I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 409: Timbell's Labyrinth

Late at night, Gauss was sitting before the campfire, taking stock of the gains from these past two days.Although he had come to hunt centaurs, he wasn't just hunting the centaurs themselves. In fact, the number of other monsters he had killed far exceeded the number of centaurs.

"Total Monsters Killed: 36315"

He had slain nearly a thousand monsters in two days, of which the number of centaurs was one hundred and eighty. Consequently, he had also smoothly upgraded his Centaur Hunter title to the Centaur Slayer level.

However, there was still quite a distance to cover before reaching the next stage, Centaur Massacrer, which required one thousand kills.

"Let's leave it at that for now."

The current Centaur Slayer title possessed two effects.

The first was Paralysis. There was a chance that the internal nerve signals within the bodies of centaur individuals facing him would become scrambled, resulting in paralysis or movement impairment.

The second was Armor Penetration. His attacks could more easily pierce through the centaurs' tough hides or the armor and equipment they wore.

Since it was highly unlikely he could upgrade the Centaur Slayer title to the next level in a short time, Gauss decided to first conclude these two days of monster hunting activities.

This was also one of his habits. Out of caution, he rarely stayed in one location for extended periods when venturing into the wilderness alone.

This minimized the risk of accidents as much as possible. After all, the longer one stayed in one place, the greater the chance others would learn of his activities in the vicinity.

Having made up his mind, at dawn the next day, he mounted Hephaestus and left the Longwind Grasslands.

..

Upon returning to the Red Dragon Guild's base, he had just finished soaking in the bath when the steward outside came forward to inform him that others were looking for him.

Gauss knew that given the personalities of Aria and the others, they would absolutely not seek him out right after he returned to the manor to rest unless it was something important.

So, after changing clothes, he closed his eyes and sensed their location.

The next moment, with the activation of [Dimension Door], Gauss's figure appeared in a room.

"Everyone's here."

Gauss raised his hand in greeting.

"Guild Leader, you've returned just in time," the chief steward Ivan said respectfully upon seeing his appearance, while handing a newspaper to Gauss.

Gauss took the newspaper, glanced at it a few times, and understood why the members of the Red Dragon Guild were so eager to find him.

It turned out that just yesterday, the temporarily closed Maze outside Barry City had finally reopened.

Instantly, the attention of numerous adventurers was drawn there once again.

Compared to the outside world, the Maze teemed with monsters, but it also contained numerous treasures. Naturally, there would be bold adventurers flocking to it.

"Guild Leader Gauss, does our Red Dragon Guild need to march to Barry to explore the Maze?" Ivan turned to look at Gauss, a hint of anticipation deep in his eyes.

Over a year ago, when the Maze first opened, Ivan learned of the situation quickly. However, he was with another adventuring team back then. Due to the leader's insufficiently swift reaction, by the time the team had packed up and prepared to depart, they had already received the "unfortunate" news that the Maze had closed.

This time, he had joined the more powerful Red Dragon Guild. With their team's strength, they could undoubtedly get a share of the pie from the soon-to-be-opened Maze.

Even earlier, upon hearing rumors that the Maze was about to reopen, the Red Dragon Guild had already begun preparations in advance.

Now, the Maze had finally opened.

"That goes without saying."

Gauss nodded.

During the first Maze opening period, he had entered to explore. At that time, due to insufficient strength, he had only explored down to the second underground level.

Compared to those more powerful adventurers, he could only say he participated for the experience.

But now, over a year had passed, and times had changed. He had risen from a Level 2 Magician to his current Level 7 Magician, and the team's strength was even more formidable.

Even if the Maze's second opening attracted more powerful adventurers, Gauss was very confident he would be in the first tier.

Hearing his decision, the others didn't have many objections either.

Free adventuring guilds like theirs always went wherever opportunities arose, so naturally they wouldn't miss a Maze so close to the city.

Serlandul couldn't help but show a nostalgic expression. Come to think of it, his first meeting with Captain Gauss and Aria had been inside a Maze.

After confirming the action plan, the entire Red Dragon Guild began operating at a rapid pace.

Of course, the preliminary preparations were the work of the other Red Dragon Guild members. As the Guild Leader, Gauss was instead left with free time.

Sitting on the outdoor seat of a family-run eatery on the street, Gauss took a sip of red tea.

Thinking about the matter of the first "Transcendent monster" he had planned for the past few days, he suddenly felt the appearance of the Maze might bring some additional opportunities.

Under normal circumstances, it would indeed be difficult for him to find such a powerful monster within human territory. The only Transcendent centaur was currently an enemy he couldn't defeat. But the appearance of the Maze gave him a new direction.

Compared to the surface world, the Maze was equivalent to an underground, otherworldly space.

Numerous monsters inhabited it, so Transcendent individuals were bound to be born there as well.

Pulling his thoughts back, he glanced at the exceptionally lively street.

Numerous carriages were queuing up, waiting to leave the city.

Clearly, they weren't the only adventurers or guilds who knew about the Maze's opening.

However, Gauss no longer felt such a strong sense of urgency.

At his level, he no longer pursued temporary gains or losses based on speed.

For low-level adventurers, even if they arrived one or two weeks earlier, they would most likely still only be wandering around the first underground level.

It was merely about arriving early to gather information sooner and seize the initial resources on the first level.

But for the current Gauss, he already looked down on the resources of the first underground level.

Wasting time exploring the first level to search for items worth a few silver coins or a few gold coins was a low-return activity for him.

Thinking of this, he suddenly understood why, during his first Maze exploration, most of the adventurers he saw were low-level adventurers and low-level professionals, with rarely any Master-level professionals in sight.

Presumably, they knew the Maze's rewards at that time were insufficient, so they lacked motivation to go. After all, Mazes continuously "grew" over time. The probability of high-reward items and resources appearing was greater in later stages.

He glanced at the booklet in his hand.

This booklet had been sent to the base by the Adventurers Guild. It was precious information only available to adventuring guild leaders like him.

Based on life stage, Mazes could be divided into Infancy, Adolescence, Adulthood, and Late Stage.

But in terms of specific Maze size and strength, they were further classified as Small, Medium, Large, and Super Large.

According to official intelligence, the Maze outside Barry City was officially named "Timberbell," meaning Forest Maze. It was currently in the Adolescent stage in terms of life stage, and was temporarily assessed as being between Medium and Large in size.

However, the possibility of it further upgrading after entering the Adulthood stage could not be ruled out.

And according to the Adventurers Guild's research materials on Mazes, entering the current Adolescent-stage Maze, which was between Medium and Large, was not recommended for Transcendent powerhouses.

"I should be fine, right?"

Gauss stroked his chin.

He was merely a Level 7 Magician. Although he possessed Transcendent combat power, objectively speaking, he indeed did not belong to the category of Transcendent professionals.

But since the Adventurers Guild had thoughtfully sent the materials, what was not prohibited by the rules was permissible.

Thinking this, he continued reading with peace of mind.

The Guild's introductory materials on the Maze were very detailed.

"Maze Lords..."

Gauss paused for a moment.

"Starting from the fourth underground level of the Timberbell Maze, each level will contain one Maze Lord creature."

"It is more dangerous than ordinary monsters and can continuously command the surrounding Maze monsters to fight."

"Although killing a Maze Lord yields Maze reward treasures."

"The Guild advises that the vast majority of adventurers, upon encountering them, should not engage in combat. Instead, they should hide immediately and find the right opportunity to prepare for evacuation."

"How dangerous..." Gauss murmured to himself.

However, his eyes slowly lit up.

There were actually such monsters?

Continuously commanding Maze monsters to fight... So if one trapped it, wouldn't that mean an endless supply of monsters to farm? Even if the numbers weren't infinite, it would at least save a lot of effort compared to actively seeking them out.

For him, this Maze Lord might be the reward itself.

He found the advantages of this Maze were becoming more and more numerous.

....

This time, Gauss did not depart alone, separating from the team.

Despite the constant stream of adventurers setting out these past few days, those were mostly small adventurer teams with few members, or simply lone wolf adventurers. Compared to other adventuring guilds, their Red Dragon Guild's movements were already considered very fast.

The morning mist had not completely dissipated as the convoy continued forward, the sound of hooves hitting the dirt road making a rhythmic sound.

In the distance, the outline of the massive city built around towering ancient trees gradually became clear.

However, the Red Dragon Guild did not choose to enter the city, instead continuing along the road outside the city walls.

They planned to go directly to Vortex Town outside the Timberbell Maze to settle down.

For this trip, the Red Dragon Guild had a total of one hundred and forty-two people, with numerous vehicles forming a long line.

Among them, there were sixty-three combat personnel. The rest were support personnel. They had brought out more than half of the entire team.

This scale couldn't be considered large among adventuring guilds, but it was definitely not small. Even disregarding the Transcendent-level combat power of Gauss as the Guild Leader, it was a powerful force that could not be ignored.

At the very least, the adventurer teams they encountered along the way would actively make way upon seeing their banner from afar.

The convoy continued along the main road, the farmland on both sides gradually being replaced by wilderness once more.

The area within several dozen miles outside Barry City was relatively safe, with patrols frequently passing through. But beyond that range, it was the true wilderness.

"Guild Leader Gauss, at this speed, we should be able to reach the Maze by ten in the morning," Knight Dant said, turning his horse back from the front of the team and giving a slight bow from the saddle.

Dant was one of Luna's trusted aides, a former member of the Fang of the Pale Wolf, a Level 6 Knight with quite outstanding strength.

"Keep an eye on the surrounding situation."

Gauss reminded him.

Even though they were close to the Maze's location, they still couldn't let their guard down.

As they neared the Maze, the Red Dragon Guild members sitting in the carriages gradually grew excited, feeling a mix of tension and anticipation.

"This is my first time exploring a Maze. I hear it's very dangerous."

"Don't worry, we have Guild Leader Gauss."

"With so many of us, what's there to fear from monsters?"

The hundred or so members of the Red Dragon Guild clearly provided quite a morale boost. Even the support personnel with relatively weaker combat strength didn't show much unease on their faces.

It was hard to tell this was a team that had already been traveling in the wilderness for nearly a week.

This was the benefit of a large team. Numbers bolstered courage. Usually, arranging night watch could be done in many shifts, so everyone rested relatively sufficiently. If it were an adventurer team, traveling in the remote wilderness for these few days would likely have left them mentally and physically exhausted.

As the convoy moved forward, the outline of Vortex Town appeared at the edge of their vision.

It was a circular settlement built around the ground entrance of the central Maze, bustling with activity.

Compared to when Gauss last came, when the ground of Vortex Town was muddy everywhere and the buildings were mostly wooden huts, the current town was neat and orderly.

The open ground outside the town was densely packed with carriages and tents. Banners of various colors fluttered in the wind, belonging to adventuring guilds, merchant guilds, and some private flags of unclear affiliation.

Stone slab roads were laid inside the town, with rows of stone houses built along both sides of the streets.

Gauss even saw a huge Adventurers Guild building in the most prominent location.

"It's much cleaner than last year's town, and there seem to be more people too," Aria said with a hint of emotion in her tone.

"Last year was the first round, fewer people knew about it," Gauss nodded. "This is the second round now. Everyone who wants to come will come."

The Red Dragon Guild convoy found an open space to stop outside the town. After leaving a portion of the people behind to guard the luggage, Gauss led the other part of the group into Vortex Town in a grand procession.

The first thing upon entering the town was to go to the Adventurers Guild to register.

Unlike during the first Maze opening, entering the Maze this time required registering information inside the Guild building.

Entering the hall, the other adventurers subconsciously made way.

Gauss walked up to the counter and placed the Red Dragon Guild's adventuring guild emblem and his personal adventurer badge on the table.

"Red Dragon Guild, we need to enter the Timberbell Maze for exploration."

"Understood, please wait a moment." Seeing the badges Gauss placed on the table, the receptionist lady at the counter didn't dare to be negligent in the slightest.

Although she had already received many adventurers these past few days, she knew that the main force for Maze exploration might only be arriving now.

There were no issues with the badges or identity. With the receptionist's efficient actions, the entire process was completed very quickly.

"This is your adventuring guild's Timberbell Maze exploration permit document. Please keep it safe."

"I need to remind you that professionals of Transcendent level and above need to be especially careful when entering the current-stage Timberbell Maze. It's best not to enter at all." The receptionist lady also kindly reminded him.

"Thank you."

Gauss nodded in gratitude.

It was somewhat embarrassing to say, but the person closest to the Transcendent level in their team wasn't him, the Guild Leader, but Luna, who was a Level 9 Warlock.

There were no Transcendent professionals, meaning Level 11 and above professionals, in the entire team.

After obtaining the exploration permit document, the other members also entered the town.

The Red Dragon Guild's financial situation was healthy. Soon, with a wave of Gauss's hand, they booked three adjacent inns as the Red Dragon Guild's activity base.

"Rest for one last day today. I've already had people prepare delicious food and fine wine in the main hall. Everyone, eat and drink to your heart's content."

"Formal Maze exploration will begin tomorrow."

"Long live the Guild Leader!"

"I love you, Guild Leader!"

Leaving the lively main hall, Gauss went to the second-floor corridor. Looking out the window, his gaze turned towards the Maze entrance, while his hand reached into his pocket and touched that key.

The first thing tomorrow upon entering the Maze, he would head to the second level and try to see if this Square Power Key could open that green pavilion entrance.