Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Not only that, the man was as handsome as him or maybe even more with those devilish looking aspects. The fact that he couldn't see through the status of the other party with his [Analysis], told him that the man was not simple.

What surprised Lucas even more was the little girl who was nonchalantly walking behind. From her doll-like appearance, she seemed like she was less than fourteen years of age; nevertheless, her presence was something even he couldn't fathom.

The two of them clearly stood out with the aura of unusualness around them. After Cynthia's announcement yesterday at the hotel, the three people that consisted of Simon, Adalinda and Chuck, were selected out of all the other people from the convoy.

Simon guessed that it was because of their accomplishments but he was quite relieved that they were chosen; after all, their destination was not the Castledor city governed by the duke but rather the distant capital of this kingdom.

The mistress had also dodged a disaster by selecting Adalinda. Who knew what this girl would have done if she wasn't given a spot.

No one from the convoy voiced any disagreements nor show any discontent towards the selected individual as they were all aware of their powers and valour. They simply accepted them as the most deserving candidates. 

Although Chuck was about to decline the offer because his two teammates were not selected, his comrades worked him out of it saying that they will find a way to come to the capital soon and he should just go ahead. the man must have some compelling reason to go to the capital. However, his behaviour was a little peculiar this past few days thus Simon found it a little hard to initiate a conversation with him.   

After exchanging a few words with the Duke, Cynthia accepted his goodwill and swiftly walked towards the air engine along with her people. After everyone boarded the airship, a loud combustion noise erupted from it before it took off the ground.

The airship hovered over a thousand meters for a while before its altitude started rising and only stopped after it reached beyond 7000 meters. The other pair of engines at the rear of the ship activated and propelled the airship forward. And in a few moments, the large air engine, became a small black dot on the horizon that was getting further and further away.

                                                                      -----

City of Mountmend, in one of the big buildings that are constantly swarmed by people going in and out. A logo of a burning bow and arrow was beautifully carved on this building that attracted the onlooker's attention and also symbolised who this building belonged to.

Burning Arrows Guild, the organisation that came to rise after the downfall of the Sea God's Trident branch guild in the city of Mountmend. They were currently by far the top guild in this city and received an average of a hundred commissions per day. They were reputedly number one and no other guild came closer.

Currently, on the fourth floor of the building, in one of the rooms that was used as the personal room of the guild master, a man with curly brown hair sat on his seat going through one document after another.

His eyes were lively, his build was that of a warrior and he kept that unkempt facial hair that gave him a rough look. The man wearing light leather armour over his burly body, was none other than the guild master of the burning arrow guild.

After arranging the documents, his eyes went over to the last remaining one kept on his table and his brows locked in a grimace. The last remaining document was more like a letter that was addressed to him the guild master.

Reading through the contents of the letter, the frown on his forehead deepened, that was because the letter requested of him to complete a particular task. Normally, he would have ignored such a request that was not made officially, but the sender this time was not ordinary.

The Head Branch of the Adventurer's Association had requested him to explore the dungeon that have recently emerged near their city and report every detail and their findings back to them.

The man had the urge to tear the letter apart, asking them to report every detail of their exploration and findings, it was the same as the other party asking them to hand over all their contribution and knowledge for which they have shed blood and sweat, to them for free.

He was just about to throw the letter in some corner of his desk when he saw the name of the sender which matched exactly to that of the Head Branch director of the Adventurer's Association.

They were a colossal existence whose reach extended to every corner of the central continent. Each Kingdom or Empire, had a head branch and many divisions spread all around their territory. Since the main headquarter did not have the time to monitor their each and every division, the head branch that is located at the capital of each kingdom, is responsible for that.

Thanks to that, the head branch of the Adventurer's Association held enough power and authority that was no less than the top five guilds of their Kingdom. A letter with the name of the head manager of such an organisation was something that he couldn't ignore.

The guild leader of the burning arrow's guild sighed and massaged his forehead, he felt a headache coming after reading the letter.

"It seems that I have no choice but to go along with this" the man mockingly smiled before taking out a small conch from the drawer of his table. Inserting some of his mana into it, the runes around the shell lit up and a voice from the other side sounded out.

"Guild Leader? Is there something you need from me?".

"Yes, gather everyone other than those members that have dived inside the dungeon and assemble in the main hall tonight. I have some announcements to make" he said before ending the call. After that, he stood up from his seat and looked out of his window from the fourth floor.

The elevation he was in, gave him a clear sight of the city and also the distant vast field. If one travelled down the city and crosses the vast field, they would soon be treading upon the lands of the Demon Continent, the Ghastly Winding Forest. The newly emerged dungeon that was the talk of the town, was located there.     

                                                                      -----

The interior of the air engine, was unlike its simple black exterior and was made in a way that provided its passengers' comfort. Even the noise of the engine from the outside did not come in.

Simon roamed his eyes all around the airship, this was his first time after reincarnating into this world that he was using a different means other than his wings to fly around in the sky. Not only that, but even the way the engine of this airship operated with the help of magic stones, intrigued him.

The ship was controlled by a group of eight mages with each of them having mastery over Fire magic or wind Magic. Then there was also the mysterious runes supplied by thousands of magic crystals in the cockpit of the ship.

According to Adalinda, this was just a third class ship at best and she had seen much much better ones.

"The client said that it would take us four days of travelling by the air engine to reach the capital" Simon said, the client he was talking about was the mistress of the Serene Palace Merchant Guild.

Adalinda who was standing not far from him smirked, her gaze pasted at window. "Good, the more early we reach the better, this way not only will she fail to sense me since I'm travelling by an airship, but I can even make some preparations before she comes to the capital".

She then looked at him and said "Anyways, that woman turned out to be a princess of this kingdom. As you had guessed, her origin was not that simple. It also makes sense now that she has that Soul Ring. It might be one of their most precious treasures".

Earlier when they met with the other group of passengers, one of them who turned out to be the duke of this territory addressed their client as the princess. Therefore it was no longer a secret to them that the mistress of the Serene Palace Merchant guild was the princess of this kingdom.

Simon walked around the cabin for a while before opening the door to the gallery outside.  A transparent barrier was erected here that blocked the wind and gave the passengers a wide view of the sky.

When Simon entered followed by Adalinda, his eyes spotted a couple of familiar figures. Two beautiful figures that could instantly steal one's attention towards them, were sitting on a row of chairs.

"Oh if it isn't sir Simon" Cynthia said, turning around.

The moment he discovered them, he too was noticed by them. Other than them, there was also the duke and a young man wearing a lurid red robe and holding a cane embedded with a huge core stone. It seemed that both the parties were in between their talks when he came in.

"Princess, they are?" Lucas asked, observing the two of them.

"Ah.. let me introduce them, they are the adventurers who had helped me fight off the bandits and the dangerous monsters of the northern outlaw forest. Sir Simon and Miss Adalinda" Cytnhia said smiling gracefully.

"Oh, so they are the adventurers who managed to defeat those pesky bandits and their Brigand master?" Duke Montford after hearing that, got up from his seat and approached Simon.