After stepping out of the house, Leon turned toward the front gate—just in time to see Emilia exiting through it.
“Don’t you dare show your filthy face near this house or anywhere in this district again, you bitch!” Jamie’s voice thundered as he slammed the gate shut behind her.
“Madam Emilia.” Romas quickly bowed with respect.
“You don’t have to do that anymore, Romas,” Emilia replied with a soft smile. “I’m no longer a noble woman.”
With quiet grace, she stepped away from the mansion’s gates and spotted Leon waiting nearby, a calm smile playing on his lips.
“Emilia no-longer a weaver I guess.” Leon spoke with a smirk.
“Hello, Mr. Leon,” she greeted, matching his expression.
Leon’s eyes flicked across her face. “No bruises. So I’m guessing your husband didn’t try to force you into anything huh ?”
Emilia chuckled. “Oh no, quite the opposite. The moment I told him I’d expose his little affair on the border—with that Elf bitch—he started begging. Said he’d do anything to keep my mouth shut.”
Leon raised an eyebrow. “Elf bitch?”
She waved it off casually. “It’s a long story, will tell you later. And it’s getting really cold out here. Where’s that place you were talking about ?”
“Come on,” Leon said simply, turning as the two of them began walking toward the wagon station.
Unseen, Fruela followed them from a distance, completely concealed in the falling snow.
“Don’t you feel cold ? You are wearing such thin clothes.” Emilia asked with a confused expression as she looked at Leon.
“A little bit.” Leon replied with a smile.
…
After walking for about ten minutes, three of them finally reached the wagon station.
Despite the heavy snowfall, a few wagons were still making their rounds through the rough weather. Leon and Emilia climbed into one, while Fruela silently perched atop the wagon roof.
“Vernon Village,” Leon told the driver.
“Two coppers each, it’s bad weather man. So the rates are double.” the man said, glancing over his shoulder.
Leon nodded with a neutral expression . “Okay, I will pay it, since you have already bargained so much from both the sides by yourself.”
“Very well. Let’s go.”
The driver cracked the reins, and the horses slowly began trudging through the snow-covered path.
“You live in Vernon Village? Isn’t that—” Before Emilia could finish, Leon pulled a handkerchief from his coat and held it out to her.
“Cover your eyes, Darling.” Leon spoke with a smile.
Emilia blinked. “Why ?”
“I have trust issues.” Leon replied immediately.
“…Okay.” Though puzzled, she didn’t argue. She took the handkerchief and tied it around her eyes.
Thirty minutes later, the wagon pulled up to the north edge of Vinceral Forest.
“We’ll get off here,” Leon said as he looked at the wagon driver.
The driver stared at him, baffled. “Here ? In the middle of nowhere ?”
“You ask too many questions. Here is your money.” Leon dropped six copper coins into the man’s hand and hopped off the wagon.
The driver stared at the coins. “Wait, aren’t they only two people? Why six coppers…? Maybe he saw how hard I was working, What a generous guy,” he muttered as he turned the wagon around.
Fruela silently leapt down from the wagon’s top and rejoined them without a sound.
…
“Are we… inside Vinceral Forest?” Emilia asked softly, still blindfolded. “I can smell some familiar herbs.”
“Yes,” Leon replied calmly as the trio continued through the snow-covered woods.
After a few minutes, they arrived at the base of a massive oak tree.
Leon walked up to where the dungeon gate was hidden beneath the snow. He lifted his leg and drove his foot downward with full force, expecting to hit the familiar stone staircase. But what he struck wasn’t stone—it was metal.
*Thud!*
“FUCK! my leg. What the hell ?” Leon muttered, quickly pulling his foot back. A metallic clink echoed from beneath the snow.
“Is everything alright?” Emilia asked, her voice laced with concern.
“Yeah… everything’s fine.” Leon crouched and brushed aside the snow. His eyes narrowed at what he saw—metal. Two reinforced gates now covered the dungeon’s entrance.
*Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…*
Suddenly, the metallic gates groaned and began to open on their own, pushing the snow aside with mechanical ease.
Leon stared in stunned silence as the entrance widened before him.
“What in the actual hell…?” he whispered, eyes locked on the now-transformed dungeon entrance. It was no longer the same passage he had left just hours ago—it had doubled in size and was fortified like never before.
“Come on.” Leon spoke as he looked at them.
Fruela guided Emilia to the dungeon’s entrance and all three of them entered inside the dungeon.
*GRRRRRRRRRR*
As soon as they were inside, The gates got closed on their own.
*Boop-Boop-Boop-Boop*
Torches mounted on the walls lit up on their own.
“Can I take off my blindfold now ? It feels so warm. We are there right ?” Emilia asked with a smile.
“Yeah… Sure.” Leon replied as he continued to observe the dungeon with a surprised expression.
*Blink-Blink*
“Wow… What is this place ?” Emilia asked with a surprised expression as she looked back and noticed the metallic gates.
“That’s what I am wondering.” Leon spoke in a low voice.
*Swish*
“I greet my master.” Suddenly, A figure made out of blue Aura appeared in front of Leon.
She was none other than Elis herself but her body looked really different. She now looked very similar to an 18 year old girl.
Without wasting another second, Leon used his skill on her.
<Inspect>
[Name: Elis]
[Race: Unknown]
[Class: Dungeon Core]
[Rank: D]
[Master: Leon Luster]
[HP: 18000/18000]
[MP: 8900799/9000000000]
[Description: Elis is a Dungeon Core, binded to Leon Luster. She can store an enormous amount of mana inside her body and change the nature of dungeon accordingly with it.
She can control, All four elements(Fire, water, air, earth) inside the dungeon. Elis can also extract elements like iron and copper from ground to use them in dungeon reinforcement.
Power of the title {Dungeon Master} has been increased significantly and Elis’s intelligence as well.]
“Elis… You Evolved ?”