SOE 0019: What to Expect…

'Fuck, I overexerted myself…' Leo thought to himself as he slowly walked back to his inn with Ingrid walking behind him. She was in a bit of a daze from the experience that she'd gone through and was running on autopilot as Leo led her by her leash.

Leo had needed to use his Lust Magic to make Ingrid feel pleasure from the pain of getting pierced, but the action had drained his stamina completely, making him feel extremely sluggish. Right now, he just wanted to get back to the inn and quickly get something to eat before going to sleep. He needed to get a good night's sleep in order to be at his peak condition since he and Ingrid would be delving into the dungeon tomorrow.

This was the main reason that he skipped out on giving her the naval piercing. Not only did he have better tools for it at home, but his stamina was exhausted by the time he finished with her nipples.

Returning to the inn, he quickly got something to eat before handing his leftovers to Ingrid and allowing her to have her fill. It was then that he was able to peacefully go to sleep while using Ingrid as his body pillow.

He'd had her undress for him and freely teased her newly pierced nipples to bring himself to sleep. Since she hadn't healed from the wound just yet, the pain was very fresh in her mind, the same as the pleasure that came with that pain. She was feeling that same, familiar pleasure from the pain and was squirming as Leo kept teasing her and exhausted himself to sleep.

When she felt his teasing grow faint, her squirms also got weaker and she sighed in relief, realizing that Leo wasn't going to put her through another 'training session' for the night.

She was also aware that they had a lot to do over the next day, so she also closed her eyes and enjoyed the comfortable feeling of being in Leo's embrace as her consciousness drifted into sleep.

…

By the time morning arrived Leo finally gave Ingrid some clothes that she was actually comfortable with. A pair of loose leather pants along with a tunic and an armor vest. It was, to some extent, close to what she usually wore. Despite the outfit's low defensive value, it gave her enough mobility to move around while firing her arrows.

She was so happy after getting some actual clothes that she was comfortable with that she profusely thanked him for a few minutes while looking at the clothes. She was especially happy that there wouldn't be any leash that made her feel like some sort of pet. However, she still had to wear the collar since Leo was into that aesthetic, the only reason he let go of the leash was that it would be a hindrance in combat. As she continued thanking him, Leo had to order her to get ready since they would be late otherwise.

He quickly got ready and as the knock sounded on his door, he opened it, "Are you ready, Young Master?" Richard asked.

"Yep." Leo nodded as he glanced at Ingrid. Seeing that she was also ready, he asked Richard, "Are we leaving now?"

"Yes." He nodded, "Please follow me."

With Richard working efficiently and getting the horses out of the stable, the three of them were quickly on their way, "Did you find any clues about that Lady Demeter, Richard?" Leo asked as they rode their horses through the streets of Vineta.

"I have found some information, but nothing concrete just yet." He told Leo, "I have to verify some of the things that I've found out about. When you return from the dungeon, I'll take you to meet her." He said.

"Make that tonight." Leo said, "I have something to do after getting out of there. You can set up the meeting after sunset."

"As you wish." Richard nodded, "Shall we pick up the pace?" He asked rhetorically before increasing his horse's pace. The streets were virtually barren since the sun hadn't even risen yet. So, they could move quickly.

Leo matched Richard's pace and moved his horse faster. Ingrid, who was sitting behind him, had to hold him tighter. The action made her breasts press on his back and caused her to squirm every once in a while. The piercings still hadn't healed and were causing her a jolt of pain whenever they rubbed against his back. The presence of her leather armor and tunic was helping dull the friction, but it was still significant and caused her to feel weird sensations.

Leo could gauge her state from her actions and was tempted to tease her and use some Lust Magic to make it a pleasurable experience for her, but he held back. He didn't know what would be waiting for him in the dungeon and wanted to be prepared and be at his peak state.

"Hey, Richard!" Leo had to speak loudly to get his voice over to Richard, "Any ideas what I might have waiting for me in the dungeon?" Leo asked him.

"Oh, my apologies, Young Master," Richard slowed down his horse a little and Leo followed. This allowed them to talk while riding, "I should've briefed you beforehand," Richard said.

"It's fine. Just tell me now," Leo didn't mind. Considering that he wasn't going to be fighting in the first place. The only fight that he would have was going to be a randomized encounter as far as he knew.

"Vineta is one of the most popular dungeons in the empire and has twenty different levels or floors as you might call it." He said, "I haven't personally delved into this dungeon, so I can't tell you about its intricacies. But I know that the item you need will be found on the eleventh floor. As for the meaning of the distinctions of the floors, the first five floors are for Journeymen, the next five for Adepts, and the next ten for Experts, that is knights. The strongest enemies on the twentieth floor can barely give a good fight to a peak knight."

"So, the enemies are essentially completely out of my league?" Leo asked.

"Yes." Richard nodded bluntly, "Maybe you can fight a couple of the weaker imps or rats on the first floor, but that's all. Anything stronger and their sheer physical stats will overpower you and make it impossible for you to react to them. Of course, this is because those enemies would be equivalent to Journeymen aura wielders, two major grades above you." He said.

"Yeah, don't induce any confidence in me…" Leo coughed with an annoyed expression, "Put me down further why don't you?" He mumbled sarcastically.

"It's all fine, Young Master." Richard comforted him, "You've just recently turned twenty, having become a peak Novice in merely two years after awakening your aura. Many people need far longer. And in case you get the item, well…" Richard trailed off. He didn't need to explain to Leo what that entailed.

"I guess…" Leo shrugged, feeling better. Ingrid was currently around twenty- six or twenty-seven and was already an Adept. She was the abnormally talented one. Under normal circumstances, considering that each subsequent stage takes longer than the previous, Leo would've needed more than a decade at the very least to reach her level.

That is, considering normal circumstances. Unlike Ingrid, who could only rely on handouts to train — Not having any solid backing for herself — Leo had the might of a duchy behind him. Despite the Solomon Duchy having grown far weaker than its prime due to many factors, both internal and external, its foundations were still intact. Leo could get access to resources that would propel him far above Ingrid in terms of both talent and personal strength. The current situation was the biggest proof of this. As long as the item Leo was about to get was even half decent, he would probably become a Journeyman within a couple of months, at which point, whatever his father had planned would come to fruition.

"Any idea what kind of enemies I'm gonna see?" Leo asked after pulling himself together.

"The earlier floors usually have the weaker variations such as imps, goblins, mutated rats, and more that are equivalent to Novices or Apprentices. As you get lower, the enemies get more difficult to deal with. On the lower floors, it's common to find packs of hundreds of such monsters being led by a leader class of the same species. Like a goblin horde being led by a goblin lord and more." He said.

"You said that the item is on the eleventh floor," Leo said, "Since you're not coming, will another knight be accompanying us?" He asked.

"There's no need for that," Richard said, "The floors are completely isolated and are made such that a peak Adept can clear the tenth floor by themselves. As long as a sufficiently prepared party of Adepts goes, they can delve as low as the thirteenth floor before their firepower gets too low to deal with the monsters." He explained before adding, "But there is the off chance that a knight might be accompanying you."

Leo didn't ask anything further and both he and Richard picked up speed once again, quickly approaching the large construct in the distance that Leo could see getting clearer and larger as they got closer to it.