The palace labyrinth on the tenth floor, which Dalun Li had spent a long time arranging, had finally become lively.
Purple Hammer, who had just received a blessing from the guardian Feiwan, also arrived at the palace in the desert.
Unlike the adventurers, however, he had a staff passage.
"Lord Purple Hammer, are you returning to the lower floors?"
A skeletal shaman greeted him familiarly as soon as he entered the palace.
After all, this was the purple-skinned blacksmith named by the Master, and now he even held the blessings of two guardian lords.
Since they were both intelligent monsters, the skeletal shaman was very friendly.
"Ah, yes, thank you for your trouble."
Purple Hammer responded with polite pleasantries.
Although the skeletal shaman looked terrifying, he was actually quite a nice person.
"It's no trouble at all, no trouble. Wait a moment, an adventurer is passing through; I'll go give him a beating first."
The skeletal shaman had not forgotten his duties.
"You're working hard."
"Serving the Master is never hard, never hard."
"Go straight from here. There is a wall monster around the corner ahead; just greet it, and it will let you pass through to the next floor."
The skeletal shaman pointed the way through the labyrinth for Purple Hammer.
After all, the terrain of this palace labyrinth was constantly shifting; without guidance, it would be a huge waste of time.
"I'm not in a hurry to go to the lower floors yet; I plan to find some adventurers to hone my combat skills."
"I see, that's perfect. Turn right at the passage ahead and keep going; there's a lone first-rank swordsman right there."
The skeletal shaman acted like they were old friends, being incredibly hospitable.
Purple Hammer felt that even among his kind, this skeletal shaman was exceptionally enthusiastic.
"Thank you for your help."
Purple Hammer also wanted to test his current strength.
"No trouble. If you run into danger, just knock on the wall and greet a nearby wall monster; I'll arrange for reinforcements immediately."
"Alright."
Carrying the Purple Treasure Mallet on his back, Purple Hammer quickly followed the directions and found the lone first-rank swordsman.
The man bore the Grey family crest of the golden rose on his person; he was fair game!
Purple Hammer swung the Purple Treasure Mallet and smashed it toward him.
Although he was not yet proficient with Feiwan's Blessing, Purple Hammer, who carried the blessings of two guardians and held the lesser magic grade magical artifact Purple Treasure Mallet, still easily suppressed the first-rank swordsman before him.
"What kind of monster are you? How can you be so strong!"
The first-rank swordsman's initial joy at encountering a monster with a magic item turned into sheer terror.
Purple Hammer did not care about his terror.
The power of Feiwan's Blessing and the Forbidden Fire Blessing activated simultaneously, as scorching flames wrapped around the Purple Treasure Mallet, which he brought down with a heavy strike.
In an instant, the broadsword in the first-rank swordsman's hand snapped under the unbearable impact.
His entire body was thrown by the massive force, crashing into the wall as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Ignoring his injuries, the first-rank swordsman quickly pulled out a light crossbow from his side and aimed it at Purple Hammer, ready to fire.
However, Purple Hammer held his mallet in one hand to block the swordsman and lightly waved his other hand toward the air.
In an instant, vines sprouted from the stone walls, entangling the swordsman's body.
"Plant abilities? How is that possible!"
The first-rank swordsman cried out in shock, but by then, Purple Hammer was already swinging the Purple Treasure Mallet toward him.
The flame-wrapped Purple Treasure Mallet smashed down with irresistible force.
The defense the first-rank swordsman tried to mount shattered instantly under the heavy blow, and his entire head was crushed flat.
He died without any suspense.
Purple Hammer lowered his mallet, resting it on the ground as his body felt a slight wave of exhaustion.
There was no helping it; he was originally of a race created by Dalun Li for foundry and forging.
Even though his combat capabilities had been boosted by the blessings of two guardians and the Forbidden Fire Blessing, his original foundation was still holding him back.
If it were not for the powerful vitality of Zeno's Blessing which improved his constitution, he might not have been able to support the power of these blessings during combat.
"Is my experience still somewhat lacking?"
Purple Hammer shouldered the Purple Treasure Mallet, his consumed stamina rapidly recovering under the power of Zeno's Blessing.
He crouched down and looted the coins from the first-rank swordsman's body.
These coins could be exchanged with the monster merchant for dungeon coins, which he could then save up to buy upgrade materials.
...
All four factions had now entered the labyrinth.
There was even an extra variable in the form of Purple Hammer.
Conflict broke out before anyone realized it.
Dalun Li did not secretly manipulate the palace labyrinth to force the four factions into battle.
After all, Dalun Li and the guardians he personally created would never interfere with the adventurers' exploration.
However, Dalun Li had no control over the actions of the skeletal shamans.
The skeletal shamans had only one goal: to use any means necessary to obstruct the adventurers' exploration.
Kill all intruders!
A sharp Sword Qi slashed toward Manfred, who had not been in the palace labyrinth for long.
At this moment, Manfred and his companions had been separated by invisible spatial teleportation.
He could only rely on his instinctive reactions, drawing his sword to meet the attack from behind.
And the person launching the attack was none other than Caiman Grey!
The gap between a third-rank swordsman and a second-rank swordsman allowed Caiman to instantly suppress Manfred, sending him flying to the ground.
Manfred never expected the palace labyrinth to possess spatial power that could teleport him and his companions to different locations.
Even less did he expect to run into Caiman as soon as he entered the labyrinth.
"Manfred!"
Caiman's first move was a killing strike, as he unhesitatingly activated the greater magic grade magic equipment in his hand, Forgotten Hero.
In an instant, Manfred's head buzzed, and all sounds in his ears vanished.
His hearing ability had been forgotten by the special effect of the Forgotten Hero!
"Die!"
Caiman continued to swing his blade.
Although Manfred had lost his hearing, his battle-hardened Swordsmanship remained unaffected within his line of sight.
He swung his longsword, wrapped in Sword Qi, to meet the slash.
At the same time, he pulled out his Candelabra, preparing to activate the Forbidden Fire.
But just then, an invisible spatial power activated.
This was not the spatial ability of the palace labyrinth itself, but the effect of a spatial magic item!
The elves, who had been hiding all along, finally made their move!
Eomer struck with all his might, and countless vines grew to fill the entire space.
This familiar ability reminded Caiman of the fear of being dominated by the same power that night.
He tried to swing his sword, only to find that his body had become incredibly sluggish.
At this moment, Eomer made his appearance.
Along with him, four other elves joined the fray.
Eomer was currently holding a section of metal chain in one hand and a twisted deadwood holy staff in the other.
The metal chain was the greater magic grade space-attribute magic item that the five elves had been carrying all along.
It was precisely this magic item that allowed them to resist the spatial power of the palace labyrinth, preventing their team from being scattered.
[Air Iron Tail] greater magic grade magical artifact, possessing the power to lock down space
[Special Effects] 1. Spatial Stagnation: slows down movement speed within a certain range of space
Spatial Entanglement: grants spatial effects to binding-type attacks
Spatial Lock: locks down a certain range of space, forming a barrier
Rate on N.U.
