"What's so funny?" The male silhouette was annoyed by the chuckling of the girl called Violet.
"Oh, nothing really," Violet turned towards the male silhouette, called Spencer, and added. "Just wondering how excited Gabriella would feel when we report back to her,"
"If she's of interest to Gabriella, then I better round up the gang and instruct them on what to do," Spencer suggested.
"You do that, babe. I'll report this great news to Gabriella myself," Violet said happily.
She sounded excited to see someone who Gabriella would be glad to see as well.
_________
Meanwhile, in a vague location, unknown to the players.
Standing in front of a giant pair of golden doors, a handsome-looking elf had a dejected look on his face.
He stared into the door as though he were waiting for something or better yet someone to open it for him.
Of course, the handsome elf was none other than General Zhang himself.
He wore an emerald robe embroidered with intricate designs of various kinds of divine beasts.
"Come in," A commanding voice ordered from behind the door.
Rather than just fumbling into the room, General Zhang simply stood in front of the huge golden door, not doing anything.
And with a wave of his hand, a violent but fleeting gust of wind surged forward from his back, opening the golden door wide for Zhang to enter freely.
He entered the room engulfed by utter darkness, with only a solitary source of light illuminating the center of the room.
General Zhang approached the center and bent his knee with his head staring toward the ground.
Knowing he wasn't alone, he could feel the piercing gaze of the five Elders sitting around him in the room.
"What brings you here so early?" A domineering voice asked.
A voice capable of imploding the eardrums of mere mortals.
Even General Zhang felt nothing but trepidation at the sound of such a voice, and he was immortal as well.
"The labyrinth has been cleared, Milord," He timidly replied.
"Preposterous!!" The second Elder roared, slapping his thighs.
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The slap reverberated like a violent peal of thunder.
The second Elder continued. "You mean a human cleared the labyrinth on his own?"
" Um, No Milord. He had help, but he handled more than half of the Minotaurs on his own,".
"Fufu… It's the same as him clearing the labyrinth on his own," A third Elder chimed in. She happened to be the only female among the Elders.
"Precisely. What level is the human to be able to take down a level 5 beast on his own,"
"A level 2 player, sire," General Zhang replied, his face still staring downwards.
"Fufu… How intriguing," The female Elder giggled.
"Well, The Dark Minotaur never really got accustomed to its current level," said the fourth Elder.
The silhouette of the first Elder stroked his beard while humming. "Hmm, you are right. With an experience point of one, the Dark Minotaur's ability to control its strength and speed was no different from a level 4 Minotaur,"
"Fufu..... Still, a level 2 human, capable of handling a level 5 beast on his own, is truly astonishing, don't you agree?"
"....."
"....."
"....."
No one gave a response to the third Elder remark.
"Hmm, to think, there would be a human capable of clearing the labyrinth in less than seven days," The fourth Elder remarked.
"You're right. Such news goes beyond what we anticipated." The first Elder said.
All the other Elders nodded in approval. Even General Zhang nodded in acknowledgment, while maintaining what he's been doing all along.
Well, all were nodding in agreement except the female Elder.
"What! That was the same thing I said," She protested.
The other Elders chuckled softly with their mouths covered.
They enjoyed making fun of the only female Elder, but more importantly, they enjoyed seeing her reaction as well.
With that aside, The fifth Elder in the room asked while facing the first Elder.
"Then what do you propose we do?" before adding. "Should we implement the next phase of action as we initially planned?"
" No, that won't be necessary. I think it's time we call in some favors," The first Elder replied.
" You mean THEM?" Asked the second Elder.
"Hmm," The fifth Elder hummed. "But why them?" He asked.
The first Elder laughed. "Isn't it obvious? The players have been filled with a feeling of trepidation and unrest for six days now. They deserve to have a bit of fun, if you know what I mean,"
"Fufu..... I never knew you had a sadistic side in you," The third Elder giggled.
" I'm surprised as well," said the fourth Elder. "There's nothing fun that comes in taking part in games those races come up with,"
" Well, he does have a point. Provided we're entertained. I don't care what comes of humanity,"
"Agreed,"
"Agreed,"
"Agreed,"
Everyone agreed.
"Milord? Should I commence teleportation immediately?" General Zhang asked.
" I thought the players were about to experience their first wave of the game?" The second Elder chimed in.
" Yes, Milord,"
" Then, the teleportation should be implemented three hours after their first wave," The first Elder ordered.
"Very well Milord,"
"Oh! And don't forget to keep a close eye on the human who killed the Dark Minotaur," said the female Elder.
General Zhang nodded in response.
He slowly rose to his feet before making a final bow in front of all five Elders.
While stepping out of the pitch-black room, General Zhang had a mischievous smile on his face.
"Hehe..... I wonder how the players would feel about the notion of comprehending the language of fishes,"
"It's going to be fun to see what the Aquarians have in store for our players,"
The excitement in him, made the general smile once again while saying.
"The fun is just beginning,"
_______
The total number of players currently in the game: 77,922.
The number of deceased players: 24.
The total number of deceased players: 2,078.
____
A/N:- Initially, this should be the epilogue of the Dead Forest Zone Arc, but there'll be a few surprises in the arc due to a couple of characters written or mentioned in this chapter. Thanks.