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It seemed that many players and NPCs had mined ores here before.

However, the deeper they went, the fewer these mining traces became, until rare ores were visible everywhere, which brightened old Mac\'s eyes and lifted his spirits.

Even so, John felt something was strange.

They had delved quite deep, passing through three tunnels without encountering a single monster. The eerie silence was unnerving.

John wanted to voice his concern, but that would go against his initial intent. Luckily, Helena keenly noticed this.

"Something\'s wrong. It\'s too quiet here..."

Helena raised her hand to stop everyone and asked in confusion, "On the way here, did any of you see monsters? I didn\'t see any. This is a level 42 dungeon. How could the monsters be so scarce?"

"Could it be that the high temperature drove the monsters away?" Exiled Immortal wiped his sweat, saying helplessly, "We\'re practically roasting here; the monsters probably can\'t handle it either, right?"

"No! Monsters can withstand elemental magic users\' fire spells.

This temperature might be uncomfortable for them, but it wouldn\'t be enough to drive them away. Something must have caused the monsters to disappear."

Helena shook her head, dismissing Exiled Immortal\'s guess, and furrowed her brows in deep thought.

Everyone instinctively looked at John, only to see him lost in thought, seemingly uninterested in the discussion, so they had to give up.

"We don\'t know the reason yet, but no matter what, stay alert. If we encounter danger, look out for each other.

Qing, please use your talent skill and summon the Shadow of War to lead the way."

"No problem."

Qing nodded in a muffled voice, the hot weather making him silent, as if speaking too much would waste a lot of stamina.

After casting his talent skill and summoning the Shadow of War, under Qing\'s control, the Shadow of War plunged into the darkness, maintaining a certain distance from John and the others.

It was neither too far to lose control nor too close to be affected by sudden dangers.

However, the labyrinth was winding and complex, and the internal paths were intricate. Unfortunately, the Shadow of War lacked the ability to think. After several rounds of circling, they found themselves back at the starting point.

Seeing the symbols Old Mac had left on the wall, everyone exchanged glances.

"We\'re back here again..."

"This is the third time. We\'ve been going in circles for a long time."

"There\'s nothing we can do about it. The Shadow of War can\'t recognize the marks, so it\'s bound to take the wrong paths."

"I\'ll lead the way then. I\'ll follow the Shadow of War and give directions. If I encounter danger, I\'ll call for help."

"No way! That\'s too risky!"

As soon as Old Mac made the suggestion, Helena and the others immediately rejected it.

Not to mention how dangerous it was, if something unexpected happened, they wouldn\'t be able to rescue him in time!

"So are we just going to waste time here? The temperature is getting higher. How long can we endure this?

We don\'t have much time to hesitate. Let\'s decide now. I\'ll lead the way! Although I can\'t tell the right path, I might be able to judge our position by the types of ores."

"This..."

Helena bit her lip lightly, still hesitant.

At this moment, John, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke, "I\'ll protect Uncle Mac. The two of us will lead the way. We\'ll be fine."

Seeing John finally back to normal, Helena breathed a sigh of relief, and her tense posture relaxed a bit.

"Then it\'s decided. John and Uncle Mac will lead the way. Stay in constant contact. If there\'s any danger, we\'ll provide support immediately."

"No problem."

John nodded slightly and then looked at Uncle Mac, giving him a signal.

Old Mac understood and walked ahead with John, heading into the darkness.

After they had walked some distance and were sure Helena and the others couldn\'t hear their conversation, Old Mac spoke slowly, "Kid, what\'s going on with you? You\'ve been silent the whole way, making everyone uncomfortable."

"Actually, I\'m a bit unsure myself. Elaria thinks I\'ve been protecting everyone too well. She says they need to grow, and it turns out she\'s right.

Helena is proving to be a keen leader, but under my influence, she has abandoned her instincts and fallen into severe self-doubt."

"No wonder you kept silent above Mine No. 3. You had this plan in mind. It\'s true; they can\'t rely on you forever.

But your approach was sudden, so it\'s natural they haven\'t adapted yet. Take it slow; they\'ll get used to it."

As they continued, Old Mac occasionally bent down to dig out a small piece of ore, identifying its type to determine their current location.

Despite the intricate maze of tunnels, they weren\'t going in circles and kept moving deeper into the labyrinthine mine.

The downside was the sharply increasing temperature.

Old Mac could still endure it, but Elaria had reached her limit.

Her stamina was greatly depleted, and she was on the verge of collapse.

With no other choice, John gave her a teleportation scroll, allowing her to return home.

After what felt like an eternity, John and the others were unsure of their exact location, but intermittently, they could hear rhythmic thudding sounds coming from the depths of the labyrinth.

"Could it be the heartbeat of some monster?" Exiled Immortal wondered aloud.

"Doesn\'t seem like it. It sounds more like a hammer striking an iron ingot," Old Mac replied, shaking his head.

Hearing the sound gave him a sense of familiarity. Although he couldn\'t be certain, Old Mac stuck to his opinion.

"Uncle Mac, are you saying that someone is forging deep within this maze? That... that\'s impossible, right?"

"But there\'s no mistaking that sound. It\'s definitely the sound of forging. Could it be our imagination?"

Hearing this, Helena shook her head and said firmly, "It\'s impossible for everyone to have the same hallucination. If Uncle Mac believes it\'s the sound of forging, then it likely is."

At this point, John, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke again, "The God of Fire and Forge, Hephaestus. Perhaps His emissary is hiding in these mines, which would explain the rising temperature and the faint sound of forging."

"You mean the [Divine Emissary]?"

John nodded slightly, "It\'s not impossible."

"So, what should we do? Should we keep going?"

"I... I don\'t know."

John lowered his head, unwilling to say more. Seeing this, Helena could only sigh.

"Uh... did I scare you?"

At that moment, a voice suddenly came from behind John, causing everyone to gasp and draw their weapons.

But John remained unusually calm and simply signaled everyone to stay calm.

John knew this voice all too well. Who else could it be but [Deception]?

But...

"[Deception], what are you doing here?"

Seeing that John seemed to know the person, Helena signaled everyone not to act rashly but did not completely lower her guard, remaining cautious.

"I came for an old friend, but our conversation didn\'t go well. I happened to run into you, so I came to check. Hello, everyone. I am John\'s friend, [Deception Apostle]."

Deception made a gentlemanly bow, but it did little to ease the group\'s concerns.

"Hey, relax. I mean no harm. On the contrary, I\'m here to provide you with information. John is right; the person inside is indeed the emissary of Hephaestus, the God of Fire.

But it\'s a bit different from what you think.

He is currently deep in self-doubt, unwilling to rashly attack you, yet unable to defy the will of the God of Fire and his instincts as an emissary.

So, I ask you all to help me free my old friend from his predicament and not let him remain trapped any longer."