon, the path in front of them was cut off.
A platform, sinking over ten meters down, appeared before them.
The sunken platform was vast,
with a few bubbling green ponds at the edge, and in the center, a sparkling large Treasure Chest was placed prominently!
"Treasure chest!"
Aaliyah had been pondering Gauss’s meaningful smile, but her attention quickly shifted to the glowing treasure chest in the distance, her eyes sparkling.
The vivid red, brand-new chest was adorned with shining gems and expensive metals, standing out in opulence.
The lavish exterior inevitably sparked more imagination about the treasures it might hold inside.
Gauss instinctively felt a bit excited at first,
but soon...
"So suspicious...."
Memories from his previous life, remnants from films, told him that the scene before them was unlikely to be simple.
But even if there was nothing inside the chest, just extracting the valuable decorations on its surface would be worth quite a bit, wouldn’t it?
Gauss and Aaliyah exchanged a glance.
They quickly understood each other’s thoughts.
According to the Maze Guide, adventurers could indeed find treasure chests storing precious goods in mazes, but sometimes they encountered traps instead.
Thus, without opening the chest, it’s impossible to tell if it’s the maze’s gift or its malice.
However, having ventured into the maze, who would turn back upon seeing a treasure chest?
How should they descend?
There was a certain height difference from their current position to the platform, and it seemed there were no sturdy objects around to tie a rope to.
Gauss surveyed the surroundings briefly and soon spotted many sturdy vines growing alongside the wall, with small platforms to step on every few meters.
"We can go down from there."
He pointed in the direction to descend.
"Should I go down first?"
Their current position was still a distance away from the chest.
Far beyond the range of Gauss’s spell, he planned to go down first, then at the maximum casting distance of Mage’s Hand, attempt to open the chest.
"I’m going down too." Aaliyah shook her head.
Though she could provide remote support to Gauss, the maze environment was unpredictable, unlike the outside world. If Gauss encountered an unexpected situation upon descending and she was stuck outside the platform, how could she assist?
Gauss was about to say something, but turning to see her determined look, he thought for a moment and stayed silent.
Leaving her above wasn’t necessarily safe either.
What if the maze’s danger was the opposite?
It’s better to act together.
"Alright then, we’ll both go down." Gauss thought for a moment and agreed.
The two of them climbed down along the vines, pausing on the platforms now and then for a rest.
The Gray Wolf Ulfen followed them, skillfully jumping towards the platforms.
Soon, the two humans, a wolf, and a raven reached the platform.