You can clear the game with just one life by relying on a useless person!

Chapter 24 The Hermit's Hut

In the game world of "Dark Fantasy", in addition to the vast, explorable map, there are also a large number of "mazes" scattered and semi-randomly throughout the continent.

You can call them mazes, dungeons, or dungeons; they are all special areas similar to instances.

In the lore, the labyrinths are created for various reasons, but they are all semi-independent spaces formed by various special forces. They may contain powerful enemies, as well as priceless treasures.

From a player's perspective, these mazes are dungeon levels that expand the game's explorable content.

You Che came looking for this for three reasons.

First of all, mazes are semi-independent spaces. Unless they were originally created by the corruption of darkness, the concentration of dark power inside them is much lower than that outside, and it is not easy for it to accumulate.

In the game's storyline, one of the ways the exiled person sought refuge was by entering a maze.

For Youche at this moment, the maze could serve as a temporary resting place—he was fed up with having to get up and grind monsters after only three or four hours of sleep at most.

Secondly, also due to the special nature of the labyrinth, Yuche speculates, based on the setting, that it should theoretically be able to isolate Bronya's tracking of him to a certain extent.

Although this is already deep within the kingdom, it's unlikely that Bronya would venture this far alone just to capture him, but it's still better to be safe than sorry.

Finally, the maze itself is a place where various resources gather. In Youche's plan, he needs to clear at least several mazes and obtain their corresponding special items, which are important components of his current and future combat power.

However, in reality, if it weren't for the mark left by Bronya, Yuche's original plan would have been to find specific villages and towns to learn some necessary skills to develop. The maze was originally his next goal.

But now he dares not approach the village at all, so he has to change his plans and choose an unconventional way to learn some alternative skills to enhance his combat power.

After confirming that there were no other enemies around, You Che placed his hand on the stone door. One of the three crystal-like ornaments on the door dimmed, and the door opened.

Each maze, once generated, will not move randomly and can be entered three times. After three entries, the entrance will disappear from its original location and reappear in another location after a period of time.

After the stone gate opened, You Che passed through a thin mist that emitted a vast white light. When he opened his eyes again, he found that the surrounding environment had changed.

He was still in a forest, but the terrain was very different from when he entered.

"Alright, let me see, this maze is..."

In the game world, the locations where dungeons spawn are varied, but generally speaking, unless it is a special dungeon, the environment inside the dungeon and its spawn location will maintain a consistent style.

The mazes that appear in the forest are mostly forest environments inside; the mazes that appear in the volcano are bound to be unbearably hot once you enter.

As for special dungeons, it's hard to say, because in the game, some special dungeons are even products of collaborations between "Dark Fantasy" and other games or IPs. However, the appearance of the gates of these dungeons is different and they are easy to identify.

There are over a hundred different dungeons to explore in the game, and it's still being updated.

Therefore, due to the diversity and randomness of the mazes, even a player of Youche's caliber wouldn't dare say that he knows all the details of every maze.

Therefore, the first thing he did after entering was to confirm which maze he had entered.

After scanning the area, what appeared before him was a crooked, pebbly path through the woods.

You Che's eyes lit up: "Found it?"

This was actually the third maze he had entered in the past three days. The probability of a maze appearing was not too low, and with his luck, finding an entrance was not too difficult. The difficulty lay in finding the specific maze he wanted.

Neither of the first two mazes was his target, so You Che simply rested there briefly before leaving. After all, mazes have their own recommended levels, and lingering in high-level mazes carries certain risks.

But this time, it seems we've finally found the right one.

Following the winding cobblestone path, a dilapidated little wooden house soon came into view, and Youche confirmed the information about the maze.

The Hermit's Cabin in the Woods

Recommended strategy level: LV15

"That's it, this is the place!"

You Che smiled with satisfaction and stepped forward to open the door.

The interior of the cabin was just as dilapidated as its exterior. The ceiling was covered with cobwebs, and the wooden floor was riddled with holes, creaking and groaning when stepped on. There were also various old books, small bottles containing strange liquids, and even the bones of unknown creatures scattered everywhere, making it look nothing like a place that anyone lived in.

However, as You Che entered the cabin, the door behind him slammed shut by itself.

You Che had anticipated this turn of events. The closed door was clearly not going to open, so he didn't try. Instead, he called out loudly, "Excuse me! Is this the dwelling of a hermit in the forest?"

A moment of silence fell over the cabin, then a hoarse voice boomed: "Where did you come from, kid? How did you find your way here?"

You Che remained unfazed: "I heard about the legend of the hermit in the forest and came specifically to find you! I want to learn magic from you!"

"Oh?" The voice sounded somewhat amused. "Do you know what I do for a living? You want to learn magic from me?"

Yu Che replied, "I don't know! But I really want to learn magic!"

"Hahaha!" the voice laughed. "Interesting. Come upstairs then, I'll be waiting for you in the study on the second floor!"

The voice faded away, and You Che didn't linger. He went straight upstairs and pushed open the door to the study at the end of the corridor.

It's still a complete mess here, or rather, it's even more chaotic than downstairs.

Amidst the mountain of books, a skeleton draped in a tattered robe sat at a table, flipping through a book. His pale frame trembled slightly, and eerie blue ghostly fire burned in his eye sockets.

It was a skeleton mage!

Seeing You Che enter the study, it chuckled again: "So, kid, still want to learn magic from me?"

You Che remained unfazed: "I want to!"

This time, it was the skeleton mage's turn to be stunned: "Oh? Wait, you bastard..."

It noticed the faint mark on You Che's head, examined it for a moment, and then said somewhat hesitantly, "You... seem to have some kind of background as well?"

You Che smiled silently.

Upon hearing this, it became clear what level this guy was at, which suited him perfectly.

So You Che said, "I've heard the story of the hermit in the forest. I heard that you confined yourself to the forest to seal away three evil monsters. I admire you very much!"

"It's said that if you can defeat those three magical beasts, you can be reborn, so I want to help you! Of course, once you're freed from your bonds, I hope you can teach me magic!"

The skeleton mage was stunned again. It hadn't expected You Che to say everything it wanted to say, which left it somewhat bewildered.

However, it quickly regained its senses and said, "That's right, that's how it is! Since you've heard about me, I don't need to say more. Go and help me deal with those three magical beasts and retrieve the sealed cores from their bodies, and I'll teach you magic!"

You Che nodded: "It's a deal!"

"Then go ahead, be careful." The skeleton mage waved his hand, and a creaking sound came from downstairs as the door reopened.

Without further ado, You Che turned around and went downstairs.

After he left, the skeleton mage chuckled to himself, "Such a naive fellow actually came to my doorstep...hehehe!"

At the same moment, You Che, who had just stepped out of the hut, sneered silently: "A brainless skeleton trying to outmaneuver me? You won't have a chance even if you die a few more times!"

He determined the direction and then headed deeper into the forest within the maze.