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

Quiet.

A silence.

Everyone held their breath, staring wide-eyed at what was happening before their eyes.

The monster that emerged from the portal... actually spoke.

There have been cases of monsters speaking in the past, but those were lords deep within high-level dungeons, and they could only speak simple human language intermittently.

And this skeleton... seems very angry?

Come to think of it, it's hard not to be angry when you're summoned and immediately attacked by monsters.

Immediately afterwards, three questions arose in people's minds.

Who woke him up? How were he woken up? What will happen next?

After the three questions were asked, everyone's eyes turned to Glenn.

I hope this skeleton won't lose its temper and drag us into it!

......

Glenn had never wanted to thank the Skeleton King as much as he did at this moment.

The appearance of the Skeleton King swept away the atmosphere of despair, and with a swift and decisive move, he eliminated all the smaller monsters.

Although the monster would continue to spawn, at least it gave the adventurers a chance to catch their breath.

Glenn looked at the Skeleton King with eyes full of gratitude.

Although I don't know why he suddenly appeared, he was a great help!

And this is the first time we've seen the Skeleton King make a move; he's indeed very powerful.

If only all the monsters in the world were as friendly to humans as he was.

......

The instant I saw Lance,

Harvey's heart, which was almost filled with despair, was instantly stirred.

He clenched his fists, looking at Lance with hopeful eyes.

It's that sir.

That person saved him... no, he saved everyone.

But why did that person suddenly appear?

Coincidence?

No.

wrong.

For that lord, resurrecting the dead or removing the "blood curse" was like child's play; he wouldn't do such a thing without a reason.

Sudden.

Harvey realized something.

Something he had been neglecting, yet which was extremely important.

Why did that person bring him back from the depths of the Starfall Maze when he was almost dead?

He was then rescued by Glenn in the Kru's Labyrinth.

Then, on their way to town to heal their wounds, they happened to encounter Frey's knight.

Everything happened naturally, including the skeletons that rescued the adventurers in the labyrinth.

Blood curses, witches, skeletons, adventurers...

Everything seemed to be connected by an invisible thread, and all of them came together without anyone noticing.

It's as if someone is manipulating all of this behind the scenes.

Harvey froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, looking up at Lance with indescribable shock.

No.

That person did not appear by chance.

Everything was planned, every cause and effect was linked, all in order to create this drama.

At the climax of the drama, at the moment of utter despair, that adult appeared before everyone with an overwhelming presence.

Everything,

All of this was a stage built by that lord for this moment.

He had been waiting for this moment to make his appearance!

O supreme being.

O great labyrinth and undead king.

Even if I am so worthless, even if I am just an insignificant pawn in your plan,

I still shamelessly pray to you.

Please grant me the power to protect those I cherish.

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.

really.

When you're out in the world, you give yourself your own identity.

Lance was very satisfied with the group of human adventurers who had been intimidated.

As for these ever-growing, hideous monsters,

Lance turned his head to look at the beating heart in mid-air, his intuition telling him that all he needed to do was get rid of the heart.

Let's think about it logically.

This heart, which causes one's sanity to plummet, has no protective measures whatsoever, so it must possess considerable defensive capabilities.

Because he has no protective measures, when he attacks this heart, he should attract the hatred of all the monsters in the area.

Only a fool would do that!

Regardless of whether this group's team-building activity is Lance's business.

His purpose in coming here is to find out about the information implanted in his brain.

However, judging from the situation, the message "I should go see Glenn" was actually a distress signal?

Is there a reward for saving someone?

Lance pondered, thinking that he could give it a try since he was already there.

While we're at it, let's create a persona, giving off the vibe of a "big boss behind the maze," which can help drive traffic to our own maze later.

But that's limited to helping clear out the monsters; as for the heart...

Whoever caused the trouble should clean it up.

......

The skeleton started moving!

The adventurers present all swallowed hard, not daring to move, and watched as the skeleton that emerged from the blue rift slowly approached them.

As if receiving some kind of command, the smaller monstrous beasts that initially spawned did not rush to attack, but instead surrounded the heart, trying to protect the "mother" from attack.

The originally brutal battlefield suddenly became quite harmonious, with everyone staring at the skeleton with longing.

"I ask you, what era and what year are we in now?"

The skeleton slowly walked towards Glenn, speaking in a deep voice as it went.

"The Third Era, Year 149," Glenn said, stunned.

The skeleton pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke: "Ten thousand years...?"

Everyone present gasped.

a thousand years!

What kind of old monster is that!

"I'll ask you again." The skeleton grabbed Glenn's head and lifted him up. "Do you know my name?"

His name is Skeleton King... Of course, you can't say that.

"I don't know," Glenn said with a wry smile.

"If you can call my name, you will live."

"If you can't summon it, you will all die."

The adventurers' brains were blocked.

Name, or something like that?

We're military officers; this kind of question should be asked of the civil officials...

Just as everyone was looking at each other in bewilderment, Harvey's voice, trembling with excitement, rang out.

"Supreme Ruler!"

The adventurers surrounding them made way, allowing Harvey to stand out from the crowd. He knelt down with a thud, his forehead almost touching the ground, and bowed in the direction of Lance.

The voice was incredibly devout.

"Supreme Immortal Sovereign! Great Pale Lord!"

"The Labyrinth and the King of the Undead!"

Eh!

There really are civil officials here!

The adventurers were shocked, but more than anything, they felt relieved.

The adventurers broke out in a cold sweat when the skull uttered the word "death."

And the labyrinth and the Undead King... This is the first time I've heard of them.

Lance looked at Harvey, and even though the skeleton had no expression, he could see the word "satisfaction" on his face.

As expected of one of our own, he understood his meaning immediately.

The first two honorifics were just too childish; even Lance himself found them hard to pronounce.

"Not bad. I didn't expect anyone to still remember my name after ten thousand years." The skeleton's tone was satisfied. He released Glenn and glanced at the group of adventurers. "And you?"

Everyone was taken aback, and then they all followed Harvey's example, loudly calling out the skull's name.

Putting aside whether they are ancient monsters from ten thousand years ago, their initial sixth-tier magic, [Summon Lightning], would not be enough to harm them.

The skeleton nodded in satisfaction, then turned to look at the heart not far away.

"And you?"

heart:"......"

"Very well, go to hell."

The adventurers all had the same thought: This isn't sneaky!

Lance sliced ​​through the air with his right hand from top to bottom, and a spatial rift with blue electric arcs suddenly appeared. Lance stepped into the rift and disappeared into it.

Just when everyone was at a loss.

From the cracks, familiar, jagged skeletons wielding swords and shields began to emerge.

One after another, their steps and movements were perfectly synchronized.

The moment they saw these skeletons, the same thought flashed through the minds of every adventurer.

A line from a poem written by an unknown bard.

"When you are in a maze and in despair..."

The "Gray March," composed of the undead, will then appear.

Dispel despair,

"Confiscate the dead."

"Gray-white march".

Suddenly someone shouted, and the crowd, as if waking from a dream, began to realize what was happening before their eyes.

It turned out to be the case.

It turns out that the Gray Marchers were the retinue of this Undead King, and they entered the labyrinth through a rift.

"No, it's not just skeletons!"

Then someone shouted again, this time even more surprised than before.

Because right after the skeleton, a large number of zombies emerged!

Then came the kobolds, swamp frogs, red bees, blood bats, and living knights.

There were even two gem snails that were carried out by two skeletons because they were so slow!

What kind of monster rampage is this?!

It was only at this moment that the adventurers truly realized the significance of the title "King of Labyrinths and the Undead" that Harvey uttered.

The sheer number of monsters before them was terrifying.

Is this the so-called King of Labyrinths?

what.

Are we going to start a war right away?!

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.

With Angelica's mana replenishment, Lance managed to maintain the portal for a full 60 seconds, sending all of his monsters over in one go.

All forces, attack!

Whether they're combat-oriented or production-oriented, all of you, get out there and fight!

Now that we've gone this far, we can't afford to mess things up at this crucial moment.

The level doesn't matter, the scale has to be huge.

Upon hearing that Lance was going out to fight again, Angelica immediately fled behind the throne after contributing all her magic, peeking out half her head to warily observe Lance.

Having learned from her previous two experiences, she said she would never go with Lance again this time.

Lance didn't care, since a mage with no mana would only be cannon fodder anyway.

Once everything was ready, he stepped into the portal once more.

Lance confirmed that the infinitely regenerating monster was called a "small calamity beast," level 20, with 800 HP.

Looking at these attributes alone, a direct substitution would make it equivalent to two units of the weaker wolf.

Easily killed.

Lance's goal is not to eliminate the monster in front of him, but to "rescue Glenn" and verify the information implanted in his brain.

In that case, what he wants is absolute suppression.

With Lance present, Martin was relieved of his command responsibilities and could confidently lead the zombie troops in firing—a team he had personally trained.

The 36 walkers stand in two horizontal rows. Under Martin's command, the walkers in the first row will all aim and then draw their bows and shoot arrows.

After completing a round of shooting, quickly switch positions with the walkers behind you and reload while the second rank of walkers fires at you.

This process doesn't require much intelligence or mobility; the only thing to be careful about is not shooting your own people.

As it turned out, long-range fire suppression did have some effect, with a few of the smaller monsters being hit by random bullet trajectories on their way to charge.

While they might not kill them outright, they could at least suppress them.

You can't expect a bunch of zombies who've been practicing archery for less than two weeks to do any better.

"Attention! Cease firing when the enemy gets close! Switch to melee weapons!"

Martin gave the order loudly, and then fired a [Explosive Arrow LV3] to take down the small monster that was about to rush towards him.

That's how walkers are; with their limited mobility, unless they relocate before the enemy gets close, they're definitely out of luck.

Not to mention the highly mobile monsters like the small calamity beasts.

The so-called switching to melee weapon is actually the fist with [Corpse Poison LV2].

And... if you can't beat me, I'll just blow you up!

Boom!

The Blood Explosion LV2 effect is outstanding; a one-for-one trade is absolutely no problem. In fact, from the adventurer's perspective, these self-destructing zombies are full of tragic grandeur.

The second-to-last undead monster, willing to detonate itself to protect humanity.

"Everyone!" Glenn, having regained some strength, stood up, picked up the longsword he had left on the ground, and said, "It's time to launch a counterattack!"

Glenn has good leadership skills, Lance, who was secretly observing, nodded in approval.

"Gentleman 3413 has arrived to join the battle!"

The metal spider suddenly jumped onto Lance's shoulder, raised its hands, and said with great enthusiasm.

"So you were just hiding on the sidelines until now?"

"Partner, your knowledge can't be as limited as a mountain dwarf's," 3143 said, shaking his right hand. "A gentleman should never put himself in danger."

"I agree with that," Lance nodded.

He then clenched his right fist and bumped it with the small, sickle-like hand of 3413, before turning his head back to focus his attention on the battlefield.

Skeletons are now the absolute main force.

Lance discovered that after the little skeletons leveled up, their intelligence was now comparable to that of a ten-year-old child.

This leads to all his actions having a playful quality, and he always manages to do some wildly imaginative things.

For example, those two skeletons wielding gem snails as laser guns have gone berserk.

They held the gem snail high above their heads and ran around the battlefield. When faced with small monsters, the gem snail would trigger a passive protection mechanism out of fear, emitting a scorching beam of light from its shell.

The beam of light was red and could easily pierce through the bodies of small monsters; about four shots would be enough to take one down.

Furthermore, because the beam deals area-of-effect (AOE) damage, a series of smaller monsters following behind will also take damage.

The swamp frog, red bee, and kobold are basically cannon fodder.

But they are still servants of two masters, and since they are fighting on home turf in the Starfall Maze, they can't lose face.

Basically, four or five of them ganging up on a small monster can barely manage to defeat it, even if they lose an arm or a leg.

This reinforced Lance's idea of ​​equipping every flesh and blood monster with [Blood Explosion LV2].

If you can't beat them, just explode.

Therefore, when it comes to a real fight, you still have to look to the starter three.

A blood bat hovered in the air for a long time, seemingly having found the best angle to dive and prepared its last words, before resolutely plunging down towards a small calamity beast.

"(A resolute squeak!)"

Boom!

After an explosion, the small monster turned to ashes, while it transformed into a firefly.

If Lance were to choose the MVP of this match, it would definitely be Gouka.

The Super Bone Claw, which has reached level 30, is incredibly powerful.

[Imperial Swordsmanship LV5] was passed down from Bruce's lineage, combined with the attribute bonuses from the [Elite] talent and the unlimited stamina granted by the race.

He could play like that all day long!

One person could easily handle five small monsters.

As for the living knights... they found a secluded spot under a mushroom tree and squatted down, drawing circles on the ground.

No combat participation throughout the entire process

A bunch of good-looking but useless guys!

It seems they still need to be severely disciplined.

......

Lilith cleaved the small monster in front of her with a single sword strike, then stared in astonishment at the rampaging monsters before her.

So, monsters are not affected by "Belzahar's Domain"?

Is it because they are not within the scope of influence, or is it that monsters never experience despair and pain?

If she really had to choose, Lilith believed it would be the latter.

Looking at those skeletons fighting with their ribs, Lilith couldn't think of any word other than joy.

Now that the "King of the Labyrinth" has taken control of the current situation, then...

Having recovered somewhat, Lilith charged towards Kellara with her sword in hand.

He leaped high into the air, cleaving the mushroom tree in mid-air with his sword.

Clara leaped lightly, grabbed Lilith's head, and flipped herself up behind her.

The moment he landed, the ground beneath his feet transformed into a hollow trap. Harvey, panting, used [Alchemy], his eyes bloodshot as he stared intently at Klara.

Unfortunately, the trap was ineffective, and Klara floated in mid-air.

"Why would you do such a thing?" Lilith pointed her longsword at Clara. "Why would you scheme against even a child!"

"Frei's followers are still so naive," Clara shook her head and scoffed. "God doesn't discriminate between men and women, young and old. These sacrifices are necessary to achieve the goal."

"Lena is very talented, her pain is delicious, just what Belzaha needs."

"And you Frey followers just love to talk big."

"Two years ago, the most devout priestess Frey sacrificed herself to restore her companions' magic, calling out 'Goddess Frey' until her dying breath. But where is your goddess now? Twenty years ago too, that..."

Before she could finish speaking, Klara pursed her lips and swallowed the rest of her words, a cryptic look in her eyes.

Clara's words left Lilith stunned.

Two years ago...

The most devout priestess Frey...

"You mean Angelica-senpai."

It turns out she already...

Lilith's neck was bulging with veins, her lips were bitten and bleeding bright red blood, and her eyes were bloodshot, her anger seeming to burn her to ashes.

She unleashed her most powerful aura to date, her long golden hair rising without wind.

The pain that was hidden in Lilith's heart instantly turned into anger and hatred.

"You dare mention her name!"

Lilith screamed hysterically.

She didn't want to deal with the rampaging Lena anymore.

I don't want to bother with those ever-growing monstrous creatures.

At this moment, all she wanted was to kill the witch in front of her with her own hands and avenge Angelica, the senior she admired most and who had taken the best care of her.

Kill her...

Kill her...

He raised his longsword high, ready to strike.

The maze is fogged up.

The mist wafted in from the golden door leading to the second floor, gradually enveloping the entire first floor.

A knight clad in white armor slowly emerged from the gray fog.

Lance stared wide-eyed at the knights approaching, ready to open the door and escape at any moment.

Not a buddy.

Did you put a GPS tracker on me?