The maze was built starting with the mother skeleton replenishing its magic.

It's Bruce!

Glenn stared in astonishment at the former lord of this maze.

The name "Bruce" was written to him by Mr. Skull on the ground.

To be honest, Glenn's feelings for Bruce were very complicated.

It is the monster that killed Mr. Martin.

But in the maze that day, they were the ones who attacked first, which is why Bruce retaliated.

Ultimately, it was Glenn and Anna's recklessness that killed Martin.

This is the labyrinth; adventurers will kill monsters, and carelessness will also lead to their demise.

During the time Glenn "served" in the maze, he learned that Bruce was actually just a larger, fleshless dog with all the characteristics of a dog.

As long as they are not in a hostile relationship, he will instinctively be close to humans.

Is the Skeleton King trying to make Bruce his watchdog? And it seems he's gotten quite a bit stronger than before.

No wonder the sign says "Beware of vicious dogs".

"Don't panic, everyone!" Zoro quickly calmed the troops down.

He observed very carefully; although the monster in front of them was baring its teeth at them, it showed no intention of leaving the room to attack.

"This is a safe zone! Monsters won't attack people in the safe zone!"

Zoro's loud shouts calmed everyone down.

Those present were all adventurers, with mental fortitude far exceeding that of ordinary people, and they had already begun discussing tactics and countermeasures.

"Why not attack him remotely from the safe zone?"

"We should test the strength of this hunting-equipped skeleton hound first."

"I provided information about the Bone Hound; after he goes berserk, he stands up and uses swordsmanship—the swords on his body."

"Stand up and use a sword? What kind of dog would that be?!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

An adventurer has entered?

While Lance was still giving onboarding training to the new employees, he glanced at the surveillance footage and discovered that Bruce had already engaged in combat with the adventurers at the main gate.

Tsk, what bad timing.

Martin and Guka, his generals, are still busy building his empire in the Starfall Maze.

Let me see the adventurers who have arrived... Holy crap! So many people!

"Xiao An, come here for a second."

"Here you are."

Angelica, staff in hand, hopped over, tilting her head to look at Lance: "What's wrong?"

Ever since Lance crafted her a staff inlaid with magic crystals, Angelica has never left that staff.

You have to take it with you wherever you go.

"Adventurers have come to the labyrinth." Lance said, pointing to the underground wolves in front of him. "You take charge of these underground wolves. I need to check the traps and treasure chests."

"Oh." Angelica nodded, patting the new wolf's head, and asked, "Is Mr. Lance going to kill all those adventurers?"

Even Lance couldn't help but glance at her.

Angelica is starting to look more and more like a monster lately.

"A stupid question!"

"What the hell!"

"Use your little brain and think about it," Lance said.

"If we kill everyone, would anyone dare to come to our labyrinth? We'll kill a small portion and leave the majority alive. Besides, that's not killing; it's just overconfident adventurers trying to challenge the labyrinth and ending up failing."

"I've already put up a sign at the entrance to the maze. If I die in the maze because I'm not strong enough, I can't blame anyone else."

"Oh." Angelica pouted unhappily, "Anyway, I can't argue with you."

After saying that, he led the wolf pack to his work station.

Lance has been very busy lately.

Martin and Bone, leading their skeleton army, had already reached the fifth level of the Starfall Maze, and Lance was busy going over to collect the loot.

And recently he has figured out something.

The [Belzaha's Blessing] that I originally got from Xavi has effects that are so powerful they're unpredictable.

He won't mutate into a monster like humans. Instead, Lance will absorb human pain and despair into experience points.

It truly is a blessing from the Demon God.

Including the harvest from the Starfall Maze, Lance has already reached level 32 in just a few days.

That's enough to explore the area beyond the black gate of the resurrection space.

However, Lance has been busy renovating the maze and hasn't had time to explore new areas yet.

The first level of the Kru Labyrinth is now basically complete, and it's time to move on to the second level.

Once we've taken down this wave of adventurers, we can start construction.

Let's see how the battle goes... Pretty clever, huh? They even know how to use their numerical advantage to hold Bruce back.

However, these adventurers clearly didn't know what a dung monster was.

The current Bruce is a true Inuarashi King.

Feces within feces.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The original plan to divide into six small teams for localized operations had to be cancelled due to the strength of the Bone Hounds.

The scene had essentially turned into a 24-player raid instance.

Six vanguards were tasked with drawing the boss's fire, but the problem was that level 20+ warriors simply couldn't withstand it.

The Skeleton Hound's [Whirlwind Slash LV5] attack can send the player and shield flying together.

The soldiers on the front lines were pulled up one by one, like radishes.

When it was Glenn's turn, Bruce's fierce eyes instantly cleared, and he slammed his right forepaw into Glenn's shield with just the right amount of force, knocking him to the ground.

He then resumed his bared teeth and charged at another soldier.

"Mage squad! Use magic!"

Several [Flame Arrows] were fired simultaneously, successfully hitting the skeleton hound in front of them, instantly stirring up a cloud of dust.

Before the adventurers could even get excited, the skeletal hound stood on its hind legs and drew its longsword from its waist.

"It's in berserk mode! Everyone be careful!"

Someone shouted a warning, and the next second, a fireball slammed into his face.

Screams instantly filled the room as the person rolled on the floor, clutching their face, and the faint smell of burning could be detected in the air.

The teammates nearby quickly grabbed water bottles and poured them on the fire to put it out.

Zoro yelled at the top of his lungs, "What's going on with the mage squad! Why are they attacking their own people?!"

The magicians shook their heads in bewilderment, indicating that they hadn't done it.

"Yes, it was that skeletal hound." Nia pointed ahead, trembling. "It was the one that cast the magic!"

"What?!"

Can I still use magic?

As expected, the skeleton hound did not attack immediately after entering its berserk state, but instead began to unleash various spells.

[Fireball], [Wind Blade], and even [Withering Ray] that causes the body to shrink rapidly.

Even the most experienced adventurers will learn something new today.

One of the mages in the squad, unable to dodge in time, was severed in two by the [Wind Blade] spell and died instantly.

The two were hit by the Withering Ray, and their muscles were shrinking at a visible rate, seemingly beyond saving.

"Retreat! Everyone retreat to the safe zone!"

Zoro immediately gave the order.

He saw the Bone Hound floating in mid-air, wielding two swords, and then using the force of its descent to charge forward.

This damn dog can even fly!

boom--

A violent collision rang out, and dust billowed up again.

The action team was completely scattered.

Some people successfully retreated to the safe zone, a small number died in the attack by the skeleton hounds, and others were forced to flee in the opposite direction to the center of the room in order to survive.

"To the next room!"

Trapped in the room, Glenn made a quick decision and pointed his longsword at the three holes.

After saying that, he charged towards the boss with all his might, intending to buy time for the others to escape.

"Glen!" Nia shouted Glenn's name.

Uncle Seth, who was standing nearby, hoisted her up in one hand, while Nolan, who was in the same team, was being carried in the other. He exchanged a blank glance with Glenn.

Seth Chonglen nodded, then turned and fled toward the cave entrance without looking back.

In the chaos, the remaining few people followed after them, their faces filled with fear.

"Kid! Come to the safe zone right now!"

Sauron shouted to Glenn from the safe zone.

What was originally a 24 vs 1 situation has now become a 1 vs 1 situation, with everyone's attention focused on the one person and the dog.

The adventurers who survived the ordeal in the safe zone began using magic and ranged attacks to try and create an escape opportunity for Glenn, but the skeletal hounds easily evaded them all.

Glenn glanced at the adventurers in the safe zone with mixed feelings.

If these people weren't around, he could even play frisbee with Bruce.

Looking at the dog with its clear eyes, Glenn knew he had to step in.

[Strength Enhancement LV1]

[Imperial Swordsmanship LV2]

"I can't back down!" Glenn shouted as he charged toward Bruce, a message meant for the adventurers.

"If I retreat, the adventurers behind me will be attacked!"

Bruce picked up his sword and began to spar with Glenn.

In an instant, the longswords clashed, sparking countless flashes of light, and the man and the dog fought fiercely, locked in a close battle.

Bruce used the "Imperial Swordsmanship LV5" unrefined version.

For Super Bruce, who was rebuilt to level 30 by Lance, this was practically a free-for-all.

"Wow, that kid's actually that strong!"

The adventurers began to marvel that Glenn was single-handedly holding off the lord who had defeated the entire expeditionary force.

"I knew it!" a level 22 player immediately exclaimed. "I sensed it earlier; that young man had great potential. He was the only one who withstood the lord's attack!"

Zoro clenched his fist.

He desperately wanted to escape, but that would mean all the adventurers in the labyrinth would die.

Regardless, he is now the captain and has to be responsible for his teammates.

The key point is... wasn't the intelligence supposed to be a low-level maze?! Why is even a watchdog so powerful?!

Their mission is to slay the monstrous beasts, but they can't even handle the monster in the first room!

"Mr. Zoro!"

Glenn, who was engaged in fierce fighting in the center of the arena, suddenly shouted, and everyone looked over.

"I think the mechanism of this maze isn't about defeating this monster! It's about successfully bypassing it to get into the next room!"

"I'll go into the dungeon and meet up with the others! Please go and request reinforcements from the guild immediately!"

......

Bruce is so strong.

If this continues, people will start to have doubts.

Glenn fought and retreated until he entered the cave and found that Bruce had stopped chasing him. In an instant, he understood the Skeleton King's intention in making such a arrangement.

He quickly informed everyone of his discovery and saw Zoro leading the remaining adventurers out of the safe zone.

Glenn finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He's going to die of exhaustion if he doesn't leave soon.

Glenn felt utterly helpless as he watched Bruce change from a sword stance to a sitting posture and wag his tail at him.

At least the maze still considered him a friend.

after all.

I've sweated for the maze, I've bled for the maze!

Morally speaking, Glenn shouldn't have attacked his former colleagues.

However, due to their positions, they should try to save those adventurers if they can.