Chapter 816 - 410: The Mysterious Maze—Second Floor (Part 2)
"Well done."
After lingering for a moment in the first-floor hall, Gauss led his team outside under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
Once they left, the surrounding crowd returned to speaking in hushed tones.
"Another adventure group has arrived!"
"They don’t seem to be a local adventure group from our Barry."
"They look really strong."
"If only I were one of them, then I wouldn’t have to stay on the first floor. I could explore deeper levels."
"Move aside! Move aside! Slime’s falling from above!"
"Prepare for battle!"
With a few shouts, the adventurers who had been resting immediately grabbed their weapons and entered battle readiness.
That’s how the maze is; demons can appear at any moment.
...
The entrance to the second floor wasn’t exactly close to the first-floor hall, but fortunately, the demons encountered along the way were swiftly dealt with, so the pace wasn’t hindered.
After all, the monsters on the first floor are mostly low-level species that don’t meet the formal challenge level. Even without Gauss stepping in, any few members from the team could easily clear the encountered monsters.
So there wasn’t much to say about the killing process.
After an hour, Gauss and his team arrived at the entrance.
It had been more than a week since the maze officially opened.
Although the entrance’s position changes constantly, the first floor always has the most people, so adventurers periodically share the entrance location to the next floor.
Many gathered at the entrance, either preparing like Gauss to head to the second floor or just returning from it.
Around the not-so-wide entrance, many handwritten signs were hanging.
"This is the entrance to the second floor."
"The second floor is dangerous, please stay safe!!"
"Watch out for spider monsters, folks!"
These were left by "seniors" who had explored the second floor, as advice to prevent under-skilled but curious adventurers from wandering in and losing their lives.
Of course, exactly how effective these signs are remains unknown.
Those truly seeking danger probably aren’t dissuaded by a few brief words.
Gauss couldn’t help but recall the information about the second floor shared in the adventurer group’s leader publication he subscribed to.
It was quite peculiar.
The strength of all maze interiors is typically divided in a tiered manner, with each floor becoming progressively more challenging.
For instance, the second floor is more dangerous than the first, and the third is more dangerous than the second.
But in the Timbel Maze, the second floor seems to be a special space. According to Guild investigations, its danger level is bizarrely higher than the third floor, even featuring some exceptionally strong demons.
From this perspective, Timbel is rather unfriendly to beginners.
How could you encounter a boss right as you leave the newbie village?
Gauss had suffered because of this, almost dying when last exploring the maze, cornered by a spider demon possibly at challenge level 4.
If he remembered correctly, he killed the baby of that adult spider demon and then used the teleportation scroll to escape, after which the Half-Snake Man Serdur found him and rescued him from the maze.
He wondered if that adult spider demon was still alive.
Thinking back, he could almost recall the thrill of that moment; if he’d been a second slower, he would’ve been sliced in two by its sharp legs.
It was indeed ridiculous, encountering a level 4 spider demon on the second floor immediately after a newbie area on the first.
In light of the arena and the sealed mysterious Green Pavilion on the second floor, it’s clear that the second floor has secrets and shouldn’t be simply treated as a regular second floor.
While he pondered, others around began forming teams.
"The second floor isn’t suited for exploration. We’re planning to use the Guild’s safe route to head straight to the third floor. Who wants to join us?"
"Count us in!"
"We’re joining too!"
"..."
As the saying goes, "where there are policies, there are countermeasures." Once adventurers were aware of the complexity and danger of the second floor, they opted to skip it if they couldn’t handle it.
If it’s dangerous, why not just avoid activities on this floor and move directly to the third floor?
Periodically, the Guild assembles a relatively safe route.
After all, not all areas on the second floor are particularly dangerous; by avoiding certain zones, it’s possible to reach the third floor entrance smoothly.
However, some take the opposite approach, sensing the second floor’s peculiarity and choose to remain and investigate, hoping to uncover the second floor’s hidden secrets.
"Do you guys want to tag along?"
Someone turned to Gauss, who had just arrived.
Before Gauss could answer, the person noticed the orderly Red Dragon Team members behind him and awkwardly apologized.
"Sorry for bothering you."
Gauss blinked, watching the person approach another team to ask about forming a party.
He indeed wasn’t planning to join the group heading to the third floor.
After another headcount, Gauss led his team into the passageway to the "Verdant World" of the second floor.
Exiting the passageway.
The air rippled with a peculiar wave.
Gauss intently sensed the commotion.
There was a familiar energy fluctuation in the air, somewhat akin to the magic power surge during the activation of [Any Door], but also somewhat different.
The ripples dispersed, and a lush vitality surged in.
The sight of the second floor was a vibrant green world full of life.
By the passage, many adventurers’ tents were set up.
The people in the tents noticed a large group entering the second floor and cast their gaze, but upon seeing the Red Dragon banner, they discreetly looked away.
Gauss wasn’t surprised this spot became a temporary rest point for adventurers.
Unlike constantly moving entrances, the exit’s location is fixed, which offers multiple advantages for setting up here: it’s where everyone emerges, providing a meeting point for the most adventurers, increasing collective vigilance.
Additionally, in case of an emergency, they can always retreat to the previous maze layer via the fixed exit node.
Gauss glanced at his mental map, and after a "version update," the maze’s map had changed significantly, rendering the last map obsolete.
Fortunately, before entering, they purchased a map set, covering the interiors of the first, second, and third floors.
Currently, adventurers have a relatively complete understanding of the first three floors, with the leading teams seemingly pausing on the fourth floor.
Gauss thought about the Green Pavilion, wondering where it appeared on the updated map.
One known fact is it seems undiscovered by others, or not by many, at least quietly noted by Gauss himself.
Since there’s no information being sold about the Green Pavilion in the market, although Gauss doesn’t know its location, he knows where it won’t be.
That would be in already explored safe areas; such locations, being crowded, would’ve been documented by now.
This includes the spider demon, likely found in those "danger zones."
Of course, these danger zones only apply to most lower-level professionals. With Gauss’s extraordinary skills, he didn’t expect to encounter real danger.
"Follow me."
Without much hesitation, Gauss led the way.
Not knowing where the target is?
No problem. Just explore every danger zone to find out.
Besides, he thought that meeting the spider demon again, or other dangerous creatures, might be good. To settle old scores...
He believed the likelihood of encountering the spider demon was quite high.
Firstly, aside from Barry’s local adventure groups taking advantage of the terrain, the Red Dragon Team arrived at the maze relatively early.
And those adventure groups are all pushing as far into the depths as they can, eager to find an entrance.
It’s simple; while the second floor’s mysteries are apparent to anyone, is it worth hindering progress for an unknown second-floor reward?
The larger the team, the more they need to consider stable returns.
The deeper maze’s rewards are evident, and the second floor is just speculation.
Had it not been for his previous experience, Gauss might have led his team downwards instead.
As for the other members of the Red Dragon Team, there weren’t many opinions regarding Gauss’s decision.
The greatest function of the "Leader’s Certificate" is that it silently instills compliance and recognition of Gauss’s leadership identity in the hearts of the team members.