Dungeon of Pride, Laplace



Facing her contempt, the person named Herm laughed out loud "Kuhahaha… Oh my, I wonder what the guard captain is talking about. I don't remember receiving such grace. To her, I was only just a fallen noble who lost his family, territory and everything, that she too pity on".

"She took me into her merchant guild only because of my ability and experience. In the end, I was only just a pawn for her that she discarded to a remote side region after I ran out of my use"…

"You idiot, the princess only did that because she didn't want you to get caught in the ugly conspiracies of the royal family. This was the reason why she made you the manager of a remote branch. But you…"

"I don't want to hear anything. Do you think I don't know what the real reason was? His Highness the second prince has told me everything. So don't you dare try to use your rosy words to sway me".

Alvara tried to reason with Herm; however, his mind was already completely influenced by the second prince.

"Sir Herm although I know this issue is important for you but master's orders hold the highest priority right now" The tall man hiding his identity, reminded.

"Tch... I know, you don't have to remind me" Herm turned to face Cynthia, his face distorted with a twisted expression.

"As much as I would have liked to converse with you all, let's wrap things up. Princess Cynthia, on behalf of the fact that you took care of me all those years, I recommend you to surrender. Marrying that person is the only purpose you have right now. You should have seen enough bloodshed already, do you want these people to die too?".

"Shut your trap!! Your Highness do not listen to this man. The second prince has completely bought him over. Please continue to run, you do not have to worry about us. You all take her highness away from here" Brett hollered drawing out his daggers.

"Princess let's go, it's dangerous here" Alvara pulled Cynthia as they continued their run. The other member of their group cleared a path for them.

"Since you don't want to listen, then don't blame me for giving you a warning. You all attack, kill all of them except for that woman" On Herm's command, the people behind him immediately executed their onslaught.

"Don't think you can ignore this old man. [Shadow Revolution]- [Dance of Blades]" With a vigorous cry, Brett roused all of his energy and executed his powerful skill. The twin daggers on his hand danced with an ominous light as he repeatedly appeared and disappeared through the shadows.

This forced some of the pursuers who were after Cynthia, to slow down and focus on defending themselves.

"Hoh, a level 419 Assassin, not bad. To think that she still had these many skilled combatants with her" the man donned in a robe, observed.

"Hiiiihhh!!… L-Level 419 you say?!!" Herm freaked out when he heard that the old assassin was above level 400.

"W-will those adventurers we hired be able to do their job?"…

"That's a given, we have more than forty adventurers on our side who are all above level 350. Not to mention the team leaders are themselves above level 400. Even if they have some decent combatants, no matter how you see it, we are the ones who hold an absolute advantage".

"And besides, by any chance if those adventurers aren't able to do it, I shall personally step forward".

When Herm heard that the person in the hood will personally take action if anything goes south, a look of relief and excitement flashed on his face.

Over on the side of Cynthia's group, they continued to run piercing the thick mist of the floor. Whenever any monster popped up, Burg or Marba swiftly took care of it.

"According to the map, the entrance to the 29th floor is just near here" Alvara stated, looking at a map. The map detailed the layout of the floor, the demographics of monsters and various treasures and objects that can be found here.

It was charted by the adventurers and sold in many shops in the tower town. Before diving inside the dungeon, Alvara made sure to buy as many maps of the floors as she could find. Thanks to these maps, they soon arrived in front of a large dark staircase covered in mist that led to the next floor.

"Alright, let's go everyone" the guard commander beckoned, however… "You all go ahead" Burg stopped in his tracks in front of the staircase.

"What are you saying.."

"They are here. Someone needs to stay behind and hold them back. Go now!!" the knight roared turning to face the pursuers.

The group made a complicated face nevertheless, they did not stop and continued to push ahead. However, their situation did not get any better. There were far too many pursuers after them.

One by one all of Cecilia's close subordinates left her side until there were only three of them remaining. The mage Marba, Guard Captain Alvara and Cynthia herself.

"Captain, we cannot outrun them like this" Marba, the mage, analyzed the situation with a serious expression.

Alvara thought for a moment, biting her thumb in contemplation before reaching a decision. She pointed to a specific area on the 29th floor and declared—

"There's a special area up ahead. It's known to be extremely dangerous, but it might be the perfect place to throw off our pursuers".

Without further hesitation, the three of them rushed toward the special area. A few moments later, at the spot where Cynthia and the others were just a few moments ago, a couple of figures arrived. These figures were none other than the pursuers that were after them.

"Where did they go? Don't tell me you lost them you good for nothing fools?" Herm cursed seeing the adventurers suddenly stop in their tracks.

"Sir Herm calm down. No matter where they go or try to hide, the adventurers will find them. After all, when it comes to dungeon, they are the experts in the field.  I'm sure with the many tracking skills they have they will quickly find them" the person in the robe spoke.

Just like he had said, the adventurer's team started moving once the Assassins returned back after scouting.

29th floor, Special Area… The designation "Special Area" was a euphemism, used by adventurers to describe a zone in the dungeon that brimmed with peril and uncertainty. In reality, it was one of the most recent additions to the dungeon, that was installed to be an insurmountable challenge for the adventurers.

Unlike other floors in the dungeon, the Special Area's purpose was not to lure adventurers or tempt them with treasures. Instead, it served as a deterrent or a challenge for those brave enough who were looking for a place to test their strength.

Unique and powerful monsters that usually do not spawn on the same floor, roamed the region, making it a sanctuary for some of the deadliest monsters in the dungeon.

Even adventurers who were diving inside the dungeon for a long time, usually avoid the special areas after all, the possibility of encountering monsters get significantly higher there. To willingly enter this domain was to invite near death situation, and thus, most adventurers would go out of their way to avoid it at all costs.

Somewhere inside the special area, Cynthia's group pressed on while trying to hide from the monsters as best as they can.

Huff.. Huff.. the group huffed while hiding behind the ample foliage of the forest.

"It looks like that skill of her highness worked" Marba commented after seeing that a powerful monster, called the Salamander passed by them without being alerted of their presence.

"I'm truly sorry, right now I can only help like this. Leo was gravely injured in that great battle one month ago in the capital and is currently hibernating inside the ring to recover some of its strength" Cynthia apologised with a heavy heart.

"What are you saying, princess. It is entirely thanks to your skills that we were able to get this far without any monsters here" As Alvara had said, their group of three were able to get this far without alerting the many powerful monsters was because of her skill.

Thanks to the skill that was bestowed on her by the beast spirit Leo, they could mask their presence and camouflage their aura to make it seem natural with the habitat here. But as they say, good fortune and bad fortune are the two faces of the same coin.

It didn't take long for their good fortune to flip over.

Grrrr… the salamander that they thought didn't notice, suddenly appeared from behind them, glaring at them menacingly.

Towering at a height of twelve feet, the salamander possessed a formidable and imposing presence. Its body is covered in crimson scales that shimmer with an eerie glow, giving it an otherworldly appearance.

Its red hide reflected the element of fire and was sturdy enough to provide it with an almost impervious defence. As it prowled through the ground, it left deep scorched footprints in its wake. 

Seeing the salamander suddenly creep behind them, the guard captain was immediately alerted. SHINING… she unsheathed her sword at the first signs of danger and was just about to engage with the monster when.

"Don't, leave this guy to me" Marba stated as she stood her ground while flashing a smile to deceive her nervousness.