God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World!-Chapter 504: The Royal Floor

Back in the banquet hall, the party had not slowed down much, but one seat had remained empty for too long.

A few young nobles seated near Darius Aston began to glance toward his table again and again. The music was still playing, servants were still moving with trays, and guests were still drinking and talking, but the absence had started to feel strange.

One of Darius's friends leaned back in his chair and frowned.

"Where did Darius go?" he asked, swirling the drink in his glass.

Another noble adjusted his cuffs and glanced around the hall. "He was here just a moment ago. He looked annoyed, then stepped out."

A third one, a broader man with a sharp chin, nodded toward the doors.

"I saw him leave after that masked guest," he said quietly. "He probably went to deal with something."

The first noble let out a short laugh. "Deal with something? In the middle of his father's banquet?"

The broad man shrugged. "You saw his face when Her Highness walked past him. He was not exactly calm."

The second noble set his glass down and stood. "I'll go get him. If he causes trouble tonight, General Aston will skin all of us just for sitting here."

No one argued with that. The man adjusted his coat, looked once toward the dance floor, then slipped out of the hall with a more serious expression than before.

While that was happening, Gabriel had already gone deeper into the royal floor.

The silver armor on his body helped more than expected. The moment he stepped out from the blind corner and moved into the better lit hallway, none of the guards or passing attendants questioned him. Some simply moved aside respectfully. A couple of servants even lowered their heads the moment they saw the armor and the family crest on it.

One maid carrying folded cloth stepped to the side and bowed slightly.

"Lord Darius," she said softly.

Gabriel gave only a small nod and kept walking.

His pace stayed steady, neither too fast nor too slow. The hallway here was brighter than the last section. The chandeliers were smaller than the ones in the banquet hall, but their light was cleaner. The walls were decorated with framed paintings and pale gold patterns, and the floor beneath his boots was smooth enough to reflect the lamps.

He had no map anymore.

From here onward, he had no drawn route, no guessed turns, and no half reliable outline from Xman. The deeper he went, the more he had to trust his own instincts and judgment. That did not bother him much. In some ways, it was better. At least now he no longer had to wonder if he was following a forum rumor through the wrong corridor.

As he moved through the next hallway, a pair of armored guards standing near a side entrance greeted him first.

"Lord Darius," one said respectfully.

Gabriel did not stop. He simply raised a hand once in acknowledgment and continued forward.

The fact that none of them questioned him made things easier, but it also made him more alert. The higher one moved in a place like this, the more dangerous a single wrong step became. Even the quiet here felt different. It was not the quiet of a resting building. It was the quiet of a place where only important people were allowed to breathe freely.

After taking another turn, Gabriel slowed slightly and spread his perception.

It moved out from him like a silent wave, touching the walls, the floors, the corners, and the distant doors.

If the king was not at the banquet, then there were only a few possibilities.

Either he was in his chamber.

Or he was in another section of the castle separated from the event entirely.

Gabriel's expression stayed neutral beneath the helmet, but his focus sharpened.

He continued sending his perception outward, quietly testing the pressure around him, sensing the flow of presence on this floor. A few were ordinary. Some were stronger. Some were likely guards standing behind doors or hidden at blind points. None of them matched what he was searching for.

Then suddenly, he felt it, and his gaze flickered.

Farther ahead, deeper within the royal floor, was a presence that stood above the rest.

Gabriel's steps did not stop, but his eyes narrowed slightly.

That had to be it. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The presence was not just strong, it was oppressive.

Even at a distance, it carried a pressure that made the other presences on the floor feel smaller. The gap was obvious enough that Gabriel did not need to compare twice. If there was one place he needed to head toward, it was there.

He adjusted direction immediately and began walking toward it.

The deeper he went, the more the atmosphere changed.

The servants disappeared first.

Then even the occasional guards became fewer.

The halls grew quieter, wider, and strangely colder despite the soft yellow light from the wall lamps. The polished floor remained clean, but the sounds of the banquet behind him faded until only the rhythm of his own boots remained.

At one point, he turned into a long corridor with no windows.

There were no servants in sight.

No decoration, just a lonely stretch of hallway and a pressure ahead that kept rising little by little.

Gabriel's breathing remained calm, but even he could feel the tension now. This was not the kind of pressure a normal person could walk through calmly. It pressed on the nerves, slowed the body, and made the chest feel tighter with every step.

If not for his Undead Heart skill calming his emotions and stabilizing his state, he knew most people would have turned back already. Courage alone would not be enough here. The deeper he walked, the clearer that became.

The lights seemed dimmer now, or perhaps it was only because the pressure ahead made the rest of the corridor feel heavier.

The tension in the air thickened.

It felt like Gabriel had crossed into a place where even sound itself did not want to linger.

With every step, the oppressive presence ahead grew larger, and for the first time since he came to this world, sweat broke out on Gabriel's face.

He touched the sweat on his temple, a bit shocked himself, his pupils trembling.

"I knew the king would be powerful, but this… we haven't even met yet."

***

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