“……”

The Great Poet silently watched Warden Melissa lying on the ground, deciding not to say anything more, pretending he knew nothing.

Now he finally understood where the sense of disharmony came from—

If he wasn't mistaken, the most suitable warden for this floor should be a knight with low attack and high defense, specializing in damage reflection.

An enhanced phantom posed no threat to someone with strong vitality and defense because two tanks would struggle to determine a winner. The warden had the initiative to escape, making guarding this prison level very safe.

The Protos Empire shouldn't have assigned a glass cannon with high attack and low defense to such an important position as the warden of the fifth sub-level. That would only lead to mutual annihilation with the phantom; they might die upon sight of each other.

Putting aside the Protos Empire's emphasis on extremely rare seventh-order powerhouses, the inner security of Herloom Prison was of utmost importance, and they wouldn't place a warden with such low suitability here.

Judging from Warden Melissa's performance just now, her attack power didn't reach the seventh-order level, perfectly aligning with Lan Qi's initial guess.

This also implied that her vitality should be quite robust; she shouldn't collapse like a candle in the wind after any movement.

In all likelihood, her condition wasn't that bad.

Each time she fell, it was after the Great Poet spoke.

This warden wasn't a martial arts fanatic at all, but a super masochist.

She was not only enjoying the pleasure of her wounds bursting open but was also treating the Great Poet's voice as a wonderful seasoning.

Silence lingered in the corridor for a long time, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

“You… guessed?”

Melissa barely turned her head, staring at the Great Poet as she asked.

Feeling the Great Poet's gaze, she started trembling again, but her face remained as cold as ever.

From the moment she heard the black-haired, green-eyed girl's voice in the office, she felt an unprecedented joy, something she had never experienced in her life, as if it were making her dizzy.

However, she also knew how shameful it was for her to have her thoughts seen through by the other party.

Her family background and the education she received did not allow such ugly desires in her heart.

“Since you won’t die, then I don’t have to worry.”

The Great Poet sighed in relief, saying helplessly.

Warden Melissa was stunned.

She had thought the other party would mock or despise her, thinking she was a disgusting person, but she didn't expect the other party to accept her behavior so tolerantly.

That angel-like, pure figure with the voice of a devil that could make her soul lost.

She looked at the Great Poet, her pupils trembling slightly.

A strange emotion began to surge wildly in her heart.

At this time, she should be thanking the other party or treating them with sincerity.

But after a boulder was pried loose in her heart, it couldn't be stopped.

At first, she thought she could restrain herself, but now, even if she died, she wanted to experience it.

Melissa swallowed hard, stood up, and faced the Great Poet.

“Where’s your phantom? I can help you get rid of her.”

Warden Melissa suggested.

“My phantom is too weak. If you're nearby, she's probably hiding somewhere, frustrated, but she definitely won't show up.”

The Great Poet looked around and answered.

“If she’s too weak and keeps hiding from us, we might have to search this maze for a long time to find and eliminate her. The phantom maintains absolute knowledge of the maze's terrain and changes, making it very difficult to actively find her.”

Warden Melissa continued.

She had now noticed that since she had been following this black-haired, green-eyed girl, she hadn't seen her phantom at all.

She had considered that her phantom had already been eliminated, but now she was certain that her phantom was particularly cautious, knew the location of the main body, and was deliberately hiding from them, not rushing into a battle she couldn't win.

“So, let me deal with her alone.”

The Great Poet sighed.

Although it would be very easy to have the warden personally clear the way for him, not being able to find the Great Poet’s phantom also meant that he could not meet the conditions to access the sixth sub-level.

The job of a probationary prison guard on the fifth sub-level was to eliminate all phantoms.

“No, if I leave you alone deep in the maze, you might die.”

Warden Melissa shook her head, then looked at the Great Poet,

“Increase your battle intent and make her the strongest she can be. Only then will she possibly come out to fight.”

“That might make her an eighth-order.”

The Great Poet said hesitantly.

Although the warden's judgment was correct, even if the Great Poet reached the eighth-order, his stats were like those of Cat Boss and his ilk—no strength, no magic power, and no martial arts or spells. He might not even be able to beat a fifth-order in a head-on fight, but correspondingly, no one knew to what extent the magnification of the Great Poet's talent characteristics would be adjusted in the eighth-order version.

“Don’t worry, I can probably tell that your strength and magic power are very low. I’m afraid that even in the seventh or eighth-order state, you won’t have any offensive ability.”

Warden Melissa’s voice became faster and faster, as if she could hardly wait,

“I’m strong! Quickly increase your battle intent, and leave the rest to me!”

Melissa’s eyes were dyed with a color never seen before as she urged the Great Poet.

Her gaze was both confused and filled with an unspeakable desire, and each breath was much heavier.

Just listening to the Great Poet’s voice under the mask was a completely different experience from before. Her brain seemed to be stimulated like never before, leaving her with endless aftertaste.

She couldn’t imagine what kind of pleasure she could experience from an even more enhanced demonic sound girl.

Being able to fight such an opponent, even if it meant death, she would be willing!

Continuing to stand in front of this black-haired, green-eyed girl, she was about to completely lose control of her inner desires.

“Your emotional state right now might be a little dangerous.”

The Great Poet looked at Warden Melissa with great concern.

He felt that Warden Melissa on the fifth sub-level was in an unstable mental state right now; in comparison, Warden Serena on the previous level was much better.

“Hurry up, please, I beg you.”

Melissa couldn’t listen at all, like a patient craving drug treatment. Her body leaned forward involuntarily, as if some force deep within her was dragging her, and this force both frightened her and made her unable to resist.

“You really need to calm down.”

The Great Poet advised softly. Ever since the time he caused Examiner Ferrat to have a cerebral hemorrhage during the entrance exam in Iqlit, he had been particularly cautious about using the Great Poet's emotion-amplifying effect on humans.

“Stop talking nonsense! Don’t force me to attack you! I’m executing my duty to clear this place! Summon her now!!”

Although Melissa was still trying to pretend to be dignified and maintain her image, she was clearly losing her mind.

(End of chapter)