NOVEL NEXT Chapter 268 The Secret Of The Labyrinth
Ever since the Quest Guild's building became a colossal ice sculpture, quite a number of people have gathered around to spectate.
Everyone is discussing that this must be the handiwork of 'Ice Polestar Sheryl.' There is no one else but her who possesses the magical power to accomplish such a feat.
As everyone was engrossed in their discussions, the entire building suddenly 'clang!' turned into an even larger lump of ice!
Even the neighboring houses didn't escape, becoming part of the massive ice sculpture!
"Oh my God...this is...this is too outrageous, isn't it…?"
"Just who has offended Lady Ice Polestar, everyone inside is going to be frozen to death, right?"
"The Chief Court Magician has indeed transcended human capabilities... such monstrous power..."
Among the lively crowd, a young man was also continuously nodding, agreeing with their comments.
He looked at the completely frozen Quest Guild, thinking to himself, if he hadn't successfully escaped earlier, he would definitely be frozen as well now.
(But... now that the entire building is frozen, how should I go in?)
.
Inside the Quest Guild's building, except for a small area around Sheryl, everything else had been completely frozen.
Even though she had decided to use magic in an extremely wasteful manner at the beginning of the challenge, she herself didn't expect that she would even use a 'Tier 5 Magic.'
This was one of her trump cards that she kept at the bottom of the box.
— (Why does this guy make me feel so uneasy...?)
Sheryl began to confirm the situation around her, she needed to find the frozen young man to confirm that she had indeed won.
But at this moment, Sheryl heard a 'thump, thump' sound from the roof of the building.
Apparently, someone was hopping on the roof.
Each hop felt like it was on Sheryl's heart, amplifying the unease in her heart...amplifying...
— (No... it can't be, can it?)
An ominous premonition welled up in Sheryl's heart, she couldn't believe it, but she indeed began to faintly hear someone shouting from the roof towards the inside of the building.
"Sheryl... Lady... ten seconds... gone... did I... pass... the challenge...?"
And moreover, this voice was exactly the same as that "trashy" young man's.
— (I have never seen such a thing before.)
Sheryl unlocked the ice on the path to the entrance of the Quest Guild, walked straight out of the gate, ignoring the people who were watching the excitement at the door, stepped on the ice steps she created, and went up to the roof of the Quest Guild.
What came into her view was the young man known as "Felix," who was holding a stone and hitting the frozen roof.
.
What a fool, how could anyone be this foolish?... Sheryl looked at the young man's actions and felt he was incredibly foolish. How could a mere stone possibly break her solid ice?
But the undeniable fact was laid before Sheryl's eyes, the young man she considered to be incredibly foolish, had successfully lasted ten seconds under her hand, even forcing her to use a 'Tier 5 Magic.'
Even a simplified casting of tier 5 magic, which could freeze a two-story building, was more than enough.
"…when did you escape from this building?"
Sheryl waved the ice crystal staff, unfreezing the inside of the building.
She only wanted to know now, at which point she lost control of this young man.
"Eh, probably around the third or fourth second?"
The young man answered, but Sheryl was not satisfied.
She remembered clearly that at the sixth second, she had dispersed the white mist in the guild hall, and then saw the young man's silhouette at the side of the column.
— (He is lying, is he trying to hide his abilities…)
— (Humph, forget it, a loss is a loss, if there's anyone to blame, it's me for underestimating him.)
Sheryl loosened her grip on the ice crystal staff, the staff turned into countless tiny ice particles and disappeared into the air.
"You're called Felix, right? Come with me to the hall first."
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Upon returning to the grand hall of the Quest Guild with Felix, Sheryl casually froze the main entrance again.
Vanessa and Heloise, seeing Felix and Sheryl return together, were so astounded that they were at a loss for words, completely unaware of what had transpired.
In their collective memory, they only recall that with two seconds remaining in the countdown, everything around them, including themselves, had been frozen solid.
"You all want to know the secret of the labyrinth, right? Listen carefully, for I won't repeat myself."
Sheryl ascended to the lectern in the grand hall, her words causing Vanessa and Heloise to fully realize that Felix had won! They couldn't help but jump up in jubilation!
"My heavens! Felix, you actually did it?!"
"The Messenger of the Benevolent Deity truly lives up to his reputation! This Apostle of the Nefarious Tiger King is genuinely impressed!"
Felix merely nodded in response with a modest smile.
To be frank, at this moment, Felix held a certain degree of admiration for Sheryl. She had indeed kept her word and accepted defeat gracefully.
After the jubilant commotion had subsided, Sheryl, with a furrowed brow, expounded on the secret of the labyrinth.
"Whether it's a normal labyrinth or an ancient one, they all share a common characteristic, which we call 'Adaptive Difficulty Adjustment.'"
With this as a starting point, the secret of the labyrinth was revealed to Felix and his companions.
As it turns out, the power level of the monsters within the labyrinth is not fixed. The stronger the people who enter the labyrinth, the stronger the monsters will be.
The labyrinth's power judgement is based on the 'total power of all the people entering the labyrinth.' When the overall power is too low, there is a 'difficulty floor' to prevent the difficulty from falling too low.
However, when the overall power is very high, there is no difficulty cap, which means there is no loophole to exploit in the labyrinth's system.
If someone as powerful as 'Ice Polestar Sheryl' were to challenge a normal labyrinth, not only would she have to endure an extremely high level of danger, but the treasures she would ultimately acquire would not be any better. It would be a case of masochism.
"You understand now, right? No country would be foolish enough to send a powerful individual into a normal labyrinth. That's why I won't join you in challenging the 'Aqua Nest.'"
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Upon hearing Sheryl's explanation, Tyler had an epiphany. He suddenly felt that although Ice Polestar Sheryl was ruthless, she was actually a good person.
Based on Sheryl's explanation, Tyler also understood the true intent of the Wester Kingdom in forming this labyrinth raid team — the real goal was not to conquer the labyrinth and obtain treasures, but to select and cultivate 'talents' who have potential and qualifications.
(The normal labyrinth is just a filter, what the nation truly wants are low-level individuals who can conquer the ancient labyrinths.)
(If the secret of the labyrinth were to be made public, then low-level individuals certainly wouldn't want to team up with high-level individuals, which would eventually lead to a vicious cycle where no one would be willing to challenge the labyrinth.)
Tyler got his answer as to why Ice Polestar Sheryl would not join them in challenging the labyrinth, but it still didn't explain why, in the"'Precognitive Death Scene," Tyler's team would be annihilated.
"Lady Sheryl, in your view, if I were to challenge the 'Aqua Nest' together with Heloise, Vanessa, and the cavalry captain from Emerald City, Garvit, how likely would we be to face annihilation?"
As Sheryl started to open up, Tyler asked another question, the answer to which he was keen to know.