Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Chapter 696- How Level Up Works

The Fragments of Gluttony… to think that Oswell was the demon who was chosen by the fragments. Although surprising, it also made sense—the inexplicable aura that surrounded Oswell, the authority and reputation he held over all the demons, his [S] rank dungeon and subordinates.

Everything made sense now, the Fragments of Gluttony was what made Oswell special just like how the Fragments of Pride in him did.

As the shock subsided, a mix of curiosity and apprehension filled Simon's thoughts. What did it mean to be chosen by the Fragments? Didn't it mean that Oswell too was going to stand at the pinnacle of all demons in the future and rule as one of the demon Lords, the Demon Lord of Gluttony.

In a situation where Simon needed to keep the fragments concealed and a secret from others, being near a future Demon Lord is the last thing he needed to do right now.

However, he was already indebted to Oswell for their help in the Hexennacht and not repaying this favour would leave a bad aftertaste in his mouth.

Simon's mind raced, weighing the potential risks and rewards of continuing his association with Oswell. He was torn between the debt of gratitude he felt towards Oswell and the ominous warning Prime had given him.

Deep in thought, Simon contemplated his path ahead. The Fragments of Glutonny had added a layer of complexity to his involvement with Oswell.

"Wait a minute, was he being nice and friendly to me because he realised that I had the Fragments of Pride all along? Was it during the moment when the Fragments of Pride went out of control? No, that isn't either, Oswell was trying to befriend me since before the Hexennacht."…

 "Although I cannot be certain, I believe that demon named Oswell who possesses the Fragments of Gluttony, felt something when the Fragments within you activated" Prime added.

"Well even if he was able to sense the fragments within you, you also now know about his secret. So pros and cons you know".

"It doesn't feel like that to me" Simon massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming. Now on top of worrying about the growing influence of the Adventurer's Association, the angels and the retaliation of the high ranking dukes, he now also have to worry about the possible risk of the existence of the Fragments of Pride within him being leaked.

Although from the personality of Oswell that he was able to understand in these past couple of days, the possibility of something like that happening is low. However, one couldn't discount it completely, especially when something like the Fragments are involved.

Be that may, in the end it doesn't change the fact that he and the dungeon he created needs to grow stronger as soon as possible.

The times are changing too fast and if he doesn't keep up, he would be swept up by the waves. The sight of the once grand and majestic dungeon in ruins that he had seen in his vision, Simon didn't want his dungeon Laplace to go down the same path.

As such, what he needed to do, did not change whether or not Oswell knew about his secret. It was so from the start.

.

.

After a good long bath, Simon arrived at the Main Hall, feeling all refreshed. Once he walked in, all the subordinates who had gathered in wait for him, greeted him.

After more than two years Simon had long fit himself in the role as their leader, he didn't have that uneasy feeling while receiving their fealty and devotion any longer.

After Simon sat down in the main seat, Annette who was waiting for him, calmly served him a cup of tea.

"I'm back everyone" Simon spoke looking at all his subordinates.

 Bea: "Welcome back Master we have been waiting for you"…

Cecilia: "Big Brother, you are not hurt are you?"..

Alice: "Master-Master… tell us about your journey. How was the auction? How was the outside world? Theodore told us you all also went to some other event after that?"..

Bea: "It's not fair, that only they got to go with you"…

Theodore: "Hehe".

"Eh?!" Simon who just sat down, was flustered by the sudden bombardment of all kinds of questions.

The Main hall quickly became boisterous and echoed with the sounds of hullaballoo from all of Simon's subordinates.

While the silent ones like Emma and Bianca directed their heated gaze at him, the composed ones like Irene and Annette smiled in one"…

"And that's what happened. I had to go to the Hexennacht" Simon amusement.

"Calm down everyone, I will answer all of your questions one by one"…

"And that's what happened. I had to go to the Hexennacht" Simon explained the events that happened from the moment he stepped into that gate. On that note, Simon was made aware that the teleport gate that appeared on the ceiling of the Main Floor, disappeared right after he went in.

"I get that you had to attend the Hexennacht to claim the Ghastly Winding Forest, it was unavoidable. However, it doesn't change the fact that it was still dangerous?".

 Be it the auction or the Hexennacht, the place was oozing with high ranking demons. The mightiest of demons with power to destroy an entire country. Not to mention there were also the ancient Demon Archdukes and the Demon Lord there.

It was only natural for Irene and his subordinates to be concerned. Even if he had gotten stronger, it wasn't to the point where he can look down on enemies like them. It was a stroke of fortune that things worked out the way they were.

"I understand that, but as the dungeon master of this place and your master, I cannot just let the fate of the territory we are in to fall in the hands of some random demon. In the first place, I wouldn't have stood in front of all the demons if I didn't have any plan".

"Although everything did not go all according to plan, I still managed to claim the Ghastly Winding Forest in the end" It might not have been a smooth sailing, but Simon was able to accomplish the goal he went to attend the Hexennacht for.

"This plan was from that demon right?" Since Simon told them about the events with the twins chipping in from time to time, Irene knew about Oswell and how it was his plan. Though that said, the question still remained as to why the other party helped him.

"Although I will not pry into this matter, but you need to be careful".

Simon nodded at Irene's words. The Demon Nobles are the incarnation of desires and ambition. They cannot be trusted blindly, as their motivations can often be veiled behind a facade of friendship or assistance.

Oswell's plan may have worked in his favour this time, but it is important to remain vigilant and cautious in his dealings with him.

"Right, since we are on the topic, there is someone I would like all of you to meet"...

When Simon mentioned till here, Prime jumped on top of the table and appeared in front of everyone.

The moment he appeared, the hall turned lively once again as all eyes fell upon him.

 "Woah~ who is this little fellow? Its body is so shiny and radiant"…

 "It's so small and cute"…

 "It may look cute, but its attitude is not cute at all".

Some threw curious and amused glances at hi, while others tried to assert that he was just cute on the outside.

 Being observed like he was a monkey in a circus, Prime was unable to take it. The light coming out of its body immediately turned red and it stomped on the ground expressing its frustration.

"Who are you calling cute and tiny huh? I'm prime and I'm a lumynar an extremely intelligent race who can freely control their size. Hmph, I can become as big as a mountain if I want to. And although it may not look like it, I'm older than you all, so you should all call me Elder Prime".

 Prime spat silencing the crowd. Though this silence didn't last long before it was broken by the raucous crowd once again.

"Ohh!! It can speak"…

"Look at it jumping around, it looks so adorable"..

"It has quite the temper. How is it adorable?"..

 "I told you all to call me Elder Prime. Did you all even listen to me?!".

While the crowd was being raucous with the appearance of Prime, over on one side Irene carefully glanced at the Lumynar and commented.

"A highly civilised and ancient race that had nearly gone extinct due to their own self negligence. I don't know if I should be surprised that you bought a Lumynar or that it was listed for the auction" Irene shook her head, lost for words.

"is that guy really that geat?" Simon couldn't help but ask.

"You bought him without knowing anything?"…

 "I told you before, didn't I? Prime was the one who initiated a conversation with me. Thanks to that guy instigating me, I had no choice but to buy him" Simon spoke, his tone a little bitter from the fact that he had to go over his limit and buy the Lumynar for 500,000,000 DP.

That amount was a great chunk of his income and usually, it would have taken his dungeon many many months to stock up that amount. If not because the previous invasion had rewarded him with a large number of DP, he wouldn't have been able to get Prime in the auction.