Last night, Torina called Milora to her room alone to give a detailed explanation about the labyrinth.
In this world, there are seven guardian beasts and numerous myths and legends surrounding them.
One of them, Odin, has always had a mysterious contract with the people of the North, especially the Deville family.
The labyrinth “Niflheim” is named after the misty realm from the myths related to Odin.
“Sounds so cool,” Milora’s eyes sparkled.
“All seven guardian beasts will be yours sooner or later,” Torina said.
“How is that possible, Torina, you’re joking again.”
“It might actually be possible…” The guardian beast summoning and divine beast settings are clearly written by the author to give the Protagonist a cheat.
In the later stages of the original work, you were the boss of all the guardian beasts.
“Legend has it that the elves who founded their nation on Starfall Mountain in ancient times connected with the power of Odin and the initial rune magic through a meteorite from the heavens.
To this day, Niflheim is the place most resonant with runes.”
“Resonance?”
“Once inside, you need to first resonate with the runes, then engrave the source of the rune’s power into your soul.
Runes are essentially a way to communicate with the world to trigger phenomena, a special ‘language.’ Engraving the source into yourself is like having vocal organs.
Only after this process can you use rune magic.”
“What kind of runes will I resonate with?”
“It’s a mutual choice.
First, it has to have a certain affinity with you, and then you choose it, establishing resonance… For example, I have good affinity with thunder, water, and ice runes, and I don’t dislike them, so it worked out.”
“So I have a choice? And I can choose several runes at once?”
“It depends on the compatibility between the runes.
My thunder, water, and ice runes are very compatible with each other, but some very rare and powerful runes might not be compatible with any others… Like the star rune I hope you find, it’s a product of the ancestors’ depiction of the starry sky and the world’s whispers in the universe, theoretically the strongest rune.”
“Sounds amazing!”
“Of course, it’s amazing.”
In the original work, the effect of the star rune is simple and brutal—it’s a big light cannon, a big light cannon that clears the ground, with various massive AOE attacks, symbolizing the purest power crush.
“Remember what I’m about to say, the star rune is likely located in the northwest side of Niflheim.
There’s an inconspicuous stargazing platform ruin there, surrounded by a few dead trees…” Torina explained while recalling the original plot.
In the original work, the location of the runes changes, and the rarer the rune, the harder it is to find, so she must follow the original route.
—————— ——————
Time returns to the present.
Morai opened Niflheim.
Until departure, Anna-veil hadn’t appeared, probably with her family.
Milora and Patty didn’t have time to wait for her.
As soon as Morai said to start, they rushed into the mist with the other contestants.
Patty was just there to accompany, with no interest in rune power.
She just went in to mess around.
Milora, on the other hand, charged into the mist with full energy.
A bone-chilling cold seeped into her organs for a moment, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself inside the labyrinth.
She remembered Torina saying last night—
“The mist of Niflheim has a space-disturbing effect.
When entering the labyrinth, you’ll be randomly teleported to different places, so don’t worry about forming a team.
You’ll definitely be scattered.
The first thing you need to do is confirm your position.”
(Confirm my position…) She took out a compass specially made for her by Torina, navigated through the chaotic mist, and rushed in the direction that was roughly the northwest side of the labyrinth.
Niflheim is a strange place, completely different from the Amana Forest.
The ground is cold frozen soil and rocks, sparse trees are tall but withered and covered in icicles, and the cold wind seems to whisper in one’s ear.
Occasionally, ancient ruins left by the ancestors appear faintly in the mist, mostly dilapidated stone houses, with some long-abandoned altars.
Along the way, there are stone pillars as tall as small buildings, engraved with runes in an incomprehensible language, and some stone-carved murals, long blurred by the erosion of time.
In the distance, the howling of wolf-like monsters can be heard, the increasingly strong wind sounds like the wailing of ghosts, shadows constantly appear and disappear in the mist, and the annoying whispers in the wind become clearer, often creating the sensation of someone blowing cold air in her ear.
With every breath, the damp cold mist is inhaled into the body, slowly and continuously spreading the cold throughout, with no equipment or magic able to resist it.
When the cold, whispers, getting lost, and abnormal magic fluctuations exhaust a person’s spirit, the monsters lurking in the darkness make their appearance.
Rune spirits, werewolves, fear demons… all swarm in to ambush the weary challengers.
Meanwhile, outside the labyrinth—
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!” A piercing scream cut through the sky, and the next second, a large mass of thick mist appeared at the labyrinth’s edge, and a noble lady with a head full of blood fell out of the mist, crying on the ground.
“Medical team.”
Morai said calmly, and the waiting medical staff immediately went over to handle it, with the girl’s family rushing over to check on her.
Before long, another scream, and a young Adventurer covered in blood marks was similarly “spat” out by the labyrinth, receiving treatment.
Such people increased over time, unable to withstand the labyrinth’s environmental interference and monster harassment, being transferred out just before serious injury.
“This year’s batch of challengers isn’t doing well…” Morai muttered.
The essence of runes is the refinement of the world’s whispers.
Just being in Niflheim means passively receiving these whispers, akin to a mental flaying, worsening the longer one stays inside.
(Hmph, that little girl named Milora will be crying to quit soon, right?)
However—
“Hmm, aside from the poor visibility and cold temperature, it doesn’t seem that special?”
Milora was running lightly in the labyrinth, moving swiftly, unaffected by the environment.
This level of cold was uncomfortable but definitely bearable, just grit her teeth and endure it.
The whispering in her ears was automatically ignored as white noise, the system back then was much noisier than this.
As for the monsters waiting to attack exhausted challengers, seeing her always full of energy, they didn’t bother to harass her.
Of course, she’s the Protagonist.
In web novels, the Protagonist is always highlighted for having strong mental/spiritual power in the early stages.
