"Do you wish to accept my trial?"
The voice echoed within the Barrier, audible to every person present.
Yang Yu walked a few steps toward the edge of the platform, attempting to communicate with the voice,
"Why must one be determined to die to strategize this Underground Maze? Although the Underground Maze indeed holds endless wealth, I don’t think it’s worth losing one’s life for those things."
"You’re not strategizing an ordinary Underground Maze. If you pass all the trials, you can get the key item that will change this world."
"Are you talking about this key?"
Yang Yu pulled out an extremely plain silver key from the System, gripping it and facing the direction the voice was coming from.
It was the key Yang Yu had obtained from the Hall of Wisdom; till now, he didn’t know what the key was meant for.
The speaker was likely a Guardian like Scarjade; if he could extract the true use of the key from him, perhaps they could activate a Hidden Task earlier.
However, the voice ignored the key in Yang Yu’s hand, continuing on,
"If you really choose to strategize this Underground Maze, the Barrier protecting this Underground Maze will disappear, and the sand may completely cover this Underground Maze.
Knowing this, would you still choose to strategize this Underground Maze?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Bai Jin tugged at Yang Yu’s sleeve, pointing at a featureless dune,
"I can feel it, the Barrier protecting this platform, it’s disappearing."
From the direction Bai Jin pointed, a chill breeze blew over, and the pale yellow Barrier revealed itself, crumbling from the bottom up, shrinking upward like it was being nibbled by ants.
The previously inert sand outside the Barrier slid toward the platform they were on due to the Barrier’s disappearance.
Because of the Barrier, this platform had not been buried under the sand.
The owner of the maze was telling them that once the strategizing began, they must race against time; if they didn’t strategize the Underground Maze within a certain period, they would be completely buried by the sand.
Worse still, Yang Yu and the others had no idea how long this period was; if a strange strong wind blew just after they had entered for a short while, they would be completely buried in this Underground Maze.
Without even deciding whether to strategize, the Maze Guardian seemed to want to actively dissuade them.
"Do you think we have the strength to strategize this Underground Maze?"
Facing Yang Yu’s inquiry, the voice remained emotionless, as if performing a task, questioning,
"Advance or retreat? The sand is starting to surge; how long before this Underground Maze is buried... If you decide to strategize, wasting time here is extremely fatal."
Putting away the key, Yang Yu turned and walked toward the waiting crowd,
"Since you’ve said that the item in the Underground Maze will impact the world, it would be a pity not to see for ourselves.
However, don’t get one thing wrong; I’m not betting with my life."
Gazing at Yang Yu’s resolute steps, Qing Shi’s eyes also held determination; even before Yang Yu spoke those words, Qing Shi had already made up his mind, even if Yang Yu and the others gave up chasing the Black-footed Mother Spider out of fear, he would never give up.
Iyas, Bai Jin, and others were individually worried, but watching Yang Yu disappear into the passageway, they still chose to enter the Underground Maze with him.
The corridors of this Underground Maze were spacious enough that even Lotcar could enter.
The ground was a cold stone path, and every step by Yang Yu and his team was clearly audible.
The Black-footed Mother Spiders couldn’t possibly flatten themselves to hide under the stone slabs. Therefore, it was likely that, as with the spider in the Goblin Maze, they would ambush from some invisible positions.
Hake and Qing Shi were arranged to sit on Lotcar’s back to prioritize the safety of those who couldn’t fight, while Yang Yu led at the front of the group.
Yang Yu had also considered whether to leave a few people on the platform to monitor the movement of the sand and, after careful thought, decided that since the sandstorms came and went quickly, anyone left behind would likely end up seeking refuge in the Underground Maze anyway.
Moreover, once the strategy for the completed Underground Maze was fulfilled, there was a mechanism to teleport people back to the outside world. If something unexpected happened, they would have to bravely tackle this Underground Maze.
In any case, with sufficient supplies and the ability of Bai Jin, Iyas, He Meng, and Lotcar to continue leveling up, there was always a way to find a strategy as long as there was room for improvement.
Iyas and Hake manipulated the Holy Light in their hands to form two bright lanterns, and they continued to move forward through the dark tunnel until they encountered a Barrier, beyond which lay the true Underground Maze.
After instructing everyone to prepare, Yang Yu led the way through the Magic Barrier and stepped into the Underground Maze.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, a new task appeared on Yang Yu’s system:
[Strategy Task: [Hall of Courage]
Task Requirements: Complete the Maze Guardian’s trial and fulfill his demands.
Task Reward: Free Attribute Points +100, Skill Points +150, Special Tool: Courage Stone.
Lottery Chances: Three.]
Wisdom, Magic, and now Courage?
It wasn’t hard to imagine that there were Halls of Strength, Speed, Defense, and others. How many Underground Mazes had the ancient Heroes built, and what exactly was their purpose?
That was unknown for now, but one thing Yang Yu was sure of was that to truly become strong, he had to rely on such Underground Mazes.
Apart from the high Skill Points and Attribute Points, these mazes also housed Legendary Level weapons. For someone as "not lucky" as Yang Yu, consistently encountering Legendary items in the mazes was beyond his wildest dreams.
Would Yang Yu find it appealing?
Delicious, truly delicious.
With such mazes, acquiring a Legendary Shield and Sword was just a matter of time, and he could finally, like a true boss, treat custom-built weapons as transitional gear.
After all, it was Yang Yu’s frequent failure to drop the highest-level equipment suitable for himself that led him to often abandon online games.
One by one, his companions stepped through the Barrier, and after everyone had entered the Maze, that voice once again rang out near Yang Yu,
[Welcome to the [Hall of Courage]. Here, your courage will be put to the test.
Only one among you can take away such an important item. Show me your courage!
The first challenge is this, ever since this Underground Maze opened, for some reason, a large number of spiders have invaded and settled here.
These spiders, with their excellent team fighting capabilities, continually hunt the monsters of the Underground Maze, preventing them from regenerating.
Your first task is to clear out all the spiders from the first, second, and third floors of the Underground Maze.]