Hyperdimensional Warlock

Chapter 4352 A Complete Farewell
The interrogation maze.

The withered one sat at a crossroads, his eyes closed as if dozing.

Suddenly, from the depths of the dimly lit corridor came a very regular knocking sound.

The knocking grew louder and louder as it approached... until it woke the withered creature.

It slowly opened its eyes and saw the source of the knocking sound: a charming woman swayed gracefully, holding a short wooden cane in her hand. Every few steps, she would raise her hand and tap the wall beside her with the tip of the cane.

“Liriel…” the withered one called her name softly, “How are things going on your end?”

Liriel waved her wooden staff: "This is the result. What about you?"

The withered man slowly shook his head, his tone tinged with helplessness: "We found nothing. That will-o'-the-wisp flew into the depths of the corridor, merged into a withered wall lamp, lit the lamp oil, and then remained silent..."

This story begins not long ago.

While exploring the depths of the maze, they unexpectedly discovered a firebox hidden very deep inside.

As soon as the door opened, two eerie purple flames shot out. However, the flames did not attack them. Instead, as if they had their own consciousness, they sped towards the depths of the corridor.

Upon seeing this, the Decayer and Liriel immediately gave chase, but the faster they ran, the faster the will-o'-the-wisp flew.

Until they reached the fork in the road, the two will-o'-the-wisps suddenly split up, each choosing a corridor, and disappeared in an instant.

The two exchanged a glance.

After a whole day of exploring the maze, they had developed an extremely high level of understanding, and could read each other's minds with just a glance.

“I’ll chase the left, you chase the right,” Liriel said quickly. “After we’ve scouted, we’ll meet up here.”

Before the words were even finished, the two of them didn't linger any longer. As if they had already agreed, they each chased after the direction in which the will-o'-the-wisp disappeared, and soon parted ways.

The withered one followed the trail of the will-o'-the-wisp, the corridor lined with mottled stone walls, and there was no sound except for his own footsteps.

After chasing for another two minutes, the speed of the will-o'-the-wisp began to slow down.

Just when the decaying creature thought it could finally catch up with the will-o'-the-wisp, it suddenly turned a corner and merged into a decaying wall lamp on the wall.

The remaining lamp oil inside was lit, casting a dim purple glow around it.

The withered one stepped forward, trying to find something unusual in his surroundings. — This day's journey through the interrogation maze had taught him a lesson: any anomaly in the maze could potentially be related to solving the treasure chest puzzle.

This strange will-o'-the-wisp is probably related to a treasure chest.

But it searched around the wall lamp repeatedly, running its fingertips over every inch of the stone wall, and still found nothing... It even considered taking the wall lamp down, but there was no way to remove it at all.

Having gained nothing, the withered one finally gave up and chose to turn back.

Meanwhile, Liriel continued to track the will-o'-the-wisp.

The will-o'-the-wisp moved at varying speeds, always maintaining a distance from her.

Just as she was about to catch up, the will-o'-the-wisp suddenly turned around and crashed straight into the stone wall beside it, instantly merging into it and disappearing without a trace.

Liriel paused, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes. She slowly stepped forward and gently touched the stone wall with her fingertips—it was empty, she couldn't feel any hard rock. It was actually a very well disguised fake wall!
She tentatively took a step forward, and her body easily passed through.

Behind the wall was a small and empty stone chamber. On a table in the center of the chamber sat an exquisite candlestick, around which a purple flame was swirling.

As Liriel entered the stone chamber, the will-o'-the-wisp seemed to have finally completed its "guide" mission and plunged into the candle wick.

The candles were lit instantly, and the dim purple light made the stone chamber feel especially desolate.

Just as the purple flames had completely stabilized, the floor of the stone chamber suddenly trembled slightly, and a stone slab slowly rose and moved away, revealing a treasure chest with intricate carvings.

"Then I found this wooden staff in a treasure chest." Liriel paused, looking at the withered creature. "This staff has incredibly powerful effects. Want to guess what it is?"

The withered one thought for a moment and said, "Can you get some kind of feedback by tapping it on the wall?"

The reason for this guess is that Lillie had been tapping the wall with her wooden staff the whole way.

This is clearly not normal.

In its view, knocking on the wall should give positive feedback, otherwise why would Lillie keep knocking on the wall?

Upon hearing the withered creature's answer, Lillier guessed its thought process and couldn't help but roll her eyes: "I was just knocking on the wall because I encountered a fake wall!"

Because she encountered a false wall, Lillie naturally became suspicious of the other walls as well, and kept knocking on them along the way to see if there were any hidden spaces.

The withered man nodded in realization: "That logic makes sense... Then I don't know what this wooden staff is for. Just reveal the answer."

Liriel shook her head: "You're really boring."

After making a comment, Lillie explained the effects of the wooden staff.

The wooden staff is called the "Treasure Hunting Staff," and its effect is naturally to find treasure.

However, it has a prerequisite for use: the Treasure Staff has a power bar that only the user can see. When you are in the Questioning Maze, the "Maze Power" will continuously power up the Treasure Staff. When the power bar is full, you can use it and it will guide you to a nearby treasure chest.

"In other words, with this, we won't have to worry about missing any treasure chests in the future!"

"It's just a pity that this thing can only be used in the Interrogation Maze, and has no effect elsewhere... If it could be used in the Abyss, I might be able to make a fortune from it."

Liriel sighed helplessly.

However, although the treasure-hunting staff is not very versatile, it is still very useful to them at least for now.

"How efficient is its charging?" the Decayer asked curiously. If the charging efficiency is fast, it can be used regularly; if the charging efficiency is not high, it is best to wait until the last time to check for any deficiencies before using it.

Liriel: "The charging efficiency is pretty good. When I opened it, the charging bar was empty. It has already charged to one-sixth in about ten minutes."

"It can automatically recharge in an hour... that's pretty efficient." The Decayer nodded. One treasure hunt per hour is perfectly acceptable for regular treasure hunting.

Liriel: "Furthermore, according to the item's description, the charging efficiency will be increased after experiencing certain special events or in places with abundant dungeon power."

Although she didn't know what the so-called special event was, or where the labyrinth power was abundant, it didn't diminish her anticipation for the treasure-hunting staff.

“You’re luckier than me,” the Decayer said softly. “If nothing unexpected happens, this time the will-o’-the-wisp will be a choice between two options. The one you chose will have a treasure chest, while the one I chose will be a dud.”

After hearing this, Liriel had a different idea: "Is it possible that you actually have a treasure chest on your side, but you just haven't discovered it?"

The withered one shook his head: "I don't know, but I just looked carefully and there was nothing unusual."

Liriel trusted the Decayer's observational abilities; he said that if there was nothing unusual, it certainly wasn't unfounded.

But the idea of ​​two will-o'-the-wisps, one a dud and one an Easter egg, seemed strange to her.

Is it really necessary to include such a scenario in the interrogation maze?

If it were a dangerous trap and an Easter egg, she would even think it would be more reasonable... because that's how adventure novels are set up, right? Either you overcome a dangerous trap or miss a hidden Easter egg, either you gamble right and return with a full load, or you gamble wrong and leave in a sorry state. That's what fits the tone of a maze.

But now, one is hiding a treasure chest, while the other is a complete waste of time. There is neither danger nor choice, which makes it seem deliberate and strange.

Will a maze just randomly give you a dud that has no meaning?
Lillie stroked the short cane in her hand, her brow furrowing slightly: "I trust your investigative abilities, but my gut feeling tells me something's not right... Perhaps your Squib wasn't truly useless after all."

The withered man raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"

Liriel hesitated for a moment: "I want to go and take a look..."

The withered one nodded noncommittally: "Okay, let's go together."

The withered one turned and led the way, with Liriel following behind, saying cautiously, "...I'm not questioning your conclusion."

The withered man smiled: "I know, I also have some doubts about that will-o'-the-wisp. Although I didn't find anything unusual, the flames of the other wall lamps were all dim yellow, but that wall lamp was burning with purple light, which was very dazzling among the wall lamps."

Although will-o'-the-wisps are purple by nature, when they are incorporated into the wall lamp group, the purple flame becomes quite unique.

Such a unique feature made even the decaying creature sense that there might be an anomaly behind it that it had not yet discovered.

"Besides, I haven't explored the end of this road yet, so maybe there will be new discoveries at the end."

After a while.

Liriel and the Decayer arrived at the Purple Flame Wall Lamp.

"This is it. I've searched the area, but haven't found anything... Maybe we should go a little further ahead; perhaps the anomaly is further ahead?"

After giving his advice, the Decayer looked up at Liriel and found her expression surprised.

"what happened?"

Liriel slowly raised her wooden staff, pointing it at the purple flame wall lamp: "The staff's energy bar is accelerating rapidly; it's already more than half full!"

They only arrived a few minutes ago; given the original charging efficiency, it's absolutely impossible for them to arrive this quickly!

"It's still accelerating!"

Just two minutes later, Lillie said, "It's already more than three-quarters complete..."

"So this is the place mentioned in the staff's description, a place abundant with labyrinthine power!" Liriel breathed a deep sigh of relief. "I knew it! Both will-o'-the-wisps had their significance!"

At this rate, it will be fully charged in a minute at most!

However, both Liriel and the Decayer noticed that the purple flame in the purple wall lamp was slowly fading, giving it the appearance of a candle flickering in the wind.

It seems that the "labyrinth power" within the purple flames is being absorbed, causing it to slowly enter its countdown to extinction.

Finally, the moment the charging bar was fully charged, the purple flame in the wall lamp "poof" and vanished completely, leaving only a cold, withered empty lamp.

After recharging, Liriel and the Decayer discussed it and decided to use "Treasure Hunt" immediately.

Liriel gripped her short staff tightly, exerted a little force with both arms, raised the staff high, and then swung it down sharply towards the open space in front of her.

In an instant, a faint purple light burst forth from the tip of the staff, spreading along the ground, and a slender yet clear purple line suddenly appeared in her vision.

This is the treasure-hunting ability of the short staff, which can directly point out the direction where the treasure is located.

However, Liriel's expression didn't seem very happy after she used her treasure-hunting ability.

When she was waving the wooden staff, some new information came to her mind, which revealed that treasure hunting also has its limitations.

The guide will only appear if there is treasure within 500 meters; if there is nothing within 500 meters, the treasure hunt will be wasted.

This restriction prevented them from staying in one place and waiting for the enemy to finish off any remaining treasure chests.

You must constantly move around and change positions, checking each area within a 500-meter radius one by one, in order to determine if there is a hidden treasure chest.

However, even with such limitations, this ability is still a great help to them, who need to collect ninety-nine treasure chests in the maze. Its advantages outweigh its disadvantages.

"We're lucky this time. There's a treasure chest within 500 meters. Let's go take a look." Liriel beckoned the withered one to follow.

However, after taking only a few steps forward, Liriel noticed that there was no movement behind her.

A hint of doubt flashed through her mind, and she immediately turned around.

The withered creature stood frozen in place, its body motionless, its face expressionless, yet exuding an indescribable blankness, as if it had suffered some kind of blow and had lost its senses.

Liriel sensed something was wrong and quickly turned back.

Only upon closer inspection did one realize that tears were slowly sliding down the corners of the withered man's eyes, silently dripping onto the cold stone ground along his mottled cheeks.

"you……"

Liriel's voice was inexplicably dry, her throat moved, but she didn't dare to ask directly. Instead, she pretended to be relaxed and used a teasing tone to ease the atmosphere: "It's just finding a treasure chest, why are you so excited that you're crying?"

The withered one did not respond to her, but silently shed tears with an expression that was both sad and somewhat relieved.

Liriel didn't know what had happened, but judging from the expression on the withered one's face, it seemed that something inexplicable had indeed occurred.

She didn't ask any more questions, but simply stood silently beside it, keeping it company in the dimly lit corridor, letting the silence spread.

Five minutes, ten minutes...

The decaying creature wept silently, without sobbing or losing its composure, only tears streaming down its face, as if it were pouring out all the emotions that had been pent up for so long.

Fifteen minutes later, it stopped its silent panting and quietly wiped away its tears.

When it raised its head again, most of the sadness in its eyes had faded, leaving only a faint trace of melancholy. Its tone had returned to its usual calmness, only a little hoarse: "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Liriel was silent for a moment, then asked tentatively, her tone tinged with caution, "You... what happened?"

The decaying one nodded slightly, then shook his head slightly.

"Something did happen, but it had actually happened before, it's just..."

The withered creature paused, its brows furrowing slightly, its tone filled with confusion and helplessness; it didn't know how to express its feelings.

Back when it was still in the Chapter of the Heart, Angor had sorted through and taken away all the fragments of the Prussian souls stored in its mind.

At that time, although it could clearly feel a sense of ease, it also vaguely sensed that the fragments of souls had not truly gone away, but were still lingering around it, only indistinct and difficult to discern, and it could never accurately perceive their specific locations.

But just now, that vague perception suddenly vanished completely.

Without warning, without residue, not even the slightest trace was left, as if those fragments of souls had never existed beside it.

This sudden sense of emptiness left it bewildered.

Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

It seemed like a farewell, or perhaps a silent lament for a time that could never be relived.