“This was originally a high-level magical beast nest,” Chen Mian said in the darkness.
“A magical beast nest?” Flora's voice sounded surprised.
“Yes, but it has already been cleaned out. The mana generated by the nest was transferred away by magic runes, so it's very difficult for powerful magical beasts to be born here,” Chen Mian said, probing the rock wall with his mana.
Automatically converting all released energy into a special kind of mana to breed magical beasts—many powerful magical beasts on the Continent of Cecia were not born through reproduction.
“Can you sense the environment here, Mr. Chen Mian?”
“Yes.”
The three of them continued deeper into the nest. The further they went, the weaker Flora and Loviki's perception of their surroundings became, until they could sense almost nothing but pitch-black darkness. Fortunately, with Chen Mian leading them, they did not stray from their path.
However, the journey was extremely quiet, and they barely encountered any other adventurers. This cavern was far too vast and dangerous, so very few adventurers were willing to enter. After learning about the situation, most chose to search for resources on the fourth floor instead.
As for the deeper floors, it was obviously a wiser choice to wait until others had explored them before entering.
In the wide cavern, the only sounds that could be heard were the echoes of their own footsteps and the faint scuttling of tiny creatures, making it sound as if something was closely following behind them.
With their vision completely cut off, the sound was somewhat hair-raising.
Loviki's fingers tightened slightly, and Chen Mian could feel her pace quickening.
“What's wrong?” he asked.
“It's very uncomfortable not being able to see or perceive anything,” Loviki said, her voice sounding a bit depressed.
“Don't overthink it. I can sense everything in the cavern. Just relax and follow me,” Chen Mian said softly, slowing his pace. “We are getting closer and closer to the destination of the mana transmission.”
“...Thank you.”
As they walked, numerous branching paths began to appear ahead. Of course, Loviki could no longer perceive anything around her; she could only feel her own body and the warmth radiating from Chen Mian's hand. Even so, she found herself starting to relax.
“Mr. Chen Mian, there are many branching caverns ahead, aren't there?” Flora asked softly.
“Yes, a lot.” Chen Mian didn't stop walking as he spoke, choosing a cavern on the right side by following the guidance of the magical beast nest's mana.
This cavern was narrower than the previous one, and the rock walls on both sides were somewhat damp, with the occasional faint sound of dripping water.
The sound of crawling creatures around them had vanished, as if they hadn't followed them inside.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, a faint, soft glow appeared ahead.
“Are we about to go outside?” Loviki squinted slightly, looking toward the light source.
“No, it's a barrier,” Chen Mian said, slowing his steps.
The three of them continued toward the light, and their surroundings gradually grew brighter. However, when they drew closer, they discovered that the area outside the barrier was densely packed with magical beasts, most of which had extremely distorted bodies.
Sensing their arrival, the beasts charged forward almost instinctively. Loviki quickly gripped the hilt of her sword.
Just as the magical beasts were about to reach them, Chen Mian raised his hand, and the air in the dark cavern seemed to freeze.
The distorted, roaring beasts that were leaping toward them stopped dead in their tracks without warning, still four or five meters away. Their claws and fangs remained frozen in attacking postures, but in the next instant, they all burst into flames. They burned rapidly, and soon a thick layer of ash piled up on the ground, filling the air with a foul, charred smell.
Chen Mian was the first to walk up to the barrier. He reached out and grabbed it, causing it to shatter instantly, and then stepped inside.
Loviki's hand was still hovering in midair over her hilt, her lips slightly parted, before she finally let go of her rapier.
Flora also put away her staff.
The densely packed magical beasts had completely vanished, leaving nothing but a floor covered in ash.
“Keep up,” Chen Mian said, looking back at them from inside the barrier.
Loviki took a deep breath, sheathed her rapier, and quickly caught up alongside Flora.
The light of the barrier slowly faded behind them, and the cavern was once again swallowed by darkness. Chen Mian took their hands once more.
Fortunately, this time, the darkness did not last long.
As they went deeper, a faint light began to appear on the rock walls ahead. The light flowed slowly along the stone walls like water, gathering toward the depths of the cavern.
“It's mana,” Flora said, looking at the light on the rock walls and turning her head to Chen Mian.
“Yes, we're almost at the convergence point.”
The three of them quickened their pace.
The deeper they went, the denser the flowing light on the rock walls became. Countless tiny patterns of light converged from all directions, forming a faint band of light beneath their feet.
After rounding a certain corner, their field of vision suddenly opened up.
Before them was a massive space, with the surrounding rock walls covered in glowing magic runes that constantly shifted and changed.
And right in the center of the space, a blurry figure floated.
As they drew closer, the figure's face became clearer and clearer.
The figure wore a long black robe, her silver-gray hair casually draped over her shoulders, and a pair of black wings on her back. She had her eyes closed, her delicate face completely expressionless, looking very peaceful.
“Is that a ghost?” Loviki stopped in her tracks, keeping her voice very low.
Flora looked at the blurry figure, then turned her head to look at Chen Mian.
Standing at the entrance, Chen Mian stared at the translucent figure with a complex expression. The person appearing before him was undoubtedly Louise, whom he knew, but he had never seen her look so quiet.
“Louise.”
His voice echoed through the empty space, and the glowing runes on the rock walls flickered slightly.
The translucent figure moved, her shoulders trembling slightly.
However, she did not wake up. Instead, her figure began to fade, eventually turning into points of light that flowed into the depths of the rock wall.
“Did she disappear?” Loviki asked, watching the direction the points of light were flowing.
“This is just a projection she left here. The real her is deeper inside,” Chen Mian said, looking at the points of light.
He hadn't felt any life aura from that figure; it was merely a mana projection. The real Louise had to be deeper inside.
“Let's go. This girl still hasn't paid back all the juice she owes me,” Chen Mian said, stepping into the cavern space.
Flora and Loviki exchanged a glance and followed him in unison.
The moment the three of them entered the open space of the cavern, the surrounding runes began to flash violently, and the space-time around them became distorted, yet it did not affect them at all.
Just like in the previous maze, Keyins's arrangements did not target those who held her belongings.
Guided by the points of light, they continuously adjusted their path through the cavern, finally stopping before a stone door.
“This stone door should be the entrance to the sixth floor of the dungeon,” Loviki said, looking at the stone door with anticipation.
As they approached, the stone door slowly opened on its own, revealing a staircase that led downward.
This staircase wasn't long. They quickly reached the bottom and saw a second stone door.
When they pushed the stone door open, a dazzling wave of sunlight washed over them, revealing a sea of flowers behind the door.
Light purple windbell flowers bloomed across the entire space, stretching from beneath their feet all the way to the horizon.
A very faint, sweet fragrance hung in the air. It was the exact same scent as the dried flowers in the small pouch Louise carried.
Chen Mian bent down, picked a windbell flower from the bushes, and put it into his storage space. “Let's go. The next floor is the seventh floor.”
The entrance to the seventh floor was at the end of the sea of flowers.
There, what appeared before them was not a stone door, but an ice wall. Carved upon it was a line of text radiating green mana:
“Lucky adventurer, if you have made it here, it means you have accepted my request. In that case, go ahead and shatter this ice wall! If you don't have the strength to break it, you won't be able to help me anyway!”
The mana in Chen Mian's hand rapidly condensed. He punched the ice wall, and a dense network of cracks instantly spread across it.
【System Notification: A qualifying potential tenant has been detected!】
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