Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!
Chapter 100 A Step Too Late?

Upon arrival, Yang Yu saw many adventurers’ tents on the first level.

The monsters here were overly friendly.

If the adventurers did not attack them actively, the creatures would ignore their presence, wandering through the corridors.

Therefore, staying on the first level of the Underground Maze was actually much safer than staying outside the underground city.

The design of this Underground Maze was such that anyone who reached the third level could see the hidden passageway near the exit; with so many people around, it was impossible that no one was interested in that passageway.

Calugada might have been among the earlier groups, but he definitely wasn’t going to be the last.

If those adventurers managed to figure out a strategy like Yang Yu and also knew the answers to the BOSS’s questions, and found the hidden BOSS before him, all his previous efforts would go to waste.

In fact, initially, Yang Yu had considered ignoring the fatigue of Bai Jin and Iyas, and forcefully leading them to continue the strategy.

But watching Calugada depart, Yang Yu didn’t hesitate too much and chose to rest on the spot, waiting for the two to fully recover their stamina before restarting their adventure.

With the map in hand, Yang Yu quickly found the next hidden passageway symbolizing "Death," killed the Ghosts within, and gently touched the end wall to trigger the next hint.

This time, a section of text appeared on the wall.

"’Human’ in ancient language."

As it turned out, Yang Yu had somewhat underestimated the difficulty of navigating the maze.

So the maze actually required answering questions, in ancient language, no less.

Yang Yu handed the map to Bai Jin, "Bai Jin, what do you think on this map resembles the ancient writing for ’human’ the most?"

"Here," Bai Jin replied without hesitation, and drew a circle on the map. "My master taught me that humans are beings that support one another, so in ancient language, it is depicted this way."

Glancing at the location Bai Jin had circled, indeed, the pattern resembled two people supporting each other.

It was a shot in the dark. Walking backward through the area Bai Jin had indicated, a new hidden passageway indeed appeared before them.

Entering, they dispatched the Ghosts, touched the wall, and a new question presented itself.

Bai Jin explained the parts that were unclear to him, and Yang Yu suddenly realized that her breadth of knowledge was not something that could be matched by just any village girl.

Along the way, there was a brief interlude when, en route to a certain area, Yang Yu passed another "6" shaped area on the map.

Out of curiosity, Yang Yu made a detour and entered the hidden passageway, only to find it devoid of any Ghosts.

This was a rather dangerous signal, indicating that someone had already been here. Perhaps, they had also begun to tackle the labyrinth like Yang Yu.

With their team, they hastened their pace and defeated eight Ghosts in a row. Afterward, no more questions appeared on the walls, only a vast painting.

Comparing it to the map, the painting covered almost half of it, and at the end of the painting was the staircase they had used to enter.

Without much thought, Yang Yu immediately led Bai Jin and Iyas along the path, toward the real "Gate of Death."

As they stepped onto the staircase, the steps suddenly sank, and the ascending stairs slowly turned downwards, stretching into the pitch-black depths below.

"I say, it’s better not to go in."

Looking at the staircase that seemed to have no end, Iyas shuddered, feeling as if something might suddenly emerge from the end of the staircase and swallow her whole.

Iyas involuntarily stepped back but bumped into an invisible wall.

The invisible wall seemingly divided two worlds completely. One side life, the other death.

"We’ve come this far, which means there’s no turning back now."

"Your expression doesn’t look like someone with no way out at all, even though it’s so terrifying! Why do you still look so excited?"

Because getting this far means everything I thought was not wrong.

Yang Yu’s smile grew wider, and Iyas felt goosebumps all over her body; she looked at Bai Jin, hoping to find some resonance with her, but Bai Jin also wore an extremely strange smile.

"Hey hey, in such darkness, I can smell the deep scent of death. There’s definitely something dark lurking here, and as a Curse Mage, I just love such environments. What could be waiting for us ahead? I’m really looking forward to it! Maybe I’ll seize a new way to become stronger!"

Bai Jin and Yang Yu simultaneously looked up, exuding an extremely ominous aura.

"Iyas, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and follow us!"

Hearing this, Iyas almost fell down the stairs.

In the end...

Left with no choice, Iyas too followed Yang Yu and Bai Jin into the darkness.

She carefully grasped the sleeve of Yang Yu’s right side, trembling as she followed behind him, while Bai Jin’s left side was also held tentatively by her.

"That, I can understand about Iyas, but you, Bai Jin, a Curse Mage, afraid of the dark? Besides, if you’re afraid, can’t you just whip up a ’Fireball Technique’ to light the way?"

"Don’t push it." Bai Jin’s reaction was now no different from an ordinary girl’s. "I’ve tried, but my lips quiver so much, I can’t focus enough to chant the magic."

Yang Yu felt helpless; this place was different from the "Darkness" he’d traversed before, it was pitch-black. The only source of light was the occasional Blue Ghost that appeared on the path.

Somewhat fatally, those Blue Ghosts would instantly self-destruct when Yang Yu got close, turning into tiny sparks that entered their bodies, continuously enhancing the effect of "Touch of Death".

It was good, but without the ghosts, there was nothing left that could serve as a light source.

Fortunately, the passage was not long. The deeper they went, the more ghosts appeared, and the brighter the passage became.

Finally, when the effect of "Touch of Death" on Yang Yu soared to +10000% damage, they arrived at the end of the road.

Unlike before, when Yang Yu touched the wall at the end, his hand was caught by an invisible force, and ultimately, he, along with Iyas and Bai Jin, were completely pulled through the wall by this force.

Beyond the end, there was an entirely enclosed room with pristine white walls all around. The ceiling light made the room bright as day. In the center of the room, a Bull-headed Monster wearing Japanese samurai armor was slowly disappearing into particles of light.

Beside it was an adventurer team of seven.

Piles of Gold Coins and Equipment had fallen from the Bull-headed Monster, and the greedy adventurer team immediately pounced on them.

The seven-person team noticed the arrival of Yang Yu and his companions. A warrior with purple short hair smugly gestured to Yang Yu, "Although you also found the hidden passage, sorry! We got here before you, defeated the monster, so all the spoils of war here are ours!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than one of the team members picked up a strange ring from among the Gold Coins and handed it to the warrior with the purple hair.

Upon closer inspection, the ring was shaped like a snake biting its own tail. At the head of the ouroboros was a peculiar button...