Chapter 4190

Side Story 4144 (Free)

Side Story 2 (Free)

The early summer breeze blew gently, and the exploration team gathered in front of the teleportation tower. That's right, the strong reinforcement from the Apocalypse Paradise was none other than the big-shot Morei. Seeing her, Huanyue was initially a bit stunned, and then his expression wore a "mask of pain."

Is she not strong? Of course not; her combat power was undoubtedly the highest in the squad, excluding the Witch Serin. But her reputation wasn't bad—it was actually very good. Even if they discovered a supreme treasure during the exploration, she would 99% not feel greed, kill for goods, etc. However, she had repeatedly topped the Apocalypse Paradise Annual Goofy Ranking, which really made people...

The serious-looking Morei looked around at everyone present. Suddenly, she felt one of them was somewhat familiar. She wanted to ask, but ultimately held back. As the big-shot Morei, she was maintaining the dignity of a first meeting. Who knew that the next second, Huanyue would suddenly say:

"I follow every issue of the Apocalypse Paradise Annual Goofy Ranking."

"!"

The corner of Morei's eye twitched violently. This list, which could be called her dark history, made her immediately stop maintaining her big-shot demeanor and instead say viciously:

"Those are all rumors, rumors!"

"Yes, yes, yes, they are all slanders against you."

Huanyue was in a very good mood. Who wouldn't like to team up with such a teammate who has strength, good character, no airs, and is even a bit goofy?

"That's more like it."

Morei turned her gaze to Xia and said, "I find you a bit familiar. Have we met before? It seems... we have? I forgot. Such a strange feeling, as if this memory has been blurred. How should I address you?"

"Xia."

Xia spoke gently. Hearing this name, Morei scratched her head, still unable to remember who this was. However, she found the other person very pleasing to the eye and felt an inexplicable sense of intimacy. When the group took the rail train, Morei deliberately sat beside Xia and whispered:

"Follow me closely after entering the underground palace. If you encounter danger, I'll take you and run."

After Morei finished speaking, she grinned, showing a mouthful of neat little white teeth. Xia also smiled gently, took a small, exquisitely packaged cake from her storage space, and handed it to Morei.

Sometimes friendship is just that simple and pure. Morei took the small cake and asked, "Xia, you are a staff member, why take the risk to explore ruins?"

"The necessary items for my friends' promotion are there."

"But for a staff member, the wilderness of the Witch World is too dangerous. Why not let them hire a contractor from the gourmet system?"

"It's too expensive. It's more expensive than buying their promotion materials directly from a chamber of commerce."

"Hmm~, right. Once the gourmet system reaches the later stages, the hiring cost is indeed astonishing. They are also lucky to have a friend like you willing to take risks for them."

When Morei said this, she scooped up a spoonful of the sweet treat with a dessert spoon and put it in her mouth. After a brief taste, her eyes almost curved with happiness, and she subconsciously exclaimed, "Delicious."

But suddenly, Morei froze. She ate another spoonful of the dessert. Why was this wonderful taste so familiar? She must have eaten it before, and not just once. Morei was confused, but for a moment, she couldn't think of where the problem lay.

"This dessert is..."

Before Morei could finish her sentence, the trackless train stopped, and a witch stepped onto the train. She had long silver hair, and her eyelashes were also somewhat silver. After boarding, she looked around at everyone present with a smile in her eyes.

She ignored Xia first, because heaven knows what kind of mess one would be turned into for having designs on that dear friend. Morei was also ignored; she looked like a goofy girl at first glance. Then, Serin looked at Huanyue, who looked very pleasing to the eye.

In a silent and strange atmosphere, the trackless train continued to move until three days later.

Inside the tall, empty, and dim underground palace, the rotten wood in the campfire burned. Huanyue, Xia, Glasses Girl, Silver Skeleton, Morei, Serin, and the Shadow Monster sat around the campfire.

The group had entered this underground palace three days ago. At first, they were full of ambition, and then they got completely lost here and couldn't find a way out. Moreover, this place was a soul trial ground notarized by the Tree of the Void. Once one chose to join the trial, there was no option to teleport away halfway. Now, even the storage space could not be used.

There were three types of trial content this time: soul, mind, and body.

What the trials corresponding to soul and mind were, was not yet clear. As for the body, everyone felt it: hunger, extreme hunger. No matter what one's strength was, one had to endure this hunger. Don't think that a strong body could withstand it; this would instead consume more food. Fortunately, there was no melee fighter in the team who relied purely on physical strength; otherwise, the huge food consumption would cause the trial to fail.

The original plan to explore the ancient ruins had been shelved. This miraculous wizard trial, let alone the benefits for others, was crucial even for the strongest person present, the Witch Serin.

Even triggering this wizard trial was because of Serin's top-tier witch talent.

The bad news was that everyone present was clueless about the "Trial of the Ancient Wizard." Everyone wore "masks of pain" regarding some of the puzzle-solving, but fortunately, they all successfully broke through.

The good news was that bringing Xia here this time prevented everyone from suffering curses or the like due to eating the meat of maze monsters.

And everyone was surprised to find that the gentle-looking Xia was actually very good at handling the flesh and blood of these ugly monsters. Not only was it appetizing after being processed and roasted, but there were also no risks in eating it. Everyone felt very surprised.

As for the new member, the Shadow Monster, it was originally a maze monster, but under the "persuasion" of Silver Skeleton's chaotic ice punches, it successfully abandoned evil and turned to good. Or rather, the Shadow Monster originally wanted to submit temporarily and then take the opportunity to lash out, but after witnessing that gentle-tempered human processing its own kind, it suddenly began to tremble.

Just like that, the Shadow Monster was gradually tamed. Under the constant chatter of Silver Skeleton—who seemed cold and liked to act cool, but was actually a super chatterbox once familiar—the Shadow Monster gradually realized the beauty of the outside world and that it was actually imprisoned as a dangerous obstacle in this huge underground maze. It finally joined the squad sincerely.

The Shadow Monster had two wishes.

1. Leave the underground palace and go see the outside world.

2. Stay away from Silver Skeleton. It was about to have a mental breakdown from being chattered at by this guy who loved to talk incessantly. This human's chatter was more terrifying than the whispers of evil changes from the darkness.

Beside the burning campfire, the pensive Morei picked up a piece of rotten wood, looked at the fiery red charcoal on it, and said:

"Everyone, have we fallen into some kind of misunderstanding?"

Morei's words made Serin, who was resting with her head down, look up, deliberately showing mismatched eyes in a Glin-style: "How so?"

"I feel, are we missing something, like a trial token?"

"A token?"

"Yes, a token. With my rich experience of being pitted... cough~, rich experience in trials, I am convinced that this trial only looks dangerous; in reality, it is also not safe."

"?"

"Ah?"

"What are you talking about?"

Morei's confusing words made everyone feel a bit dumbfounded, inwardly feeling that she was indeed the big-shot Morei.

"My meaning is, although it is dangerous here, it is not dangerous enough. This is a wizard trial. Since it is an opportunity left by an old wizard, shouldn't there be an object like a token that allows the trial-taker to gain benefits after experiencing the test?"

Morei's words made everyone fall into deep thought. Silver Skeleton, who had just finished giving the Shadow Monster some careful advice and was in a very good mood, said:

"Since Ms. Morei raised this point, surely you have some discoveries and solutions?"

"That goes without saying~"

As soon as Morei said this, everyone's eyes lit up.

"None."

Morei spread her hands. One can only say that nicknames are never wrong. How could "Skin-Breaking Leg" be an undeserved reputation? This goofy girl dared to troll even Su Xiao, let alone the current situation.

"Then are we going to be trapped here forever?"

"No, no, no."

Morei was very certain this time. Everyone looked at her suspiciously, meaning, if you troll again, we will beat you together.

"We won't be trapped here forever. As time goes on, we will gradually become darkened and eventually lose our minds. This is the mental trial among the triple tests."

Morei might be a bit of a troll, but her knowledge was unquestionable.

"Actually," Serin suddenly spoke, and everyone looked at her: "Ever since I entered this place, I have had a feeling of being called."

"You..."

Huanyue's "Why didn't you say so earlier" was already on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back. He had already experienced Serin's terrible temper along the way.

"I have a premonition that by following the direction of the call, we can walk out of the maze, or at worst, reach the core of the maze."

Serin only said half of it, which was that the reason she hadn't responded to this call all along was that she vaguely had a premonition that the source of this call held intense danger.

Being in a trial area notarized by the Tree of the Void, it was called a trial, but calling it a huge trap with benefits was no problem. Man is the knife and board, I am the fish and meat.

The problem was that in this situation, a choice had to be made. Serin's Witch's Eyes inadvertently glanced at Xia. If others present died here, she wouldn't care, but this person absolutely could not die here, absolutely not!

"Ms. Serin, what's wrong with you?"

Serin's loss of composure caught Huanyue's attention. Serin shook her head and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely bring you out safely, definitely."

"This~, um, thank you, Ms. Serin."

Huanyue expressed his gratitude, confused for a moment: when did he become so charismatic?

Just at this moment, rustling sounds came from the surrounding darkness that the campfire couldn't illuminate. Everyone immediately sat up and looked around, seeing that everywhere they looked were dark creatures.

Seeing this scene, Serin's heart skipped a beat. She finally realized that this wizard maze was not simple; it had been invaded by darkness. If this were in an Abyss campaign, it wouldn't be worth mentioning, but even though the intense darkness that invaded this place had long since retreated, it was still dangerous for this squad.

Serin's pupils gradually turned silver-white. Morei, Huanyue, Glasses Girl, and Silver Skeleton all made combat preparations. Everyone vaguely protected Xia in the center. If it weren't for Xia processing the food along the way and making those dangerous foods safe, everyone would have been eroded by the darkness long ago. Protecting her now was both an acknowledgment of Xia's importance to the team and a character of repaying kindness. Truly, it can be said that the same kind of people are more likely to gather together.

"Roar!!"

As if receiving some kind of order, the dark creatures surging from all around went into a frenzy, swarming over like a tidal wave. This made the expressions of Serin and Morei look quite bad.

Everyone present, even Xia herself, didn't notice that the blood-colored mark on the back of her hand, which had been promoted by her dear friend, quietly changed from blood-colored to scarlet.

Suddenly, the swarming group of dark creatures stopped abruptly. The madness and violence in their eyes seemed to be emptied in an instant. Some powerful individuals turned and fled, while others simply collapsed to the ground, kicking their hind legs wildly, dying on the spot from sheer terror. The better ones just crawled on the ground, trembling and not daring to move a bit.

Serin, Huanyue, and Silver Skeleton, who had just released their own auras, were all stunned. The scene before them made them subconsciously have the hallucination that "have I become this strong?" However, the situation was too bizarre, so they didn't dwell on it. Serin led the way, and the group quickly headed toward the core area of the maze.

An hour later, the maze passage finally reached its end. Everyone felt a sense of sudden openness. This was a huge underground palace of tens of thousands of square meters. In the center of the palace was a giant bronze metal coffin. Seeing this coffin, Serin sighed inwardly: as expected, this was the work of ancient wizards, both an opportunity and a trap.

If one failed to defeat the temporarily revived ancient wizard, one would become the medium for its rebirth. Conversely, once defeated, one would inherit everything of this ancient wizard. In the Witch World, such ancient inheritances were already rare. Serin very much hoped to encounter one because she had confidence in herself. The problem was, she didn't want to encounter it now.

Boom!

The lid of the metal coffin was blown off. Filthy, babbling sounds that could make one hear them and undergo evil changes seemed to come from the air. Amidst a sense of ascension ritual, a withered figure over five meters tall gradually floated up from the coffin. That withered face, with traces of insect-eaten holes on the cheeks, undoubtedly indicated that this person was not among the living.

Translucent dead souls appeared around, either wailing silently or covering their faces and crying. Coupled with the darkness gradually condensing on the ground and the large number of skulls embedded in the dome above, with ghostly green pupil flames igniting in their eye sockets, this ancient wizard gave everyone a strong sense of oppression. It was as if an invisible heavy pressure was pressing on everyone's shoulders, and their hearts were gripped by an invisible giant hand, with a sense of life and death where their hearts could be crushed at any time.

Everyone present made combat preparations. Morei, who was beside Xia, quietly stuffed a life-saving item into Xia's hand. Xia whispered to Morei:

"Thank you, but... it's too valuable."

"This is a return gift."

"What return gift?"

"A return gift for the dessert you treated me to when we first met."

After speaking, Morei smiled and winked her left eye. The meaning was obvious: since they were friends, don't be polite anymore. Xia looked deeply at Morei and nodded with a gentle smile.

Serin took off her coat and threw it aside, then began to untie the bandages wrapped around her right arm. With her back to the crowd, she was already very attractive, and now she was cool to the extreme. She said:

"Everyone, although it is impolite to say so, please withdraw from this place and do not hinder my deathmatch."

As soon as these words were spoken, before anyone could reply, the temporarily revived ancient wizard spoke in a muffled voice:

"What a group of... fresh sacrifices..."

The old wizard, with its aura fully unleashed, had just said this when an eye suddenly opened in the darkness within the coffin beneath it. At the same time, the mark on the back of Xia's hand had quietly become completely scarlet.

"What!"

The sense of oppression from the old wizard's debut suddenly dissipated by more than half. And in the darkness of the coffin beneath it, a large number of eyes had opened, and black tentacles had long since wrapped around the old wizard.

The old wizard was terrified. Just as it burst out with power, most of its remaining body was pulled into the giant metal coffin. It awkwardly placed its arms on the edge of the coffin, and the previous strength and dignity were gone.

"Gl... Gluttony! How could you wake up? How could you set your sights on me? I, I am not your feast, you should go devour..."

Before the old wizard could finish speaking, it was pulled into the coffin by an irresistible dark giant force. Eyes appeared on the outside of the coffin. Amidst the old wizard's unwilling wails and the creepy crunching sounds of chewing, the old wizard's aura gradually weakened, and its soul and causality began to disappear.

Everyone who witnessed this was dumbfounded. Serin, who was at the very front, had no joy on her face; instead, she truly felt a sense of despair. She couldn't perceive what was in the coffin at all, not even a hint of danger, and this was the truly terrifying danger.

Rumble~

The entire maze began to tremble. The giant metal door that had just closed behind them was shaken open, leaving a gap. Everyone immediately turned and fled. Before Morei pulled Xia and ran out of there, Xia instinctively glanced at the metal coffin. For some reason, Xia suddenly had a very absurd feeling that she seemed to have fed this unknown powerful existence, although this sudden intuition was very outrageous.

Xia suppressed this outrageous intuition. Amidst the collapse of the maze, the group fled all the way to the entrance of the ancient ruins. A few minutes after escaping, they felt the tremors under their feet intensify; it was the maze collapsing completely.

That afternoon, in a restaurant in Moon Ring City, District 15, everyone said goodbye to each other after the meal. Before long, only Xia and Morei were left. Xia invited her with a smile in her eyes:

"I have a restaurant in the Myriad Races World. Although it hasn't been open for a long time, I have an appointment with a friend for a dinner party. In a few days, I will cook a table of my proudest works for him. As the chef of this meal, I can certainly add one person's portion. Can I invite you, my friend, Morei?"

After hearing this, Morei smiled from the bottom of her heart, showing her neat little white teeth: "I will definitely be there."

Morei, who had gained a new friend, was in a very good mood, and the smile on her face was very happy. It was unknown whether she would still be able to smile so happily when she met the other guest of this dinner party.

Dear readers, sorry to keep you waiting. Here is a free side story of nearly ten thousand words. I will write more in the future. What type would you like to see? You can mention it here, and I will brew the inspiration to write it later. Also, since side stories are content outside the main storyline, if there are any parts that aren't well-written, I hope you readers will be understanding.