Goddess Kaleidoscope

Before Trinn fully regained consciousness, Elijah and Lacey had both hidden inside the pendant, and the three sisters had also used their divine power to conceal themselves. As a result, Trinn looked around in confusion but only saw Rudd, who was completely clean, with not even a single stain on his white robe.

Although Terlin was a spoiled brat, the situation made him feel a little suspicious.

Then, just then, a rustling sound suddenly came from the bushes around them, as if some animal with many legs was rapidly approaching. Suddenly, a large group of giant centipedes sprang out of the forest, each seven or eight meters long and more than half a meter wide, their huge, glowing mandibles like two scythes, snapping shut with a crackling sound.

These suddenly appearing monsters terrified Trin, while Lude simply patted Trin on the shoulder and spoke in an unusually calm tone.

"Lie down and give me these things."

No sooner had Lude finished speaking than a gigantic centipede, seemingly the leader of its kind, launched its attack. Terrified, Trinn tried to run, but Lude held him firmly with one hand, rendering him immobile. Then Trinn saw the giant centipede, pouncing forward, crash headfirst into an invisible barrier, stopping it less than a meter away. No matter how frantically it bit and tore at the barrier, it remained completely unmoved.

At this moment, Trin saw Lud raise one hand, and a terrifying power, powerful enough to suffocate him, rapidly condensed above them, forming a dazzling sphere of light like a small sun. Then, Lud casually swung it downwards, and the sphere of light slammed into the ground, instantly turning the surrounding swarms of giant centipedes into dust.

Terlin was completely stunned by what he saw. His previous suspicions about Lud vanished along with the centipede with this astonishing attack.

End of this chapter

Because he couldn't reveal to Trilling that "the maze is my home," Lud had no choice but to take Trilling and walk back to the surface.

After witnessing Master Lud's "true strength" firsthand, Trin was noticeably more docile than before. When Lud said he would take him out of the maze first, Trin immediately followed behind, keeping a close eye on him as if afraid of being left behind.

Trilling was a spoiled brat, but not a complete idiot. He knew that arrogance had to be directed at the right person, and he didn't think his head was any tougher than those giant centipedes that had just been annihilated. Besides, this was the Abyss Labyrinth, a place even top-tier figures like the old butler Sargin found troublesome. Trilling wasn't confident he could get out on his own.

As for why he ventured into the maze alone and how he rescued Trilling, Lud pretended to be mysterious and offered no explanation. Seeing that his boss was not speaking, Trilling wisely dared not say or ask anything.

Unlike the previous four levels of the maze, the fifth level is an "open world." Lud and Trinn can simply look up and see a towering "Optimus Prime" with a spiral staircase leading back to the fourth level of the maze.

Along the way, Lude carried his "Fire Kirin" priest's staff, the surface of which radiated a fused golden light, illuminating the path ahead and causing the terrifying creatures hiding in the shadows to retreat.

Trinn had seen this move before; it was a low-level divine spell called "Holy Light Dispel," used by all priests. It could dispel evil spirits and beasts, and also had a certain deterrent effect on low-level monsters. However, the Holy Light Dispel of ordinary priests only lasted for a few seconds, while Lud's was an ever-burning lamp, emphasizing its endurance.

The two walked for nearly an hour and successfully reached the bottom of the spiral staircase. Lud looked perfectly fine, without even breaking a sweat, but Trin didn't have such stamina. His current body belonged to the necromancer Dick, and his congenital disabilities weren't just limited to his hideously ugly face; his physical condition was also worse than average, making him no match for Lud, who consistently worked out every day.

In addition, his body was also suffering from a severe and potentially fatal debuff: hunger!

Counting the days, it has been almost three months since Trin disappeared. During this time, his soul and the necromancer's body have been preserved by the Grey Sphere, which has mysteriously and forcibly combined the two together.

Lud can use divine magic to heal his body from fatal wounds, but he can only rely on bread to fill his stomach.

Throughout the journey, Trin had been enduring exhaustion and hunger, but he dared not mention it to Lud. However, he had truly reached his limit. He felt extremely weak and on the verge of fainting if he took another step. The spiral staircase in front of him was hundreds of meters high, and just looking up at it made him dizzy.

"Master! Please rest for a bit, I really... have no strength left."

"Okay, let's take a rest then."

Looking at the exhausted-looking Terlin, Lud knew he must be hungry and thirsty, so he took out a bottle of milky white potion from his pocket and handed it to him.

"Here, drink this. It will satisfy your hunger and quench your thirst."

What is this?

"This is called the Milk of the Holy Mark, it's a good thing, drink it."

Taking the bottle from Lud, Trillin opened it and smelled it. It had a pleasant milky aroma. Without a second thought, he drank it all in one gulp. His hunger and fatigue vanished almost instantly, and Trillin felt as if he had come back to life.

The so-called "stigmata milk" was a name that Lud made up on the spot. What he gave Trin to drink was actually his own "breakfast milk," which was essentially sweet milk blessed with divine power. Sometimes when he was too busy to eat, he would drink a bottle as an emergency.

Terlin, unaware of the details, thought it was some rare and miraculous medicine.

"Thank you, Master, I feel much better."

"Let's rest for a while. It will take at least a day or two to get back to the ground from here."

The two built a fire in front of the spiral staircase, but sat on the ground across the blazing flames, speechless for a moment. Seeing that Trilling looked hesitant, Rude spoke calmly.

“If you really are Trin, then you’ve been missing for almost three months. Your companions who entered the maze with you took your body back. Now that I think about it, it must have been an empty shell without a soul. No wonder I could heal your physical injuries but couldn’t revive you. It turns out your soul is still here.”

"Three, three months!?"

Hearing the shocking truth from Lud, Trinn was stunned. In his memory, the last thing he saw was when the necromancer Dick had captured him; he thought he'd only been unconscious for a few days, but it turned out he'd actually been unconscious for three months!

Then a terrifying thought crossed Trilling's mind: Lud had just said that his guards had returned with soulless bodies, and now he was in this ghostly state. Would his family still recognize him when he went back? Could he still be the "eldest son" of the Navarro family?

Thinking of this, Dick felt a surge of panic.

At this moment, Ludwig's question brought Trilling back to reality.

"Have you been in a coma for the past three months?"

"Yes, I... I didn't even know so much time had passed!"

"Do you remember what happened before you fell into a coma? Your family guards only said that you encountered an accident in the maze, but I could tell from their reactions that they were trying to hide something. I want to know the truth, otherwise it will be really difficult for me to help you, Master Terlin."

"I……"

After hesitating for a moment, Trinn, who was at a loss about his current predicament, finally confessed to Lud that he knew everything, including the necromancer Dick and the Black Hand Brotherhood behind the Navarro family.

After listening, Ludwig looked thoughtful.

Something's not right...

"Master, what's wrong?"

"It's just a sense of unease. Based on my decades of experience in the martial world, I feel that something is amiss, as if there's a conspiracy at play. By the way! You just said that the old steward who was traveling with you was killed by a necromancer right in front of you? But he's clearly still alive. He went back to Yanmu City with the other guards to report back long ago."

"What! Senior Sargin is still alive?"

When Trin heard Lude say that the old butler was still alive, his expression was very surprised. At that time, they were passing through a long corridor filled with secret water. The old butler had repeatedly reminded Trin to watch his step, saying that the secret water had no buoyancy and that if he fell in, even he would surely die. Then he watched helplessly as the old butler was dragged down by several water ghosts.

Now, Lud tells him that the old butler, who was supposed to be "certain to die," is actually alive and well. Combined with what Lud had said before about "something not being right" and "a conspiracy," Trin subconsciously begins to become suspicious as well.

End of this chapter

Taking full advantage of the information asymmetry, Lud deliberately misled Trin, making him associate his experience with a conspiracy.

Seeing that Trinn had become suspicious, Lud stopped there, not wanting to stir things up. Some things don't need to be said too clearly; just a few words are enough to arouse suspicion, and then he'll start to think things through and find something amiss.

The two rested for about an hour in front of the stairs until Trin had recovered enough strength, then they set off to return to the ground. They followed the spiraling stairs back to the fourth floor of the maze.

Upon entering the fourth level, Trin cautiously followed behind Lud, because Lud told him that he had spent a lot of time on the fifth level, and the mechanisms in the maze might have been reset. So even if they were returning the way they came, they still had to be careful not to trigger traps.

Having witnessed the power of Terlin before, he naturally knew how dangerous the traps and mechanisms in this maze were, and that was only the level of the first and second floors, which was definitely no match for the fourth floor of the maze they were currently in.

Since it was their return journey, the first room the two passed on the fourth floor was the BOSS room. The enormous room resembled an opera house, with a stage with curtains drawn and rows of seats, but everything inside was exceptionally large, giving Trinn the illusion that he had shrunk.

In the center of the giant stage, Trin saw a giant dance troupe consisting of six metal golems. Five of the black golems were clearly musicians, each holding an instrument. In the center of the semi-circular stage that surrounded them was a golden golem dressed as a dancer, with a beautiful female body, posing as if about to dance, and wearing a blood-red feathered dress.

Judging by their size alone, these golems are all much larger than the "Dog Brothers" on the first and second floors, especially the golden dancer, which should be eight or nine meters tall. If Trin jumped up, he could barely hit her knee.

When Trin got closer, he realized that the instruments in the musician golem's hands were actually weapons shaped like musical instruments. It was unclear whether they could provide accompaniment, but they would definitely be very effective at cutting people down. The dancer's red dress was even more terrifying. Every feather was a sharp blade with a metallic sheen. Accompanied by gusts of cold wind that seemed to come from nowhere, it made a crisp sound like wind chimes.

Even with Lud's assurance that they wouldn't trigger an attack when passing by the "Level Lord's" room on their return journey, Trin was still incredibly nervous as they crossed the stage. The surrounding golems, even without moving, exuded an aura of power just by standing there.

"Master, did you really fight your way to the fifth floor all by yourself?"

"It's not as intense as you think. I've tried to avoid fighting along the way. And to be honest, based on my years of experience fighting Hedtaka, this demon really likes to set up puzzles that require people to deduce. Many traps can actually be solved by using your brain, even these golems that are level lords."

Lude's words left Trilling only vaguely understanding, but he soon witnessed what a true "pro" player was. The two passed through several areas, and just as Lude had said, all the traps had been reset. The traps on the fourth level were indeed far more difficult than those on the first and second levels, not only with more variety but also almost all of them being interconnected, with such vicious designs that they were impossible to guard against.

Even so, Ludwig always managed to handle the situation with ease, as if the maze were his own home.

It's worth mentioning that before starting the challenge, Lude specifically mentioned a few things to be careful about to Trin. One of them was that on the fourth floor of the maze, you should never get too close to anything that looks like a treasure chest. Every time you make a discovery, Lude would throw small stones at the treasure chest from a distance of more than ten meters.

Trilling initially thought there might be a hidden trap near the treasure chest, until they encountered a monster that would suddenly open its blood-red maw and chase people around biting them. Only then did Trilling realize that there was something wrong with the chest itself.

"Holy crap! What the hell is this?"

"This is a mimic, a soft-bodied monster that lives inside boxes and specifically targets adventurers who are reckless when they see a treasure chest. I've only seen a few on the fourth floor of the dungeon so far, and I don't think I've seen any on the first three floors."

"This Hedtaka is too freakish."

"After all, it's a demon."

With a powerful mentor leading the way, Terlin made it through the fourth level without any major incidents.

As they passed through the third floor, the two happened to pass by the place where the necromancer Dick had fought, which was the secret room.

Lude wanted to see if Trilling would be moved by the scene, and to his surprise, the other man actually did react. He frowned, looked around, and subconsciously reached out to cover the spot in his chest where the old butler had stabbed him, as if he was in a dull pain.

"Master...I feel like I've been here before!"

"This is where your family guards found your physical body. The other adventurers who were with you at the time said they fought a masked man who could command evil spirits. If I'm not mistaken, that masked man should be Dick, the one you were looking for, and he's also a necromancer, right?"

In front of Trilling, Lud displayed the insight and wisdom of a seasoned veteran, meticulously deducing the circumstances based on the available information. Trilling didn't deny it, only nodding silently, while Lud pondered for a moment before speaking.

“A necromancer… I think I know what’s going on! Young Master Trin, your current body is most likely that of Dick.”

"This...this? Is it Dick's?"

Trilling pointed to "himself," and Lud nodded.

“That’s right! Based on my understanding of the ancient profession of necromancers, they have a kind of evil magic that can peel the soul from the body. I guess he was trying to peel your soul away, but something went wrong... some kind of mistake, causing your soul to take over his body, while your own body became an empty shell. That explains it!”

In front of Trilling, Lud gave a long analysis and reasoning, "recaping" the events that happened during his time being held hostage by the necromancer Dick. Trilling listened with a sense of awe and wonder, while the blind student quickly discovered the key points.

“Master, I suddenly remembered something. When I consulted you for divination, the summoned answerer said that the artifact I was looking for was inside this labyrinth, somewhere between the second and fifth floors. He also said that if I brought him the blood of a necromancer, he would answer my questions… Isn’t that the blood of this body?!”

Suddenly, Trinn realized that what he had been searching for was now right in front of him. With Lud's ability to navigate mazes as if they were his home, finding the artifact would be a piece of cake if he was willing to help him.

Seemingly having read Trin's mind, Lud smiled mysteriously and magically produced a mask from his hand.

End of this chapter

"Master, what is this thing in your hand?"

“I found this artifact in a very rare treasure chest while exploring the fourth level, and I happened to have seen it mentioned in an ancient book about artifacts. It’s called ‘Hume’s Smile’ and it was made by the God of Thieves.”

"This is exactly what I've been looking for!!!"

Upon hearing Ludwig say that the mask in his hand was an artifact of the god of thieves, Trinn's first reaction was, "Finally found it!" The god worshipped by their Black Hand Brotherhood is none other than the god of thieves, Hume, and the oracle instructed them to find the lost holy relic of their sect, which must be this artifact mask!

So, entirely out of subconsciousness, Terlin, who was used to being a young master, reached out to grab the mask. But just as his fingertips were about to touch the mask, he saw the half-smile on Lud's face, and his outstretched hand immediately withdrew as if he had been electrocuted.

He suddenly realized that this was not Yanmu City, where he, the young master of the Navarro family, could do whatever he wanted. The person holding the mask in front of him was not one of the ordinary people back home who would tremble in his presence, but a saint-level priest with unfathomable strength.

The other party could easily wipe him out with a wave of their hand, yet he dared to act presumptuously in front of such a powerful figure; he must have a death wish!