Volume 1 Chapter 498

Chapter 498: The Big Fan Meeting!

Although the dark door was in the wall, and the walls of this maze were generally only about half a meter thick…

In an ancient ruin with a clear and developed system of spatial magic, it is extremely unwise to estimate the size of a space based on distances measured by the naked eye.

After Lolth was pulled by Luge into the open dark door, the remaining seven members of the Victory Mercenary Corps rushed in, but still felt no crowding at all.

After entering the dark door, in a pitch-black room, Lolth could judge by the echo of footsteps…

This room was at least as big as her own master bedroom in the abyss.

Then, as everyone entered, the dark door behind them closed silently once again.

The whole room fell into complete darkness.

After Lolth used her Magic Perception to confirm that everyone was still quite healthy, she crawled up from the ground.

"Do all the trap rooms not even have a single light?"

Lolth couldn’t help but ask.

"No, every trap room has a different theme and also offers rewards," Luge replied to Lolth in the dark. "Last time, Evan and Cliff fell into one…"

"The main trap in that room was heating," Evan replied. "In the end, it got so hot that Cliff and I ended up without our clothes, and then suddenly we were given a big pile of food each and bounced back out!"

Upon hearing Evan’s answer, Luge seemed to recall some unpleasant memories and sighed.

"Honestly, Evan, you should lose some weight! Even as a spellcaster, you have too much extra flesh!"

Lolth could easily guess what kind of scene that must have been at that time.

However, based on her understanding of the Ailuo race’s "trial," she thought Evan might have gotten the cause and effect mixed up.

The main purpose of this thing should be to make people take off their clothes and then shoot them away.

It probably isn’t very related to testing their ability to withstand high temperatures.

This, instead, gave Lolth a feeling of "Ah, this is what the Ailuo race is all about."

It turned out that this Final Trial wasn’t that serious or different after all!

Just as Lolth was thinking this, she suddenly felt a strange sensation beneath her feet.

It seemed that some magical liquid was seeping up from the floor, forming a thin layer of liquid.

But this liquid was too thin to feel like it was soaking.

It was as shallow as the water flowing on a wet ground when it drizzles.

Lolth felt a bit surprised by this.

"Wow… everyone watch your step!"

She could sense the magic in the liquid, which seemed to have a special kind of aggression.

However, she did not feel any threat from it.

Soon, she understood what this aggression was aimed at.

This liquid was breaking down things that had no magic or life!

And the thing on her foot…

Was, of course, a shoe!

Soon, everyone’s shoes were "eroded," melting and mixing with the magic essence, flowing into the liquid.

"Oh oh oh—"

"My shoes, my shoes!"

"Darn it, I just spent twelve silver coins on those thick-soled boots!"

"What kind of trial is this?"

"Evan is taking off his clothes over there, and here we are barefoot?"

Luge and the other mercenaries also realized their shoes and even the hems of their pants were disappearing, showing puzzled expressions.

Many people had expensive shoes, and some even cried out in distress.

But soon, the liquid that had corroded everyone’s shoes quickly receded.

The ground became dry again.

But…

It was no longer hard.

A soft feeling appeared under everyone’s feet.

Accompanied by a "puff, puff" sound, the floor seemed to release some fine dust that stuck to everyone’s soles.

Then, the soft floor continued to change…

Getting fluffier and fluffier!

And the floor began to roll in a rhythmic wave.

When a fluffy thing starts to roll under your feet…

You will feel very itchy.

In an instant, Lolth realized something was wrong.

"Oh, this is the trap!"

She shouted loudly and expanded her Magic Perception.

At the same time, Lolth understood what the powder under her feet could do.

It increased skin sensitivity, and it was also something like "itchy powder."

Without hesitation, she jumped up, wanting to get close to the wall to press herself against it.

But it was too late.

The information from her Magic Perception sadly revealed something to Lolth…

The walls around her were the same fluffy material as the ground.

Light, fluffy feather-like sensations brushed against everyone’s feet, combined with a sensitivity that increased about fifty times, making everyone feel like they were being shocked.

"Hahahahahaha!"

"It’s so itchy! It’s so itchy!"

"Help!"

A burst of laughter erupted in the dark room.

Because it was too itchy, some mercenaries even fell to the ground, rolling around.

But they quickly realized it was not a wise thing to do.

Even though they were wearing clothes…

The powder still seeped through their clothes and touched their skin.

After that, through their clothes, the tickling caused by those little things still worked!

Even wearing armor did not help… because there are gaps in the armor!

The little things on the ground were small enough to get into the joints and cause trouble.

Also, because of the presence of these powders, everyone could not use any magical powers.

This is a test of willpower.

Soon, everyone in the room started rolling on the floor.

Among the loud laughter and breathless words, there was great pain as everyone bumped into each other.

Suddenly, a voice screamed out.

"Who the heck bit my foot?"

Although it is common to roll around and bump into each other, getting bitten is different.

Even though everyone was about to lose consciousness from the intense itching, they still perked up their ears.

Soon, another mercenary’s angry shout was heard.

"Nonsense, you kicked your foot into my mouth!"

And soon… the first mercenary to scream made a surprised sound.

"Wait—where you bit me doesn’t itch anymore!"

"What is happening?"

In the darkness, a slurping sound suddenly echoed.

Moments later, Evan’s heavy breathing was heard.

"It’s saliva—saliva can make the powder’s effect disappear!"

"And the spot that got saliva on it won’t feel itchy anymore!"

"Wait… I’ll try again!"

"Body fluids work too!"

"The sweaty parts won’t be itchy either!"

No one knew what Evan did.

But there is no doubt that Evan is great.

He found the solution.

Luge heard this and instantly understood, so he shouted out loud!

"Everyone started to move quickly and sweat!"

"Then they rubbed the sweat all over their bodies!"

"Where the sweat couldn’t reach, saliva would help!"

"They looked for teammates nearby to rub against each other!"

After saying this, she rolled over to another woman in the group, a Superlative Level female warlock, except for herself.

"Let’s press our backs together! Seli!"

"Understood, Captain!"

The sound of fabric rubbing together was heard.

With the captain leading, the other male mercenaries also let loose!

They paired off in twos and started rubbing against each other!

In the corner, Lolth bit her teeth to stop herself from making any noise, so as not to make everyone feel worse with her Succubus clan’s laughter, while she quietly covered her head.

Even though she couldn’t see the scene, just hearing the sounds was scary enough.

She almost thought she had returned to the Succubus clan.

Moreover, Luge and that female warlock seemed quite reserved.

Those male mercenaries clearly started making "slurping" sounds as they licked each other!

She really wanted to say…

Can’t you solve this on your own?

Don’t you just need to move around more and sweat like rain to fix it?

Of course, everyone really doesn’t have much energy to move around and sweat, because when you are itching, you hardly have any strength.

But at least you should solve it with your own saliva!

Even if not everyone can lick their own soles like Maider, you can spit, right?

Spit on your hands and then touch your whole body, isn’t that possible?

Lolth thought quietly, and at that moment, surprised voices came from the pairs of mercenaries.

"It’s not itchy at all now!"

"Wait… there’s a force pulling us, we’re going out!"

The mercenaries’ surprised voices came, and then Lolth felt in the darkness, one by one, the mercenaries were thrown out of the room by some kind of repelling force!

It wasn’t from the usual door, but a door opened on the other side.

The appearance of something being "spit" out together with a person!

Lolth found this quite interesting.

"Is this the ‘reward’?"

She could feel that what was being spit out was probably some kind of magic device.

For these mercenaries, it could be considered a good reward.

The mechanism in this room must really test everyone’s ability to endure itching.

So, once they no longer feel any itch, they will probably be kicked out.

Lolth thought about this while trying hard to keep moving and sweating, so she could wash off the dust stuck to her.

However, gradually, Lolth began to realize that some bad things were happening.

This is the body structure of a succubus, which is actually quite different from that of a human.

For example…

A succubus can choose not to sweat.

After all, in some situations, whether to sweat or not is a matter of personal preference for many people.

But Lolth would not choose to stop herself from sweating in this situation.

However, what is having a significant effect on her now is another characteristic of a succubus.

That is…

For a succubus, itching is actually a kind of "reward."

She might feel a bit uncomfortable, but no matter what, the itching will never become unbearable for her.

But this is not something Lolth can accept.

She just has more time than others…

Because if this keeps going on, she feels she will soon struggle to control her succubus instincts.

As she itched, she felt her tail becoming uncontrollable.

The pink patterns under her skin slowly began to appear.

"I need to get out of here quickly."

But even so, Lolth did not want to spit on herself.

This is also because of the nature of succubi.

In a "heat" state, a succubus’s saliva becomes sweet and fragrant.

She must not think about how she will smell "tempting" after going outside.

Whether these mercenaries would be influenced by her is another matter…

If any monsters come smelling her scent, that would be bad!

Lolth thought this and continued to speed up her activity.

Although the sweat of a succubus is also literally "fragrant,"…

At least this smell won’t linger.

Lolth thought this and started doing planks on the floor there.

The only silver lining is that she usually doesn’t exercise much, so just a little movement can make her sweat!

While Lolth was working hard to sweat, the other mercenaries had already cleaned themselves efficiently in pairs and returned to the maze.

At the same time, inside the maze, not far from where the mercenaries came out.

Yi also looked at the bearded demon flower in front of her, with all its tendrils cut off by her sword, and showed a thoughtful expression.

Even though her power was suppressed to Elite Level, cutting the roots of a Superlative Level monster was not difficult for her.

So, after encountering this Superlative Level bearded demon flower, she only needed to twist it a little before cutting off all the parts that could threaten and attack her.

Challenging a higher level is never easy, but for Yi also, the master of Clean Spring Palace and a genius of the Seven Kingdoms…

She had really killed a Superlative Level monster when she was at Elite Level, let alone now when she is only suppressed to Elite Level.

Of course, if she still had her original strength, with one swing of her sword, she could turn this thing to pieces.

However, the bulging shape of the flower bud made Yi also feel that maybe it was a good thing she didn’t crush it with one sword.

"It seems like there are still some people who haven’t been digested… they should still be alive, right?"

Yi murmured this as she stepped forward and used the long sword still wrapped in white cloth to slice open the helpless bud of the bearded demon flower.

A sticky liquid flowed out, and two small girls, Qiong and Julie, rolled out from inside.

Not only were they alive, but they also had their minds clear.

"Cough—cough cough!"

Julie and Qiong both began to cough violently, spitting out a large amount of mucus.

"Really… too careless."

Qiong sighed and said.

She and Julie were indeed a bit unlucky.

They had not even realized that their powers were suppressed before they fell onto a cluster of bearded demon flowers.

Even if I use all my strength to hurt some of them, I still cannot escape the fate of being eaten.

"Thank you, Lord Yi also."

Julie slightly bowed and said.

"You’re welcome, it was just a small effort."

Yi also nodded slightly and replied.

Soon, a rustling sound could be heard around.

"Damn it — you scared me to death!"

Suddenly, waves rippled on the wall, and a girl’s figure appeared.

"If even you, Yi also, lose, I will really have to think about whether to intervene."

Lalea patted her chest and said.

"You have been here all along."

Yi was surprised for a moment, clearly she did not notice Lalea’s presence.

"Is this an illusion spell?"

Then, she couldn’t help but start to complain.

This was quite similar to the disguise technique of the assassins in their Eastern Seven Kingdoms Sneaker.

"We are both Elite Level, so of course, you couldn’t find me."

Lalea waved her hand and said.

"I have done deep research on Elite Level and Superlative Level… After all, for a long time, I have been pretending to be Elite Level and Superlative Level to make that annoying ‘Father King’ think I am useful but not a burden!"

"Whether it is disguise or investigation, just leave the next part to me."

Lalea said confidently, spreading out her Magic Perception.

However, she truly had not seen Lolth’s perfect Elite Level.

If she had seen it, she probably would not have had such confidence.

Earlier, when Lolth played the role of an Elite Level warrior woman, she seemed a bit careless for various reasons.

Now, the other girls, besides Lolth, also had a small gathering in front of the bearded demon flower.

Just when Yi was about to say something, Lalea suddenly raised an eyebrow.

"Oh—wait a minute, we really found something."

She looked to her right side.

"Over there… there are one, two, three, four… a total of eight people."

"They don’t look like the natives of the maze; their breath and extraordinary energy are a bit unstable, probably because they have experienced battles."

"As for their strength… they are not being suppressed, there are two Epic High Levels among them."

She looked at Yi also.

Clearly, below the Elite Level, Yi also is still the strongest in terms of combat power.

"Should we go take a look?"

She was asking for Yi also’s opinion.

Qiong and Julie had just been saved by Yi also, so they naturally had no objections to his decision.

Yi also thought for a moment, then asked.

"Do you think they look like cultists?"

"Not really, their team is well-organized, and there is no chaotic atmosphere, like a mercenary group that accidentally wandered here… If they were cultists, they wouldn’t need to pretend here, right?"

After thinking, Lalea answered Yi as well.

Upon hearing this, Yi nodded.

"Well… let’s go take a look then."

"We can certainly check out ordinary mercenaries."

As Yi said this, she tightened her grip on the long sword still wrapped in white cloth and walked towards the corner on the right.

The group of four also grew more alert.

Even though they are only Elite Level now…

But who doesn’t know what epic strength is?

A regular Epic High Level might still have the power to fight.

However, after turning the corner, Luge, Evan, and others immediately noticed the newcomers.

They looked in Yi also’s direction, and Yi also looked back at them.

The two groups locked eyes.

Yi also hadn’t said anything yet; instead, Julie spoke first.

"’Beast’ Luge… the one who has won?"

Julie showed an expression of surprise.

Luge also noticed Julie.

"Fish Eye’s ‘Shadow Spike’ Julie… Wait, where are your team members? I don’t recognize anyone next to you!"

Luge said unexpectedly.

"I got separated from my team… But there are still some ‘Fish Eye’ members around!"

As Julie said this, she proudly stepped aside to reveal Qiong, who had quietly put on a hood to hide her beast ears.

But the small size, black hair, and bright-colored eyes…

Quickly caught Luge’s attention.

"Could this be… could it be ‘Qiong’?!"

Luge’s voice trembled slightly.

In South Sotua, when first-class and second-class mercenaries meet, they often use a nickname plus their name along with their mercenary group name, to show friendliness and respect.

However, there are some "top" mercenaries who do not need to be called by their nicknames.

Because their names are louder than any nickname.

But such mercenaries are extremely rare.

Sometimes, a generation may not have even one such mercenary.

And "Qiong" is undoubtedly one of these mercenaries.

When she heard Luge’s words, she nodded slightly.

"That’s right… it’s me."

"The former member of Fish Eye, ‘Qiong’."

She pulled down her hood and said.

"Oh no, Qiong is still wanted by the authorities…"

Lalea quietly took out a small staff from her sleeve and spoke softly to Yi as well.

Yi also remembered this when she heard those words.

It seemed she had heard that the legendary mercenary from South Sotua, "Qiong," went missing after being wanted for colluding with the demon race.

But since there was a succubus in their team, the danger from this wanted person seemed a bit less serious.

This made everyone instinctively overlook that point.

Now, with Lalea’s reminder, they finally remembered.

Although Yi also only had a grudge against the cultists…

But there is still Qiong here!

The mercenaries from South Sotua mostly wished to hand her over to the authorities.

At that moment, the victorious vice-captain Evan rushed over!

Yi was also startled.

But she instinctively felt it.

Although Evan had an extraordinary aura…

There was not a trace of hostility or killing intent.

Can a mercenary really hide their killing intent so well?

Yi hesitated.

She reached for her sword, but it was a bit slow.

In that moment of hesitation, Evan was let through!

Evan dashed straight ahead, leaping past Lalea’s Fireball and dodging Julie, who had spread her arms to block him.

And then…

With a smooth slide, he knelt gracefully right in front of Qiong.

"Lord Qiong!!"

Evan shouted with tears in his eyes.

"I am your fan!!!"

"When I was still an Elite Level research academy warlock, I heard your adventure stories!"

"It was your stories that made me become a mercenary!"

"I have always looked up to you as a role model!"

"Could you please give me your autograph?"

"Or could you use your best Shadow Magic to leave a mark on my warlock robe?"

Evan said loudly!

Then, three of the remaining seven members of the Victory Mercenary Corps also jogged over, shouting as they ran.

"Lord Qiong, we are also your fans!"

"Please make one for us too!"

Everyone shouted, leaving the knowledgeable and calm Qiong frozen on the spot.

Even Luge, although still holding onto the dignity of being the leader of the Victory Corps, did not run over directly.

But the excitement on her face also showed…

She was incredibly happy to see Qiong!

But at the same time…

Luge also had a hint of doubt in her heart.

How strange…

It’s one thing that Julie has become Elite Level; after all, that little girl has a powerful Shadow Magic…

What about Qiong?

And the other two little girls, are they Elite Level too?

Could it be… they are like that succubus?