Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

BANG'¦ just as he took the eight-step, Simon felt as if he was hit by a huge tidal that instantly swept his body away. His mind became blank and he lost vision for an instant. The pressure bearing down on could no longer be explained with words.

Simon's breathing was hurried and his vision was so blurry that he couldn't even see a few meters near him. His balance was unstable and it seemed that he could fall down any moment. Simon bit his lips and tasted some of his blood to remain conscious.

Maybe he was hallucinating or because of his exhausted mind, but he could see huge chains that looked extremely heavy, binding his arms and legs. These heavy chains were connected to a huge boulder that was as big as a mountain, impossible to budge.

Even if he tried moving his body, the boulder behind him wouldn't even move a bit. Circulating the immense amount of energy that he got after igniting his ancestral symbol, Simon released continuous magic towards the ground to use their recoil as propulsion to move forward.

But when he looked back, the huge boulder that the chains binding him were connected to only made a small clanking noise. SNAP'¦ the muscles in his right arm snapped and the veins burst open.

However, Simon did not pay any attention to it and kept on firing magic. SNAP'¦ this time the muscles in his left arm snapped making it very difficult for Simon to move them."Gugghh" Puking out a mouthful of blood, some clarity returned to his otherwise blurry vision.

His body faltered and he was just about to fall when his wings which were bent unnaturally, flapped once to stabilise his balance. CRACK'¦ under the pressure of the Eight-step, even flapping once broke most of the bones of his wings. An intense amount of pain should have assaulted him, but his senses had become so numb and dull that he couldn't feel a thing.

DRIP'¦ DRIP'¦ Blood trickled down his body and fell on the ground dying it red. His chest fell up and down, but he still felt suffocated and out of breath.

Simon turned his head towards Cecilia who was watching him from a distance. Due to losing so much blood, he was unable to see her figure clearly, but he knew she might be crying her dam out looking at his figure.

He remembered when he brought her unconscious and injured body to his dungeon. Her crystal-like eyes were dead back then unlike her current clear and bright eyes. At that time even he didn't know that he would take her as his little sister.

Her concern and worry for him were heartfelt and before he knew it, he had started caring for her as his own little sister. She who couldn't even see a slight bit of injury on him would be worried sick looking at him now.

Previously he had promised her that he would make his dungeon so that she could live there peacefully and without any worry. Although he did not want to make her concerned over him, he had no choice. To prove the worth of his words and more so to show that he had the strength to protect Cecilia and her clan, he has to push his body beyond their limits.

He can't afford to be stalled here by a mere trial. He would complete it and win the trust of the Forest spirit clan and bring them into his dungeon.

"I will not be stopped here. Come to me'¦ Crimson Blazing Flame Sword" a completely crimson-coloured sword as if tearing through space, appeared in his hands. The moment he held onto it a powerful flow of mana like lava circulated inside his body and strengthened him even further.

The sword bestows an additional 600 points to all the stats and +1000 to magic. Combined with the effect of the skill [Ancestral Symbol Ignition], the level of power he could display was beyond his rank.

Gritting his teeth, he moved his right leg forward. He could feel that the imaginary chains that were binding him to a boulder as big as a mountain, finally moving a little.

BANG'¦ the ground cracked and a deep footprint was carved onto the ground that marked his ninth step.

The moment, the crimson sword appeared on Simon's hand Aldebaran was stunned. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't appear to be an ordinary sword that should be in the hands of a Demon Viscount. This goes to say that the sword in the young man's hand was quite a high tier one possibly higher than a [B] tier.

Although he found it odd but compared to the shock he got from the symbols on Simon's body, it was nothing.

"Possessor of a fragment, High tier weapon, his unyielding determination along with his amiable nature'¦" Aldebaran observed Simon and nodded his head approval.

"My time is limited'¦ it just so happens that I can see the rise of a genius today. Show me young man'¦ prove it to me that you have what it takes to tackle the world and surmount eery obstacles".

Cecilia whose eyes had become completely red, clenched her hands tightly in prayer as she anxiously looked towards Simon treading one step after another.

[TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE] a continuous ringing sound echoed in his head and his vision started to become all white. The duration of the skills that have been boosting his powers was finally over and an extreme amount of exhaustion hit his body.

Crack'¦ his right thigh bone cracked under the pressure and his whole body came smashing down on the ground. "Huff'¦ Huff" his breathing slowing down and his eyelids shut closed.

His body didn't feel like his own and an overwhelming drowsiness assaulted all his senses. Right after he took the ninth step, the pressure intensified hundreds of times and even breathing under it was a difficulty.

His eyelids felt heavier by the moment before they completely shut closed. The pressure emitted by the aura was beyond what a Demon Viscount could endure.

"Huff'¦ Huff" as he listened to his hoarse breathing, Cecilia voice intermittently rang in his head. "bi'¦.ther'¦ get'¦ brot'¦ up" However, due to the ringing sound in his head, her voice sounded incoherent. He knew that she was worried sick after seeing him fall down onto the ground just before the last step. He knew that he had to keep on going, but his body refused to budge even an inch.

His body which was exhausted past its limits felt foreign and immovable. Just when he was about to succumb and doze off, Scenes from the past flashed in his head.

"Master is a bit'¦ you can call me big brother if you want. That way as your big brother, it would naturally be my duty to protect you"

"Ehhhhh? What's wrong'¦ you don't want to call me big brother? T-then you can call me anything you want"

"Un-uh'¦ It's not like that big brother'¦ it's just that big brother is so nice to me"

Simon laughed and patted her head. As those scenes replayed in his head, Simon wiled the last of his consciousness to move.

"I can't go down like this'¦ at the very least I must take the last step" gaining a bit of momentary clarity, Simon circulated all his powers in a last-ditch effort.

[TEEEEEEEEEEEEEE] that was when the ringing noise in his head sharpened as if trying to split his head apart. This kind of pain is different from the physical pain he experienced earlier and was many times more painful.

"Ahhhhhhhhh" Simon howled miserably as he clutched his head. "Stop'¦ go away'¦ ahhhh" regardless of what he did, the pain did not soothe before everything blanked out and Simon fell into a dream-like state.

In this state, Simon was neither conscious nor unconscious. Just like an observer who could only gaze from the sidelines, he too was powerless to do anything.

"So I lost huh'¦" he felt empty and disappointed in himself who couldn't do anything but boast to others. What peak level existence? What big brother? I can't even complete the trial set for me, how can I protect others? Hehahaha'¦ Simon laughed like a maniac for a while before snapping at the ringing sound that rang out even after he passed out.

Suddenly, "wait a minute'¦ why am I experiencing the same buzzing sound even in my dreams? Does that mean that I haven't passed out yet? Then what is this place?".

Simon looked around at the endless white space that he suddenly found himself in. The place was completely white and had nothing in it. Its boundary couldn't be seen with just a glance and other than him, there was nothing in this vast space.

"Where am I?" the peculiarity of the event was out of his understanding. He who should have fainted by now, suddenly found himself in this vast white space of infinite nothingness.

Unfortunately, there was no one to answer his question. Looking at his surrounding for a while, Simon fell in silence. He contemplated about all the strange events that had occurred till he ended up here.

First of all, that continuous ringing sound that suddenly sharpened and gave him a serious headache, must be related to this.

Secondly, the sound was still ringing even after he reached this mysterious space.

Thirdly, Simon vaguely felt that he was not fully unconscious yet. And the last of all'¦ there was something here in this infinite white space that was calling out to him.. It might be him jumping too soon to a conclusion but Simon was sure that the ringing sound was the one that called him here.