Chapter 004: The Labyrinth

Elvis stood at the entrance of the courtyard. Though furious, he seemed to retain a sliver of composure as he carefully observed everything inside.
The courtyard was covered in freshly turned soil, and a sweet fragrance filled the air, giving people a sense of relief. Yet Elvis wasn’t focused on that. After confirming there were no ambushes inside, he rushed to the cottage in a few strides and sneered at the inside, “Du Fan, I’m here now. Are you planning to come out and die on your own, or shall I go in and drag you out?”
“Oh, it’s Lord Elvis.”
Du Fan grabbed another magical device in front of the crystal ball and spoke with flattery.
The device resembled Du Fan’s microphone from his past life. Its function was to use a magic array to transmit his voice from this basement to the outside. When this place was set up, Chenchen had been puzzled by Du Fan’s various strange requests, but she said nothing and fulfilled them all.
So now, what had seemed useless before showed its true purpose.
Even if the ten greatest magi of the Roland Continent gathered here, they would likely marvel at such a use of magic.
“Since you’re here, why not come in and sit? I’m praying right now and don’t have time to keep you company.”
Du Fan’s voice came through again.
Hearing this voice that seemed to come from nowhere, Elvis couldn’t help but frown. This Du Fan was indeed not ordinary—using such tactics.
After pondering for a moment, Elvis snorted coldly. He raised his hand, his combat energy surging, then swung his palm sharply toward the building. With that move, the once seemingly indestructible house collapsed like rotten wood.
Dust filled the air for a moment, and even the tall tower behind the house collapsed as well. No one could have imagined that this building, built just a few months ago, would be destroyed like this.
Chenchen suddenly smiled softly, “Du Fan, is this why you asked me to remove all the magic arrays from the house?”

“That’s not the case either.” Du Fan touched his nose. “Since I’ve decided to spare his life, how could I let your dangerous magic arrays scare him away? You know, I don’t have the ability to chase after him, and if he runs away, I’ll probably not be able to live in peace at Roland Academy in the future. There’s no choice—for better days ahead, it’s worth suffering a little this time. Otherwise, do you think I’d be willing to destroy my own house? Well, enough talk. He must have noticed by now.”

Inside the crystal ball, Elvis stared coldly at the ruins below, then waved his hands a few times in front of him. Under the power of his combat energy, the houses that had already turned into debris were blown to one side, revealing a dark hole among the ruins.

“Du Fan,” Elvis sneered, “don’t even think about hiding in this pathetic hole and trying to kill me with some traps inside.”

“Huh? When did you become so smart?” Du Fan’s voice came from all directions. “But since you’re so smart, you probably won’t come down to settle accounts with me, right? Listen, Elvis, you can just leave. Don’t worry—I’ll have all the commoners in the capital announce tomorrow that I beat you into a pig’s head and made you kneel and beg me all night before I spare your life.”

Elvis grinned viciously. “Du Fan, you don’t need to mock me. Even if there are just a few traps inside, even if it’s a sea of knives and fire, if I don’t take your life today, I definitely won’t give up.”

Actually, Elvis did have some confidence. With his sixth-level combat energy, he had already sensed that although there were some traps in the basement below, there were no magical ones. For him, as long as it wasn’t a magical attack, his skills were enough to handle anything.

Moreover, this basement, which was clearly built hastily, probably had limited-powered traps even if any existed.

With this thought, Elvis searched in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a fiery red magic stone and holding it in his palm. Then he stepped forward toward the hole.

“Well, it seems Lord Elvis is quite brave… I’m really scared now. Be careful, though. If you get even a scratch, your cheap dad will be heartbroken for days, right?”

This time, Du Fan’s voice came from deep within the hole, filled with mockery.

Elvis let out a groan and said through gritted teeth, his face cold: “Du Fan, I’ll show you right away what it means to live a life worse than death!”
“Sorry!” Du Fan’s voice came through again. “Personally, I’d rather show you why the flowers are so red!”
Elvis felt frustrated, knowing he was no match for Du Fan in a fight. He could only walk away in silence.
Under the light from the magic stone in his hand, Elvis stepped forward. The first section of the stairs wasn’t dangerous, but Du Fan’s voice kept coming through, driving him crazy.
“Ah, Lord Elvis, don’t step on that one by your left foot.”
“Oh, dear Elvis, don’t walk so fast—there’s a net going to fall from above you…”
“Good heavens, little Elvis, you’re so careful! Then my traps won’t work at all…”
Elvis grew more and more annoyed, feeling as if countless flies were buzzing around him. But since he had no way to silence Du Fan until he found him, he could only endure it silently. Out of spite or something, every time Du Fan spoke, Elvis instinctively did the opposite of what he said. Soon, he realized that although he was wandering around like a lost fly in the basement, he hadn’t encountered any traps at all. This made him even more convinced that there were no traps there.
If there was any trap at all, it was probably Du Fan’s endless chatter.
Watching Elvis, who had once seemed calm, become increasingly out of control, Chenchen, who was still happily performing her one-man show, felt extremely frustrated. She believed that even if it were her in that situation, she would likely lose control too.
“What, do you think I’m despicable?” Du Fan glanced at Chenchen and, unusually, put down his magic device. “But it’s not my fault. As long as I can win, any means are necessary. I’ve understood that since I was young. You can’t disagree with that, right?”
“Of course not,” Chenchen sighed. “Have you forgotten already? Our fates have been tightly linked since the beginning. So no matter what you do, I won’t object. I just think Elvis is a bit pitiful.”

“Pitiful,” Du Fan sneered. “If it’s not him who’s pitiful now, it must be me. Being kind to the enemy is being cruel to oneself. Chenchen, you must remember this well. Enough about that— the maze on the first floor can probably no longer trap him. The real show has just begun now.”
Chenchen smiled bitterly to herself. Having such a master really did bring a lot of surprises to life.
…
Elvis had forgotten how long he had been wandering around this place. This seemingly small basement made him feel like he had been running around inside it his entire life. Eventually, Elvis had to admit that he must have fallen for Du Fan’s trick. This place was clearly a maze. If it weren’t for Du Fan’s constant noise, he would have realized this long ago.
Thinking of this, Elvis couldn’t help but punch the wall.
At that moment, Du Fan’s voice came through again, “Hey, you can’t hit that place!”
But Elvis’s subconscious already acted against Du Fan’s orders. Hearing Du Fan say he couldn’t hit it, he swung his fist even harder. Even a few streaks of combat energy flashed out.
“Boom—”
A gap appeared in the thick wall, but suddenly Elvis’s expression changed drastically. A barrage of arrows shot out from the gap. Although these arrows were made of wood, each one was pitch black. Clearly, they were coated with some kind of poison. Even with Elvis’s confidence, he knew that the poison Du Fan had used was by no means simple.
Elvis didn’t dare to confront them head-on. He darted backward, but his earlier punch, like a domino effect, triggered mechanisms all around. Perhaps it should be said that there was only one mechanism on this floor—the dense swarm of poison arrows that almost filled the entire basement.
Elvis roared and wrapped himself in a layer of tangible combat energy, blocking all the arrows aimed at him. But he knew he couldn’t hold out much longer. Gritting his teeth, he swung his fist downward.