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n“Did you bring any cakes?”

nI couldn’t help but smile as I took off the hood of my cloak and met eyes with the tortoise in front of me.

nHe hadn’t changed in the slightest while I looked like a completely different person… yet he recognized me immediately.

n“Of course, I brought some. I have a favor to ask,” I chuckled, and the tortoise did a low grumble as his head slumped across the small cavern, his large eyes slowly redirecting towards the enslaved man behind me.

n“What’s up with him?” He asked as I immediately brought out eight large chocolate cakes and fed them to the old man.

n“He’s somebody I picked up earlier. Just ignore him… or kill him if you want. I’ve already memorized the path. I thought it would be harder to get back without him, but from what I’ve seen, I shouldn’t have any trouble,” I muttered, and the man began to scream with fear, clawing at the stone walls, trying his hardest to escape.

n“He was just joking,” The tortoise grumbled.

n“H-He was? H-How do you know? This bastard is insane!” The man in the fur coat shouted, his voice bouncing off the enclosed cave.

nThis place was strange as it was completely sealed shut from the outside world but had a draft of wind bringing in tons of fresh air for us to breathe.

nNot only was the air filtered, but it was also abundant in mana, perfect for me as I was planning on training even harder here.

n“Sit,” The tortoise commanded, and suddenly the fur coat man was ripped down onto the ground and sat there like a little kid.

n“P-Please release me! My brothers are waiting for me to come back! Without me, they won’t be able to keep our little gang alive! We’re just barely hanging on!”

nThe man proceeded to spill and vent every single one of his worries that had been built up over this little trip and life in general.

nWhat are we? His therapists?

n“Alright, that’s cool now Shut the hell up,” The tortoise commanded again, and the man choked on his words as they proceeded to come out of his mouth.

nThe tortoise and I talked for at least a few hours about everything that had happened and especially what had happened with this dungeon.

nI thought nobody would be able to enter this place again, but I guess if you’re the government, you can essentially do everything you want with how much money and power they have.

n“They’re most likely looking for me. I have some assumptions about how they figured out I exist, but I try not to believe they’re true as I doubt my friends would trouble themselves with mortals like them,”

n“That’s a shame because they’ll never get to see you,” I chuckled, and the tortoise smirked before bringing up the big overall question.

n“So, what are you here for? I doubt you actually came here just to brag about your accomplishments,”

n“Kekekeke… I came here to acquire your tongue. Teach me how to use its power,” I smirked, and the old man’s expression slowly turned into a serious one.

n“*sigh*… I already told you your body would break under me teaching engraving the things necessary to… learn… it… well damn,” The tortoise muttered as he saw me remove my shirt and cloak, revealing my lean and tempered body.

n“That’s impressive, and yes, it will help support the runes, but other factors are involved. Your mental stability is off the charts, and your bone structure and density. I doubt your skeletal system would survive the pressure,”

n“Please, just do this. If I die, so be it. I’ll climb my way out of Tartarus myself,”

n“This could potentially erase your soul. Engraving runes into your body isn’t an easy matter, and honestly, if it wasn’t for the runes, learning the tongue would be impossible because the knowledge would make you brain dead,”

n“Please… Come on. I’ll give you more chocolate cakes,”

n“This is a serious matter, and no matter how many chocolate cakes you give me, I won’t be proceeding with this….”

n“Can you check my bone density? From the number of times I’ve broken my bones in the past few months, they should be denser than normal… just give it a chance,”

n“… Call me master then,”

n“Huh? Seriously? Just check my bone density and stop saying such humiliating **,”

n“No, I’m serious. Call me Master, and only then will I do it… I’ll be teaching you anyway, so it’ll have some effect. Plus, being my disciple could give you some influence in Tartarus if you do die,”

nI thought it over for a while as I thought of Simo as my teacher and master… and betraying that, even though we never really established our relationship like that… especially when he’s dead….

n“You can have multiple Masters. Also, I’m sure Simo would be happy if you were to learn such a valuable art,”

nReading my mind without any warning…

n“Tch… Fine. Alright, check my bone density, and then see if you can teach me. Only then will I call you Master,”

n“That’s a deal,” The old man smirked, but before I could even sit down to start the process, the tortoise glowed a dim golden light before shrinking and compressing itself into… a humanoid form.

nHis eyes were sharp, with the left pupil being a vibrant nature green and the right one being a mountainous and sturdy brown.

nHe had patches of nature-like scales crawling up his neck and cheeks before stopping, making sure his flawless white skin wouldn’t be covered any further.

nHis hair was long and brown, with patches of green and small vines intertwined with his hair follicles.

nHe was only a bit taller than me, but his commanding and almost divine presence made him seem like he was staring at me from the heavens, his revealing white toga only enhancing that image further.

nHis body was lean and muscular and somehow even rippling with more power than mine.

nAnd finally, the three black marks on his face with three large diagonal scars going across them only made me smile.

n“Now, let us proceed,”

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