Alice could finally return to her home early in the morning after the village business hour had ended. Despite staying up all night long if not days on end if she stumbled on something that caught her attention. It's mentally exhausting when having a physique of a Demoness with a human’s soul inside.

She still needed to adjust her mental strength and be more resilient since being a near-immortal Demoness is a tough job.

For the past three years, Alice had mastered many basic spells to enrich her magic knowledge and applied them to produce her modern-esque inventions. Unlike any children of her age, she would either be working on a project, or reading spellbooks in her study.

Nobody would expect that Alice would graduate from elementary magic education by the age of nine.

As the days went by, her urge to go on an adventure grew stronger. From the book that she read about the ancestors of the Demon Race, the legends said that the Demon Race was the direct descendants of the Primordials, a race of cosmic beings who have travelled from one star to another since the very dawn of the universe.

They built civilization upon civilization for eons, leaving behind knowledge, wisdom, and treasures. Many of their traces and heritage could be found in many places throughout the Azgaar Continent. And they were called Ancient Dungeons.

Approximately, the oldest known Ancient Dungeon was dated back around 100,000 years before the emergence of humanity. Situated at Whale’s Tail Island.

Many people of all races had challenged the Ancient Dungeons. But only a few individuals who had ever come back alive. It was a completely different world down there, lawless realm where only the strongest shall prevail.

Motivated by the promise of wealth and fame, Alice had set her goal to conquer at least one Ancient Dungeon in her lifetime. It's also a test for herself whether she was worthy to carry the name of Nightflame.

She had been preparing in secret for the past three years. However, after the sudden news that Andariel’s marriage was delayed for two years, all of her plans were flushed into the drain.

“I’m home…” Alice pushed the door lazily, she headed straight to the living room and flopped herself onto the sofa.

“Welcome back, Alice.” Momo appeared from her room, still wearing her night gown. She greeted back softly as to not wake Arya. “Why with the long face?”

Alice rested her back, sighed dejectedly as glancing at Momo. “Take a guess…”

Momo rolled her eyes upward, guessing. “Hmm, let's see… Chieftess Andariel and her fiance had returned from Arlenheim yesterday morning. And I saw them heading towards the Grand Plaza in the afternoon, in a hurry. Oh… I get it now, they must've asked you to be the princess of Arlenheim.”

“Close, but no cigar.” Alice rose from the sofa, heading toward the kitchen to grab some water. “Mother postponed her marriage. Henceforth, I couldn't leave the village unless they had officially become the new monarchs of Arlenheim Kingdom. I wouldn't miss my mother's marriage, right?”

Momo’s fox ears perked up, a subtle and cute gesture of her when concerned.

“Oh my… That's a disaster. The Portal Gate to the Chaos Labyrinth of Gaia Archipelago will be closed this spring and will only be opened again in the next five years.”

Alice smacked her lips after she finished drinking. “Not entirely, but yes… It's a disaster. It left me no choice but to find another dungeon that is still open to the public.”

Momo was pretty much an experienced adventurer herself since Great Jungle also had its own dungeon. The fabled Kingdom of Ruin. It’s dubbed as the biggest and an undisputed dungeon of all time. Nobody has ever completed that dungeon. Even the Beastkind never saw a glimpse of its Raid Boss.

It was also the reason why the Holy Church would invade and control the Great Jungle. Whoever controls the jungle, they would gain a tremendous amount of wealth from excavating the dungeon.

After a quick pondering, Momo opened her mouth. “There's another way to legally enter the dungeons without being harassed by other Adventurers afterwards.”

Alice was flabbergasted. “Eh? Really?! Why don't you tell me sooner!”

“Because you have been too focused on becoming an adventurer since the past years.”

“Alright, that's my bad. So, what is it?”

“You may enter an Unknown Dungeon as a Pioneer’s Disciple.”

“Pioneer’s Disciple?”

“Yes, there are hundreds if not thousands of Uncharted Dungeons with unknown danger levels throughout the Azgaar Continent. Therefore, high rank adventurers with Pioneer titles are hired to open a path for the other Adventurers. Henceforth, by becoming Pioneer’s Disciple, you may enter any Uncharted Dungeon as long as you were accompanied by the said Pioneer.”

Alice listened carefully, it's the first time she heard it. “Seems like these Pioneers are veterans in this field huh?”

“Indeedy, they are the strongest powerhouses for a kingdom. Even having a Pioneer is already a blessing from Gods. To get a Pioneer Title, it requires a Rank A Adventurer Card, at the very least. Apart from that, they must have survived at least ten dungeon raids in their lifetime from ten different dungeons simultaneously within one year apart from each previous raid.”

“Blimey!” Alice shook her head. “It would take me literally a decade to become a Pioneer!”

“Fufu, it all depends on one’s ability to complete the raid though.” Momo brushed Alice’s hair gently.

“Speaking of which… Are you acquainted with a Pioneer?”

“Yes… Beastkind has one Pioneer. And she’s in this village as we speak. Her name is Lady Hanako of the Fellini Clan.”

Alice ran to her room and slipped into a fresh and clean dress within a minute..

“Let's go meet her, now!”

Momo shook her head. “Nope. You must have some sleep first. It’s the sixth day you stayed up without sleep, not even a blink.”

“Meh! To hell with sleep! I can do it later. I’ll go by myself then.”

“Are you sure about that? You may sleep on my tail this time, fufufu.”

Alice halted abruptly before she could reach the door. She obviously couldn't resist the heavenly, fluffy goodness. Moreover, Momo’s tail had a sweet, bark-like scent whenever she run her fingers through the smooth fur.

"Fine... I'll sleep like a baby just for today. But promise me that we'll meet Lady Hanako later."

"Mm! I promise!"