After dealing with the Orcs, the rest of the trip up the slope was quiet, with no ambushes, monsters, or anything. Just the sound of birds chirping away and the gentle swaying of tree leaves in the cool mountain air. Something that helped relax Vance, who was still partly tense after his experience fighting like that. It was his first real-time in combat since becoming a High Human and were it not for his heightened abilities; he was sure he'd be on his way to see Julia again in person.

For now, though, he pushed the thoughts aside as he came to the mouth of the cave. He could see why so many tended to avoid this place, given the stalactites that jutted out in a way that made them look more like fangs ready to devour anyone brave or foolish enough to enter its mouth.

'Whoever designed this place knew what they were doing.' Vance thought.

Stepping forward, he walked past the threshold and was quickly hit by a strange sensation that prompted him to snap his head towards the far end of the cave.

"Julia?" Vance said aloud. "No... but it feels like she's here?" He noted with a slightly curious tone as he drew closer to the far end of the cave.

Coming to a halt, he was quick to see the dwarven stonemasonry. Black marble blocks stacked on top of each other, forming an arch with a simple stone door to protect whatever dwelled behind it. Reaching out, he ran his hand along the smooth stone surface, and almost immediately, the door began to illuminate with ancient runic symbols and shapes that started to twist and turn as though they were gears in a clock.

'That's new...' Vance thought, stepping back to watch the ruins twist and turn.

Thinking he'd watch, though, was pushing it as the ruins quickly vanished, only to be replaced with a thin line that split the stone in half. Slowly the two slabs slide apart, shooting compressed air outward in a cloud of dust that prompted Vance to cough and wave his hand in defence.

Peeking his eyes open through the cloud of dust as it began to settle, he stared into the inky darkness of the tunnel. A darkness that lasted only a moment as torches mounted on the walls within popped alive, glowing hot in the confined darkness of the long dark stairway.

Stepping forward, Vance peered down the steps that led further into the mountain, likely hiding unknown traps and triggers to said traps, all just waiting to claim the life of any foolish would-be tomb raider.

"Thankfully, I'm no tomb raider." Vance mumbled softly, "Otherwise, I'd be in a whole world of hurt in the future..."

Taking his first tentative steps down the stairs, he found the entire tunnel was made with the same black marble as the entrance. Still, unlike the gate, the walls themselves were engraved in fine gold-laced hieroglyphics that told a story associated with painted murals depicting the deeds and actions of the First Emperor -surprisingly appearing as though they had been painted yesterday. From what he could glean, the mural depicted the Emperor's origins as a former slave who led a revolt against his former masters.

'Huh... interesting...' Vance thought.

Vance was only able to partly understand what was displayed purely due to his education and training as a historian. It was often his job to decipher images and hieroglyphics like those on the wall here, though he did wish he had some kind of ability to read and understand all languages.

"Would've been nice..." He breathed while he crouched down by a nearby wall that seemed to show something interesting. "Huh... apparently, quite a few traps are waiting up ahead... though... if I'm reading this right -and I'm likely not- these are meant to be like a test of some sort." Standing up, he scratched the back of his head and let out a slight grumble.

"Just like my old world... everything's got a test of some sort. Nothing's ever easy." Vance mumbled as he continued on his way.

Coming down the last step, he arrived at a vast and wide-open space as large as a theatre, illuminated clearly as though he were in a classroom. The main point of interest in this room, though, wasn't the vines and tree roots that protruded and dangled along the marble walls, but rather it was the floor. The floor was covered in squares, each depicting an animal, shape, and letter.

Glancing around, he noted that there were copies of each, and a series of patterns could be discerned based on the way they were laid out. Almost immediately, his mind began to recall a few adventure movies, namely one that took place a little before World War Two. A slight smirk tugged at his lips as he shook his head at the memory. Pulling out one of the maps and a pencil, Vance began to draw out the patterns he could think of using his newfound intelligence. It didn't take him long to find a few, but that was the issue; there were three patterns.

Letting out a heavy sigh, he pursed his lips in thought before bringing them back and biting his bottom lip. "Shit..." There was a good chance this was the first in a series of long tests that would determine if he was worthy. Whoever designed this place was likely aware a Champion would come up across this tunnel at some point, so they made it a challenge for even one such as Vance. Shaking his head, he took a small deep breath in before stretching out his hand and pressed down on the leftmost of the three patterns... *Clunk*

"What was that?..." Vance asked, slowly looking up to see a chunk of rock come loose from the ceiling and fell to the floor. Right on top of the patterns on the right.

Suddenly and violently, the floor underneath the fallen debris fell apart, and a massive spike came driving up through the opening.

"Eh?" Vance looked somewhat surprised, "Really? It wasn't enough to just make someone fall into a pit of spikes, but to make the spikes thrust upward too? God... the person who designed this trap was not having a good day..." Vance exclaimed.

From what he could guess, as the debris fell and hit one of the other patterns, he still didn't know if the tile he selected was safe or not, so, feeling like he had no other choice, he began to step forward. "Who dares wins, I guess..."

He carefully began to navigate the small tiles that were two feet wide and two feet tall, inching forward carefully. Thankfully, nothing, no loud noises, no shaking, no nothing. Just silence as he reached the first of the troublesome places in the puzzle room. There were two points in the floor where patterns merged onto a single path, only to separate once again into three separate paths. These were the ones that would cause him the most grief as he didn't know the price for failing to pick the wrong path.

"Mmm... Julia... you really do know how to pick 'em..." Vance breathed as he took a guess and stepped onto the right path.

*Clunk.*

"I'm guessing that's a good clunk?" Vance said.

Looking up, he waited for something, anything, but nothing came. "Okay, so far, so good." He nodded, stepping forward.

Thankfully, things were going smoothly, and he came to the final checkpoint that split into three as he progressed down the path. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, he had to really weigh his options now, and so he reached out, stepping forward onto the left path this time.

*Shunk* *Clunk*

"Shit..." Vance cursed.

Within a matter of moments, the whole room began to shake. Vance nearly lost his footing but was quick to catch his balance but noticed how the walls suddenly began to crumble away and were replaced with a wall of spears, all still in mint condition, forcing Vance to roll his eyes. Vance wasn't going to say it, though; he wasn't going to say it couldn't get worse, but he sure as hell was going to think it.

"Of course, it'd get worse..." Vance sighed as the tiles began to fall all around.

Vance had precious seconds to make his move. Crouching down low, he made a mad dash down the middle path -the correct one this time- scrambling forward to the other side in time to avoid being impaled. Looking back, he watched as three sets of spears, each one from different directions, stabbed forward, fitting perfectly with one another; no space was unoccupied.

Safely on the opposite side, Vance let out a sigh of relief as he watched the spears retreat and the floor reform before his very eyes -another display of ancient magic. If this was the first in a series of trials, he wasn't looking forward to what waited ahead for him. Giving himself a mental slap, he mustered up his resolve and pushed forward, this time going up a set of marble stairs.

More hieroglyphics and more art detailing the Emperor's climactic battle against the Demon Lord, with it coming to a triumphal end to both the story and tunnel. Stepping out into the next room, this one smaller than the last, but still as challenging if not more so, as Vance got a good look at the room.

A circular room with circles within circles leading finally towards a wheel in the centre, much like the ones used to roll back in an anchor chain on a ship, along with four beams for people to push. At first glance, this one seemed simple enough but took a sharp turn when he realized he was standing on a timer. When the timer started? He couldn't know for sure; all he did know was that the floor was designed to crumble away inch by inch until it finally reached the wheel, no doubt sending its victims to a violent end. Seeing his options as limited here, he reached one of the nearby beams and, wrapping his hands around, he pushed.

*Slunk* *Sheenk* *Clunk*

The gears were turning once again, and the first circle of the floor gave way, falling into darkness.

"Really?" Vance shouted as he pushed harder and faster.

He had to push as fast as he could as the floor was falling away quicker than he had anticipated. This was likely something more manageable for a group to do, but he was alone and friendless... for now. With every complete rotation, the platform rose higher and higher, locking in place with a loud *Clunk* letting him know he was on the right track, just like the previous room. One clunk was a good clunk; any other noises were bad.

Finally, he reached the top, and the platform crumbled away, leaving Vance to hang in the air, his feet dangling down with only a bottomless pit to greet him. From his precarious vantage, he could see there appeared to be a hallway opposite the wheel, but the platform was missing six feet of ground to arrive safely. Peering down into the hole, Vance could see a quick death waiting for anyone weak or unprepared to hold themselves up. He thanked his lucky star that he was stronger than an average Human, but that prayer lasted only a second as the beams began to retract slowly.

"Hmph!" Vance hoisted himself up and balanced himself up on the beam and made his way forward as quickly as possible, stretching his arms out for balance as he did.

With every step, the beam retracted until finally, he jumped!

"Mmph! Oof..." Vance groaned as he came to hit the edge of the opposite side, his chest smacking into the rim.

Pulling himself up and onto the floor leading to the next room, he took a moment to catch his breath, not realizing just how exhausted he was starting to get. This was too much, far too much, and he wondered how anyone thought it was wise to make movies about heroes doing this stuff in a day or less? It was impossible, even if you were the strongest, fastest, and most agile Human in the world!

Panting and sucking in as much air as he could, he steadied himself as he sat upright. Looking at the next entrance that waited for him, he grimaced at the thought of what waited beyond for him. Nonetheless, he made a promise to Julia, the God that gave him a second chance and a way to use his knowledge; he felt he had a duty to this world now and couldn't stop when he just started. Pushing himself up to his feet, he stumbled for a second, catching himself on a nearby wall, only to look down at his shoes to notice they were already coming apart.

They were poorly made and meant only for flat land, not doing all he did in a day. Vance also made a mental note to buy a new pair of shoes or boots after being done here and delivering the guild cards. With a mental push, he pushed onward and into the next tunnel with a mural.

This time the mural spoke of the Emperor's rise to power and how he worked together with nine other champions, each blessed by one of the nine other deities part of Julia's pantheon. Each one helped him rise to the title of Emperor, and each one helped him govern and rule that once vast empire.

Another exciting tale showed where each of the nine Champions went after they had chosen to retire or had died of old age. Vance quickly wrote down and marked each on his map, using the light from the torches to find each on his map. After hastily scribbling down the locations, he moved forward unto the next chamber. Still, this one was smaller than all the rest, and in the centre of the circular room was a wide rectangle pedestal that looked almost like a slab you'd rest a body or tomb. Walking up the slight slope, he scanned the room for any other traps or mechanisms waiting to kill any who entered, but he could see none. Just... a peaceful chamber that looked like a small chapel now that he was able to get a good look at the place.

Finally, coming up to the pedestal, he glanced down and saw a single ancient blade that rested on a fine white sheet of cloth. He didn't know what else to do here or if this was connected with some booby trap. Still, there was nothing else to do beyond grabbing the sword.

Reaching out, he gently gripped the red leather-wrapped handle and picked it up. At first, the long sword felt heavy and uneven in his hand right up until a burst of energy and flame erupted all around the blade, engulfing it in a strange blue hue. Vance watched soundlessly as the metal shifted and changed shape until it took the form of a beautifully crafted cavalry sabre. However, it wasn't just its shape and appearance that changed, but also its weight and feel. Where once it felt uneven, heavy, and off-balance, it now felt... like it was made for him!

An intricately crafted handguard now protected his gloved hand, and the curved edge of the blade came to a heavy top, perfect for swinging and cleaving. The red leather wrap was still the same, but now it felt... new? Softer even. And where once a plain pommel had been, a jewelled one took its place with a small blue cord hanging from it, to allow the one who used the blade to keep his sword in hand should he grow tired or sore to avoid losing his blade.

Vance took a moment to admire the blade. It was perfect, and the glowing blue runes inscribed on the flat of the blade itself seemed to further add to its lustre and beauty. It was like the sword was made for him and only him. It was odd, but... also very awesome!

Standing in stunned silence as he admired the sword, the room began to shake, and Vance was snapped out of his haze as he began to look around to see what was happening. To his surprise, there was no falling ceiling or floor, but rather a section of the opposite wall came sliding down into the floor, creating a new doorway. To where? Vance would soon find out... more so since the other exit was now blocked.

Sheathing his new blade in a sheath that had once been the white cloth that had also had its own transformation, Vance walked forward armed with his new weapon.

Unlike the other tunnels, there was no light, torches, or anything save a straight path through the darkness to guide his way. But before long, he saw a bright white light at the end of the tunnel.

"Hope I'm not dead." Vance joked as he stepped into the white.

Shielding his eyes as he stepped through the white light, his eyes slowly adjusted to the harness, and what he saw before him was far more shocking a sight than the transforming blade...

A Castle.