"How can this be? Someone has already entered the Path of Bewilderment—that place is extremely close to the core!"
The old wizard clad in ancient wizard's attire stared at the pale yellow notebook in his hands, letting out a low growl, his face a mask of exasperation.
On one page of the pale yellow notebook, faint dark lines had sketched out a rough map, and along a route marked as the Path of Bewilderment, a small black dot was slowly creeping forward.
On this map, besides that single black dot, several others were circling endlessly among the outer structures.
As for the old man himself, he was represented by a white dot of light—while he had made considerably faster progress than those Morning Star Wizards stalled outside by the Arcane Lock Labyrinth, he was clearly still in the middle layer, some distance from the core.
But the black dot representing Lei Lin was only a few steps away from the red dot at the very center of the map!
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! How can a Wizard be this fast…"
The old man cursed, his face filled with urgency and bitter frustration. "If only I had the correct incantation for entering the ruins and could also control all the arcane mechanisms, then…"
Though this old wizard's ancestor had been a member of the Crimson Arc Moon, he was merely an ordinary member. Even though he had participated in the construction of the ruins, he had never gained access to the deeper secrets. Obtaining this map, the passphrase for entry, and a portion of the intelligence was already the absolute limit.
Lei Lin had unexpectedly moved up the ruins' activation time, catching the old man off guard. Rushing forward blindly like this, even without triggering any traps through sheer caution, he had still fallen behind Lei Lin.
"Forget all that! As long as I reach the Core Control Room, I still have a chance to turn things around!"
The old man traced his finger across the map with a vicious scowl, locating an alternate route. But just as he was about to set off, his pupils suddenly contracted.
At the edge of the map, a massive black blotch—several times larger than any of the other black dots and surrounded by a ring of crimson light—had barged straight in.
The outermost traps and incantations were obliterated on contact with the enormous black blotch, their names vanishing from the map entirely. The old man wailed: "A Fifth-rank Wizard is already on the way here? Is there any hope left for the rest of us…"
Though his lamentations continued without pause, the old man's steps did not slow in the slightest. If anything, he pushed forward with even greater ferocity.
If he fell even one step behind and a Fifth-rank Wizard seized this place, it would truly be over for him. Moreover, something within the core zone was something he was absolutely determined to obtain—it was the entire purpose of this expedition.
"Just you wait! Once I take control of the Core Control Room!"
The old man glared once more at the small black dot on the Path of Bewilderment, his face twisted with hatred.
…
Lei Lin, of course, had no idea he was being harbored a grudge by someone. At this moment, he was walking along a narrow path paved with pale grey flagstones.
On both sides of the road, white mist grew ever thicker, shrouding every feature of the landscape from view.
*Tap. Tap.*
On the deathly silent, ethereal path, only the sound of his own footsteps echoed ceaselessly. The identical scenery on both sides made it far too easy to lose all sense of time, ultimately giving rise to an overwhelming sense of dread.
This was especially true when combined with the peculiar power woven into the fog—even the iron will of a Wizard struggled to resist it.
If any other low-grade Wizard had been in his place, they would most likely have suffered a complete mental breakdown long ago, crying and screaming to turn back or beg for mercy.
But Ren Lin's expression remained resolute, his steps never faltering, as if all of this were the most trivial of matters. Before a will forged ten thousand times harder than steel, this trial of resolve specially arranged by ancient Wizards was nothing more than child's play.
And as Ren Lin ventured deeper, the surrounding fog grew ever thicker, to the point where he could barely make out the path beneath his feet. With every step, it felt as though he were walking through clouds.
Step!
The moment Ren Lin's foot came down, the scenery around him shifted without warning.
Dark yellowed wooden planks. A ceiling mottled with mold. Faint squeaking of rats tucked away in the corners.
It looked like the most common slum shack found anywhere across the continent—the tiny wooden cabin didn't contain a single piece of furniture. Yet, bizarrely, hanging right in the center of the room was a gilded parrot cage, and perched atop it was a toad puffing on a pipe.
"Hey there, brother! Are you bringing me a love letter from Migo? Tell her I'm busy and can't make tomorrow night's date!"
The toad wore a pitch-black cylindrical top hat, looking thoroughly at ease as ring after ring of white smoke curled lazily from its pipe.
"..." Ren Lin stared at the toad in speechless bewilderment, having absolutely no idea what was going on.