Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

"True that, the fact that the monsters here are all above level 300 contradicts with what the adventurers associations said".

"Now now, even if there are hundreds of these monsters blocking our path, they are not a threat that we can't face. The guild master of the Sea God's Trident told us the demon, the master of this dungeon, no longer has the protection of that person that destroyed the capital".

The group discussed outside the entrance to the thirty sixth floor as they recovered their expended mana and stamina.

"Tch, don't you guys go slacking now, I don't want to babysit eight individuals. If I must, I will not hesitate to throw you guys as bait".

Morgress said a little irritated with the idle chatter of the people. His mood had been sour since the moment he entered the thirty fifth floor. For some reason, he had been having this weird unsettling feeling as if something big was about to go down.

Naturally, as a level 500 [Grand Lightning Warrior] he had absolute confidence in his abilities to block any obstacle coming his way. Nonetheless, why is it that his nerves were all tensed when he had yet to meet a single strong opponent that could contend with him?

The rumours about some nightmarish looking warhorse that was a calamity class, did evoke some concern from him but given the fact that the full line up of seven swords was present at this moment boosted his confidence even further.

It was not like this was the first time they were trying to conquer a [D] rank dungeon, since they had already succeeded once a little over ten years ago for which they had received a domain to rule and a peerage from the Ellesmere royal family.

However, the [D] rank dungeon that they had conquered in the snow valley was completely unlike the one they were facing right now, and was much more easier and had far fewer floors. Even the monsters there weren't as unusual as the ones here not to mention the density of mana as they descended the floors got much more palpable.

As an adventurer who is at the doorstep to become one of the powerhouses, he had fought many monsters in his adventures. However, none of them were as peculiar as the one he had met on these past two floors.

His instincts were telling him that the dungeon was unlike any other one and cannot be underestimated at all costs. Gathering the seven swords except for Boris, he told them his plan and asked them to be cautious at all times.

After the group was fully ready to move forward, they stepped towards the entrance to the next floor.

The thirty sixth floor was unlike the past few floors as it vast a huge jungle with gigantic trees and diverse flora and fauna. The mana around here thanks to the prosimity of the floor to the dungeon core and the many mana trees planted here, was so dense that it had turned into mist and covered the entire floor within it.

There was not only one type of monsters that spawned here but different races of them that continuously fought against each other for dominance and territory.

Nonetheless, the aforementioned things weren't the only reason that set this floor apart from the others. There was another factor to this floor and that was the presence of the apex predator, a boss monster of sorts with power incomparable to ordinary monsters.

Yes, the thirty sixth floor was home to the Lightning Draconic Serpent that Simon had subjugated on one of his trips to the ghastly winding forest.

Before leaving the dungeon, he using the [Ancient Draconic Compel] technique subjugated the Lightning Draconic Serpent one of the three overlords of the north and brought it inside his dungeon to safeguard it from the intruders.

And today was the day it will finally going to show its appearance to the adventurers and make its presence known to the entire inhabitants of the tower town. It will become one of the strongest boss monsters present inside the dungeon Laplace and an element of fear for the adventurers but that was for the future.

Presently, on the tallest mountain shrouded by mist, a group of five individuals were currently waiting on top of it. Their faces were masked with anxiousness and a dreary aura surrounded them.

What was common about them was that they all had light green hairs, slightly pointed ears and released a vast natural aura. The people waiting on top of the mountains were none other than the five Forest Spring Spirits appointed as the [Helpers].

At this moment, they were all looking at the window that displayed the progress of the adventurers.

"They are here…" Coleus said narrowing his eyes.

"Jared did you inform our lord about it," Birch asked turning towards the boy named Jared.

"Yes, Lord Simon is aware of it, he would be here any moment".

Hearing his words, Maya, Fay and the others [Helpers] all glanced towards the huge Teleportation Gate that was set on this floor.

"Worry not, our lord is on his way. No matter how powerful the intruders are, they will not be able to pass through my floor. I will ensure that they regret ever trespassing into the domain of my lord".

A deep oppressive voice that made one's eardrum ring sounded out from the mist surrounding the mountain and the gigantic figure of the Lightning Draconic serpent could be seen descending down.

The reason why the thirty sixth floor was unique was because of the presence of this fellow. His appearance and his aura alone was strong enough to cower these meek Forest Spring Spirits who did not have much combat ability to begin with.

The fact that the Lightning Draconic Serpent was on their side, gave them a sense of assurance. Even without it telling them, the forest Spring spirits had absolute faith in Simon and wouldn't waste even a second doubting him.

He was like a pillar of faith to them to which all their devotion lied, just his presence inside the dungeon gave them the confidence to overcome all obstacles.

"You are right, instead of just standing here let us do what we can. Jared, what order does Lord Simon has for us?" Coleus asked trying to lift the spirits of his clansmen.

"Lord Simon told us to wait here" Jared replied.

"Alright, you all heard him, we wait for lord Simon to arrive here".

While he made a joke of himself with those contradicting words of his, he did end up lightening the mood.

ROOOARRRR…

At this moment, the Lightning Draconic Serpent looked towards the distant end of the floor and roared. His roar also marked the beginning of the battle.

"So this is the next floor huh… I must say that the mana around here is quite dense" one of the warriors said after descending down the stairs.

"Don't let your guard down, this floor is unlike the other ones we have explored up until now. Even though it's very far away, I can still feel its presence from over here. Whatever that thing is, it is strong" Bryan said activating his detection skills.

"Is it that warhorse?" one of the Seven swords, a warrior decked out in full plated Blackgold armour and carrying a gigantic hammer said. His name was Lombus and along with Morgress, Kendric and Boris who had betrayed them, they were the front liners of the team that held the enemies at bay.

After listening to all the various rumours about how strong and menacing the warhorse was from the adventurers, Lombus always wanted to have a go at this beast. He believed that no matter how exaggerated they made the being in the rumours to be as long as he could reach it with his hammer, he would be able to flatten it into the ground.

His confidence was given, after all, he was a level 483 [Viking Warrior]. Just when the group of fifteen all stepped onto the floor, a distant draconic roar that had the ability to shake one's soul, rang from the distance.

Immediately, the mana around the surrounding became turbulent, and howls of monsters started sounding intermittently from the forest. It was as if a command had been given to them by their king as all the monsters started heading towards the adventurers.

"Get into formation, they are coming," Morgress said taking out his broad sword and standing in the front.

The ground rumbled and when the mist finally cleared a little, they could see hundreds of different monsters charging towards them. There were hordes of Battle bears, Battle Grizzly, Sabre Lions, Warring Mandrills each extremely territorial and savage, charging at them.

Thus the humans and the monsters clashed like a huge messy meat grinding machine. Spells and skills flew everywhere killing dozens of monsters and raining blood everywhere.

The monsters might be ferocious from the point of view of average and strong adventurers; however, this team was different in essence in that even when they were all from different groups and backgrounds, they were all elite warriors capable of easily handling dozens of these monsters each.

Plus, unlike the mutated Fire Fanged Mouse and Fire Eater Rat, these monsters were just too ordinary for them and something they had faced many times before.

It didn't take time for the mages in the backline to conjure huge AOE magic to clear hordes of them and warriors in the front to clear up the rest. If one looked at how efficiently this team worked, they wouldn't be able to tell that they all belonged to different groups and were a ragtag team that was put together a week or two ago.

It wasn't like they were used to working together after diving inside the dungeon for a week, it was just that being all elite themselves with levels over 400 they just knew when to use their skills and abilities in coordination.

*****

Name- Lombus

Age- 237

Class- Viking Warrior

Skills- Analysis, Super Enhanced Strength, Body Enhancement, Fire Resistance, Pain Resistance, Blunt Damage Resistance, Super Enhanced Endurance, Super Defence, Sharpened Senses, Hundred Brutal Hammer Mastery, Berserk, Reinforcement, Brute Force, Brutal Swing

Class Specific Skills- [Viking's Heavy Slam], [Viking's Shout of Courage], [Viking's Force], [Viking's Indomitable Will].