Chapter 154: The Living Labyrinth

In a somber and colossal communal graveyard located somewhere on the continent, Astan Blue, the caretaker of the graveyard, was gathering acquaintances in his abode for a meeting.

Thunk!

“This is unthinkable! Why have we been assisting our master all this time? To witness something like this” Morokul Gurlan, the third disciple of Morne, exclaimed while slamming the table.

His flesh quivered as if it were a deflated pastry, all while he voiced his grievances.

Even in the face of such impolite behavior, the assembled individuals didn’t intervene. That was the extent of the harsh reality they were all facing.

Second disciple Quentin Brook, ignoring Morokul’s frustration, calmly inquired of Astan, “First disciple, you must have seen it during this gathering. Do you truly believe this person, Adrias Cromwell, can handle the faction?”

“Second disciple! Is that the issue now? Are we to accept that someone we’ve never seen before will replace us, who have supported the faction for so long, and reap all the rewards? Does that make any sense?”

“Well then, what’s your suggestion? It’s what Master spoke of. If you found it so unreasonable, you should have spoken up when Master was present.”

“What…!”

Their master, Morne, was not known for his affable disposition. A necromancer had the potential to become an all-powerful mage, depending on the undead they created. However, achieving that status required significantly more time and effort than other mages.

Currently, the standing of black mages on the continent wasn’t particularly favorable. To ascend to the peak, a ruthless character was an absolute necessity.

Although he may have appeared as a warm grandfatherly figure to Adrias and Luna, his true nature was that of a formidable, domineering warlord.

“I cannot say that, can I? I don’t want to become undead.”

“As if I didn’t know that already. I reminded you of Master’s personality once more.”

“Both of you have grown too impetuous. Try to calm down a bit.”

Astan, who had spent many long years witnessing numerous disciples of Morne perish, ultimately becoming the chief disciple, spoke resolutely.

Upon his words, the other two disciples fell silent.

“We’ve fully comprehended what both of you are talking about. We understand Morokul’s bitterness and Quentin’s misfortune. As for me, I’m just a disciple of the Master, no different from anyone else. I am the Master’s chief disciple. If we’re talking about grievances, I’m probably the most aggrieved.”

Observing the subdued Morokul and Quentin, Astan continued, “The reason I’ve summoned you both today is to discuss a solution.”

“A solution… you mean?” Quentin muttered with a skeptical tone.

Seeing Quentin like that, Morokul shouted again, “We have to do something! Are we going to let the faction be taken away like this?”

“That’s not it. Well, there’s still a year left, so we could think of a solution.”

However, Astan shook his head at Quentin’s words. “If we take our time, it’ll be too late. Over there, we have the likes of our master and Luna Pendragon. Even if Adrias Cromwell doesn’t sit well with us, just the fact that they are there carries a significant impact. We can easily subdue the faction’s members. In half a year, we can take everything from them.”

“By any chance, do you have a plan, Chief?”

Quentin cautiously inquired, and Morokul also fixed his gaze intently on Astan.

“I received some information not long ago. Students from the Rodren Academy, where Adrias Cromwell is enrolled, are about to visit ‘Monet’s Maze’.”

“Monet’s Maze? Ah! Is it for an assessment?”

“That’s right.”

Excitement filled Morokul as he listened to the conversation between Astan and Quentin, and he stood up from his seat.

“This is a great opportunity! We can just eliminate them there! Now that I think about it, it wouldn’t be a problem if Adrias Cromwell were the only issue.”

“Indeed. That’s what I’m aiming for. Of course, if we were to kill Adrias Cromwell, we couldn’t avoid suspicion from our master, but it’s impossible to establish someone who has already died as the successor.”

At that moment, Quentin, who had been listening, furrowed his brow and spoke, “Isn’t it risky to directly confront him? Salem won’t just stand by. Besides, he has been interacting with Maximen Cronell recently.”

“So, do you have a better idea?”

“Well, not exactly…”

“Second disciple, you’re being too cautious! I’m sure Salem has long forgotten about Adrias Cromwell’s favoritism! Why would he care about such things?”

In the end, Quentin, unable to come up with an alternative, sighed, “I’m sorry. I can’t think of anything.”

“No need to apologize. Your concerns are perfectly understandable. But I hope you realize that we are now backed into a corner. Dealing with Salem will have to wait until then. Right now, we need to reclaim our rightful position.”

“You’re absolutely right!”

Ultimately, the three of them decided to handle Adrias in Monet’s Maze and began discussing the details.

“It’s too dangerous for us to appear directly. The Rodren Academy is already on high alert against black mages.”

“Big Brother, what about that?”

Morokul, with a sinister smile, said, “Don’t we have a secret weapon in our faction?”

“A secret weapon… You mean that?”

“If that’s what I’m thinking, we can deal with it without lifting a finger. As a bonus, we can wipe out all the Rodren students. Isn’t it perfect?”

“Indeed…”

Guessing the identity of the “that” that Morokul mentioned, Quentin carefully spoke up, “It could easily escalate things further. If it does, we might get caught in the crossfire.”

“If we focus too much on such matters, we won’t achieve anything. Every choice comes with an opportunity cost, and I’ve made my choice.”

“Why do you always oppose anything I say, Second disciple? Big Brother, you must be thinking the same way.”

“Well…”

Convinced in the end, Quentin opened his mouth.

“In that case, our plan boils down to placing ‘it’ in Monet’s Maze.”

“That’s right.”

“Then I will take care of it. I seem to be the one with the most worries, so I might as well do it myself.”

Upon Quentin’s willingness to take charge, Astan nodded approvingly with a warm expression. “If you take the lead, we can rest assured. But it might be safer to have someone else do it rather than acting directly.”

“I’ve thought about that as well.”

“Can you share the details?”

“I plan to use Fade.”

The name of one of the leaders of their faction elicited admiration from both Astan and Morokul. Despite his fame as a major figure in the underworld, handling him was no small feat.

“Not bad. With his help, we can even hire top-tier mercenaries.”

“Actually, we had dealings with him in the past, and it’s time to utilize that.”

“Won’t it be a waste?”

“As you said, we’re not in a favorable position right now. If this increases the chances of success and guarantees safety, we’ll use any means necessary.”

“Thank you.”

With the basic framework of the plan set and the meeting concluded, they decided to inform Quentin of the results only to leave no evidence.

As they exited Astan’s residence with Quentin, Morokul broke the silence after walking for some time.

“Big Brother.”

“Yes?”

“Are you really going to help as you say?”

In contrast to the discussion during the meeting, Morokul brought up completely different words, and Quentin smiled at him.

“Haha, Morokul, don’t worry too much.”

“Do you have something in mind?”

“Since I’ve been entrusted with the task entirely, Astan won’t know what I’m up to.”

“What about Adrias Cromwell?”

“What about him? We need to kill him, of course. If Astan gets accused as the perpetrator, that’s enough. After that, it’s easy as pie.”

“I see. I understand. For now, I’ll go back to my residence.”

“Sure, be careful on your way back.”

As Morokul left as well, Quentin’s smiling face turned into a blank expression.

In an instant, he transformed from someone who always seemed timid into a ruthless figure.

“It’s been a pleasure, Morokul.”

Muttering these ominous words, Quentin’s image gradually disappeared.

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.

.

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Dianne walked toward the noisy students.

“First, let’s get out of the maze.”

There was a brief moment of confusion, but the students quickly regained their composure.

Having a group of six members was indeed unusual, but it didn’t pose any threat to their safety.

“Will having six members affect our scores?”

“But isn’t it okay? After all, the starting point is chosen randomly, and we didn’t intentionally form a group of six.”

“Yeah. Let’s focus on getting out of the maze first. The professors will probably understand.”

Monet’s Maze was already a well-known location as an archaeological site, and there was hardly a student who didn’t know about it. Magic users, by nature, were inclined to explore and study things.

“There are likely riddles and various traps blocking our way. We know most of them, so let’s escape quickly.”

“As expected of Dianne! I had faith in you!”

Once the decision was made, they wasted no time and began to move.

They walked through a long corridor with a uniform design, dominated by a deep brown color. Unlike regular buildings, the maze’s appearance was unlike anything they had ever seen.

“It almost looks like it’s moving when you look closely.”

The walls of the maze gave them a slight sensation of movement.

In fact, through various documents, it had been analyzed that Monet’s Maze actually moved. That was why it had earned the nickname of “The Living Labyrinth.” However, whether it was genuinely alive was still a mystery.

“In a maze, it’s best to stick to one direction. Even if you have to take a detour, we’ll choose the safest way.”

“We’ll trust Dianne’s words.”

As they advanced slowly, they started to feel a gradual release of tension.

“Come to think of it, it’s just an ordinary assessment. Monet’s Maze isn’t such a dangerous archaeological site.”

“The problem is running into other groups.”

“Well, it’s uncertain whether we’ll even encounter them. From what I’ve heard, this place is much larger than we think.”

Monrt’s Maze was famous for its vast scale, making it impossible to escape within a day. However, the maze had plenty of naturally occurring plants for sustenance and replenishing water.

“But speaking of which…”

During their walk, someone spoke up.

“I have a feeling we’ve been circling the same place for a while now.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Really?”

In response to someone’s question, they all came to a stop.

After taking a moment to scan their surroundings, they nodded in agreement.

“Does this really look like the same scenery…”

“To be honest, it’s quite confusing. Are we really just going in circles?”

“Yes, we are. It’s said that strange phenomena, even beyond mana disturbances, frequently occur within Monet’s Maze, and the types are different every time.”

“Should we mark our path?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

With magic at their disposal, they had various methods to leave traces.

They marked their path with mana and placed alarm spells at the same time, then continued walking.

However, a short while later, Dianne felt something was amiss and had to halt their progress.

“Wait… hold on.”

“Why?”

Dianne gazed at her fellow students with a puzzled expression.

Then, she slowly began counting.

“One, two, three, four…”

Finally, pointing to herself, Dianne said, “Five.”

“Huh…”

“Why are there only five of us? Who’s missing?”

To her question, no one could provide an answer.

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