The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　However, for the vast majority of escape room levels, brute force cannot bring victory to the "player".

　As soon as Victoria entered the secret room, she saw the little fairy flying in from the sky and instinctively assumed a fighting stance.

　The little fairy, with great foresight, stopped a meter away from her, then stretched out her tiny finger and gestured in the air, writing out the pre-set text.

　As a "guide," the fairy's tasks include acting as a camera and guiding players to complete tasks.

　Each escape room level has a mission; only by completing the mission and reaching the end can you pass the level.

　The secret room Victoria entered was numbered 03004, and the mission was titled "The Lost Ghost".

　The task description is simple: escort the lost ghost home. After that, you'll need to figure it out yourself.

　However, there's no need to analyze such an extremely simple task description.

　In short, the goal is to get the "ghost NPC" from the starting point to the finish line. This secret room has various roadblocks and obstacles from the starting point to the finish line, and the "player's" task is to lead the "ghost NPC" through these obstacles to reach the finish line.

　It's a very simple task. The prerequisite is that you have the corresponding item cards ready.

　When designing the escape room, Dark prepared many tutorial levels, many of which can be passed smoothly by making good use of the corresponding prop cards.

　The locked room 03004 is one of them.

　To complete this task, you first need the "Ghost Hand". Only by using the "Ghost Hand" can you forcibly transport the "ghost NPC that is stationary" to the destination.

　Of course, even without using "Ghost Hand", there are theoretically other solutions.

　For example, you can use the "Ice Elf Bow" to freeze a "Ghost NPC" into an ice block, turning it from a spirit into a physical object, which can then be moved directly.

　Alternatively, "mummy bandages" that can touch the spirit can be used to bind the spirit to the object for transport.

　In short, there is no single solution; the key is to think outside the box.

　If the "player" has an endless supply of "item cards", this type of level is easy to pass.

　Therefore, Dark restricted the ways to obtain "item cards".

　This means that players who enter the secret room early on may not necessarily obtain the "item card" that is easiest to pass the level.

　Victoria isn't really stupid.

　As soon as she entered the secret room, she immediately took out all the "item cards" she had obtained by killing ghosts and monsters, and then found... "Ghost Hand"!

　"Looks like she's lucky." Darke was quite pleased.

　Then he saw Victoria stealthily activate the "Ghost Hand".

　A ball of black light emerged from the card, enveloped the arm, and extended outwards, transforming into a semi-transparent ghost hand.

　Victoria tried to control the "Ghost Hand" and grabbed the "Ghost NPC" that was floating motionless in the air.

　Immediately afterwards, she pulled her hand back and grabbed the "ghost NPC" in her palm.

　Seeing the "ghost NPC" wailing in her palm, Victoria laughed and walked forward with the "ghost NPC" in her hand.

　"It's that simple! I thought it would be really difficult." Two minutes later, Victoria was kicked out of the secret room. First attempt, failure!

　"What's wrong? Did you fail?" Phoenix asked, frowning as he saw her gloomy face.

　Victoria remained silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into a loud scream. San Phoenix let her grab him, waiting patiently for a while before asking again, "So what's wrong?"

　Victoria then hissed and said, "I fell into the river."

　Phoenix: "Ah"

　Victoria started yelling again, "But it didn't say you can't fall into the river!" Phoenix covered his forehead and said, "Explain yourself clearly." Victoria said, "It's like when we were crossing a river, we needed to get to the other side. The river was quite deep, about five meters below the bank. And then there were these floating steps above the river."

　Phoenix frowned. "Then all we have to do is jump over the steps, right?" Victoria replied, "That's what I thought at first too. It's so simple, isn't it? So I grabbed the ghost and kept jumping forward, and then suddenly one of the steps disappeared! Disappeared, you know? Disappeared! How could it just disappear?"

　"Wait a minute." Phoenix felt a little dizzy. "Isn't it a common feature in these kinds of escape room puzzles for steps to disappear? I mean, this..."

　It's just a regular trap. Besides, it's only five meters deep. Even if you fall into the river, you can just fly back, right?

　Victoria said, "But there's a sign on the shore that says falling into the water counts as failure... Wait, I can fly."

　"Ah," Phoenix.

　Victoria's eyebrows twitched instantly, and she suddenly broke down completely: "Yes, I'm a vampire, I can fly!"

　"Hahaha."

　Dark didn't laugh; the laughter came from some tasteless professor next to him. Dark definitely didn't laugh.

　"They've been human for so long that they've forgotten they're magical elves," Professor Sylph said, shaking her head.

　"What an interesting mindset among magical spirits," Principal Arte remarked with a smile. Dark replied somewhat helplessly, "Don't you think it's adorable?"

　All in all, it's very cute.

　Starting with Victoria's initial failure, more and more students successfully obtained "key cards" and entered the secret room.

　The first to pass the level was an upperclassman who entered the secret room with only two "item cards".

　But naturally, there is no "first-clear bonus".

　The moment he passed through that secret room challenge, his name immediately topped the points ranking and was remembered by everyone.

　However, shortly after that, the name was completely forgotten. Although some students, driven by curiosity or a sense of adventure, would open the secret room with only a few item cards.

　However, most students at St. Mary's College, especially the upperclassmen, are actually quite mature and composed.

　They would try to collect all the regular "item cards" before opening the secret room to ensure a stable score.

　After all, five minutes isn't a long time, but it's not short either. If you only have five minutes to complete one escape room, you can only complete a few dozen escape rooms at most in one night.

　In fact, many escape rooms can be completed quickly once you find the right techniques, and these are the keys to accumulating points.

　For students who are focusing tonight's activities on clearing the escape rooms, the first thing to do is to clear as many of the regular escape rooms as possible quickly, and then try to make a breakthrough in the more difficult escape rooms.

　After that, each time you clear a high-difficulty escape room, your ranking will rise a few places.

　This is the scenario that Dark envisioned at the beginning of the design.

　Therefore, he set two criteria for the escape room design: "fun" and "challenge".

　Different escape rooms have different themes to ensure that all students can choose the escape room they like.

　To achieve this, interaction among students is also essential.

　Which escape rooms can be cleared quickly, and which are more difficult?

　Once the initial experience is over, this information can be collected quickly.

　Afterwards, those who are not interested in the escape room levels can sell the "item cards" and "key cards" they obtained from defeating monsters to the "candy merchant." Those who lack "item cards" and "key cards" can also purchase them directly from the "candy merchant."

　Of course, at least one duel must be fought before any deal can be made with the "Candy Merchant".

　A duel with a "Candy Merchant" is the ticket to unlock trade. To trade with different "Candy Merchants," you must duel with different "Candy Merchants."

　If things go well, everyone can get involved, and Halloween Eve will be incredibly lively.

　six thirty.

　Half an hour after the masquerade ball began.

　Almost all students have experienced an escape room at least once. The brightest students only need one experience to understand the core mechanics of the escape room challenges, and then they begin hoarding "item cards." Some students hoard "item cards" to complete the escape rooms, while others hoard them to resell!

　Although the rules state that "players" can trade with the "Candy Merchant," they do not specify that trading is only possible with the "Candy Merchant."

　This is certainly not a vulnerability.

　For students who are good at maneuvering, this is a window deliberately opened for them.

　Selling an "Item Card" to the "Candy Merchant" requires at least one duel. If you lose, you must pay at least one "Item Card" as a price.

　This is the ticket price.

　Selling "item cards" to "player merchants" eliminates the need to pay for the "item card" itself and avoids the hassle of a "duel".

　"Player merchants" can earn a transaction fee by buying items at a slightly lower price and then reselling them at the original price.

　If the scale is large enough, it's not impossible to obtain the Halloween Star through trading, even within this masquerade ball.

　Furthermore, even without the group of "player merchants".

　Students can also exchange "prop cards" with each other during normal interactions in order to obtain the type they want.

　These are things that cannot be prohibited, of course.

　After experiencing the escape rooms, students who wanted to continue challenging themselves quickly realized that "teamwork" was the key to speedrunning the escape rooms and improving their rankings.

　Thus, something different from the usual masquerade ball occurred.

　More and more students are forming groups in the castle.

　The interactions that Dark wanted to see gradually increased. The entire masquerade ball was clearly developing in a positive direction.

　The students, working together, were harvesting the newly "refreshed" monsters in droves. "Item cards" fell down along with the "candies" and were all picked up by everyone.

　Once they encounter a "candy giver," they swarm around, each with a "question card," and then solve the problem by discussing and helping each other.

　Gradually, this "learning atmosphere" emerged, and one "question card" after another was answered.

　Students were finally able to obtain various "prop cards" from the "candy distributor".

　Among them are regular "item cards" that were not previously announced. There are also rare (item cards) that, although announced, have never been obtained by anyone.

　One student even received a "Candy Merchant Transformation" card from Professor Nini!

　Besides deceiving the "player," the "Candy Merchant Transformation" card also has a similar effect to the "Ghoul Mask," allowing the user to ignore ghosts and be immune to their attacks.

　Moreover, the "Candy Merchant Transformation" can be used more often and lasts longer, making it an essential item for lower-grade students.

　The higher the castle floor, the higher the level of the monsters and the greater the danger. If you can transform into a "candy merchant," you can go to any floor. This is practically an essential item for conquering escape rooms.

　Of course, some "problem cards" are truly unsolvable.

　Even though you know that once you solve the problem, you'll get a rare "item card," if you can't solve it, it's all for nothing.

　It's exactly 7 o'clock.

　The bells of the spiral clock tower rang.

　This serves as a reminder to the students that one-sixth of tonight's masquerade ball has already passed.

　The students' pace quickened slightly.

　Even group activities have become more efficient. However, the leaderboard for points and the leaderboard for credits are still slightly different.

　The credit leaderboard allows players to gain credits by giving someone the head of a ghost.

　However, points can only be earned by clearing the escape rooms yourself.

　Moreover, forcibly pushing a particular person to the top of the leaderboard is actually not very meaningful.

　Because the leaderboard has a fixed credit pool, it's better for three people to each get four points than for one person to get ten points.

　While there are groups that forcefully push someone out to compete for rankings, they are not many.

　Currently, those at the top of the rankings are all solo "players." At the top of the hour.

　Dak glanced at the standings.

　The first name I saw was familiar—Gina Grant.

　Gina Grant, a student at the "House of Fools," has surpassed Pandora Dragon from the "Magic Academy" to temporarily take the top spot on the leaderboard.

　Counting further down, you can see names like "Candy Merchant No. 1".

Chapter 1367 The Death of Darkdemon (4K)

　So who exactly is "Candy Merchant Number One"?

　Here’s the thing…

　Okay, besides Lili's search, I randomly scrolled down through the n-producer 1's Dak and saw several "candy merchants".

　first name.

　It's clear that professors are still professors, and they are indeed better than students.

　The "Candy Merchant" cannot obtain "Item Cards" by defeating monsters, so theoretically, their speed in clearing the escape room should be much slower than that of the students. However, in reality...

　it's not true.

　Professor Lily, for example, was constantly chasing after her students, yet she still managed to make the list and even ranked far ahead of the others.