The maze was built starting with the mother skeleton replenishing its magic.

After the [Black Sword] talent was triggered, several blank skeletons crawled out from the corpses of the original zombies, standing there blankly, waiting for Lance's instructions.

Seeing this, the surrounding skeletons curiously gathered around, constantly giving their new colleague a thumbs-up in an attempt to communicate.

Unfortunately, these blank skeletons are just temporary puppets generated by their talents and will not pay any attention to them.

Lance thought to himself, "It seems I still have a very long way to go before I can build my own army of the undead."

Aside from special cases like him and Angelica, the intelligence level of monsters usually increases as their level rises.

He needs to find a way to help these skeletons become intelligent.

"Mr. Lance...do you guys usually fight like this?"

Angelica couldn't help herself and gently tugged at Lance's cloak, asking a question.

"Shut up," Lance said, his face dark. "I'm thinking about something."

"oh."

Angelica obediently shut her mouth.

[Paralysis: Blocks some pain sensation and slows down bleeding when injured]

I finally got the racial talent that hadn't been revealed before, so I guess that's a reward in itself.

The first time you kill a monster, you will receive a large amount of experience; after that, you will only receive 1 experience point for each kill.

As for talents and skills, they are all "probable" to be obtained.

Come to think of it, the zombies' bodies are rotting, which is why they have the ability to "paralyze".

But as far as Lance knew, this effect also had a resounding name: "Dance of Death".

After a disastrous victory, Lance checked the casualties.

Except for one skeleton that was unfortunately killed by a headshot, the other skeletons can continue to work.

The skeleton's weakness lies in the core of its skull.

If it's just a matter of breaking the body into pieces, you can piece it back together and continue fighting.

"Anjie, let me test you."

"hold head high."

Why are there so few walkers?

"Because... it hasn't respawned after being defeated by the adventurer?"

Angelica tilted her head, her tone uncertain.

Well, even the silly and cute female skeleton realized this problem, which means it's true.

The fact that the zombies in the deeper levels haven't respawned yet indicates that the wanted criminals arrived there recently.

If you came here to kill the boss, you will most likely encounter the zombies or skeletons that spawned after the initial kill on your way out of the maze after defeating the boss.

As a result, the newly spawned monsters died at Lance's hands.

This illustrates one thing.

Those wanted criminals are most likely still in the maze and haven't left.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Why kill him?"

Martin drew an iron arrow from the quiver on his back, nocked it on the bowstring, and coldly scrutinized the two men before him.

Inside the lord's room at the deepest part of the labyrinth.

The priest, who had just been reminiscing with Martin about how "with this money we can send my sister to the Imperial University of Magic" is now a headless corpse.

Blood gushed out uncontrollably, splattering everywhere.

The instigators of all this were their employers—the two men in front of them who claimed to be from the capital.

"Don't be nervous, Mr. Martin," the magician Duke waved his hand, trying to calm him down.

"We've survived this long precisely because we've been cautious."

The warrior Mulin, wielding a heavy sword, laughed heartily, kicked the priest's head aside, and spat on his corpse.

"What I hate most are those church informants."

"Mullin, put your weapon away," Duke frowned and snapped at his companion. "Mr. Martin is our friend."

"Um, okay."

Martin quickly took a few steps back, drew the bowstring taut, and cautiously watched the two men without saying a word.

Duke placed his right hand on his chest and bowed gracefully to Martin.

"Let me introduce myself again, my name is Duke."

"We were just poor souls who made a small mistake and were chased all the way by the Imperial Guards, forcing us to hide in the labyrinth."

"You are wanted criminals of the Empire," Martin said coldly.

"No, no, no, we just killed some insignificant people." Duke shook his finger, a mocking smile on his face. "It's nothing compared to an adventurer like you who has killed his teammates."

"call out--"

The arrow grazed Duke's cheek.

Martin drew his bowstring taut again, glaring at him with a cold expression, while the latter simply smiled and remained unmoved.

The atmosphere was tense and ready to fight.

half an hour.

Martin's expression remained unchanged as he put away his hunting bow.

"I haven't seen you since I paid."

Seeing that the other party had chosen to compromise, Duke's smile widened.

He stepped forward, put his arm around Martin's shoulder, looked up at the vast lord's room, and exclaimed with admiration:

"This place is amazing! Nobody would have thought we were here, all thanks to your guidance."

"It would be even better if we also had Mr. Martin's map and some advice on the maze."

"And then you'll kill me the same way you killed him, won't you?" Martin said coldly.

"Not only will you not get it, you'll also get his share," Duke replied with a smile. "You deserve it."

Martin is 34 years old and was already preparing to retire.

This was his last task before retirement—to act as a maze guide for two Imperials, along with a priest.

After that, Martin planned to buy a small farm away from the maze, raise a few cows, and grow some vegetables.

It now appears that he still has one hurdle to overcome before he retires.

"Pay first, then we'll give you the map."

"As you wish, my friend."

After the transaction was completed, Duke examined the simplified maze map, while Martin opened his money bag and counted the gold coins.

The maze was roughly drawn as a 6x6 grid of 36 squares, which is 36 rooms.

A line drawn with charcoal pencil connects the correct route from the exit to the lord's room, while dead ends are marked with crosses.

The heavy money bag contained 100 gold coins.

Martin glanced again at the priest's gruesome body, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

One life, 50 gold.

"Perfect! Absolutely perfect!" Duke exclaimed with delight. "So, do you have any advice for your friend who's visiting the maze for the first time?"

"Don't underestimate the maze," Martin said sternly, enunciating each word clearly.

"Is that all?"

"Although the monsters in this 'Kru Labyrinth' are all low-level undead, the lord is a level 20 skeletal hound."

Keep in mind that Martin, the highest-level of the three, has only reached level 20 after years of struggling as an adventurer.

Martin then pointed to the center of the room.

It was a relatively spacious and flat area, with some fluorescent plants growing on the left and right, illuminating the darkness.

In the very center stands a tombstone, beside which a broken sword covered in rust stands upright, a ray of sunlight shining through the gap above onto the broken sword.

"The lord will be activated once you get within 5 meters of the tombstone. The area beyond 5 meters is safe, and there are some alchemical materials that can be collected nearby."

"Also, don't touch that broken sword, or the lord will go berserk... What are you doing, you idiot!"

Martin's eyes widened, and he almost roared.

Mulin, who had just pulled out his broken sword, looked over here with a puzzled expression.

"Idiot? Me?"

Hurricanes swept around the area.

The scattered bones were blown up by the wind and gradually pieced together the image of the lord in front of them.

It was a huge skeletal hound, now crouching low, baring its teeth.

Mullin didn't even have time to react before he was knocked back by the dog's tail.

Its body embedded itself in the wall, kicking up countless plumes of dust.

After doing all this, the skeletal dog actually stood up on its two hind legs and picked up the broken sword from the ground with its two front paws!

Horizontal slash, vertical chop, and spinning slash!

"Damn it! What's going on?!"

Duke yelled in panic.

He kept conjuring fireballs with his staff, but the dog was too agile and he couldn't hit it at all.

"This is the lord's berserk state; it will use [Imperial Swordsmanship]."

"You mean the dog stands on its two legs? And then it's wielding a sword and using swordsmanship???"

What the hell is the difference between them and humans?!

"Stop talking nonsense!" Martin yelled. "Get out of here with your idiot friend and run!"

......

"Martin, my friend."

"explain."

"Southern skeletons...are they generally gregarious?"

"no."

Duke was pale, whether from excessive magic consumption or simply from feeling pressured, it was unclear.

He carried the unconscious Mulin on his back, pointing shakily at the scene before him:

"So what's going on?"

The only path leading to the exit ahead was densely packed with white bones.

It was as if all the skeletons in the entire maze had gathered there, each with a fierce glint in their eyes.

At the very back of all the skeletons stood a gigantic skeleton knight, his eyes burning with crimson soul fire.

Cold sweat streamed down Martin's face.

He gritted his teeth.

"How the hell would I know!"