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

Deep within the labyrinth, inside the lord's room.

"Have you finished dealing with the adventurers?"

Lance sat on the throne, touching the smooth, polished handle, and for some reason, he missed that feeling.

"It's all taken care of," Martin reported as he stepped forward. "As Mr. Lance instructed, a large portion of them were driven away, while a small portion died due to their own negligence."

The flow of players in the Kru Labyrinth remains poor, and the quality of adventurers is also low; the adventurers killed only allowed Lance to level up to level 35.

"Um."

Lance nodded, then looked at Angelica, who was sitting on the ground with her back to him, sulking.

Since being criticized by Lance, the stone tablets in the maze that described Frey's deeds have been removed, and the notices in front of the gate have been repaired.

Everything was restored to how it was before Lance left, which means that Angelica did nothing good while Lance was away.

She naturally had some feelings about it, but she didn't dare to say it out loud, so she could only sulk.

Lance thought that having emotions could help prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Then, with a smile, he made a slightly teasing remark:

"So, Miss Angelica, who even wants to protect immortal monsters, will you blame me for killing humans?"

"No," Angelica replied in a muffled voice.

"Aren't Frey's followers all saintly?"

"We're not stupid," Angelica said, turning to Lance with some dissatisfaction. "How could we possibly be merciful to an enemy who wants to kill us?"

After saying that, he even imitated a regular skeleton, baring his teeth and giving Lance the middle finger.

Lance nodded; he liked this attitude towards the enemy.

So next, according to the priorities, the first thing to do is to find out about Glenn's recent situation, with the main goal of "recruiting the first Edmund".

Angelica has truthfully relayed the information she received from Harvina.

It is known that Harvey, the only one among his men who can leave the labyrinth, has now embarked on a journey to the west.

The Starfall Maze has also been sealed off, and adventurers are temporarily unable to enter.

In other words, Lance currently has no way to contact Glenn.

So let's change our mindset.

Lance crossed his legs, looked at Martin and Angelica, and asked:

Have you ever heard of the surname "Edmund"?

"No." Martin shook his head first, then paused and explained, "Mr. Lance, I was just a level 20 bottom adventurer in my previous life. Apart from the labyrinth, the only thing I can answer for you is how to date."

"?"

You said something I need least.

Lance then looked at Angelica, cleared his throat, and softened his voice:

"And Xiao An? Does he know the surname 'Edmund'?"

"I don't know." Angelica snorted and tossed her head aside. "But in the Empire, only nobles, or those who have been granted a surname by a noble, have surnames."

Therefore, Glenn is one of the two.

The trail went cold here.

We'll have to put it on hold for now.

Lance's idea was to send 3413 and Martin to wander around the first level of the Starfall Maze. If they encountered Glenn after the maze opened, 3413, who could speak, would inform him of the information so that he could rush to the Kru Maze.

Martin committed suicide immediately, and after being resurrected, he informed Lance of the news.

While waiting for Glenn to appear, he tried to find out the origin of "Edmund" and began to build the second level of the maze.

Lance's skill [Expansion] is a physical downward expansion, like digging, except that it can dig a large area at once, and the dug soil will disappear into the void.

In other words, the ecosystem of the second layer after expansion is actually the same as that of the first layer.

First, prepare the terrain, and then consider the placement and arrangement of the monsters.

It would be best to create different "themes" to differentiate each layer.

The first layer is a "maze" in the literal sense, and the second layer will have an "undead" theme.

Therefore, the barracks need to produce more blank skeletons during this period.

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.

Byrondin, the Phoenix family mansion, cellar.

Glenn had a very long dream.

He dreamt that he was transformed into a knight, endlessly slaughtering elves, humans, and orcs.

He killed on the plains, in the mountains, in other people's homes—in short, he killed everything he saw.

And ever since the witch incident, he has felt his body gradually weakening.

I have the same dream every day, and I feel weaker after waking up.

I didn't have these symptoms before.

Could it be because Lord Victor locked him in the cellar?

Glenn listlessly looked up at his surroundings: dim, damp, and filled with the smell of mildew.

The shelves in front of me were filled with a jumble of tools, and in the corner there was a large vat sealed with mud, which was the wine brewed by the Phoenix family.

Glenn's right foot was chained to a wall next to his bed.

He had suffered a lot, and this environment was not bad at all, not even as bad as the Kru Maze.

Strangely, Viktor simply locked him in the cellar, but the food he received each day was better than what he had been eating before, seemingly not out of punishment.

Perhaps it was because Miss Anna pleaded on his behalf.

"Squeak—"

The cellar door opened with an old, creaking sound, and light shone through the door onto the descending stairs, followed by footsteps.

Is it lunchtime again?

Glenn thought to himself.

In the dim light, he looked up.

Is it Lord Victor?!

Surprised, Glenn immediately stood up and prepared to kneel down to pay his respects, but Victor stopped him with a gesture.

Victor, holding a kerosene lamp, looked at Glenn's increasingly gaunt face, his expression complex. After a long while, he sighed.

"You've already started having nightmares, haven't you?"

How did you know?

"Of course I know." Victor pinched the bridge of his nose, but that did little to ease his headache. "Because you are 'Edmund,' named by Anna."

"Forehead."

What does that mean?

Glenn.

"I am here, Lord Victor."

"You don't have much time left to live."

Glenn froze, his expression blank like a puppet. After a moment, he weakly said, "Lord Victor, I think it's just that I haven't been sleeping well lately..."

"I locked you in the cellar to prevent your consciousness from being invaded." Victor, dressed in blue pajamas, stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes filled with complex emotions. "Now that you've held on for so long, I'm going to tell you the secret that the Phoenix family has kept hidden for nearly a thousand years."

"Can I choose not to listen...?"

"No, because you are 'Edmund,' and this is your mission."

"All right."

Glenn composed himself, raised his head, and looked at Victor with a resolute expression, waiting for him to speak.

Viktor sighed, turned his back to him, and slightly raised his head, as if he were recalling something.

"Every heir of the Phoenix family will have his own guardian knight, Edmund."

"However, like something forgotten in the river of time, no one knows what the name 'Edmund' means to this day."

All I know is that Edmund must participate in the succession ceremony, otherwise the ceremony will fail.

"I am like that, and so is my father, but Glenn, have you ever seen my 'Edmund'?"

Victor's words made Glenn's heart tighten.

indeed.

If, as he says, the head of the Phoenix family and Edmund are to participate in the ceremony at the same time, why have we not seen Lord Victor's guardian knight yet?

Or is it...?

"Has your 'Edmund' passed away?"

“That’s right.” Victor turned to Glenn, his expression unusually serious. “‘Edmund’ is a curse passed down through generations.”

"It will gradually erode your will, devour your body, until you become a dried-up corpse. Every 'Edmund' will die from the curse; it's just a matter of time."

"Every heir ascends to the throne by stepping on the lives of the knights they trust most. The Phoenix family has survived to this day by relying on this cannibalistic approach."

"And Anna knew nothing about these things."

It turned out to be the case.

No wonder Victor scolded Anna in the Starfall Labyrinth, saying that it would kill Glenn.

"The fact that you've started having nightmares means the curse is beginning to manifest, and you won't be long before you die."

Viktor frowned and paced back and forth, looking anxious and restless.

"Anna is still a year away from the succession ceremony. It's questionable whether you'll even live for a month."

"The naming of 'Edmund' can only be done once in a lifetime. Once you die, she will be unable to pass the inheritance ceremony. And yet, Lord Stansor has already approved of you... Sigh."

"Lord Victor," Glenn's voice was weak, his expression unusually serious, "is there a way to break this curse?"

The kerosene lamp was brought before Glenn.

The orange-yellow firelight illuminated his expression.

Viktor saw that determination and nodded to himself.

"Theoretically... there is a way."