Dungeon of Pride, Laplace



His senses couldn't breach through the door.

"How could the trails be so easy" If he wanted to know what was beyond the door, he would have to open and check it out himself. Simon exerted pressure and under his strength, the door creaked open revealing another huge chamber beyond it.

Just like the one he was transported to, this chamber was empty too. What was going on? Simon observed the place before moving on to open the door of this chamber.

Again, another chamber, similar to the previous two greeted him.

"Is the Fifth trial a maze?" Just as he was thinking that, a notification popped up in front of him.

[You have entered the Murals of Mythos. Find the right door to exit the place. Note- For each wrong door you open, your level will be suppressed. Current level 560. Warning- Malgrum the Vile knows your position and is slowly approaching you. Only death awaits if he finds you, constantly move place and avoid staying in one chamber].

This… it hadn't even been more than a couple of minutes since he arrived here and he already received such an ominous message. Should he say as expected of the forbidden grounds?

His life was in danger, some unknown enemy called the Malgrum the Vile was lurking in the Murals of Mythos and was currently approaching him. If he did not move, he would die just as the notification said.

He needed to find the right door; however, if he opened the wrong door, his level would be suppressed every time. So what should he do?

[Warning- 3 Minutes left before Malgrum the Vile reaches the chamber you are in].

Dammit, he did not even have the time to ponder, he needed to move fast. The third chamber had three doors, if he discounted the one he came from he needed to choose the right door from the other two.

However, both the doors looked the same, even the runes and patterns on them were exactly similar.

[Warning- 2 minutes remaining before Malgrum reaches you].

"Curses, there is no time. I should first open some distance from Malgrum before thinking about the right door" Simon thought before randomly opening one of the doors and rushing inside.

[You have opened the wrong door, your level has been suppressed by ten].

So he opened the wrong door huh… talk about being unlucky. Well, Simon had already expected this would be so. As a result of opening the wrong door, he suffered a penalty, his level had gone down by ten.

Simon opened his status and saw that in the row where his level was shown, he saw (-10) beside his level 560. He could actually feel his overall strength going down. However, it didn't appear that his actual level had decreased or else, his level would be shown as 550 and not 560.

This meant that the penalty of the level suppression would only be effective in this underground maze and as long as he could leave this place, his level would return to normal.

"It's good that my actual level is not affected, however…" Simon's eyes shifted towards another window that displayed— [Warning- Malgrum the Vile found your position, 3 minutes before he reaches you].

Although he had opened some distance from the thing chasing him, why is it that even after changing the chamber he was in, he only gained an additional one minute?

Simon didn't have the time to cry about it, he needed to find the right door and exit the place. The fourth chamber had four doors including the one he came from. Aside from that fact, everything inside the chamber was the same.

The Murals, the carving and even the size of the hall, nothing seemed to be different.

"Crap, he is already here" Just as Simon was observing the chamber, the notification appeared in front of him, warning him about Malgrum who was just around the corner. 

Cursing once again, Simon opened some distance praying that the next door he would open would be the right one. However, his luck was pretty shitty as every door he opened turned out to be the wrong one.

"Damn, this one turned out to be a dud too huh"

Simon complained arriving in the eighth chamber. He had gained a few precious minutes from Malgrum; however, his level was now suppressed by 50. Having one's level and strength suppressed, was a pretty uncomfortable feeling especially when knowing that there is a powerful enemy after him and that every wrong door he opened, reduced his chances of survival.

"This can't go on for long, I need to find a way" Simon clenched his fists and started studying and observing the doors. He needed to make the optimum use of the few precious minutes he saved up.

And so, as seconds ticked by, he continued to stare and observe each of the doors. The eighth chamber had eight doors, all of which were huge in size and had intricate runes and carving drawn on them.

After a while, Simon stepped back and collected his thoughts. From what he had observed up until this point on, the clue seemed to be in the paintings of the door.

Each of the doors had a different painting on them which changed every time he came to a new chamber. For example, one of the doors had a carving of a mighty being holding a powerful looking staff that was inlaid with three large gems.

Another door showed a serene garden with exotic flora and fauna, while yet another displayed a battle between celestial beings and shadowy demons.

Simon's eyes scanned the doors once more, his mind racing to decipher the hidden message behind the changing paintings when—

[Warning- Malgrum has found your position]… the notification arrived once again.

This Malgrum the vile was really persistent, even after he opened so many doors and created a distance, this thing was still able to detect him in no more than a few minutes.

"I can't let him catch me" The murals on the chamber depicted Malgrum to be a vile looking creature with hundreds of arms and a monstrous body. It was huge like a giant and possessed enough might to destroy numerous kingdoms and empires.

In the murals, it was depicted as a symbol of terror that brought disaster and calamity to the land. Uncountable kingdoms and beings perished under it until it was finally brought down by two warriors, one holding a shield and the other a sword.

They looked very much like the two mighty warriors he had encountered on the second floor.

Was the second trial somehow related to the fifth? Simon wondered. However, he didn't have the time to sit back and learn history, he only had three minutes left to get away from here.

In any case, it was clear from the murals that Malgrum was strong and only a being of the calibre of the two warriors can bring him down. Simon had a hunch that even the Finger of Ozymandias was no match against this creature, it was on a level that Simon couldn't trifle with.

Just like the notification had said, only death awaited him if he was caught, as such he needed to get away from here as soon as possible.

Simon hurriedly opened a couple more doors to create some distance, he only breathed a sigh of relief after arriving at the 13th chamber.

By now, the level suppression had become quite stronger and his level had fallen by (-100). That is to say, the strength he currently possessed was around level 460. Although his rank remained the same, it was by no means a good feeling.

Fortunately, he was able to create a precious couple of minutes. There was no second to spare, he need to find the clue to get out of here and clear the trial.

The Fifth Trial was definitely trying to hint at something, he needed to find the right door before his level was completely suppressed.

Simon had been thinking for a while, he had started the trial with a level of 560; however, right now he had already lost about a hundred levels. The feeling of getting weaker aside, he only had a limited number of levels.

What would happen once he ran out of level? What would happen to the penalty? Would he still be able to open the doors? If his level reached zero and he was supposedly unable to open any more doors, wouldn't he die once Maglrum caught up to him?

At that time, he wouldn't even have the power to even resist. A shiver ran down his spine just as those thoughts arrived to him. he thought that he had made ample preparation to tackle the forbidden grounds; however, it appeared that he still underestimated it.

The horrors here was truly worthy of the name Forbidden Grounds.

There was no time to waste, Simon started deciphering the murals and the engravings on the door.

"G..a..e… Gae… Gaelen the shield…" Simon frowned as he tried to read what these murals were trying to tell. However, it was clear that his [Language Comprehension] still was far away from being able to completely decipher them.

At this moment he couldn't help but wish Lucine was here. If only he had her aid, then all of these complex runes and writing wouldn't have been a problem.

"There is no point in thinking about her, I need to decipher what little I can on my own" Simon glared at the murals with bloodshot eyes. His survival was at stake.