The three of them were now walking along a path that was constantly moving. Sometimes, they were forced to take a detour or run because of some walls that suddenly changed their location.
Not to be outdone, the dungeon dwellers appeared all around them, royal warriors wearing armor from head to toe - whether they were just moving armor or some other force was moving them.
In the midst of all this, Rocky seemed more and more fascinated by the Master Sage, who was able to lead the way with ease.
Rocky continued to look around, making several gaffes along the way.
"Rocky! Hurry up! Or Master will leave us! Be careful, if the guards get caught, we'll be in trouble!"
Lylah's voice sounded forceful as she pulled at Rocky's hand. Although Lylah's power had no significant effect on Rocky's stone body, he discouraged her from deviating and followed Master Sage back.
Soon they arrived at a bright and beautiful garden. The fences of the garden were made of gold and decorated with diamonds, while the vines were arranged in neat rows.
Rocky could sense that the garden before him was very well-kept - no weeds, not even a leaf had fallen.
The air in the garden was warm and cozy, especially when Master Sage and Lylah were harvesting carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, and other vegetables.
Rocky thought to himself, "Wait... why does something feel funny? Oh... they're harvesting vegetables."
But in an instant, he came to his senses and ran straight to Lylah, plucking a broccoli out of her hand.
"Wait! Is that broccoli? I thought this was the palace flower garden! How can there be a garden like this in the palace?"
Rocky became disoriented as he continued to check every plant around him with his senses. He could only feel the mounds of earth where the vegetables grew. In the distance, he also sensed the presence of some regularly planted fruit trees and flowers.
Lylah asked, "What is it, Rocky?"
Rocky pointed in all directions: vegetables, flowers, and the neighborhood. He wanted to ask with all his heart, "Where are we? How can a vegetable garden be in the middle of a flower garden? Is this really a garden with a fence like a royal palace?"
But Lylah just looked at Rocky, confused by his rapid and disorganized movements, as if he was having a breakdown.
"You want to go around? You can, but don't go too far, okay..." Lylah said.
But Rocky's continued erratic movements made it even harder for Lylah to understand his intentions.
"Why do you want to play? Master and I still have to gather supplies! If you play now, Master will be angry!"
Eventually, Lylah led Rocky over to Master Sage.
"Master! Rocky is broken!" Lylah shouted with an angry face.
Master Sage, who was picking potatoes, turned his head as he said, "Hmm... leave it, take him with Master. I'll check later."
Irritated, Lylah left Rocky with Master Sage. While checking Rocky's condition, Master Sage observed his unchanged body movements, but with the instinct of a wise master, he began to analyze the meaning behind Rocky's movements. Once that was done, he moved on to take care of the other plants in the area.
"This place is indeed a dungeon... Originally, this was a flower garden, and there were golems like you to take care of it. However, I turned this flower garden into a garden to meet the needs of myself and Lylah. Although it is a bit complicated, the golems in this palace dungeon are not as smart as you, so it is possible. Now, are there any more questions?"
These questions immediately answered Rocky's doubts. However, Master Sage's words raised new questions in his mind. Finally, he tugged on Master Sage's arm.
At first Master Sage ignored the action, but the curious Rocky continued to pull his arm with persistence. Master Sage's work was interrupted, which made him angry:
"You! What exactly do you want?"
Master Sage then stood up and pointed his wand at Rocky. Rocky tried to communicate, but half of his thoughts were cut off as his senses picked up the vibrations and flow of mana swirling around him.
Seeing Rocky's sudden silence, Master Sage asked, "What's wrong with you? Aren't you..."
Without speaking, Rocky immediately turned and ran with incredible speed. Master Sage panicked as he realized that Rocky was heading for Lylah's place.
Master Sage immediately took aim at Rocky, and his staff released a black magic circle that sent a black iron spear flying toward Rocky.
At that moment, Rocky quickened his pace until he crashed into Lylah.
"Aw, Rocky, what's wrong with you?" Lylah yelled.
In the chaos, the magic spear that had been fired directly hit Rocky's head, shattering it instantly.
Shortly thereafter, there was an explosion: a huge explosion: "Sling! Boom, boom, boom!" The sound of the explosion from where Lylah was standing indicated that the farm tools - hoes, sickles, and garden shears - had been thrown with such force that they created a small crater where Lylah had been.
Lylah was shocked, "Wait! Farm tools?... Rocky! Rocky!! Your head!"
Desperately, Lylah tried to pick up the pieces of Rocky's head, but Rocky himself carried Lylah to the Master Sage.
"Wait! Rocky's head, there's a part I haven't picked up yet!" Lylah cried desperately.
Surprised at first, the Master Sage immediately became alert and began combing the area with his keen senses, searching for the threat that had attacked them. He expressed regret, "Is it because I'm too old that I forgot something so important?"
In the chaos, the Master Sage remembered that before, although the cave was full of insects, other attacks from dungeon dwellers were rare. Before harvesting the vegetables, they should have taken care of the insect monsters or guardian golems.
Soon, humanoid figures in the form of stone and wooden statues appeared in the distance. All were dressed in peasant clothing and carrying gardening tools.
"Lylah! Alert! We're in danger!" shouted Master Sage, warning Lylah, who continued to panic with Rocky.
Lylah, teary-eyed, could only reply as she looked at Master Sage, "But, but Master ... Rocky!"
Master Sage tapped his staff on the ground, creating a large blue magic circle, and instantly a transparent water shield appeared.
"Rocky can regenerate on his own! Right now you have to prepare!" said Master Sage with his magic wand.
"Ta...but," Lylah was about to argue when Rocky began to reshape his head. With a thumbs up, Rocky signaled that he was fine.
Lylah finally wiped away her tears as she pointed her wand at the figures approaching them, with an exasperated Master Sage grumbling about the situation that was unfolding. "Damn.... Golem gardener! Why did they just come? Where have they been all this time?"
The curious Rocky nudged Master Sage's arm, which was immediately returned by him, Master Sage then explained that the guards, the golems, only moved according to the orders implanted in them; they could not interact personally.
However, upon hearing this explanation, Lylah pulled Master Sage's hand to show him something shocking.
From there, the situation escalated as a swarm of insects, such as cockroaches of various sizes, flew towards them.
The situation in the dungeon was now very precarious, and Master Sage seemed to realize more and more that they had to deal with a real threat while maintaining supplies to live.