027: The Little Succubus

It had been a while since the three delved deeper into the dungeon and they have covered quite the distance.

"Unmistakably, this is the second floor. I can feel the Ancient Mana is way denser than the previous area." Darius remarked.

"I can smell the gold, ancient scrolls, magic tools and many more on the premises!" Mathilda exclaimed. "Darius, let's go explore a bit. It'll be worth it, I promise!"

"Alright. I am not in a hurry either. I'll leave it to you then."

As he granted the permission, Mathilda summoned the stone golems and began to inspect every nook and cranny of the floor.

On the other hand, Darius sat in the corner in a mediation position. By circulating the Ancient Mana into his brain, Darius forged the Arcane Cells.

Before long, while keeping an eye on the little demoness, Mathilda unearths hidden treasures by deploying her little golems that she made from earth.

The hundreds of little golems left no stone unturned, even the smallest trinkets that they could find from the ages-old sarcophagus were licked clean. Leaving no leftovers. After which, the items were stored inside Mathilda's Magic Pouch. The pouch itself has Spatial Magic inside so Mathilda could store tons of items without worry of running out of space.

"Darius! Come here, you must see this!"

Darius awakened from his meditation and approached her albeit reluctantly. He felt a little bit awkward upon seeing Mathilda's gleeful face as she robbed those sarcophagi one after another.

"Is it alright to rob their belongings? Honestly, it doesn't feel right to me."

"Oh come on, they're already dead. These Magic Tools serve no use for them anyway and no one would complain either way."

Darius shrugged, Mathilda has the point and it's not his place to correct her morality. Besides, the village was in dire need of magic tools as they spoke for the upcoming battle. If he could procure magic tools for free from one sarcophagus, why not take them all instead?

"Hey, Look! This ring has been augmented with advanced Fire Elemental magic. Maria must be delighted to have this!"

Darius' eyes sparkled. "Are you sure? It would fetch you hundreds of Gold Coins if not Hundreds of Arcane Stones if you sell it in the auction right?"

"Fufu, it seems like you still remember my teachings. It's fine, consider it as my gift for your happy marriage."

Darius grumbled, hiding his flushed face by walking up ahead.

"Hey wait! Help me with this one coffin, would you?"

"No can do."

Thus, he keenly observes the ring that she gave to him. Although the design was very simple, the amber-color gem indeed had a magic spell inside.

After a quick inspection, Alexa chimed inside his head.

[This Ring has Advanced Spell inside, Master. It's called Volsom Brann. It's quite an ancient spell, the Library of Alexandria has the grimoire if you wish to learn by yourself.]

[You can also obtain the profound knowledge from those corpses by taking sample of their DNA.]

'D- What?' Darius muttered inwardly, confused.

[Nevermind. Just take a bit of the skins, hair or whatever. I'll do the analysis.]

Darius proceeded to take some samples from those mummified corpse. Maria was bemused, trying to figure out what Darius was doing. However, she decided to ask him later once they have explored the dungeon wholly.

"Let's go. We have wasted so much time here. I believe the dawn is about to rise on the surface." Darius chimed.

"Right. Hurry up, little one. Lead the way."

"Yes." Replied the little demoness, curtly

Darius couldn't help but to notice the little succubus' gaze. It seems distant and lifeless as if being devoid of any ambition and will to live. However, he remained vigilant and abided by Mathilda's warning.

'She must have gone through hell yet she looks fine as an outcast. Is she hiding her true form right now?'

Virtually, all the powerful monsters lurk on the deeper floor. The first floor had already been cleared so the second floor's monsters must have been alerted by the commotion.

However, their journey into the depths was rather smooth sailing, the eerie silence welcomed them as they reached a ginormous hall and there were not as many monsters as they thought.

Mathilda sensed something awry must have happened recently. If the monster's population had not yet been respawned by the dungeon, someone or something must have cleared the second floor a moment prior.

Darius glanced at the little demoness who still had the chains attached on her wrists and ankles, producing audibly clanking sounds that echoed through the hallway as she walked in front of him.

'If her colony is situated on the lower floor, how did she end up on the first floor in the first place? Did somebody in her colony bring her this far and leave her alone?' Darius thought.

"Speaking of which, would it be wiser if we set those chains free? She would attract the monsters at this rate by these dangling chains."

"That's the idea." Mathilda said. "She would be a perfect bait for those monsters. Also, don't let her cute appearance deceive your judgment. She might look harmless, but she's still a succubus. The most despicable demon species in the demon's world!"

Darius went silent upon hearing the little girl's species. He had learned in the Library of Alexandria that Demon's society was similar to that of humans. They had their own strict hierarchy and social standings as per their bloodline and hereditary.

In human's terminology, Demons could be classified into five main classes according to their innate power level, regardless of their species and social rank.

Namely; Lesser Class, Common Class, Greater Class, Grand Class, Royal Class.

Succubus, on the other hand, was a whole different breed since they were born with a Stigma.

Aside from those five classes who strived to be the strongest through means of training and fighting in the battle, Succubus sustained themselves by feeding on both demon and human male's seeds. The more they eat, the stronger they become.

Worse, despite their bottomless appetite to copulate with a man, Succubus was unable to conceive an offspring even if a male demon was sucked dry. Their existence was nothing but pest for both demon's society and human's.

Hence, Mathilda lifted the little succubus and showed him the partially completed Stigma on her lower belly.

"Do you understand? Don't get too close with her lest you want to be devoured by her."

Darius gulped his dry saliva. "I understand."

"Good. Let's hasten our pace. I can feel a strong malicious presence up ahead."