Gauss’s vision flickered rapidly with text.
A Light Spell.
The damage effect on nearby spirit creatures was astounding.
"Total monsters killed: 1526"
In an instant, twenty-five spirit creatures vanished into smoke.
Moreover, if not for the other spirit creatures fleeing quickly, the number might have been even higher.
Gauss was not surprised by this.
His Light Spell was not an ordinary one; with the aid of the White Bone Staff, it carried a powerful striking effect against Dark Creatures.
Thus, the spirit creatures exposed to the Light Spell were no different from ordinary creatures thrown into a fire.
Indeed.
Even though there were no more spirit creatures around.
The text before Gauss’s eyes would occasionally flicker.
"Spirit creature killed *1"
...
Probably some fleeing spirit creatures were still dying from the smoldering effect?
Finally, the kill count stopped at.
"Total monsters killed: 1535"
A total of thirty-four spirit creatures were purified.
"It should be fine now." Gauss cast a Light Spell on a large stone at the entrance.
The magic effect should last for a few more hours.
During this time, if any spirit creature approached, it would be repelled by the Light Spell.
"Ah—then I’ll go rest first, you should rest early too."
"Okay." Gauss nodded, setting up a new Alert Spell around the surroundings.
Then he picked up a small brush and began carefully collecting the white ashes scattered on the ground into a transparent jar.
These ashes were the remnants of the spirit creatures that had perished earlier, and they might hold some value.
Looking at the hall, which was as bright as day under the Light Spell.
Gauss yawned and returned to the tent.
He could more or less be considered a super Star Destruction for ghost-type creatures.
Ghost-type monsters naturally detest sunlight, and his Light Spell came with a special striking effect; now, with the addition of "smoldering," it forcibly transformed this originally exploration and illumination-type auxiliary Spell into an attack-type Spell.
The only pity was that ghost-type monsters form under strict conditions in the material realm, so their encounter frequency is seemingly not high.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken until just now to unlock the 26th Ordinary Monsters in the Monster Atlas.
Lying on the blanket, he couldn’t help but recall the faint apparitions of the spirit creatures he had seen earlier.
They seemed to have a basic humanoid shape, but taller than a normal human, and were covered in a peculiar phantom shell.
Was that the wise life form from the lost civilization era?
...
The night passed without further incident.
Until waking up the next morning.
No other spirit creatures disturbed them afterward.
Perhaps it was the effectiveness of the Light Spell cast at the camp that repelled the other spirit creatures far away, or maybe the group of spirit creatures encountered before was the only one nearby, and they were too scared to return to the hall after one strike.
The two woke up later than usual.
"Ah—"
Aaliyah yawned.
The longer adventurers lingered in the maze, the more fatigued they seemed to become.
Not sure if it was due to environmental reasons or psychological effects.
"Let’s explore for one more day today. Tomorrow we’ll start heading out," Gauss said to Aaliyah.
"Alright, we should return to Barry to replenish some supplies," Aaliyah agreed with a nod.
The initial maze exploration plan for Gauss’s team was intended to be short-term.
They had quite a few gains these past days, and it was necessary to go out and process them; they also received a "side quest" to search for the Cyan Pavilion Key in the maze exploration.
Gauss nodded, glancing at the elite monsters section of the Monster Atlas.
Kill five types of Elite Demons (4/5).
Who knows if they could find the fifth type of Elite Demon on this last day of exploration?
The two packed their bags, cleaned up the camp’s trash, and continued their last day of exploration.
Throughout the morning, they advanced continuously in the lush second layer.
Gauss’s Ordinary Monsters Atlas was joined by a few new members.
Which were: upright beetle, spore mosquito, jumping insect.
The number of Ordinary Monsters in the Atlas shot up to 29 types, amassing quickly.
The rich and diverse ecosystem of the maze filled him with confidence in reaching the next goal of "collecting 50 types of Ordinary Monsters."
The three new monsters encountered in the morning were not particularly troublesome targets, yet not suitable as food ingredients; they also did not look appetizing.
"Do the bugs around here seem to be becoming more numerous?"
Aaliyah suddenly spoke up.
She waved away a persistent little gnat and looked at more buzzing insects in the distance, filled with helplessness.
While they weren’t aggressive, having them land on your skin or crawl into your hair was indeed uncomfortable.
"Yes." Gauss confirmed their position on the mental map.
The two had journeyed a considerable distance along the eastern side of the maze’s second level.
The winding path brightened clearly on the map.
From the initial entrance, to the spot where they found the lantern fruit, the platform where they encountered the Treasure Chest Monster, to the peculiar hall where they camped last night—at each unique location, he would mark it down to avoid forgetting later.
Of course, while they had covered a great distance, due to the linear nature of their travels, their overall exploration of the maze’s second level remained low; most of the map was still shrouded in darkness.
After walking a bit farther.
The two suddenly stopped, but it wasn’t because they needed a break.
Rather...
Gauss looked at where the path came to an abrupt end and exchanged glances with Aaliyah.
Looking down, beneath their feet and before them lay an unfathomable, churning black fog.
It was as if the map’s boundary had yet to be loaded and rendered.
And from deep within the fog, came a faint, indescribable chant, half-singing, half-weeping, carrying eerie and ominous vibes.
"Is this the end for now?"
Gauss recalled the description of maze growth stages in "The Labyrinth Guide." They likely reached the current boundary of the maze.
Perhaps as the maze "grew" further, more areas would gradually open up.
Still, it felt strange; looking at the roiling black fog, Gauss felt a bit unsettled.
Yet the Light Spell in his hand had no effect, clearly showing it wasn’t some malevolent presence but merely a natural phenomenon.
"Should we head back..." Aaliyah began, only to be interrupted as Gauss pushed her aside.
Above, a pale, streamlined figure plummeted down like lightning.
"Clang!!!"
Gauss acted swiftly, shoving Aaliyah aside while drawing his sword to block the attack aimed at the back of her neck.
Sparks flew as the Fine Steel Longsword collided with the pale hand blade!
"Ugh—"
Gauss grunted, an overpowering force surged through his sword, pushing him to stagger and fly backward.
He managed to stabilize himself after several heavy steps, avoiding a fall into the roiling black fog.
PS: It’s the end of the month, please vote next month.