Dwarf level

Mysterious Passage?

Jiang Han's heart stirred slightly as he surveyed the surroundings. The terrain in his field of vision was not complex, with bright props resembling incandescent lamps illuminating from above. The lighting was ample, but upon closer inspection, numerous passages intertwined, with doors opening and closing, occasionally changing the direction of internal passages.

Additionally, this map resembled a labyrinth, impossible to oversee the entire layout from high above.

"Is this... a maze?" Jiang Han raised an eyebrow, instantly understanding the builder's purpose. "Dwarves excel in forging and construction; the creator of such a maze is undoubtedly a dwarf."

...

"Drip! Drip! Drip!..."

At the same time, in the central location of an underground square, a sphere emitted a flickering red light, accompanied by a rather piercing sound.

Upon hearing the long-lost alarm, dozens of strange-looking humans abandoned their tasks, gathering around. Most of them had robust stature, exaggerated muscles, long bushy beards, and were exceptionally strong, with an overall average height of only one meter three.

"Has an outsider entered the maze?"

"How long has it been? Someone can still find us. Is it accidental discovery through the teleportation array after stumbling upon the stone statue?"

"Sigh, I wonder how the outside world is now..."

...

They chattered away, seemingly without hostility towards the intruder.

A few minutes later, a more robust male dwarf approached. With red hair and beard, clad in armor, he exuded a strong aura, commanding attention.

"Clansmen!"

"Clansmen, my lord!"

The other dwarves respectfully made way for him.

"No need for excessive courtesy."

The dwarf referred to as a clansman stepped forward, touching the sphere. With a swish, a projection emerged from the void, presenting Jiang Han, the intruder, before them.

"With human intelligence, I don't believe he can decipher my maze!" A dwarf confidently stepped forward, boasting, "It took me two years to build that maze, with a total of thirteen paths, intricately connected. The only one that truly leads to our side is just one, and even that path, if taken slightly wrong, will loop back to its original position!"

"So, it's the handiwork of Borwen?"

"Hahaha, that human lad is in for a tough time!"

"I can't wait to see the frustration on his face as he wanders around in circles!"

...

They bantered, causing Borwen, the dwarf responsible for the maze, to puff his chest with pride, a radiant smile adorning his face. For the dwarven clan, skilled in construction and forging, receiving praise from their brethren was no small feat.

"Let's see how he handles it." Borwen feigned humility. "Maybe this lad possesses extraordinary talents and can decipher the meticulously designed maze."

"It's impossible!"

"We all know Borwen's craftsmanship!"

...

On the other side, scanning the thirteen passages, Jiang Han stood still, contemplating for a moment. Riding the Dark Thunder Sky Tiger, he entered the leftmost passage.

"Wrong!"

Borwen, observing the intruder's movements, shook his head, a smile on his face.

Entering the passage, Jiang Han drew the Bloodsucking Sword, leaping upward to pierce a glowing prop resembling an incandescent lamp.

"Sizzle!"

Electric currents flickered as the prop was forcefully destroyed, losing its luminosity.

Afterward, he moved to the next location, but finding it too slow, he had the Dark Thunder Sky Tiger fly against the ceiling. With the Bloodsucking Sword pressed against the top, he smoothly broke all glowing props along the path.

A maze?

Jiang Han shook his head. He would deal with it later; he was too busy lately to indulge in maze games.

...

"..."

The dwarven clan, observing his every move in the square, fell silent for a moment.

"What a clever human lad!" A dwarf clan member exclaimed, praising, "By destroying all the lights, the path that still remains illuminated leads to the exit."

"Sly! He's playing dirty!"

Realizing the trick, Borwen's face turned black, infuriated. He couldn't help but shout, "The purpose of those lights is not for destruction!"

"But his approach can be considered a strategy." The clan leader shook his head.

"I..."

Borwen was speechless, panting heavily, glaring at the screen where the cunning human continued, an expression of unwillingness on his face.

Suddenly, he thought of something, his eyes lighting up. "Right, without the lights, he might not see the way forward!"

...

"Swish!"

With the insight of light, Jiang Han conjured a glowing sphere in his left hand. Such a method didn't require any skill release; with a simple thought, it could be easily achieved.

Watching this scene, Borwen's lips moved, his expression stunned, hopes dashed.

After spending more than ten minutes, with most lights extinguished, Jiang Han successfully reached the exit in the central area, saw the teleportation array, and entered it while riding the Dark Thunder Sky Tiger.

"Ding!~"

System prompt: Please rate the difficulty of this level! (Easy, Normal, Hard, Nightmare)

Another evaluation?

Jiang Han thought for a moment and chose Normal.

"I...!"

Under the gaze of the audience, Borwen once again resisted the urge to curse.

...

"Swish!"

A dense white light emerged as he disappeared from the original location. The scene shifted, and he appeared in a closed, pure white space. Though well-lit, the lighting was exceptionally gentle.

Standing at the back wall, Jiang Han observed his surroundings, puzzled.

"Ding!~"

System prompt: You have entered the map[Mysterious Space]!

Mysterious Space?

It seems there is more than one level; could the just-passed maze be the first level?

"Swoosh!"

Suddenly, a black sphere appeared out of nowhere, shooting towards Jiang Han from the front edge area. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, taking a simple step to the side to easily avoid it.

"Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Without much resting time, two black spheres appeared from the front and swiftly approached.

"Interesting..."

Dodging the black spheres, Jiang Han vaguely understood that the second level was testing evasion skills.

Soon, three black spheres rushed in, still easily avoided.

...

"It seems he has grasped the rules." Dwarf clan leader Xiazuo stroked his red beard, grinning.

"The second level should be from the clan leader's design, right?"

"It's over; I didn't expect to randomly allocate to the clan leader's high-difficulty level. The human lad is in for a tough time!"

They discussed, putting the unpleasantness of the first level behind them.

...

Four!

Five!

The number of black spheres increased, indicating an escalation in difficulty.

Unperturbed, Jiang Han squinted, manipulating the Dark Thunder Sky Tiger to take on one of the black spheres head-on.

"Ding!~"

System prompt: Your mount[Dark Thunder Sky Tiger]has been attacked, losing 20% Toughness!

"Hmph!"

Clan leader Xiazuo, watching the intruder's actions on the screen, snorted and explained to his fellow clansmen, "I knew this cunning lad would cause trouble. Therefore, I designed a total of five lives; if he loses, he has to start over, and the mount is no exception

. Don't think about using the mount to block all the black spheres!"

Avoiding the flying ten black spheres, Jiang Han noticed an increase in difficulty behind him. The path had turned into curves, even bouncing back and forth on the sides until it touched the wall behind would make them disappear.

However, Jiang Han discovered that the cooldown of each attack was lengthening. It seemed the designer considered giving the intruder some rest time.

"That makes it easier."

Using the War Stomp with a cooldown of only thirty seconds, Jiang Han easily dodged.

"A powerful skill!" Xiazuo's expression changed slightly, then returned to calm. "But it's not enough!"

Entering the next difficulty level gave only fifteen seconds of rest time; the real challenge was waiting for him.

"Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Twenty black spheres shot towards him.

Breaking Eight Directions!

Seeing this, Jiang Han wedged himself in a corner, summoning a shadow to block the black spheres.

"He can summon shadows to withstand attacks?"

Xiazuo's breath paused, but he remained composed.

Grip of the Holy Spirit!

A blood-red hand appeared in mid-air, not grabbing but blocking in front of Jiang Han, resisting the next wave of black spheres.

"There's more?" Xiazuo widened his eyes.

Subsequently, using War Stomp, Breaking Eight Directions, and Grip of the Holy Spirit alternately, Jiang Han flawlessly completed the level, creating a teleportation array in the central area.

"Ding!~"

System prompt: Please rate the difficulty of this level! (Easy, Normal, Hard, Nightmare)

"Normal!"

Jiang Han provided his evaluation. "Slightly more challenging than the first level."

"I...!"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Borwen once again suppressed the urge to curse.