Chapter 124: Dark Demon Has Not Glimpsed the Secrets of the Secret Passage
In the temporary absence of any discovered monsters or traps.
The most dangerous aspect of the secret passage was its convoluted paths.
Constantly twisting roads, an excessive number of forks, and an undulating terrain meant that even someone with a strong sense of direction would find it difficult to guarantee they wouldn't get lost if they ventured in.
But when Dark Demon mentioned this, Diana triumphantly pulled out a compass: "Look, I came prepared."
Then she immediately discovered that the compass, much like her brain, was just spinning.
"Haha, looks like it's useless."
Diana quietly tucked the compass away and then pulled out a stack of glowing stickers.
Dark Demon's eyes lit up. He took the stickers from her hand and examined them; this was much more reliable than any compass.
As long as numbers were written on the stickers, arrows drawn, and then stuck to the walls along the way, the risk of getting lost would inevitably be greatly reduced.
Diana watched her stickers being commandeered, her wide eyes narrowing into slits.
Then she followed behind Dark Demon, chewing on a milk candy and sticking stickers, embarking on her first adventure of her student life.
...
The secret passages within St. Marian's Castle were probably experiencing such a large number of simultaneous entrants for the first time.
When the number of students entering the secret passages exceeded ninety-nine, the passages, silent for countless years, finally underwent an unknown change.
And while the students were immersed in exploring the secret passages, the professors were worried sick.
Headmistress Cynthia and Professor Silf had already left the castle to minimize the impact of the recent incident as much as possible.
The remaining professors were somewhat unreliable.
When Professor Thompson of Potions was the first to discover students exploring the secret passages, his face changed drastically, and he hurriedly gathered the other professors.
As a result, once all the professors were assembled, they discovered that the two remaining highest-ranking professors were actually the muscle-brained Professor Jones and the pixie-brained Professor Lily.
Professor Thompson's face immediately fell, and he collapsed onto the sofa.
What to do?
Finally, it was Professor Kazel who spoke: "From the academy's perspective, we should, in principle, not interfere with the students' autonomous exploration. But the dangers of the secret passages are unpredictable. We need to prepare in advance to deal with certain situations, especially the possibility of a large number of students getting lost inside."
Professor Lily Laplace, sitting cross-legged in mid-air, immediately patted her chest and said, "Leave the matter of getting lost to me; it's easy to solve."
Since someone had taken on the biggest problem, the professors felt much more relaxed.
Professor Thompson's complexion also gradually eased: "The secret passages don't have corresponding safety measures like the dungeons. I still think they should be sealed off."
Professor Jones: "This goes against the academy's principles. We can wait for the Headmistress to return before making a decision."
Professor Thompson lowered his voice: "But before that, we can think of other ways."
Professor Jones asked curiously, "What ways?"
Professor Thompson's voice was somewhat gloomy: "Increase homework."
...
The students, still immersed in exploring the secret passages, were unaware of the dire consequences their actions would bring.
Perhaps because more and more people were entering the secret passages, not many cared whether they got lost or not.
They shouted "adventure" but didn't really take it seriously, especially the upperclassmen.
For adventure, one could just go to the dungeons.
A secret passage without even monsters? Let's just treat it as an autumn outing!
Anyway, those with food-series magic cards were very popular.
Even Dark Demon became less cautious after encountering passersby a few times.
Coupled with Diana's "full gear" including a large amount of snacks, they gradually became part of the picnic brigade.
But then again.
Once this mindset shifted, the originally repetitive secret passages became interesting.
Dark Demon gradually discovered that there were truly many talented individuals among the students.
Someone had actually set up signposts at the forks, each marked with a number.
Dark Demon directly drew a map based on these signposts and actually managed to map out a considerable area.
Then, around seven o'clock, he finally found the second landmark from the treasure map: a candelabrum mixed in with the uniform torches.
The base of the candelabrum was an elephant's trunk.
The Valkyrie had actually drawn a vivid little elephant on the treasure map...
"It's only seven o'clock now; looks like there's still a chance to find another landmark."
Dark Demon continued his search with some delight.
And Diana and Rose, having finally made a discovery in the secret passage, felt an excitement as if they had "already found the treasure," appearing even happier than Dark Demon himself.
Venturing deeper.
Dark Demon accidentally encountered the Hero's son duo, noticing Virt clutching that piece of homework paper, running rather hurriedly. He wondered if they had found anything.
Anyway, their treasure maps weren't the same, so Dark Demon didn't pay much attention.
On the way back, however, he saw Emma Metis standing alone in a secret passage, quickly sketching the mural on the wall in her notebook.
Dark Demon saw the sticker on the wall and suddenly noticed this was a place he had been to before.
And at that time, he hadn't seen any murals or anything of the sort!
"Is it a newly appeared mural?"
A thought stirred in Dark Demon's mind. After whispering a few words to Diana and Rose, he also took out his notebook and began to sketch quickly.
Emma glanced at him and said seriously, "I found this first."
Dark Demon nodded quickly: "Okay, if we come to the same research result, your name will be listed first."
"Good." Emma then continued to observe and sketch.
...
Diana leaned against the wall, cracking chocolate-shelled melon seeds, and whispered to Rose as she watched the increasingly focused Dark Demon and Emma, "They're so serious."
Rose hesitated slightly, "Should we learn too?"
Diana was troubled, "Sigh, but even if I draw it, I won't understand it."
Rose fell silent.
She didn't understand it either.
But then she said, "We can look around and see if there are similar murals in the nearby secret passages."
Diana's eyes lit up: "That's right, this way we can help Dark Demon."
She immediately regained her energy.
Rose couldn't help but shake her head and smile, but there was a trace of envy in her expression as she looked at Dark Demon and Emma.
"They're so alike."
...
The secret passage was indeed changing quietly.
Especially after more and more students began to explore this secret passage as if it were a maze, some less desirable changes occurred.
New secret passages appeared within the secret passage.
Mechanical doors leading to other paths appeared on the walls.
Tunnels sliding down to lower levels appeared underfoot.
A Minotaur, with a bull's head and a human body, wielding a battle-axe, stepped out from the wall, a hint of bloodlust in its eyes.
Robert Broheim watched, almost in real-time, as the monster, strikingly similar to Virt's familiar, gradually came into being. He abruptly let out a scream.
...
The secret passage had come alive!
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