Dungeon of Niflheim

"Now for the church." Ladius took a breath before moving onto the second major power within the empire.

"Similar to the emperor Pope Genova rules the Church of Light with an iron fist, in fact her power is even more consolidated, no one dares oppose her, an organisation that is truly of one mind. Even if it is severely warped." Ladius snickered in a mocking fashion.

"The four cardinals assist Pope Genova as her capable hands while the many bishops, deacons and priests below them tend to the massive flock of brainwashed and magically influenced sheep that make up the empire's citizens. Even their brutally beaten slaves are brainwashed into believing that they are abominations that deserve such a life. Despite the grand war their faith is unshakeable."

"How is it that they can be so united despite being rejected by the very one they worship?"

"Insanity, stubbornness, blind faith, a hefty amount of indoctrination and of course stark refusal to accept Lord Light's rejection, take your pick. In fact there's a strong consensus among the flock that they're still carrying out the God of Light's true wishes, many have no idea that they've been abandoned by him and that they're condemned by the rest of the world.

The Pope and Cardinals have made sure to quickly snuff out such damaging influences over the many years so as to protect their control and power over the masses."

"So only the upper ranks know the truth. Are they a collaboration of faithless liars and charlatans? To speak of the God of Light's will while knowingly being forsaken by him."

"I see how you came to that conclusion but no the upper ranks despite knowing the 'truth' are the most pious and faithful, truly believing that their actions are just and beholden to his true will.

They believe that the God of Light who currently condemns them is confused or possibly even an imposter and that only by achieving their god given mission will they be able to restore the balance and return their Lord back to who he once was." Ladius said with extreme seriousness, she was not joking. The Church of Light's upper ranks truly believed in this fallacy.

"That's….."

"Insane, yeah that's the Church of Light for you. A lost cause of fanatics and not the good kind." Clearly the good kind were like herself and the federation of knowledge who passionately explored the mysteries of the world regardless of the danger.

Ladius continued to explain all she could about the Church of Light and the Holy white empire, slowly but surely putting a clear face to his otherwise unknown enemy.

For an empire restricted by the alliance of nations their economy was actually fairly strong. Even without international trade the empire had access to vast array of different materials thanks to their far spanning territory. Ore mines, magic crystal mines, abundance of monsters and even access to the ocean, a self-sufficient nation that relied solely upon its own majesty.

Frost and Ladius continued to engage in these so called dates every day or so despite the woman's busy schedule, she'd always make time to chat with the prominent dungeon core.

After 3 weeks the investigation team started reaching the lowest floors, easily surpassing the most determined regulars. By all accounts -bar Frost- they were the first ones to reach such depths, a cause for celebration among the adventurers' guild.

Finally they'd be able to know some of what lay at the bottom of the dungeon, a mystery they'd likely never be able to personally see given their own strength.

The protection detail of Terrance and his team made short work of the C-rank monsters Frost sent to test them, easily culling them while at the same time allowing Ladius and her subordinates to study their movements and abilities. Whether it was a revenant, an ice troll or a yuki-onna all were no match for the prowess of the 5 star bodyguards.

"There's definitely a difference in intelligence and battle capability compared to the monsters born in lairs." Terrance remarked with glee as he decapitated an ice troll with his great sword.

"The environment here is far purer and of much higher quality thus allowing for stronger monsters to be created though even among the same species there's quite a range of diversity." Ladius who was accompanying them on the delve commented as she studied her notes.

"Agreed, it's like there's some sort of difference in natural attributes and battle experience among their numbers. It's closer to the natural world than a monster lair." Terrance judged based upon his extensive battle knowledge.

Monsters born across Nova were not all the same, some were born with more talent than others and even the occasional mutation. While those from monster lairs however tended to be a notch weaker overall and pretty much equal across the board.

"Fascinating, I'll have to carve out some more answers from our dear host during our next date hehehehe." Ladius laughed manically as she examined the body of the deceased ice troll.

Meanwhile in the dungeon's private space Frost sat before the pseudo dungeon core with a constrained expression.

"Did you really expect a different outcome?" Daki charmingly asked from his side, enjoying the opportunity to help Frost in his work.

"No but it still doesn't feel good seeing my strongest forces carved up like common goblins." The look in Ladius' eyes certainly didn't help his unease. Dealing with her though incredibly beneficial was draining on his nerves, there was only so much passion he could take.

"Relax they're almost finished." Daki rubbed his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. "Instead of watching them like a hawk why don't you focus on something else, isn't Khuno ready to attempt a breakthrough?"

"Haaaaaa I suppose you're right, observing them will only strain my nerves." Though he'd grown to trust Ladius and her team it was a whole different ball game when it came to exposing his heart to them.

He had already discussed the possibility of restricting the investigation team to the second last floor, barring them from reaching the dungeon's core, his heart, and greatest weakness but Ladius refused. Their purpose was to examine and analyse the entire Dungeon, and that included the core.

He'd have to rely solely on their word to do no harm as it was clear that his forces proved to be pitiful defenders against the might of Terrance and his team.

Of course there was still Maya but that was truly a last resort, culling the entire investigation team would reflect quite poorly on his relationship with the federation of knowledge. Though indirect agents for his father they weren't barred from enacting vengeance upon his children if they responded with such violence to their innocent investigation.

"Helping out Khuno would serve as a good distraction, thanks honey." Frost placed a kiss on Daki's cheek causing her to lightly giggle.

"My pleasure babe."

"By the way how's your own breakthrough going?" Daki had been working tirelessly the past few weeks, desperately trying to catch up to the camp's other smithing resident. Borris lit a fire under her ass, his capabilities and knowledge opening up a new world for the young woman.

"Slowly but surely my love. Being unbound from the responsibilities I had in Kranor and having access to an unlimited volume of materials to experiment with has done wonders. New ideas for equipment pop into my head every day and my exchanges with Sir Borris have allowed me to envision my future path." Daki spoke with great enthusiasm and passion. She'd been in a rut for a few years back in Kranor.

Her responsibility as the highest rank smith in the enclave restricted her freedom, her ability to experiment and risk failure. She was forging for the sake of the enclave and her many customers rather than her own development. A trait she and Borris shared, allowing them to grow quite close.

Whenever Frost and him chatted the old dwarf would always sing her praises and compliment his ability to bag such a gem.

"I'm pretty confident that even if I don't get a sudden burst in enlightenment my natural progress will see me reach 4 star within a year or two." She said with her fists clenched in promise.

"Amazing, gifted with both beauty and skill, I'm a lucky man."

"That you are."

"Hahahahaha."

"Hahahahaha." The couple laughed and leaned in close to one another, enjoying each other's touch.

'I'll have to prepare a lavish reward for the day she breaks through.' Frost internally noted, preparing to set aside a hefty amount of DP for her present. The achievement of reaching the rank of 4 star blacksmith was a very impressive feat especially for someone so young. As the lord of the territory and more importantly her boyfriend he'd be embarrassed to repay such grace with something cheap.

The two lovebirds chatted amicably and enjoyed one another's company. They rarely had much alone time given their rather hectic schedules, so they didn't wish to waste a single minute.

Eventually another topic of discussion came up, one that Frost had been avoiding.

"So….have you decided yet?"

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