Give children a little self-destruction shock to their worldview.

Page 124

Its core is that it is "alive".

That's right, the maze has a fatal flaw, just like the heart. The heart is located at the very bottom, and whoever can control it can freely manipulate the maze.

However, correspondingly, once the heart of the labyrinth is destroyed, it will fall into silence and spend tens of thousands of years nurturing a new core.

Mayumi Haga skillfully completed the task of detonating the heart of the labyrinth using her blessing; however, Fukumo, who had given up her blessing skill, returned to being an ordinary person.

And they were left forever deep within this labyrinth.

To this day, her soul still wanders in the place where she fought her last battle. The labyrinth's barrier blocked the calamity's advance, and thus her soul, unlike other beings, was not devoured by the calamity, but instead followed the labyrinth here.

Then, as if by fate, she was reunited with an old friend.

Main text: Chapter 194 Get out of here!!!

Mayumi Haga knew every corner of this labyrinth.

Although the changes become more significant as you go down the floor, and these changes are often made haphazardly in front of adventurers, the first five floors have never changed.

Besides the fact that after the destruction of Alamo, the labyrinth, this ecosystem, seemed to have leaked some of its power during the process of becoming fragments of the world and wandering around, causing most of the monsters to die in the sudden changes of the labyrinth, so the number of creatures in the labyrinth dropped sharply.

Everything was pretty much as Mayumi Haga remembered.

She burned most of the tentacle plants on the first level, and below that was the second level, the real labyrinth area. Undead would roam the labyrinth area, passing through walls and frightening adventurers.

Based on her observations, the undead were probably the least affected by the changes in the maze. She wondered how much time had passed within the maze, and how many souls remained that hadn't perished over that long period.

On the day the labyrinth was sealed, besides the guardian, Floating Cloud, many adventurers perished there. Their souls were eternally imprisoned, only able to wander the labyrinth's floors. And once a soul leaves its body, it becomes unstable; without intervention, it will eventually transform into an evil spirit.

If you do the math, the number of evil spirits on the second level is probably terrifying.

After all, it has accumulated over countless years, and the second floor of the maze is the most suitable environment for undead and ghouls to roam. Even if you die on other floors, you will be attracted to this floor without realizing it.

Actually, Mayumi Haga originally thought she would see the spirit of Fukumo on this floor.

She was also prepared to fight against the floating cloud that had turned into an evil spirit.

After all, she now possesses enough witchcraft to deal with the undead, and the magic of the two magical girls she brings with her also works against the undead. If Fuyun is indeed affected by this labyrinth and loses her mind like Urzana did before, she will have the ability to protect herself.

However, it seems that it hasn't developed to that point yet.

Although Mayumi Haga did not show it on her face, she was secretly relieved.

Moreover, it's better to simply lose your mind and become an evil spirit than to be corrupted by calamity.

Upon reaching the second floor, Mayumi Haga did not immediately take the shortcut she had previously taken, but instead glanced at the other three who were barely keeping up with her.

Her pace slowed considerably, and she had to stop and wait for the people behind her every now and then.

She hesitated, "...Are you hungry?"

"Mahmy, it's been over twelve hours since we came in." Yuri Takajo looked genuinely tired and hungry. Faced with such a question from someone with superhuman stamina, she could only manage a wry smile. "The last time I ate was during my lunch break."

She felt a little apologetic, after all, it seemed that she was the one who was slowing down the progress because she was so useless. But upon closer reflection, she realized that she was still a bit overloaded.

After the initial unfamiliarity and tense vigilance of entering a new environment subsided, under the reliable protection of Mayumi Haga, Yuri Takajo and Akari Arisu relaxed and felt that their physical strength had reached its limit.

Mayumi Haga was annoyed by her own slowness.

Normally she wouldn't forget the needs of a normal person, but revisiting familiar places distracted her too much, and she also had to constantly worry about whether some sneaky ghost had followed her.

"I'm sorry, it was my oversight. Let's rest here for now." She said apologetically, taking out some food and...

...pot, firewood, and water?

"Huh? Where did you pull that out from?!" Arisu Juri was astonished when she saw Mayumi Haga pull out an iron pot dozens of times the size of her small pouch for the first time. "What is this? A four-dimensional pocket? Are you Doraemon?"

Although they also possessed storage magic, neither Yuri Takajo nor Akari Arisu sensed any magical fluctuations.

Think about it, when the Guardian/Mayumi changes her appearance, there is no magical fluctuation at all. This is probably a different power system.

But Yuri Takajo's shock went even further: "Wait, so the performance last time wasn't magic?!"

During one of the school festivals, their class put on a magic show, and Tono Hitomi happily pushed Haga Mayumi up.

Mayumi Haga stood on the stage with a blank expression, pulling pigeons, rabbits, a corgi, and a piano from her top hat.

Although Mayumi Haga did lack performing spirit and stood still on stage the entire time, her magic tricks were so hardcore that they won her a standing ovation.

Speaking of this, Mayumi Haga couldn't help but say, "It's one thing for others, but what are you so surprised about?"

You and Hitomi Tohno, those two magical girls, clap louder than anyone else, and now you're so surprised... But magic exists in this world! Why are you so surprised by magic!

"...Haha, I really thought it was a magic trick you used to fool everyone." Yuri Takajo said sheepishly.

If it's magic, then it's no big deal.

But if it's magic, that's real skill.

Haga Mayumi:......

I don't understand you magical girls.

She rummaged through her backpack and found some bread and water that she could eat immediately, giving them to the two magical girls who needed to eat to tide them over. She also explained to the two magical girls why she was starting to cook something here.

“This labyrinth is huge. Adventurers who want to reach the bottom level need not only excellent equipment and weapons, but also careful preparation in terms of living conditions.” She snapped a fire and broke open a Flame Fruit, throwing it into the embers of the burning firewood. The fire suddenly burst into flames.

In this labyrinth, a long period of exploration is also a great test for the adventurer's body.

In order to avoid collapsing due to health problems halfway through, it is necessary to have a balanced diet in every meal.

Like an adventurer carrying bacon and dry bread, repeating the same monotonous diet for a long time will inevitably affect one's health and also make one feel bad.

Therefore, during the time when Mayumi Haga partnered with Ukigumo, Mayumi Haga would always take advantage of her backpack's ability to easily hold an unlimited amount of ingredients, and luxuriously prepare her daily meals.

Carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins... it is essential to maintain a balanced intake.

After explaining carefully, Mayumi Haga started cooking for four people.

Arisu Akari, who was standing next to her, felt a little scared and shakily raised her hand to ask, "Does that mean we're going to have to stay in this labyrinth for a long time?"

“That’s not it,” Mayumi Haga replied sincerely. “Actually, I have a method that can directly reach the bottom.”

Yuri Takajo, who was listening attentively: "..."

Feeling like her brain had shut down, Arisu Akari asked, "...So, where are we?"

"Then what are you still doing here peeling cabbages?! Get down here right now!!!" A slightly frantic female voice suddenly broke out from beside the crowd, "Get out of here!!!"

The floating clouds couldn't hold back any longer.

Main Text: Chapter 195 She is a Dragon

Yuri Takajo and Akari Arisu were so startled by the sudden loud noise beside them that they nearly jumped out of their skin: "Whoa ...

The two of them turned pale and almost scrambled to hug 3904, who had been resting with his eyes closed but whose tail was now bristling like a feather duster.

The three of them hurriedly huddled together, desperately trying to distance themselves from Haga Mayumi.

The reason was simple: the ghostly female voice came from the wall next to Mayumi Haga.

A blurry figure emerged from the wall, and the black-haired woman with an unhappy expression stared at Mayumi Haga, who was cooking at a leisurely pace. She gritted her teeth and laughed angrily: "What did you put in that sugar?"

It was supposed to be sweet, but it ended up being awful by the end... Mayumi Haga had actually put a witchcraft potion in it!

Upon returning to the second level, Fuyun noticed changes in his soul.

Originally, she was as withered as other undead and unable to communicate with humans or utter any coherent words. However, the candy that Mayumi Haga gave her contained a "ingredient" that a wizard would add, which nourished her soul and restored much of her previously shaky spirit.

Fu Yun tasted a slightly fishy-sweet flavor, which seemed to be some kind of blood, but he didn't know what kind of race it was, that it could stabilize the soul after being added to the medicine.

She knew that Mayumi Haga had already discovered her, so she deliberately took her time starting a fire and cooking here in order to lure her out.

And she was indeed angry.

If you know how to get down, then hurry up and get down! What are you doing lingering here for so long?

Knowing the dangers of the maze, Fuyun couldn't sit still. She had assumed that Yuga Mayumi had already conquered the maze once and would be able to leave efficiently this time. Fearing that she might slow down the other person's progress, she didn't show herself.

Moreover, she hadn't spoken to Mayumi Haga for so long, and feeling that she was just a name that should have been buried in the dust of history, she didn't think of bothering Mayumi Haga.

But Mayumi Haga's deliberate stopping to wait for her still made her angry.

This brat... It's been so long since I've seen him, how come he's learned to be so mischievous!

Fuyun sat down next to Yuga Mayumi, arms crossed, and unabashedly unleashed her icy aura.

The water in the pot, which was about to boil, was affected and cooled down rapidly, starting to freeze.

"Long time no see, Senior Fukumo." Mayumi Haga, unconcerned about the interruption to her cooking process, greeted Fukumo. "Do you like the candy?"

"It tastes awful." Fuyun said with deep resentment. She rarely got to eat milk candy, and Yuhe Mayumi even added something to it.

It feels like you've worked a long day and come home wanting to treat yourself to fried chicken after a month of dieting, only to find that your family has secretly stuffed an extremely bitter pill into the last piece of fried chicken in the delivery.

“The others should be pretty good.” Mayumi Haga’s tone was very frank, her sincere gaze meeting that of the resentful Fukumo. “I just wanted to see you.”

A sigh escapes the clouds.

A hint of bitterness appeared in her expression: "Listen, Mayumi, I know you desperately want to take my soul out of the labyrinth, but the guardian contract on my body has been broken. Leaving here will only mean returning to the River of Life, and you have more important things to do now..."

"Senior Fuyun." Yuga Mayumi, unusually, interrupted the Guardian senior halfway through her sentence, realizing something was amiss—Fuyun's information was probably quite outdated. "What have you been doing in the labyrinth all these years?"

"Wandering around, chatting with other undead, and then...sleeping?" Fuyun felt that Yuga Mayumi seemed to have some important news waiting for her. She hesitated, "Actually, I slept with the labyrinth for a long time before, and only recently woke up..."

After the core suppression activity of the labyrinth was destroyed by Mayumi Haga, this place was completely isolated from the outside world.

The residents here fell into a long slumber, so long that no one knows exactly how long it has been.

It wasn't until the maze suddenly opened up again that the floating clouds awoke.

She is unaware that her world has been destroyed; she simply believes that Mayumi Haga has returned to investigate the labyrinth once again.

“You can leave here without worry,” Mayumi Haga said. “Come with me, senior.”

Normally, souls that leave the labyrinth are taken away by the River of Life, with no possibility of resurrection.

But things are different now; the river of life no longer exists in this world.

This means that even if Fuyun loses its guardian contract, it won't return to the River of Life just because it's an ordinary person. It can still exist as a soul form after leaving the labyrinth.

Yuga Mayumi explained the whole story to Fukumo, hoping that he could squeeze in with Urzana's core and leave with her.

Floating Clouds: "..."

Fuyun pressed his forehead, which felt no pain: "...Wait, let me sort out what happened first..."

Whoever thought they were dead, they woke up to find their world destroyed, and suddenly they were no longer imprisoned here forever. Instead, they were to leave the labyrinth by sharing a core with an old friend who had also died, leaving only the core behind...

...I don't know if it's good or bad.

Fu Yun tried to force herself to laugh, but the bitterness in her heart was hard to ignore.

Such a dramatic change occurred while I was asleep...

However, staying here is still not a good idea.

Unlike Floating Cloud, the other undead aren't able to maintain a certain level of rationality. They'll definitely come looking for trouble later.

The other three children, who huddled together in fear at the sight of the undead, would be no match for the undead attacking from all directions. Therefore, leaving this second level smoothly would not be so easy.

Moreover, this maze has ninety-nine floors, and each floor is no easy feat. Although most of the monsters guarding the floors are dead, the journey ahead is still quite challenging for the three children.

Fuyun wanted to escort the group to the last floor, but after she told Yuga Mayumi about her idea, the latter was taken aback.

Mayumi Haga twitched her pointed ears, wondering if Fukumo hadn't seen her for so long that he couldn't remember what she looked like anymore.

She knew the location of the bottom floor of the maze, the entrance to each floor, the general distribution of the monsters, and knew exactly where the shortcut was.

Even if the maze changes, it won't be much of an obstacle.

Yuga Mayumi is no longer the same as before. She no longer feels as insignificant as she did when facing the vast labyrinth. After all, she can now be larger than the labyrinth itself.

—She can transform into a black dragon and carry people directly to the bottom of the maze.

Main text: Chapter 196 Please give me a place to stay, thank you

Ulzana has been dormant in her core state for quite some time.

Of course, this "good period of time" is calculated relative to the average person's perception of time in the world. Neither she nor Mayumi Haga believed that anything could be accomplished in ten or twenty days.

Urzana's guardian core had been corrupted for far too long, and her soul was so weakened that she could no longer maintain consciousness. Although nourished by the fire power within Mayumi Haga, the process of repairing the damaged core was still quite lengthy.

Unless there is another extraordinary encounter like the spark, it is likely that Ulzana will remain in her core form as an ornament on Mayumi Haga for the rest of this century in this world.

However, even while asleep, Urzana still retains a vague awareness of the outside world.

When Mayumi Haga is attacked and her blessing power is triggered, she will briefly regain consciousness and receive certain information from the outside world for a moment.