As he walked toward the center of the estate, Solomon mentally reviewed the secret instructions the Undead Paladin had passed down to him inside the mental void.
The ancient knight had explained that the mechanism to unlock the royal vault was a universal piece of divine architecture, utilized across all kingdoms possessing royal bloodlines.
The sequence of actions remained exactly the same, and only the physical location of the hidden chamber varied between the different palaces.
Solomon recalled the simplified, five-step process stripped of all its complex martial arts terminology:
[Phase 1: The Throne Room
=>Step 1: Go to the ruined royal throne room. Pull a decorative sword from the display. Sit on the throne, plant the tip of the blade vertically on the floor, fold your hands over the pommel, and rest your chin on your gloves. Hold this exact position for exactly three full minutes to register the mechanism.
=>Step 2: Stand up and slice the throne cleanly in half with a single, straight vertical cut.
Phase 2: The Courtyard and Bridge
=>Step 3: Go to the courtyard, find the stone water basin, and slice it in half with a flat, horizontal cut.
=>Step 4: Find the related stone monument and completely smash it into tiny pieces.
Phase 3: The Leap of Faith
=>Step 5: Destroy the final royal crest. Once that target is hit, the main vault doors will unlock.]
Of course, the chat was completely unaware of these specific mechanics. Solomon had absolutely no plans of explaining the sequence to them either. Broadcasting the universal mechanism to unlock divine royal vaults would instantly make him the number one target for every single kingdom and evil sect across all the worlds that existed.
’The paladin had told me that if any of the steps are out of order or already destroyed, then there would be no other way to unlock the secret chamber. Unless I bring someone with the royal blood of that kingdom. There is also a third way, but that’s not easy and I would rather not opt for it.’
He tightened his grip on the heavy strap of Eden’s Penance and began his brisk walk directly toward the ruined throne room, eager to claim his second royal crown.
Solomon wasn’t worried about knowing the exact location of the hidden vault right away. He figured that as he completed the mechanical steps one by one, the ancient gears and shifting stone would cause noticeable tremors, leading him directly to the prize.
As he navigated the crumbling marble corridors, Solomon let out a disappointed sigh.
"This is getting incredibly boring," Solomon complained to the floating bronze owl. "Where are the mutated monsters? Where are the undead guardians and the giant spiders? Why is this place so completely empty?"
[LazyCat: bro wants the smoke so bad.]
[GoonLord: SPAWN THE BOSS ALREADY!]
[User12: the holy knights probably cleared the map.]
[Mezz_3863: Solo Man complaining about a peaceful walk lol.]
[NewbHunter: maybe they are all sleeping?]
"If the Holy Knights had already swept the area, they would have left some remains or scorch marks behind," Solomon noted, inspecting a shattered column. "But there is absolutely nothing here. Just dust, rubble, and completely natural decay."
While walking through the eastern wing, he recognized the structural layout from Lune’s tour. A major treasury chamber sat just down the adjacent hall. Hoping to find some stray loot, Solomon took a quick detour and pushed through the rotting wooden doors.
He stepped inside the vault, only to find it completely stripped bare. There wasn’t a single silver coin, rusted sword, or broken gemstone left behind. The stone shelves were entirely empty.
Solomon clicked his tongue and kicked a loose pebble across the floor. "I honestly should have expected this. This place has been sitting completely abandoned for four hundred years, and it is not exactly restricted from the public."
He turned back toward the main corridor. "Unlike the Eden Kingdom, which was completely sealed away and turned into a dimensional fragment, this kingdom still exists in the physical world. Four centuries of looters and scavengers have made this place entirely clean. Or perhaps, the kingdoms collected it themselves"
[PandoraLifeweaver: RIP the loot stream.]
1
[Draken_Korin: the scavengers got here first.]
[MattMickyD: bro is officially late to the party.]
[Jack: zero drops today.]
A short while later, Solomon finally reached the grand archways of the main throne chamber. He stepped into the vast room, his eyes scanning the walls for the decorative weapon displays mentioned in the first step of the sequence.
The walls were completely bare. The weapon racks had been shattered and looted centuries ago.
Solomon frowned and looked toward the elevated dais at the back of the room where the royal seat should have been. The dais was completely empty. The royal throne was entirely missing, likely smashed or hauled away by thieves for its precious metals.
His heart sank. The Undead Paladin had explicitly warned him about this exact scenario. If any of the mechanical steps were out of order, missing, or already destroyed, the universal mechanism would fail completely.
The sequence could not be completed, permanently locking the secret chamber.
Since the very first step of the sequence was physically impossible, Solomon rushed out to the central courtyard to check the backup triggers. He found the stone water basin mentioned in step three, but it had already been smashed into irregular pieces by a collapsed pillar.
The stone monument required for step four was completely pulverized.
Solomon gritted his teeth, a rare surge of genuine frustration boiling in his chest. ’There is absolutely nothing I can do about this,’ he thought, staring at the ruined basin. ’Four hundred years of natural decay ruined the mechanism.’
He let out a heavy sigh, trying to formulate a new plan. ’King Shen and Prince Ryu possess the royal bloodline. They could easily bypass the locks and open the secret chamber. But they do not know where it is either. If they or their ancestors actually knew the location, they would have already claimed the crown.’
Solomon knew for a fact the crown was still hidden. He had casually brought up the topic of ancient royal artifacts during his long walk with Lune, and she confirmed that the Azure Kingdom’s crown had been lost to history during the heavenly demon’s rampage.
’If the mechanism is broken, I just need to find the vault itself,’ Solomon reasoned, looking around the overgrown courtyard. ’The secret chamber is supposedly indestructible. Therefore, whatever structure remains completely pristine and fully intact within these crumbling ruins has to be the vault.’
Unless the vault was hidden behind a spatial seal or a separate dimensional pocket, which was highly unlikely since this was a physical ruin rather than a fallen labyrinth, he just needed to search every inch of the estate.
"Alright chat, change of plans," Solomon announced to the bronze owl, adjusting the strap of Eden’s Penance. "Since there are no monsters to fight and no gold left to loot, we are going to do a comprehensive architectural survey of the entire palace grounds. We are looking for anything that looks out of place or surprisingly intact."
[1Fizzy: architectural review stream!]
[James_hayes: bro is really bored today.]
[Fatal_Beauty: we will help you look!]
[Mezz_3863: switching to detective mode.]
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