Chapter 70: Chapter 48: The Secret Keeper
Translator: 549690339
Originally, the difficulty of this “Great Graveyard” maze wasn’t so outrageous.
The normal puzzle-solving procedure was for the Hunters to first deal with the Skeleton Monster in the maze, either by pushing them horizontally or using the San Value or other methods, until they found clues like an adventurer’s notes in the monster pile.
Then they would trigger the hidden plot.
This is a long and meticulous exploration process.
With the clues, even if they encountered the “Keeper of Secrets”, they wouldn’t necessarily die.
But now, someone directly triggered the hidden plot, leading everyone to face a deadly situation as soon as they entered.
Fortunately, Leonard Churchill found a bit of a clue as soon as he entered due to his San Value, which was rather lucky.
But the threat of death was still there.
The magical thing about the maze was, it was a “maze”.
If you haven’t been through it, you wouldn’t know where the paths lead.
Even if you intentionally avoid it and wander around in circles, you might find yourself back where you started.
Also, some paths that seem to lead in completely different directions could still converge in the end even if you deliberately avoid one of them.
Leonard Churchill carefully avoided the direction where he heard the sounds of combat.
However, while walking, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.
He had drawn a map of the maze in his mind, similar to a QR code. Although it only covered a corner of the maze, it wouldn’t make him take the same path twice.
However, some of the paths in his mind started to deviate and gradually converged in one direction.
He himself tried his best to avoid it, but couldn’t stop others from rushing around the maze recklessly.
After passing a few crossroads, even though he had already moved quite far away, Leonard Churchill suddenly heard the sounds of combat coming from the tunnel again.
“Bang”, “Bang”, “Bang”…
Those thunder-like sounds of combat came from all directions.
The only ones who could make such a noise were the main forces of the Governor’s Mansion.
Leonard Churchill had a bad feeling about this and wanted to avoid it.
But no matter whether he went back or chose another path, the noise kept getting closer.
Leonard Churchill frowned, and thought to himself: “It seems I can’t avoid it…”
He discerned the direction of the noise, and only then realized that the nearby paths seemed to be interconnected corridors.
That is to say, no matter which side he took, it could potentially lead in the direction from where the combat was coming.
Those guys were moving quickly, the sound of the battle was getting louder, and in the blink of an eye, it seemed to be in the next corridor.
Leonard Churchill calculated the routes in his mind, realized that no matter how he chose, he might collide with them, so he decided to do nothing.
Thinking about the description of the “Keeper of Secrets” in the notebook, he decided not to avoid them. Instead, he decisively made a decision, lay down in a dead end corner, and chose a spot where he was less likely to be stepped on.
Then, he played dead.
This was the only method he could think of to avoid danger.
It was precisely because he didn’t run around rashly that Leonard Churchill narrowly avoided a deadly crisis.
A moment after he lay down and put on the clown mask, there was a sudden “boom” at the end of the tunnel as it burst into flame.
Countless skeleton frames exploded into pieces, splashing around like rain.
A few bones “crackled” and hit Leonard Churchill on the ground, like fragments of a shell, which made him gasp in pain.
Luckily, he had chosen to crawl in a dead corner, so the impact was relatively light.
If he had been on the main road, the mere shockwave from the battle could probably have taken half his life.
After the explosion, Leonard Churchill watched as three blue cards carrying a vortex flew out from around the corner. The vortex grew larger as it flew, turning into a wheel-sized, serrated Wind Blade.
The three Wind Blade vortexes covered the same cross section, and the skeletons they passed were instantly cut in half.
Just three high-tier Wind Blade Cards were enough to clear an entire tens of meters of the maze tunnel.
Then he heard the hissing sound of steam boilers accumulating energy, followed by a “bang” that flattened the skeletons in the entire tunnel into dust.
With the high pressure like a surging dragon, Leonard Churchill was shocked, almost unable to hold back from vomiting blood, and muttered in his heart: “The firepower of the Governor’s Mansion is really fierce…”
Indeed, these people’s combat power was enough to sweep the Skeleton Monsters of the maze.
However, the biggest advantage of the Skeleton Monsters was their number. Once their anger was provoked, it would cause a chain reaction.
As they pushed their way through like this, not only were there no fewer monsters, but they attracted even more.
Although Leonard Churchill couldn’t see how many people there were for the moment, he estimated there were quite a few from the sound of the rushing footsteps.
And the footsteps were in a panic, obviously they were in a harried escape.
The only ones who could chase this group were the “Keepers of Secrets”.
“Protect the Governor.”
“Damn, did anyone find the exit of the maze?”
“Not yet. The exit mentioned in the Hunter’s Association information has already been blocked by a sealing stone.”
■I ii
The voice of those guys talking during the battle was loud, and it echoed far in the maze.
Probably, none of them expected that a D-rank space would trap them here.
Hearing the noise getting closer and closer, Leonard Churchill tried his best to reduce his breath.
A few moments later, a gust of wind blew over his scalp, his barely open eyes watching a group of Frost Knights, protecting the potbellied Governor, charged past him. There were at least a hundred of them.
Their momentum alone was like a torrent of steel.
The Frost Knight Legion truly lived up to its name.
As soon as these guys left, the temperature in the corridor dropped sharply, accompanied by a strong stench of blood that rolled in. That was the stench of a corpse, like it had crawled out of a grave. A smell that a Corpse Collector was all too familiar with.
Even without looking, Leonard Churchill knew that the “Keeper of Secrets” had arrived.
Exactly how terrifying was this monster, that could make even the elite knights of the Governor’s Mansion run in desperation?
Leonard Churchill suppressed his breath to the bare minimum, lay dead in silence, and was also very curious in his heart.
With a slight glance from the corner of his eye, a swath of black fog appeared in his field of vision.
Thick black mist filled the air, as the hulking forms of warriors riding decayed horses rapidly passed by. Their skin, so rotten it was unrecognizable, was barely held together by bones and fading flesh. A horrific sight, their mouths were stitched together with rough threads. As these monsters drew near, the very air itself seemed to grow heavy and twisted, inexplicably inducing fear.
[Keeper of Secrets]
Description: Second Tier S-rank Catastrophe; they are the guardians of the Underground Palace, the loyal secret keepers of the royal family; they are death knights manipulating destruction, feeding on the flesh and fear of living beings, immortal and indestructible;
“This is indeed an S-rank Catastrophe…”
Leonard Churchill had heard from hunters that all Catastrophes ranked A and above had some special abilities.
And S-rank Catastrophes were monsters granted “special rules” by the Alternate Dimension.
Rules that are typically impossible to overcome.
And this is precisely why these entities change color when they talk to hunters.
Right now, it appears that the rule granted to the Keeper of Secrets is— immortality.
As long as their dimension is not destroyed, they will not die.
No matter their tier or abilities, just the attribute of “immortality” would cause even the most powerful Curse Card Master to avoid crossing their path.
But the terror of this monster is not limited to its immortality.
Leonard got just a glimpse but it felt as though he had gotten a glimpse of some unspeakable horror.
Even his undaunted demeanor in the face of death seemed to be pierced, his heart unexpectedly taken aback.
This was not a fear that could be controlled by one’s subjective consciousness.
It was a primal terror born out of witnessing an indescribable demon.
Then, the Enlightenment Display activated.
‘Exposed to unknown contamination, Clown mask mitigates 70%, you are suffering Fear+2, Intimidation+1, Soul Contamination+T
It was that one look.
His soul felt ensnared by a nightmare, a more horrifying contamination passing over him.
A series of negative statuses promptly displayed on his status panel.
“Visual contamination?”
Leonard was taken aback, swiftly closing his eyes.
The moment his vision was cut off, the contamination stopped.
If not for the Clown mask, that one glance could have caused significant problems.
Fortunately, he had the group from the Governor’s Mansion drawing the fighting power.
In pursuit and in evasion, their speeds were equally rapid, the two groups flitted by like gusts of wind.
Just after the feeling of terror overwhelmed him, the bone-chilling cold that felt like an ice blade scraping against his bones completely subsided.
The Keeper of Secrets seemed not to have noticed the “corpse” in the corner, and continued chasing the Governor and his team.
It was as though the scythe of the Grim Reaper had grazed past his scalp. Leonard felt the sensation of a poisonous snake crawling up his spine and then slithering away.
He flet a tingling sensation on his scalp.
But he hadn’t died, and this experience alone felt thrilling.
Leonard finally stood up when the foreboding sense of death fully subsided. He squinted at the mess in the corridor and muttered, “This creature is truly terrifying…”
Seeing the prompt was one thing.
Experiencing the terrifying contamination first-hand was another.
Remembering that moment, he still felt somewhat terrified.
But he was also grateful that he took that glimpse.
If he hadn’t looked while a group of experts was drawing the hostility away, the next time he saw this Catastrophe, he might have seen the countdown to his own death.
Leonard’s eyes trembled slightly.
But it wasn’t all bad news.
Leonard’s thoughts raced at this moment, and he analyzed internally, “The adventurer’s note indicating that ‘monsters have slow responses to non-moving objects’ was indeed correct. Not only non-moving objects, but part of the contamination spread through vision, closing the eyes can also reduce the hostility value…”
Just now, he had played dead and escaped the monster’s attention.
And he had also confirmed some new information about the [Keeper of Secrets] and its method of contamination.
This was also critically important.
“Although the Keepers of Secrets are less sensitive to static objects, they are not blind. Besides, next time I encounter them, I can’t just stand still and pretend to be dead, can I? Without anyone attracting firepower, it will eventually be discovered…”
Leonard pondered over this and felt a headache coming on.
This monster seemed like a glitch, a bug in a game.
Therefore, the only way out right now was still—decoding the secrets.
Now, having experienced all the means of the individuals arranging this spectacle, he was even more convinced that the group from the Governor’s Mansion was doomed.
Well… so was he, most likely.
Leornard snarkily commented out loud, without dwelling on the predicament that he couldn’t change.
What he had to do now was to get away.
Looking at the bright side, at least they were not coming after him. The situation wasn’t utterly terrible.
The advantage of having this group around was that they would draw all the firepower while running amok in the maze.
Then, Leonard again listened to the direction where the sound of battles was coming from within the corridor.
This time, instead of choosing the opposite direction, he chose to head back through the passage the group from the Governor’s Mansion had gone through earlier.
Normally speaking, those guys would definitely not retract their steps if they wanted to exit the maze.
As long as he avoided them, he would be able to avoid the greatest danger.
And… there was another reason.
Since all passages were dangerous,
Going back might surprise him with something unexpected..