The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Chapter 1384 403: The Beginning of Chaos (Part 2)

Sure, here is the translation:

In merely two hours, over three hundred Magic Apprentices had been sent away, and the Assistant responsible for patrolling nearly had his legs broken from running!

The elimination speed was unprecedented!

Typically, large-scale eliminations wouldn't start until at least the third layer of the Maze, and in previous years, eliminating a hundred people on the first layer would have been considered exceedingly difficult.

In the duty room outside the Maze, Master Merk was frowning deeply at the Magic Crystal before him, while the few Assistants beside him dared not breathe.

Kemidir was even wishing he could dig out and curse Osa's ancestors to the eighteenth generation; where on earth had this guy brought this troublesome Undead from?

He vowed that once things were settled, he would make that damned Adventurer pay the price! He would use the most vicious Curse to turn that idiot into a toad!

What Kemidir didn't know was that the Adventurer he collaborated with had already boarded a ship at the North Sea port heading to the New Continent for a new adventure.

As for the dividends from the Magic Crystal Mine...

He could only look to Baron Gess to cash them out.

Kemidir wasn't the only one puzzled; Master Merk was equally perplexed.

In the Crystal, white light spots representing emergency signals flickered rapidly in the first layer of the Maze, far exceeding his expectations.

"What's going on?" he mumbled to himself, unconsciously tapping his fingers on the table, "Are this year's Apprentices really so incompetent?"

Though he designed the Maze to be challenging, it wasn't supposed to cause so many Apprentices to collectively collapse in the first layer...

Just as he was pondering, an Assistant responsible for coordination hurried in, his face worn out and anxious.

"Master Merk! The number of activated emergency Runes in the first layer far exceeds our expectations, and there aren't enough Assistants patrolling! They are requesting reinforcements!"

Merk lifted his head, displeased, "Then reallocate personnel from the second and third layers, prioritizing the safety of the Apprentices!"

"We've already done that," the Assistant panted, his tone growing heavier, "but... there's a new issue, a much more severe one."

"Tell me."

"The evacuation Teleportation Array in the Maze core... has failed," the Assistant said with difficulty, "We cannot use the Array to send out those who lost qualification; some Assistants are still trying to lead them to other areas to activate a Teleportation Gate... Now many areas in the Maze's first layer are in complete chaos."

His statement was quite reserved.

More accurately, those patrolling Assistants had to avoid interfering with other Apprentices' trials while leading those eliminated back and forth through the Maze.

They had no clue why the Teleportation Array wasn't working, only hoping the next area might improve...

Merk suddenly stood up, a hint of shock in his eyes.

To prevent cheating, the entire Trial Maze was isolated from external physical connections since its construction, with the only entrance being the initial Teleportation Gate.

Other than that, there were only some ventilation ducts!

Once the internal evacuation Array failed, it meant those eliminated Apprentices were thoroughly trapped inside the Maze.

Merk's face changed drastically as he realized this was no ordinary trial accident, but a severe crisis...

A droplet of cold sweat rolled from his forehead, sliding along the corner of his eye and dripping onto the floor.

Damn Demon God—

He messed up!

The atmosphere in the duty room felt suffocating, like a viscous Slime.

No time could be wasted, he had to act immediately to steer the out-of-control Maze back to its normal path!

After a moment of thought, Merk hesitated no longer, decisively issuing commands.

"Notify all patrolling Assistants to gather all disqualified Apprentices and take them to the temporary shelter in the first layer's East District."

"Shelter?" The Assistant was taken aback, it was a reserve area set to respond to extreme situations, usually activated only during the most critical moments.

"Yes," Merk's voice was indisputable, "Have our Assistants wait there and soothe the Apprentices' emotions. I'll personally lead them there and open a physical channel from above the shelter—"

Before Merk finished speaking, a deafening boom erupted from below the duty room.

The solid stone floor and walls vibrated violently, knocking over the ink bottle on the table, staining the map with a blot.

A young Assistant lost his balance, staggered back, barely holding onto the wall, his face full of astonishment and shock.

"What happened?"

"This must be at least a Silver Level Spell—"

"Or maybe even Gold Level..."

"Which idiot brought a Gold Level Magic Scroll into here?!"

Before everyone could recover from the tremors, a piercing alarm abruptly sounded from the Magic Crystal.

A glaring crimson fissure appeared on the Crystal's surface, alarming everyone of damage to the Maze's structure!

Merk's pupils contracted sharply, and he rushed to the Crystal, his curses slipping out as he saw the feedback from the Magic Array.

"Damn—"

The alarm wasn't from the chaotic first layer; it came from the third layer!

An entire area there had collapsed!

...

One hour earlier—

The third layer of the Maze.