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Whoosh~

The night breeze blew.

At this moment, those black-armored soldiers who knew of the mission cheered in unison, “the Commander is mighty and strong!”

Commander Blei instantly felt an immense headache after hearing those cheers, ‘I beg you, stop yelling!’

At this moment, only he knew how awkward and horrible his current situation was. That punch just now was truly domineering and powerful. However, just as everyone on that square had seen, he was indeed punching air!

‘His Majesty insisted that I must intercept the Eldest Princess right here. I was so close but I actually failed… Damn! I underestimated her!’

That barrier had hindered him slightly and slowed his attack by a breath. This was why he had failed his mission! Although he didn’t know who created that barrier, Blei had already memorized her aura.

Next time they met, he would definitely burn her to a crisp!

“I must inform this matter to His Majesty! Sigh, looks like my butt is about to be on fire.”

Imagining the harsh punishment that he would face soon, Blei’s body trembled. He then took out a purple communication bead and contacted Richard.

At the same time, in an area that was painted white and had many glowing pillars.

“Huff… Huff…Huff…” Yaeger crumpled onto the ground and kept breathing haggardly. Not only was she mentally drained, she was also in severe physical pain.

Although Blei’s punch didn’t hit her directly, the massive impact force she felt through the barrier had caused her considerable damage.

“Red dog, I’ll kill you next time…” Yaeger bit her plump lips, her eyes filled with spite.

“I’m still alive… Ah, [Princess], are you alright?” Looking at the unfamiliar environment in front of her, Yunuen first blinked before realizing that she was still alive and well. Before she could be excited, she saw Yaeger on the ground in a seemingly terrible condition.

“Drink this quickly.” While Yunuen was about to come and investigate the situation, Alicia instantly rushed over and raised Yaeger up. She then opened a potion bottle and fed it to her.

The latter instantly drank it.

After waiting for 15 seconds, her body instantly recovered. Miraculously, even her depleted mental energy had mostly recovered.

“Thank you.” Yaeger instantly knew that she was saved by a priceless potion.

“Don’t say these silly things. Do you have to be this courteous with me? Actually, I should be the one thanking you. If you didn’t risk your life just now, we could’ve been dead already.”

Alicia put the bottle down and tidied up Yaeger’s messy hair. Witnessing the scene, Yunuen suddenly felt like her presence was unnecessary. After some thought, she realized that as a Battle Priest, she was actually less useful than a vial of potion right now.

“Alicia, where are we?” After recovering, Yaeger asked.
“The center of the maze.” Alicia said.
“Center? Shouldn’t we start the trial from the beginning?” Yaeger tilted her head in confusion.

“The maze’s trial doesn’t start from the beginning. It starts randomly. In other words, it doesn’t matter where we are. According to the written records left behind by our ancestors, this maze is divided into the upper ninety-nine levels and the lower ninety-nine levels. There are also some hidden areas. When the trial starts, we’ll be randomly assigned to a certain maze. The same goes for the others out there.” Alicia explained.

“I see.” Yaeger nodded.

This trial seemed to be unexpectedly fair. Even royal members who possessed the key would not receive special treatment. They had to rely on their own strength!

“Alicia, what kind of results should we achieve in order to pass the trial?” Yaeger asked.

“There’s an Artifact Soul in the maze that grades you automatically. As long as you reach her predetermined quota, you pass. As for the exact score number, I’m not sure. Because everyone’s score was kept confidential.” Alicia added.

Yaeger was stunned after hearing the word ‘Artifact Soul’. She then exclaimed in surprise, “Artifact Soul… So there’s actually something controlling this maze?”

“Didn’t I tell you before? This maze is actually an Archeozoic Heritage. Legend has it that during that age that has a highly developed civilization, this underground maze was a special tool used to train their soldiers.” Alicia said calmly.

‘When have you told me that?’ Yaeger rolled her eyes.

Yunuen was dazed. ‘I don’t understand what she’s saying.’

“By the way, the so-called entrance out there is actually the underground maze’s exhaust vent. Although you can still enter inside using its teleportation formation. But if you don’t allow the air to circulate for some time after opening it, the coagulated weird gasses in there will poison humans to death.” Alicia said with a smile.

She was currently in a great mood. It had been a long time since she was in such high spirits.

‘We successfully entered the underground maze. The mission is partially completed. Once we pass a trial and attain the tool to dispel the curse, it will be complete.’

Thinking of that, Yaeger couldn’t help but chuckle. She was also clearly in a good mood. To them, attempting to enter the maze was the hardest part of the process.

“Because the maze hasn’t been activated for a long time, nobody knows what changes have occurred here. To put it simply, we must be cautious.” Alicia retracted her smile and spoke solemnly.

Yunuen and Yaeger nodded at the same time.

As players, they could simply respawn after dying. Still, would anyone want to die? In the expedition into the maze, completing the mission and keeping themselves alive were equally important.

Under Alicia’s guidance, everyone entered a special room.

There were a lot of magical tools in here, which constantly flashed in glimmering light. It seemed like a fantasy-version of a control room. Alicia placed the key on the stone-like pedestal. There was a dent near the size of the silver sphere carved in it.

Clack!

The moment the silver sphere was placed, the pedestal clamped onto it like a living being. Immediately after, the entire room sparkled with silver light.

At the same time, a semi-transparent energy was manifested and slowly condensed into shape. It seemed like a little girl.

‘This must be the Artifact Spirit. She’s quite cute.’ Yaeger thought.

“Artifact Spirit, we wish to enter the trial.” Alicia said.

“$@#^… @&*#…”The nameless Artifact Spirit opened her mouth and uttered incomprehensible words.

The moment she finished speaking, Yaeger and the rest were instantly enveloped by spatial energy.

Hum!

Then, they disappeared with a buzz.

• In the Palace’s Plaza.

The Commander had received new instructions from Richard.

At this moment, he stood before the crowd and took a deep breath before speaking loudly, “your previous actions are sinful and unforgivable. However, His Majesty understands that you all are first-time offenders. Hence, in his great generosity, he pardons you.

Not only that, you all should be happy, lads! His Majesty has granted you permission to enter the underground maze. But on one condition! That is, to kill the succubus who snuck into the maze under the Eldest Princess’ guise!”

While speaking, he instructed his subordinates to display a well-made portrait.

It was a portrait of Alicia.