Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

The markings started from the orb embedded in the boy's chest and spread all around his arms and up to his neck.

"Glenn you are not here to chew me off are you?".

The boy who was referred to as Glenn, gave a hollow laugh before his face became all serious.

"I came to tell you that we have found some leads that could be the tails of the organisation we are looking for, Chloe".

"Cerberus?!" Her expression changing immediately, the girl called Chloe hurriedly got up from her seat. She picked up her hat and staff and walked over from her desk.

"That's good, my research was starting to reach a dead end too. I just need a little more information and then I can undo the curse on you and Bell. Then we can find that person and take revenge. I will make sure that he regrets what he did to all of our friends".

Chloe spoke, her eyes burning with anger but when she glanced at Glenn, it turned into a rare comforting smile.

"Un" Glenn's eyes fluctuated with many emotions as he was reminded of the past. He nodded his head and added, "Bell is yet to arrive from that Great Dungeon and master is away. For the moment, we cannot leave the headquarter of the Adventurer's Association alone".

The Tower of Babel located in the middle of the central continent was also known by another name, the Headquarters of the Adventurer's Association.

"Ah, this reminds me, the other day, I got a weird feedback from one of my artifacts" Chloe suddenly recalled something.

"Oh?! Did one of your inventions blow up again?" Glenn teased.

"That artefact was a complete product and my inventions don't blow up. Sure they cause explosions but I wouldn't put it as blowing up. Anyways, the [S] tier artefact that I created, ended up being stopped and destroyed mid activation by someone"…

"Someone managed to destroy one of your [S] tier items?" shock was apparent on Glenn's face. Although he always made fun of Chloe's invention, she was nevertheless one of the top Divine Craftsman the world has ever seen.

Even if it's just a prototype she made, they were always extremely sturdy and powerful. Forget destroying them even putting a scratch on them was extremely hard. But as per her words, the artefact wasn't just damaged but destroyed and it was an [S] tier one at that too.

It must be mentioned for an artefact to qualify to become an [S] tier, it must be made of some material that is not only insanely sturdy, but is also an excellent conductor of mana.

"Who did you give that item to?" Glenn asked.

"Hmm… I'm not entirely sure. As you know, the association has full jurisdiction over all the artefacts that I invent. So I do not know who has what items. What I do know is that the feedback came from near the borders of the Demon Continent, from the distant north-western direction".

*******

In a dark space that spanned infinitely, a man slowly drifted around. There was no light here, nor was there any end. It was hard to make out where the place was or if it even existed. In such a space all one can do is simply float around.

How long had it been since he was in this condition? Simon who was drifting around in this endless darkness suddenly saw a ray of light in the distance.

Involuntarily, he started drifting towards it and before he knew everything around him turned white. Simon blinked his eyes, it took some time for his eyes to adjust but he was finally able to make out where he was.

He was inside a room, on top of a bed. There was a window next to him with an open sill and curtain waving with the wind.

"Where am I?" he asked himself.

"Oh? So you finally woke up huh".

That was when he finally heard a voice coming from beside his bed. Sitting on a chair next to him, was a woman quietly peeling an apple with a smile.

The moment Simon saw her, his entire body suddenly jolted and his eyes widened to their limits. He looked like a guy who had just seen a ghost.

"You…!?!!"…

"What is it? Why are you staring at me like that?" the woman locked her brows and looked at him in concern.

She had a pair of dark brown eyes and a beautiful face. Her long silky black hair was neatly tied behind her with a clip, her smoothly arching eyelashes appeared serene. Her smile just like her aura, had a calming presence about it. Just like the warm rays of spring that made one just laze around carefree and savour the moment.

At a glance, she appeared to be in her late twenties. The woman was no doubt very beautiful; however, the reason why Simon was so shocked, wasn't because of her beauty but because he knew her.

Why would she appear now of all times? He was sure that he had moved past her, he should have forgotten all about her so why again?

"Your face looks pale are you alright? You suddenly passed out in the office. Really how many times have I told you to take care of your health? Why do you never listen?"

What's more, she started saying the same lines from his memory. The woman got up from her seat, extended her hand and touched his forehead to check on his temperature.

"Hmm... you still have a fever, it's best that you take a few days off from office"

Office? What was she talking about? She shouldn't even be here…

At this moment, Simon's eyes went towards her clothes. White blouse, black blazer and a grey H-line skirt, she was wearing her usual office dress just like how it was in his memories.

Wait… wait a minute? What was going on? Now that Simon thought about it, even the room and the outside scenery looked familiar. It turns out that the place he was in was one of the rooms of a hospital that was closest to their company.

During his later years working for the company, he was admitted here many times after losing consciousness so of course, he was very familiar with the scenery here.

It can't be? Did he return back to his former life?

What happened to his dungeon? His subordinates? He remembered that he was defending his dungeon from the expedition army and was locked in a fierce fight with Davis, an officer from the Adventurer's Association.

After that, he suddenly woke up here…

Was everything that he experienced in that word a dream? No that can't be… he must be dreaming. This must be a dream or else why would she be here?

'Right, I just need to wake up'.

Thinking so, Simon gave himself a tight slap only to get baffled the next second. This pain, it was very real, his cheeks were red and a stinging sensation assaulted him.

What was going on, was it not a dream then?

"Hey, why did you suddenly slap yourself? Are you really alright? I'll call a doctor right away". Perhaps his actions were too startling for the woman, she caressed his cheek before getting up to call a doctor.

"Wait… Don't, I'm alright" Simon spoke stopping the woman from calling a doctor.

"Really? You don't look so well? Perhaps something happened in the office? Is it those guys again?"…

Simon's eyes suddenly enlarged, a pain assaulted his heart and his breathing became distorted.

"You aren't acting fine, I should really go and call a doctor" the woman repeated.

"I said I am fine!!"

What was he mad at? Simon himself did not know but his voice came out angry.

"Alright"

The woman did not know what else to say, she suddenly became silent. Her eyes flashed with concern everytime she looked at him. This silence persisted for a while before she broke it.

"Ah! Look at the time, I must get going now. You should take a rest today, I'll visit you after work. Don't forget to eat the apples I peeled for you" She tried to lighten the mood with those words before getting up to leave.

Simon saw her off with his eyes before falling into a daze once again. Strangely, something about this occurrence was giving him a sense of familiarity. As if he had already experienced it before… yes, like a Déjà vu.

No, he shouldn't waste his time thinking over something that should be a dream. This wasn't his reality, he needed to focus on how to get back.

The world of Althaea was where he belonged, his first priority should be his dungeon and its inhabitants. At such a dangerous time, he couldn't leave them alone, he needed to get back as soon as possible.

But how should he do that? Simon who fell into contemplation once again, saw the plate of apples beside his bed. The slices were finely cut and peeled showing care and warmth for the person they were meant for.

"Dammit, no matter how harder I try to not think about her, she keeps on appearing in my mind". Simon scratched his hair in frustration.

His arms and body returned back to the way they were, thin and without many muscles. He didn't know what to think of any more, everything seemed so real.

The breeze coming from the window, the sensation of his body, this room, his life they were all so real. Simon flumped into his bed, and the adventures he had on Althea flashed past his mind like an episode.