The expedition team combed the entire third floor of the labyrinth but didn't find the flower. After recuperating for a couple of hours, they descended another long flight of stairs and finally arrived at the fourth floor of the dungeon.
This floor seemed like an entirely different world.
Everyone looked at their surroundings in amazement.
Gigantic trees reaching all the way to the ceiling, colossal roots covering most of the ground. Brown and red leaves formed canopies.
Innumerable particles of light, which resembled fireflies, floated in the air.
Even without light magic, the expedition team could clearly see everything.
"Wow," a voice filled with admiration escaped the lips of a knight.
They hadn't expected to see a forest underneath this dungeon. The trees looked ancient, each of them was several times larger than the trees seen in the forest near the capital.
Looking around, there were grasses, shrubberies, and different kinds of plants growing on the ground. This floor felt like the perfect place for them to find the Tears of Ubroxia.
"The last floor was an arachnia," Minerva pessimistically spat. "Now, what kind of monster are we supposed to fight in this forest?"
The knights looked warily around their surroundings. After encountering all sorts of monsters imaginable in this Forbidden Region, they'd resolved themselves to fight to their deaths, no matter what monsters came to be their opponent.
With Wisgarus at the lead, the expedition team moved through the sea of trees, all the while looking out for any plant with a semblance of the flower.
After half an hour, the sea of trees ended and they arrived at a grassland. Looking beyond, they could see a large statue of a middle?aged man wearing an exquisite robe. He was holding a book in his left hand, and a staff in the other.
As the expedition team came closer to the statue, they realized how colossal it was. The head almost reached the ceiling, and its body alone was more than thirty meters wide. But the most absurd thing was the fact that it was made entirely of gold.
Whoever made this dungeon was truly a filthy rich bastard. There was no doubt about that.
After confirming that there were no traps, Wisgarus approached the foot of the statue. A stone tablet was erected next to it.
He read the words written on the tablet. "This shrine is dedicated to my master. The Sun, the Lord of all magicians."
Wisgarus was well?versed in history. He immediately understood to whom the message was pertaining.
"So, that's the statue of Evander Alaester?" said Minerva.
Wisgarus looked up. "Seems like it."
Captain Symon also looked up and stared at the statue. This was the first time he'd heard of Evander Alaester. He wondered who this man was, for him to be enshrined by the God of Poison himself. Furthermore, this was the first time he'd seen something as grandiose as this. The value of this colossal statue made entirely of gold would be enough to sustain the Kingdom for several years.
Wisgarus rubbed his chin. "We might have just hit the jackpot."
"What do you mean?" said Minerva.
"This floor is obviously sacred ground for Quervanu. If my hunch is correct, this floor doesn't have any monsters."
Minerva fell silent. Indeed, they hadn't encountered any monsters since coming here.
"We'll need to search the entire floor, just to be safe," she said.
"Of course," Wisgarus agreed. "Symon, this should be a good place to camp. Tell your knights to form teams to scout the area for monsters. If we're lucky, we might finally find the flower in this place."
"Yes. Understood."
Captain Symon immediately issued out his orders. Four teams, composed of twelve knights each, were tasked to scout the surrounding areas. The rest started pitching tents. Wisgarus created a rock wall to enclose the camp and Minerva cast her barrier over it.
After an hour, the scouts came back, bringing with them great news.
"We didn't encounter any monsters. There's a small lake west of here, and to the east is a large hole on the ground. We believe it's the entrance to the next floor of the labyrinth."
Minerva looked at Wisgarus. "There are no monsters. What do you think?"
The two of them felt uneasy about the current situation. So far, dangerous monsters had been blocking their path as they went deeper into this labyrinth. But now, they suddenly found themselves in a floor devoid of any monsters.
Wisgarus sighed. "There's no use in overthinking things. We'll immediately move out to search for the flower. And I want to see the giant hole—the so?called entrance to the next floor—myself."
Wisgarus looked above once again. He stared at the statue of Evander Alaester. For a moment, the magician looked like a God overseeing this entire floor.
After receiving their orders from the captain, the knights moved out in smaller groups and started searching for the flower. Minerva and Wisgarus, on the other hand, went directly toward the entrance to the next floor. Upon arrival, they realized that the knights had understated the size of the hole.
It easily spanned thirty meters in diameter, and looking down, you could see nothing but the abyss. Wisgarus threw a rock in it, and it took a full minute before they heard the sound of impact.
Curious about what was inside the hole, Minerva cast several orbs of light and willed them to go inside. They peered down at the hole as the orbs of light flew down.
After the orbs reached the bottom, Wisgarus and Minerva's eyes widened, their hair stood on end. Their entire bodies trembled as color drained off their faces.
An absurdly large monster was sleeping inside.
Its seven serpentine heads intertwined with each other; its snouts were similar to a dragon's. Its four gigantic wings were folded, covering half of its body.
"W?What the hell is that?" Wisgarus croaked.
Chills crawled down their spines. By size alone, the monster was comparable to the statue of Evander Alaester.
The royal court magicians realized that the knights were wrong.
This hole was not the entrance to the next floor.
It was a damnable monster den.
"T?The lights?" said Wisgarus. "Put out the lights?"
Minerva immediately cancelled her spell and the orbs of light vanished. The two of them stood there, frozen, unable to breathe. The sheer size of that creature made the arachnia on the third floor look like a cute little spider.
Seconds passed and the two breathed sighs of relief. Luckily their little disturbance wasn't enough to wake up the creature.
Wisgarus remembered the mural on the entrance to the second floor.
He was sure now that it was pertaining to this monster.
"W?We should search for the flower quickly and get out of here as soon as possible?" he said.
Minerva agreed. They couldn't see how mere humans could win against that monster. They were sure that if it hadn't been contained in this labyrinth, it would have destroyed the entire Kingdom long ago.
The two royal court magicians immediately went back to their camp and relayed what they discovered to the rest of the royal knights. After hearing their story, even the royal knights visibly panicked. Only Captain Symon remained calm and composed.
"I think we've more or less confirmed that there are no monsters here aside from the one sleeping inside the giant hole," said Captain Symon.
"There's no longer any need to search in groups. Everyone, disperse and comb the entire floor for the flower. Avoid going near the giant hole. The last thing we want is for the monster to wake up. This giant statue will be our gathering spot. The moment you find the flower, return to this camp and fire the red flare."
He snarled, "Go?"
"Yes, Captain?"
Time was of great essence since they didn't know when the creature would wake up. Immediately, the knights moved out and scattered as they searched for the flower.
Wisgarus was also about to join the search when he noticed the placard at the foot of the statue, partly hidden by the tall grass.
He parted the grass and read the words engraved on the placard:
I do ?elieve that master will come ?ack to us again. I have stored master's treasures in this shrine, in hopes that it'll prove useful once the master is resurrected. Ku?arkava ?elieves the same and even went to great lengths to tame the Earth Scylla to protect this territory.
Wisgarus remembered the things he read in history books. According to the Grand Historian, Gustav Chavalion, two of Evander Alaester's disciples tried performing the ritual of the dead to revive their master. He was sure that those two were Quervanu—the God of Poison, and Kubarkava—the dragon devourer.
Unfortunately, the ritual failed and the two famous disciples lost their lives in the process.
After reading the words written here, he finally understood why that seven?headed monster was here. It was actually here to protect the treasure from outsiders.
Wisgarus told Minerva what he'd just discovered. As expected, the woman's eyes shone greedily after hearing the story.
"That Evander Alaester's treasure is being kept on this floor of the labyrinth?" she said, almost squeaking.
"I believe it's inside this giant statue," said Wisgarus. He started knocking on the foot of the statue, hoping to find an entrance of some sort.
"It wouldn't make any sense, otherwise."
Although the flower was important to cure His Majesty, the two royal court magicians simply couldn't let this opportunity of a lifetime to escape their grasp. All magicians who'd studied their history knew how powerful Evander Alaester was.
During his prime, that magician was said to have laid waste to an entire tribe of Red Dragons just to save one of his disciples. There was also a story of how he single?handedly stopped a Demon Lord's army from reaching the Magic Empire.
He was without a doubt one of the magicians who'd reached the pinnacle of magic. A God among humans.
And now, the opportunity to get their hands on Evander's treasures was presented before them. How could they let this chance pass by?
Using different spells, the two royal court magicians earnestly searched for the entrance. After several hours, they finally found it.
"To think that the entrance is located at the statue's mouth," said Minerva. "We've been looking in the wrong place for several hours."
Using their spells, they climbed up and reached the mouth of the giant statue. Wisgarus pried the mouth open and the two of them entered through the gap. He cast an orb of light, revealing the bronze door inside.
"Interesting," said Wisgarus.
A complex magic formation was engraved on the door. Judging by the runes, it was an extremely strong defensive spell meant to block the entry of unwanted visitors. Luckily, it'd been too long since the two disciples of Evander created this place, and the spell had probably vanished entirely due to the passage of time. Otherwise, the strength of just two royal court magicians wouldn't be enough to forcefully open the entrance.
Wisgarus and Minerva looked at each other. Just in case there were traps the moment they entered, the two of them readied their spells.
Wisgarus twisted the door's handle and pushed it open. The door creaked and the orb of light illuminated the statue's interior. A long, winding staircase led toward the foot of the statue. The two royal court magicians immediately went down the stairs. The moment they arrived at the bottom, they were stunned speechless.
Mountains of gold coins, dating back from the Magic Empire, covered the floor. They could also see several mithril ingots piled up in a corner.
There were also adamantite ores, dozens of high?grade mana stones, and other crystals and gemstones the two magicians failed to recognize. At the center of the mountain of treasures was a golden pillar holding a sword.
For several minutes, Wisgarus and Minerva were slack?jawed, speechless. They hadn't expected to encounter Evander Alaester's treasure in this labyrinth.