I was accidentally injured by God and I just want to be an ordinary person

"The size of the artificial maze was already designed during construction, and the difficulty can be adjusted at will by releasing monsters. This makes it very convenient for hosting events, whether it's rescuing adventurers in danger or performing surveillance magic for spectators to watch. Hmm—let the competition begin, Princess-sama."

As Camisia said, Ella followed Camisia's gaze and looked towards the center of the circular venue. A sphere that perfectly occupied the entire arena slowly emerged in the air. Appearing in the sphere were the figures of countless participating adventurers. In addition, some fragments of the artificial maze could also be seen.

"This...is just like a projection..."

After muttering something in a low voice that Camisia couldn't hear, Ella found the image of Lotte on the screen—wearing the 'Gift of the Spirits' she had given her, Lotte was waiting at the entrance of the maze with Hela on her back.

"What do you think Lotte's chances of winning are, Camisia?"

"What are your chances... Lotte-chan, you should be able to make it into the top five. First place is a bit difficult. There are many powerful demon adventurers participating this time. I'm a little surprised why they all signed up yesterday afternoon, but since they all meet the requirement of being below level 25, I'll let them participate."

"First place, remember the first place prize is that magic book? Lotte can read the magic book, but she can't use the spells written in it properly. The magic she used before was only cast through Hela. To get this magic book... I think the fourth place prize would be better, a direct gold coin reward or something."

Camisia was stunned for a moment, then, like Ella, she looked at Lotte on the screen, a rare smile appearing on her usually serious face.

"Lotte-chan... you should have your own considerations."

Chapter 45: Preparation! Lotte's first real battle!

Misting, artificial maze.

Because the artificial maze is modeled after the characteristics of an underground maze, both the appearance and the internal layout are the same as those of an underground maze. At the same time, the monsters in the maze are also placed in levels from low to high. For example, the monsters on the first underground floor will only have simple low-level monsters like slimes, but on the third floor, there will be more ferocious monsters like carnivorous plants. Therefore, choosing a suitable hunting place is of vital importance to adventurers. As for the threat from other adventurers... that is another matter.

After rechecking her equipment, Lotte leaned forward and disappeared into a dark corner. It was the tenth minute since they entered the maze. The rules forbid adventurers from attacking each other during this ten-minute period. In reality, no adventurer would attack during this time, as doing so would only incur hostility from other adventurers and would not achieve any benefit. After all, in such a short time, the other adventurers wouldn't be able to collect any magic cores, so launching an attack would be pointless.

"Is everything ready?"

Putting the physical ammunition Ella had given her, powerful enough to rival fifth-tier magic, into her dimensional backpack, Lotte pulled the magic spear from her thigh and shifted Hela to her back. Due to the level restrictions in this event, these fifth-tier magic items were useless. If she used them, Lotte was almost certain they would be enough to kill the opponent, but she would also be disqualified and even face smear campaigns against Ella. Therefore, she absolutely could not use these items.

The reason why they chose to use the magic gun that Ella gave them when they first arrived in Ryan Town instead of Hela's was because Hela's usage conditions were more stringent, and it took a short time to reload and charge each time. In this environment where encounters could occur at any time, it was really not very practical. Moreover, whether it was from the perspective of having to conduct test shots in order to hit the target with 100% certainty, or from the perspective of the magic power consumed by each attack of Hela, it was still too early to use Hela.

"If only I had Miss Ella's search ability..."

Muttering in a voice so low that she could hardly hear it herself, Loti began to take out various props one by one from the dimensional space under her skirt - bear traps, explosive powder, fog powder, various minerals used to carve magic circles, invisible ropes... These were all things she had prepared when she was in the Holy Academy. Because the event did not restrict the contestants from using props, Loti even felt that this was a stage prepared specifically for her - for herself who had full marks in assassination and mechanical subjects, this kind of venue was as easy to use as a final exam.

After sorting these things out one by one, Lotte sprinkled the smell-eliminating powder around.

Although starting the hunt now would give him more time to obtain magic cores, the risks would also increase accordingly. The more he showed up, the more likely he would be noticed by other adventurers. So what he needed to do now was to wait for his fellow adventurers to slowly disperse to the corners of the maze. After that, he could slowly collect magic cores by hunting monsters. If it was not enough, he could only use the long-range specialized Hela to intercept the adventurers who had collected enough magic cores near the exit of the maze - but this was his last resort. He didn't want others to use the saying "like servants, like masters" as a handle because of this incident.

The time had not yet come, so Luti could now think fully without feeling any muscle soreness from maintaining a posture for a long time. This was not only part of her regular training, but she had also been trained enough by her cruel master when she was still a slave - torture that lasted for years.

—I remember Miss Camisia saying she'd prepare a gift herself yesterday, but I haven't seen her make any moves. Is she planning to prepare it in the next few days? But Miss Ella's birthday is less than a week away, and she's also going to be in charge of the maze event for the six days. That shouldn't be enough time. And after all, Miss Camisia hasn't been handling government affairs during this time because she's been with Miss Ella the whole time. Even though she's handed it over to the military advisor, is it really okay to keep putting it off like this? When I visited the royal city earlier, the military advisor seemed distressed.

Luti gave a wry smile in her heart, and then focused her attention on a passing demon wolf. The magic core of this monster was of the middle level among tinplates. If nothing unexpected happened, it should be the most numerous magic core collected by adventurers.

Could it be a decoy left by another adventurer? Using only a single demon wolf as bait was a rather childish move, but considering that the other party might be a demon adventurer on their first adventure, they couldn't let their guard down.

Should I just let it go? Or should I start hunting? I was currently on the first floor of the topmost layer of the maze. The limit of what I could deal with was a second-level magic caster. There were probably only a limited number of second-level players on the first floor. The truly powerful ones had already gone to the lower floors. If I took action now—yes, being too cautious would only lead to missing opportunities.

The condition for advancing to the finals is the top three people with the highest magic core scores. The score is not only based on the number of magic cores, but also the level of the magic cores. If someone can collect a scarlet gold level magic core, then it is almost certain that this adventurer will advance. However, scarlet gold level monsters are already beyond level 30 and are equivalent to third-level magic casters. It is almost impossible for an adventurer to have the ability to obtain them.

Injecting magic into the magic gun, Lotte aimed the crosshairs at the wolf's eyes.

"The hunt has begun."

After whispering these words, Lotte pulled the trigger of the magic gun.

……

* Eastern Demon Territory Capital "Branch of Disaster"

In a small room that was completely sealed off on all sides and had no windows, a white-haired old man sat on a chair behind a desk. There was no decoration in the room, only the simplest furniture. The only thing worth mentioning was the various books scattered on the table, the floor, and the chairs, all piled together in disorder. They were not stacked, but truly discarded as if no one cared about the books at all.

The only light in the room was a simple ceiling chandelier. The old man, with his back to the visitor, held a yellowed book in his hand and spoke calmly.

"Has the news of the princess' birth been confirmed?"

"It is confirmed, but because the Western Acting Demon Lord Camisia-sama is keeping a close watch, we haven't had the opportunity to collect the princess's magical materials for comparison."

"Is that so... Next, that old monster will probably use the princess's identity to threaten me and force me to give up the plan I've prepared for so many years. If the princess is real, then it's not a bad idea to give up, but if she's just a puppet made up by that old monster, hmph."

As the old man snorted coldly, the books around him seemed to be blown by the wind and all turned a few pages.

"Acting Demon Lord, what are you going to do—"

"I've told you so many times, you don't need to call me the acting Demon King, just calling me Dean is enough."

"I wouldn't dare."

"Oh, forget it. I'll just have to wait and see what happens. If that old monster really threatens me with the princess, I'll have to prepare some countermeasures."

"Yes."

The standing person slowly left the closed room. After half a day, when the surroundings became completely quiet, the old man let out a long sigh.

"The Demon King—huh?"

Chapter 46: The Third Floor

* August 8, 6186, at 8:10.24 AM, Demon King's Capital Mistydin

After coming out of the fitting room and changing into casual clothes, Ella looked around and asked Nina, who was sitting obediently on the sofa.

"Nina, where's Camisia?"

Hearing Ella's question, Nina stood up from the sofa and turned to face Ella.

"Lady Camisia said she had some matters to attend to, so she left first. She also asked me to tell the master that she might be back later."

"Really? Camisia has been with me the whole time, so there must be a lot of things left to deal with. Let's just wait here for today's activities to end."

After tidying up her casual clothes, Ella sat back on the sofa, picked up a square piece of exotic fruit and put it in her mouth.

……

Misting, artificial maze.

After finding a hidden room, Luty began to count the magic cores obtained from hunting monsters.

"Four, five, six... one high-grade Stainless Steel and six intermediate-grade Stainless Steel? The density of monsters in artificial labyrinths is much greater than that in natural labyrinths."

Tightening the bag containing the magic core, Lotte began to recover the magic power she had consumed during the previous hunt. It was now the first hour since entering the maze. With the help of magic items, she had not encountered any other adventurers along the way and had hunted a total of seven monsters.

"According to the previous standards mentioned by Miss Camisia, to pass, we need to collect at least four times as much, right? We're running out of time."

Luty hesitated for a moment, then pulled a small blue bottle from her dimensional backpack. After uncorking it, she drank half the magic potion inside—half a bottle was enough to restore her magic power to peak condition. Miss Camisia had prepared three bottles of this magic potion for herself, and as for the one Miss Ella had given her, it wasn't time to use it yet. It was a magical item that could restore all states of health with just one drop.

The reason why we say that there is not enough time is because it is considered that the later it is, the more difficult it is to obtain magic cores. It does not mean that monsters will become stronger over time, but because the later it is, the more likely those adventurers who want to snatch magic cores are to take action. Therefore, when calculating the efficiency of collecting magic cores, the threat from other adventurers should be taken into account.

"It's best to end the battle and leave the maze within the first five hours. The last three hours are when adventurers are most frantic. If you haven't collected enough by then, it's best to consider going deeper into the maze's lower levels instead of staying in the upper levels where you're most likely to be hunted."

The serious expression on Camisia's face when she was explaining the rules of the maze came to mind.

"Five hours... huh? At my current speed, that should be enough. Phew—if my level were a little higher, and my magic power concentration were a little higher, I'd be able to use Hela freely, and then navigating the labyrinth wouldn't be difficult. How can I be like Miss Ella, unleashing a perfect release without even a moment's preparation? No, now isn't the time to think about that."

Shaking off the depressed mood from her mind, Lotte shook her head, causing her lavender twintails to swing left and right.

"If quantity isn't enough, then let's rely on quality. The Piranha Plant on the third floor is probably the most suitable place to use Hela."

After making her decision, Lotte stuffed the "explosive powder" into a hollowed-out fruit, readied her magic gun, and carefully moved toward the third floor of the maze.

Passing through the deep maze corridors and countless rooms that might contain monsters, Loti crouched down and moved slowly step by step. In the maze, walking close to the wall is a very dangerous thing, because there are many monsters hiding in the wall, waiting for prey to pass by. So in the absence of sufficient enemy detection ability, it is better to take the risk of walking in the middle of the road, which is relatively safer.

In the distance, the faint sounds of fighting and the shouts of adventurers could be heard.

Are you in danger?

While thinking this, he continued moving towards the third level of the maze.

Going to rescue will only waste time. Collecting magic cores is the main task now. If Miss Ella were here, she would probably choose to rescue. However, now is a maze activity. Even if I don't go to help, there will be a special rescue team to rescue.

The ground rustled underfoot. Because the maze was underground, the soil was very moist, and since it wasn't normally open to the public, it was unusually fluffy. Every step was a test of the adventurer's psyche. Fortunately, the second level of the maze didn't have any monsters like the "Crypt Spiders" that lay traps underground, otherwise Lotte would likely have turned back and continued hunting on the first level. It wasn't that she was afraid of traps; she had countless ways to deal with them. It was just that trying to crack them one by one was a waste of time and, in this environment, it just wasn't worth it.

In an extremely depressing environment, Lotte walked out of the second level of the cave maze, and after turning the last corner, she reached the third level of the maze.

"Even though I've been prepared, it's still a little unexpected..."

The scene before her was so shocking that Luti stopped thinking for a moment.

Unlike the first and second floors, which were complex caves with intricate structures and countless small rooms, the third floor was entirely a forest environment. From the vantage point where Luty stood, this basin was almost the same as the forest on the coast of Paris. Even the light was as abundant as in daylight. Countless bird-like creatures were jumping among the trees, and even the roars of beasts and the sound of flowing water could be heard in the distance.

He subconsciously raised his head to check the sky - fortunately, he had not walked out of the maze. The ceiling that separated the floors was still working well, and the special plants that covered the entire top floor served as a light source.

Standing on the edge of the cliff, Luty took a deep breath, and the unique fragrance of the forest seeped into her nostrils.

"This is the first one."

Unlike her previous motionless state, Lotte threw the fruit filled with explosive powder to the ground at an extremely fast speed and jumped off the broken wall without hesitation.

then.

-

A huge explosion sounded on the third floor. The cliff where Lotte was standing was blown apart by the fruit filled with explosive powder. The entire rock fell with countless dust, among which was a monster emitting silver light, the Silver Wolf.

"The Wind Stone... although it's a bit wasteful, it's a necessary expense."

Feeling somewhat helpless, Lotte placed her magic gun against a piece of blue ore and pulled the trigger. The moment the ore shattered, Lotte flew horizontally for several meters at breakneck speed, like an arrow. Then, Lotte pulled out the parachute, the flying tool she'd used at the Holy Academy, and pulled the trigger. The parachute-like structure instantly slowed her descent. After completing this series of movements, Lotte looked down from high above as the silver wolf, accompanied by the ore, fell into the forest.

"I got a low-grade Mithril magic core."

There was no trace of the gentle smile she had when she was a maid. Lotte watched all this silently. Now her identity was just an adventurer who hunted for magic cores.

Chapter 47 The Mysterious Black Adventurer

After landing from a high place, Luti rushed to the direction where the silver wolf had fallen before and took out the magic core from the dead silver wolf's body.

"Um……"

After replenishing her water, Luti frowned.

The journey had been incredibly smooth. This silence was like a deliberate trap. Not only were there few monsters, but even the numerous adventurers who had come in with them hadn't seen a single one. After once again internally hoping for Ella's search abilities, Lotte inserted her magic gun into the laces on her thigh, switching to Hela as her primary weapon.

"If it's a trap, then that means they value me enough to set it up? In other words, they believe they can't defeat me in a head-on battle, right? But since arriving in the Demon Territory, I haven't shown my abilities to anyone other than Miss Camisia and Miss Ella. Could it be that this trap is specifically set for whoever reaches the third floor first?"

Hiding in the shadow of the rubble, Lotte fell into deep thought.

"No, if it's specifically for those who arrive first, that wouldn't make sense from the perspective of robbing adventurers of their magic cores. Instead of setting a trap on the third floor, why not set it directly at the exit of the first floor? Wouldn't that be more convenient? Those who decide to leave the maze are those who have collected enough magic cores and have enough confidence, right?"

"Or am I overthinking it? Is it just my luck? I don't understand. Anyway, let's go hunt the intermediate-level Mithril Piranha Plants. As for the traps... let's use the mist powder to prepare an escape route in case of an ambush."

After a short rest, Ruthie stood up, but what she didn't expect was that she found her target after just taking a few steps.

"Now... I really have to sigh at my luck. Hmm—this should also be given by Miss Ella."

What you see in your field of vision is a sea of ​​purple flowers, but this sea of ​​flowers does not bring you a pleasant feeling, but only terror.

According to Yajie's explanation at the academy, the Piranha Plant is a high-level plant-type monster, with an average level between 13 and 16. Unlike most plant-type monsters, which are vulnerable to fire, the Piranha Plant's true weakness lies only in the part of its stem that's exposed when it raises its head to prey. A powerful enough attack to shatter the stem at that moment will succumb to the Piranha Plant. Beyond that, any attack to any other part of the plant's stem will be resistant due to its tough leaves and stems.

Three-meter-tall Piranhas, planted every few dozen meters, swayed in the distance, emitting a captivating fragrance. Lotte smiled a rare, "successful" smile.

The fragrance of the Piranha Plant is also one of its methods of attack. Most plant-type monsters cannot move, so it is difficult for them to catch prey. Therefore, many plant-type monsters have evolved parts that can actively attack, such as vines that can stretch and retract freely, and seeds that can be sprayed like magic bullets. The Piranha Plant chooses this kind of hallucinogenic toxin that can cause people to hallucinate and actively approach it.

It's a pity that these will be completely ineffective in the face of the "Praise of the Elves" given by Ella. The magical clothing can even isolate heat and mosquitoes, and toxins are naturally part of the isolation. All of this is something that has been tested long ago.

Ruthless in walking into the area that looked like purple fog, she found a bush suitable for sniping, set up Hela, and lay on the ground, starting to look for her first target.

Is it better to use armor-piercing bullets with concentrated magic power, or magic attacks with attribute attacks? Is it okay to just use explosive bullets?

Because such an immobile target was too easy for her, Lotte had a few playful thoughts. Although the only weak point of the Piranha Plant was the stem that was exposed when it tilted its head back, and the rest of its body was very tough, this was not worth mentioning to Hela, or rather, to second-level magic.

"Let me try a little... I guess I couldn't do it last time I used armor-piercing bullets."

Out of resentment for not being able to snipe two lizards at the same time when sniping them yesterday, Luti placed her hand on the magic mark on the upper right side of Hela, releasing Hela's restriction mode and injecting magic power into Hela.

"Preliminary ammunition loaded, test firing—yeah."

He found the Lucky Person closest to him through the scope and checked the remaining magic power again.

"This is for Miss Ella's wish—[Armor-Piercing Bullet]."

Chi-

The red bullet cut through the air and hit the target in a perfect parabola with an orange-red tail flame.

Snapped.