Chapter 979 (1/2)

The sun rose, announcing the start of a new day and the end of peace for the apprentices.

In fact, the apprentices should have entered the Deepest Labyrinth after Richard’s group’s arrival. But thanks to a certain scoundrel, they had to postpone the departure date. Although Mini Bubble Gum treated Stewart’s injuries, his mentor, Gabe, wasn’t as fortunate. Although they didn’t know what evil presence possessed him, Mini Bubble Gum’s formidable holy power was deadly, as Gabe spent the next few days resting unconsciously in the campsite. No one dared to oppose Rhode’s group. Firstly, after witnessing Mini Bubble Gum’s prowess, they were clearly aware of the stronger side. Secondly, most of them weren’t favorable of Gabe either. Thirdly, the other mentors were displeased with this apprentice test. They had even hoped that Gabe would die to some illnesses so they could leave this dangerous place.

But it was a pity that Gabe recovered after a few days of rest, which meant that the test had to continue. After Gabe came around, he officially announced the contents of the apprentice test. The apprentices had to lead their teams with an item into the Deepest Labyrinth and place the item on a specified location to complete the test. As for where the exact location was, there were directions indicated on the item. It seemed like a really simple test.

Rhode stood on the hill, gazing at the nervous apprentices. Thereafter, he received an item from Richard, which was a teleportation crystal that was also available in the game. There were a total of hundred floors in the labyrinth and players couldn’t possibly restart from the first floor every time they returned to the place. Upon reaching every 10 floors, players could activate the teleportation crystal. Whenever they returned to the labyrinth, they could be transported from the floor to where they left off.

In fact, this wasn’t too challenging for the apprentices who were at level 50 on average. Even though the Enchanted Forest was extremely dangerous, there was more than one entrance to the Deepest Labyrinth. As a result, the difficulty on each floor was similar between the first and tenth floors. As long as they were more cautious, there shouldn’t be a problem for them to reach the tenth floor.

But the problem was that the situation wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

An item like the teleportation crystal was only used when players raided dungeons. Rhode refused to believe that the Mage Tower would get this group of elites to enter the Deepest Labyrinth, unless all of their higher-ups had also transmigrated into this world like him and understood the world inside-out. Besides, the Deepest Labyrinth was exceptionally dangerous, which didn’t fit their motto of ‘Safety First’. More importantly, Canary discovered that the teleportation signal was only one-way. In other words, when the teleportation crystal was activated, they would be brought to a specified place before being transported away individually. Rhode and Canary had no idea where the teleportation destination was connected to.

But even though they didn’t know the true message behind the teleportation location, his guesses were close to the mark considering Gabe’s identity.

“Marlene, are you ready?”

At this moment, the apprentices had entered the teleportation ritual by the entrance of the Deepest Labyrinth. This was where the Deepest Labyrinth was different from other dungeons. It didn’t have tunnels connecting to the inside and could only be accessed through teleportation rituals, making it easier to enter and harder to exit. If it weren’t for the one-way teleportation signal that could send them up to the surface, perhaps even players would have a hard time.

“All ready, Rhode. I analyzed the teleportation rituals and found that they were meddled with. But don’t worry, I’ve already added several fixed signals to them. After their teleportations are completed, we can immediately enter the labyrinth.”

“Good.”

Rhode nodded in satisfaction. He didn’t consider stopping the apprentices. Firstly, their relationship hadn’t reached a stage where he was obliged to help them. Secondly, he also wished to use this chance to see what exactly Gabe and his co-conspirators were up to. Since they were able to provide the teleportation crystals, it meant that they were extremely familiar with the Deepest Labyrinth and were using it to reach their goal. This was the main reason why Rhode didn’t stop the apprentices from entering the maze.

He had also confirmed with Alice regarding Gabe’s Chaos aura. It was also due to this reason that he made this decision. After all, Chaos could distort history and the distorted history couldn’t be recorded by Alice. Without any other choice, he had to rely on himself now.

At this moment, the final team of apprentices followed their mentor’s lead through the teleportation portal. Richard turned around and gazed worriedly at Rhode’s group. The struggles over the past few days made him aware that this test wasn’t as simple as it seemed. But now, he had no other choices left.

“Richard, it’s time to move out.”

His mentor called out and he heaved a long sigh, before turning over.

“Yes, Sir.”

Shortly after, the teleportation portal flickered and everyone in the middle vanished. Rhode twitched his brow slightly at this scene.

“Alright, it’s time for our appearance.”

In an instant, the azure sky, white clouds, and lush forest disappeared before their eyes, only to be replaced by a run-down yet dignified rectangular hall. Several stone sculptures were erected on both sides, but due to the passing of time, most of them were already dilapidated. As Rhode’s group arrived, the pitch-black hall was instantly lit up by the flame torches hanging on the walls, illuminating the maze palace.

“Wow…”

Christie exclaimed in awe and even Bell widened her eyes, scanning the place curiously. After all, this was their first adventure.

“Christie, Bell, be wary. This place isn’t as safe as you think. There may be traps everywhere so follow Bubble and me closely. Don’t act rashly no matter what you see and don’t touch anything. Understand?”

Rhode heaved a sigh before turning to them. Even though Christie was strong in her abilities and Bell was an assassin in the Legendary Stage, where even Nell couldn’t defeat her, they were too inexperienced in adventure, after all. Who knew what would happen to them if no one watched over them. In the game, Rhode had witnessed several high-level players get caught in simple and harmless-looking traps, which eventually resulted in their deaths. Sometimes, strength didn’t represent everything. Fortunately, Christie and Bell were obedient girls, so he didn’t need to worry too much about them.

“Bubble. You’ll be the support this time. Watch over them.”

“Got it, Leader.”

Mini Bubble Gum nodded. Then, she asked dubiously.

“But what about the front? Are you and Big Sister going to take the lead?”