I Am Not A Goblin Slayer

Chapter 257: Chapter 203: The Rejection Phase Arrives

After the challenge trial ended, silence fell all around. The lively demon projections disappeared without a trace, and the sound of insect wings buzzing in the air ceased.

Only the three of them remained standing in the center of the expansive and dilapidated ancient arena, overgrown with mottled moss.

On the stone bleachers, the marks of time’s long erosion were faintly visible.

”Is it really over?” Aaliyah glanced around, her eyes still carrying a hint of confusion.

After experiencing an intense and thrilling battle, the current tranquility and abundant rewards felt like a bewildering dream.

”Yes, it’s over.” Gauss shook his head, his tone thoughtful. ”I wonder if others who come later will still be able to trigger the trial.”

The moment the demon projections vanished, it felt as if some force that maintained the existence of this place had been exhausted.

If the trial only happened this one time, then they truly hit the jackpot.

After the battle, the three of them, following routine, carefully searched the arena and the surrounding stone bleachers.

However, besides collecting dust and getting some moss on them, they found nothing else.

The remains of the thorn giant beast they had fought earlier had also dissipated completely in the black smoke, leaving no trace behind.

With no additional discoveries, they found a relatively flat, open spot and began setting up camp to rest and recuperate.

Serdur efficiently set up a simple tent, while Aaliyah was washing wild vegetables and food that had been foraged along the way.

Their storage pouch contained only some meat and emergency food rations. The space in the preservation box was limited, so they didn’t carry much fresh produce.

Therefore, the best way to supplement vitamins and dietary fiber was to be mindful of the wild vegetables and fruits growing beside the road.

This task usually fell under Aaliyah’s responsibility.

As Aaliyah washed the food, Ulfen quietly lay down to rest at her feet.

The recent battle had also drained much of its energy, causing it to lie obediently and rest as if its temperament had changed.

Gauss sat cross-legged on a larger stone, taking out his fine steel longsword that had accompanied him through several battles.

The blade was still sharp, but the intense clash with the thorn giant beast had inevitably left a few minor dents and scratches.

He slightly lowered his head, examining the damaged areas under the illumination of the nearby light spell.

Then, he took out a whetstone and maintenance oil from the tool kit at his knee and began the maintenance work with a focused expression.

”Shhh... Shhh...”

The rhythmic sound of friction was particularly clear in the quiet arena.

Gauss’s fingers moved steadily and powerfully as he meticulously polished the sword’s flaws, with the cold metal blade gradually restoring its smoothness under the whetstone’s grind.

Nearly a year as an adventurer turned Gauss from a novice in weapon maintenance into a skilled hand.

Initially, he found it novel, then tedious, but now he discovered another kind of enjoyment in it. Especially while grinding, the familiar shhh-shhh sound always seemed to calm his mind involuntarily.

It quite had the flavor of looking at the mountain as a mountain, not seeing the mountain as just a mountain, and still seeing it as a mountain—all over again.

Adventuring is not only about fighting.

The majority of the time is spent on relatively mundane daily tasks like traveling, gathering, exploring, resting, equipment maintenance... heart-pounding battles only occupy a tiny fraction of the time.

Whether a bottom adventurer or someone who has entered the profession phase, it’s all the same.

Gauss even speculated that those top adventurers, who seemed unattainable and should be busy saving cities and civilians from danger, likely led lives very similar to theirs.

After all, constant busyness could suffocate a person, couldn’t it?

After finishing the weapon maintenance, Aaliyah had also finished preparing the ingredients.

Gauss walked over.

Now, the three members of the squad take turns cooking.

Today was Aaliyah’s turn.

”What are we eating?” Gauss asked curiously as he walked up beside her, slightly bending down to support his knees.

Her basket held a plant that glowed with a faint blue light all over.

Aaliyah glanced up, seeing Gauss’s face full of curiosity, she hummed proudly.

When it came to the knowledge of edible demons, she wasn’t as knowledgeable as Gauss, but when it came to wild vegetables and plants, she was the expert.

She picked up a blue plant resembling a smaller version of a fiddlehead fern to show Gauss.

”This is an earth vein fern, crisp and tender stalks, the taste is sweet, sweet. After blanching, it can be eaten as a cold dish. In the labyrinth, you can often find them in the humid crevices near the water source.”

After speaking, she picked up a handful of dark purple plants with thick serrated leaves.

”This is rock ear greens. The leaves are a bit astringent, but they contain nutrients beneficial to the body, suitable for soup. The taste... is somewhat like overcooked spinach.”

With her explanation, Gauss also gained a lot of understanding.

He admits that compared to meat, he sometimes indeed neglects vegetarian food.

But actually, it’s no big deal, as long as Aaliyah is here.

Not long after, with Gauss assisting in the preparations, a meal that could either be afternoon tea or dinner was ready.

Cold mixed Earth Spirit Fern, Rock Ear Cabbage Soup, smoked meat jerky, and refined bread exuding a wheat fragrance.

A simple meal, the three of them sat around a small bonfire, quietly enjoying the food.

”This Rock Ear Cabbage Soup tastes a bit strange, but it warms you up, very comforting.” Gauss leisurely dipped the last bit of soup with bread in his bowl. ”Serdur, what do you think?”

The Half-Snake Man Adventurer silently chewed on the meat jerky.

”But I still prefer meat.”

Aaliyah rolled her eyes at this.

The vegetable soup she made with care, Serdur had only sipped a little of it, and in the end, he was still gnawing on the bought jerky and bread.

Gauss watched this scene, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

The sound of chewing, soft conversations, the occasional clink of spoon against the edge of the bowl, and the crackling of the bonfire.

The ancient ruins of the arena, in a greenish hue, were peaceful.

This place that once symbolized death, frenzy, and battle, after being baptized by the passage of tens of thousands of years, was now left with nothing but enormous and silent boulders, retaining a trace of almost sacred tranquility.

Whether it was blood or glory, it had become invisible, now merely a temporary resting place for Gauss’s squad.

Gauss relaxed his body, leaning against the cold stone wall, feeling the solid sensation against his back.

Who knows whether the builders, rulers, and fighters of the past could imagine the scene unfolding now on the same grounds?

...

After eating and resting, the three judged the time and discussed their next move.

The current time was awkward; not quite time to rest for the night, but if they continued exploring, they’d have to find a new camp in just an hour or two.

While they hesitated whether to continue exploring or to rest there and end their day’s adventure,

Suddenly, a strange and grand sound echoed from deep within the maze, the surroundings began to tremble gently too.

”What’s happening?” Aaliyah used her hand to steady herself on the ground.

Gauss recalled something in his mind.

Referring quickly to the memory from the ”Maze Guide,” he found a similar description of the scene.

”It might be the maze’s ’alienation phase’!” Gauss informed the two of his guess.

In the growth phase, sometimes the maze enters a peculiar alienation phase.

During this period, the spatial flow of the maze becomes extremely complex, the most dangerous time for outsiders, strong or weak, as anyone could be shredded by space-time turbulence.

”But don’t panic, there should still be some buffer time before it formally begins.” Gauss steadied his teammates’ emotions.

He was a bit puzzled too.

Because according to books, the maze’s alienation phase often appears during the transitional periods of different growth stages of the maze.

And this maze had appeared not long ago, how could it enter the alienation phase so quickly?

”Let’s head out first,” Gauss suggested.

Although he reassured his teammates, it was his first time encountering such a situation, so he was unsure himself.

”Agreed.”

”Then let’s set off.”

Conveniently, their second exploration had yielded quite a lot, and leaving now would not be a waste of time.

Gauss and his team quickly packed their belongings, and under Gauss’s guidance, they swiftly headed in the direction of the exit according to the mental map.

On the way, they came across other Adventurer Squads, equally in a hurry.

None of them knew the situation, but they all understood that this was not a place to linger now.

The retreat for Gauss and his group went smoothly.

His mental map played a crucial role.

Plus, while the entrance to the lower levels of the maze was hard to find, the direction of the exit was fixed.

Even in a strange place, Gauss could accurately judge the direction based on his position and the lit exit location, saving the squad quite a bit of time.

The night was as deep and thick as ink.

The three-person squad finally, along with the hurried crowd, stepped onto the moonlit surface.