63: Chapter 63 The Labyrinth Will Open

Six days passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Mu hadn't been very happy these past few days.

The morning after his chance encounter with Frederica, he got out of bed and left the inn, heading to the city gates to ask the Guards on duty where the townspeople of Kas Town were staying in the city.

The answer he received was very disappointing; the townspeople had actually already returned to Kas Town.

Having lost the chance to pet the Cat Girl, Zhang Mu returned to his inn room dejectedly and summoned the portal to leave the Other World.

Back on Blue Star, he took a plane to a country where order was rather chaotic, found a deserted, dense forest, and spent three days testing and familiarizing himself with the firearms in his inventory.

After some experimentation, Zhang Mu had some ideas on how to use the firearms.

First of all, relying solely on the kinetic energy of an automatic rifle, it was very difficult to break through the defensive measures of high-level transcendents.

However, if hiding in the shadows for a sneak attack, they could be quite effective against Magicians.

Because bullet fire is a kinetic weapon, Magicians, who are used to judging attacks by fluctuations in Mental Energy and mana, would find it hard to react in an instant.

As for the gatling, its power was actually quite impressive.

With a rate of fire reaching up to a thousand rounds per minute, it could easily harvest Magicians who hadn't learned the Magic Shield.

Even with a Magic Shield, it could deal with anyone as long as they weren't High-level Magicians or above, whose Mental Energy had undergone a qualitative change.

Other items like RPGs, grenades, and so on, could also produce miraculous effects when used unexpectedly.

After finishing the tests, Zhang Mu didn't linger abroad. He flew back home, bought some herbs, and then summoned the portal to the Other World.

He set the herbs aside in his room, letting them absorb mana on their own to undergo mutation.

Then, calculating the time, there were still two days until the labyrinth opened. He didn't feel like wandering around, so he simply practiced his Meditation Method in the room every day.

It wasn't until the morning of the sixth day that he went out to meet Frederica as they had agreed.

When he went down to the first-floor lobby, Frederica and her clansmen had already been sitting on the sofa for a while.

“Good morning, Mr. Zhang Mu.”

“Just call me Zhang Mu.”

“Then, Zhang Mu, let me introduce you.”

She looked at the three elves standing in a row behind her. “This is Saldari, this is Alice, and you know Vag.”

Zhang Mu nodded and glanced at them.

Their appearances were as handsome as expected of their race, leaning toward the androgynous, making it somewhat difficult to distinguish their gender.

Fortunately, this didn't stump Zhang Mu. He confidently greeted the two elves he hadn't met: “We'll be traveling together for a while,”

“I hope we can get along pleasantly, gentlemen.”

Saldari was also an Elf Clan warrior, wearing light armor. He smiled and said, “I hold the same expectation.”

Alice, on the other hand, was a Magician, holding a staff in her hand. She said with a mischievous grin, “I am an Elven lady.”

The somewhat playful female voice left Zhang Mu stunned.

He subconsciously sized her up twice. I was just wondering why a male elf would have such a feminine name, but as for you... is only your grandfather at home? Where did your grandmother go?

Coming back to his senses and realizing he was being very rude, Zhang Mu scratched his head with an awkward laugh. “Sorry, sorry, I, uh, just...”

“It's fine, I'm used to it.”

“Alright.” Frederica interrupted them. “The labyrinth opens tomorrow. We'll set out immediately to secure a good spot in advance.”

They didn't waste any more time and set off together.

On the way, Zhang Mu looked at the quiet Vag with some confusion.

This guy was jumping and hopping around a few days ago, so why is he so quiet now? Then why did I even agree to the invitation?

Pondering this, Zhang Mu's gaze became strange as he stared at the tips of Vag's ears.

Anger visibly welled up on Vag's face, but for some reason, he didn't start a loud argument. He clenched his fists and fell back a few steps, hiding behind Saldari to escape Zhang Mu's gaze.

Seeing this, Zhang Mu didn't continue staring. Exploring the labyrinth would take several days; there would be plenty of time once they were inside.

Leaving the city gates, the five of them turned right.

The Church had already announced the exact location of the labyrinth. It was very close to Bala City. After walking for about half an hour, they arrived at the bank of a wide river.

On the calm water surface, weeds and dead branches floated downstream. On the opposite side was a sparse forest.

They had arrived a day early, yet there was already a large number of Adventurer Groups by the river, with tents pitched in a very scattered manner.

“Let's hurry and set up camp too. More and more Adventurer Groups will be arriving.”

After Frederica finished speaking, she took out wooden supports and a tarpaulin made from the fur of an unknown beast from her Storage Pouch.

The five of them walked a bit further along the river, keeping a sufficient distance from other Adventurer Groups, and began pitching their tents on the flat grass.

Zhang Mu was tying the ends of three wooden poles together while turning his head to look around.

Frederica, who was spreading out the tarpaulin nearby, saw this and asked curiously, “What are you looking for?”

“Ah? Oh, I was just wondering why I haven't seen any Believers from the Church.”

Her hands, busy pulling the tarpaulin, stopped, and her eyes showed confusion. “Church regulations strictly forbid all official Believers from entering the labyrinth.”

“You're a Magician. When you went to the Church to get your Identity Medallion, the Believers should have read the Church rules once. How could you not know?”

“I don't really care about Church rules. I wasn't listening carefully at the time, so I probably missed it.”

After a perfunctory excuse, Zhang Mu lowered his head, deep in thought.

Labyrinth locations were all surveyed by the Church using their own manpower and resources, and then public notices were issued to inform the Adventurer Groups.

A labyrinth location hiding a large amount of treasure—not only did they not keep it a secret, they even forbade their own Believers from entering.

Zhang Mu wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death if there wasn't some kind of catch.

After thinking for a while to no avail, he spoke to Frederica: “Why do you think the Church would give up all the various rare resources in the labyrinth?”

“After magic books on the Saul Continent have been placed for a long time, the magic script will slowly disappear, right?”

“Yes.”

“The Church's Light Magic is not included in that.”

Zhang Mu's brow furrowed, and he stared at her. Sensing his gaze, she explained, “The script of Light Magic can endure for a long time; it is a grace from the God to the followers.”

“A Church that has already received the God's blessing should naturally be modest and yield the resources produced by the labyrinth.”

“That is part of the doctrine.”

“Do you believe that?”

Shaking her head, she said, “But I can't think of any other possibility.”

“The Church's strength is terrifying. If they mobilized a large number of Believers to enter the labyrinth, no Adventurer Group would have the ability to take even a single magic book from their hands.”

Lowering his head to continue tying the wooden poles, Zhang Mu's eyes fixed on the grass, a cloud of suspicion lingering.

There was only one reason to give up immediate benefits, and that was to obtain even greater benefits. What was the Church plotting?

Faith?

That didn't make sense; they didn't force others to believe in their God.

He pondered from day until night. All five tents were pitched, but Zhang Mu still couldn't figure it out.

Temporarily putting the matter aside, Zhang Mu and the four elves started a campfire and roasted wild beast leg meat for dinner.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, the five of them crawled into their respective tents early to rest, conserving their energy for the opening of the labyrinth tomorrow.

The moonlight was bright and clear. The stationed Adventurer Groups returned to their tents one after another. The riverbank, which had been somewhat noisy during the day, was now exceptionally quiet—it was the perfect time for sleeping.

Yet, there are always those who don't sleep when they should.

A dark shadow emerged from the forest, stepped on a wooden stick and floated to the opposite bank. Landing silently, it circled around Zhang Mu's tent.

Finding the triangular patch mark on the surface of the tarpaulin, it nodded and quietly felt its way into the tent.