It’s just arriving early, being able to gather intelligence sooner and take over the first layer’s resources.
But for Gauss now, he’s no longer interested in the resources of the underground first layer.
Spending time on exploration of the first layer for items worth a few Silver Coins or Gold Coins seems to him a low-return task.
Thinking of this, he suddenly understood why in his first maze exploration, most adventurers he saw were bottom adventurers and low-level professionals, rarely seeing master-level professionals around.
Presumably, it’s knowing the maze yield at that time was insufficient; after all, mazes "grow" continually over time, and the probability of encountering high-yield items and resources increases in the later stages.
He glanced at the booklet in his hand.
This booklet was sent to their residence by the Adventurer’s Guild, a document only accessible to adventure group leaders like him.
Mazes can be divided into infancy, juvenile, adult, and late stages according to their life cycle stages.
But in specific maze size and strength, they’re divided into small, medium, large, and super-large sizes.
According to official intelligence, the maze outside Barry City was formally named "Timbel", meaning forest maze, currently in the juvenile stage, and temporarily identified between a medium to large size.
However, it is not excluded from the possibility of further upgrading once it enters the adult stage.
According to the Adventurer’s Guild’s research data, mazes between medium to large size in the juvenile stage are not recommended for entry by Extraordinary Strong Persons.
"Should be fine for me?"
Gauss touched his chin.
He’s merely a Level 7 Magic Envoy, although possessing extraordinary combat power, objectively speaking, he doesn’t qualify as an Extraordinary Professional.
But since the Adventurer’s Guild thoughtfully sent the information, what is not prohibited by law is permitted.
Thinking of this, he continued to read comfortably.
The guild’s introduction materials on the maze were incredibly detailed.
"Maze Lord..."
Gauss paused for a moment.
"Starting from the fourth underground layer, the Timbel Maze will have a Maze Lord creature on each layer."
"It is more dangerous compared to regular demons and can continuously command surrounding maze demons to fight."
"It’s recommended that the vast majority of adventurers hide immediately upon encountering them, and find the right opportunity to prepare to withdraw."
"Truly dangerous..." Gauss murmured.
However, his eyes slowly brightened.
There’s such a creature?
Commanding maze demons to fight continuously, then if you trap it, wouldn’t you have endless monsters to deal with? Even if the quantity isn’t infinite, it would save much more effort than going to find them proactively.
He found that the advantages of this maze were increasingly numerous.
...
This time, Gauss did not set out alone, separating from the team.
Despite seeing adventurers constantly departing these days, those are smaller adventurer squads, or simply lone adventurers. Compared to other adventure groups, their Red Dragon Team’s actions are already quite swift.
The morning mist had yet to fully dissipate, the convoy moved forward, the horses’ hooves making rhythmic sounds on the dirt road.
In the distance, the outline of a huge city built around a heavenly giant tree gradually became clear.
However, the Red Dragon Adventurer Group did not choose to enter the city but continued along the road outside.
They planned to directly rest at whirl scar town outside of the Timbel Maze.
The Red Dragon Team’s journey consisted of 142 people, with numerous vehicles stretching out in a long line.
There were 63 combat personnel, while the rest were logistics staff, taking out a good half of the team.
The scale of this within adventurer groups couldn’t be called large, but definitely not small; even excluding Gauss, the leader’s extraordinary combat power, it’s a formidable force not to be ignored.
At least, other adventurer teams encountered these days would voluntarily make way upon seeing their banner.
The convoy continued along the highway, gradually replacing the surrounding farmland with wilderness.
The surrounding few miles outside Barry City were relatively safe, with frequent patrols, but beyond this range lay the true wildlands.
"Captain Gauss, at this speed, we should reach the maze by ten in the morning." Knight Dante rode back from the front of the team, bowing slightly on horseback.
Dante was one of Luna’s trusted aides, a former Gray Wolf’s Fang member, a Level 6 Knight, with quite remarkable skills.
"Pay attention to scouting the surrounding conditions."
Gauss advised.
Even though they were close to the maze location, vigilance couldn’t be relaxed.
Approaching the maze, members of the Red Dragon Team sitting on the carriage grew increasingly excited, feeling a hint of tension mixed with anticipation.
"It’s my first time exploring a maze, I heard it’s dangerous."
"Don’t worry, we have Captain Gauss."
"With so many of us, how could we be afraid of any monsters?"
The hundred or so members of the Red Dragon Team appeared quite formidable, even those with relatively weaker combat strength among the logistics personnel showed little anxiety.
No sign that this was a team which had been traveling in the wild for nearly a week was visible.
This is the advantage of a team; many people bolster each other’s courage, and arranging night watches can rotate shifts efficiently, allowing sufficient rest for everyone. In contrast, a smaller adventurer squad roaming the wild would likely be worn out after these days.
As the convoy moved, the outline of whirl scar town appeared at the horizon’s edge.
It was a circular town built around the ground maze entrance, bustling with activity.
Compared to Gauss’s previous visit, when the ground was muddy and buildings were mostly wooden huts, whirl scar town was now clean and orderly.
The open space outside town was densely packed with carriages and tents, flags in various colors fluttering in the wind; some belonged to adventure groups, some to trade associations, and others were private flags without visible affiliation.
Within the town, stone slab roadways lined rows of stone houses according to the road arrangement.
Gauss even spotted a huge Adventurer’s Guild building at the most prominent location.
"Much cleaner than last year’s town, and it seems there are more people too," Aaliyah commented with a hint of emotion.
"Last year was the first round; fewer people knew about it." Gauss nodded. "Now it’s the second round; everyone who wants to come will come."
The Red Dragon Team parked their convoy outside the town and found an open space, then left some people behind to guard and check the luggage while Gauss led another portion of the team into whirl scar town.
The first thing upon entering town was heading to the Adventurer’s Guild for registration.
Unlike the first maze opening, this entrance required registration information at the guild building.
As they entered the hall, other adventurers instinctively made way.
Gauss approached the counter, placing the Red Dragon Team’s adventure group emblem and his personal Adventurer’s Badge on the table.
"Red Dragon Team, requesting entry into the Timbel Maze for exploration."
"Alright, please wait a moment." Seeing the badge Gauss placed on the table, the receptionist lady dared not neglect.
Despite having continually received many adventurers these days, she knew the main force for maze exploration might just be arriving.
With no issues in badges or identities, the entire handling process was swift under the receptionist’s skillful actions.
"Here is your adventure group’s Timbel Maze exploration permit document, please keep it safe."
"We need to remind you, professionals of extraordinary level and above should be very careful entering the current stage of the Timbel Maze, preferably avoiding entry." The receptionist lady kindly advised.
"Thank you."
Gauss nodded in gratitude.
To be honest, the closest to extraordinary level among their team wasn’t him as the leader, but Luna, a Level 9 Warlock.
The entire team didn’t have an extraordinary professional, which meant no professionals at Level 11 and above.
After obtaining the exploration permit document, other members also entered the town.
The Red Dragon Team’s asset status was quite healthy, and soon, under Gauss’s grand gesture, they reserved three adjacent inns as a base for the Red Dragon Team’s activities.
"Let’s rest for one last day today."
"Everyone eat well and drink well, tomorrow the maze exploration officially begins."
Gauss gazed towards the maze entrance, his hand reaching into his pocket for the key.
Upon entering the maze tomorrow, he intends to head to the second layer first and try to see if the Universal Key can open the Green Pavilion entrance.