Chapter 681: Chapter 328: Void Mirror
Although Ronan spoke with confidence, as if finding the Minotaur’s treasure would be as easy as retrieving something from a pocket.
In reality, being in an endless labyrinth that changes from time to time, even with a maze map, finding something whose exact location is uncertain is still not an easy task.
Especially after losing the Space Key, the ability to "freely traverse" the maze.
This requires a massive amount of brainpower for analysis and deduction, enough patience, precise control... and some luck.
Moreover, although his "obstacle clearing" plan is going fairly smoothly, it doesn’t mean there are no dangers left in this maze.
It’s like a piece of fresh meat falling into a trap; he only dealt with that small group of the most troublesome, fierce predators who were the first to smell the blood.
There are certainly other "monsters" in the Minotaur’s labyrinth, but their level of danger is relatively smaller.
There is no absolutely perfect plan in this world. From the beginning of entering the maze, Ronan has been exploring, fleeing, and peeling away strands to deduce various clues, creating a situation relatively favorable to him, making the maximum effort possible.
After all, he has never been particularly good at planning and scheming.
Using the Abyss Bull Demon Babli’s room as the starting point, what he needs to do next is to explore each of those areas on the map that have not yet been ventured into.
This process of measuring the maze with one’s feet, compared to the previous experience of holding the Space Key and traversing at will, occasionally having "thrilling interactions" with Level 5 Wizard Monsters, seems dull and tedious, often requiring doubling back.
Again and again, sometimes it feels like the road ahead is so winding and long that it has no end.
Even with the "map" of the maze in hand, Ronan feels like he’s being slowly consumed by a sense of hopeless desolation.
Molli’er, however, upon leaving Babri’s room, became unusually quiet and obedient after learning of Ronan’s entire plan, no longer chattering endlessly.
Occasionally, when Ronan glances at her, he even sees her displaying that slight sadness and disappointment she once showed when sitting alone at the inn window in Homer Blue Town.
Ronan doesn’t know what Molli’er is thinking.
He forgot from which book he read it, but there was a saying—A woman’s heart is ten thousand times more unpredictable than the most complex labyrinth in this world!
Ronan is already on the path to exploring the world’s most complex labyrinth and does not want to challenge a second one simultaneously.
Time slipped by without him knowing, not sure how long had passed.
Ronan stopped at the end of a passage, facing a tall gray fog wall that blocked the way tightly.
He casually looked at the constantly shattering and reorganizing [Annihilation] rune in his hand, patiently waiting.
His gaze swept over Molli’er.
Molli’er was staring intently at the direction of a side wall, very quietly, as if something on the wall had caught her attention.
Only then did Ronan notice that Molli’er was wearing particularly beautiful earrings on both ears. Compared to the last time they met, she had many other decorations on her body, showing signs of careful adornment, making her look less like a wizard and more like a noble young lady about to go out on a date.
Putting aside the capricious "witch" character, a quiet Molli’er was quite pleasing to the eye.
Ronan was thinking, when suddenly Molli’er seemed about to turn her head, and he quickly turned his gaze away.
At this moment, the tall wall before him silently dissolved into a cloud of thick fog and disappeared, revealing a new passageway behind the gray mist.
Ronan stepped inside quickly, habitually looking around on both sides. His eyes paused slightly as he noticed a small silver door standing at the end of the right passageway, as if it had been waiting for his arrival all this time.
"Have I found it?!"
Ronan’s eyes flickered, feeling a few irrepressible urgencies inside.
He sped up his steps and reached the small silver door in a few strides, seeing it densely engraved with many texts in a language he didn’t recognize.
"Is there another hurdle?"
Ronan memorized the contents, hesitated slightly, then gently pressed his hand on the small door.
Before he could apply force, the silver door automatically creaked open inward.
Just as he was about to step in, he remembered something and stopped, looking back.
Only to find that Molli’er hadn’t followed, standing coldly at the entrance of the passage they came through, watching him.
"Are you very happy, thinking you’re especially smart?"
Molli’er’s cold voice echoed within the passage.
"What?"
Ronan frowned.
"Idiot!"
She suddenly shouted, and then complex and exquisite golden patterns emerged all over her body, releasing a mysterious and powerful force.
It seemed to trigger some sort of rule within the maze, causing a sudden wind to rise in the passage. The high walls on both sides actively collapsed, turning into thick gray fog that swept towards Molli’er.
"What are you doing?!"
Ronan was pushed by the massive energy released from Molli’er’s body, forcing him to raise his hands in defense. He squinted, seeing Molli’er enveloped in dense flames, while countless waves of gray fog charged forward, and the power of flames and fog seemed to be in opposition.
Molli’er’s shriek suddenly came from the flames, painfully high-pitched, the terrifying sound waves even able to penetrate the Spiritual Field. Ronan couldn’t help but cover his ears.
The screaming gradually turned into some kind of bird’s cry, and finally, with a "boom," the dense gray fog exploded, scattering countless flame sparkles. When everything settled, Molli’er’s figure was already gone, leaving only an empty passageway, as if nothing had happened.
Ronan hurriedly stepped forward, picking up a dim, slightly damaged red feather from the ground, representing the last trace of Molli’er’s existence.
"No wonder she said such things when entering, was never very interested in finding the exit... turns out there were ways to oppose the maze rules and forcefully leave the maze.."
Ronan looked at the broken feather in his hand, his brows furrowing.
He truly did not understand Molli’er’s actions; she brought him into the maze, though possessing the means to leave, yet faced danger repeatedly without leaving.
One would think she was after the treasure, but they were already at the doorstep of the treasure, and yet she just left.
And then the last words she spoke...
"Really..."
Ronan lowered his hand and slowly exhaled: "Inexplicable!"
He turned towards the silver door, contemplating asking Alazan later if there was a way to completely eliminate the lingering soul connection with Molli’er.
He didn’t want to experience something like this a second time.
With Molli’er gone, Ronan felt no more concerns and stepped directly into the silver door.
After a brief space traversal, Ronan opened his eyes.
Immediately, he saw an empty little room.
In the center of the room was a small table made of vine wood, and placed upside down on it was a beautiful silver dressing mirror.
Besides that, there was nothing else.
This scene felt somewhat familiar to Ronan. After careful recollection, it resembled what he had seen when he first entered the Secret Mysterious Garden Realm through the Silver Magic Ring.
It wasn’t surprising, considering the key artifacts to solving the labyrinth—the Space Key and the Rune Map—were obtained from the Garden Secret Realm.
Perhaps they shared the same owner.
Ronan thought as he slowly walked to the center of the room, approached the vine table, and picked up the silver dressing mirror on the table.
Upon clearly seeing the image in the mirror, Ronan’s pupils flickered intensely before he softly murmured.
"Void... Mirror?!"
......
A desolate and spacious wilderness.
Beneath the somewhat gloomy sky, a region of void suddenly showed intense fluctuations.
Before long, the shape of a door emerged, and then a pair of hands forcefully pushed it open from the inside.
A tall and slender silhouette, draped in a wide, decayed Black Robe, slowly stepped out.
The figure hovered in mid-air, tilting his head slightly upwards, revealing a handsome and mature face under the seaweed-like long, wet and sticky hair.
The man squinted, gazing at the direction of the sky above, and slowly spoke: "What a beautiful day..."
"Swish—swish—"
One figure after another streamed out from the Light Gate behind the man, each exuding a strong aura of cold and sinister presence.
Upon their arrival, they immediately fell into collective excitement and revelry.
"We’ve come out! I finally came out..."
"This isn’t a dream, right? Tell me it’s not a dream.."
"Ohh.. I’m still alive! Astrid, did you hear that?... I’m still in this world!"
Just like a group of people hiding in dark, damp caves, who hadn’t seen sunlight in ages, they greedily inhaled the outside air.
After a brief period of excitement, everyone’s emotions gradually calmed down, and unknowingly, all their eyes converged on the handsome man in the decayed Black Robe.
Some displayed deep apprehension in their eyes and suddenly dashed in one direction, swiftly turning into a tiny black dot and disappearing.
Some had flickering eyes and, after their expressions changed, ultimately did not move.
Soon, out of the dozen figures that emerged from the Light Gate, a small number chose to leave, leaving only six standing still, all focused on the back of the decayed Black Robe man.
"Why don’t you leave?"
The man withdrew his gaze from admiring the sky and, restored to his initial calm and composure, spoke indifferently to the six who hadn’t left behind him.
Among the six, a scarecrow-like figure in a Grey Robe, body assembled haphazardly like withered yellow straw, emanating a scorching and ominous aura, stepped forward and knelt on one knee before the man’s feet, uttering in a dark, hoarse voice.
"We... are people who have stepped out from the stacks of old papers... Returning holds no meaning for us.
It was Lord Narros who granted us rebirth!
From now on, we wish to remain loyal and follow Lord Narros..."
Having spoken, the Scarecrow Wizard bowed his head respectfully to the same level as the man’s feet.
The remaining five also slowly knelt down.
The man turned around, gazing quietly at the six kneeling before him.
A faint, indescribable aura rose from under his decayed Black Robe, gradually veiling the sky.
After a long time, the man finally spoke, in an unusually calm tone, saying:
"The world should remember those names they once forgot..."
The six wizards all raised their heads, faces filled with excitement and near fanatical expression.
They roared the name "Narros," as if conducting some ancient and devout ritual.
The man’s expression was relatively composed.
"Misha..."
He softly whispered a name to himself.
It seemed as if he was lamenting, or perhaps contemplating something.
"What an outstanding young person."