Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill

The footsteps weren't getting louder — in fact, they were growing fainter as William stood there, listening.

They were moving away from him. But the problem was… the sounds were coming from the same direction he needed to go. Which meant it was only a matter of time before he crossed paths with whoever — or whatever — was making them.

He had no idea whether it was the group hired by the noble family to camp near the palace and slowly explore it, or if it was someone else. Or worse… something else.

A sense of dread tightened in his chest. But this was his mission. He couldn't back out now.

Shaking off the negative thoughts, William pressed forward. It didn't take long before the footsteps grew louder again.

He focused carefully, sharpening his hearing — and quickly realized there was more than one person.

A group.

That made things worse. If they were powerful, a direct confrontation would be risky.

His only real advantage was that the traps inside the palace wouldn't activate because of his royal bloodline. But if that group was walking around without issue… then they clearly had a way to bypass the traps as well.

That advantage… was practically useless.

Still, William moved forward, keeping his pace slow and quiet, making sure not to get too close. The good thing was that the palace was suffocatingly dark. Shadows covered everything, but William could see just fine. His eyes caught the faint glow of magical lamps — held by people up ahead.

They can't see me… but I can see them perfectly.

"This is good," he muttered to himself.

As he got a better look, William confirmed they weren't part of the noble family's hired crew camped outside the palace. No, this group was different.

Their clothes were rugged, practical — the kind adventurers usually wore. And then… his eyes widened.

There was someone he recognized among them.

Kier.

"Fucking Kier. What the hell is he doing here?" William gritted his teeth.

Kier — the bastard who had betrayed him back then. The one who fled when things went south, leaving William behind to be captured and sold as a slave. That betrayal had forced William into hell before he'd finally clawed his way out.

"And now… that rat is here too?"

It didn't take much guessing to figure out why. Kier was always desperate to grow stronger. If this palace had valuable artifacts or secrets, then of course he'd risk it.

But something didn't add up at first — how were they walking through the palace without triggering the traps? Then, after watching closely, William understood.

They weren't immune to the traps.

Every so often, the group would stop. A young woman among them would kneel down, placing her hands on the floor, and carefully disable the traps ahead.

Impressive. Not many people had the skill to disarm the royal palace's magic-based traps. That girl was clearly a specialist — and a damn good one.

William stayed back, maintaining a safe distance. Getting spotted now would be a disaster. He wasn't ready for that fight yet.

But seeing Kier again… a surge of anger rose in his chest, hot and sharp.

"You're going to pay for what you did. I swear, the moment I get the chance… I'll make you pay."

With the current distance William had from the group, he could also listen to what they were saying.

"How long until we reach the special training room?" Kier asked the girl who was deactivating the traps.

"It will still take us a while, and the traps are getting harder to turn off, so we'll take even longer. It's a good thing we brought supplies."

The special training room! William instantly thought about the place Jhen had mentioned—the place where he would improve his royal bloodline and get stronger.

Was it the same place? If so, why was Kier going there? He didn't have a royal bloodline. Would it help him? What was William missing in this whole situation?

Anyway, the group's current pace was a problem. They had to use their time deactivating traps while William could simply walk.

So, if things continued this way, they would reach their destination at the same speed, and that was not what William wanted!

Also, he had another mission to complete first: to find the mirror that could turn off the traps so that Victoria and Jhen could come with him.

Seeing himself in such a tough situation, William had to do something. He decided to act.

William ran. He wasn't walking slowly like before, so it didn't take long for the group to hear his footsteps.

Eventually, he appeared in their sight. They were all expecting a creature, so when they saw William there, they were puzzled.

Kier, on the other hand, couldn't believe his eyes. He blinked multiple times to see if what he was seeing was a mirage or something.

"How are you here?" Kier asked.

William ran past them, passing close to Kier. "We will see each other again," he said.

They thought for a moment about attacking him, but when they saw William heading towards the trap—which the girl hadn't deactivated yet—the only thing they considered doing was retreating.

All of them ran away, hoping to avoid getting hit by the trap that William, in his stupidity, would soon activate.

But nothing happened.

They stood there, unsure of what had just happened.

"How is he avoiding the traps?" Kier asked.

Everyone shared that question. The girl who was deactivating the traps, however, was staring into the distance, frowning.

"Does he have it?" she thought.

William didn't linger. He ran off without even looking back. His mind was set on something else.

Part of him wanted to confront Kier, but that wasn't the right time. William continued his search for the treasure room where the magical mirror might be.

He found it after another hour of searching. The door to the treasure room had special mechanisms that made it impossible to open. No matter what William tried, the door simply wouldn't budge.

There were some drawings next to the door, telling a story. At the end of the story, William saw what looked like a glass of wine.

At first, he thought it was wine, but after more thought, he realized it was blood! Everything was related to blood, to the royal bloodline.

William cut his hand and placed it on the door. It shone with a red light, and then it opened. The treasure room was now accessible.

"Nice," he said.

Once inside, William expected to see many treasures—a room packed with precious items that could be incredibly beneficial to him. That wasn't the case.

It barely had anything inside, just a few crates tossed around with some items within them.

"They took all the items away before the noble family tried to dethrone them," William realized. "Smart."

The royal family activated all those traps to prevent their invasion of the palace, and they took away all their prized possessions, leaving nothing for the noble family that wanted the throne.

A smart move, but also one that could only be done if they knew about it beforehand.

"Where exactly is the royal family?" William wondered.

With the treasure room almost empty, William feared the magical mirror Jhen wanted wouldn't be there. He rummaged through all the crates, and sure enough, it was nowhere to be found. In fact, there were no decent items at all—just ordinary swords and armor, the kind common guards used. Nothing special whatsoever.

"Fuck," William cursed, punching one of the crates.

Things were going south fast. If he didn't get the mirror, Jhen and Victoria would be stuck. He had to find it. But first, he needed to warn Jhen. She might know where all the items were.

William left the treasure room. He couldn't go back the same way; that would mean running into Kier and the others without any traps to slow them down, forcing a fight. That wasn't a smart move. He had to find another route around them, and that was the problem.

The palace was like a maze, and a huge one at that. There were countless corridors and rooms. Without proper knowledge, William would never find his way through. That's why Jhen was so important—she knew the palace.

It was incredible how a plan could go to shit in just a few moments. Everything had been going smoothly; they all had high hopes of finding that magical mirror to walk through the castle without activating any traps. Then, all they'd have to do was find the room where William would improve his bloodline.

Now, all of that was just a pipe dream. William chose a corridor and walked away, hoping he was headed in the right direction back to Jhen. If not, then he hoped it was at least a place with something helpful for him.

William walked for a while, and realized his luck was just really bad. He started hearing strange sounds again.

Footsteps, again, but they didn't sound human. It was too loud. The thing creating that sound was certainly massive.