Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

A cold wind blew out from below the stairs bringing along a terrifying chill and pressure with it.

CLACK… CLACK…

Edgar suddenly heard the sounds of someone walking on the ice and a moment later an ethereal beauty, with azure blue hair, and an alluring face that could mesmerise any beings in this world, walked out.

She was wearing a crystal blue dress that shimmered with light coming from the phosphorescence crystal on the ceiling and accentuated her breathtaking curves.

Who could this figure be other than Irene? She casually walked up the now frozen stairs and stood in front of him. Her phoenix like eyes shone with a divine light and gazed straight at the place where Edgar was causing the latter to snap out of his daze.

"T-This can't be… nobody should be able to see through my [Perfect Ghost]"

Edgar thought internally. His skill [Perfect Ghost] was a Lost Ancient tier skill that only a small number of people in this world possess. It gave him almost perfect invisibility that the normal [Stealth] of an assassin could never compare to.

It not only suppressed his presence and aura until it was nil, but it also helps him avoid all kinds of detection abilities. Unless the detection skill's tier is greater than his [Perfect Ghost] nobody should be able to find him.

But the woman in front of him was definitely looking towards his direction, there was no mistake.

It was only natural that Edgar was confused after all, he was even able to escape the radars of the dungeon itself. And as per the information they had collected about the demon and his dungeon, there shouldn't be any entity strong enough to detect him, inside.

Or so Edgar thought, however, what he didn't know was that his information was erroneous, old and didn't take into account the unusualness of the dungeon Laplace.

Just like everyone else, the expedition force had severely underestimated the dungeon Laplace and the dangers it hid inside. When they did realise it, was already too late. The dungeon had already bared its fangs snapping down on numerous adventurers and making them its nourishment forever.

And Edgar was soon going to join their rank and go through the same realisation as all the others before him did.

The dungeon Laplace was extremely dangerous, it did not conform to any pre–established standards and was filled with strong entities. There was a reason why Simon was unfazed after seeing Edgar dive inside through the hole created by the floor buster.

And that reason was none other than the last defence he had placed to guard his dungeon core. If there ever came a time when someone managed to reach the bottom floors, they would meet her. The strongest entity currently present inside his dungeon.

Irene was guarding his dungeon core, there was no reason for Simon to worry.

Edgar and the others were soon going to find out that it was all a huge mistake on their part, the dungeon Laplace wasn't something they should have provoked.

An absurdly strong being stood in front of him. Edgar's instincts were screaming at him, telling him to run away. There was no way he could fight her, he never stood a chance. The only outcome of their fight would be him dying in an instant.

Absolute power difference—this wasn't the first time Edgar felt like that, he had met many entities back on the mainland that showed him that there was always a sky above a sky. However, even they did not make him feel such levels of intimidation and powerlessness like the woman in front of him.

"I was never told that there would be such a powerful person present inside the dungeon" he muttered to himself.

Even though he dodged that bone chilling cold wind earlier, he felt like his body was frozen. Edgar couldn't move a muscle, he wanted to run away but his feet did not obey him.

At this moment, he saw the woman walking forward, with every step she took, she froze everything around her to its core. It was like there was nothing in this world she couldn't freeze.

A vision played in his eyes, the woman walked past him and he saw himself instantly getting encased in a layer of ice. His body, bones and even his soul everything froze in an instant, it was a vision of his own death.

Edgar a powerful Ranker from the mainland, was frozen to his death without being able to even lift a finger. The mission that he carried, also failed and was forever encased in ice.

CLACK... CLACK... After walking past the ice statue, Irene's beautiful tranquil eyes looked towards the ceiling in concern. It was as if she could see through the layers of floors and peek directly at the 48th floor where the battle was going on.

After a while, she released a silent sigh. Although she was told to guard the dungeon core, she couldn't help but worry. The battle going on above was extremely fierce.

------

BOOM... BOOM... BANG… on one part of the battlefield that was covered with tall trees and forest, a group of three adventurers were running through the trees dodging the volley of arrows that came at them at an unflagging pace.

HUFF… HUFF…

"Is she still on her tail?"…

"I can't tell but this place is concealed by trees all around, even she must have some difficulty finding us"…

"Seriously, what is she? I have never seen a demi-human like her"…

The adventurers discussed catching their breaths. Each of them were the guild leader of one of the two twenty guilds of the kingdom and currently, they were hiding.

Who are they hiding from? The answer was... from a little girl who looked no more than fourteen years old. As funny as it sounded, it was the truth.

The dread filled guild leaders turned towards the other guy who was the only one amongst them capable enough to contend with that girl in terms of firepower.

Arven Lantz was silent as the gazes of the other two guild leaders landed on him. To be honest, he had not the slightest idea of how to defeat that girl. The guild leader of the crimson demolition guild who was known for his highly destructive firepower, and ranked amongst the greatest mages if not at the top, was at a loss.

The Infernal magic, his prided magic that got him out of every troublesome situation and what got him the title of Pyromaniac, was at this moment rendered completely useless.

Not only was he losing in terms of firepower, but his infernal magic was also being completely suppressed.

Arven was in a state of disbelief and shock, no matter how much he wanted to deny it, the truth was he cannot defeat that girl. He clenched his hands so hard that blood flowed out of them.

"Guild Master Arven?" the other two guild leaders called out to him, their faces grave and hopeful.

Unlike him who was a mage, the other two were warriors and had no long range attack. Their sturdy armours and defences were completely ineffective against that girl's attacks who could neglect all armours.

The bodies of these two guild leaders were in a much worse shape than his own. If things continued like this, they will soon be defeated.

'We cannot win if we simply continue to run. Should I sacrifice these two to create an opening' Arven thought internally before making up his mind.

"You two listen closely, I have a plan"…

A few kilometres away from them, a young girl with blonde hair, was standing on top of a branch of a tree. Her entire body was engulfed in a layer of Tempest that twisted and twirled around her and made her look like the very manifestation of wind.

Her blonde hair was glowing at this moment, and the fluttering wind formed a cape behind her. Elements of winds shaped into birds flew around her and from time to time whispered something in her ears.

Her irises that were the colour of her hair had a cross in the centre now that looked somewhat like scope lenses.

Hidden inside the gale, one could vaguely see her body which was glowing with a layer of light and formed mysterious patterns all around her body. This was the racial form of Alice, the Wood Elf race.

It is said that this race has made a pact with the forest and merged with the spirits of wind becoming artificial spirits themselves.

They are the Forebears of all the forest races that exist today and are one of the ancient races said to have left their traces all over the universe.

In the world of Althea, it is next to impossible to spot a wood elf these days as they have already gone extinct. Very few records exist about them and the ones that do describe them as a fearsome marksman of the forest.

Nobody can elude their eyes that can see from extremely long distances and through their connection with the forest, they can easily locate you.

"Where~are~you?" the little girl smiled.

The trees around her started trembling and winds picked their speed, whispering into her long thin ears. They carried the voices of the adventurers and the sounds of their conversation.

Alice intently listened to their exchange and a crafty expression appeared on her face. Unbeknown to the adventurers, the little girl was already aware of their plan.

"Hehe, I wonder how they will react if I tell them I know all about their plan".