Chapter 243: Crystal Labyrinth (Part 1)

No. 24 Pioneer Camp was the location for the A-rank quest, **[Crystal Labyrinth]**.

The camp hadn’t been built around the Heavens-reaching Great Tree for no reason. Aside from creating a camp that looked somewhat aesthetic, there was no practical purpose for building it that way. The real reason was the secret hidden inside, which was why the camp had been constructed in such a peculiar fashion.

Samimi and Ten Treasures hadn’t gone far. They were currently lurking in a dark corner near No. 24 Pioneer Camp, plotting their next move.

By dusk, the pioneer camp had become very quiet. The last rays of the sun were completely blocked by the Heavens-reaching Great Tree.

It was only then that the support troops from No. 2 Camp and the three rich knights finally arrived, though the battle had already ended.

The commander of No. 24 Pioneer Camp came out to greet them. Everyone’s gaze was a bit dazed. Clearly, something good had happened, but they couldn’t quite fathom what it was.

“Commander, what happened? How is the battle situation?” an old adventurer asked dubiously.

“A mysterious girl appeared and took down the Flare King along with a large wave of Magic Beasts,” the commander of No. 24 replied.

“A mysterious girl? Where is she now?” the old adventurer asked again.

“Sir, I said she was a mysterious girl. Naturally, we don’t know. If we did, she wouldn’t be mysterious anymore. After she felt the wave of Magic Beasts had been slaughtered, she vanished without a trace,” the commander replied with a smile.

“That powerful? Did she have any identifying features?” the old adventurer asked persistently.

“We only saw her from behind. She looked around 16 years old, dressed in black, and carrying two swords — one platinum and one gold. She also seemed to have a pair of horns. We’re fairly certain she’s a Half-Beast,” the commander replied.

As soon as those words were spoken, the old adventurers from No. 2 Camp and the three rich knights exchanged looks of realization.

“Do you know who she is?” the commander asked.

“Two swords, a Half-Beast Nun… She was the reinforcement we sent ahead of us. There should have been a Priestess with her,” the old adventurer replied.

“The wounded did mention that a Priestess treated their injuries. She healed dozens of people in an instant, but no one knows where she went after that,” the commander said.

“The Priestess left?” the rich knights exclaimed in shock.

“Young masters, aren’t they your teammates? Why did they leave?” the old adventurer asked.

“We aren’t teammates yet. We were back at the testing grounds, and when we heard there was trouble here, we rushed over to help,” one of the rich knights replied.

“Your intentions are good, but I suggest the three of you familiarize yourselves with the edges of the Sea of Trees before heading deeper,” the old adventurer suggested.

“Old man, now isn’t the time to act like a senior. Do you know who you sent here? That Half-Beast Nun killed the One-eyed Demon Flare King by herself in just two strikes,” the commander added.

“Hahaha — what did you say?” The old adventurers were collectively stunned when they heard this.

One-eyed Demon Flares weren’t rare monsters; they were a common type of high-level fodder. However, they were a defensive-type species known for being incredibly thick-skinned.

Their leader, the One-eyed Demon Flare King, was even tougher. It required at least an A-rank adventurer to fight it, and even then, it would be a struggle.

“To have the strength to kill the One-eyed Demon Flare King in an instant, she must be at least a high-level expert at the quasi-S-rank level. But based on your descriptions, that girl looks 16 years old at most. Do we really have a quasi-S-rank adventurer that powerful here?” the commander wondered.

Actually, his estimation was very conservative. Usually, only an S-rank adventurer could instantly kill a One-eyed Demon Flare King.

That type of monster wasn’t necessarily strong in terms of offense, but its health pool was massive. It was a pure DPS test; it was impossible to one-shot it without sufficient output.

It was just like a previous incident where the S-rank adventurer, Raiyue, had to use a powerful ultimate move to blow apart a giant armored corpse. It was the same logic.

Everyone shook their heads, indicating they had never heard of such a high-ranking Half-Beast adventurer.

Half-Beasts were quite active in adventurer circles, as a large number of them gathered in the southern part of the continent. Since Half-Beasts were born warriors, they were the best source of recruits for adventurers.

But nowadays, there weren’t many true adventurers left. Because of the rise of camps, no one wanted to take real risks anymore. Most had collectively transitioned into camp guards.

Times had changed. The Sea of Ten Thousand Forests was becoming increasingly dangerous, and nowhere outside was safe after dark.

Only those who joined large guilds were qualified to go out on adventures, as only large guilds had the capability to organize such explorations.

To use an analogy, it was like a game update where the developers were trying to milk the players’ money. Casual players who couldn’t keep up with gear requirements were being pushed out. Only “whale” players who could afford to forge equipment and build guilds were qualified to play the game.

“They were wearing Church attire. Could they be from the Church? You must have heard that a major figure appeared in the Church and caused a stir in the Royal City.”

“Yes, yes, the Demon-Hunting Nun, right?”

“I heard she’s a Dual Magic user.”

“More than that. I heard she can fight in close combat with a sword, and her blade is imbued with the Goddess’s flame.”

“That’s not right. I heard she uses Solar Flame. Her weapon is a legendary Demon Magic Book left behind by the Human Emperor, which bears the Royal Family emblem.”

As soon as the “Pig Demon Nun” was mentioned, the adventurers began chatting excitedly. Standing while talking wasn’t comfortable enough, so the group headed to the camp’s bar to continue their conversation. They could probably talk all day.

It could only be said that the adventurers here didn’t have many forms of entertainment. Their primary way of killing time was bragging.

However, at that very moment…

Taking advantage of the last rays of the sun, the two people they were discussing quietly slipped past the protective barrier and sneaked back into No. 24 Pioneer Camp.

Coincidentally, the magic lanterns inside the camp flickered to life, illuminating the pioneer camp brightly.

The city gates were closed, and the night watch began their patrol on the protective walls.

One of the camp gates had been breached earlier. It had been barely repaired, so extra personnel were needed for guard duty to prevent enemies from slipping through the cracks.

But even if the commander and the old adventurers had a hundred brains, they would never imagine that someone would actually want to sneak *into* the pioneer camp. What would be the point?

In truth, if Samimi had just spoken to the commander, they likely would have made an exception and let her try the quest regardless of her level.

But some people just enjoyed the thrill. To play the “pig eating a tiger” trope, Samimi was putting in full effort.

Right now, she was in the developmental phase. She needed to keep her overwhelming power hidden away.

‘Acting this way is so boring. I don’t care about it, it’s just wasting time and padding the word count.’

For now, they hadn’t encountered anyone in the south worth their attention. Although it was a new map, the overall strength of the adventurers couldn’t compare to the Church at all.

However, this situation was normal. The adventurers here were just “burden” teammates, NPCs meant to hold the protagonist back, so their combat power was average.

But the Church’s heavy hitters were different. They were super-powered NPCs specifically designed to deal with the protagonist. Some existed specifically to give young geniuses like them a reality check, so their strength was guaranteed to be formidable.

The main enemies here were Magic Beasts, not adventurers — unless some blind fool decided to provoke them.

Samimi and Niubao quietly crept to the base of the Heavens-reaching Great Tree, beginning to circle it and search every corner.

Soon, they discovered a very hidden wooden door wedged between two large tree roots. There was definitely something hidden inside.

Oddly, there were no guards around. ‘Isn’t anyone watching the dungeon entrance?’

“Niubao,” Samimi whispered.

“Priestess, my Holy Hammer hasn’t been taken back yet.” Niubao followed the order, drawing his Holy Knight sword to break the wooden door.

“You have two blades already, why are you still thinking about that broken hammer?” Samimi asked.

“Uh…” Niubao didn’t respond, looking a bit aggrieved, like a child who had lost a toy.

“Sigh, let’s go find it then.” Samimi felt soft-hearted seeing this. Since they had already sneaked in, they might as well do whatever they wanted.

Although their stealth skills couldn’t compare to those of the Shadow Elves, Niubao had a unique constitution that was essentially a cheat code, allowing him to bypass everyone in the camp.

Niubao could smell a warehouse in the camp that reeked of decay. That was definitely where the carcasses of the Magic Beasts were stored.

Magic Beasts were different from the Blood Clan, the other great enemy of the Human Race. When a Blood Ghost died, they turned into ash, leaving nothing behind. That was why no one was interested in hunting vampires.

But Magic Beast carcasses were excellent materials for crafting weapons and equipment. One could say that the appearance of the Abyss had made the adventurer profession popular again.

However, after a period of good days, everyone realized the pressure was getting a bit high.

‘Now, you might have the life to hunt for materials, but it’s hard to say if you’ll live long enough to see the gear finished.’

There were guards at the entrance of the warehouse where the Magic Beast remains were kept. Three old adventurers were leaning against the door, chatting and drinking beer, looking quite relaxed.

Samimi used her magic to penetrate the window. Inside the room, she condensed a **[Holy Vine Illusion]**, which snapped the window latch. She pulled the window open, and the two of them climbed inside.

‘I’m really developing a talent for being a master thief. One might even say I was a thief rather than a healer in my past life.’

Peering into the warehouse, she saw piles of Magic Beast carcasses from the day’s battle.

Resting on a nearby shelf was Niubao’s hammer. It was still stained with foul blood and had been placed in a bag as evidence.

Samimi took it, and Niubao immediately became happy.

“Don’t go throwing your weapon around anymore.”

Samimi patted the bull’s head. The two of them jumped back out the window and quietly made their way back to the hidden wooden door at the base of the tree.

Niubao opened the wooden door, revealing a tunnel between the two roots.

Without a word, the two of them slipped inside, quietly closing the door behind them.

After walking through a tunnel that resembled a sliding chute, they reached an underground cavern. The soil was filled with tree roots, making it very sturdy and unlikely to collapse.

At the end of the cavern was a wall of tangled roots. Embedded in the middle was a 4 meter by 4 meter square crystal. In its center was a massive red gemstone that looked like an eye, emitting a faint red light as it scanned its surroundings.

But in reality, this was a distraction, as the crystal itself was a living creature. It was a unique Magic Phoenix.

“Crystal Labyrinth… found it.”

This was also Samimi’s first objective upon arriving in the south.