Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

The three of them, unusually, reached a consensus and were also preparing a small surprise for Leon. Although he was just a stranger they met on the road and might never meet again, they decided to give him an interesting experience out of consideration for his kindness. However, they had no idea what they would encounter next.

Right where the three of them had just destroyed, the magic crystals were gradually returning to their original state, and the crystal trees were growing back to normal. A girl in a gorgeous four-colored dress walked silently along the path and then stroked the fallen crystal trees.

Sadness gradually crept onto her usually aloof face.

"I'm sorry... for causing you such harm... but rest assured... we will definitely drive out the invaders... I swear this as the Elf Queen..."

The girl left the trunk of the crystal tree and walked into the depths of the crystal forest. She already knew the location of the invaders, and what she needed to do next was to defeat these despicable invaders.

Numerous figures of elves emerged from the clear, smooth surface of the crystal tree. All sorts of elves began to gather in this crystal forest, each with their own purpose.

Chapter 28 Threat

"Nothing has changed at all... this maze."

Even the slow-witted Rin had already noticed the unusual aspects of this maze.

The surrounding scenery hadn't changed for a long time. Although it felt like we were moving forward, it didn't look like we were actually moving.

"Hey, Li-jie, Ning-jie?" Xiao's somewhat bored voice came from behind. "So boring... Why does everything here look the same?"

Unfortunately, this wasn't an illusion. The magic crystals here all seemed to have been made from the same mold, so similar that it was impossible to discern one's location. This labyrinth was a labyrinth in a different sense; unlike the Corridor of Time, it made people lose themselves in its unchanging environment. Compared to the Corridor of Time, this Crystal Forest was far more treacherous.

At least in the Time Corridor, you could find your way out, but not here. It's the same everywhere, not in a spiritual sense. It's as if the entire forest is moving around them, which is why it's so frustrating.

This is similar to a game undergoing a major update and then releasing a new dungeon that has bugs or is too difficult. Usually, the game's operators and planners will be cursed by players for a long time, and some might even be infamous in the game for eternity... no, I mean, forever. I won't give examples here; as players, we all know what I mean...

Right now, whether it's a bug or the difficulty is too high, everyone is stuck in a very frustrating situation, completely helpless. Adding to the frustration is that the Crystal Forest hasn't changed at all; it's precisely because it's unchanged that they're at a loss. Even in puzzle games, there are usually some hints or clues, but here there's absolutely nothing!

There's really nothing else besides this huge pile of identical crystal trees!

There's absolutely no way to get past this! Who even made this garbage maze?!

Li and Xiao's patience was almost exhausted; Li might just open a door and teleport everyone out soon. Ning judged how much time had passed since they entered; they had been walking here for about four hours. Apart from a little bit of sabotage they had done, nothing else had changed in those four hours.

It's about time... I should do something.

Observing like this probably won't change anything, so Ning started to do something.

"Alright, let's go back and take a look," Ning suddenly said.

"Going back?" Leon turned around and asked.

“Yes, go back.” Ning repeated, then grabbed Li, who was about to cast a spell, and said, “We’ll walk back.”

"Eh???"

Ning's sudden move left everyone bewildered. If it was to explore the forest earlier, that would make sense, but why was he now going back? This was very puzzling.

“Let’s just walk back.” Ning went first. “We can’t draw any conclusions yet. There are still some things I want to confirm.”

"...Since you put it that way, then let's go."

Although she hesitated for a moment, since Ning had said so, Li trusted her and followed her. With her two older sisters on the move, Xiao, no matter how confused she was, obediently followed. Leon had no other choice; after all, his life was now in the hands of that blue-haired girl, so he had no choice but to go along as well.

As Leon jogged back to the front of the group, Ning frowned, then grabbed him by the back of his collar and stopped him.

"Ugh!? Cough cough cough, hey! What are you doing!?" Leon had the feeling that his neck was about to break, and in a fit of anger, he questioned Ning.

what……

Leon suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, as if he had done something he shouldn't have. Just as he was wondering if he should apologize, he saw Ning's somewhat bewildered expression. She kept staring at Leon, and his heart pounded faster and faster. He had a bad feeling because Ning hadn't said a word for a long time; she might kill him soon.

Tensely, Leon silently closed his eyes, waiting for his final moment. If possible, he hoped it would be quick and clean, preferably without pain.

"Li," Ning suddenly called to someone, "open a door."

"Oh, okay..."

Upon hearing the sound, Leon instinctively opened his eyes. The little creature obediently stepped lightly on the ground, and silver light emerged from the ground, intertwining to form a magical circle Leon had never seen before. Looking at this beautiful magical circle, Leon surprisingly felt no fear, only some confusion.

"What's going on here?" Leon asked, scratching his head.

"Alright, you can go back now," Ning said calmly. "Although I don't want to gossip about it to others, you're really too weak, and we've almost had enough fun. There's nothing more for you to do. See that magic circle? Go inside and you can leave this place, and my magic will also be dispelled. Let's part ways here. We'll be going now."

"Well, although we haven't known each other for long, it's time for us to part ways here. Thank you for taking care of me during this time, goodbye."

Goodbye, big brother; goodbye, little dog!

The three sisters left without a second thought, quickly disappearing into the unchanging Crystal Forest. In such a labyrinth, once lost, there was little hope. Yet they left anyway, leaving behind a bewildered Leon and his dog. He couldn't help but ask himself:

Who exactly are they?

Those who appear in such places are definitely not ordinary people. They are shrouded in a veil of "mystery." I have only met them twice, and there are too many mysteries surrounding them.

The puppy didn't follow them; instead, it trotted back to Leon's side, watching the direction they had gone. Leon glanced at the silver magic circle at his feet and fell into deep thought.

The blue-haired girl said that as long as he stepped into this magic circle, he could leave this place, and the magic cast on him would be lifted.

"Are you kidding me...? How could there be magic that can send people to other places..."

Although that's what he said, he felt in his heart that it wasn't impossible. Even though it was unfounded, he truly believed that the other side of this magical circle was a place of freedom and safety...

He would be free as soon as he took that step... but for some reason he just couldn't take that step. His feet seemed to be nailed to the ground and he couldn't move an inch. He always felt like something was pressing down on his chest.

The puppy barked awkwardly to the side... Leon looked at it... as if he had thought of something, and then couldn't help but laugh.

"I see... You think so too, right?"

Then, he turned in the direction where the three sisters had disappeared.

"It seems a man's dream is still to be a hero!!"

Then, without hesitation, he ran wildly in the direction where the three sisters had disappeared. The little dog barked as if in agreement and encouragement, and ran after him. Finally, the silver magic circle quietly dissipated after its magic power was exhausted.

---

"So, Ning," Li asked as they walked, "what do you need to confirm?"

"..."

Ning didn't answer, but instead stroked her chin, seemingly lost in thought. So Li didn't press further, though she was starting to get a little bored. Xiao was the same; the three of them had been walking there for almost half an hour, and Ning hadn't offered any explanation for her actions.

Bored, Li started playing with Xiao. After a while, she also began to use her magic eye to observe the surroundings. The blurry little map was exactly the same as the surrounding scenery. At first, she thought that she could see the changes in the forest with her magic eye, but in fact, the forest was indeed like that, neat and uniform.

"They're exactly the same..." Li said, somewhat speechless.

“Yes, they’re exactly the same,” Ning said at this moment. “Hmm… so what are you looking at?”

"Me? Of course I'm examining the layout of this labyrinth... with my Mystic Eyes." Ryou glanced at her. "Any discoveries?"

“Yes, there is.” Ning then made another condition, “Now let’s think about leaving here and continuing our journey.”

"Huh?" Rin was increasingly confused about what Ning was doing. "If you just want to go out, you only need to use your powers..."

"I think we'll have results soon, so let's go."

"Waaah... Xiaozhen is tired..."

"I can't help it... I'll just stay with you a little longer."

Ning smiled mysteriously, then pulled the two of them along as they continued forward. After a while, they miraculously emerged from the Crystal Forest.

"What...what...what happened?!"

Li was so surprised that he couldn't even speak properly.

"Huh? We haven't walked that far, and we're already out?" Xiao asked, twitching her ears in disbelief.

“Well, I think I’ve pretty much confirmed it.” Ning showed a relieved expression. “To be precise, this Crystal Forest isn’t a maze, but rather something like a sanctuary.”

“A shelter?” Li didn’t understand what that meant.

“Yes, a sanctuary.” Ning began to explain, “It is indeed like a maze, which can make people who enter this forest lose their way and no matter which way they go, they will not find their way out, but if you want to get out, it will let you leave very quickly.”

"Oh... so this is what you've been trying to confirm." Li recalled Ning's series of strange behaviors. "I see! I get it! It's actually a protection system, right? Although it's not offensive, its performance as a security agency is absolutely amazing. It keeps people who want to go deep into the Crystal Forest out, and only lets them out when they want to leave. That's really impressive..."

"It's rare to see you using your brain," Ning teased.

"I just had a rather simplistic and crude way of thinking," he retorted angrily.

"Let's not talk about that now." Ning turned back to look at the crystal forest they had just left and said, "There's definitely something in this forest."

"Yes... since there's such a setting, there must be something inside."

Li nodded, then looked at the Crystal Forest. The Magic Eye resumed normal operation after leaving the forest, but the image of the Crystal Forest displayed on the minimap became abnormally blurry. What a powerful place! It can even interfere with the Magic Eye... But this almost confirms that there is something in here.

The existence of this crystal forest is significant. Its sudden appearance must have a reason. Perhaps the answer lies deep within the crystal forest. However, they also have to face a problem: the self-defense system of this crystal forest (let's call it that for now!).

“Hey, Xiao,” Ning asked, “can you use your knife to cut down all the crystal trees here?”

"Well……"

Xiao stared at the vast expanse of crystal trees before her, lost in thought. Her two white fox ears twitched, and she swiftly drew her sword, felling a crystal tree before shaking her head.

"No..." Xiao said, somewhat troubled, "Let alone whether Xiao can do it... the sword will break..."

Since losing the two knives she had acquired last time, Xiao cherished her new knife. Ning didn't force her; after patting her head, he started thinking of other solutions.

"Is there no other way?" Li asked.

“Yes… attacking with magic or similar methods should be ineffective,” Ning analyzed. “Because these crystal trees are essentially magic crystals, and the attack spells are also constructed from magic. Since they are of the same origin, they cannot cause any damage. Even if you use the Shattering Void Slash, it probably won’t work. Look at that.”

"Huh? It's back to normal?"

Before Li was the tree that Xiao had cut down, but it returned to its original state in a short time. It seemed that physical destruction was probably useless. This forest was truly more troublesome than anyone could have imagined.

“The concentration of magic energy around here is too high,” Ning shrugged. “Even if it’s destroyed, it will return to normal after a while. The demonic transformation here is probably impossible to remove because there are just too many magic crystals here. Even if we wanted to dilute the magic energy here, it would probably take several years…”

“Ugh…we don’t have that much time to deal with this…” Li started to have a headache. “It’s going to take several years…if we don’t get any results after taking that long, we’ll be at a huge loss.”

“I’m afraid a direct breakthrough won’t work either…” Ning was suddenly enveloped in magical flames. “Well… Li, we have a guest.”

Chapter 29 The Elf Siege

"——!?"

The minimap of the Demon Eye showed a large number of dense red dots, which were undoubtedly the reactions of the enemy. In such a short time, they had already been surrounded by a large number of enemies, but why couldn't they see these enemies?

While they were pondering these matters, a large number of elves began to appear, eyeing the three of them menacingly. This number was several times greater than the number of elves they had swept through outside the labyrinth.

“The situation might be much worse than we think,” Li said with a smile to Ning behind him.

“Speaking of which, these elves also share the same origin as magic,” Ning analyzed. “I think I know what’s going on… The reason we didn’t notice them approaching is probably because they broke down their bodies into magic and then slowly approached to rebuild their bodies.”

"Huh? Is it that scary?" Risa exclaimed in surprise. "Is Akihabara dangerous then?"

“I don’t think so,” Ning said dismissively. “Elves are magical aggregates, similar to these magical crystals. By extension, if they were in a place with sparse magical energy and their energy was diluted, they would probably have a hard time returning to their original state. Akihabara has already started restoring the use of the power boxes, so the magical energy in the air is definitely sparse, so there’s no need to worry.”

"Hey...that puts my mind at ease." Rin breathed a sigh of relief. "But...it's different here. According to what you just said, elves can replenish themselves using the surrounding magic, right? But here, besides magic and a whole bunch of elves, there's nothing else..."

"You're right." Ning smiled wryly, acknowledging her guess.

"Ugh... my head hurts."

Yes, they are in a very bad situation right now. They are besieged by countless elves and are on the edge of the Crystal Forest, an environment with extremely high magical energy. In other words, they may face an endless army of elves next.

Such a desperate situation would make even a team of perfectly coordinated S-rank adventurers feel hopeless. What's more, these elves are of unimaginably high level, averaging around 400 levels, a number that is almost impossible for humans to reach.

The number of elves gathering around them has increased to the point that the entire sky is covered by their overwhelming presence. They are too numerous to count. Xiao has drawn her twin swords and entered her unique magical burning state. Ning's body is also covered by colorful transparent magical flames. Li has also entered a semi-dragon state. Bao Xiang Li directly transforms into the Dragon King.

Not only were the Li and the others wary of the elves' movements, but the elves were also cautiously on guard. For the time being, they were maintaining a relatively stable stalemate. Ning thought that these elves were probably waiting for their other companions to come and support them. If that was the case, then they couldn't let them have their way.

“Li,” Ning gave the order, “we’ll charge into the forest like this. They’re waiting for reinforcements, hoping to wipe us out in one fell swoop.”

"But what will we do once we're in the forest?" Li asked. "The fighting environment there will obviously be worse, won't it?"

"That's still better than suffering here waiting for them to bring a whole bunch of elves."

Ning turned and rushed straight into the Crystal Forest. What she said made sense, so Li pulled Xiao along, and the three of them rushed into the Crystal Forest together. Seeing them turn and rush into the Crystal Forest, the other elves followed without hesitation. A huge number of elves swarmed into the Crystal Forest, enough to fill even the largest forest.

After turning and rushing into the forest, the three sisters immediately encountered a group of elves blocking their way. Then, a large number of powerful spells flew towards them. In this environment, Riko was unable to use magic normally, so she sent Treasure Chest Riko to the front. Treasure Chest Riko used her bug-like defense to block all the attacks and then forcefully broke through a gap.

Xiao followed closely behind, using her black and white twin swords to create an even larger opening. She only quickly rejoined the group after Li and Ning had passed through the breach. Li, at the forefront, acted as the vanguard, blocking a large number of attacks for the group, then used her dragon breath to clear a path. A silvery-white torrent swept through, engulfing all the spirits blocking the way; even the dragon breath lacked the power to destroy them.

While the elves were still drawing on the surrounding magic to try and revive, the three of them rushed over. However, since they had already entered the Crystal Forest, they were bound to have a tough time. Rin used her powers to launch a counterattack. Akira precisely dealt with the elves that wanted to attack or were already attacking, while Ning directly drew on the surrounding magic to cast spells that prevented the elves from quickly drawing on magic to replenish themselves.

"There's simply no way we can finish this many!"

Click——!

With a swift chop, a flash of silver light appeared, and fine cracks reappeared in the air. The space rapidly collapsed and exploded, affecting the surrounding Pokémon and tearing them apart within the shattered space. Li's Shattering Slash was a straight line attack, intended to clear out the large number of Pokémon in his path, but he hadn't expected that even more Pokémon had already gathered nearby.

How long has it been? There are already so many elves? Li was even more terrified by the number of elves. If this Crystal Forest were near their labyrinth, how terrifying would it be? Although they could be diluted, they could not be killed, and there were so many of them. With the current strength of the labyrinth, it was probably impossible to withstand the destruction caused by these guys.

"Doesn't it feel a bit like when we were in the maze?"

Despite this, Ning remained composed and joking. She skillfully connected the magic power within her body with the magic power in the air, then used this magic power to directly form a magical circle to attack the spirit, without even using her own magic power. This person is becoming more and more outrageous. Will she be able to remotely control the magic power within others in the future?