[This instance/dungeon is a special Arena Instance, and the Arena Instance betting mechanism has been automatically activated. Only players from organizations outside the instance/dungeon can place bets. Betting content: The organization that secures first place in this round of the Arena Instance.]
[Once the organization ranking Arena Instance is opened, no further rule prompts will be provided. All rules and clues within the instance/dungeon will be provided inside, so players should pay attention to all information and NPC dialogues within the instance/dungeon.]
A slender crescent moon hung in the sky.
Sparse dark clouds obscured parts of the starry sky, occasionally sliding past the crescent moon, casting a large shadow. A few crows cawed hoarsely, breaking the night sky, and a swarm of crows flew across, darkening the air.
A jungle maze covered the entire hillside, with entrances from all directions leading up to a grand castle at the top of the hill.
As the flock of crows flew away, figures suddenly appeared in the vast maze, and the grand castle at the summit, hidden in the night, suddenly lit up, with windows flashing a dim yellow light.
“He is a person of unknown origin.”
“His mother gave birth to him in the wilderness, fainting in the jungle maze from excessive blood loss. Blood stained the ground, and the surrounding vegetation decayed; his mother was devoured by a flock of crows. Yet he cried on the grass for three whole days, while the crows mourned for him, and the jungle withered.”
“He loves to admire the beauty of humanity but never associates with his kind. The castle deep within the maze is his home, where he keeps his most prized works, symbolizing his ominous skills. He is unpredictable, sometimes hosting guests who ascend the mountain, and at other times, he suddenly kills them.”
“But if those who ascend the mountain do not reach his home by midnight, he will close the castle’s great door, and the crows circling in the jungle maze will feast on those trapped within.”
Yan Wei had just steadied himself, still unable to see the situation clearly before him, when these words, seemingly coming from nowhere, gradually reached his ears, ethereal and eerie.
He focused his gaze and saw that it was quite dim around him, with only the castle at the top of the hill illuminated. He could see it clearly with just a slight lift of his head.
The voice that seemed to blend with the wind delivered its final message: “Now, he is waiting for his new guests.”
Lou’s prompt sound followed at that moment.
[Instance/dungeon begins.]
In these brief seconds, Yan Wei had already sorted out his current situation.
He was now in a jungle maze that spanned the entire mountain, positioned at what should be the halfway point, neither up nor down, right in the middle. Surrounding him were neatly trimmed green walls made from trees. This maze of trees was about the height of an adult male, allowing him to see a bit of what was at the mountain’s peak, but not enough to clearly discern the layout of the maze around him.
Although he could sense movement not far away, there was no one around him at that moment—he did not see Yan Mingguang, Lin Zhen, or Yu Feizhou.
Combining the earlier background-like introduction…
Yan Wei looked up at the distant castle, his gaze sharpening, and he understood.
This instance/dungeon had scattered them throughout the jungle maze covering the entire mountain from the very beginning. They had to reach the central castle at the mountain’s peak before midnight, or they would be devoured alive by the countless crows circling in the air. Aside from this rule, he had not heard any rules related to competition.
In other words, only by surviving to reach the castle would they qualify to continue in the instance/dungeon and learn what the competition rules inside the castle were.
And now… whether it was the angle of the moon or the remaining time displayed on Yan Wei’s information panel, it clearly indicated—there were still two hours left.
They had to reach the mountain top within two hours to barely have a ticket to participate in this competition.
Yan Wei attempted to spread his Perception—sure enough, it was of no use. His Perception Burst skill had naturally upgraded upon entering the instance/dungeon, yet he still could not expand it at this moment.
This jungle maze restricted their use of Perception, completely cutting off the possibility for players to navigate easily to the castle using Perception.
Yan Wei furrowed his brows, scanning his surroundings again, his hand tightly gripping what was hidden in his pocket.
He felt a sense of discomfort.
Before entering, he had seen some past rounds of Arena Instances; these types of instances/dungeons always had members of the same organization entering and starting together. There had never been a situation where everyone was scattered like this. He had confidence in teaming up with Yan Mingguang and the others, partly because this was a small group Arena Instance, and being with Yan Mingguang meant he wouldn’t have to worry too much about his Body Index shortcomings.
But this scattering…
For the carefully selected seed players from various organizations, it was merely the first challenge of the instance/dungeon.
For him, however, it was an instant targeting of his greatest weakness.
“Can’t blame me for being narcissistic…” Yan Wei sneered, raising his gaze to the pitch-black starry sky, looking toward an unknown direction, “The Moon Wheel Fragment raised the stakes to the forty-ninth level, and the instance/dungeon immediately scattered all players with rules to leave me alone… Why do I feel like this is aimed at me?”
The darkness in the distance could not possibly answer him.
Yan Wei withdrew his gaze and took out the miniature intercom they had used before.
Just as he tucked the item into his ear, Lin Zhen’s voice came through: “Hey, little pet, you loaded in slower than us, finally put on the intercom. This damn maze restricts Perception; I can’t even shoot my arrows into the air. It seems we have to rely entirely on walking to find our way…”
Yu Feizhou: “This is troublesome. This instance/dungeon is so strange; I don’t know why it scattered everyone at the start. The maze looks almost the same from any angle. I just tried with Lin Zhen, and we can’t find each other just by saying our positions.”
“Be careful alone.” This was Yan Mingguang’s voice. He didn’t say anything related to breaking the situation, his tone steady but tinged with concern.
Hearing Yan Mingguang’s words, Yan Wei instinctively curled the corners of his mouth.
The wind in the jungle maze was not strong, just a faint breeze, but it carried a chilling eeriness. Yan Wei adjusted his windbreaker and tried to move forward a short distance in the maze, saying, “I don’t think it’s that straightforward. With just over two hours until midnight, relying on walking to find our way isn’t realistic; there must be something—”
Ahead, he heard the rustling of footsteps and voices, and Yan Wei paused, retracting his words.
Before him, on another path, a player appeared, stumbling as they walked. This person was running forward in a panic, and due to their haste, they tripped over a branch just as they came into Yan Wei’s view.
This person clearly could not be one of the seed players cultivated by various organizations; they seemed more like an ordinary player randomly drawn in due to a betting failure. They didn’t react in time and fell hard to the ground, the scattered branches on the ground cutting into several places on their body, and the smell of blood instantly filled the air.
Yan Wei’s expression froze.
Behind him, the cawing of crows intertwined, drawing near like a dark cloud. Yan Wei turned to look, immediately sidestepping and lowering his head as a large flock of crows flew past him.
—They smelled the blood.
The fallen player had just gotten up when they saw these crows, with glossy black feathers, sharp beaks, and eyes gleaming with a bloody light, rushing toward them.
This person was horrified, unable to care for their wounds, and immediately drew their weapon, swinging it at the crows charging in front. The blade sliced through the body of a crow, releasing an even stronger stench of blood, which not only failed to scare the creatures away but instead provoked them further.
All the crows surged forward!
They had no regard for Yan Wei, who was standing aside, and charged at the player from all angles.
Yan Wei sighed silently, shaking his head in regret.
These players, dragged in due to betting failures, simply did not possess the ability to tackle the high-difficulty forty-ninth level Arena Instance. From the moment they were brought in, they were almost destined to become stepping stones for the seed players of the Arena Instance.
In just a moment, the weapon in the player’s hand was pecked apart by the crows, and the smell of blood grew even stronger.
“Ahhhhhhh————!!!!”
In the blink of an eye, these man-eating crows had devoured the person alive!
The cacophony of cries intertwined again, a contradictory mix of sharpness and hoarseness.
The crows scattered, and the body, now reduced to nothing but a skeleton, collapsed with a loud thud, bones scattering everywhere, and a large amount of blood spread from the shattered bones, staining the ground where Yan Wei stood.
Sensing the foul, rotting smell, Yan Wei waved his hand in discomfort.
But at that moment, as the stench spread, the maze walls made of dense trees began to corrode and wither. The view in this area suddenly widened. Although the corroded area was just a small patch compared to the entire jungle maze, it had already saved him the trouble of exploring that section of the maze.
The maze walls could actually be corroded by the blood of players.
Under the death of this player, Yan Wei could now walk directly through this unobstructed area, effortlessly getting closer to the mountain top.
At the same time, two other players appeared in Yan Wei’s line of sight. They exchanged glances, then looked at Yan Wei and the remains on the ground, clearly aware of what had just happened.
Yan Wei gazed at the scattered bones of that player, and the story he had heard upon entering the instance/dungeon echoed in his mind.
—“His mother gave birth to him in the wilderness, fainting in the jungle maze from excessive blood loss. Blood stained the ground, and the surrounding vegetation decayed; his mother was devoured by a flock of crows. Yet he cried on the grass for three whole days, while the crows mourned for him, and the jungle withered.”
So that’s how it is.
Blood corrosion causes the jungle that forms the maze to wither, revealing a broad view and clearing out spaces without maze walls.
If this corrosion were directed toward the mountain top, then it would naturally be easy to reach the castle within two hours.
The more players that died, the easier it would be for the surviving players to pass this first hurdle.
Compared to spending time finding a path, directly seeking out players to sacrifice… undoubtedly, it would be faster.
Yan Wei slipped his hand into his pocket, his fingertips gently tracing the edge of the Swallow Coin. He raised his gaze to the other two obvious seed players present, a faint glimmer passing through his light brown eyes.
The previous scene was too direct; he could instantly understand this shortcut, and those two… could too.
