After bidding farewell to the sentinels and patrolmen, Angel started the Gondola once more.
High in the air, Angel took out the orange-yellow stone the patrolman had given him. The moment it landed in his palm, it seemed to come alive, trembling faintly before rolling toward the southeast beneath a strange pull.
Angel had the Gondola fly in the direction the stone rolled.
After flying for about half an hour, the direction in which the stone rolled in his palm gradually shifted due east, and the Gondola changed course accordingly.
Guided by the stone, Angel got back on track and entered the central region of the Wildstone Wasteland in less than three hours.
Below, earth-element creatures could be seen racing about everywhere. They saw the Gondola as well, but a heavy yellow light gleamed from it—this was the pass granted by the patrolman—so they encountered no obstruction along the way.
It was not until they reached the Ruby Grotto that they were stopped for the first time, by two enormous stone giants twenty meters tall.
These two stone giants were also sentinels, the guarantors of the grotto's safety. After Angel handed them the orange-yellow stone, they contacted the sage within the grotto before allowing them through.
A grotto sounded narrow and cramped, but this was actually a naturally formed cavern within an enormous mountain rock. Its entrance alone stood over thirty meters high, and the interior was even taller. Angel could fly the Gondola straight inside without any problem.
However, as a gesture of respect, Angel put away the Gondola after entering the Ruby Grotto and proceeded deeper inside on foot, measuring the earth with his own two feet.
Inside the grotto, broad roads and narrow paths crisscrossed in every direction. Doors of all sizes appeared from time to time,