Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Yes, it was not just one magic that was cast, but instead two. The second magic that was simultaneously cast was hiding behind the first magic circle, cleverly used by his opponent to deceive.

But the sword that he threw, shattered both of the magic circles destroying whatever plan his enemy had in mind.

There was no way, Simon was going to fall for the same trick again. He remembered how he had slammed into an invisible wall when trying to escape the capital when his identity was revealed by that magic.

That barrier magic that covered one fifth of the entire capital should have taken a long time to cast. Even if his opponent had the [Chant Shortening], [Revocation] or [Annulment] there should be at least some indication or the turbulence of mana in the surroundings.

However, Simon had felt no such thing at that time, it was as if the barrier had appeared out of nowhere.

He remembered Davis telling him while he was struggling to break the barrier that it wasn't only one magic that he had cast at that time. This led him to the possibility that his opponent might be in possession of some skills that allowed them to conceal the magic out of sight somehow.

Simon wasn't sure how the opponent did it but by throwing his sword earlier towards the magic circle, he understood the concept of how it was achieved.

"What?!"...

Using this chance when his enemy was stunned, Simon conjured a golden flaming spear in the shape of a snake and hurled it towards the Auger machine with all of his strength.

Ever since seeing that machine, Simon's first priority was to destroy it. It was something that broke the order and was the greatest threat to them currently. Not knowing what it was capable of, Simon couldn't take the risk of allowing his opponent to use it again.

Floors important to the development of the dungeon were underneath a few more floors, which is why he needed to stop them here. The infernal spear he hurled earlier was with the intention to destroy the machine.

However, when the magic was just about to hit the machine, it was deflected by someone whose presence even Simon had failed to notice up until now.

A figure covered entirely in a black robe, appeared in front of the machine guarding it against any further attacks.

What was surprising about this person was that even though he was right in front of Simon, the latter could not perceive him at all. It was like he was there and at the same time not there.

"Ranker Edgar, this is not the time for you to step in. He is my opponent; you focus on your task"

Davis stated snapping back from his momentary stun. He didn't expect the demon to see through his [Shadow Chant] and [Multi Cast] skill, hence he was a little shocked and a momentary lapse formed in his guard.

"I intervened because you were unable to keep the demon in check. I have no further obligation to do so anymore so be careful the next time" After saying that, the black robed person melded with the environment and disappeared into thin air.

This time, it was Simon's turn to get stunned, no matter how he tried to track the person using [Sense Presence], [Detect] or even resorting to using the [Dungeon] option of the menu, he couldn't spot the person at all.

What was going on? It was understandable that his opponent was able to deceive his skills since they were just Normal Superior tier skills. However, how is it that they are even able to escape from the detection of the dungeon itself?

Simon suddenly had a bad premonition, he had been monitoring the actions of the adventurers using the [Dungeon] option from the start, nevertheless, he had never seen that black robed person appear even once.

This goes to say that, the black robed person was able to avoid their detection up until now completely.

"What's the matter demon? Are you perhaps surprised to see someone sneaking inside without getting caught in the radars of your dungeon?" Davis laughed, seeing the demon look all baffled.

"What did you do?" Simon asked. He had witnessed others (Adalinda) intruding his dungeon and go completely unnoticed before; however, beings like her are complete irregularity and cannot be judged with common sense.

Simon did not feel the same when looking at the black robed person which meant that there was something the black robed man had done to avoid the detection of his dungeon.

"Haha, you shouldn't be that surprised demon. Us human race has been diving inside the dungeons for thousands of years. Naturally, we have amassed some knowledge over the years and passed it down from generation to generation. To counter the dangers of the dungeon, we have created many skills and artefacts. The mask, that I used, the machine behind me and the skills Edgar used are just some of them".

Davis explained probably because he felt like he had everything in control, he did not try to cover any information.

Simon fell silent, if he thought about it carefully, the history of this world dated back tens of thousands of years. At that time, dungeons still existed and humans dived inside those dungeons.

Given this fact, it wouldn't be unusual for the current generations of humans to have a lot of knowledge about the dungeon. Being a former human himself he knew how adaptive and innovative they could be.

So even if the development of Althaea deviated from his previous world due to the existence of mana, skill and many other things, technologies like auger machines and such didn't seem farfetched.

As Davis had mentioned, the black robed person must also be using some kind of artefact or skills specifically developed to counter some abilities of the dungeon.

Although Simon did not know it, this was also one of the reasons why newly emerged dungeons that are not properly hidden are conquered so easily.

The humans have gained that much of an edge over the years whereas the [Dungeon Creation], the inherent skill that all demon nobles possess when born, remained the same as always.

Unless, you have a strong patron or are allied to a high ranking demon noble, most of the newly emerged dungeons if not well hidden, are doomed to be conquered and destroyed. This was also why the high ranking demon nobles look on with amusement at the low ranking demons creating their own dungeons.

Normally, a dungeon requires dozens of years, if not hundreds to evolve and increase its rank. On that note, the dungeon Laplace could be considered an exception because of certain factors and elements aligning together.

"I see"

Simon accepted the realisation and focused his attention on the task at hand. He raised his guard and spread his senses around him in caution. Now that he was fighting two people whose levels were far higher than his, this made things a little complicated.

Davis saw the demon going defensive and couldn't help but comment with a frown.

"Don't kid yourself demon, I don't need the help of another ranker to deal with the likes of you".

As soon as his words fell, Davis appeared behind Simon, a white lance was in his hands which he used to stab the latter.

Simon hurriedly turned around and parried the attacks with his sword.

CLANG… CLANG… CLANG… the white lance looked like it was made of magic yet every time it clashed with his sword, a metallic sound rang out.

"Not bad, let's see how long you can keep that up" Davis commented with a smile, his attacks started becoming more fierce and contained more faints than before. It was obvious to anyone that when it came to battle experience, he had his fair share with the way he was able to put the demon in the backfoot in just a few confrontations.

Simon tried to parry the attacks as much as he could but for some reason, he felt like his opponent was able to read through his attacks and was leading him in making mistakes. Even after he had activated all of his augmenting skills there still seemed to be a vast difference between them.

In just a couple of seconds, he was forced to take numerous steps back with none of his attacks being able to hit their mark.

WHOOSH… With a whistling sound, the lance came lunging towards his shoulders.

Simon hurriedly parried the attack or so he thought, but it turned out to be faint. The lunge was stopped mid-motion and hurriedly retracted back and transitioned into a passing strike that was aimed at his heart.

CLANG…

"Oh?" Davis arched his brows when he saw a faint bluish armour form around the body of the demon.

"Mana Armour? No, the aura around your body is definitely that of a demon viscount, so you should be unable to use [Mana Armour]. Is it perhaps a quasi Mana Armour".

Davis deliberated while continuing to press on with his attacks. Little by little he started exerting more of his power and shut down all the attacks of the demon.

"Hmph, I can see through all of your attacks. An overhead swing that is faint and transitioned into a horizontal slash"...

Davis commented easily dodging Simon's attacks. He then used this opportunity to knock the sword out of the hands of his opponent and thrust his lance towards the demon.

"An [A] tier weapon is really great but it also leaves a great opening".