"Mo mo..."
"Mwa mwa?" Chloe looked at Rephya in surprise, "Rephya, are you already giving your senior a kiss as a freshman?"
Rephya pouted her rosy lips, speaking seriously and sincerely:
"Not at all, I currently have no intention of dating, and Senior Chloe isn’t interested in anyway."
Ah, yes, yes, yes, he’s not interested.
Chloe was speechless.
He just felt there was no need to waste effort on sothing unobtainable.
"Hmph, I knew you didn’t think much of , Senior."
Her long eyelashes fluttered lightly with her blinking, and her clear, spring-like eyes shone with sincerity.
Chloe stared blankly for a while, eventually nodding in admission:
"Your judgnt is spot on."
"Hehe, even if you praise like that, it won’t make happy." The girl suddenly beca serious, "I hope I won’t hold everyone back later."
Chloe didn’t reply; he rely tossed the flask to the two newcors:
"A welco gift. Teresa has already taken hers."
From within the armor, Fratiss first let out a peculiar chewing sound, then after a gulping noise, spoke in a muffled voice:
"I don’t drink alcohol."
"It’s an elixir with Ceylon milk tea flavor, capable of restoring stamina."
"Please, allow to accept this kind offer."
Fratiss carefully took the flask.
Chloe chuckled softly, taking a bottle himself, downing it in one go, and licking his lips saying:
"Unfortunately, this stuff is useless to now."
At this ti, Teresa spoke up: "Get ready, the Maze is about to open."
...
The instructor on the field shook the bell in his hand.
An ear-piercing sound wave quieted the crowd present.
"One last ti, reiterating the freshman combat rules."
"You’ll be sent through the Teleportation Gate to the Maze controlled by the Ethereal Emblem. Based on your abilities, this maze is the lowest-level artificial one."
"Although it’s just an artificial maze, it’s not child’s play. Every year, so idiots die in there; I hope you won’t be the next joke."
The Byzantine architecture of the Ethereal Emblem lined up like a well-trained army, extending solemnly and erect under the morning light on this vast land, hidden in the cold shade of green.
The giant circular chanism began to turn, twisted spiritual energy tearing through the passage, birthing a vortex.
The surroundings gradually quieted down, leaving only the instructor’s raspy voice:
"Newcors, begin."
The first team stepped into the vortex.
Then ca the second team, third team, fourth team...
"It’s our turn to go."
Chloe looked back at the three, then turned and walked into the depths of the vortex.
Countless lights lit up in the Duel Plaza.
Giant screens floated in the sky.
The images of teams transported to different parts of the maze appeared on them.
...
[Ethereal Dawn Divine Sword System has been activated]
[Welco to the D-level artificial maze "Howling Castle"]
[The current project is a new recruits’ combat trial, Hell Mode has been canceled]
[Please select the task mode for this trial]
[Beginner/Regular/Hard]
[Hard Mode selected, deploynt successful]
[Task: Gather clues from Shepherd Village leading to Howling Castle, and enter the castle’s reception hall]
With a spin of the heavens and earth, everyone ca to, sunlight filtering through the mottled tree shade, gently draping over them.
In the twilight, Chloe’s group of four looked towards the distant smoke rising from the mountains.
Teresa softly said, "Duck down."
Everyone crouched down together.
Rephya awkwardly said, "Starting directly with Hard Mode?"
Indeed, artificial mazes are far safer than natural ones existing in nature, but even artificial mazes are no joke.
For most Extraordinary, their lives are inseparable from mazes, yet the majority of Extras do not even qualify to set foot into a bona fide maze.
This includes Rephya and Fratiss.
Without passing the artificial maze assessnt and obtaining the adventurer’s badge, exploring a real maze is impossible.
For newcors, regular mode is usually sufficient.
Everyone’s gaze turned to Teresa, who chose the hard difficulty.
She remained unfazed, saying, "Under normal circumstances, running regular mode with you guys would suffice, but that’s only if he’s not on the team."
Teresa pointed at Chloe.
Chloe spread his hands and said, "Young Lady, you might as well tell not to act hastily."
Teresa sneered, "Can you not act?"
He smiled and said, "I’m a healer, you know!"
Teresa mocked, "Without you healing, are you still a bit proficient in combat?"
She looked at the two girls and said, "This guy’s raw physique is close to a Sequence Seven Warrior. When the academy assigned the teams, there was an information discrepancy. He shouldn’t be tead with us."
Fratiss understood: "For new teams, balance is usually considered. Has the academy already factored Teresa’s combat capability and the senior’s healing power into the team’s comprehensive value?"
Rephya shook her fair little hand and said, "And so I’m the burden, detracting points from everyone."
"Yes, if not for you..." Teresa swept a contemptuous glance at Rephya and said, "Actually, the three of us already have a comprehensive assessnt close to the four-person evaluations of other groups."
Rephya earnestly said, "I’ll try my best, please feel free to use ."
Teresa sighed, "I’m not targeting you two; the focus of a combat trial is to give you a fundantal understanding of mazes. But with Chloe and here, we could easily clear a D-level maze in regular mode.
This is detrintal to your growth, so after thinking it over, I decided to increase the difficulty."
She glared angrily at Chloe, while he spread his hands and sent a playful kiss with a smile.
Teresa feigned retching, turned to the two, and said:
"Let’s go, it’s ti for us to experience the perils of the maze."
The two girls tensed their faces and nodded.
In the twilight, the four began moving towards Shepherd Village.
A gentle breeze carried the scent of grassy bales by the roadside, the joyful laughter of shepherd children, blending harmoniously with the singing of returning flocks of cattle and sheep.
Rephya could vaguely see outside the thatched cottages, the shepherds gathering around the bonfire, smoke rising—a serene and simple scene.
"Is this really a maze, and not another world?"
It was Rephya’s first ti entering a maze.
In high school, she had only heard about them but had never seen one with her own eyes.
Now witnessing it, she was truly taken aback.
As for the Gourt Knight?
She was wondering if the maze’s cattle and sheep could be roasted for eating?
However, despite her musings, she still followed the three, hidden in the shadows, listening vigilantly to the faint footsteps around.
"Let’s go, we’re heading to Shepherd Village."
...
anwhile, outside Howling Castle.
A white-haired scholar wearing a One-Sided Mirror had an unpleasant expression.
"The Lord here has issues. My Dream Deep Dive is most sensitive to spiritual pollution, yet I can detect no anomalies whatsoever."
A young warrior frowned and said:
"Could it be that Professor Anderson’s hypnotist studies don’t hold up at ho?"
Professor Anderson pushed his glasses in annoyance and replied:
"You can doubt my hair volu, but please don’t doubt my skills."
Relief slightly eased the tension in his heart.
He knew the young man was trying to comfort him.
A few days ago, the two embarked on a ticulous investigation to track down the Crimson Church.
Following the clues, they discovered that the Crimson Church’s hideout was among the active artificial maze clusters for freshn and sophomores.
To avoid alarming the enemy, the two secretly infiltrated.
Inside the castle, they encountered the maze lord, Baron Blood, altered by the Crimson Church.
The decaying, overgrown flesh wings and pus-filled body greatly exceeded the limits of a D-level artificial maze.
To prevent endangering the freshn, they eliminated the mutated Baron Blood outright.
However, with Baron Blood’s death, Professor Anderson fell into unprecedented fear.
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