I Got A Title: Lord Of The Time!
Chapter 81: Inside the castle

Chapter 81: Inside the castle

Inside the large, bright hall, the six people couldn’t hide their astonishment. Each of them was an unusual person by nature, but even in this extraordinary place, they were showing emotions rarely seen on their faces.

Most of them were heirs of the Five Families. Though they had seen much in their short lives, this place never ceased to amaze them.

Royal sighed and shook his head, then gave a slight smile and slowly said to everyone:

"Getting here successfully was one task. Now, we need to explore this place quickly, take the main items, and leave."

Yulan looked around and cautiously asked:

"And where is the exit? We used the map to get in here. But now it’s gone... How will we be able to get out?"

Royal nodded, understanding the seriousness of the beautiful girl’s question. He looked again at the large, bright hall and realized there were three different passageways on each wall, indicating the vast scale of the castle.

He pointed at the three different corridors and said:

"This castle is undoubtedly massive. I don’t think it lacks some kind of emergency exit. Let’s first inspect it thoroughly, to understand its structure and collect whatever items we can — if any are present here."

"Are we going to split up?" Silia asked.

"I don’t think that’s a good idea," Egro added.

Royal patted Egro on the shoulder and smiled.

"Egro is right. We don’t yet know the dangers of this place. It’s better not to split up, so we don’t end up in some sort of trouble," he pointed to the three corridors and asked, "So, which one shall we take?"

Lin carefully examined each of the passages. But he couldn’t sense anything, even when he entered Contact with his katana.

"They’re relatively safe..."

Aran looked at the three passages and slightly smiled.

"I choose the one on the right!"

"Hm?" Royal looked at the right corridor and felt nothing. He asked, "Why the right one? Did you sense something?"

Aran smirked and easily explained:

"Most Mages are men, and most likely this castle was built by one. And you know what all men have in common?"

Royal was already ready to ignore Aran for yet another foolish statement. But he still asked:

"And what do all men have in common?"

"That they never go left!"

"..."

"See here. There are three paths: forward, right, and left. If we’re not going to choose the left, we’re left with forward and right. Forward might be dangerous since many people choose that path to feel like kings. But we’re not kings, are we? That means we should go right!"

The five others stared at Aran’s smug face with confusion, as if he had just announced a new mathematical formula that would change the world and its future.

"But..." Egro awkwardly smiled and pointed at Silia and Yulan, saying to Aran:

"What about Silia and Yulan? They’re girls... and they very well might choose the left side."

Aran continued standing there with a confident smile before explaining:

"What’s stopping them from identifying as men for a few minutes while we go down the right path? And besides, we — the real men, aside from Royal — outnumber them. Do we even need to take them into account?"

"..."

Silia’s face turned as red as a tomato. She recognized the obvious provocation and sexism in Aran’s words, but she managed to restrain herself from accidentally killing him.

Royal snorted coldly and said:

"We go forward."

Everyone nodded, except Aran. He smiled slightly and followed the rest.

Step. Step. Step.

Many synchronized footsteps echoed through the wide corridor. The six people moved deeper into the castle, observing their surroundings with great interest.

The walls were made of white stone, and the golden inlays created a majestic atmosphere, as if this were some kind of divine kingdom rather than an ordinary castle.

"These... Just the walls of this place are works of art," Egro said in awe.

Yulan nodded.

"These halls... I’ve never seen such a beautiful building before. In a way, I’m even glad I ended up in the Magic World just to see all this."

"But this isn’t some dreamy paradise," Aran smiled slightly and continued, "We have to remember this place could be more dangerous than any we’ve been to. We shouldn’t treat it lightly."

Yulan smiled faintly at Aran and said nothing in return.

"Stay alert," Royal said quickly.

Everyone nodded and became more serious about their surroundings.

As they walked, Lin suddenly felt a sense of alarm!

"Stop!"

Everyone froze — Royal, Silia, and Aran also sensed something was wrong and quickly stopped.

"Something’s about to happen," Lin said quickly. He looked in all directions, trying to identify what was causing his unease.

Suddenly, they all felt a strong vibration underfoot!

"Something’s coming. Be ready!"

Royal drew his two-handed golden sword and pointed it behind them, as he sensed the vibrations coming from that direction.

Boom! Boom!

Cracks appeared in the floor behind the group, splitting the ground in two and slowly pulling apart like high-tech doors!

"Step back," Royal said.

When the floor fully opened, a vision of a bottomless abyss appeared before them!

Inside the large rectangular pit was pitch-black darkness, exuding heavy pressure on anyone who looked inside!

Yulan swallowed and quietly asked:

"A-and how are we supposed to go any further? None of us have a skill that creates artificial paths... Should we go back?"

"I’m afraid we can’t go back..." Silia replied and slowly pointed behind them, where a massive rectangular wall filled with countless spikes was now headed their way!

Whoosh!

Clang!

Suddenly, a sharp sound rang out. Everyone turned toward it and saw Lin with his katana in his right hand, trying to cut through the corridor wall.

"These walls are very strong. I’d compare them to the Red Gates in durability."

"Silia, try freezing the wall and cutting it with your sword," he suggested to Silia.

Silia nodded and quickly approached the wall, touching it. She used her skill: "Touch of Cold" on it, creating a soft chill. But to her surprise, the wall didn’t freeze!

"This wall won’t let me freeze it," she said.

Everyone frowned and realized this place was far more difficult than they had expected.

"Royal, try using your skill. The light here should be enough for at least a threefold enhancement," Aran suggested to Royal.

"As you wish," Royal activated his skill, and light instantly gathered around his body, forming a golden halo that completely surrounded him!

"Threefold enhancement..." he raised his sword and struck the wall!

Whoosh!

Clang!

A golden line slashed through the air, but failed to do the same to the wall!

"It’s useless. This wall is incredibly strong. I can feel that even with a fivefold boost, I’d only leave a scratch," Royal stated slowly, then looked at the end of the corridor with surprise, seeing a dragon!

But after a moment, he came to his senses, realizing it was just a hallucination.

"What do we do? That spiked wall is getting closer and closer..." Egro voiced his concern.

Aran shrugged and said:

"Well, since there’s a trap like this here, there must be a way to get through it. I think if the castle wanted to kill us, it would’ve done so back when we first arrived."

After Aran’s words, everyone nodded. And right at that moment, they heard a harsh mechanical voice echoing through the large corridor:

[You will proceed further if you answer my riddles.]