Endless Maze
As logistical resources became increasingly abundant, the exploration of a large library was gradually put on the agenda.
Since the door to the library was sealed, after rejecting Morina's arbitrary suggestions such as "just use the magic crystal cannon to blast it open", everyone unanimously decided to let Ximu lead the way. Starting from the previously selected route, they would first climb to the top of the workshop, then climb up to a small platform outside the large library and directly break into the window.
Although entrances like windows might have certain restrictions, they would never be more strictly guarded than the front door, which was clearly well-prepared.
As long as they can successfully enter the library, they will have taken a successful step.
This time the main focus was on exploration. Ximu thought that not all personnel needed to be dispatched. She and Zhui Ning, the two with the strongest mobility, could just go and take a look first.
"Let Morina come along, it's safer." Ruixia insisted.
The priestess sighed in feigned helplessness, but her face was full of pride as if to say, "Oh, what would you do without me?"
The three of them set off under the escort of their companions. They climbed the wall, went up to the roof, and even broke the window smoothly beyond imagination. However, things began to become complicated when Xi Mu, the first one to enter the library, just glanced at the surrounding scenery and returned to the small platform outside the window in a flash.
"……Why?"
Molina, who was about to follow her in, almost bumped into her head. Her eyes flickered and she asked in surprise, "Why did you come out?"
According to the previous arrangement, Ximu would lead the way into the library, followed by Zhui Neng, and Molina should follow at the end.
But right now, there were only the two of them on the small platform.
"Where's Zhui'in?"
"I went in, I followed you in, and I was just about to catch up... What happened? Why did you come out suddenly?"
Facing Molina's question, Ximu's eyes flickered, and a guess gradually formed in her mind.
"This place might have a limit on the number of people entering," she mused. "Well, let me go in again. If Zhuiren suddenly returns to this platform, you wave at the window. Then, don't move. Stay where you are and wait for me to come back."
"good."
Although she looked worried, the trust between the two had already been extraordinary, and Molina agreed to Ximu's arrangement without thinking.
"Be careful. If you're really worried, send a signal to call Ruixia and the others."
Considering that Morina didn't have strong self-protection ability, Ximu still gave her an extra reminder.
"I know. Oh, right..."
Since they couldn't go in together, Morina took out a dozen finely bound magic scrolls from her small shoulder bag and stuffed them into Ximu's arms.
"I know the other amplifications are just icing on the cake for you, dispensable, but healing magic is essential... These are sixteen healing scrolls I bundled using my unique storage technique. It doesn't damage the scrolls, and they don't take up much space. Amazing, right? Hey, see this opening? When you need to use something, just pull it out here and you'll have a scroll in one go..."
In fact, Ximu roughly understood what the structure was the moment she saw it, but she was still very happy to see Molina explain it to her in detail.
"good."
There was no reason to refuse, so Ximu took the scroll, fixed it on his leg ring, and patted the other person's shoulder.
“…I’m leaving.”
"Be careful."
After bidding farewell to her companions, Ximu once again climbed into the window that she had smashed open with her own hands and entered the interior of the library.
——It’s different now.
When she came in before, she landed on the edge of a platform next to the bookshelf and stairs, but at this moment, she seemed to be standing on top of a bookshelf.
She immediately dropped to the ground and dodged to a hidden spot next to another bookshelf. She immediately checked all the windows within her field of vision and spotted a waving figure outside the window at an angle completely unrelated to her current location.
Is the space inside the library disordered?
However, not being attacked from all sides the moment I entered was already a pretty good start...
The girl, who had thought she would have to familiarize herself with the environment while running, breathed a sigh of relief, tentatively memorized the location of the windows, and then began to slowly observe the layout inside the library.
Judging from the external architectural structure, the Great Library is a square building, not overly spacious, but the richness of its collection is clearly reflected in its height. Coupled with the pointed roof design, it looks towering, which is really disproportionate to its low workshop neighbors.
Inside, the walls are almost covered with bookshelves of all sizes, with countless height-adjustable ladder platforms climbing on them, which are obviously used by borrowers to go up and down to get books.
In addition, there are still many independent bookshelves scattered between the floors. Chairs, platforms, candles, and books constitute a vast ocean of knowledge.
If it ends here, then this place is no different from normal libraries in the outside world.
but……
Just as Xi Mu was carefully observing the "locals" walking through the sea of books, there was a sudden vibration in her hiding place, and the adjacent bookshelves began to move together. If she hadn't escaped immediately, she would have been crushed into a meat paste by this behemoth!
The bookshelf moved?!
At first, he thought that the movement was directed at him, but when Ximu was looking for a new hiding place, he was surprised to find that it was not just the bookshelves in front of him that were changing, but everything inside!
The layout of all the internal spaces is changing... Could it be that this is a maze that will keep changing its position as time goes by?
But the surprise soon subsided. Ximu calmed down and continued to move along with the changes in the buildings, while carefully memorizing the terrain before and after the changes.
The "locals" here don't seem to be affected at all... When the terrain changes, they hardly move at all. Do they know that the area they are in will not be affected?
Not far away, there were a few people dressed as magicians walking slowly between the bookshelves. They looked no different from ordinary people, except for their heads, which were particularly eye-catching.
A candle was burning there.
To be more precise - those people's heads were like candles, and the flame used them as fuel to quietly bloom, flickering a beautiful light with starlight.
For some people, not only their heads but also their entire faces are about to be burned... For those at this level, is it not necessary to kill them intentionally? They will burn out on their own after a while?
Although he was amused by this sudden idea, Ximu also knew that this was definitely unrealistic.
After all, time does not pass normally in this strange place. If you want to wait for the "existence" of these monsters to be completely consumed, you don't know how long you have to wait.
Fortunately, he was some distance away from them at the moment, and these candlelight people were also concentrating on their own things, so Ximu ignored them and turned his attention to another remote location.
There was a very small creature with a bat head and clothes that were very close to the color of the surrounding environment. It was easy to miss it if you didn't look carefully.
The most annoying thing is that it has a blowgun in its hand.
Before, Xi Mu was almost hit by this thing when she was jumping between the bookshelves. It was really thrilling - especially when she saw the strange purple color on the flying needle that passed by her, she was even more horrified.
This thing is probably poisonous.
This little bat man was originally standing far away and was completely out of Ximu's sight before the layout of the library changed. However, it not only noticed Ximu, but also took advantage of the moment when the bookshelf shifted to appear and attack. It was really hard to defend against.
This arrow was clearly aimed at the neck - if Xi Mu hadn't been so skilled that he dodged it at the critical moment, if he had been even slightly touched, even if he didn't lose a lot of blood, he would have been paralyzed by the toxins in the arrow and pushed into danger by the constantly changing positions of the surrounding furnishings.
Thinking that the maze had just been changed and would not appear again in a short time, Ximu hid his body without thinking. After a burst of black smoke dissipated, he actually disappeared from the spot!
The bat, which had been secretly watching the outsider, tilted its head in confusion and looked around, but its eyes did not move much, as if it was sensing something.
After a while, it seemed to have discovered something, and hurriedly turned around and was about to raise its blowpipe -
A bright knife light flashed like a crescent moon, cutting off the quiver so quickly that it made no sound, and at the same time severing the head connected to the body.
The dazed bat-man did not bleed. After a "squeak", he turned into smoke and flew away.
But the broken quiver that was chopped off fell to the ground, rolled on the ground with a "click", and rolled a few times.
The next moment, those candle magicians who had originally ignored her suddenly stood up one by one, as if enraged by some unforgivable mistake, and surrounded her with hostility!
What's even more surprising is that they can actually speak complete sentences -
"Quiet! Keep quiet!"
"This is the Great Library, the anchor of magical civilization, not a place for laughter and jokes!"
"Everyone who enters here must be as quiet and pious as Her Highness Milliana! This is the true respect for the Great Library!"
Ximu naturally felt no guilt about this inexplicable accusation. He had even planned his route of attack when they started to approach.
But after hearing Millianna's name, she paused and asked, "Does Her Highness Millianna come here often? Where is her exclusive seat?"
Unfortunately, although these monsters could speak, they only spoke to themselves and had no intention of communicating with her.
Then there is no need to stay.
Although it does look a bit scary that so many people gathered at once, but - no matter how you look at it, these people don't seem to be the type to move quickly.
The already swift girl exerted force on her feet and leaped directly to the end of the team, brandishing her dagger and drifting through all the candlelight people like a ghost.
The traces of weapons followed later. Before they raised their hands, the candlelight above their heads gradually went out as their vitality faded, spreading out like a burnt-out candle and slowly melting.
Not bad... The trigger rate of this "fatal" seems to be quite high.
Ximu habitually turned the handle of the knife to shake off the wax stains on it, looked up at the maze of libraries in front of him, and sighed helplessly.
Since these guys can't communicate, Milliana can only slowly find the specific location of her old reading corner by herself.
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