North God the Third, Alexander Reikreibek!
Hearing this name, Shirou finally realized where the feeling of familiarity he sensed from the other person came from.
Looking back, the feeling this young man gave off was indeed very similar to North God the Second, whom he had seen in the Holy Land of Swords, especially those eyes, which had almost the exact same feeling.
The only difference between the two was that North God the Second looked more weathered because he had experienced more hardships.
Realizing the other person was North God the Third, Shirou finally understood the inconsistencies he had noticed in the maze earlier.
If the other person was North God the Third himself, it meant that he, like North God the Second, was a descendant of the undead.
As an undead, let alone staying in the maze for a month or two, even staying for a few years probably wouldn't affect him too much.
At the same time, the other person's physical strength was therefore far more powerful than that of ordinary humans, which made the scene of him tearing apart thick walls with his bare hands reasonable.
Of course, most importantly, as North God the Third, the other person's strength was undoubtedly at the level of a god.
In fact, in the eyes of the world, Alexander is the real North God, more so than North God the Second.
Being able to casually unleash that level of slash without even drawing his sword was not surprising.
"..."
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to accidentally encounter the current North God. Shirou was speechless for a moment, falling into silence.
Alexander seemed surprised by his reaction and said anxiously, "What, Shirou, you don't believe me? Or we can find an S-rank maze right now, and I'll prove it to you with my strength!"
"No, no need, I believe you."
Shirou replied quietly, "You can casually unleash that level of Twenty Slash, which proves that you are indeed the North God himself."
"Oh, oh, you actually know my move? Have you also learned the North God Style?"
Alexander was very happy. He seemed quite delighted that Shirou acknowledged him, which made Shirou himself not know what to say.
After all, the other person was North God, a strong figure on par with the current Water God and Sword God, and also seventh on the Seven Great Powers stone tablet.
Although he was only ranked last, being on the Great Powers list was enough to demonstrate his strength.
Under normal circumstances, Shirou should be filled with respect for him, but here he was, being so taken with him.
Of course, he wouldn't voice his thoughts. He silently sighed in his heart and then said, "I have indeed learned the North God Style, and if I'm not mistaken, I learned it from your father."
"You've met my father?"
Alexander was even more surprised by this.
Shirou didn't hesitate and directly told him about his encounter with North God the Second in the Holy Land of Swords and how he had been taught by him.
"Oh, that guy said something like that."
Surprisingly, Alexander didn't seem to have much affection for North God the Second. He frowned and shook his head. "He's still the same as before, always saying things that people can't understand. It was the same when he gave me the title of North God. I hadn't even defeated him head-on, but he just gave up on his own and even handed over the King Dragon Sword. Before that, he had never let the King Dragon Sword leave his side..."
"King Dragon Sword?"
Hearing Alexander's words, Shirou immediately showed a concerned expression.
Because he had heard rumors of the North God a long time ago, saying that he had once killed the Dragon King of the King Dragon Mountains and had the corpse forged into the strongest demon sword, the King Dragon Sword, by a demon blacksmith.
However, North God the Second had stated that the King Dragon Sword was not on him.
When Shirou heard this at the time, he had basically guessed that the King Dragon Sword should be in the hands of North God the Third.
"Hehe, it seems you know about the King Dragon Sword."
North God the Third patted the exaggerated greatsword on his back, which was even taller than him. "This on my back is the King Dragon Sword that my father passed down to me. Only after I obtained this sword did I truly inherit the name of North God."
"..."
Hearing Alexander's words, Shirou couldn't suppress his curiosity and really wanted to know what kind of weapon the King Dragon Sword was.
But Alexander didn't seem to have any intention of showing off the weapon.
He helplessly shook his head and said, "This isn't an ordinary sword. Unless it's a battle against a truly strong opponent, it must never be drawn, otherwise the mere existence of this sword is enough to harm innocent people, which is not what a heroic North God would do."
"I see."
Shirou had basically understood Alexander's character by now.
Overall, he fit the broad definition of a good person. Although his goal seemed to be simply to pursue fame and recognition from the world, a gentleman judges by actions, not intentions. As long as he was willing to do what was right, even if his motives were somewhat off, it probably wouldn't be a problem.
After confirming this, Shirou finally nodded and said, "Okay, I agree. With a strong person like you joining, our chances of successfully clearing the Transfer Maze will be even higher."
"Huh? Really? That's great!"
Alexander acted like a pure young boy, showing an excited expression as soon as he heard Shirou agree to let him join.
This reaction undoubtedly surprised Shirou greatly.
Because he had no idea why the other person was so happy.
After all, as North God the Third, if he really wanted to clear the Transfer Maze, he only needed to announce his identity, and a large group of adventurers would be willing to follow him immediately.
People generally prefer to follow the strong.
Alexander seemed to see Shirou's expression, and he revealed a bright expression, saying, "A hero needs companions, and a hero's companions naturally cannot be found casually. They should be people who share the same aspirations and goals as the hero and are willing to give everything to achieve the ultimate purpose. If I want to surpass my father, not only must I myself be stronger and more magnificent than my father, but the companions I gather must also be stronger and more determined than my father's companions."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that I have high hopes for you, Shirou. Come and become a hero with me!"
"..."
Alexander's words left Shirou not knowing what to say. He finally realized the sense of incongruity he had constantly felt during his conversation with Alexander.
For a moment, he even felt that he could use a popular term from his previous life to describe the other person's personality—chunibyo.
Yes, the other person's personality could be described as a pure chunibyo, completely immersed in their delusion of wanting to become a hero.
Of course, unlike ordinary chunibyo, Alexander wasn't really immersed in fantasy.
Because he really had the ability to realize his fantasy.
His strength was enough to support him in changing reality into the way he wanted it to be.
Thinking of this, Shirou couldn't help but regret agreeing to let Alexander join the team, because no one could imagine what exaggerated things a chunibyo with boundless strength could do.
But what's done is done, and regret is meaningless.
Shirou could only try his best to keep an eye on this North God the Third and try not to let him do anything too outrageous, and then take things one step at a time.
...
Shirou quickly told Paul and the others that North God the Third was willing to join the maze exploration team.
Paul and the others were undoubtedly very surprised by this.
The fact that Alexander was actually North God was already unbelievable enough, but the fact that he was willing to join their team was simply shocking enough to leave people speechless.
Of course, after the shock, Paul and the others were naturally very happy.
With such a strong ally arriving, clearing the Transfer Maze would probably not be difficult.
Alexander himself didn't seem to have any particular attitude about joining the team. He maintained a certain distance from most people other than Shirou.
In other words, he was full of the majesty of North God.
Just standing there, he gave off an aura worthy of the current North God, making Rudeus feel admiration from the bottom of his heart.
This unintentionally made Shirou feel very strange, completely forgetting that the other person had been like this in front of him before.
He therefore tried to talk to Alexander.
As soon as he opened his mouth, Alexander reverted to his previous approachable attitude, making him not know what to say instead.
Shirou could only voice his question in the end.
"You're asking why my attitude towards them is different?"
Alexander heard Shirou's words and replied very frankly, "Of course it can't be the same. Shirou, you're someone I acknowledge, a companion who will embark on the path to heroism together in the future. I'm willing to give you an attitude befitting a companion, but they're different, just a bunch of background characters and supporting roles in the story. Have you ever seen a heroic tale with too much plot and screen time for background characters and supporting roles?"
"..."
This guy is definitely still not right.
Shirou couldn't help but sigh. He was starting to regret letting Alexander join even more.
...
The team's rest lasted about a day.
When Roxy finished resting and regained the energy to fight, the group continued their exploration of the maze.
This was normal, after all, Zenith was still trapped in the depths of the Transfer Maze, and no one knew when she would encounter danger.
The group naturally hoped to rescue Zenith as soon as possible.
Before heading to the maze, the group first held a strategy meeting.
However, before the strategy meeting began, Roxy took the initiative to step forward and bow to everyone, saying:
"Everyone... I really caused you trouble before. I'm really sorry, and I'm very grateful to everyone for being willing to lend me a helping hand."
Various reactions appeared to her actions. Some reached out and put their arms around Roxy's shoulders, telling her not to mind, some nodded and replied that saving people was the right thing to do, and some took a sip of wine and then handed the bottle to her. Shirou said nothing, just smiled at Roxy.
"Everyone, thank you so much..."
A look of emotion appeared on Roxy's face, and she officially completed her return to the team.
Rudeus witnessed the whole process and was even moved to tears on the side, making everyone smile wryly.
Then, the team began to discuss their next operation. The specific details were naturally about formations and cooperation, and how to proceed when they reached subsequent floors to prevent casualties.
Shirou thought Alexander would be very uninterested in this kind of meeting, but he didn't expect him to listen very carefully.
After he asked a question, Alexander replied with a smile, "Because I myself am very strong, I've never needed teamwork. This is the first time I've heard a meeting about teamwork. How should I put it, I find it a little interesting?"
"..."
Shirou understood that the other person's mentality was like humans watching the division of labor and cooperation among ants.
He realized even more clearly that Alexander was not a normal human being.
At the same time, Paul and the others quickly arranged the formation.
With Roxy and Alexander joining, the team's composition was more reasonable. Elinalise and Alexander took the front line, Roxy and Rudeus were arranged as mages in the formation, Geese was responsible for grasping the overall situation,塔尔韩德 was responsible for guarding the rear, and Paul and Shirou served as rovers and vanguards.
After completing the formation, the team officially set off for the Transfer Maze.
On the way to the maze, Roxy took the initiative to find Shirou to thank him for saving her before.
"No, it's nothing. It's what I should do."
"But thank you anyway."
When Roxy spoke, her gaze didn't seem to dare to look at Shirou, and her face was inexplicably red.
Shirou noticed all of this, but he could only pretend not to see it and silently looked away.
He himself wasn't a fool who didn't understand other people's feelings, but he also knew that people's feelings were influenced by many things and weren't necessarily genuine.
The reason why Roxy had feelings for him was just a false sense of love and admiration produced by being rescued by a hero.
That wasn't real.
And even if it was real, he couldn't accept her feelings.
For Shirou now, there were too many things to do, and the dangerous developments were countless. He really didn't have the confidence to have the leisure to be involved in emotional life under such circumstances.
So, he pretended that he didn't understand anything and silently shook his head.
The team continued to move forward.
Everyone was generally silent, but Alexander was calm and composed, looking more like he was going on an outing than challenging a maze.
Unknowingly, the group came to the entrance of the Transfer Maze again.
Due to their previous experience, this time the group hardly hesitated at all, walking straight into the maze and directly reaching the depths of the maze.
---
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