After two and a half-day of traveling, Cisse and Arthur finally arrived at a broad valley at the base of a snow-capped mountain.

Gazing down, Arthur couldn't help but feel shocked by the sheer number of people within the valley. But upon remembering that the dungeon was a reoccurring one, it made sense.

After circling over the valley for a bit Rapix, Cisse's mount, began his descent. With a strong flab of his four wings, he finally landed in an empty area on the side of the valley.

As both Arthur and Cisse hopped off Rapix, Cisse lightly waved his right hand and recalled him back into his familiar crest. Seeing this sight, many of the surrounding people's eyes flashed in envy. And who could blame them? Familiars are incredibly difficult to attain. For one, a person must have an incredibly strong soul to even be able to bond with a creature. And if that wasn't enough, said person must also gain the respect of said creature – which is significantly harder to achieve than having a powerful soul. Because honestly, the task is the same as expecting a lion to lower its head before a lamb. Nonetheless, due to the difficulty of attainment, those with familiars are typically individuals of exceptional strength and will, and definitely, people not to be trifled with.

While Arthur and Cisse stretched the sore bodies, a charismatic man made his to them with a smile on his face. Noticing the oncoming individual, both Arthur and Cisse stopped their stretching and watched him as he approached.

From the feeling he gave off, Arthur could tell that the man was quite strong, and was most definitely not weaker than Cisse. He also noticed that the man seemed to give off this feeling of respect and awe, which seemed to complement his white robe and sleek black hair. While Arthur inspected the man, the man in question finally got within earshot –

"Cisse, darling, baby, I missed you so much. I thought I would die from the heartache."

As the man's words reached Arthur's ears, a strange look appeared on his face as he turned to Cisse.

Cisse, sensing Arthur's gaze, embarrassingly avoided it while his blue eyes glared at the oncoming man.

"Damn you, Henry, stop spouting bullshit before I rip out your tongue."

"Ooo, how aggressive. Promise?

"YOU-!" Exasperated Cisse simply remained silent before any more of his words were used to return fire.

Henry, in turn, smiled playfully as he watched Cisse fall into exasperation.

Standing on the side, Arthur smiled, it would seem that these two knew each other quite well.

Finally noticing Arthur, Henry turns towards him, "and who might you pretty boy?"

With a smile, Arthur stretched out his hand, "I am Arthur."

Grabbing Arthur's hand in a firm handshake, Henry returned his smile," pleasure to meet you, Arthur. I am Henry the Navigator. And as you can see, this beloved by your side and I go way back."

Hearing the word 'beloved,' a slight shiver ran up Cisse's back. Which instinctively made him retort, "stop playing around Henry, I am a married man."

"Oh, so what you are saying is that if you weren't married, I would have a chance?"

Immediately Cisse's face fell as he realized who he was speaking with.

With a laugh, Henry pulled out a hand fan and hid his smile behind it. "That can be arranged."

However, as Cisse was about to retort again, a deep rumble of thunder erupted from the sky as lighting bathed in the entire valley in light.

As the light receded, two figures appeared at the center of the valley, with everyone within that area sent sprawling from the area and into each other.

Upon seeing the duo that had arrived, Henry's eyes narrowed into slits.

"Figures, that those two would be here."

Hearing his words, Arthur turned to him. "Who are they?"

"Lancelot and Gawain. Two overly rambunctious teenagers with talent with a penchant for raining havoc wherever they go."

Focusing his eyes, Arthur made out the appearance of the duo. One of them was a blonde youth in silvery armor with gold accents. And strapped to his back was a long golden spear. The other one was a black-haired youth in a dark armor with blue accents. And unlike his partner, he seemed to be unarmed.

Making them out, Arthur asked."Which one is which?"

To which Henry responded, "the blonde is Lancelot, and the black-haired is Gawain. Ugh, just because they have both generated a ring at the mere age of sixteen, they think they are all that."

It should be noted that in the Celestial Path, the proper method of advancement is for one to fully fill their Celestial Object to peak Crust stage before their rings can formally begin to generate. In a way, Celestial Objects are a power source. The more energy it has, the easier it is to create a ring, hence peak Crust stage. Though peak Lunar Crust is equivalent to a Tier 3 Terrest, that only applies to both party's energy amount. Other than that, things become very subjective. However, it should also be noted that it isn't exactly impossible to generate a ring before reaching the peak of a Celestial Object's crust. But of course, the more energy you have, the stronger and faster you attack, thus why each individual stage is still relevant. As for Celestial rings, they typically represent the evolution and strengthening of abilities, thus allowing one to be more versatile with them. But in reality, ring generation is a pain, hence why some oldies are stuck at peak Lunar Crust without a single ring under their belt.

Nonetheless, after landing, the duo cast a glance over the valley surveying everyone and everything. However, upon noticing something, Lancelot's eyes narrowed, and a frown appeared on his rather handsome face. With the slight fluctuation of his emotions, small arcs of lightning crackled over his skin.

"How audacious. With a foot in the grave, you still dare to attempt plucking a blooming flower. Even if you are the most shameless person in the realm, you must at least feel some embarrassment from your current actions."

Tracking Lancelot's line of sight, Arthur noticed an elderly man in the middle of a one-sided conversation with a beautiful black-haired young girl. However, by the look of discomfort on the girl's face, it was clear that the old man's attention was unwanted.

Seemingly engrossed in his one-sided conversation, the elderly man probably hadn't even noticed the duo's arrival. For this reason, Lancelot's words didn't register until he suddenly felt a buzz of energy around him.

Finally, looking up, he felt the look of contempt and disgust in Lancelot's gaze and couldn't help but cease his chat.

"Boy! Just because you have a little strength doesn't mean you just mouth off whenever you want."

"Oh, really? The way I see it. I am standing up to a disgusting pervert who degrades the sanctity of all men."

"You!"

"Me what? Is trash like you really going to defend their worth? Don't make laugh. Now be a good senile old man and go fish by a lake or something." Retorted Lancelot with a smirk.

Judging by the veins popping over the elderly man's face, he was clearly incensed. Thus, to scrabble for his last dregs of dignity, he released a baleful aura peaking at the Lunar Crust stage. To which Lancelot responded with a cold smile and burst forth with his own aura.

A bronze circle with gray hues appeared underneath his feet, followed by a similarily colored ring. But to the shock of many, a second ring appeared after the first – Peak Lunar Crust, Duo Ring.

Upon seeing this, the elderly man's face paled. Since he was at the peak of Lunar Crust Stage, he could bet that with his combat experience, he would be able to teach Lancelot a lesson even if the latter had a ring, but now everything changed. With the display of two rings, it was clear that Lancelot's ability had evolved/changed twice, and in turn, Lancelot's combat power was about double of his own.

Noting this, the elderly man powered down in submission. However, a young man by his side was infuriated by this sight. Looking closely, one could see the similarities between their appearances. As for why he was furious by the turn of events? Other than a semblance o filial piety, this father and son duo, had the sick habit of sharing women, and this young girl was the perfect prey. So it was safe to say that he was pretty peeved to have their hunt interrupted. Though he knew he was no match for Lancelot, he also knew that a terrible habit of Lancelot was that he would never be the first to initiate an attack regardless of how much he was provoked – the same with Gawain. Hence, he felt confident to at least save some face with words.

"Boy, why must you butt your nose where it doesn't belong. Stop wasting other's time, and go sit somewhere quietly and drink some of your mother's milk." The young man roared as pride flashed in his eyes.

But to his disappointment, Lancelot only cast a cursory glance in his direction while a cold smirk appeared on his face.

"Waste of time? Dandy, the only waste of time here were the thirty-seconds your father spent making you."

"…"

Wince!

The atmosphere within the valley froze as everyone involuntarily took a sharp breath. Double kill!

Immediately the young man's face contorted into anger and defeat. Though he wanted to rush at Lancelot, he knew he was powerless against the latter. It also finally struck him why Lancelot never attacked first. More than likely, his opponents had tried to fight him with words only to be left soundly defeated. And with no other way to counter, they typically lunged at him with weapons out only to then receive a physical beating. Why through the first punch when your opponent is nothing but a fly to be swatted at any time?

Nonetheless, while the dandy contemplated this, Lancelot had made his way to group, and with a slight tremble from his body, the father and son duo immediately left for another area with their heads low in embarrassment.

Turning to the beautiful girl by his side, Lancelot flashed a charismatic smile. "My apologies, m' lady; such a situation shouldn't have befallen you. It pains me that I hadn't arrived earlier."

Caught off guard by Lancelot's chivalrous attitude, the girl floundered for a bit."No, no, it was my fault for not being firm enough with my rejection. Thank you for your help."

"I disagree. All men should know when to advance and when to retreat, which means they must be able to pick up the slightest hints on which should be chosen."

"Oh?"

"Yes," responded Lancelot. And with a look of as though suddenly remembering something, he flashed a charming smile. "Forgive me, my beautiful lady, but what might your name be?"

Charmed by Lancelot chivalry, the girl blushed. And seeing this, Gawain, who was still at their original arrival site, couldn't help but think. Hook, line, sinker.

"It's Guinevere."

[Tidbit 1: In the original story of King Arthur, Lancelot betrayed Arthur by engaging in an adulterous

relationship with his wife, Guinevere.]

[History Tidbit 1: Dinga Cisse was the first king of Ghana during the period of the three empires in West Africa. The Three empires were Mali, Ghana, and Songhai.]

[History Tidbit 2: Prince Henry of Spain was the first European to explore Africa.]