"You don't seem well." Delilah's eyes were on Roy. His trembling self couldn't escape her notice. "Are you injured?"
Roy coolly replied, "No, I am fine."
"Are you sure you're all right?" Delilah asked concernedly.
"Because of using too powerful a skill, I'm aching all over. But that's all it is." Roy explained, "It will get better… hopefully."
The power boost came with this side effect. You can't eat for free. Similarly, you can't experience a ridiculous increase in your strength and still be fine.
Delilah nodded. "I see. Endure it just a little longer. I'm sure we will find a way to get back soon. Once we do, let's get out injuries treated at the hands of a healer." She gave him a pat on the back.
The Rocky Flame World was very big.
This was just one part of it.
There were three more places inhabited by different creatures.
There was no way thru would spend their time looking for an exit himself.
And the good news is that they didn't need to!
Roy called upon the being that brought him here. "Far West, where is the way out?!"
A second later, Far West's voice rang in Roy's ears.
"There's a crown somewhere in the hall. Obtain it and place it on the altar, and the golden portal to the third floor will open up. There you shall find the Guardian of the shard of the Cause-Causing Flute. He can open up a portal back to Far West for you. But how you get him to do that is totally up to you. I don't know much about him, but I've heard he's a battle maniac. Maybe if you satisfy his thirst for battles, you'll earn his approval and get him to do a thing for you."
Hearing this, Roy felt his eyes twitching, his expression falling.
"You're unbelievably unreliable," Roy complained.
Sadly, Far West's attention was no longer on him, so whatever he said wasn't heard by it.
Roy explained the situation to them, and the search for the crown began.
They could be seen splitting up and spreading out.
Delilah decided to check the wall at the back of the hall to see if it hid any hidden contraption.
There was a pile of sand in her way. It was once a pillar. But after getting struck by GhostWalker's ultimate attack, it became fine dust.
But when she nonchalantly stepped on it in order to get to her destination, she felt that she had stepped on something hard.
'Huh? Sand… can't possibly be this hard. Maybe there is something under it. It can… even be what we are looking for!' Delilah's eyes lit up. She looked mesmerizing at this moment.
She brushed the sand apart with her hands, and a rusty item was revealed to her.
She grabbed it, pulled it out, and raised it, shouting, "Guys, I found it!"
Roy and Julian were inspecting the altar when they heard her exclamation.
They looked towards her and saw a crown in her hand.
It was supposed to be hidden inside a pillar, in plain sight.
But this pillar was destroyed during the battle between Roy and GhostWalker.
Thus, it was buried beneath a pile of sand. And Delilah coincidentally stepped on it.
And… that's why Delilah so easily discovered it.
Or else God knows how long it would've taken for them to find it.
They praised her for doing a good job at finding it and asked her to bring it to the altar.
"Thud!" The crown was placed on it.
Immediately, a golden ray burst out of it, striking a certain spot on the ceiling.
The ceiling parted open, revealing a swirling blue portal. It was the entrance to the third floor.
"It's too high above. I would need your help to reach it." Julian glanced past Roy and requested help from Swift Death.
The merciless assassin saw through him and understood that he was enchanted by her beauty and just wanted to stick close to her.
Thus, she directed a glare at him, which was the same as refusing him.
"I'll be going ahead." After speaking, Delilah jumped towards a pillar and then smashed her foot on it in order to propel her into the portal.
A ripple appeared on it, and then she disappeared from their sight.
The two men looked at each other. The look in Roy's eyes said he would do something ridiculous soon. Whatever it was, Julian didn't want to experience it. But before he could say a word to stop him, Roy grabbed him by the collar and hurled him into the portal like a doll. Then… he jumped into it too.
『Ding! You've entered the third floor of the Sanctuary.』
Along with Delilah and Julian, Roy was teleported to an eerie room with a grand and noticeable staircase leading up to an esoteric door. It was made of mist that fell down like a waterfall. Chains could be seen locking it up. They were made of mystical words.
『To unlock the door to the guardian's room, defeat the Puppeteer.』
Even with inspection, Roy couldn't understand what they were.
He only found the way to unseal it.
Statues of Knight stood close to the wall on the left and right. Held in their hands were weapons of different types. All of them looked the same. Only the one in the very middle of the room had unique features and looked life-like. He was dressed from head to toe in white armor. A cape of similar color was also worn by him.
The second "Roy" entered this place, he became conscious. Under his helm, two eyes snapped open, revealing swirling golden light. His eyes weren't that of a human. He was called the winter warrior for a reason!
"This place is giving me an eerie vibe." Julian jumped out of fear when his gaze landed on him.
"Prepare for battle!" Roy shouted as he saw him standing up.
The Winter warrior had a spear in his hand, and he raised it and then brought it down, smashing its lower end on the ground.
"Thud!" The second the sound of the spear hitting the ground sounded, the statues on each side came alive.
Two were close by and could be seen rushing towards them.
