[It seems Aisha forgave you, but she also unlocked a new interest]

[Maybe it's because you bothered her, when you kept pestering her, she'd occasionally launch tail attacks at you]

[Every time that happened, you'd lose a small pearl and hide in your room avoiding others, fearing embarrassment]

[You don't know when it started, but you've gotten used to washing the sheets daily, though sometimes, when you see the Demon King, subtle thoughts arise in your heart]

[On every sleepless night, you always think of his wildness, finally falling into a deep sleep]

[Upon waking again]

[The business of the Extreme Association flourishes day by day. Initially, the simulated Earth Divine Rune was only popularized among the lowest-level adventurers, but with the recent Title Adventurer Competition, mid to high-level adventurers gradually noticed this new technology]

[After the competition, the reputation of the Ether Emblem's Extreme Association quickly spread]

[It's simple, because people found out that in this competition, every titled adventurer possesses a simulated Earth Divine Rune]

[Though adventurers often belong to the lower-middle tier among the Extraordinary, they precisely make up the main theme of the Extraordinary World]

[An unprecedented amount of orders rushed to the Extreme Association]

[To acquire the simulated Earth Divine Rune, a large number of adventurers stayed in the Outer City of the Ether Emblem, hoping to experience this technology first-hand]

[You received a task assigned by the school to the freshmen: clearing the C-level Maze - Mozambique's Great Nest]

[In your memory, the initial maze chosen by the Ether Emblem was not Mozambique's Great Nest, but due to the Demon King's activities, the school replaced the original maze with Mozambique's Great Nest for various reasons]

[After the Title Competition, this C-level maze was broken through, with the maze monsters inside nearly cleared, except for some insignificant small monsters still wandering]

[The school plans to completely close this already processed maze, but to do so requires clearing all the maze monsters]

[Thanks to the adventurers' efforts, the threat level of this maze has now been reduced to D-level. You luckily grabbed this task and joined other freshmen and sophomores to clear the small monsters in the maze]

[Deep within Mozambique's Great Nest, you found a stone tablet contaminated by shadow creatures, inscribed with unfamiliar characters, you chose:]

[Polish the stone tablet!]

Scene unfolds.

Rephya stands curiously before the towering stone tablet four people high.

This is a monument made from Demon-Banning Stone.

Shadow creatures permeate throughout Mozambique's Great Nest, likely remnants of the shadow plane's subworld, forming the maze after being consumed by The Stars.

And Mozambique's Great Nest belongs to the C-level Mazes, specifically the C++ Maze.

Rephya heard other students say that previously the Adventurer's Guild rarely directly initiated C++ Mazes.

After all, purely in terms of difficulty, the threat of C++ Mazes may not be less than B-level ordinary Mazes.

But this year, various Evil God Churches long dormant were discovered across the Stars Continent, starting widespread active recruitment.

This is not good news.

An ominous stormy atmosphere permeates the venue, affecting this year's Title Competition.

Of course, even high-risk Mazes like Mozambique's Great Nest cannot withstand so many adventurers ravaging it repeatedly.

Short commentary: Even land can be exhausted, if enough fertilizer is spread.

Standing before this massive Demon-Banning Stone tablet, Rephya feels strange.

Perhaps adventurers focused all their attention on the maze monsters and overlooked observing this tablet, thereby not noticing its peculiarity.

But Rephya won't ignore it.

Because Demon-Banning Stone is originally a material for sealing Extraordinary Power.

However, due to its excessively stable nature, it is hard for the Extraordinary to use.

This material is most commonly found in family secret rooms.

It's said some top families construct secret rooms with a large number of Demon-Banning Stone bricks to prevent Extraordinary Power from leaking.

Rephya even heard that the continent's top prison, built in the Land of Lawlessness known as the Cage of the Gods, is entirely made of Demon-Banning Stone.

The goal is to imprison top Extraordinary criminals in the prison until they perish.

It's precisely because of Demon-Banning Stone's unprecedented stable properties that it can be used as a prison material.

Even Demigods can destroy Demon-Banning Stone but cannot contaminate it.

Yet, the Demon-Banning Stone before Rephya is eerily polluted into pure black.

If she hadn't seen Demon-Banning Stone from studying at the Ether Emblem High School, she wouldn't believe its true form.

Rephya becomes somewhat vigilant.

She distances herself from the Demon-Banning Stone, igniting the signal gun the school provided to students.

[You discover a strange stone tablet deep in the maze, entangled with vast pollution]

[Sensing something amiss, you summon the teacher]

[The tablet is moved back to the school, taking three days to cleanse its pollution]

[Later, you learn that the culprit for contaminating such a massive Demon-Banning Stone was a drop of blood]

[Pollution lingering on a drop of blood turned the entire Demon-Banning Stone into filthy matter, containing an embedded power so potent that you cannot comprehend]

[Later, a teacher said, it should be blood from a great being]

[It's highly possible that's blood left by the Dark Night Goddess Shire]

[The Dark Night Goddess Shire, reportedly a being born at the world's inception, most akin to divine life before the Divine Fire Era]

[Yet one day, the Temple of the Dark Night Goddess lost her protection, and the goddess's faith vanished without a trace]

[Evidence suggests this goddess fell in the shadow plane, but through endless years no one found traces of Her in the shadow plane]

[Mozambique's Great Nest is a segment detached from the shadow plane, their first encounter with traces seemingly left by the Goddess]

[The mysterious writings on the stone tablet remain unknown]

[You've heard that Laura was also called to help, and you choose:]

["Senior, I'm very curious."]

Simulation unfolding.

"Senior, have you never seen the writings on it either?"

Rephya was quite surprised.

Laura pinched her brow and said:

"Indeed, I've never seen it before. If I hadn't witnessed this stone tablet myself, I wouldn't dare imagine such writings truly exist in this world."

"Hm?"

"This is a massive codebook, nothing like normal inscriptions."

"You mean..."

"Yes, this stone tablet should have used an unknown language, then further utilized unique symbols to prevent others from interpreting it."

Laura let out a bitter smile and said:

"I don't even understand the purpose of this stone tablet."

Inscriptions are different from diaries.

Some people have their unique codes to prevent their daily records from being understood by others.

A typical example is that group of mages.

In the World of Stars, there exists a magic called "Fluent Language."

The magic's effect connects directly to the Akasha Record, reading writings of various races.

Since the Akasha Record contains all information since the Stars Continent's establishment,

Fluent Language can even interpret the scripts of races long vanished into the annals of history.

Therefore, if mages don't want their magical records deciphered, they usually encrypt the information a second time.

But it can be said.

However, magic records and stone tablets are different.

If diaries or experimental records are for one's own viewing,

the purpose of a stone tablet is for others to see.

It can be said that writing on a stone tablet is to allow others to see.

So, what is the point of encrypting a stone tablet's contents under these circumstances?

Rephya propped her chin and said:

"Perhaps this stone tablet is meant for specific people to see."

Laura frowned and said, "Xiaolu, what exactly do you mean by specific people?"

Rephya tilted her head and said:

"For instance, if I once had my race, with its own script,

and then one day, everyone but me disappeared.

Living in this Lonely Hell alone is lifeless, so I set out to find my people.

But I feared that after I left, my people might come to where I once stayed.

I was also worried that someone might follow my inscriptions and harm my people,

so I first wrote a passage in my race's unique language.

Then I re-encoded it using a cryptographic language unknown to others.

Because I was uneasy, I left the inscription.

Because I feared the inscription might bring disaster to my people, I encoded it in a way only they could understand again.

Under such circumstances, wouldn't the stone tablet perfectly fit what you said, being both for specific people and serving as a codebook?"

Laura was lost in thought.

Though she knew Rephya's hypothesis might not reflect the truth, it indeed provided her with a new perspective.

[Laura praises your intelligence, and you feel delighted]

[In the days that followed, Laura was constantly researching the stone tablet's contents, when one day, you received a message]

[Laura is dead]

[Stunned, you went to inquire about the situation, only to hear that at the Vice Principal's Soul Fire storage area, Laura's Soul Fire had vanished]

[Later, you learned that while studying the stone tablet, Laura unknowingly triggered an unknown restriction and suddenly summoned a gigantic Maze]

[Upon investigation by the school, it was found to be a historical echo type of Maze]

[The school urgently dispatched teachers to investigate, but every teacher who entered never returned]

[Vice Principal Mephisto decided to examine it personally]

[A few days later, he returned to the Ether Emblem and shared shocking news with them]

[That is, there isn't much danger inside the historical echo]

[Like typical historical echo type Mazes, one enters the Maze, replaces a historical figure, and embarks on an adventure in the Maze]

[Once realizing success is not possible, as with standard historical echoes, one can escape the Maze via self-sacrifice]

[But the problem arises after leaving the Maze]

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