Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

It was surrounded by wide trees of mana crystals that were each as big as fifty meters with branches spread over a wide area. What was beguiling about those trees was that instead of having leaves, the trees grew beautiful crystals that shone just like a diamond.

Naturally, seeing the mystical scene in front of them, anybody would be enraptured, the same was so for the maid sisters who were looking at this scene for the very first time.

"Wow this is beautiful"

"Indeed"

"Un.. Un"

The maid sisters couldn't keep their voices down and each expressed their opinions at the sight in front of them.

Simon who was walking in the front smiled, he too was just like them when he saw the sight for the first time. Leaving the awestruck girls to their own devices, Simon approached the pond which had evolved even further in the span of five months.

The pond of serenity due to the tinkering from Cecilia had become completely different. It was now much more precious than a mere pond of serenity and was a valuable part of his dungeon.

Since a large volume of pure mystical energy is deposited in the bottom of the pond constantly, it was bound to evolve in time. Even Irene whose favourite place on the main floor was the pond, was of the same opinion.

In fact, it was her who told him about the changes taking place inside the pond. Simon came near the shore and set his gaze at the depth of the water that was shining with a bright azure colour. It looked quite beautiful and serene to look at but make no mistake, it was no ordinary water but actual mystical energy condensed into a liquid form.

It was because of the presence of this energy that was so dense and pure that many mysterious and powerful things were growing inside the pond. No to mention that energy itself was very beneficial for Simon; after all, the water at the bottom was the purest form of mystical energy itself.

If Simon can adjust his body to the tremendous pressure it puts on him, he can actually benefit from it. Smiling fiercely, he dived inside the pond without any further thoughts.

SPLASH… hearing the sound of splashing water, the girls turned towards the area where Simon was just a moment ago. They all were surprised by his sudden action to dive inside the pond except for Irene who expected Simon to do something like that.

From the moment Simon laid his eyes on the pond and observed it so carefully, she could tell what was going inside his head. It came as no surprise to her that he would decide to dive inside it the moment he approached the pond.

"Umm master… we should follow after him" Annette stated, anxious from the abrupt action of their master.

The Valkyries were just about to follow in the footsteps of Simon and dive inside the pond when Irene stopped them.

"It's alright, he knows what he is doing. Although the level of mystical energy inside the bottom of the pond is at dangerous levels, he wants to experience it himself and test the limits of his current body. Let us wait for him outside".

The Valkyrie sisters nodded their heads without any complaints, they were watching Simon from the void thus they knew the position Irene had in this dungeon. They respected her not because she was powerful and earned her own place in the dungeon but because of how much time she spent with Simon, guiding and standing beside him.

The girls waited by the shore of the pond discussing various aspects of the main floor when the splashing of the water sounded again and Simon came out of the pond.

"Welcome Master" Bea passed him a towel she procured from who knows where.

"Three minutes fifty seconds, you were close to enduring it for whole four minutes. So how was it inside?" Irene asked.

"Huff… Huff… it was a good experience. I can tell that my body is far stronger and durable than before. Thanks to soaking in the effect of the pond of serenity, I feel like my body has rejuvenated and become a little lighter" Simon said observing his body.

"That is because the mystical energy has the effect of nourishing all life, due to it all the hidden wounds that you have suffered through your journey, was healed. Not only that, if you keep on soaking inside it like that, it will also improve your talent and aptitude gradually".

Irene added before changing the subject.

"So did you find anything useful inside there? I know your goal besides testing the limits of your body was to see the things that are growing inside the pond".

Seeing that he cannot hide it from Irene, Simon decided to just take it out of his inventory. A crimson stalk of a plant that was around half a meter big, was held in his hand.

The moment Irene saw the thing, she immediately recognised it.

"What are you going to do with this?" She asked curiously.

"Well, our guest took so much trouble to come to our doors, it would be inappropriate of me, if I do not give them a good welcome. As the dungeon master of this place, I should extend my hospitality towards them" Simon said flashing a wicked smile.

Looking at his face that was planning something, Irene sighed. Knowing the effects of that stalk she now felt bad for the adventurers who were going to suffer because of it.

'Really, the moment he returns back, he comes up with stuff that makes you wonder who the real bad guy is' Irene thought internally.

"You should wipe that grin off your face, you look like a villain right now," she said finding a nearby rock to seat on.

"What?!" Conscious from that remark, Simon touched his face. Was he really making a face like a villain?

Seeing the two get lost in their own conversation, Annette and the others tactfully decided to take their leave at this moment, leaving the two to have their moment.

"Master please excuse us, we shall return to the palace". The Valkyrie sister bowed and exited the place taking along Cecilia who had found a friend in Alice.

Simon frowned his brows wondering why they were in such a hurry to leave the place. Nevertheless, he didn't think much about it and discarded the thought.

"Ah! Before I forget, there is something I need your help with" Simon asked turning towards the peacefully sitting Irene near him.

"Hm? And what that might be?" Irene asked a little surprised. This was the first time Simon had ever vocally asked her help with, of course, she would be surprised.

Simon stepped a little back, opened his [Inventory] and dropped a huge block of ice that looked like a coffin.

The moment the ice coffin came out, it rapidly decreased the temperature of the air and almost solidified it.

Seeing the ice coffin, Irene's eyes went wide. "So you used the Philosopher's stone huh" she said, there was no way she won't recognise the magic she had stored inside the philosopher's stone that she had given Simon as one of the parting gifts.

It did make her uneasy that he was forced to use her magic; nonetheless, it was all good now that he was here safe and sound.

Irene did not know why, she felt a tinge of anger at Adalinda for not keeping her promise to keep Simon safe. Shaking her head off the thought, Irene decided to focus on the thing that was currently sealed inside her magic.

The moment she laid her eyes on it, she was stunned once again. Sealed inside the magic, was a gigantic grey finger that was around ten meters big. Seeing the size of the finger, one would have to wonder how big the entity this finger belonged to was.

However, the reason Irene was shocked was not because of the size of the finger but because of the great amount of curse energy it had inside it.

"What is this?" Irene uttered locking her brows.

This was the first time Simon had seen Irene so confused thus he decided to tell her about it. In any case, Adalinda knew about his adventures on the Forbidden trail ground so there was no reason or him to keep it a secret from Irene who was one of his guardians.

Additionally, he knew that she cared about him or else there was no explanation for her behaviour and the precious gifts that she had given him.

When Simon recounted his tale of entering the forbidden trails, Irene did not react like how Adalinda did. Though she showed more concerns when he mentioned how he was cornered by the Sea god's trident guild and his near death encounters in the trails.

Simon thought that she would react more from the name of Forbidden trial but given that she did not show even a tinge of reaction, he wondered if she didn't know about the place. Which brought him to his earlier thought about whether summoning brought subordinates from other worlds or not.

Anyways, back to the ice coffin in question. After Simon finished recounting his story of the fourth trail of the forbidden grounds, Irene became silent all of a sudden.

Wondering why she was like that, Simon glanced at her eyes and realised that it was icy cold. Even the aura she was currently releasing, was frosty. After living with her for some time, he had learned how to read the expressions of this ice cold beauty and given that ability, he could tell that she was currently angry; No, furious.

"????!" Not realising what triggered that reaction Simon locked his brows in consternation.