Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

"Amalgamation magic, Flame-Gale Mastery [Blazing Hell]"'¦ BOOOOOM.

TREMBLE'¦ the ground shook as a blazing heat raced across the surroundings burning anything and everything. The heat was incomparable to the previous flames that Simon had dished out and was even able to gouge out large rubbles of earth from beneath him.

That was not all, the amalgamation magic of Flame and Gale, travelled at an insane speed and instantly covered hundreds of meters of land, scorching them black. The damage output of the attack was on a completely different realm because of the multitudes of skills he had activated earlier.

His power had spiked up a lot but Simon was aware that it was only temporary. After the skill ended, he won't be able to even move his body much less complete all the tens steps. That was why he had to hurry.

BANG'¦ His foot landed making a deep indent on the ground. The Fifth Step.

Right after taking another step, the aura pressuring down on him intensified by another tenfold that nearly made him bend his body and fall to his knees. The veins on his forehead spasmed and he hurriedly circulated the mana all around his body.

CREAK'¦ a cracking noise came from within his body that indicated that one of his bones had succumbed under the pressure and cracked. An incredible amount of pain assaulted his senses and even his vision blurred for a moment.

However, Simon did not pay it any mind and swiftly straightened his body. All the while, the smile still did not leave his face. Why was he smiling? That was of course because of Cecilia. That crybaby would burst her dam the moment he displayed a pained expression.

In his previous life, he had severed all his relationships with his family and had led a lonely life. It was exactly because he had previously led that kind of life, that he realised how precious and important the thing he discarded was.

Now that he was reincarnated in this world, he had finally recognized someone as his family member. Simon did not want to make her worry and that was why he was smiling to reassure her and tell her that he can do this.

"How can that be? He was able to take the fifth step!!... It seems like I had underestimated the young man. He still had a few tricks up his sleeves. Interesting, let me witness how far you can go young man" Aldebaran said with astonishment.

How many years or millennials had it been since he was this excited by something. At this moment, he had already forgotten the reason behind why he set the trail. He just wanted to see how far the young man who had previously proclaimed that he would be able to break the restraints placed on him by the world, would go.

A part of him was burning with excitement to find a rare genius in him.

'If you can really do what you said and reach the pinnacle of this world, then letting the Forest Spring Spirits stay in your dungeon wouldn't be impossible' Aldebaran thought. However, he soon realised that it would be impossible for Simon to take the Tenth Step since even a newly ascended Demon Earl wouldn't be able to handle it much less a Demon viscount.

Even if he liked and was impressed by the young man, Aldebaran wouldn't deliberately make the trail easier as that would be going against his principles and would also put his master in danger.

Even if he had to be cruel, he wouldn't allow the Forest Spirit clan and Cecilia to reside inside a newly emerged dungeon.

On the other hand, Cecilia looked on with tear-stained eyes at her big brother, who was giving his best. Clenching her hands, she stopped her crying and looked at Simon and decided to trust in his abilities.

She did not know where it stemmed from but she had absolute belief and confidence in him. Although they were from a different race and were not related by blood, for some reason she felt very close to him. So how can she cry when her big brother was doing his best, even the smile that he put on his face while enduring that unimaginable amount of pressure was to relieve her of her anxiousness.

If she cried even after that, wouldn't she be mocked by him as a crybaby once again?

While everyone was busy observing Simon, with another explosion that sent a tremor through the ground he took his sixth step. That attack that was set off by Simon was enough to crack and break apart the surrounding land which was hundreds of times sturdier.

One could imagine the amount of damage that Simon had received in return from his reckless and idiosyncratic methods.

At this moment, most of his clothes were burned and the pale white skin around his hands and legs were scorched black from which blood continuously trickled down. It was not only his arms and legs but his entire body had turned red from burns and cuts.

Simon's clothes had been dyed a shade of red from the excess amount of blood they absorbed. However, even after injuring himself to this point, that smile of his refused to fade from his face.

His mind had become numb and his ears were continuously ringing. Everything disappeared from his line of view and the only thing that accompanied him was his ragged breathing.

Right after taking the sixth step, the pressure intensified by another ten times and had brought one of his knees to the ground. His other leg that supported him, was shaking continuously and he could hear the creaking noises from it. He was aware that he had already exhausted his body by far too much and even the MP he had, was being expended at a rapid rate.

Nevertheless, he couldn't stop now. Now when he only had four more steps to tread. His sight was focused on the path ahead and the resoluteness in his eyes displayed his immense willpower.

With a jolt, he moved his immobile body and placed his charred hands on the ground before smiling like a mad man. His crimson eyes did not contain any pain but instead had a weird excitement that grew even more intense with every step.

At this moment, Simon looked very much like his race. A wide pair of bat-like wings that looked domineering, protruded from his back and unfolded in front of everyone.

Three meters wide bat-like wings extended from his back and appeared in front of everyone observing.

Even with all the stats enhancing skills activated, it was becoming incredibly difficult for him to stand back up. His muscles were having internal bleeding and many of his bones were starting to crack.

He felt like a statue that was made of clay unable to move. If he did move, he would crumble apart. However, that wasn't enough to stop Simon. His eyes had an intense fervour that was only looking towards victory.

Spreading his wide wings that were starting to bend from the pressure, he placed his charred hand on the ground and roared "Haaaaaaaahhhh".

His mana churned at a rapid speed before the magic was released out of his hands. BOOOM'¦ All the other sounds was drowned by the explosion and a large amount of flames accompanied by rippling gales wreaked havoc around the surrounding.

The land that was supposed to be hundreds of times sturdier, was now full of small potholes and cracks.

PSSHH'¦ as if a vein had been burst open, blood spurted out his charred hands as the recoil from releasing the magic directly onto the ground, was far too much for the current Simon to handle.

Nonetheless, Simon was not bothered by the pain as he had accomplished his goal of standing back up. His whole body was trembling from the pressure that was heavier than a ten thousand meters tall mountain. His eyes were starting to grow dim and hazy intermittently.

But Simon gritted his teeth and endured it all. Aligning his trembling and charred hands towards the ground once again, he fired another round of Amalgamation magic that was strong enough to even burst apart the surrounding land.

BOOOM'¦ PSSHH'¦ blood sprayed like a fountain from his arms that was quickly turning a shade of black and blue.

Aldebaran was astonished to his very core. He had never met a person as determined and strong-willed as Simon. The young man which he thought wouldn't even be able to go beyond the third step was able to reach the sixth step right before his eyes.

No'¦ that's not right, the person had taken yet another step forward which marked his Seventh Step.

"How can that be? Isn't he just a normal Demon Viscount?" the Ancient Titan Tree couldn't understand how Simon managed to accomplish that. The man had gone far beyond the strength of what his rank would allow.

At this moment, for the first time in his long years of life, he felt that he couldn't see through Simon. The young man in front of him had flipped his thinking upside down. Just taking the Seventh Step under his aura which kept intensifying manifold, was worthy enough to be regarded as an above-average genius.

Aldebaran had to admit with that ability and determination, Simon might be able to break past some of the barriers that would arise due to his impure bloodline. And might be able to reach a rank or two above what he predicted, but that was all.

Even if Simon reaches the rank of Demon Marquess one day thanks to his relentless willpower and determination, it wasn't enough to protect the Forest Spring Spirits much less Cecilia who was a Forest Spring Royal Spirit.