Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength-Chapter 1199 - 1193: Commercial Street

"Help! Someone save me!"

"I can't control myself! What's going on? Where is the Caster in the city?"

"..."

Ronald was running madly through the streets of Gioruno City.

But what lay before him now was a terrifying world, utterly devoid of the charming qualities of a maze picture book.

Except for Ronald himself, all the residents in the city were constrained by the rules of the picture book world.

Most people, completely unable to grasp the situation, could only scream their unease from deep within as their bodies were controlled; even the more knowledgeable Casters were not much better off.

They were certain that the current scenario was the result of some kind of spell.

But what kind of existence could perform such a horrifying act?

"..."

Running through such a city.

Half an hour after leaving the castle, a new labyrinth appeared before Ronald.

This was a maze that had evolved from the city itself.

Following the street, the gray-yellow mud houses connected to each other, occasionally seeing wooden planks linking them on the rooftops. On the ground, the nailed-down residents stood shoulder to shoulder, forming human walls that prevented Ronald from passing straight through.

Ronald tried to climb over the human wall, but the result wasn't promising.

Compared to the smaller horizontal area of the three-dimensional maze in the castle garden, the scope of the human wall here was vast. Even if he could successfully climb over with his current ability, he'd inevitably be restricted by the walls afterward.

Calculating the time consumed this way... 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Rather than climbing over illegally, it would be better to sort out his thoughts and find a path through the vast maze.

After all, there were only two planes of movement on the street—ground and rooftop.

By observing carefully and analyzing calmly, crossing would be much easier than breaking the rules.

The scurry through the city continued.

Ronald zigzagged through the pathways formed by people, entering a few buildings and passing through obstacles on the upper floors, resulting in a much clearer path ahead.

"Phew—"

Ronald couldn't help but sigh in relief.

This change in environment indicated that he had successfully broken through the previous maze, leading to a stretch of road that was free to travel.

The ensuing journey was indeed much easier.

Although there were other kinds of mazes appearing in the city, they didn't block Ronald's path directly. He merely had to take slight detours to easily conclude this segment of the trip.

Soon, he found himself in front of the commercial street.

This was where Hilwayze's shop was located in the city.

Ronald's thought process was simple.

Since Bapulor knew to wait at his own place for Ronald, Hilwayze would likely think of the same strategy.

After all, in the whole city, within the range Ronald was aware of,

the only place related to Hilwayze was the shop she'd been running for months.

However, when Ronald arrived, he discovered a tricky problem.

Compared to when he left in the morning, the layout of the commercial street had changed after the transformation. The spacing between buildings and the width of the roads had all shifted, and these countless small changes accumulated resulted in a completely renewed street.

The previous experience with the streets was likely now useless.

"..."

Thinking of this, Ronald picked a higher vantage point and observed the layout of the entire street.

The structure of the commercial street had altered significantly, distinct from the labyrinths Ronald had traversed before.

The street, once bustling with people, now showed no signs of any human presence outside, while inside each shop was packed with staff keeping the businesses running.

Under normal circumstances, Ronald would presumably walk in and investigate.

But the cries and sobs faintly audible, borne from the fear instilled by the picture book maze, paradoxically reassured Ronald.

—At least, the people here were unharmed.

Having identified the road, Ronald proceeded into the street.

The road was lined with shops filled with continuous cries of agony, as Ronald walked alone down the peculiar street, the atmosphere was chilling.

He thus arrived at Hilwayze's shop...

Standing at the entrance, Ronald couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

"..."

"Gwendolin, is this deliberate?"

After Ronald spoke, Gwendolin's voice, tinged with glee, echoed in his ear:

"Ronald, you must understand my struggles too."

"I've staked the chance to take over this world on such a game, I can't just let you take it down too easily, can I?"

"..."

Gwendolin's voice gradually faded, and tranquility returned around Ronald.

Yet as he gazed at the structure before him, it seemed as though he had laid eyes on something foul and it made him uncomfortable.

—Hilwayze's shop had become larger.

Or rather, the reconfiguration of the entire commercial street was to make room for this expanded shop.

What was an unremarkable building on the street before,

had now transformed into a massive structure comparable to a royal palace.

Just by observing from the outside, one could guess the complexity within and how challenging it would be to explore.

"..."

Ronald hesitated, wanting to make a comment.

But after thinking it over, he decided it wasn't worth spending more time arguing with Gwendolin, so he directly pushed the door open and walked in.

"Who goes there!"

As soon as Ronald stepped inside, he was met by two staff members, their faces filled with terror, though their words were threatening.

The two, clearly bound by the maze's rules, addressed Ronald:

"This is Lady Hilwayze's establishment, not a place just anyone can casually enter!"

"..."

Standing before these two.

Ronald took a look at the structure after the shop's renovation.

All the windows around the first-floor lobby were locked from the inside, making it evident that sneaking through wasn't an option. The only road leading to the back was securely blocked by these two staff members, circumventing them was nearly impossible.

Adhering to the maze's rules, Ronald asked:

"Then tell me, how can I get to the back of the shop."

In response to Ronald's query, the two staff members immediately, under the control of the maze's rules, replied:

"Answer our question, and give the correct answer."

"Prove your wisdom, and the route inside the shop will naturally open for you."

Ronald nodded slightly, signaling for them to ask:

"What question?"

Then, one of the staff members stepped forward and said in a clear and steady voice:

"There are many chickens and rabbits in a cage. From above, you see 35 heads; from below, 94 feet. How many chickens and rabbits are in the cage?"

"..."

"?"

Ronald tilted his head, completely unprepared for such a question.

Isn't this the classic puzzle of chickens and rabbits in a cage?