Dungeon of Niflheim

Following the three way battle Khuno returned to his duties and showed off his new look to his ronso subordinates who were tinged with envy, they couldn't wait to become elder ronsos.

Whereas Findlay was rather grumpy and even dispirited upon realising he was no longer Frost's strongest monster. To ease his pain Frost ordered him to spent some time with Nanna in the kitchen as that always seemed to lighten his mood. Nanna also enjoyed having him as a helper, making it a double win.

Frost cloistered himself within the training room with the tomes he got from Leo, determined to ride the wave and break through the B-rank mage barrier, 4th circle magic was just a single step away.

His desire to improve and the enjoyable battle he had with his right and left hand men successfully distracted him from the work of Ladius and her team. He was no longer anxious with them being so close to his heart….well at least for a short while.

Three days later when they breached the last section of the lowest floor he was back in the private space, eyeing their movements with a focused glare, his hands balled up into fists and his feet nervously tapping the floor.

His earlier breakthrough was overshadowed by their frightening presence. Even with the capabilities of a B-rank mage and Khuno's evolution he was still no match for Terrance and his security detail, his only solace would be to enlist Maya's single use protection if things went sour. Thankfully logic won over instinct.

Ladius and her team meant no harm, they truly only wished to study every inch of him, to gain new knowledge.

"Relax, you've met with Ladius and her team multiple times, you know of their intentions." Maya sat beside her young master and tried to ease his anxiety but her words and actions only pierced skin deep. No matter how he rationalised the situation or was comforted by his family he was still nervous. How calm could you be if a knife hovered mere inches from your heart?

Even if it showed no intention of piercing you the fact that it could was threat enough.

"Haaaaaa fine just sit there and stare at the screen until they're finished we'll handle the rest of the dungeon." Maya eventually grew tired of his behaviour. She sighed and stood up from the sofa before handing out tasks to Daki, Loki and Nanna since Frost was indisposed.

"Thanks." Frost uttered a quiet thank you before refocusing his attention to the screen where Ladius and her team were approaching his most hallowed place, the dungeon core room.

"Finally we're here, the core of the dungeon." Ladius loudly bellowed with a grin stretching from ear to ear, her excitement was palpable a stark difference to her younger investigator subordinates who were exhausted by the extensive delve. Even Terrance and his security team were tired let alone the weaker investigators.

Ladius was a strange enigma who's stamina was endless as long as there was new things to study and examine, knowledge was her food source making her the ideal investigator for the federation of knowledge.

"What's with those exhausted expressions, after weeks of delving we're finally at the heart of the dungeon, the veritable source of all this magnificence. Doesn't the idea of studying it fill you with energy and passion?" Ladius was practically bouncing up and down as she lectured her subordinates.

What she got in response was a few muttered grunts and insults under their breaths before a range of forced smiles.

"Much better, onward then, for knowledge."

""For knowledge."" Her team parroted the slogan of the federation as they gathered their strength and followed Ladius through the ornate gateway.

As they entered the domain of the dungeon's core their federation of knowledge badges activated, covering them in a magical veil that protected them from the desire and magical hunger that monster lair hearts would induce. Without such measures they'd struggle to safely study the core.

Only Ladius refused to activate her badge, she willingly breathed in the core's natural aura, allowing its majesty to flow through her and affect her natural instincts. Desire filled her; an indescribable hunger screaming for her to devour the core and absorb its divine energy. A maddened look adorned her face as her body trembled and her breathes became laboured.

She wrapped her arms around her body and squirmed with a reddened face as her insides started heating up.

"Magnificent, so pure, so majestic, this aura is irresistible." Ladius cooed like a girl in love as she relished in the feeling the core invoked within her. Throughout her career Ladius had experienced the aura of dozens of monster lair hearts but none of them could compare to the dungeon core before her. Never before had she felt so in tune with her lord, the glorious Dark God.

Her emotions were at the peak and her body unconsciously drifted towards the core, hoping to gleam deeper into the forbidden knowledge.

"Cough, cough miss Ladius." Thankfully Terrance intervened before Ladius did something untoward to the core. He loudly coughed and placed a hand on her shoulder. And with a strong squeeze he brought her out of her stupor thus earning him a rather terrifying glare from the woman followed by a reluctant thank you.

A moment later Ladius activated the protective veil function in her badge thus separating her from that tantalising aura.

She was a high ranking investigator for the federation of knowledge therefore it'd be rather unbecoming of her station to be swept up in the aura of the core and damage such a prized asset. The federation's relationship with Frost would also take a sharp dive.

Ladius took several deep breaths to calm herself before donning an expression fit for her station. "Alright everyone assume your positions, I want no stone left unturned."

""Yes ma'am"" her subordinates saluted in the manner of the federation before retrieving multiple magical devices from their storage rings. All these devices were unique to the federation of knowledge, their sole purpose being to read, monitor and analyse their surroundings and catalogue the vast data for the investigators to study in depth later on.

Hardly anything could be hidden from these devices, they were able to pick up even the slightest sign of magic, aura and anything else Nova could produce. Hell some say that even divine energy could be analysed by them, allowing the federation to understand the intrinsic nature of the Gods…..of course this was only half true.

The domain of the Gods could not be understood by mortals no matter how advanced their devices were. All they could do was ascertain whether divine energy was present, nothing more but that didn't stop the federation from trying.

A few minutes later multiple devices were arranged around the dungeon core and the room it inhabited, a pleasant hum filled the area as they were turned on. All manner of data was thus being recorded.

"Start the investigation." Ladius gave the order with a flick of her arm and a smile on her lips.

""Yes ma'am."" Following her order everyone started fiddling with the devices, actions that were beyond the understanding of the untrained eye. Frost who was still watching with rapt attention failed to gleam their purpose but somehow felt stuffy in his heart. His anxiety only grew when Ladius started clamouring around his core with her own devices.

The devices themselves weren't that bad it was her fanatical expression that truly disturbed him. It gave him shivers.

This unpleasant situation continued for the better half of a day and Frost watched them that entire time, never dropping his guard for a single moment. Even when it was time for dinner Nanna had to bring his meal to the sofa, so he didn't have to move. His family gave up on convincing him to relax since their words went in one ear and out the other.

They instead supported his anxiety and hoped that Ladius and her team would finish their investigation soon.

Eventually however Ladius and her team had to call it quits, their instruments had picked up all they could, so it was time for them leave. Though clearly reluctant to do so Ladius brought their investigation to an end.

All the captured data would receive a cursory sift through back in the Niflheim camp before being brought to one of federation's local embassies' where it could be transferred to their headquarters where the keepers could analyse the data in true depth.

"Alright, pack up the devices carefully and we'll head back to our previous camp site." Everyone was rather exhausted after their thorough investigation, so rest was paramount. They could make for the exit tomorrow.

"Understood, protection detail be on your guard, we can't let our valuable data be ruined after all our effort to get here." Terrance ordered with a booming voice.

""Yes sir!"" His protection detail subordinates responded with strong vigour, they were pretty bored and useless during the past several hours, finally they could stretch their legs again.

"Move out."

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