Masayuki was originally regarded as a hero in a daze, and he, a middle-class boy, felt no nostalgia for the title of second-class boy.
In addition, what happened to Bonnie and Qiu, he took the initiative to express his willingness to be Rimuru's subordinate, and Rimuru didn't refuse even if he took it. In short, Masayuki is welcome to stay in the town for a long time in the future.
Another six days passed leisurely.
Tempest's founding ceremony was originally expected to last three days, but due to everyone's support, the affairs of the maze continued for seven days.
On June 17th, the founding ceremony has obviously ended, but the town of Rimuru is still crowded with people, because the last batch of adventurers who enter the underground palace to participate in the skill purchase qualification competition are about to come out, and the top 100 will be completely selected.
The entrance to the underground palace has been urgently expanded into a huge square. Directly opposite the underground maze, there is a scrolling screen that displays the results of the top 100 names in real time.
Just like the results of the ancient imperial examinations, some people did not look at the test at the entrance, but looked around the screen. Occasionally, a person's name appeared on the screen and the original 100th place disappeared, and a burst of noise would erupt.
As the time approached five o'clock in the evening, the top 100 people stared at the screen closely, fearing that their names would be lost if they were not careful.
Among them is a team of B-class adventurers named 'Hao Lei'.
Their captain's name is Basson, a bald and strong man. At this moment, he is calming down the magician in a black cloak with a bold face: "It will be okay, Gomes. There are only the last 10 minutes left, you still have to do it?"
In the 99th place, it is impossible for two more people to surpass you, your skills are mastered!"
"Yes, yes, Brother Gomes."
"Boss Basson is right!"
The four minions around him echoed, and Gomes was so nervous that his body tensed up, but he pretended to be nonchalant: "It's my fault, I'm really careless. I thought that with my own strength, I could easily enter the top 100, but I didn't.
Thinking that there are many good players participating this time, if we were more serious in the previous seven days, it would not be so dangerous."
"Am I the same?" Basson said: "Who knew that even monsters from the Monster Kingdom can participate? I selected a hundred people early on, and now I estimate that there are only two hundred. The four of them are even more useless. Our team this time
Whether you can qualify for skill purchase depends entirely on you, Gomes!"
Gomes was stunned for a moment and looked at Basson.
Our team?
It was a tense moment, so he didn't dwell on Basson's words for the time being. The last 10 minutes passed almost in a blink of an eye, especially when his name jumped at the eighth minute and became the 100th.
Almost suffocated.
When the words 'final result' appeared in the middle of the screen, he let out a long breath.
"It's done!"
"Hahaha." The boys and captain Basson also laughed: "Well done! Gomes!"
These voices were drowned in the bustling square, until a voice in the distance was amplified through a microphone: "Okay! Now let us congratulate the top 100 people in this maze competition, and everyone outside the 100 should not be discouraged!
Next, I want to introduce to you the last ‘amusement facility’ in Tempest, which is the underground maze that will be officially opened!”
"oh--"
There was another burst of noise, because the picture on the big screen was replaced by some real-time scenes of the maze - endless monsters, the arrogant "devil king" guarding the gate, traps with all kinds of tricks, and treasure chests full of surprises.
"As you can see, there are a hundred floors in the underground maze. So... who can make it to the end~?"
"In addition, I think everyone is also very curious about what is in those treasure chests. Here I can give you a surprise in advance - not only the treasure chests, but also monsters. After defeating them, there may be drops including but not limited to
"Yes, it's the skill book that everyone imagined!" Five books appeared on the big screen at the right time, with ABCDE level skills written on the five covers of gold, silver, purple, green and white.
"As you can see, this is the 'purchase voucher' for skills. The top 100 people this time will get skill books of different levels according to their rankings. With this skill book, everyone can buy skills from Mr. Ji Xing, the skill merchant."
You can buy the skills of the corresponding level there!”
This time, the cheers almost shook the clouds in the sky away, and it was a bit scary to see tens of thousands of adventurers making noise together.
Basson put his arms around Gomes's shoulders and laughed loudly: "It'll be fine this time. When I take you through the maze, I will type out another skill book for each of you!"
Gomes didn't respond... That's the skill book I won. Why did he default to belonging to the team and want the things assigned to him?!
The Haolei team was basically supported by Basson and him, a captain and a vice-captain. Gomes's mind turned and he felt that without Basson as the captain, warrior, and magician, he would not be able to perform well in the maze.
', it was easy to be attacked by monsters, and in the end I had no choice but to acquiesce.
Let’s work together to get another skill book, right? That will definitely be mine, and it will be a ‘constant supply’ from now on!
Although the host immediately said that the more precious the items, the lower the explosion rate, Gomes didn't take it seriously. As long as he defeated enough monsters and entered enough floors, he would always be able to defeat them.
On the other hand, another item sold in the Maze Mall—the resurrection bracelet—has aroused heated discussion.
That is the product of Ramiris' skill.
As long as you wear the resurrection bracelet, you will not really die even if you die in the underground palace, and the host also gave a demonstration in person.
Of course some people doubt it, but most people still half-believe it, so this underground maze is more like a level-breaking game that you can participate in by paying money, and it is also the kind of level-breaking that is profitable.
After Ramiris built a huge light door and enlarged the entrance to the underground palace, the adventurers immediately bought tickets and poured in. The streets became empty for a while.
…
On the ground floor of the underground labyrinth, one of the rooms was arranged like a control room, and a sign saying "No entry for non-employees" was also hung.
Combining Ramiris's skills with technological magic, the split screens here can capture the switching of each floor of the underground palace in real time, and will be managed by the operation staff headed by the tree elf in the future.
But today is the first time the maze is in operation, including Rimuru, Milim, Ji Xing, Hinata and others are here to watch the fun.
"Originally, we planned a 'closed test' to find a few groups of adventurers to test the performance of the maze. However, the previous competition was already considered a test, and the maze was much more popular than expected. Ji Xing's skills are really popular.
"
Rimuru sighed with emotion and said a little worriedly: "I hope there won't be any problems."
"Absolutely no problem!" Ramiris flapped her wings and flew in, slapping her little chest and saying, "The maze is perfectly designed!"
I'm really worried when you say that... Rimuru cursed in his heart, but on the surface he encouraged Ramiris, until she discovered that the 'unlucky' adventurer had fallen into the trap, and in a short time he had entered.
Five floors.
She looked at Ramiris with a dark face, and Ramiris also felt that the atmosphere was not right.
"You idiot...why are there so many falling traps in the first few floors?!"
?????55.?????
Ramiris said sarcastically: "This is not for the sake of the completion of the maze... Moreover, aren't there even more ferocious falling traps below? I thought you forgot to set them up on the upper level. It's really a good intention."
Falling from the lower level is a trap, but falling from the upper level is not a benefit?! In this way, the maze gameplay on the upper level is meaningless, and you can just attack the lower level casually!
Rimuru was a little helpless and could only comfort himself. This could be regarded as diverting the adventurers who were pouring in, so as to prevent the first floor from being too crowded.
So she just shook her head and said: "It doesn't matter, just make subsequent adjustments. There are no more changes, right?"
"This, this..."
Rimuru had a bad premonition, and soon discovered that a group of familiar adventurers frequently opened good treasure chests. As for the Mimics, poison gas treasure chests, etc., it seemed as if they did not exist at all.
"Ailian and the others..."
"Ah, yes, Ailian and the others sent gifts of condolences, and we started chatting in a friendly manner afterwards. That cake..."
The more Rimuru heard about this blatant act of bribery, the more headache he got. Ramiris praised the deliciousness of the cake for a while, then realized something was wrong and defended: "You can't blame me! It's not just me, Master and Milim also said it's okay.
!”
She began to get angry with embarrassment, Rimuru could only sigh, and Hinata shook her head.
If the church had such corrupt behavior, it would have been arrested by the Paladin long ago. But she couldn't control it here. Looking at the people on the screen trying to break through, she thought that maybe she should let her subordinates come to break through and get some exercise.
exercise.
There is one more thing... She looked at Ramiris hesitantly. The Elf Queen is here. Do you want to accept the trial and become a brave?
This Elf Queen, can I pass the trial by giving her a piece of cake? She complained in her heart, but of course she didn't really want to do this.
…
On the other side, Team Howley was not conspicuous among the tens of thousands of adventurers who entered the maze.
In just three hours, they encountered two falling traps, so they came to the third floor. They also encountered two paralysis treasure chests, a hypnotic gas treasure chest, a weak treasure chest form monster, and a powerful treasure chest.
Strange.
When they discovered the hidden room again, they were afraid to go in for a while.
"No, it's not a trap again, is it?"
"Is there really a treasure here? Isn't it all a propaganda trick?!"
Well, according to common sense, they should also encounter something good. Now they are like a team that has encountered a guarantee after ten draws in a row.
After hesitating for a long time, they opened the door and saw a gray wall - a giant bear.
"Is it really a trap?!"
"Retreat first, Boss Bassen."
"No, it looks like we've been targeted! Can we escape?!"
"The only option is to fight!"
Bassen whined and pushed up, staring at the giant bear with a desperate expression on his face.
This is a C-level giant bear, and Basson's team is a B-level team, but actual combat does not entirely depend on level, not to mention that giant bears are rough-skinned and fleshy things, and they are very powerful. As long as the giant claws touch,
They would be seriously injured and die.
——As for the resurrection bracelet, who can guarantee whether it is true or false? Besides, dying at least once will be painful.
So after a hard fight, they finally killed the giant bear, and even if they were slightly injured, they carefully used healing potions to completely treat it.
Then they groped for the giant bear's body, but still didn't see any treasure. At this time, another boy shouted in surprise: "Brother Bassen, look, there is a silver treasure chest here!"
"Silver?"
"This is the first time I've seen..."
"Isn't it poison gas again?!"
Once bitten by a snake, you will be afraid of well ropes for ten years.
They looked at each other.
"In order, it seems that it is Brother Gomes' turn to open the treasure chest this time, right?"
Of the six people in the team, only Gomes, a long-range magician, has never opened a box.
Gomez hesitated for a moment, then slowly went over to open the silver treasure chest, and then retreated backwards.
A bright green light reflected, and several young men were shocked: "It's poisonous gas!"
"Quickly retreat!"
They quickly retreated out of the door and looked inside the door cautiously. After hiding for half a minute, they realized that the green light was just green light, not poisonous gas.
"……What?"
After a while, they pushed me closer and shouted: "There is a book in here!"
"The green book has the letter D written on it..."
"Eh?! This, is this..."
"D-level skills?!"
All six people showed ecstasy, and Basson grabbed the skill book in his hand: "Very good, now there are two books, and unlike the previous E-level skill book, now it is a D-level skill!"
He put the skill book in his arms and said: "Just play four more skill books, and each of our team will have one!"
"..."
Gomes' joy subsided slightly.
The average skill score I got from the competition, and the skills I got lucky with were still average scores.
What's more, now that Basson has put both skills in his arms, what if... can he really share them equally with us?
He hesitated and said: "Captain, do you want the two of us to go to a skill merchant first and buy the skills to increase our combat effectiveness before we can pass the level?"
"What's the rush?" Basson flatly refused: "We should strike while the iron is hot and print out a few more skill books. If there are C-level or higher-level skills, it will be easier to distribute them at that time!"
So have you automatically assigned higher level skills to yourself?
Gomes remained silent and did not speak, as if he acquiesced. The six people in the team rejoiced for a while and continued to break through the level.
…
In the control room.
"How lucky you are. That D-level skill book is the best thing in the first ten floors, right? I put it on the third floor specifically for promotion!"
The main screen was showing the actions of Haurei's team, and Rimuru expressed this emotion.
As a result, the next moment, just a few seconds after the team walked out of the treasure chest room, the magician in the team suddenly hit the bald captain with a fireball from behind, and the bald captain screamed and fell to the ground!
Chaos broke out, and several people watched helplessly as the magician killed everyone in the team.
The corner of Rimuru's mouth twitched, and Hinata's eyebrows also wrinkled. Ji Xing and Milim's expressions did not change at all.
"Wow hahaha, there's internal strife!"
Yes, forget about the fact that wealth touches people's hearts! Rimuru scratched his head helplessly. A small amount of wealth is okay, but with the appearance of something like a skill book that completely changes the destiny and is worth tens of thousands of gold, it is difficult for some adventurers to maintain their original skills.
Heart.
It seems that the design of the maze needs to be improved. Although it can be resurrected, the adventurers who enter cannot trust their teammates and everyone is in danger.
On the first day of operation of the maze, various problems were exposed.