When Roxy and the other two arrived at the labyrinth entrance inside, Dan Feng was leaning on Cloud-Piercer with his eyes closed, resting.
"Dan Feng, you're way too fast." Roxy looked at the man with closed eyes ahead, and a faint stirring inevitably rose in her heart.
"You're here." Dan Feng still had his eyes closed, but he turned his head toward the direction of the voices.
"Why are your eyes closed?" Mayibeia looked at Dan Feng at that moment and, for some reason, found it a bit comical.
"I got splashed in the eyes by the demon wood sap. I don't know detoxification magic, so I can't open them." Dan Feng's tone carried helplessness. No one had expected the demon wood sap to suddenly burst up from underground and splash him right in the face.
(Note: Healing magic and detoxification magic are not the same. The protagonist cannot use chantless detoxification magic.)
Fortunately, the sap didn't contain any toxins that would cause necrosis in others; it only caused a slight discomfort.
After Galdaruf cast detoxification magic on Dan Feng, Dan Feng finally opened his eyes again.
"Indeed, being able to see is much more comfortable." Dan Feng sighed, then looked at the group and said, "So, what do you say? Head straight in? We're the first ones to enter this labyrinth, after all."
It's worth mentioning that this labyrinth's area wasn't the only place with demon wood—there were demon wood in other directions as well. Galdaruf had happened to overhear some intelligence sellers talking about it, which was why he came to check it out.
He hadn't expected to run into trouble with the demon wood. Fire magic was ineffective against them, and he even got injured by the vines, forcing him to rest in the Great Forest for an entire night.
"Let's go straight in. If we're careful, there shouldn't be much of a problem." Galdaruf said this. He and Mayibeia had already conquered many labyrinths in the Great Forest; they were usually just full of mechanisms and occupied by monsters, so this one should be similar.
"Roxy, have you conquered a labyrinth before?" Mayibeia asked Roxy. Roxy shook her head.
Roxy had originally gone to conquer labyrinths together with her previous party leader and teammates, but they encountered a mana calamity, which caused the party to disband.
Galdaruf walked up to the labyrinth entrance, then took out a scroll and began chanting magic.
He was summoning a Lamp Spirit to illuminate their path ahead.
Soon, a ball of white light—the Lamp Spirit—was summoned from the scroll.
"Let's go. It will light the way forward for us." Galdaruf said to the group, then slowly began entering the labyrinth illuminated by the Lamp Spirit.
For Roxy, entering a labyrinth for the first time, the surroundings felt cold and damp. The air carried a rotting odor.
They stepped on the stone stairs, their shoes making clacking sounds that echoed, emphasizing just how quiet the place was.
"Stay alert. We'll reach the first floor soon." Galdaruf said, because the Lamp Spirit had already smoothly reached the end of the passage ahead and was lighting the way for them.
Dan Feng gazed at the scene inside the passage, his brows slightly furrowed in thought.
The passage was filled with thick spider webs, densely packed everywhere.
Dan Feng thought to himself that with so many spider webs, the likelihood of spider-type monsters existing here was extremely high.
His eyes scanned the surroundings, vigilantly watching for any possible signs of webs or traces.
As the group advanced, they soon reached the first floor.
The entire way had been far too quiet.
However, the layout of this first floor was completely different from what they had imagined.
It wasn't an open space but more like an ant colony, with numerous openings.
No one knew where these openings led; they could only explore them one by one.
Galdaruf stood in place, staring blankly at the maze of openings before him.
Most of the labyrinths he had conquered in the past were ones built by humans during the Human-Demon War, but this labyrinth in front of him was entirely different from his previous experiences—it looked more like a gigantic ant nest.
Seeing this, Dan Feng calmly analyzed, "Stay vigilant, but there's no need to worry too much. I don't think these openings will hide overly powerful monsters. After all, in such a massive labyrinth, it wouldn't be easy for monsters to go out and forage."
"Moreover, the demon wood barrier is almost an insurmountable obstacle for ordinary monsters. They're most likely to starve to death here."
Dan Feng's words weren't baseless speculation but were based on his comprehensive assessment of the labyrinth environment and the survival conditions of monsters.
Although his deduction couldn't be entirely certain, it undoubtedly held some reference value.
"Let's start with the left side." Dan Feng said this, then walked toward the opening on the left.
Roxy followed after seeing Dan Feng go.
Galdaruf used earth magic to leave a mark at the spot in case they got lost later.
There was nothing inside this left-side cave, and it was terrifyingly quiet—not even the sound of a single water droplet.
Dan Feng walked silently; the atmosphere inside this cave felt extremely oppressive.
At that moment, Dan Feng seemed to notice something.
"There's something ahead." Dan Feng immediately said to those behind him. Galdaruf heard this and quickly ran to the front.
Beneath the Lamp Spirit ahead lay several pieces of clothing so tattered they couldn't get any worse, as if they hadn't fully corroded yet, along with some items that looked like accessories.
"Magic-imbued items, right?" Galdaruf said this, then walked toward those few pieces of clothing.
When he cautiously picked up those accessories, an odd sensation surged through him.
At that instant, the unexpected struck without warning.
Suddenly, streaks of circular red glows flashed in the darkness ahead.
This sudden sight made Galdaruf's heart race instantly, and an ominous premonition enveloped him.
This was the intuition he had developed after more than ten years as an adventurer.
"Something's coming!" Dan Feng's voice echoed in the silent space. His gaze locked tightly onto those eerie red glows as he shouted loudly to Galdaruf.
Galdaruf reacted just as quickly. Without hesitation, he retreated backward while rapidly chanting some kind of magic, trying to deal with this sudden crisis.
However, someone was faster than him.
"[Ice Strike!]"
Dan Feng's voice rang out in the air.
Immediately after, a powerful surge of ice turned into a blue ice arrow, shooting straight toward that cluster of red glows.
Almost at the same time, Roxy also unleashed her own magic.
"With the heroic sword of ice, punish the target! [Frost Strike!]" Her voice was extremely firm; she showed no panic at the presence of monsters.
After all, she had also been an adventurer for nearly ten years.
With her chant, an even more powerful ice blade whistled toward the red glows.
Because Dan Feng had poured in more mana, the power of his magic surpassed Roxy's higher-tier Frost Strike.
The two spells met in midair, then slammed hard into that cluster of red glows.
In an instant, the surrounding temperature plummeted, and the moisture in the air rapidly condensed into ice.
Under the Lamp Spirit's illumination, the ice sparkled with cold light, fully exposing those red glows that had originally been hidden in the darkness.
Upon closer inspection, they realized those red glows were actually spiders about the size of a human!
Their bodies were covered in red shells, their legs thick and powerful, and their eight eyes gleamed with an eerie light.
"It's too narrow here. Let's get out first." Dan Feng made the decisive call. He grabbed Roxy and followed closely behind Galdaruf and the others, rushing madly toward the exit together.