As Luo Yan saw the group of three adventurers resting at the entrance of the stairwell from a distance, they finally noticed him and Sarah approaching and quickly got up with their gear.

Luo Yan gave the three people a quick look.

One of them, presumably a bronze-level Swordsman, was wearing light armor and holding a finely crafted single-handed sword that looked quite valuable. Judging by his aura, he seemed to be the leader of the group, his strength probably on par with Amu, who was locked in the Great Graveyard's dark cell.

As for the other two, judging by their attire, one was an archer and the other a mage, both below the level of black iron.

The reason Luo Yan could make such judgments was naturally because Youyou could see the soul level of others.

The highest level these three could achieve was bronze.

And esteemed mages generally wouldn't team up with swordsmen of lower strength than themselves.

With twelve layers of buffs on him, Luo Yan, accompanied by Sarah, walked over leisurely.

"Yo," the leading Swordsman greeted, putting his hand on his sword while amiably introducing himself, "We are Brave Sword, I'm the captain, Alex, nicknamed 'Champion of Strength'. And these are my friends and teammates, 'Bird Catcher' Xiu Wen and 'Fire Starter' Phinis ... and you are?"

Xiu Wen, carrying a bow and arrows, politely greeted Luo Yan, while the somewhat introverted Phinis just nodded as a form of greeting.

Hearing this strange array of titles, Luo Yan became even more certain that this group was a bunch of rookies.

They might even have less adventure experience than the Silver Scimitar, mainly operating in the gray market.

However, he didn't dislike rookie adventurers; after all, they were the nourishment of his own maze.

With a slight cough, he began to speak.

"...We haven't registered a squad yet. I'm Luoluo, and this is Sarah."

Alex smiled and said,

"No registered squad? Why don't you simply join us then?"

Faced with that hearty smile and a half-serious, half-joking invitation, Luo Yan politely declined with a smile, then said,

"By the way, are you resting here?"

"Kind of, but to be precise, we're waiting for someone."

Alex didn't seem disappointed by the rejection, shrugged as if nothing had happened, and still smiling, he said,

"We're planning to go to Mist Town on the fourth floor of the maze for some errands. But as you know, the place is dangerous with lots of hostile monsters. So, we thought about finding other teammates to join us... If it happens to be on your way, that would be great. If not, no worries, we can keep waiting."

It was indeed rare for a team of three to challenge the fourth floor of the maze, especially when the leader was only a bronze.

After thinking for a while and having some matters to understand from them, Luo Yan then nodded and agreed.

"Then let's go together."

Seeing him nod in agreement, the faces of the three lit up with joy, evidently, they had been waiting here quite a long time.

Watching Alex pick up his equipment off the ground, Luo Yan curiously asked,

"Aren't you going to ask about my strength?"

"Why bother asking," Alex grinned, matter-of-factly, "Two people who can make it to this point in the third layer of the maze obviously have strength no less than mine."

"Guh—"

Hearing this bold statement, Sarah almost couldn't help laughing out loud.

However, as several pairs of eyes fell on her, she quickly realized her discourtesy and hurriedly lowered the brim of her hood, muttering an apology to Luo Yan beside her.

Luo Yan didn't seem to mind.

After all, he hadn't taken these three little maze intruders seriously, and it didn't matter if the other party overestimated his strength.

But, seeing how adorable his own cat was, he still smiled and teased,

"You've got the wrong person to apologize to."

"No harm done," thinking Luoluo was speaking up for him, Alex quickly waved his hand nonchalantly, rounded off the situation with a laugh, "It's clear Ms. Sarah respects you a lot... and honestly, I really don't have the confidence to compare myself with such experienced adventurers as yourselves."

Newbies?

Luo Yan took another look at him unexpectedly.

A bronze-level Swordsman.

If his skills were not honed in the maze, then there was only one explanation.

This man was likely a well-educated noble.

As for why his soul level was only bronze, the reasons could be quite diverse.

Either his family wasn't prominent enough, or he wasn't the eldest son.

Considering the man's proper etiquette, Luo Yan became more certain of his guess.

However, he didn't say much, as it wasn't something he was concerned about.

"Please don't say that, I only recently became an adventurer myself, not exactly experienced... let's take care of each other on the road."

Looking at the hand the man extended, Alex, surprised, shook it, then smiled and nodded.

"Indeed, that's the plan!"

Intuition told him that this man's identity might be more complex than he had imagined.

Luoluo, huh?

That must be an alias.

Alex pondered in his mind, but didn't ask further. After all, since the other party didn't probe into his personal matters, it would seem somewhat presumptuous for him to do so.

With the addition of "Luoluo" and Sarah, the Brave Sword adventurer team expanded from three to five members.

Now having two mages, they were ready to tackle the fourth floor of the maze.

The group proceeded down the spiraling staircase for a while and soon crossed an archway, stepping into a misty forest.

Looking at the foggy woods, Sarah's face showed a look of surprise.

"This is... underground?!"

Unlike the pitch-black first two levels of the maze, the murky white light faintly visible in the grey fog resembled a flickering candle in the wind, yet it still increased visibility from two meters to over ten meters.

It felt like a continuation of the Silver Pine Forest.

Apart from the few leaves on the branches, it was almost indistinguishable from the woods outside.

One might even say—

This forest, shrouded in mist, even deserved the name Silver Pine Forest more than the woods outside.

Sarah glanced hastily backward, and what met her eyes was a tower that connected the ground to the sky.

Indeed, it was via this tower that they had descended here from the third level of the labyrinth!

Looking at the easily startled Sarah, The Brave Sword's three adventurers exchanged glances and smiled.

Alex then spoke up.

"Is this Miss Sarah's first time here?"

Sarah eyed him warily and did not speak.

It wasn't until she caught Luo Yan nodding slightly out of the corner of her eye that she reluctantly continued.

"Mmh..."

She had no fondness for humans.

Except for the Demon King.

Alex smiled and cast his eyes toward the forest ahead, continuing with a hint of nostalgia in his tone.

"Actually, when the Demon King was still here, this place was even more magnificent... The endless forest never withered, as if there were no distinction between winter and summer. Not only that, but there was also a day and night cycle, the crystals spread across the dome would light up like the sun outside at dawn and extinguish after nightfall."

The Purple Crystal Dome of Demon City?

But it seemed different.

The Purple Crystal Dome of Demon City was seized from the dwarves, emitting a glow that was deeper, primarily mimicking the moonlight preferred by undead creatures and demons.

But the light here...

Seemed closer to what surface humans understood as daytime?

A pensive expression appeared on Luo Yan's face.

Noticing his expression, Alex seemed to think of something, then smiled and said.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not nostalgic for the Demon King; there's nothing to miss about that guy... I just occasionally think that it would be great to develop this place into a colony. For the Ryan Kingdom, this would be much closer than the other side of the Vortex Sea."

Luo Yan smiled faintly.

"Interesting idea, so... what kind of people would be willing to move into the labyrinth to live?"

Alex was startled for a moment, gave a chuckle, and spoke.

"Probably only those who can't survive on the surface! I was just thinking out loud, maybe thought too much... Let's go, we better hurry to Mist Town."

Luo Yan nodded and watched as Alex took the initiative to move to the front row, then gestured for Sarah to watch the team's flank while he consciously walked in the middle of the team.

The soft soil was covered with dry leaves and slippery moss, making a rustling sound when stepped on.

The thick fog, like a light veil, twined around each tree trunk, obscuring the view in the distance.

The occasional deep roar of beasts passing through the withered shrubs made one's heart skip a beat, inevitably spreading a chill in the heart.

The group carefully advanced in the direction indicated by the map and compass, toward Mist Town.

That place served as the adventurers' stronghold established on the fourth layer of the labyrinth.

In fact, it was the so-called colony mentioned by Alex, though most adventurers were unaware of it.

The moment he stepped into this forest, Luo Yan immediately felt the difference from the first three layers of the labyrinth.

Behind that seemingly lifeless White Mist, life seemed more vibrant than he had imagined.

And it concealed dangers!

"Alex."

"What is it?"

"I heard that there are Dark Night Elves on the fourth layer of the labyrinth, have you seen those folks?"

"Dark Night Elves?" Alex's eyes clouded with confusion, and he shook his head, "No... but I've heard that some have spotted them in this forest, and the adventurer guild even has a bounty."

Gazing at the White Mist not far away, Luo Yan nodded.

"I see, got it."

Alex gave the adventurer called Luoluo a somewhat meaningful look.

He questioned himself, considering he was already quite new, yet this guy seemed to lack even more common sense.

He couldn't help but wonder if this guy had just registered as an adventurer?

But that was highly unlikely.

He had never heard of any adventurer who had just registered going straight to the third layer of the labyrinth and heading directly for the fourth layer.

Ordinarily, the guild wouldn't assign fourth-layer tasks to such newbies, right?

The group did not talk much as they moved on.

Before long, they encountered the first demon since entering the forest—a horned demon wolf.

Before Luo Yan had a chance to demonstrate his skills, Alex drew his single-handed sword and with several swift, clean thrusts, turned the demon wolf into a mass of bloody holes, letting out a mournful cry before collapsing to the ground.

The battle was won with no pressure.

However, the bloody scent emitted by the demon wolf's body soon attracted more demons, and Luo Yan finally found his chance to shine, pulling out the magic wand concealed in his sleeve...

A hundred meters away on a withered tree top.

Two swift, agile figures were perched on a thick branch, one on the left and one on the right, carefully watching this group of unexpected visitors entering the forest.

Their wheat-colored skin and elongated ears were the mark of the Dark Night Elves.

Just when they thought their camouflage was flawless, the subject of their focused observation suddenly looked up at them.

That casual glance was as if he was looking at a few sparrows perched on a branch.

The moment their eyes met, a flash of panic surfaced spontaneously on the faces of the two Dark Night Elves.

Without confirming whether their whereabouts had been exposed, they leaped from the branch and disappeared into the depths of the forest like startled wild rabbits.

The breeze passing through the Mist Forest carried their information back to the deep nest in the woods.

"The Demon King has come..."

"He... he seems to have spotted us!"

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