Chapter 1348: Chapter 907: Fellow Travelers

In the labyrinth, naturally, there are also corpses.

Countless adventurers step into the exploration, among whom naturally some die inside due to bad luck or other reasons. Duanmu Huai and the others have seen quite a few unfortunate souls along the way. After all, there really are quite a few who die inside.

But it’s the first time encountering a situation like this.

“It’s so dark! So narrow! So scary!”

Standing at the entrance of the path, looking at the adventurer who had been swallowed halfway by a Treasure Box Monster, Duanmu Huai was completely speechless.

“Speaking of which, I’ve seen themes like this in certain … books.”

“Books?”

“Yeah……”

Duanmu Huai silently sighed. The girl caught by the Treasure Box Monster and unable to move, encountered an adventurer with ill intentions, and then just like that, while she was helpless, hehehehehe………

Although the book depicted it quite vigorously, but in reality… who would be interested in someone who’s been half-swallowed by a Treasure Box Monster?

“Ah, as expected, here.”

Just as Duanmu Huai was making comments, several figures appeared on another path. Duanmu Huai turned his head to look, only to see three adventurers walking over, with the lead adventurer looking at Duanmu Huai and the others, pausing for a moment, then smiling and nodding at them before going behind the one swallowed by the box, and reaching out to grab her waist……

Huh? No way, no one would dare to do such a thing in broad daylight.

“Hey.”

Thankfully, the adventurer did not strip the clothes off the unfortunate soul in front of him as Duanmu Huai had imagined, but instead pushed her further inside, and then the Treasure Box Monster let out a painful burp, and directly spat out the poor fellow.

This technique… is quite practiced.

“Phew……”

Spit out was a young girl with white hair and twin ponytails, sporting a pair of large, wind-catching ears; it was unclear what race she belonged to, but anyway she didn’t seem too bright.

Otherwise, how could she have been swallowed by a Treasure Box Monster?

“Hello.”

After skillfully rescuing the girl from the jaws of the Treasure Box Monster and helping her dry her hair, that adventurer also turned to look at Duanmu Huai and the others, greeting them.

“You must be adventurers here to break through the Great Labyrinth as well.”

“That’s right, are you guys also?”

“Yes.”

The young man nodded.

“I am Hero Ximiel, these are my companions, Warrior Eza, Monk Haida, and Wizard Frieren.”

“Hello, I’m Duanmu Huai, and these are Ogis and Zhenjiling.”

Duanmu Huai also casually introduced himself.

“But I really didn’t expect you all could make it this deep. I thought we were the earliest to get here.”

Ximiel was talking while looking back down the passageway behind Duanmu and his group.

“Are you here to break through the Great Labyrinth too?”

“That’s right, our mission is to defeat the Demon King, and of course, the labyrinth is also of interest to us.”

As he spoke, the Hero smiled towards Duanmu Huai.

“In that case, how about we move together? This labyrinth is so massive, it’s clearly difficult to explore on our own, and there are many dangerous Demon Beasts inside. It would be more convenient if we stick together.”

“Are you good at exploring labyrinths?”

Upon hearing the Hero’s invitation, Duanmu Huai frowned and asked, while the Monk beside him laughed.

“Of course, this guy is simply a labyrinth maniac; his favorite thing is going through labyrinths.”

“Alright then, it’s my first time in this kind of labyrinth, to be honest, I just want to get out of this godforsaken place as quickly as possible.”

Duanmu Huai himself didn’t like this kind of frivolous stuff, and he had no one proficient in navigating labyrinths by his side. Since the others offered, it would be more convenient to follow someone experienced.

“If that’s the case, you can just follow us.”

Hearing what Duanmu Huai said, the Hero quickly responded.

“There are many traps inside this labyrinth, they are very hard to deal with; although I don’t know how you made it here, even the strongest warrior should be wary of traps. Just follow us and……”

“No.”

However, Duanmu Huai waved his hand, interrupting the Hero.

“Since we are asking for your help, we cannot expect to do nothing; let us take the lead. And as you said, traps are indeed unpredictable, but we have our ways to deal with them. So, you follow us, and you can just give us directions.”

“This……”

It must be said, Duanmu Huai’s request also surprised the Hero and his companions, who looked at each other and then nodded their heads.

“Alright then, please be careful.”

And thus, after a brief mutual introduction, they continued on their journey, with Duanmu Huai in the lead, and the Hero’s party following behind. Of course, when it comes to experience in exploring labyrinths, the Hero’s party was far more familiar than Duanmu Huai.

For example……

“Ah, be careful, there’s a trap on the floor ahead!”

“Hmm?”

Upon hearing the warning from behind, Duanmu Huai had already taken a step forward, stepping directly onto a stone brick. In the next moment, he saw dozens of spears suddenly flying out from both sides, stabbing towards Duanmu Huai.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have definitely been pierced by these spears by now, but Duanmu Huai just stood there. Then he watched as the spears struck his Armor, breaking into two pieces.

“Wuwah…”

Seeing this scene, the others behind also took in a breath of cold air.

“Honestly, even though it’s not the first time, every time I see this scene, it still makes me feel… I don’t know how to put it.”

The monk’s expression was complex as he watched Duanmu Huai continue to march forward with his head held high and chest thrust out, his face unsure how to evaluate the situation. He finally understood why Duanmu Huai insisted on taking the lead. After all, with his large body, some traps that ordinary people could dodge were absolutely unavoidable for Duanmu Huai. But on the flip side, as long as he passed through, everyone else could safely follow in his wake.

To tell the truth, this was a bit like making him the minesweeper, but it indeed greatly enhanced safety.

“What’s wrong? Haida?”

Seeing the monk’s complex expression, the Dwarf Warrior glanced at him.

“Feeling sick?”

“Not at all.”

Faced with the Dwarf Warrior’s teasing, the monk rolled his eyes.

“Anyone can see, that guy’s heavy armor has extraordinary defense. Honestly, I’m not at all surprised that the traps can’t hurt him.”

“Is that so…”

“Yeah, it’s less nauseating than you, falling from dozens of meters in the air and landing without a scratch. That’s truly disgusting.”

“Is that so…”

“Yes, really disgusting…”

The Warrior behind continued chatting, while Duanmu Huai in front was idly killing time with the Hero.

“Are you also on your way to subdue the Demon King?”

“That’s right. We heard the Great Labyrinth leads to the Demon King Palace. If we can make it through the Labyrinth, then we won’t need to waste several months of time.”

“Speaking of, how much do you understand about the Demon King?”

“To be honest? Not much of an understanding. We’ve crossed swords with the Demon King’s minions, but the intel we got isn’t plentiful. Anyway, the Demon King needs to be subdued, so… Ah, we’ve arrived.”

While talking, the Hero stopped in his tracks and looked ahead, lifting his head to see a straight passage and corridor ahead–clearly, they had passed through this level.

“Then, let’s head back.”

However, just at that moment, the Hero turned around.

“??? What do you mean? Aren’t you planning to go through the labyrinth?”

As he watched the Hero turn to leave, Duanmu Huai stood there dumbfounded. They had already reached the next level; what was the point of going back?

“This guy is always like this.”

At that moment, the Magic User nearby spoke helplessly.

“He insists on completely exploring every level of the labyrinth he’s visited before moving to the next one.”

“After all, that’s common sense for an Adventurer.”

“There’s no such common sense, okay?”

Facing the Hero’s reply, the Warrior beside them muttered an indirect comment.

“Ah, so an Achievement Hunter…”

Duanmu Huai could understand, after all, many gamers wouldn’t feel at ease unless they completely cleared all the content on a map and got 100% of all achievements in the area.

Duanmu Huai could understand this but wouldn’t do the same.

The reason was simple.

When you’re on a planet, and you find that your completion rate is 99%, hunting for that last 1% is the most tormenting part.

Seeing Duanmu Huai’s agreeing expression, it suddenly surprised the people from the Hero Squad.

“Huh? You understand?”

“I’ve seen quite a few people like that.”

“See.”

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s response, the Hero haughtily flicked his hair.

“I told you it’s common sense for an Adventurer.”

“There’s no such common sense, okay…”

“Anyway, I’m not interested, so I’m going down first.”

While speaking, Duanmu Huai gestured towards the stairs, and the Hero waved his hand.

“Thanks for the cooperation, let’s meet again if we’re fated to.”

“I hope so.”

And so, Duanmu Huai turned and walked down the stairs, while the Hero and his party turned back and continued their adventures.

Then, after a whole ten-odd hours later…

“Uh… Why are you guys here?”

After clearing the entire first level of the labyrinth, the Hero Squad descended the stairs and arrived on the second level, only to find Duanmu Huai’s group slacking off there.

“Big brother got lost again.”

Zhenjiling sighed helplessly, while Duanmu Huai looked speechlessly at the unfamiliar ceiling above, his eyes filled with wistfulness and emotion.

“Life’s crossroads are really hard to choose from…”