A few minutes later, under Himl's gentle persuasion, Frieren finally gave up on the idea of leaving.
Sitting on the ground, she allowed the Hero to pull out a comb and tidy up her ssy, explosion-blasted hair. At the sa ti, she glared at Serie, cheeks puffed up, thoughts running wild.
As for Serie, Gut was gently tugging at her sleeve from behind, signaling her to tone it down a bit and not tease her junior any further.
It was rare to et her like this; she shouldn't be scared off for good.
"Tsk-tsk."
Watching Frieren, who was letting the Hero comb her hair, Serie clicked her tongue twice. She seed ready to mock her again but paused when she rembered her disciple's advice. In the end, she simply stood there, watching with interest, engaging in a silent staring contest with Frieren.
Although the atmosphere remained tense, it was no longer as hostile as before. The group began exchanging introductions and talking to each other.
After the mutual introductions, Frieren glanced at Gut with a hint of surprise, thinking to herself:
"Serie took in another disciple, huh...?"
"At his age, to have such a level of magical power... Quite a talent."
"Well, I guess it's natural. When it cos to picking disciples, Serie has always had a sharp eye."
At this mont, Serie suddenly smiled and asked Frieren,
"What are you thinking about?"
Frieren glared back at Serie, her voice icy,
"I'm thinking about a magic spell that can make you shut up!"
"Tsk-tsk."
Serie shook her head, not pursuing the matter further.
However, Frieren's thoughts lingered.
She couldn't understand why Serie would keep accepting human disciples.
Given human lifespans, even if they were taught a lot, wouldn't they just die before long?
Having yet to truly understand human nature, Frieren naturally couldn't comprehend the answer to that question.
So answers are only clear after one has experienced them.
Only after feeling it firsthand, can one truly understand.
After carefully combing out Frieren's hair, Himl pulled her up and curiously asked how she had found her way to this labyrinth.
"Because of this treasure map."
In response to Himl's question, Frieren took out the treasure map given to her by the rchant, and she also shared the legend she had heard:
"At the core of the labyrinth lies an entrance to a secret realm, where a spring that can greatly enhance one's power is hidden."
Hearing this, Gut and the others exchanged glances and took out their own map.
"It seems our final goal is the sa: to find the Spring Secret Realm. The only difference is we each chose different points on the map to explore," Mut analyzed, rubbing his chin, feeling a wave of excitent.
An already strong team had just added another powerful Great Mage—and not just any mage, but one from Himl's legendary party.
His exploration journey was truly blessed.
"Different points?"
Frieren looked puzzled at Mut's words.
"What do you an? Doesn't the map only mark one labyrinth entrance?"
"I wanted to ask this earlier. How did you all co out from that direction?"
"Is there another labyrinth over there?"
Frieren's question made Mut's heart sink slightly. Just as he wanted to compare the two maps, he found that they were already in Gut's hands.
Before Mut even fully processed the idea, Gut had already started analyzing.
"Here."
Seeing Mut reaching out for the maps, Gut simply handed them over.
He then pulled out a dagger from his belt, crouched down, and began sketching on the labyrinth's stone floor.
Mut took the two maps and compared them side by side.
"This..."
"Frieren's map only marks one point—and that spot also exists on our map..."
"But the most crucial thing is the ti difference. Frieren's map was drawn sixty years earlier than mine!"
If Mut was just a little uneasy before, he was now completely shaken.
Since Frieren's map was much older, it undoubtedly held more credibility.
Mut turned to Frieren, his eyes filled with desperate hope, silently praying for a miracle.
"Frieren, did you... did you find the Secret Realm in the labyrinth?"
"I did not."
Frieren shook her head.
"This labyrinth has five branching paths. I've explored each one. Aside from a few finds in this part, there was nothing else."
"I... I see..."
The last flicker of hope in Mut's eyes vanished, leaving him crestfallen.
"I don't think you need to give up so soon."
A calm voice ca from below. Mut looked down and saw Gut squatting on the ground, using his dagger to draw a rough outline of the labyrinth.
It included the entrance, the forked paths, and the general layout of the five branches they had explored.
"Miss Frieren, could you co over and take a look?"
"This here is a simplified map of the labyrinth we explored. Can you see if it's similar to the one you explored?"
"Of course."
Frieren agreed easily and walked over to examine the rough sketch.
"It's so crude. And the handwriting... it's kind of cute, like a kid's scribbling."
Gut shot her a helpless look.
"Please, just ignore those trivial things."
"The important part is that it's understandable."
After scrutinizing the layout for a while, Frieren nodded and said,
"They're basically the sa. Just a few path curves are different."
"I see."
Gut nodded back, then used his dagger to mirror the layout of Frieren's labyrinth on the ground.
Finally, at the end of the fifth path on both sides, he drew a circle.
"This circle here—this is where we are right now."
"Co to think of it, isn't it a bit too much of a coincidence?"
"Two separate groups, entering almost simultaneously, with nearly identical labyrinth exploration habits, ending up at the fifth path's endpoint... at almost the sa ti."
"Moreover, Frieren just happened to use a magic spell that hit right at the edge of Serie's magical detection range."
"That set the stage for everything to happen, bringing us together."
Gut analyzed every point one by one, his expression growing more serious.
He stared at the blue-grade Fortunate trait in his system interface, and he couldn't believe that re luck could have orchestrated a eting of this precision.
If that were true, then why...?
Was it Serie's luck?
Or Himl's?
Or Frieren's?
Or could it be...
Mut's luck?
Gut's gaze swept across everyone, one by one, unable to shake off the feeling that the chain of coincidences they had encountered was just... far too many.
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Powerstones?
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