Chapter 416

Dark Land.

"It's definitely an unusual place."

Duke Saengtuan muttered quietly as he walked through the misty land.

-Zap!

-Meow!

Before the Duke could even use his hand, one of the monsters was hit by the lightning bolt cast by the surrounding wizards and turned into ashes.

The Duke and his wizards had entered the labyrinthine area.

It didn't start the moment they entered the maze, but the moment they entered the area surrounded by thick fog.

The Duke and his wizards were exploring cautiously, taking one step at a time.

"The concentration of mana in the atmosphere is irregular."

"Yes, I feel it too."

Although they couldn't see through the fog, the Duke's senses could feel the fluctuation of mana around him.

Normally, the mana in the atmosphere maintains a certain concentration even if it is not uniform. The fact that such mana is constantly changing means that there is a continuous change in the surrounding area.

"Our surroundings are changing in real-time according to our movements. The monsters attacking us are not actual living beings, but variables created by this maze."

The Duke was not an amateur wizard.

Therefore, his approach to the maze was several levels above that of other adventurers who simply killed the monsters in the maze without caution and moved forward.

He didn't move recklessly.

Because this maze cannot be passed by simply moving.

As the Duke knew, this maze was well-known throughout the continent.

This maze was already known as a notorious place in Dark Land.

That's why moths were constantly fluttering around.

There were adventurers who wandered for days and returned as beginners, and there were those who never returned.

Those who returned with a few magic books from the maze, like an antlion's den, were worth a fortune.

Nevertheless, since the central part had not been penetrated, the Duke had personally led the elites.

"Don't you feel that there are too few people we meet compared to the number of adventurers in this maze?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Before entering the maze, the Duke had collected information from those who had actually experienced the maze near the nearby checkpoint.

Although this maze was absorbing a huge number of adventurers, most of them were returning safely.

It was almost as if the maze was not created to kill people, but to make them tired and go back. The monsters created were like insects that the Duke didn't even need to personally deal with.

So those who returned tired were preparing again and repeating their entry into the maze, hoping to someday reach the depths of the maze.

The reason why this maze was trapping adventurers was that they could continue to retry even if they failed.

Although it was a very low possibility, they could find a magic book with tremendous value, and their lives were relatively less at risk. So adventurers had no choice but to get trapped.

That's why the Duke knew that a huge number of adventurers were wandering in this vast area. Therefore, if you could see the people in this maze, you had to face other adventurer parties. However, during the few hours of wandering, Duke Saengtuan and his group had only encountered one adventurer party. They saw the Duke's group and ran away in fear. "It seems like there are overlapping dimensions. It's not just one maze, but dozens or hundreds of mazes overlapping each other. That's why we might not be able to meet other people," the Duke guessed. The maze was a space with hundreds of overlapping dimensions, and the environment around it was constantly changing in real-time. The Duke concluded that they couldn't reach the depths of the maze unless the owner of the maze led them inside. The Duke and his elites were exploring cautiously, taking one step at a time, hoping to someday reach the depths of the maze. Even for a skilled magician, it would take several months to find the only entrance to this maze, as the maze itself is complex and calculating the entrance is difficult. Finding a real path in the dimensions that are constantly changing and being generated in real-time is like trying to find a way through a hurricane in the middle of a storm. However, a genius who will go down in the history of magic is not born for nothing. Herriot de Saengtuan is the daughter of the Duke, so it is natural that the Duke's five senses are incomparable to those of any ordinary magician. When the Duke waved his hand, a dimensional portal opened. The Duke and his followers walked through the gate and looked around. The maze was like a vast dimensional portal spread out over the surrounding mountains. Once you enter, you enter a virtual dimension. Therefore, the interior of the actual maze could only be a peaceful area without any devices or mazes, except for the thick fog. Since there is no need to wander around, all they have to do now is find the tomb of the lich somewhere here. If there is also a barrier around the lich's tomb, it will take some time, but the Duke has already found a way to break it. "Remember, we are not here to take magic books." The Duke walked slowly and spoke to his followers. "There is no reason for an evil being to study good magic. We will destroy most of those magic books. Those who are blinded by their vain desires should turn back, and we will open the way for them." "Your Highness, but the discovered magic books may have significant magical value." "That's right. They will surely have some value." The Duke already knew the value of the discovered magic books. "They may even be able to build good with evil power. Surely that will be the case." The Duke knows the value of power and knows that the power depends on the will of the one who wields it, rather than its essence. "But in a world where most people do not build good with good power, what can evil power do?" It is too naive to expect that evil power will have a positive impact on the world, even in the yard where paladins and priests breathe. Evil power is something to be avoided even in its appearance. That is the minimum good that the Duke thinks. Moreover, this is a teaching that has been passed down in the Saengtuan family for a long time. "The Duke's judgment was that magic was already too powerful, and that even stronger magic could potentially harm the world. He and his followers were not there to gain new visions of magic or to discover new things that the lich had accumulated, but to destroy them. They had been walking for a while when they noticed someone in the mist. The Duke reminded his followers not to be afraid and that they were not there to be hostile. The woman they encountered was named Luna, and she was from a small village in a remote area. Despite her appearance as a rural villager, she had already passed through the maze that even the Duke had just entered. The Duke could not tell whether she was an enemy or an ally, but her calm gaze did not reveal any hostility or friendliness." Despite her youthful appearance, the Duke could not determine Luna's true nature. Those who are well-versed in the flow of magic often have appearances that do not match their age. However, the Duke could not determine whether Luna was an enemy or an ally. Although she appeared to be a rural villager, she did not show any hostility or friendliness towards the Duke and his followers. The Duke asked Luna if she was okay with traveling together since their paths were the same. Luna agreed. As they continued on their journey, they encountered a young man named Raphael de Saint-Etienne. He suggested that they should not fight each other since they were all powerful individuals and should instead work together to clear the dungeon. The Duke agreed and introduced himself and his followers to Raphael and his companion, Lothaire Duin.