There was no wind, no tremor, no rain, and the overcast sky showed no stars. The entire Maze World was frozen in a profound silence, yet the blood-red liquid beneath the great cross-shaped structure fluctuated and swayed with a vitality of its own. Its dark, thick crimson stood in a stark and eerie contrast to the world's black, white, and grey background. Even a mage as skilled at maintaining his composure and focus as Lucian felt an involuntary flutter in his heart.
Lucian studied the brilliant cross structure for a few moments, mentally flipping through *The Book of Astrology and Elements* in his Soul Library to the relevant page for comparison. "This doesn't resemble the application of a Maze World used to protect a magic tower or similar structure. It seems more like the vast majority of its power is focused on sealing something."
With this possibility in mind, Lucian looked intently at the undulating blood-red liquid for several more seconds. He then used the positions indicated by the reflections of the nine celestial bodies to refine his earlier calculations of the Magic Garden's location. Once he had a precise result, he turned without hesitation and sprinted west along the lakeside path towards the edge of the Black Forest, where the nearest Magic Garden lay.
He was intensely curious about what might be sealed, but he understood even better that approaching a legendary-tier Maze World seal with the strength of someone who wasn't even a formal Transcendent was practically suicide. He couldn't let greed cloud his reason, nor could he confuse his primary objective.
A faint grey-white afterimage flashed past. Thanks to the powerful regenerative abilities of his Moonlight Bloodline, Lucian had recovered considerably. He quickly left the lakeside path and entered the aptly named Black Forest.
It was extremely quiet. Not a single living creature was visible, and not even the leaves showed signs of stirring.
In the oppressive woods, Lucian mentally calculated the distance. After more than a dozen minutes, he saw a massive structure shrouded in dark shadows. Brilliant bursts of light were occasionally drawn from within, falling in the direction of Lake Elsinore.
Lucian slowed his pace, his right hand gripping the sword "Vigilance." The closer he got to the Magic Garden, the more vigilant he became. Although the vast majority of the power sustaining the "Great Cross" Maze World came from the earth, the sun, and the nine celestial bodies, the self-sustaining Magic Garden would still serve as a useful supplement. It was impossible for it to lack magical traps or magic circles to prevent intruders.
The black "Bat Pituitary Gland" appeared in Lucian's left hand. He silently recited the incantation, and invisible ripples radiated outward with him at the center, reflecting back when they met obstacles.
Tall black firs took shape in Lucian's mind, and the surrounding terrain within a few hundred meters gradually became clear. However, the ultrasonic probe could only return rough shapes; many of the stationary, strange objects left him unable to determine their nature. As for the auras of living beings, there were none to be found.
While scanning for magical traps and other hazards, Lucian moved forward cautiously. When he approached one of the strange objects he'd detected, he discovered it was merely an oddly shaped, large black stone—not a threat.
Sighing in slight relief, Lucian continued onward.
"There's another strange object ahead. Probably another stone..."
Rounding a particularly dense thicket, Lucian, with his darkvision, immediately spotted the object.
It was a tombstone carved from stone, appearing a somber black within the Maze World, covered with a thin layer of grey haze. Behind it lay a small tomb chamber.
Carved into the tombstone was a line of stark white text: "The noble and valiant Mr. David Shetleon. He became the mayor of Bourne Town for executing many heretic commoners, but died because he fell in love. Well, although he fell in love with a man—a man of great power."
Facing this epitaph of dark humor, Lucian's mouth twitched slightly. If his memory served, he had seen this tombstone when infiltrating Bourne Town, but it had been located in the town's cemetery, not the Black Forest. "Could it be that in the Maze World, the cemetery has relocated here?"
Behind the tomb chamber stretched a graveyard, dotted with many black cross-shaped tombstones lacking individual chambers. Against the monochrome backdrop of black, white, and grey, the place looked particularly grim and chilling.
Lucian glanced at the graveyard. Considering how the monotonous, dreary Maze World was perfectly suited for undead creatures, he decided to turn aside to bypass this area.
Although this would cost him several minutes, it would be much safer.
Just as he turned, the hair on the back of Lucian's neck stood on end again, accompanied by that cold, penetrating sensation. Without hesitation, he swung Vigilance behind him.
A sensation of hitting rotting wood and an immense force transmitted through the sword simultaneously. Lucian's arm went numb. He used the momentum to roll forward, his body rapidly shifting into Moonlight Form.
After colliding with a tombstone at the graveyard's edge, Lucian leaped sideways and took the opportunity to turn. From the corner of his eye, he saw the pale text on a black cross tombstone:
"I used to be very fat, but I'm finally going to slim down."
From the slightly mounded, cold, black earth behind this laughable epitaph, a rotting hand suddenly burst forth. Then, a humanoid figure made of putrefying flesh and exposed white bone, reeking of a foul stench, sat up as the soil flew around it.
And when Lucian turned, he saw a similar undead creature. The door to Mr. David Shetleon's tomb chamber was now open!
Lucian became a streak of afterimage, Vigilance slashing forward. But the undead creature pursuing him was startlingly fast. It instinctively dodged the blade and lunged at Lucian.
He had held the sword in reserve. It swung in a perfect arc, coming to block precisely in front of him.
After a soundless collision, Vigilance trembled violently. The creature's strength had actually exceeded Lucian's own by a fraction. Furthermore, upon smelling that putrid, rotting odor, Lucian felt a throbbing headache, a warmth at his forehead, and a slight numbness in his body!
"A Ghoul!"
Lucian identified the species by the creature's sharp teeth and its combat characteristics. This was far stronger than a common skeleton.
In this strange Maze World, it was comparable to a formal Knight, its speed and agility not much inferior to Lucian's own, while its strength actually surpassed his slightly.