The cave that constantly changed location, the mysterious goddess at the entrance, the cake exchanged for an Epic-grade item—the bizarre circumstances forced Roy to raise his guard the moment he stepped into the cave.
Wooden handles on both sides of the cave walls suddenly burst into blue flames, extending all the way into the depths.
Roy swallowed hard. Getting close to the flames, he felt no sensation of burning; instead, a bone-chilling coldness made him shrink. The more he stared into the cave's depths, the more a vague sense of dread welled up in his heart.
"Phew!"
Roy took a deep breath and carefully entered the cave, heading into the depths.
The surroundings were terrifyingly silent, like a ghost domain, amplifying the sound of his own footsteps endlessly.
He felt as though he were in the Dungeon; the concepts of time and space became blurred. Roy felt like he had only walked for about ten seconds, but when he looked back, he could no longer see the entrance.
After roughly three or four minutes, a fork in the road appeared. Roy checked the map and headed left.
Whoosh!
Just as Roy was about to enter the left passage, he suddenly noticed several dark figures flash across the right passage, quickly slipping into the dark corners.
They moved so fast that he couldn't clearly make them out.
"Are those humans?"
"He came in? How dare he come in?"
"Hurry up and go! If we meet 'that thing,' we're done for!"
The dark figures whispered. Although their voices were low, they could still be heard clearly in the silent cave.
Roy focused his gaze and shivered. The shadows were neither monsters nor humans, but blue masses of light draped in gray cloaks, like phantoms.
Seeing ghosts in broad daylight!
Roy recalled the silver-haired goddess's warning: never enter other areas. He could only pretend not to see them.
The several dark figures closely followed behind him.
The two parties proceeded one after the other, not interfering with each other.
Following the map's guidance, Roy passed through intersection after intersection, seemingly endless.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Roy's forehead. The cave passages were all identical, without any reference points, making the feeling even stranger than the Dungeon. He tried to use a stone to make a mark on the wall, but after a few seconds, the mark gradually vanished, leaving nothing behind.
Roy was certain that without the map, he would absolutely not find his way back.
Roar!
Suddenly, Roy heard a roar, like a dog or a wolf. His mind felt like it had been hit by a heavy hammer, and his brain throbbed with sharp pain. Roy knelt down on one knee, gripping his sword hilt, a strong sense of danger enveloping his heart.
He had never heard such a bizarre sound before.
"It's here, it's here!"
"That human is dead, I told you!"
The shadows that had been following Roy scattered in terror, scurrying away with their heads bowed.
After waiting for a moment, the roaring sound continued intermittently, but no figure ever appeared.
Roy gritted his teeth. The timid starve, the bold thrive. He continued to press forward along the passage.
The cave passage seemed to go on forever. The roaring sound, which occurred intermittently, was deafening. Enduring this dual pressure, Roy's spirit was on the verge of collapse. He didn't know what he was doing; he just kept walking forward blindly.
Finally, after an unknown length of time.
A chamber appeared before Roy. His originally cloudy eyes burst forth with a bright light, like a drowning person grasping the last straw. "I'm here!"
Roy looked down at the map, his face lighting up. The two light dots marking his position and the treasure location were almost perfectly overlapping. He strode into the chamber. Wooden handles on the internal walls were lit with blue flames.
The chamber was empty, with only a crystal coffin visible, located in the center.
Lying inside the coffin was an Elven girl with breathtaking beauty that surpassed even a goddess. With emerald green hair, she seemed to be quietly sleeping—a genuine Sleeping Beauty.
Her stunning looks made even Roy sigh in amazement.
Just as Roy approached, the Elven Princess slowly opened her eyes. Her jade-colored eyes reflected Roy's appearance. She paused, then surprise surged forth.
"My hero, I've finally waited for you."
The Elven Princess sat up, her small face showing a pitiable look. She extended her jade-white, lotus-root-like arms, intending to embrace Roy, but he stepped back. Roy asked, "Who are you?"
The Elven Princess's voice was gentle as water. "I am Celtya. A thousand years ago, I fought the monsters that emerged from the Dungeon and was severely wounded. This place has preserved my body, keeping it unharmed for a thousand years. I have been waiting for a hero to appear and help me recover from my injuries..."
Roy's expression was odd. Such a familiar line! I am Qin Shi Huang, send money!
Suddenly, the Elven Princess's body froze.
She looked down and saw Roy's half-broken Murasame unforgivingly plunged into her chest.
"Why?"
The Elven Princess looked utterly disbelieving.
"Before coming in, a goddess told me: don't trust anyone!" Roy grinned, revealing his pure white teeth, which held a hint of killing intent. The alluring fragrance and soft touch were too real. Even Roy couldn't spot a single flaw, and he had almost succumbed. It was terrifying.
"You bastard!"
In an instant, the beautiful Elven Princess's face turned hideous, her features twisting together like a demon's. Her hands transformed into sharp claws and fiercely lunged toward Roy. Lord of Thunder!
Golden lightning erupted all over Roy, crackling violently. The intense light illuminated the entire chamber.
Upon touching the golden lightning on Roy's body, the previously aggressive "Elven Princess" instantly retracted her claws, fear flashing across her face.
Her figure turned into a blue light mass and desperately fled out of the chamber, exactly matching the blue shadows Roy had seen earlier—some sort of eerie entity.
However, Roy's speed was faster than hers.
Activating the effect of the Wind-Chasing Boots, strong winds wrapped around Roy's legs, and he lunged forward.
Roy instantly closed the distance between them, slammed the entity against the wall, and concentrated golden lightning into his fist. He landed a heavy punch directly onto the blue light mass.
Boom!!
The fierce punch went straight through the light mass and heavily struck the wall. Cracks spread across the surrounding wall.
The golden lightning, like countless electrical snakes, crawled all over the "Elven Princess's" body. Accompanied by a sharp shriek, the "Elven Princess's" figure vanished into thin air.
After completing all this, Roy let out a sigh of relief.
When he turned to look, there was no thousand-year-sleeping Elven Princess inside the crystal coffin. Under the erosion of time, only a pile of dirt and a long sword lay inside as burial items. It was covered in years of dust. Roy picked it up and swung it casually. By its appearance, it looked even worse than his Murasame.
At this moment, Roy genuinely wanted to cry.
He had traveled thousands of miles for nothing. He even sold his Steel Gauntlet!
Suddenly, the corner of Roy's eye caught a flash of red light within the ashes. He quickly rushed forward and brushed aside the ashes. Lying quietly inside was a blood-red crystal.
Roy picked up the blood-red crystal as if it were a priceless treasure. At that moment, a panel popped up in front of him.
$$\text{Congratulations! You have obtained Celtya's Royal Blood!}$$