I heard the familiar voice of the princess ring in my ears as I followed the procession in the skies.
"We'll visit the castle where I can show you around for a bit."
Her voice was much colder than the one I had been hearing all this time. I placed the Crown Prince high on my caution list after this as we moved to the center of Snowy Peak, where a luxurious castle manor laid itself out.
Past the wide gates of the castle was a small garden of flowers and a water fountain in the center. It was a peacefully colorful sight as chirps of birds could be heard as they flew about.
The carriage stopped in front of the manor entrance as the princess stepped out. The Royal Guards spread out to the surroundings as they took their positions around the manor, with one guard walking and talking closely with the newly initiated Captain Ryner that was looking enviously at the two guards that had access to enter the manor as their doors closed.
With the covert rank S item and many hiding skills I had, I passed through the doors the same as the princess without any issues. The view inside the castle was even grander, with an enormous chandelier hanging in the ceiling as two sets of stairs sn.a.k.e.d to the second floor.
The two guards that entered stayed at the bottom of each staircase as the princess made her way up, passing through a door that led to a large hallway. The door closed with a thud and Night revealed herself standing near the princess, with me deactivating some of the hiding skills and the veiled suit I had on
With a nod from the princess, Night moved forward and left the two of us walking across the hall.
"I know it may not seem like it, but my skill has confirmed it multiple times. My biggest enemy is my own older brother."
I thought of the EPIC ranked guard that was with him as I listened to this and asked
"I saw the powerful guard that stood at the entrance of Snowy Peak, is the guard he came with the one protecting Summit Peak?"
"Sadly no, and this is a point where I fell behind. There is an EPIC ranked guard protecting each of the four peaks. The guard he was bringing around was an adventure he found himself some time ago. His power continued to exceed mine after the addition of this one person"
We walked through the halls of the manor as the princess told me more information about the four peaks of the Frozen Kingdom and the surrounding lands, not questioning for a second why I seemed to ask so many questions. I wanted to put my plans into place as I waited for my skills to continue rising in proficiency, as well as quickly rise the proficiency of my offensive rank S skills by delving into dungeons where secrecy would not be an issue
"I want to go visit some of the dungeons in the surrounding areas to raise my strength a bit more after seeing the people you're up against."
The princess turned to me with that same beautiful frozen face as I said this, and a barely visible smile appeared as she said.
"Dungeons are a great way to go, and with how confident I am in my unique skill, I'm sure you aren't showing us your full power now. How about this, it's stifling to stay cooped up in this peak all this time, and I can't even recall the last time I went out of the kingdom. I don't know which part of the continent you hail from, but let me show you around the surrounding lands as you become more familiar with the dungeons and the people around here. With your strength, we shouldn't have anything to worry about."
The girl continued to place complete confidence in her skill that apparently told her nothing would go wrong with me around. I thought about the idea and went along with it, thinking it would be nice to learn more about this world while getting to know the person who wanted my corporation so much
My 'passive' skills continued to acc.u.mulate proficiency even now, so passing the time with a gorgeous lady while getting stronger by combining skills as the requirements were met was also not bad. I would also get the chance to enter the dungeons where I can spam the offensive rank S skills multiple times to raise their proficiency too, and for this I would go into the dungeon alone.
"Give me a few hours to send out some messages and put a few things together. We can leave early tomorrow morning while I gather the intelligence on the traits of surrounding dungeons you can go to."
I nodded as the princess continued to show me around her castle manor. She seemed to gradually be getting back that cheerful voice that still didn't match her face that didn't show much emotion the more she talked as the memory of the older brother from today faded.
The rest of the day was spent walking around the manor and being introduced to where I'd be staying. She didn't lie with her words from before, she really did show me a grand room right next to an even larger one where she'd be staying, where Night seemed to have prepared everything after she separated from us earlier.
The first ever S+ ranked skill also showed itself at this time with the addition of [Saint's Phantom] and [All Element Resistance] that reached the requirements. The new rank S+ skill was [Saint's Return- A long forgotten saint's shadow stands behind you and your allies, constantly healing and providing heavy resistance against your enemies]. The appearence of the first ever S+ skill made me feel a great achievement, while also reminding me of my rate of progress.
The scary rate of progress confirmed that I would definitely be able to combine an EPIC ranked skill some time soon. It was a much safer and possibly faster way to strengthen myself, making me think [Skill Combination] was just an extremely killer addition to my nearly endless mana that continued to make my speed even faster as time passed. The day ended like this, it was one of those peaceful days I hadn't had in a while as I enjoyed the company of new people and became stronger through combining skills.
Chapter 86 - Dungeon diving in another world II
The next morning, I found myself in a wide carriage that had the most comfortable seats that the cars in my world could not even compare. The princess was sitting opposite me in her veil as she looked out to the procession outside of the carriage.
The carriage had a see through function where the people inside could see the outside as it was a clear window, but those outside only saw the luxuriously made materials of the ride that was now attached to a magnificent horse. We were just a few steps away from the bottom of the bridge leading to the Snowy Peak as the carriage we were in was followed by many others like it, heading towards the large fortress wall in the distance
The Princess seemed to have planned for many things as I could see various merchants and mercenaries coming along with us, as well as the Royal Guards that were valiantly defending from threats atop their horses. I could see the figure of Ryner that made me chuckle, as he seemed to have transformed into the most perfect Princess Knight that continued to gaze at the carriage we were in frequently.
"There are a few counties and dukedoms in our surroundings that face harsher winters with less food, but each of them have their own specialties that we can trade with. I can already see that you plan to go delve into the dungeons alone, so I'll be keeping myself busy while you do that."
I felt like I could see a smile behind that veil as the princess spoke without worry, the barriers surrounding this carriage making it so that no sounds came out. She wore a thick white dress with glistening fur on her shoulders, clothing that was commonly seen on the people in this kingdom that always lived in cold winters. I liked how the girl quickly caught on as we began the journey outside the Frozen Kingdom.
The procession of carriages quickly made their way out of the large gates as they paved their way across snowy roads. I was comfortably sitting in the carriage with the Princess that continued to describe the things we were seeing even without me asking
---
"What? My little sister is making a trading trip?"
A surprising move had occured from the little rat that continued to evade my traps. Making a trip to surrounding counties at this time? Don't you know that dangerous things can happen in the outside world where many bad people move around?
A gleeful smile broke out of my face as I
thought of this opportunity that would never have presented itself before. What had happened to cause you to do something this reckless huh? Did the number of pitiful rank S guards around you really make you think you were fully protected?
Lets see what is giving you this newfound courage to prance around without worry!
---
The first place the procession of carriages stopped at was a place called Valen County. It took a few hours to get to this place as I learned more about the surrounding places near the Frozen Kingdom
Valen County was famous for its textiles and exquisite clothing, so the merchants in this procession would start doing business here first. The county had a few dungeons in its surroundings, with the highest one being the rank A dungeon, [Floating Pentagons].
The Princess was planning to provide assistance and talk with the leader of this county as she tried to expand her influence. I would dive into this brand new dungeon for the first time and see just how different they were compared to the ones I have been used to.
Before I left the carriage, Princess Adelaide handed me a small twinkling piece of metal.
"This works as a way to communicate if something ever pops up. If it blinks orange, then something serious that could endanger us might be occurring. If it glows red...well hopefully it never comes to red."
I accepted the piece of metal and told her not to worry too much, I would only spend a few hours in the dungeon. I could most likely clear it in under 20 minutes if it was anywhere near the dungeons I have been used to, but the goal was to enter this secret area where I would be alone to spam and raise my offensive rank S skills, so spending a few hours would be required
I let the princess leave the carriage first and activated my many hiding skills and added mana to activate the rank S veiled suit before stepping out myself. She was received by a plump man who began talking to her fervently while I went toward the dungeon she mentioned.
The monolith of this dungeon was much bigger than the rank A ones I knew. There were dark doorways instead of squares to place your hands on, and I walked into one of these dark doorwars, entering the first dungeon in this world.
[Floating Pentagons] was just as its name suggested. I was transported into a wide pentagon that was floating in the skies with complete darkness all around me. The only other points of light were four other pentagons similar to this one floating not too far away.
Monsters began materializing on all the four pentagons but the one I was on, where four humanoid rhinos came to life and went towards the center of the pentagon that held a runic circle.
The moment they stepped on this runic circle, they disappeared from their pentagon and all four monsters appeared in the middle of the pentagon I was in. I smiled at this new environment as I began by summoning my Virulent Abomination and started casting multiple offensive rank S skills
Thunder and molten flames roiled about, as well as flaming spears and blasts of cold that froze everything. The goal was to nonsensically spam every single skill continuously for the time to come until they reached 100 proficiency.
I made sure to keep the bodies of monsters that continued to materialize from the four other pentagons and were transferred to the one I was standing in so that I could raise up and use [Profane Eruption] too.
From the first four humanoid rhinos, there came 8 more in a few minutes, then 16 more after that, and then 32. They kept on doubling as time passed, until 64 monsters kept on appearing every 10 minutes. If your hunting party couldn't handle the old ones fast enough, you would soon be overwhelmed and find yourself dead.
I cleared them way before the new ones even came and continued to spam my skills as I watched the proficiency numbers rise in real time. [Profane Eruption] was truly deadly, as the bodies of dead monsters exploded in a shower of poisonous gore that blasted anything near, creating even more corpses. I made sure to target the skill to activate on a single corpse each time and not explode all the corpses at once so that I could activate it multiple times.
I had completely gone into an insane mode of constant spamming that I lost track of time, completely not realizing when a huge 10 meter tall colorful humanoid Rhino that was most likely the BOSS become blasted as soon as it appeared by the surrounding skills
A large green crystal rose in the floating pentagon I was in while I felt a flow of information enter my brain. This was...the random skill adventures received after clearing a dungeon for the first time in this world?
The information entered my mind and instructed me on how to manipulate essence into an applicable form to cast the skill [Cook- As long as it is activated, any dish you make will turn out delectable]. I felt a ringing as this new skill appeared on my attribute panel as a rank A skill, but it was such a different skill from what I was usually used to that I laughed. But the purpose of me entering this dungeon wasn't for the clear skill I would receive for the first clear. Although the skill did seem interesting, and I would try it when the chance came. For now, I would spend the next few hours in this dungeon raising proficiencies and combining skills.
Chapter 87 - Dungeon diving in another world III
As destructive skills continued to be cast all around me, new ones that met requirements were combined.
The addition of [Spear of Destiny] and [Combusting Spears] gave the A+ ranked [Relegator's Spear]. [Pain Resistance] and [Ultra Regeneration] produced the A+ ranked [Immutable Regeneration] that provided even faster regeneration while boosting my tolerance to pain.
The new skill made me excited to try out. I also wanted to see just how great the healing effects of the S+ ranked [Saint's Return] was when applied to summons like the Virulent Abomination that always continued to be injured. If the resistance buff and healing was high enough, the summon might even be able to withstand attacks of that EPIC ranked beast while dealing its poisonous damage before being completely destroyed.
I watched as the numbers rose for many of the skills, as well as another two particular S rank offensive skills that were just a few digits away from being combined. Another skill that was rising slowly while active was [Summon Virulent Abomination], but I made sure to make full use of the deadly explosion that occurred when I casted it while it was already on the field to also raise the skill even faster with continuous casting.
It seemed like it would be compatible with [Profane Eruption], so that was one thing I was also actively rising. A few hours passed like this, until I felt mentally drained from continuing to multitask and repeat this process so much. I looked around the messy floating pentagons as well the blank darkness below in this dungeon that would be terrifying for anyone who didn't have the ability to fly.
Hundreds of monsters had died, but not even their bodies remained with the constant use of [Profane Eruption]. I went out of the dungeon to find the procession of wagons fully ready to go, with Princess Adelaide being kept company by the same plump man that received her.
I used [Silent Communication] to let her know I was done, and she said a few words to the plump Count who nodded with vigor, with her heading towards the carriage right after.
While remaining fully hidden from prying eyes, I was back in the carriage with the princess that seemed to have become exhausted after moving around these past four hours.
"You took your time, Sir Osmont. Are you sure you're good to go to the next location right now?"
From what she told me earlier, the next location would be the Shadow Dukedom with an S rank dungeon nearby. It would take a few hours to get there, so I told her we were good to start the journey now.
It neared evening, and I was able to serenely relax in the comfortable carriage after spending the last few hours incessantly casting skills. As we left behind the Valen County, we were surrounded by a scene of white as snow fell down even harder along the unpaved road.
The white horses that were a tad bigger than ones I was normally used to did not seem bothered by the cold even one bit as they pulled the wagons and carriages forward. The Royal Gua
rds occasionally became statues of snow as they continued to surround our carriage, with a few more protecting the wagons in the back
We hadn't come across anything so far, but the Princess exercised great caution as usual. I was curious about her unique skill she mentioned before and asked her about it.
"The Unique Skill I hold is a special skill that can be passed down to those of your blood. My mother used the skill to become a powerful woman that commanded a great number of forces. Half the reason that my father was so successful as a king was due to her. She passed the unique skill down to me before she passed away years ago."
A semblance of sorrow could be felt from her voice when she mentioned this. It seemed the possibility of skills being passed down occured very rarely with strict conditions. She talked about the effects of the skill, and how she made many of her plans based on it. . I praised this girl's ability to get where she was at now depending on this one skill.
I also didn't want to overinflate my ego, but it also allowed her to find someone like me. If her skill is to continue to be trusted, it means I will be making big moves in the future. To protect her from someone that was meant to become the next ruler of the Frozen Kingdom as well as the calamity of demons she continues to mention.
If her skill gave her confidence in passing through these events by keeping me close, then...I smiled at the thought of the people I would be facing and the impact that would come from defeating them. I had to take things as they came though, and not play too much when I have yet to obtain an EPIC ranked skill. I found the pressure of the possibility of my death weighing heavily on my shoulders the moment I thought about its impacts.
This was why I had searched for and learned so many defensive skills, as keeping my life was the first and foremost important goal. The many rank A defensive skills were rising very well, and I would most likely be able to make them A+ in another few days.
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