Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

|?ω?｀)

"Yes, sir!"

Nodding in satisfaction, Ciel rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a few magic stone fragments and a magic orange, mixing them together and handing them to Rimuru.

"Alright, eat up. You're useless now. Hurry up and get stronger."

"Yes, boss! I'll do my best!"

Unable to resist, the slime sprang forward, its body opening to swallow all the materials in front of Sharl. Immediately afterward, many bubbles rose in the blue solution as the magic stone and orange were gradually digested.

"Now I can only be a dumping ground..." Charles rested his chin on his hand, looking helpless.

……

Two days passed quickly, and the stolen [Dark Priest] returned to the prize pool.

Charles opened another bottle of the Renewal Potion he carried with him, dripped a drop, unlocked the Blessing, and then used the divine runes to renew himself. It wasn't that he was frugal; his reserves of divine blood were running low.

Charles Lv3.

Strength: I0→I50 Endurance: I0→I71 Dexterity: I0→H105 Agility: I0→I67 Magic: I0→SSS3707

-

After relentlessly grinding monsters for nine days, aside from significant improvements in magic, his other attributes crawled like a tortoise.

Xia Er was a little unaccustomed to it. Without the support of special skills, his attribute growth was too slow. This was just the beginning, and it was hard to imagine how slow the speed would be after reaching D-rank.

However, Ciel is quite satisfied with his current state. His magic level is maxed out, still at level 3, with a magic value of nearly 4000 points, which is enough to rival the power of a level 4 mage.

His current strength, within Orario, is considered to be at the upper-middle level. Apart from first-level adventurers, most level 4 adventurers would not be his match.

at the moment……

"Let's go, go back."

With Rimuru on his head, Alpha in his arms, and riding on Pochi's back, Ciel leisurely swayed his hips as they left the White Palace, escorted by Alfia.

It would take three days, without sleep or rest, to return to the ground from here.

Charles had no intention of continuing to upgrade his abilities. With less than 15 days left until the agreed-upon seven days of death, he needed to conserve his upgrade attempts to face the complex situation ahead.

……

at the same time.

Knossos, an artificial labyrinth.

"Quick, search!"

"no!"

"It's not here either!"

One after another, adventurers dressed in magnificent combat suits and with agile figures sped through the passage.

While Ciel was engrossed in the labyrinth, the Familia, led by Finn, used the information obtained from Astrea and the key in Fels's possession to open the gate to the 18th floor leading to the artificial labyrinth.

For more than ten days, the Dark Faction remained inactive, giving Finn a lot of breathing room. He ruthlessly used Jester and, based on intelligence gathered from various sources, launched a preemptive attack on the Dark Faction's base to attract the attention of other evil gods.

He then secretly mobilized his troops, carrying crucial intelligence, and opened the door to the 18th floor.

However, despite his ambitious efforts to rally his arch-rival Freya's Familia, he came up empty-handed.

The adventure team of several hundred people searched three layers of the maze and fell into countless traps and mechanisms, but they didn't even find a single faction leader.

At this moment, on the 14th floor of the artificial maze, Finn held the "Eye Crystal" used for communication, biting his thumb in deep thought.

The allied forces did not suffer heavy losses, and he could certainly continue to arrange for them to search. Perhaps they would encounter the enemy's main god on the next level, but the possibility of encountering traps and the main force was greater.

He had considered countless possibilities, but he never imagined that the Dark Faction would almost give up resisting.

“This isn’t like Valetta… what is she doing?” Finn recalled his old adversary’s policies.

The dwarf, Grice, leaning on his giant axe, said, "Could it be because we were too sudden and didn't react in time?"

"To say it was because of a surprise attack on an uninhabited stronghold is clearly a stretch. But why would they cower in the face of me, trapped in enemy lines?" Finn was puzzled. "Given Valetta's personality, she should be eager to fight me!"

"This is bad, it might be a trap," Grace warned. "If the enemy's main force isn't in the maze, it must be somewhere else! We need to go back and rescue them!"

Finn bit his thumb; this time, no pain alerted him, but the unexpected and bizarre situation prevented him from making an accurate judgment.

He recalled the unopenable metal door on the first floor, and a sense of unease rose in his heart.

"retreat……"

Finally, he gave the command into the "eye crystal".

Whether it's a trap lurking deep within the maze, ready to deliver a fatal blow, or a flanking maneuver to attack the city, you can stop advancing now.

Not much time has passed since the surprise attack, and it has long lost its significance. Rather than rushing into the enemy's trap, it is better to withdraw while we are ahead.

……

At the control panel in the center of the 10th floor, Valetta and Balka watched the allied forces of the Familia leave like a receding tide, and breathed a sigh of relief:

"Holy crap! They really left?"

Chapter 156 Finn, you little bastard!

The maze has ten levels; the central hall is now open.

This is the deepest part of the man-made labyrinth, inaccessible to adventurers.

A stone platform holding a huge red jewel stands in the middle.

A disheveled, weary-looking white-haired man pressed down on the crystal ball, above which a simplified map of the maze flickered.

At this time, the artificial maze had not yet incorporated projection technology for monitoring channels, but the progress of the enemy's conquest could still be judged by triggering mechanisms.

Below them stood a coalition of hundreds of adventurers, while above them stood the architect guarding the labyrinth alone. What should have been a one-sided affair had inexplicably become a stalemate.

Barka stared blankly at the control panel, where the maze map had detected the reopening of the gate to the 18th floor. What should have been a certain death had somehow taken a turn for the better?

Balka, with dark circles under his eyes, stared sullenly at Valeta, who had an equally strange expression beside him.

"How do you explain that?"

"Explanation? What explanation?" Valeta kicked the control panel hard, but was stopped by Balka.

"Do you still want to destroy our last line of defense?"

"I……"

Valetta lowered her head, her messy pink bangs obscuring her murderous eyes.

"Finn, Finn! What are you doing! What the hell are you doing?! Why aren't you advancing! Why are you retreating!"

From the moment the adventurers rushed into the labyrinth, Valetta let out an excited and cruel smile. She believed this was the best opportunity to kill Finn. With the various traps in the labyrinth and tens of thousands of firestones, no adventurer could escape from this prison.

When she told her companions about her decision, she was met with wariness and skepticism.

"There's no need. The plan is already in its final stages, so sacrificing the maze is fine."

"No need to make any unnecessary moves. Just conserve your strength and wait for the overlords to crush you."

"If we were to engage in battle with the heroes now, suffering heavy losses, how could we possibly cooperate with the conquerors? Haven't we forgotten the lesson of besieging Jester?"

"Valeta, you wouldn't be thinking of meeting Finn again, would you?!"

Due to their limited power, the Dark Faction's leaders were unable to take action against Valetta, but having lost her trust, she could no longer mobilize them.

"What we need to do is wait for the triumphant return of the Overlord and Lord Erebus."

"Therefore, we must retreat. We will go to the port of Mellen to avoid the brunt of the attack."

Recalling the faces of those vermin, Valetta felt helpless. She couldn't believe she was so foolish as to be so easily manipulated by Finn.

Unexpectedly...

The truth slapped Valetta in the face.

Valetta saw Finn's departure as nothing more than fear. But others saw it quite the opposite.

'This does not match previous intelligence,' 'It might be a trap,' 'There's an insider who terminated the deal.'

Alright, they didn't follow Valetta's orders and directly persuaded the Orario adventurer alliance to retreat without losing a single soldier?

What more needs to be said?

"Ha..." Valeta suddenly clutched her head and tilted her head back: "Hahahahahahahaha, Finn~!!! Finn, you little bastard! Aaaaaaah!"

Valeta laughed and cried at the same time, stomping her feet and clutching her head: "Now it's all good! After all these years, I've finally become Finn's ally! Hahahaha, this is hilarious! Hahahaha!"

“Isn’t that right?” Barka remained silent. “How did they know about the man-made labyrinth? And how did they possess the key?”

"Ah~ right! I'm Finn's spy now! Are you satisfied?!" Valeta's eyes widened, her lips parted in a wide grin: "Hehehe—"

"Have you admitted it?" Barka asked rigidly.

"Hahaha, I don't know! I can't tell!" Valeta grabbed Balka by the neck: "Answer me, whose person am I?"

Balka's expression remained calm: "If so, we can join them now. This labyrinth is important to them too, isn't it?"

Valeta suddenly felt bored and tossed Balka to the corner of the wall, saying, "Huh? Boring."

He then couldn't help but laugh again: "Me? Finn's mole? Haha... Hahaha, how interesting!"

……

Two days later, on the 18th floor.

When Charles rode Pochi and swaggered into the man-made maze, he was somewhat bewildered.

No, what about my big house?

It was copied?

Near the entrance to the maze, a dozen military police officers wearing red elephant-trunk masks were stationed. Finn was looking up, talking to Riveria, his expression serious.

Charles's unique appearance caught the attention of some military police, who shouted "Hey!" and rushed over.

"Who are you?" A gray-haired girl ran over in two steps, her expression serious as she gripped the hilt of a sword.