Once their preparations were complete, the four of them continued down the road.
Because Royce and Cameron had already visited several times, they were well-versed in choosing the paths. They could determine the correct direction at ordinary forks with just a single glance.
The path leading to the first floor of the underground was much like the magic ore mine tunnels Roland had traversed before, except there was no clinking sound of mining in their ears, and the temperature was far from the biting cold of the deep shafts. However, the air inside was quite humid, and stalactites overhead would occasionally drip cool water onto them.
“By the way, the Anydis Labyrinth was discovered three years ago. Why hasn’t it been conquered yet?” Leonora asked curiously.
Royce explained, “That is naturally because the ecology inside is too complex. Setting aside the deep-water areas that are difficult to explore, just the region we are currently in has many creatures that do not exist in the outside world. For example, the Armored Jumping Fish that can move on both land and in water; they are widely distributed throughout the labyrinth and can be seen anywhere there is water. There are also Iris Spiders, Vortex Slimes, Glimmering Jellyfish, and so on.”
“Spi—Spiders?!” Hearing that such creatures existed, Leonora’s face turned white with fright. “I hate spiders the most!”
“Don’t worry. As long as you don’t crawl into pitch-black, dingy corners, there is a high probability you won’t see any.”
Just as Royce finished speaking, Leonora saw an aquatic-blue, transparent spider drop down before her eyes. Its body was translucent, and as light entered it, it refracted continuously to form rainbow-like halos. A colorless silk thread was attached to its rear, its four pairs of pointed legs suspended in mid-air, while six large, round eyes stared at the human in front of it.
“Aaaaah!! A spider!!!” Leonora fainted right then and there.
Roland looked at the spider, which was only as thick as a finger, with a speechless expression. “Is there a need to be that dramatic…”
“Danger! Do not touch it! Its toxicity is very strong!”
Royce immediately drew his sword and slashed the spider silk, using force to fling the creature far away. The spider landed unharmed, found a rock, crawled inside, and hid.
“Although the neurotoxin of the Iris Spider isn’t enough to take a life, it causes the victim to fall into severe hallucinations and mental derangement. Without help, it’s easy to fall into the water and drown.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I was bitten the first time I came here,” Royce replied solemnly, his expression so detached one might have thought it was someone else who had been bitten.
“Alright then.”
Glancing at Leonora, who was lying asleep on the ground, Roland bent down to hoist her onto his shoulder and followed the two men ahead.
***
After an unknown amount of time, when the unconscious Leonora woke up, what met her eyes was a magnificent ceiling and a chandelier. Its glittering appearance looked as though it were made of solid gold.
“Have I… been reincarnated as an Imperial Princess?”
“That is correct, Princess Asuka. However, the demon race is about to break through the palace’s defensive lines. Your father the Emperor has already sacrificed himself to save you; we must escape quickly.”
Leonora looked up at Roland, who was playing along with her act, and said, “Sir Roland…”
“What is it, Your Highness?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Then eat.”
“I want to eat pork knuckles.”
“You can gnaw on your own arm.”
Standing to the side, Cameron complained, “Why are you two acting out a stage play?”
“Fine, the play is over.” Roland redirected his attention to the palace before them.
According to the two veteran adventurers, Royce and Cameron, the main area of the Anydis Labyrinth’s first underground floor was divided into two parts: the palace in front of them, and a cave that led directly to the second floor.
While the latter was a shorter route, it relied heavily on light sources to proceed and presented more dangers. If one accidentally fell into the water or got bitten by a spider, they might as well consider digging their own grave on the spot.
Taking the palace route was more troublesome and required solving puzzles, but it had the advantage of being safe and bright.
However, Roland had a question. Since this labyrinth rotated once every six months, how were the contents of the buildings preserved so well? Shouldn’t they have been smashed to pieces under the force of gravity?
“The puzzles of the Water King’s Palace reset after every rotation. We must solve the puzzles to open the gate leading to the lower floor.”
“Don’t you two know the puzzles?”
Royce scratched his head and said, “Actually, the last time we came was half a year ago.”
“What about other adventurers? They should know, right?”
“I forgot to ask…”
Roland covered his face, feeling that his teammates were becoming more unreliable by the minute. How could they forget something so important? If they had known the puzzles and answers in advance, they could have saved a lot of travel time.
“Maybe we should go back and take the cave route.”
“Don’t say that. Stopping to linger occasionally is one of the great joys of adventure. We don’t need to rush our journey.”
You aren’t in a hurry, but I am.
Roland knew that explaining the situation might persuade them to change routes, but it felt unnecessary and the risk was too high; it could easily lead to a disaster.
Left with no choice, she could only stay in this palace for the time being.
Fortunately, it wasn’t as if they had no clues. There were only a few types of puzzles in total; as long as they eliminated them one by one, the remaining one would be the answer.
Before that, Roland needed to endure a waiting period that could be short or long.
“I’ll go look around first. Let me know when you have a lead.”
Roland felt that it made no sense for such a large palace to lack a library. It would be great if she could find a few useful books inside.
She walked out from the front hall into the corridor and saw pillars of the same style as those at the labyrinth entrance, though the color had changed from dark gray to creamy white. The style was quite unique and exquisite, yet it could not escape the erosion of time; the cracked gaps were filled with green vegetation.
The floor was pitted and filled with numerous puddles. Because the water was stagnant, it had become quite turbid, with many microorganisms breeding on the surface. Unless one was extremely thirsty, no one would want to drink this dead water.
Roland stepped carefully over a puddle, intending to continue forward and explore the various rooms of the palace, when he heard a voice from behind.
“Roland, wait for me!”
Leonora had also come into the corridor, but she was in such a hurry to catch up that she didn’t notice the puddle at her feet. As a result, she stepped right in, splashing water everywhere. Not only were her high heels soaked, but her socks were also drenched.
If Roland hadn’t activated a mana barrier quickly, she would have suffered along with her.
“Why am I so unlucky today! First I’m scared unconscious by a spider, and now I step in a puddle!” Leonora complained.
“There are always a few days in a person’s life where nothing goes right. Just accept your fate.”
Leonora didn’t bother going back to change her shoes and socks, stepping across the puddle to reach Roland. “It’s all your fault for not warning me. I’m the employer, you know.”
“Alright, alright, it’s my fault for walking too fast. I’ll use fire to dry your feet later, okay?”
“That’s more like it.”