Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree

[Daily Quest: Demon Maze]

[Quest Objective: Clear the demons in the Demon Maze, find the palace where the Seventh Demon God is sealed, and defeat Demon God Azazel]

[Refresh Time: 1 day]

[Scene Level: 40+]

[Drop Rewards: Advanced Job Change Slot, Lucky Treasure Chest]

...

*A daily quest?*

*Seeing the task description appear in her vision, Meng Zhihan paused slightly.*

*This time, the task seemed different from before.*

*There was even a refresh time?*

*And the rewards were not task rewards but drop rewards?*

*It sounded like another instance that could be repeated similarly to Shadow Space, but this one had a higher entry barrier.*

*Looking at the system message, Meng Zhihan's mind was filled with thoughts.*

She thought for a moment and looked at Divine Favored Zero,

"So, Lord Ling, how many people are needed for this task? And... how do we get to the Demon Maze?"

Upon hearing Meng Zhihan's inquiry, Divine Favored Zero's expression turned serious as she replied,

"This task has no specific number of participants required, and all Chosen Ones heading to the maze will automatically accept this task. Considering the large number of demons, it is recommended for Chosen Ones to team up."

"Furthermore, the location of the Demon God Palace changes constantly, and not everyone might find the palace in the Demon Maze."

"Only the Chosen Ones who find the palace can enter and defeat the Seventh Demon God, obtaining the richest drop rewards, and depending on the number of Chosen Ones entering the palace, the strength of the Seventh Demon God will vary accordingly..."

"Once the Seventh Demon God is successfully defeated, the palace will disappear, and the seal's power will be strengthened."

"The refresh time for the palace is midnight on the second day of Segis time. After the second day, the Demon God Palace will reappear in the maze, allowing Chosen Ones to search for and defeat the Seventh Demon God repeatedly, thus strengthening the seal."

"As for how to get to the Demon Maze..."

Divine Favored Zero paused for a moment and said,

"The Demon Maze is located at the base of the World Tree. I have set up a teleportation array next to the Life Temple on the World Tree that leads directly there, allowing transmission to the front of the Demon Maze."

"Inside the Demon Maze, there is no sense of direction, and all maps will become ineffective. However, if one wishes to leave, they only need to find a quiet place and silently recite the Goddess's revered name to return to the surface."

"Additionally, due to the presence of abyssal forces within the Demon Maze, only Chosen Ones blessed by the Mother Goddess can be immune to the Demon God's temptation, and thus, no entities other than the Chosen Ones are permitted to enter the maze."

Having finished speaking, Divine Favored Zero traced a symbol of the Life Scepter across her chest and slightly nodded,

"Chosen One, I wish you success."

...

After acquiring the information about the [Demon Maze] from Divine Favored Zero, Meng Zhihan immediately decided to explore this instance.

She did not disclose this information immediately but planned to check it out alone first.

*Since she had advanced to silver, she gained much confidence in her strength.*

*Not hoping to clear it entirely, but she was somewhat confident in scouting ahead and returning safely.*

Following Divine Favored's guidance, Meng Zhihan easily found the teleportation array near the Life Temple on the World Tree.

She took a deep breath and stepped into the array.

Amid a pale green glow, Meng Zhihan felt the world spinning, and her vision abruptly changed.

When her sight returned to normal, she had been teleported to the base of the World Tree.

Surrounding her were entwined and robust roots, and in front of Meng Zhihan was a huge black and red stone gate.

The gate was made up of tall pillars, carved with various flamboyant demon statues. Inside was pitch black, seemingly leading to another space, and faintly, monstrous growls could be heard echoing from within.

This was the Demon Maze.

Feeling both anticipation and caution, Meng Zhihan adjusted her state and stepped through the gate.

As she stepped in, the girl's vision shifted once more.

She found herself in a gigantic maze, its walls constructed of black and red stone, with flickering candles lit at intervals, casting dim, eerie shadows.

Upon looking back, Meng Zhihan noticed that the door she came through had disappeared. It was as if she had traversed space, landing directly within the maze.

"Interesting."

She muttered to herself and cast a [Lighting Technique], beginning to explore the maze.

After taking just a few steps, she spotted a monster.

It was a group of short, ugly humanoid creatures, only slightly larger than goblins, with sharp horns and slender red tails.

Upon seeing them, Meng Zhihan immediately recognized their identity.

"They're Flame Demons!"

These monsters were identical to the ones she had previously slain.

This would be easy to handle, as their strength wasn't that high, at most Black Iron Upper level.

Meng Zhihan's eyes lit up, and she instantly activated the [Transformation Ability], turning into a majestic winged dragon.

Taking flight, she dove and unleashed her breath...

Easily freezing the Flame Demons, who had no time to flee, into ice sculptures.

Transforming back, Meng Zhihan returned to her human form and lightly tapped on the ice sculptures.

With a "crack" sound, the ice shattered, and the Flame Demons turned to ashes. Simultaneously, Meng Zhihan received a notification of over five thousand experience points earned.

"Such high experience points!"

*Joy filled Meng Zhihan's heart.*

However, when she saw that her silver rank required several times more experience to advance, needing at least several hundreds of thousands of experience points for each level, she calmed down.

"Advancing levels is getting tougher."

She shook her head gently.

*Feeling a slight pressure, Meng Zhihan planned to continue exploring.*

But just as she was about to leave, she noticed a corner where the Flame Demons had been suddenly burst into shimmering seven-colored light.

The light interwove continuously, eventually forming an illusory treasure chest.

"Is this... a Lucky Treasure Chest?"

Excitement filled Meng Zhihan's heart.

She quickly approached, reaching her hand out towards the chest.

At the moment of contact, the chest emitted a dazzling light and then opened on its own.

A fleeting spatial fluctuation passed, and the chest vanished, leaving a lavish and exquisite longsword in its place.

Upon seeing the longsword, Meng Zhihan's eyes brightened,

"This is... a purple epic Black Iron Upper Weapon!"

*A purple epic Black Iron Upper weapon dropped!*

Even though Meng Zhihan had already advanced to silver and didn't need a longsword as a Druid, weapons of this level were still exceedingly scarce among players, much less valued at twenty thousand contribution points!

"This is amazing! Such generous drop rewards?!"

*Meng Zhihan was utterly thrilled.*

*What a formidable instance!*

*She had not been in here long and already gained over five thousand experience points, along with a weapon equivalent to twenty thousand contribution points!*

To be safe, Meng Zhihan bound the longsword to the system immediately and then happily stored it away.

She then planned to delve further into the maze.

However, just as Meng Zhihan took a few steps forward, a violent gust suddenly roared from behind.

*There was an enemy!*

*Her senses screamed an alert.*

Meng Zhihan swiftly transformed back into a winged dragon, but the being behind her moved even faster.

Before she could complete her transformation, she felt a tremendous force slam into her.

In that instant, Meng Zhihan seemed to hear a crack of bones breaking.

She felt the world spin and was slammed directly to the ground, with pain radiating through her body.

Though Meng Zhihan had lowered her pain sensitivity to 10%, the pain she felt indicated the enemy's attack was genuinely fierce.

This was indeed the case.

With just a single strike, Meng Zhihan noticed her health bar nearly empty, rendering her almost immobile, and she was coughing up blood and fragments of internal organs in large amounts...

Looking back, she finally discerned what had attacked her.

It was a more massive and majestic demon.

Encased in black armor, wreathed in flames, with a strong aura, and wielding a Wolf Fang Club.

This was a Great Demon at least at the strength of a silver rank!

The ambush left the girl critically wounded and near death.

"This... this monster is so strong?"

*Meng Zhihan opened her mouth.*

Seeing Meng Zhihan on the ground, the Great Demon sneered menacingly and lunged toward her.

In response, Meng Zhihan hurriedly recited the Goddess's revered name,

"Praise life, praise nature, praise the great Eve Goddess!"

As she prayed, a light enveloped her, teleporting her away just before the Great Demon could strike her again...