The Maze of Knowledge is the most unique among all legendary magics. The principle of its labyrinthine structure is actually similar to an information cocoon—the scenes and environments one sees are essentially distractions, making it impossible to locate the correct exit based on terrain or direction.
The power and intrigue of this legendary magic lie in its ability to distort even system map guidance, meaning the target location sensed by the paper figurine could also be a twisted result.
At the same time, it is both the easiest and the hardest legendary magic to crack.
It’s easy because the only way to solve the Maze of Knowledge is to answer questions correctly. As long as you answer correctly, you’ll receive guidance to find the exit—a rule even the caster must abide by. But it’s also difficult for the same reason: answering incorrectly will trap you in the maze indefinitely, subjecting you to percentage-based damage penalties until death.
Moreover, trying to stall for time to answer slowly is futile, as targets within the maze exist in a consciousness-like space where health and spiritual energy do not naturally regenerate over time. Even with other recovery methods, resources will eventually run dry.
Another solution is to forcibly "flip the table" with power great enough to overturn the maze. However, the current Maze of Knowledge is so vast that it likely envelops the entire outer perimeter of the royal city. Only fundamental laws like the Infernal Core or the Tree of Life could achieve such a feat.
Thus, for Ye Bai, the only way to overcome the Maze of Knowledge is to answer its questions correctly.
In the Maze of Knowledge, locating the correct spot to answer is essentially the first test. Compared to the chaotic, disordered ruins around it, the relatively intact outer wall stands out as an "order within disorder."
"I sense the distance to the target increasing, and at a faster rate than before. It seems the maze is indeed misleading us," the paper figurine on the leaf mused as Ye Bai approached the city wall.
Earlier, while lost in the maze, they had felt themselves gradually nearing the destination. Changing direction should have resulted in the same rate of distancing, but the discrepancy revealed the trick.
"That means we’re on the right path." After navigating through the disarrayed structures and spending some time, Ye Bai finally reached the base of the city wall.
It then struck her—from the moment she entered, she had been confronted by those chaotic buildings, while the wall had always been at a distance. At the time, she had been too focused on exploring deeper to notice that detail.
The wall appeared to be constructed from Celestial Azure Stone, a rare material, bearing the marks of time but free from the "splicing" that afflicted the other structures.
Ye Bai reached out and touched the wall.
Instantly, the seemingly rough surface rippled like a reflection in water, and a question with four multiple-choice answers appeared on the wall as if on a screen:
[What does ‘Lorarin’ mean?]
[Thief], [Kro], [Niro], [Dofi]
The scene, uncannily reminiscent of a quiz show, left Ye Bai with an indescribable mix of amusement and bewilderment. She had once toyed with such an idea during the design phase, but seeing it manifest in this fantastical world evoked a strange sense of irony.
Questions in the Maze of Knowledge were drawn from in-game lore, not customized by the caster—otherwise, the magic would be unsolvable. They were essentially pulled from the world’s vast encyclopedia of knowledge.
Of the four answers, the first was in common human script, while the other three were identified by Ye Bai as Elvish, Infernal, and Voidtongue. "Lorarin" meant "thief" in Deepsea Tongue, and "Niro" carried the same meaning in Infernal.
Since Ye Bai hadn’t fully mastered Elvish or Voidtongue, those terms weren’t automatically translated for her, leaving their meanings uncertain.
However, she wasn’t alone—she had a paper figurine ally fluent in multiple supernatural languages.
"Though these are supernatural scripts, I can’t enter them," the paper figurine said after sensing the wall. It then translated: "‘Kro’ means ‘thief’ in Elvish, and ‘Dofi’ refers to ‘bandit’ in Voidtongue."
In other words, this was a multiple-choice question where the correct answers were the first three, excluding "Dofi."
Ye Bai, as the one answering, pressed the first option.
The answer shimmered, and a feedback message entered her consciousness:
[Incorrect]
‘-5278’
Simultaneously, the penalty for the wrong answer struck—a quarter of Ye Bai’s health vanished instantly.
Damage from the Maze of Knowledge resembled soul damage, bypassing all her resistances and damage-reduction gear. Even the "Blessing of Life" effect from her Life Branch accessory failed to mitigate it.
Ye Bai shuddered, staring in disbelief at the word "Lorarin" on the wall. In her perspective, this Deepsea Tongue term was unmistakably translated by the system as "thief."
"What’s wrong?" the paper figurine asked immediately, noticing her reaction.
"I chose wrong."
Frowning, Ye Bai fixed her gaze on the question.
Could the Maze of Knowledge be distorting system information in the quiz segment?
She dismissed the thought almost as soon as it arose. As the signature legendary magic of the Voidkin—a race devoted to truth—it was unthinkable for the Maze to fabricate knowledge. From a game mechanics standpoint, this also held true.
While the maze itself could be riddled with misdirection, the quiz segment, as the foundational escape route, couldn’t be entirely blocked. Otherwise, the Maze of Knowledge would be the most unsolvable legendary magic of all.
The paper figurine was equally puzzled. "Could it be that since ‘Lorarin’ is a supernatural script, the answer must also correspond to another supernatural script?"
"That must be the case," Ye Bai sighed, chiding herself for overlooking such a detail. The health loss felt unjustified.
She then selected another seemingly foolproof answer: "Niro."
Yet the answer shimmered ominously once more.
[Incorrect]
‘-10556’
This time, half her health vanished in an instant.
"..."
Still wrong?!
The atmosphere grew tense. Not only were the paper figurine and Ye Bai on high alert, but even Autofis nearby turned a solemn gaze toward the wall.
After a moment, the paper figure finally spoke: "If the two answers you chose weren’t wrong, and the question wasn’t wrong either..."
"Then the problem lies in the rules of this quiz," Ye Bai interjected.
The Knowledge Maze’s questions and answers must follow certain rules—that was the bottom line. If it wasn’t "correct," then it was "wrong."
"Two consecutive mistakes, three correct answers and one wrong one..." Then she leveled up, exhaling slowly. "The question isn’t wrong, the answers aren’t wrong, so the most likely issue is the answering logic. The logic between the question and answers must be reversed."
"This isn’t a multiple-choice question. It’s a single-choice one."
As she spoke, Ye Bai’s gaze fell on the last answer, corresponding to the word "Dofei" in the Voidtongue language, which meant "bandit."
But if this choice turned out to be wrong, the consequences would be unimaginable.
There were four answers in total, and the Knowledge Maze didn’t give those trapped within it the luxury of trial and error. The first mistake had cost Ye Bai a quarter of her health, the second mistake doubled that to half, and by this pattern, the third would double again—taking 100%.
Even though Ye Bai had just leveled up, the rule deducted health by percentage. No matter how much she leveled up, 100% was still 100%.
Ye Bai wasn’t one to hesitate. Steadying herself, she reached for the one wrong answer.
If this deduction was still incorrect, she could only gamble on whether her talent, [Against All Odds], could withstand the penalty of another mistake.
Yet, just as her hand was about to touch the stone wall, a donkey’s snout pressed against it first.
Ye Bai’s expression twisted in shock. "Autofis!"
......
"My lord... cough..."
Before the question wall, a knight of light groaned, having touched two answers in succession. He could already feel immense damage ravaging his body from within.
"Kro, you go next..." Codos said, but before he could finish, another hoarse voice cut in.
"Proceed to touch the fourth answer."
The knight’s face paled, his eyes pleading as he looked at Codos.
Codos’ expression darkened. He seemed about to say something but ultimately held back.
With a deep breath, the knight had no choice but to obey, reaching for the fourth answer on the wall.
"Thud!"
The next moment, with a dull sound, the knight collapsed to the ground.
"Alvin!"
His comrades rushed forward in alarm, only to discover their companion had already lost all signs of life.
Codos’ face was now ashen. His gaze shifted to the wooden crate behind him, from which the hoarse voice muttered indifferently:
"Each person only gets three chances to make mistakes per question. None of the answers are about choosing the correct one... Could it be that the wrong answer is the one to pick? Given the Voidlings’ current state, it’s highly possible."
At this, the hoarse voice called out, "Codos."
Codos shuddered, his scalp prickling, but he could only reply, "Yes!"
"Dispose of the body properly. Send another person up—choose the second answer this time."
Codos turned to the remaining knights. After a moment of silence, weighed down by the bloodline-induced terror emanating from the crate, he finally responded numbly, "Yes..."
......
"Autofis!"
"Boom!"
As Ye Bai’s tense, dry voice rang out, the chosen answer didn’t waver as before. Instead, the entire wall shook violently before collapsing in an instant.
Beyond the shattered wall lay a stretch of gray-white mist.
Then, the scattered azure stones rearranged themselves within the mist, forming a new path. At its end stood yet another question wall.
"So it really was about choosing the wrong answer."
Ye Bai, heart still pounding, roughly ruffled Autofis’ head before finally letting out a relieved sigh.
"Turns out this place shouldn’t be called the Knowledge Maze—it’s the Mistake Maze."
