Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill
Chapter 273 - 273: Royal Demon Palace (6) - Exploration

There was nothing else particularly interesting in that storage room. The precious stones were certainly eye-catching — beautiful and valuable — but that wasn't what they were here for.

William kept his focus on the mission ahead. The three of them headed toward the door that led out of the room.

"Now is when things start getting a bit complicated," Jhen said. "The traps are going to be everywhere from this point on."

"And… do you have anything that can help us find those traps?" William asked.

That was exactly what he was worried about. He wasn't exactly the best person when it came to spotting traps. And considering that even the people living outside the palace had worked together to try disabling them — and still failed — how was he supposed to do it alone?

William was really hoping Jhen had some kind of trick to either detect or disable the traps… but apparently, she didn't.

"I don't," Jhen replied. "What I was hoping would work is your bloodline, William."

"My bloodline?" he repeated.

Jhen quickly explained what she meant. "The traps obviously don't activate for members of the royal family. Since you have royal blood, there's a chance you'll be able to walk through the palace without triggering any of them."

It was, at the end of the day, just a guess. The royal family was indeed immune to the traps — that much was true. But William wasn't exactly a recognized member of the royal family. Nobody knew for sure whether it would actually work for him.

Somehow, he possessed the purest form of the royal bloodline, but whether that would grant him immunity… that was a mystery. For all they knew, maybe only those who lived in the palace were truly immune. Not even Jhen was certain about that.

It was something extremely private — a secret the royal family never shared with anyone.

"And what happens if I'm not immune?" William asked. "What if I trigger a trap and… die?"

"You're not gonna die," Jhen said. "But yeah, you might get hurt. Still, we need to test it. Like it or not, you're the one who can recover the fastest if something goes wrong."

William's regeneration ability was definitely a key factor here.

In the end, he decided to take the risk. If he was immune, things would get a whole lot easier moving forward.

William opened the door and stepped into the hallway. His breath was shaky, and his heart was pounding. He had no idea what to expect.

Would he trigger a trap?

He kept walking down the corridor… but nothing happened. Step after step, he went further, checking every corner, every part of the hall — and still, nothing.

Eventually, he walked back to where Jhen and Victoria were waiting.

"I think it worked," William said.

Jhen smiled. "It definitely worked. But now… you've got a job to do. Can you handle it?"

"Tell me what it is."

"You need to find the treasure room. Somewhere inside, there's a small mirror. It's used to detect and disable traps. Me and Victoria will have to stay here while you go — since you're the only one who can move around without setting anything off."

Jhen explained the route to the room where the items were kept as best as she could. Of course, the path she described wasn't exactly accurate — it had been a while since she'd stepped inside the palace, and she'd forgotten parts of it.

Besides, over the years, the royal family might have made renovations and changed things around.

She warned him anyway. "Even if you don't trigger the traps, remember there are still creatures inside this palace. Be careful."

"I will. Don't worry," William said.

Now, he had to go alone in search of that magical mirror. Sword in hand, William walked through the palace corridors.

Everything was very dark, but his vision allowed him to see clearly. The floor was made of some kind of black stone, as were the columns that supported the castle walls.

The walls were adorned with various works of art. Most of them were rather somber, giving the palace a more gothic look.

Not to mention the statues scattered along the halls — tall, grand stone figures resembling gargoyles, or knights clad in black iron armor. They were quite striking.

The silence was overwhelming. William could hear every step he took, and no sound of movement within the castle escaped his sharp ears.

William was afraid of the creatures Jhen had mentioned. They would certainly be powerful—and mysterious, too.

If the creatures were trapped inside the palace, they wouldn't have any food, which meant only the most bizarre would survive. Or maybe none survived at all. There was also the possibility the place was completely cleared out, with no creatures left inside.

After some time walking through the palace corridors, William reached a slightly more open area filled with plants. This was where the royal family went to relax — the garden.

At first, everything looked beautiful. The flowers and trees were healthy — surely thanks to some magical formation, since they didn't even need sunlight — but William soon spotted something strange.

He saw a dead creature. Actually, just its remains. Only the bones were visible.

William crouched down for a closer look. The bones were quite large, indicating it wasn't a weak creature. Judging by their state, it had been dead for a long time.

"Could this be one of the creatures that died from lack of food?" he wondered.

It was the first thing that came to his mind. William stood up and continued his walk through the castle. He couldn't afford to waste time in that garden.

The next ten minutes of his walk were pretty chill with nothing strange going on. But eventually, he heard something.

The sound he heard was not the typical old furniture sound, but more like footsteps. It scared him. Those footsteps sounded a lot like human footsteps, but that shouldn't be possible!

"No human is around here yet, at least not according to Jhen. Was she wrong?" thought William.