Goddess Kaleidoscope

"Ancient martial arts techniques?"

Lude had spoken with Hume and Kumirard, whom he had recently met, several times about ancient martial arts techniques, and learned a lot of interesting history from them.

When Lu De first transmigrated, he initially thought it was a world with high magic and low martial arts. Ordinary people with talent could only reach the level of Captain America by practicing martial arts, where taking on a hundred enemies at once was the peak. But the ceiling for mages was much higher. Hamilton could fight dragons single-handedly, and with the help of his disciples from the Three-Man Tower, he could even unleash forbidden spells to destroy armies and cities.

It wasn't until he met Hume that he learned that the warriors of this world were once no less powerful than mages, and even slightly superior. Unfortunately, they were severely weakened in the last "version update," which is why they have been in decline ever since.

Ludd initially consulted Hume, but Hume felt that Ludd was still in the early stages and it was not good for him to be exposed to such divine secrets too early, so he did not tell him. But later, Cumirad had no such taboos and happily told him many ancient secrets that could lead to his being silenced.

Long before the outbreak of the divine war, during the Age of Gods, those powerful individuals who practiced ancient martial arts, like the magicians who constantly sought knowledge, yearned for greater power. Therefore, they chose to take on challenges, achieving breakthroughs in their realms through battle, fighting against everything from mortals and demons to dragons.

The most outstanding mortal martial artists of that era were truly blessed with the highest level of martial virtue!

With all the capable warriors in the mortal realm defeated, some powerful individuals who were still unwilling to stop progressing in the martial arts world set their warlike gazes on the gods.

From today's perspective, challenging the gods is a great act of disrespect, but in the age of gods hundreds of years ago, there were no such rules and regulations. Moreover, that was a prosperous period when gods flourished, with hundreds of gods of all sizes around the world. Not all gods knew their place.

Faced with challenges from mortals, high-ranking gods like the three starter families are naturally fearless, and the war god Feigolai even enjoys the process.

However, some lower-ranking gods don't have this kind of arrogance, and mortal warriors are unaware of the true nature of these gods. Since you boast about your invincibility in front of your followers, then I will test your invincibility.

As a result, he was knocked down in a flash!

A minor deity who has just broken through to the first or second tier, if the divine position under my jurisdiction is not related to combat, could indeed be defeated by a top-tier martial artist in the mortal realm.

Normally, gods cannot be killed by conventional means, so even if they are defeated by mortal warriors, they can recover quickly as long as their faith continues.

But therein lies the problem: almost without exception, these gods who were defeated by mortals encountered an unexpected situation: as their facade crumbled, their followers' faith also collapsed, they ceased to produce faith, and finally disappeared completely in their continuous decline.

This was the first time the gods realized that they, who thought themselves immortal, were also mortal!

This event served as a wake-up call for many gods. Even though the probability of being defeated by mortals was not high, and those who were defeated were all weak gods, everyone saw a "possibility" that could make the gods uneasy.

Therefore, on issues involving the interests of the entire class, the vast majority of gods united. Their first reaction was to condemn the mortal warriors who had defeated gods for cheating and lacking martial ethics in duels, and for certainly using some evil force—they were the minions of demons!

This tactic of smearing others felt very familiar to Lu De. He recalled that before he time-traveled, whenever his country made a breakthrough in any technological field, foreign media and domestic lackeys would inevitably jump out to smear it, shouting that it was plagiarism and imitation. They argued that such a corrupt and dark country like his could not possibly have the creativity of the free world.

The specific methods may differ, but the core idea is the same. Even on Earth, plenty of people would believe this nonsense, let alone in another world where basic education isn't even widespread.

Under the overwhelming influence of public opinion on the part of the gods, these warriors who had once defeated the gods were reduced to despicable blasphemers in the eyes of ordinary people.

But that wasn't the end of it. The gods then turned their attention to the martial arts world, sowing discord and instigating among them. After all, some martial artists were also believers, and driven by their faith, they fought each other, causing the entire martial arts world to bleed continuously and gradually decline.

This process lasted for over a hundred years until the outbreak of the War of the Gods, which wiped out the last batch of inheritors of ancient martial arts schools, along with the Ratman Empire and the Dwarf Kingdom, thus completing the final kill!

However, what's really ironic is that the gods who came up with these conspiracies and schemes did not become the final victors in the fierce divine war, because there was a traitor among them, and this traitor... is none other than Kumirad, who is now telling Lud about this hidden history.

Lude found it quite unbelievable that this guy wasn't treated as an evil god.

Meanwhile, in the labyrinth, the old butler, Sajin, was still fighting the golem with ease. The second phase of the dog was a nightmare for ordinary adventurers, but it still couldn't hurt the elusive and ghostly Sajin.

Hume looked at it for a while and then shook his head and said...

"Your golem is doomed to lose."

"That's normal. This is just the first level's beginner boss. If they can't even beat Dog Brother, I'll be in trouble."

"Speaking of which, isn't your maze a bit too difficult? There are very few inheritors of ancient martial arts techniques left in this world. Most adventurers are no match for your golem's second stage. If this old man hadn't appeared, would anyone have been able to break through to the second level?"

"That depends on whether anyone is willing to use their brain. I can leave a sign in the most conspicuous place at the garden entrance. If they don't see it, who can they blame?"

"What do you mean?"

"Remember the description of Dog Brother at the garden gate? He's a model knight, never bullying weak warriors. Actually, if adventurers just sheathed their swords and calmly walked into the garden without showing any hostility, Dog Brother wouldn't attack them; he'd even take out his key and open the gate for them. They could get through without a fight. I call that an Easter egg!"

"..."

As Lude was talking to Hume, Dog's movements suddenly froze on the projected screen, and his speed and strength noticeably decreased. This was a sign that his magic core was damaged.

The old butler, Sajin, who was present at the scene, naturally noticed this situation as well. He had stabbed the golem hundreds of times, trying each part one by one. Finally, he discovered that the core of the golem was located about one meter below the waist behind him, which was where Dog Brother's anus was.

Sargin's sword successfully pierced the magic core. Although it didn't completely destroy it, the structure was ruptured. To the mage among the four surviving guards, a large amount of magic was rapidly leaking from behind Dog Brother, looking strangely like he was about to explode!

"Oh my! This guy found a buttock jewel!"

On the audience side, Aina pointed at Dog Bro, whose buttocks were injured, and shouted, "The new word 'buttocks' is something she heard Lude mention before. Because Atropos, who created Dog Bro, chose to place the magic core in this part, Lude described the magic core as 'buttocks' when he inspected the forging workshop."

Aina didn't know what "Shiriko-dama" was, but she found it interesting, so she just called it that too.

Having successfully located Dog Brother's core, Sajin immediately began a series of attacks on his weak points. His Shadowless Swift Sword, Poisonous Bee, stabbed seventeen times in an instant, piercing thirty-four holes in Dog Brother's groin. The energy within the magic core quickly dissipated, and Dog Brother, powerless, staggered to his knees, unable to swing his heavy spiral lance any longer.

As the last ray of red light faded from Dog Brother's voyeuristic gaze, the hilt of the sword embedded in Dog Brother's chest slipped off, and a sturdy, key-shaped golden longsword with irregular serrations fell out.

"He won! That old gentleman actually won!"

Outside the garden gate, Denzel, who had been watching the battle, was utterly shocked by what had just happened. The seemingly ordinary old butler was actually an unimaginable master who had defeated the golem watchdog, which struck fear into the hearts of many adventurers, without sustaining a single injury.

Meanwhile, Terlin was overjoyed and quickly stepped forward to pick up the "key sword" that had fallen from Dog Brother's body.

At first glance, the golden longsword looked like it was made of brass, but once you held it, you knew it was no ordinary item. Its surface flowed with the unique and wonderful luster of magical runes, and with a gentle swing, you could hear the sharp whistling of the wind.

At this moment, the other guards also came up to clean up the battlefield. A treasure chest with gold trim emerged from the fountain in the center of the garden. It was full of maze coins and magic crystals with weird smiley faces (funny faces) printed on them. In addition, the conch shell held by the mermaid statue could also be taken off. The magician recognized it as a magical item at a glance.

"My goodness! A magic sword, a magic item, and so much gold and gems! No wonder they say the devil is generous!"

"Don't say that in front of the priests once you leave the labyrinth."

Soon, Terlin's men finished cleaning up the battlefield, and for a moment they were at a loss.

After Dog was defeated, the water in the fountain quickly drained away, revealing a large door with a keyhole at the bottom of the pool.

At that moment, Trilling made a mistake. He tried to insert the key sword he had just acquired into the keyhole. The instant it went in all the way, the mechanism inside the door started to activate automatically, and the key sword was disintegrated in an instant, leaving Trilling with a piece of the hilt that was not enough to kill him.

After the gate to the pool area opened, a downward staircase was revealed, and an hourglass popped out. Although nothing was explicitly stated, it was clear that the gate would only remain open until the sand in the hourglass ran out.

At this point, Trin had two choices: either continue forward and become the first adventurer to enter the second level of the maze, or quit while he was ahead and return the way he came with his loot.

Logically speaking, the second option is obviously safer. In the first trip, only eight people came, and one of them was killed and another was injured by Dog. If the remaining few people rush forward, they might end up crashing.

However, the process of conquering the first floor was too smooth. An area that would normally take more than a day to pass suddenly had a shortcut that led directly to the end. The fearsome Dog Brother was defeated without taking any damage by the old butler Sarkin. With both luck and strength, Trin couldn't help but get a little cocky.

So, driven by a gambler's mentality, Trilling felt he could push forward a little further, and that it wouldn't be too late to back down when things got tougher.

Since Trinn was the young master, and given the confidence boosted by the old butler Sarkin's easy victory over Dog Brother, the decision to continue forward was met with no opposition. Even Denzel, who had previously agreed to only lead the way to Dog Brother's door on the first floor, remained silent.

Denzel knew that with his team's fighting strength, the possibility of defeating Dog was almost zero. Even if the whole team trained for another ten or eight years, they might not be able to reach the level of the old butler.

So, he was presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: with a powerful mentor to guide him, he could become one of the first adventurers to enter the second level of the labyrinth. How many treasure chests he found was secondary; the most important thing was intelligence—firsthand information about the second level!

And so, before the hourglass ran out, the group took a short rest. The wounded drank a bottle of "Evelina's Tears," and their injuries vanished in the blink of an eye.

As for the newly acquired loot, the magic sword was destroyed as soon as the door was opened, but the conch shell, whose use was still unknown, could be stuffed into their backpacks and carried around. However, the heavy treasure chest obviously couldn't be carried on their person, so the group found an inconspicuous corner in the garden to hide it for the time being, and would retrieve it on their way back.

It's worth mentioning that, in order to prevent this valuable treasure chest from being taken by later adventurers, the guards made full use of the "meat sauce" left behind by their fallen comrade, collecting it in a canvas bag and burying it shallowly above the hidden treasure chest.

In this way, even if someone discovers something buried here, they will see the remains first when they dig it up, and unless they are mentally ill, they generally will not dig any further.

Having completed all this, the group continued on their way. Not long after they left, in a quiet corner of the garden, a sinister figure suddenly appeared and, before the passageway gate closed, quietly followed them…

End of this chapter

Upon entering the second level of the maze, the group passed through a long corridor and arrived at a large hall with many doors on all sides.

Unlike the first layer, which was mainly grayish-brown, this layer is a slightly brighter light blue, and the air humidity has also increased significantly, making it feel very humid.

However, the most eye-catching thing in the hall is the strangely shaped device in the very center, which looks like a lottery compass, but is unusually large.

The group approached the giant compass, and as soon as they got within five meters, colorful light pillars suddenly lit up all around, startling everyone present. Denzel, who was at the front, looked closely and realized that this giant wheel was indeed for a lottery. The surface of the wheel was divided into five areas of different sizes, from largest to smallest: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythical; and white, green, blue, purple, and gold. The Common category occupied two-thirds of the entire wheel, while the highest-ranking Mythical category appeared to be only a very thin line, thinner than the compass needle.

At this moment, a square stone platform slowly rose in front of the lottery disc. In the center of the platform was a large, bright red button, followed by a halo of light floating into the air, forming several lines of text.

"Warriors who have arrived here, please accept this gift from Hedtaka Miyazaki. Each person has only one chance to witness a miracle... What does this mean? Is this a lottery?"

The group circled the large disc, which appeared to be made of ordinary bronze, but out of caution, no one dared to touch it.

The group discussed it briefly. Although they all felt that accepting the devil's gift was risky, for some reason, just looking at that big red button made them feel an intense urge to press it hard.

So after thinking it over, everyone agreed that regardless of the risks, they should just press the button!

The first to take action was the thief under Trin's command, because he was the fastest among those present except for the old butler. If anything went wrong, he might be able to escape in time. Therefore, he took the initiative to lead the charge, while the others retreated more than ten meters and hid at the exit of the passage.

The thief rolled up his sleeves, took a deep breath, and then slammed his fist down.

"Go away!"

The moment the button was pressed, the pointer on the giant compass began to spin. The thief quickly took several steps back, fearing a trap might be triggered, but his eyes remained fixed on the compass. This tense and exciting feeling reminded him of the same atmosphere in a casino before the dealer opened the game.

The pointer spun for several seconds, gradually slowing down. The thief's eyes were fixed on the single golden spot on the dial, and every time the pointer passed over it, he would unconsciously tense up.

Especially in the final moments before it came to a complete stop, the pointer almost touched the golden area in the very center, but ultimately slid off and landed on the adjacent area. The others watching behind it instinctively let out a long sigh of regret.

"The blue one is actually not bad!"

After the lottery results were announced, a magic circle suddenly lit up in the center of the hall. Immediately afterwards, a blue wooden box appeared out of thin air in the center of the magic circle, seemingly the prize the thief had drawn. He carefully examined it before opening the box, and inside was a pair of exquisitely crafted plate gauntlets, shaped like dragon claws, and enchanted.

Overjoyed, the young man couldn't wait to try it on, but at that moment, Terlin had already walked over. After all, he was his young master, so the thief could only suppress his reluctance and obediently hand the gauntlets to him.

"Young master, this is the prize... It's quite nice."

Seeing through his subordinate's ulterior motives, Terlin took the item, glanced at it, and then tossed it back to the other man, without revealing the equipment to his unscrupulous underling.

Seeing that there were no problems, the others present became eager to try their luck after their concerns disappeared. Even the old butler was aroused.

However, everyone soon discovered that when everyone was in the same situation for the lottery, even if no one spoke up, they would subconsciously start to compare themselves to see who had the best luck.

As a result, the seven people drew lots in turn, and no one won the highest-level mythic prize, but they won the other four categories. Denzel, who was the guide, drew the purple legendary prize and received a magic cloak called "Falling Feather." After wearing it, he felt as light as a feather, and could jump six or seven meters high before slowly falling like a feather.

Of the other five, four drew green rare items, which were all well-made but unenchanted regular weapons. Only the eldest son, Terlin, drew the lowest-tier common item, whose prize was "one day's worth of rations for one person," which consisted of two loaves of bread and a jug of water stuffed into a burlap sack.

Trilling didn't say anything, but his face was full of joy.

After the lottery ended, two of the surrounding doors opened. At first glance, they seemed to be the same, but the small print on the door frames was different.

One door read "Watery Countryside" and the other "Rushing Forward," seemingly hinting at the traps and mechanisms inside. After some thought, Trin decided to choose the "Rushing Forward" door.

"Tsk! Pretty smart."

Watching Terlin make his choice, Lud, who was fighting with Aina for sweet potato chips, curled his lip. He actually hoped that Terlin would choose the Swamp Country, because he had personally designed and supervised all the traps along the way. One of the areas was an artificial swamp, where waist-deep water not only contained mud that could trap people, but also raised a group of lightning cross eels.

This freshwater fish is a specialty of the Void Forest. Its cross-shaped mouthparts are most fond of biting people's genitals, and it will also generate electricity after biting, making countless male adventurers tremble at the mere mention of it.

In contrast, the rapids on the other side are relatively simple, consisting mostly of water-based traps that suddenly spray liquid from unexpected corners of adventurers. The weaker ones can only spray a little in the face, while the stronger ones can spit a living person in two.

However, in terms of overall difficulty, the second level is not much different from the first level. Since Terlin's team was able to get through the first level, as long as they are not too unlucky, the second level should not be too difficult for them either.