Dungeon of Niflheim

With the mood lightened, Frost, Maya, Terrance and Ladius took their seats while the rest remained standing. The official meeting between Frost; the lord of the camp they were in as well as the one with the greatest knowledge in regards to the dungeon and the federation of knowledge's investigation team was thus underway.

"Well to get started let me say that I'm aware of your identity to some extent Lord Frost." Miss Palmer started out swinging.

"Urgh….would you mind elaborating Miss Palmer." Frost was caught  by surprise, not expecting the lead investigator to open with something so provocative.

"Hehehehe please call me Ladius Lord Frost, to have someone like yourself greet me with such respect would be rather unbecoming of my station no?" Ladius smiled mischievously making Frost's lips twitch.

"Please don't tease me Ladius I get enough of that from her." He gestured towards Maya who arched her chest out with pride.

"Hehehehe alright I'll be straight with you lord Frost. His eminence the Dark God has already informed the federation of knowledge about the truth surrounding the dungeons in other words YOU."

"..." Frost chose to remain silent, prompting Ladius to continue.

"He informed us that each of the dungeons would have a physical personification that could act independently from the dungeon itself.

Taking the form of an intelligent monster or sapient they could travel the world and interact with the rest of Nova just like any other inhabitant while at the same being in full control of an advanced monster lair and all the benefits that entails." Frost kept a calm expression but internally he was screaming at his father, cursing his loose gums.

"From my personal investigation I have learned that you came into existence shortly after the dungeon was discovered, before that there wasn't even a single trace of you. A man whose appearance is certainly unforgettable and talent that would put even the most gifted people to shame couldn't have possibly remained unknown this entire time.

Add on the fact you have a powerful S-rank fenrir by your side as well as your intimate…ow….connection to the dungeon its clear that you are this physical manifestation. The embodiment of the dungeon and a child of his eminence." Ladius laid bare her theory with a confident expression. Dark only told them snippets of the truth, it was her that linked them together to identify Frost.

To be sure however she peered into his body with her [Analyse] skill causing a painful backlash, tears of blood dripped down her cheeks but now she was absolutely certain. The veil held similarities to the Dark God, their eminence.

"…..Haaaaaaa here drink this." Frost eventually let out a deep sigh before handing over a mid-level health potion to the bleeding Ladius.

"Thank you Lord Frost."

"Don't mention it. Guess the cat's really is out of the bag."

"So you're admitting it."

"It'd be pointless to lie after you deduced so much. Yes you are correct Ladius I am the personification of the dungeon and Maya here is my guardian assigned to me by my father the Dark God." Frost openly revealed his true identity resulting in a fervour among the investigators and even bodyguards.

"A true child of his eminence." Ladius and the other investigators all bowed their heads in reverence as they prayed to Dark, thanking him for his grace.

Meanwhile Frost started getting chills, Ladius and the others were starting to devolve into religious fanatics.

Eventually they managed to calm themselves and return to a somewhat normal state though their voices were forever tinted with heartfelt piety.

"So apart from identifying myself what else is on the agenda for the federation of knowledge?" Surely they didn't come all this way just to confirm his identity.

"Ahh yes our true mission is quite standard, research and investigate the dungeon in its entirety. Examine its depths, future potential, monster allocation, layout as well as all the differences from a regular monster lair stuff that would help us understand the true nature of the dungeon and aid those delving into its depths." Ladius explained with dramatic hand gestures.

"So pretty much how you'd investigate a new monster lair or special dimension?"

"Yes, nothing too fancy if we exclude yourself."

"And what about myself, do you intend to study me in depth?"

"If you're willing then absolutely and I promise any findings pertaining to you as an individual and your link to the dungeon will remain a secret to the public. His eminence was quite adamant about that."

'Seems he's good for something at least.'

"Alright permission granted but you'll be treated the same way as regular delvers." He wasn't going to make it too easy for the group to sniff out his deepest secrets.

"Of course, we don't expect any special treatment in that regard that's why Terrance and the others are with us." Ladius gestured towards the strong looking protection team who could individually crush Frost and his strongest monster Findlay without much effort.

Frost was happy to let the group investigate the dungeon in detail after chatting with them. Since Ladius already made the link between the dungeon and himself he wasn't too bothered about them finding out some more.

The group were rather pious towards Dark and seemed trustworthy plus given how methodical they were they'd likely be staying here for quite some time which was glorious news for his DP income. Four B-rank bodyguards with one nearly reaching A-rank was already north of 1000DP a day. Oh the development possibilities.

"Please tell me if there's anything else I can do to make your time here more pleasant. I've already arranged for rooms in the Sleeping Fenrir to be made available to you while you're staying with us, free of charge of course." Resting in the Sleeping Fenrir would see their DP values triple whenever they used them, over 3000DP from a paltry four people muhahuahahuha.

Frost had to restrain himself from laughing.

"You've been most helpful already Lord Frost, don't worry we won't impose on your daily life too much while we're here but if you don't mind would you be open for the occasional chat, I'd love to hear more about you as a person." Ladius placed her soft hands on top of Frost's as she smiled in a flirtatious manner.

Her actions of course caused a reaction in Maya, her tail puffed up and she started staring daggers at the elven woman who suddenly appeared threatening.

"Hahahaha I'm sure we can arrange that Ladius. I'd love to hear more about the federation in exchange as well as the kind of work you do for them." Frost played along with the exchange, smiling softly.

"It's a date then, I'll see you tomorrow at noon for lunch."

"I look forward to it." For a finale Frost lightly kissed the back of Ladius' hand before escorting the group out of his office, feeling far chipper than when they started. Maya however was glaring at her boyfriend as though she wished to tear him a new one.

"Do you have something to say?"

"Hmph." She loudly hmphed and pouted making Frost laugh, she was absolutely adorable when she was jealous, part of the reason he engaged in flirting with Ladius. Of course the flirting was just playing he had absolutely no interest in Ladius, nor did she have any in him at least not as a man more as a mystery that she wanted to unearth.

Using feminine wiles was a proven way to extract more information from a male target after all.

Maya probably knew that as well, but it still irked her plus she liked pouting every so often as it led to Frost soothing her in a gentle manner.

The federation's investigative team quickly made themselves at home here in the camp. Word of their presence soon spread causing a hubbub of excitement in the residents. The federation of knowledge was a massive organisation that covered the entire planet, many were curious about them, some of which even wished to aid them and or join their group.

Ladius and her team thus had to work alongside the pseudo adventurers guild set up within the Niflheim camp to organise these curious individuals so their work wouldn't be impeded. Information about the federation was thus available at the guild as were quests to help Ladius' investigation i.e. mapping, retrieving certain materials, monster hunting as well as giving interviews.

Since the team wanted to be as thorough as possible they assigned minor work to these enthusiastic volunteers while they themselves did the more important tasks.

For the first week, the group thoroughly scanned the upper 3 floors, taking many environmental samples, copious notes and testing of the monsters present on each floor. Each time the group left the dungeon and returned to their rooms in the Sleeping fenrir bright smiles could be seen on their faces and unrestrained passion in their eyes despite their haggard and dirt covered bodies.

Everything about the dungeon was similar to a monster lair in a way but also new and so much more diverse and intricate. Rules that were established for monster lairs didn't necessarily equate to dungeons.

Ladius and her team for example timed how long certain plants took to respawn or how fast the environment would take to heal itself after being damaged and compared it to a monster lair of a similar size. To their amazement the dungeon despite only having 12 floors was comparable to a monster lair roughly five times the size.

And this was just one of the many discoveries they made as they explored the dungeon's possibilities.

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