Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

"How do we use it?" Simon asked holding the transit rock.

"It's simple; you just need to shatter it. But remember, the spatial laws in these rocks are unstable so you might not be transported to the exact place from where you came in" Lucine said breaking the Transit rock in her hand.

A black halo engulfed her body and in the blink of an eye, the space around her distorted. The phenomenon was the same as space magic, just in this case the same was achieved with the medium of transit rocks.

"Mister… we shall meet again" the boy said before breaking his own transit crystals.

Simon followed suit, a black halo enveloped his body and his vision was swept away. He felt his body becoming weightless and a sense of incongruity hit him and before he knew it, he was on top of a vast mountain range.

The place he was on, was not far away from the capital and he could sense a large amount of presence gathering at a spot few distances away.

Simon observed his surroundings, there were no signs of Lucine or Denzel being near, it was as she said, the transit rocks really did throw them in different places. Nonetheless, now that they were out of the trials grounds, they were bound to meet in the capital.

Which meant that Lucine won't be able to run away from her master anymore. Laughing gloatingly at her predicament for a while, Simon ran towards the entrance to the city as per his memories. After a while of meandering around, he finally spotted the gate around which a line-up of wagons were waiting to get entry.

The capital city was truly bustling and with the tournament approaching nearer it was bound to be even more jam-packed.

Simon descended the mountain and joined the queue of people trying to get in. Perhaps because the security was tight with them checking each and every individual and their possession, the line was taking a long to move forward.

As Simon was waiting, from the corner of his eyes he spotted a man and a woman wearing gaudy clothes approach the soldier at the gate from the other side of the queue. What astonished him even more was that the soldier let those people in after checking something that the man handed him.

"Tch, those people just because they have some connection in the capital, they can cut the line as they wish. Goddamn… if only I had some connections like them, I wouldn't have to wait here for more than five hours" A cranky middle-aged man with shoddy clothes lining up in front of him, complained.

Simon who heard his words, was stunned, they had to wait here for so long? Seeing the queue not move even an inch, he became a little impatient. He did not want to spend hours of his time just to get in.

As he thought about what to do, suddenly an idea struck him. Simon jumped to the other side of the rope much to the surprise of those near him and slowly walked towards the soldier near the gate.

When the cranky man saw the actions of Simon, he couldn't but sneer in derision. Did he think that just anyone was allowed in? From the clothes of the other party, he could see that it was made of ordinary materials which made him think that the other party was just plainly stupid.

However, when he saw the soldier let that guy in after checking something he handed, the cranky man couldn't help but become stupefied.

"Hehe" Simon laughed, tossing a badge in his hand.

"It was a good thing that I had this with me. That woman said that it would perfectly work as an entry pass" the thing on his hand was none other than the Serene Palace Merchant Guild VIP pass that Cynthia had given him.

He just showed the badge to the gatekeeper and he immediately became humble and allowed him, thanks to that he didn't have to toil his way in through the crowd.

"Now then I have to find my way back to the Inn but first let's eat something" sniffing the delicious smell of foods wafting from the various carts across the streets, stimulated his hunger.

Also with the treasure he got in the trial and the black gold coins that Cynthia had given him in return for his elixirs, he could eat as much as he want without worrying about it running out.

Simon tried the food from each stall and gave them a rating mentally based on his preference. Why did he do that? Because the connoisseur within him wanted to do so.

Due to the constant influx of people coming to the capital, the business around the stalls was booming. Decoratives were placed everywhere and the mood around the city was festive. It also went to show how much importance the people of this kingdom gave to the upcoming tournament.

No matter which stall or which corner of the city he went to, everybody was talking about the 'Battle of the Finest', the coliseum that was about to open in five days.

After having his fill, he walked back towards his inn. He wanted to know how the little girl was doing during the time he was absent and thus brought some snacks along with him. Also, he didn't forget to ask the stall owner the direction to his inn which was why he didn't lose his way this time.

Opening the door of the inn, he was greeted by the friendly staff. Just as he climbed the stairs and reached the third floor, he felt a shadow loom over his head. Arching his head up, he saw a petite yet delicate figure of a girl with twin tails standing in front of him.

She wore a brilliant golden dress that matched with the colour of her eyes. Who else could this doll-like girl be other than Adalinda? At this moment, she was staring menacingly at him.

Sniff…sniff…

"Hnn~ it seems someone really did have fun in these past few days while I was busy searching everywhere for my disciple. The foods and everything around here must be really good for you to not come back for more than three days no?" She flashed him a smile which had thorns hidden within it.

"Eh?! Three days…" Simon's voice went up a notch involuntarily. Although he had guessed quite a time must have passed in the outside world, he didn't think that it would be this long.

Three days… no wonder Adalinda seemed angry at him who disappeared for this period of time without telling her anything.

"Haa… are you acting now? Did you really think if you act shocked, I would believe whatever excuse you make?".

Adalinda greeted her teeth. She hurriedly turned around before her eyes glistened with tears.

"Hmph, do you have any idea… how hard it was to search the place all alone… also..also… how hungry I was for these past three days".

Hearing her rant, Simon finally realised why she was so angry. Though a part of the reason was because she couldn't find her disciple, but a major part of it stemmed from not being able to eat anything for these past few days.

Without him who was her free credit card, she couldn't eat or buy anything since she disdained keeping such triviality with her.

Simon made a smug face and stretched his hand holding the bag full of snacks and food.

Sniffing the aroma of the food, Adalinda immediately turned towards him and grabbed the bag without any shame.  She looked at his smug face and asked in an annoyed tone.

"What? Do you think I will just forgive you because of a bag of food?".

The smile on Simon's face deepened "Nope, I know a bag of food isn't enough but what if I tell you that your other worry that has been bugging you will soon be solved".

Hearing his words and his assertive tone, Adalinda locked her brows and tilted her head in confusion.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Did you hit your head somewhere?". She was just about to make fun of Simon when suddenly her eyes went wide and her whole body trembled.

She was not mistaken, the lingering aura around Simon that she just felt was definitely… her disciple's. Earlier because her attention was on the food in his hands, she failed to recognise it but now that her head was clear, she could definitely feel it.

"You met her?!" she asked to confirm her guess only to get an affirmative nod.

Seeing Adalinda stand astounded in place, Simon couldn't help but relish in this rare moment which might hardly occur again. He thought about giving her the details of meeting with her disciple, when suddenly a strong force engulfed and levitated his body.

At that moment, Simon felt like he was unable to move an inch as if a gigantic mountain the height of which he couldn't fathom, pressing down on his body.

"Calm… down.. you are letting your aura out" he hurriedly reminded her; fortunately, no one was involved in the aftermath of her aura. Simon did not want what happened in the adventurer's Association back at Mountmend to repeat itself in the capital again.

After entering the room, Simon told her all of the details starting from how he met her and their adventure to some mysterious trial ground.

It took quite a while for Adalinda to calm down, she reacted extremely intensely when he told her about the trial grounds that they suddenly found themselves teleported to and the trials they had to go through.

  Taking a deep breath, she deeply observed Simon before giving him a piece of advice "On account that you gave me a pleasant news about my disciple, I'll tell you this. Never mention what you told me to anyone".