"One day, you will regret it," the Village Chief sighed deeply, "but somehow, I understand."

Rephya tilted her head, puzzled.

The Elf Village Chief revealed a wistful yet relieved smile:

"Perhaps this is why you are the heroes; it's not that you became heroes and then walked this path, but you chose to walk this path, and thus became heroes.

The respected one wanted to tell us this."

"The respected one?"

"One day you will understand. Until then, hone your skills, o brave one."

Then, the old elf and the girl chatted about many things.

They talked about the changes in the outside world, the collapse of the Elf Three Kingdoms, the seclusion of the Elf Race.

Including the numerous changes on the continent after the Dawn Era.

The elder elf sat quietly on the bench, listening to those ancient histories.

He sometimes frowned, sometimes relaxed, sometimes clapped and laughed.

"So in the end, they chose seclusion. Why didn't they make up their minds back then?"

"Alright, alright, the trolls have also found their path, have they?"

"The Locke people are still so crazy; after an expedition to the Star Realm, they can still return to support their own!"

...

As he spoke, his voice gradually lowered.

"What a long journey it has been."

He looked up at Rephya and said:

"Child, forgive this old man for asking you so many questions."

"It's alright, you're an elder after all."

The Elf Village Chief chuckled softly and said:

"It seems the Maze was the Underground City of old."

"The Underground City, isn't that the dangerous area the heroes conquered in fairy tales?"

"That is not a fairy tale; the ancestors of the elves came from the Underground City."

"Was it as dangerous as described in the fairy tales?"

"Of course, unlike the Mazes of your time, the Underground City was a terrifying place that gathered all the power of the Mazes."

"How terrifying could it be?"

The elder elf recalled the ancient texts and softly said:

"According to you, that Saint should be the Extreme Demigod from before the Dawn Era."

"Yes, the Ethereal Emblem textbooks say so."

The original profession level system was replaced by the current Sequence system.

But it can still roughly correspond.

Roughly—

LV1-5→Sequence Nine

LV6-10→Sequence Eight

LV11-15→Sequence Seven

LV16-20→Sequence Six.

Further up, the gap becomes large

LV20-30→Sequence Five

LV31-40→Sequence Four

From an original 5-level increase per sequence, it became a 10-level increase per sequence.

This led to the power gap between Legends, Demigods, and the same sequence possibly being bigger than the gap between a Legend and Sequence Nine.

The most special among them is the Sequence Three Saint.

In the old profession level system, there was no corresponding level for a Saint.

If you had to say something, it could only be vaguely defined as the "most powerful Demigod."

After Rephya explained the general situation, the elder elf stroked his long beard and said:

"Do you have the confidence to become a Saint?"

"Not at all."

"In the ancestor's time, the Underground City's Demon King Army, all members of the Four Heavenly Kings were Saints, with the ability to temporarily break through to Angel, and there were perhaps twenty or thirty Demigod officers under them."

Rephya was very surprised: "With such combat power, most countries couldn't withstand it, right?"

"How could they withstand it? At that time, the entire continent banded together to eradicate them."

The elder elf spoke of that history with inexplicable emotion, but after a moment, he realized:

"Wait, in your era, can a small portion of countries withstand such a Demon King Army?"

He was so surprised that he pulled off a few strands of his beard.

Rephya nodded and said:

"Yes, there are probably around 20 forces that can single-handedly withstand the Demon King Army."

The elder elf was left breathless by this.

Damn, back then, the countries almost emptied their reserves to deal with the Demon King Army.

Now there are actually over twenty forces capable of independently handling the Demon King Army?

He didn't dare imagine what kind of chaos was happening outside the village.

However, he still tried to save face:

"Not only that, back then the commander of the Demon King Army, known as the Demon King, was already an Angel by default.

If strength was raised without regard to cost, it should be closer to what you describe as the Angel King."

Whether or not they could become the Angel King, the elder elf couldn't guarantee.

But becoming an Angel was absolutely no problem.

"That's indeed very strong. Now at most, there are only 2 forces on the continent that can withstand that."

The elder elf said nothing.

Damn, there are forces that can withstand the Angel King too?

And not just one?

Forget it, they better just continue to hide in the village.

He was initially pleased when he saw the chosen brave one, even planning to tell him a secret that could enhance the bravery.

But now it seems, the enhancement would be very limited.

He drooped his head and said:

"If you have time. You could go search for the Jade Forest.

It's a Secret Realm, with the Elf's Secret Treasure hidden inside. Maybe it can help you."

Rephya paused for a moment, a bit embarrassed to say:

"Isn't there lots of Gem Trees in that Secret Realm?"

"Huh? You've seen it."

"Seen it, yes, it's one of the most famous romantic tourist spots in Ethereal Emblem."

She even visited it during her last simulation.

Her senior was such a troublemaker.

He was even there with Aisha, being all romantic back then.

The elder elf let out a dry laugh and said:

"That Elf 's Great Treasure..."

Rephya also chuckled dryly:

"I've been there."

"..."

There was a long silence at the scene.

[The nostalgic Elf Village Chief sent you out of the village. In the blink of an eye, you were back at the canyon scenic area]

[Your disrespectful behavior severely impacted the confidence of a Demigod]

[You remember you haven't visited the Jade Forest this time, and you chose:]

["Senior, let's go find the Great Treasure!"]

The scene unfolds.

"You want to search for the Great Treasure?"

Chloe looked at Rephya in feigned surprise.

Rephya sat on the edge of the hibernation chamber, swinging her little feet and said:

"Yeah, senior, didn't you say there's a Great Treasure in the Jade Forest? Let's go together."

Chloe smiled and said:

"Xiaolu, do you know what kind of place the Jade Forest is?"

"A great place for tourism."

Chloe pinched his brow, feeling both amused and annoyed:

"In the Ethereal Emblem, the Jade Forest is a love sanctuary, not just a place with beautiful scenery."

Rephya paused for a moment, her ears blushed, and then she remembered that last time the senior had invited Senior Sister Fufu.

Only due to various accidents, they became electric bulbs.

She was a bit flustered:

"Anyway, the senior isn't interested in me, we're just going to exploit the Secret Treasure!"

"Yes, yes, you're right."

In the end, Chloe agreed to Rephya's request.

Mostly because seeing Xiaolu blush was quite amusing.

[You went to the Jade Forest and acquired the Special Weapon: Shattered Cloud Sword]

[You were very happy to get your exclusive weapon, but soon your happiness faded]

[Due to rumors spreading in the Fantasy Association and Extreme Association about you and the Demon King going to the Jade Forest together]

[You know the situation has escalated, so you choose:]

[You choose to cling to Senior Sister Fufu's leg, crying, saying you really did nothing]

[Senior Sister Fufu believed you, and for a while after that, you chose to stay away from the Demon King]

["Demon King, please don't come near me, I'm afraid the senior will misunderstand."]

[You said this with your arms akimbo to the Demon King, then cried terribly in the Amber Hall lab that day]

[Your butt was swollen from being hit]

[Extreme Association's research is still advancing in an orderly manner, and soon the second generation of Simulated Earth Divine Pattern Technology emerged]

[In the year you graduated from freshman year, you became the top of the Titan class in the Warrior specialty, with whispers of regaining the Gemini title]

[The following year, you represented the Extreme Association in the Martial God Festival SOLO competition, fiercely advancing to the finals, ultimately losing to the Swordswoman Princess]

[That day you started shedding little pearls again, and the Demon King comforted you as usual]

[You felt useless and raised your head to say sorry, accidentally kissing the Demon King on the lips]

[You ran away in a panic, with guilt, shyness, timidity... a myriad of unknown emotions spreading in your heart]

[You decided:]

[You used the excuse of needing to explore the Golden Maze and fled with a bucket]

[The Golden Maze is a special maze with restricted entry conditions]

[Only adventurers with a brave heart can enter it]

[You learned about this place in the Elf 's Great Treasure, originally planning to find a chance to visit, but the incident led from tourism to fleeing]

[Rumor has it the Golden Maze matches the maze monsters to the adventurer's rank based on their strength]

[The maze even has more than one Maze Loner King, who automatically adjusts their combat power according to adventurer levels]

[You are very curious]

The scene unfolds.

Location: Golden Maze

The Golden Maze is located near the Imperial Capital ruins of one of the original Elf Three Kingdoms [Mysterious Forest].

The once glorious Elf Kingdom has now succumbed to the stormy ravages of time.

Amidst the remnants and ruins, Rephya saw a small adventurer market.

This is a temporary market set up by residents from nearby towns who traveled thousands of miles to this place.

Or perhaps it should be called a booth.

Adventurers from all over the world would temporarily linger in the market.

Of course.

Rephya knew the purpose of these adventurers coming here is not to explore the Golden Maze.

If not for seeing the Elf's record of the Golden Maze in the Great Treasure, she wouldn't have known a hero's treasure is hidden here.

In fact, the Golden Maze is well-known among elite adventurers.

Not as a maze, but as a testing ground.

When elite adventurers have made obvious progress in strength, they would come here to challenge their weaknesses.

But what the weakness exactly is, Rephya didn't know.

Anyway, even if defeated in this maze, there is no life-threatening danger.

However, as she stepped into the maze not long after, what appeared in front of her was a familiar small town.

The wooden stakes outside the house from her childhood.

The swing her dad made for her.

The cotton candy scent wafting from the snack stall.

...

She seemed to return to the carefree town of her childhood.

It's a place she didn't even dare to return to in her dreams.

"...Rephya."

A figure that had left her many years ago appeared in front of her.

The beauty of the woman before her could still barely be seen, despite being eroded by the plague released by Demons.

"...Mother." Rephya murmured, "Long time no see."

The woman stretched out her blackened hand, gently caressing her cheek:

"Rephya, there's really so much I still want to tell you, so much I want to live with you and dad together..."

The rationality in her eyes gradually dissipating, beast-like brutality spreading:

"Rephya, fight."

The Shattered Jade Sword pierced the body of the person who haunted her dreams.

She held her mother's corpse with a smiling face, breaking down in tears.

The first difficulty of the Golden Maze.

The Phantom Ghost replicating the phantoms of her heart's weakness.

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