Chapter 451: Chapter 451 I Just Know a Little Bit

“At the beginning, they said that if we wanted to enter the Underground Maze, we would have to risk being buried by the yellow sands. In the end, it was you who spurred the sand on to completely bury us.”

Yang Yu once again tried to communicate with the Maze Guardian, but the Guardian of the Underground Maze continued to act on its own, proceeding to arrange the subsequent trials,

“Beyond this wall of fire, there lies an exceedingly complex maze. At the end of the maze are the stairs leading to the Fifth Floor. What you need to do is keep choosing forks in the road, forging ahead until you reach the Fifth Floor.

Beware, once you decide to move forward, the Flame of the maze will form a wall of flames behind you. This wall of fire will follow you step by step, preventing you from turning back.

Since there’s no turning back, please choose each path wisely.”

“It’s another one of those designs that doesn’t allow for retreat.” Yang Yu scratched his head, “Once we choose a path, we can’t turn back and alter our route. How’s this supposed to be a test of Courage? Might as well rename it a test of Luck.

To stridently march into the dark is not called Courage, but recklessness.”

The Guardian of the Underground Maze fell silent.

“If you’ve got nothing to say, let’s get started. Either way, the only option we have is to keep moving forward, right? I really want to drag out the creator of this maze and give them a beating.”

The guardian responded with a helpless laugh, “With your current strength, you would likely be crushed utterly like an ant by him.”

“My strength now doesn’t represent what I can become in the future. It’s to one day be able to defeat Legendary figures like Hero Lox that I stand here today.”

“You really are quite confident, but don’t let this confidence turn into arrogance,” the Guardian’s voice paused, “You hold the key of the Hall of Wisdom in your hands, and it looks like you’ve also uncovered quite a few things.”

“I know only a little. That cat, so ignorant, seems like it’s deliberately hiding something.”

“Perhaps, it really knows nothing.”

The Guardian’s voice grew somewhat sorrowful,

“If you can complete all the trials, I am indeed willing to tell you everything I know.

Being able to obtain both keys of Courage and Wisdom, perhaps you have the potential to become a Sage, capable of assisting a Hero in defeating the Demon King once again.”

“Unfortunately, I have no fondness for the current Hero. Spare me any talk that might put me in a difficult position.”

Yang Yu intentionally revealed the fact that he had met with the current Hero, but the Guardian of the maze seemed unfazed by the Hero’s appearance.

“Everyone has their own way of living…

I’m merely making a simple suggestion.

All in all, no matter how much you criticize the Underground Maze, it’s of no use.

The Underground Maze has been created, and I’m merely unfolding it and operating it according to pre-set arrangements.

There are some levels whose operation I cannot decide.”

Yang Yu smiled, “But you should have very high authority. Using your authority to decrease the difficulty of the Underground Maze shouldn’t be difficult.”

“It’s possible, indeed. But, I owe Lox a tremendous favor. I respect his choices and designs and will earnestly complete the task he has given me, taking it as a modest way of repaying him.

If you want to extract any information from me, then earnestly pass the trial of Courage and stand before me. Then, I will answer your questions to the best of my ability.”

Since the other party had clearly stated their position, there was no need for further entanglement,

“Deal.”

A smile broke across his face as Yang Yu drew nearer to the wall of fire, which seemed to be repelled by some force. The flames contracted to either side of the wall, opening a gateway for Yang Yu and his companions.

“Courage does not come from outside; it originates from within oneself. This Underground Maze doesn’t focus on the test of strength but examines a person’s awareness. The trial begins.”

Ahead of them lay a long tunnel with no end in sight. Yang Yu led the team into it, as the curtain of flame slowly closed behind them.

The moment it shut, Bai Jin and Qing Shi could feel the Magic Power around them depleting visibly fast, and in the blink of an eye, Bai Jin could no longer draw any Magic Power from the air.

Not only that, Bai Jin, Qing Shi, and Lotcar all felt the Magic Power within their bodies draining away at an inconceivable speed towards the flames behind them, a feeling of indescribable weakness washing over them.

Fortunately, no one was disheartened by this sense of fatigue.

This change was directly reflected in their attributes: the blue bar’s remaining quantity became one point, and everyone’s Status Bar gained a new status named “Magic Control.”

Somehow, Iyas and Hake were spared the worst of it. Though their blue bar also declined, they retained one-third of it, and could still use skills of the Holy Light System.

After moving straight ahead a few steps, a small flame spontaneously appeared behind Yang Yu and his team. Then, as they moved, the flame rapidly expanded, filling the entire cross-section of the passage.

Aware of the heat behind them, Yang Yu and his team couldn’t help but notice the new wall of fire trailing them.

This was the restriction the maze imposed upon them; once they chose a path, the wall of fire would prevent them from going back to choose another.

Since the Guardian of the maze did not provide any hints and there was no way to know which route was the correct one—considering Iyas’s luck was not always reliable—they decided to proceed one step at a time, hoping there might be some indication at the crossroad.

Leading the team, Yang Yu arrived at the first crossroad.

However, all paths were deep and bottomless, with no hints around to judge which might be the correct one.

The wall of fire stayed about five meters behind Yang Yu and his team. Once they had chosen a path and delved deeper, the fire would follow and seal off their retreat.

Stopping at the crossroad, Yang Yu sat down to analyze seriously. He decided to emulate Theseus.

Theseus was a hero from Greek legend; he was sent into the Crete Maze, and with the help of a ball of thread given by Crete Princess Ariadne, he succeeded in finding the Bull-man and killing it, then using the thread to navigate his way out.

Yang Yu intended to have Bai Jin and the others stay in place so the position of the flame would no longer change. Then, using this method, they could conduct a grid search and map out the entire maze.

Though this grid searching method might take more time, it was certainly better than being trapped and killed by flames in the maze.

Without further ado, Yang Yu took out as much thread as possible from the System and explained the principle to his companions. Dragging the thread, they selected a passageway and ventured in.

But before Yang Yu went far, shouts from his team members came from behind. Turning around, he saw a bunch of flames ignite from behind him, instantly transforming into a tall wall of fire, burning the thread connecting him and the team into ash.