Great, we're doomed now!

Born into a family of a local official (village-level) in a remote area, he had a relatively happy childhood, but his relationship with his father was not good as he grew up.

After the misfortune, he immediately rallied upon waking and, in a desperate situation, resolutely launched an expedition to the deepest part of darkness. Along the way, he overcame numerous difficulties, including not only various alien monsters but also the temptation of a "dimensional demon that devours desires."

But he restrained his desires and successfully defeated the demon's chosen one—the Lord of the Labyrinth. In the end, with the help of the elven special forces, he completed the expedition, saved a country on the verge of destruction, and became the ruler!

Ye Shou really liked these kinds of adventure stories about ordinary people achieving great things. They sounded so exciting... so... uh, why does it feel so familiar?

Shaking his head to completely banish distracting thoughts, the boy steadied himself and took two steps back to stand beside Marushir.

Are you free now?

"Sigh, do we have to learn it now?"

Marushir blinked: "The first level is indeed not dangerous, but I don't think you can learn anything in this environment."

"Give it a try, I'm free anyway."

"That works too..."

As an elven girl who studies forbidden powers and races against death, Marushir is not so rigid in her actions. She doesn't require Ye Shou to perform any rituals or make any oaths; she simply hands him a magic book.

"Anyway, let's learn how to read magic books first. The language and grammar are different from the common language... What are you doing?"

brush!brush!brush!

Ye Shou quickly flipped through the pages, "reading" the book from beginning to end under Marusir's puzzled gaze.

—The "eye patch" on the left eye has already recorded all the content.

“It’s nothing,” Ye Shou closed the book and smiled slightly at the elf. “This is more efficient for me… Alright, please tell me the translation formula. The computer and my brain are ready to crack it.”

"Formula? Deciphering?"

Marushir scratched her head: "This isn't a math problem!"

Chapter 62 Brother, you smell so good!

Ye Shou was a very hardworking student, and Marusir was undoubtedly an excellent teacher. On the very first day of formal instruction, Ye Shou mastered the basics.

Here, "beginner" means being able to grasp simple grammar, identify basic runes, and apply at least one low-level spell to the point of "producing an effect".

It doesn't need to be obvious; as long as there's a magical reaction that has a real impact on the existence of matter, you can say you've passed the first test.

This is not difficult. Talented people can basically master it in three days or even one day. Some geniuses can even instinctively use their magic to do things before receiving training. Leos's sister, Farin, is at this level.

Its talent is top-notch among humans, and it would be outstanding even among elves.

Therefore, Ye Shou's initial performance did not surprise Marusir much. It was only on the first night, when she saw Ye Shou skillfully draw a very standard basic magic circle and successfully channel magic power to cook a pot of soup, that Marusir felt that this person was somewhat special.

The next day, as soon as Marusir woke up, Ye Shou served her a clean towel and a refreshing hot drink. After she finished drinking it, feeling flattered, she took out the "collection of questions" that she had accumulated overnight.

It was filled with questions he had while looking through magic books. After all, textbooks in fantasy worlds can't clearly write down every detail. Many things are assumed to have a foundation or teacher guidance, and that's what Ye Shou was missing.

Marohir was moved by his thirst for knowledge, and besides, she felt obligated to help him after receiving his gift, so she diligently answered all his questions, but...

God knows where this guy got so many questions from!

It's only been one night, how come there are suddenly so many that they're like a "marketplace"? Don't you ever sleep?

Marusir spent the entire morning alternating between traveling and answering questions. Fortunately, there were no particularly threatening monsters on the second floor.

By noon, Marushir noticed that Ye Shou seemed to have easily digested what he had learned that morning... Although it sounded incredible, the questions he asked were indeed more profound, not at all what a beginner should be asking!

At dusk, after entering the tower area, they were attacked by early-rising giant bats, resulting in the evening's dish being bat leg meat stewed with antidote herbs... Ye Shou was severely scolded by Senxi for leaving the corpses in disarray.

This was the first time Marushir had ever seen such a unique "ancient magic sword":

It is said to have been forged by dwarves from a special metal, and imbued with magic by elves, allowing the blade to generate temperatures high enough to melt steel. When used to slay monsters, the clean wounds leave no trace of blood, because the thin layer of the cut surface is completely carbonized by the intense heat.

The half-elf was worldly-wise; her mother was an exceptionally skilled magician, and she received an elite education from a young age. Later, she pursued further studies at an academy, acquiring a vast knowledge base. Even so, she had never seen a magical artifact similar to this one!

When asked, Sensi also shook his head in denial, saying he didn't know if the ancient dwarves had ever made such a thing. He explained that perhaps it was because he wasn't a professional blacksmith and therefore wasn't very familiar with this area.

To be honest, the dwarves and elves in this world are quite resourceful. Many ancient artifacts that have been unearthed now look like products from another world, so it's still somewhat acceptable.

But Marushir quickly realized that something was wrong:

Ye Shou learned magic very quickly, as if he had a photographic memory. He could use any grammar and cipher after hearing it only once, and he could read through the entire magic book without any difficulty.

This can certainly be explained by exceptional talent, but another point puzzled the elven mage greatly—

Ye Shou seems to be able to cast spells without paying a price!

Most apprentices, due to limited magical and physical strength, increase their proficiency by repeatedly writing and memorizing, rather than actually casting spells.

But Ye Shouyi would practice whenever he had free time, sometimes dozens of times a day... Although they were all basic spells, the magical power was still a bit much for a newcomer...

Can his mental and physical strength really keep up? He's also working part-time at the avant-garde!

—A mysterious man.

Maruhiel knew that Ye Shou must have some secret, but she herself was also studying forbidden ancient magic, so she wisely refrained from trying to delve deeper.

Besides, this isn't the right time. Everything has to wait until we rescue Farin!

With Ye Shou and Senxi joining the team, the squad no longer had any problems with supplies, as ingredients could be obtained locally. In addition, Ye Shou could always retrieve what everyone needed from his magical backpack.

Moreover, Ye Shouji greatly enhanced the team's strength. In Marushir's opinion, Ye Shouji's skills might be better than those of the Japanese "Kikuro" in the previous team, but she couldn't say for sure.

In short, he seemed to handle both the snake-tailed chicken and the mobile armor with ease. Although his role was "vanguard", he gave the impression that he could overcome any obstacle on his own without any support.

The key is that this guy has plenty of stamina and always takes the lead, which naturally reduces the stamina consumption of others.

This allowed the team, which originally had to proceed cautiously due to a lack of equipment and props, to move much faster than in the "original story".

Incidentally, this was the first time Marushir had ever learned that the "moving armor" was not a magical puppet, but an aggregate of soft-bodied creatures!

While Ye Shou pried open the gaps in the armor and enthusiastically discussed with Leios how to dig out the soft flesh inside, Marusir felt a little resigned to her fate.

Well, despite the urgency of the situation, neither of them seemed tense at all. It was understandable that Ye Shou was an outsider, but Leos was the same…

Of course, one shouldn't be impatient or flustered when exploring a maze, and Leos's approach was correct, but emotionally it still makes one want to complain.

...What's most unacceptable is that the mobile armor actually tastes pretty good!

hateful!

Why does it taste so delicious?!

I accidentally ate two big bowls!

Marushir, enjoying the monster food while indulging in self-loathing, followed the team forward with extremely complicated feelings, and soon arrived at the third floor.

On this floor, everyone encountered the mobile vegetable field "cultivated" by Senshi—the Golem.

Sensi didn't know how to create Golems, but he accidentally learned about their creation principle. So before the Golems were created, he sowed seeds and fertilizer on the land. Once the Golems shaped their bodies with the soil, they naturally became mobile fields, so there was no fear of the crops being destroyed by monsters or adventurers.

— You really can't come up with such a brilliant idea unless you've lived in a maze for decades!

Thanks to this, Marushir was able to eat normal vegetables in the dungeon for the first time in a long time, and she was so moved that she almost cried.

According to the plot, after this, because the vegetables were difficult to carry, they went to the black market on the third underground level to sell them. There, they encountered orcs who came to rob them, and thus inadvertently obtained information about the Flame Dragon.

Instead of sleeping, it wandered from the sixth floor, where the battle had taken place, to the fifth floor.

It was here that Leos's team obtained accurate information about the Flame Dragon; they had previously thought they would have to go to the sixth floor to encounter it.

This time, however, Ye Shou simply used his magical "ancient magic backpack" to collect all the vegetables, and the team naturally continued on their way without any incident involving the orcs.

--unnecessary!

Ye Shou already knew this information; he only needed to remind these people on the fifth floor, without having to take a detour through the orc side quest.

Time! What Ye Shou needs most right now is time!

The more days you save, the more room for maneuver you'll have in the future!

Therefore, Ye Shouyi intentionally or unintentionally guided the team to avoid events that would slow down the progress in the original work. Apart from Leos occasionally doing something surprising that was hard to guard against, the journey was incredibly smooth, as if they had a cheat code.

Besides the orcs, the fourth floor also avoids provoking the Undine (water sprite). The giant squid (Kraken) that the main group encountered was replaced by a sea serpent. Ye Shou then ate a hot snake soup, which was the most nourishing food he had eaten so far.

After just one meal, he was full of energy, making him even more excited for the dragon meat feast to come!

The path from the fourth to the fifth floor differs from the original work, and they encounter a large number of dire wolves. However, Leos is very good at dealing with these canine creatures. He first intimidates them by shouting loudly, and then Ye Shou, who was lying in ambush on the side, suddenly attacks and, together with Marushir's magic, quickly defeats them.

After the battle, Leos watched Sensi skinning the wolf and fell silent for some reason.

"What, do you really like dogs?" Marushir asked curiously.

"No... I do like it, but a battle is a battle, and that's not why."

Leos said with a hint of worry, "Dire wolves are said to be monsters, but they are more like wild beasts. They prefer hunting to absorbing magic power, so they usually live in forests and grasslands."

Neither the fourth nor the fifth level is suitable for their survival, so why did they encounter a large pack of dire wolves here of all places?

"really."

Senshi also looked up: "I haven't seen them on the first four floors yet."

"Isn't this being too sensitive? We can't predict how monsters will behave at all, so there's no need to worry, right?"

“No, Marushir, animals don’t change their habitats easily; there must be a reason!”

Just then, Ye Shou, who had been observing the road ahead, suddenly turned around: "I don't know about demons, but the reasons why ordinary wolf packs migrate, besides chasing prey, are to escape natural disasters."

"A natural disaster?"

"For example, wildfires."

fire!

A massive crimson figure inexplicably flashed through Leos's mind, and he quickly rubbed his forehead: "Could it be... no way..."

"In any case, we must keep moving forward to find out why."

Ye Shou reached out, and a soft white light emanated from his fingertips, illuminating a distance of about four or five meters in the descending passage ahead.

"Don't worry, if we all work together, there won't be any problems."

"Yes!" Leos nodded, touched.

Throughout the journey, Ye Shou acted even more enthusiastically than he did, as if Fa Lin were his long-lost younger sister, which made the older brother feel ashamed.

The team members didn't think anything of it, but Marushir stared intently at Ye Shou's fingertips, her features subtly scrunched up, squinting as if an elderly person couldn't see clearly.

The Light spell is very simple. It's not common for a beginner to cast it so easily, but it's reasonable.

...But what's with this bare-handed, no-chanting spellcasting?