Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster’s Power

I float over to the High Orc Tower and open up the ceiling unannounced.

The only head in the room that turns my way while I'm editing the ether commands to make an opening in the tower is Ember, but as I float down on the opposite side of the long dark room and close the ceiling, everyone else in the room turns to notice me as well.

Ava is the next to make eye contact with me, as her instincts pull her gaze my way, along with a much deeper link between us—she is my general, after all.

My eyes focus on her as well, quickly analyzing the new Avatar she's wearing.

It certainly accentuates her mature Goblin Queen physique with much greater clarity.

There isn't a hint of artificial suppression left, and I can see the perfect tethering of her ether pools lining her eyes as well as the countless green divine threads flowing from the True Core in her chest.

It's like the basic-grade avatar she had on before only showed a pixelated and limited view of her true potential and soul. Now, it's as though I'm viewing a high-definition model that moves with far more fluidity and purpose.

The small cracks that showed while she was training her ether sense, and most recently when I saw it during her rank-up from a hobgoblin, are a drop in the bucket compared to the potency of clear power and potential.

My gaze sweeps across the room to see Asic and Torvak, as their avatars are upgraded significantly as well. They have the same unsuppressed divine thread count and free-flowing ether about them. However, when my eyes fall back on Ava, she has a strange glow about her that I can't exactly put my finger on.

It feels like my third seal, which is holding back the more advanced parts of my ether senses, is limiting my ability to see what this is.

She speaks up as I touch down on the floor.

"Jay... you're back... and in your normal form..."

Asic blinks a few times, and Torvak is visibly surprised as well. Neither of them has seen me like this before, but my small human form isn't what leaves them in such a state.

I can tell they're extremely thrown off by the fact that I just snuck up on them like a ghost. Not only did I fool the Citadel's sensors, but even the senses of these two ancient First-Class Lords.

The feelings of Rukor, the Demonic Servant, flash back in my mind, as maybe the fact that I gave off no radiation or presence at all was enough to scare him like that.

So, in response to these stares, less than a tenth of a second later, I alter my energy output.

A small amount of ether, light mana control, and a normal level of green divine threads begin giving off the radiation that a basic-grade avatar would.

The fact that I'm faking this makes the two Warlords' eyes widen even more, but I just smile and calmly respond to Ava's remark.

"Indeed. I need to keep myself suppressed for the time being... You, on the other hand, have experienced quite the upgrade."

My pupils dilate as I continue to examine the intricacies of her Avatar as best I can in my current state, soon turning back to the two Warlords that made it.

"Good work."

My gaze then moves past them and to the Berserker near the back wall of the room, who is lying down in a transparent pod with his eyes closed.

He appears to be in a peaceful sleep, but I can feel another strange aura, just like Ava's, that I cannot fully analyze. However, this one does not feel sweet and inviting—it is filled with rage and danger.

Ember catches my eye movements and speaks up, changing the subject.

"Last time I saw you, you were struggling to stay in one piece in your Noble Form even with that divine limiter paired with borrowed power. Now, you're in your weakest form and using a Celestial-Grade seal to hold yourself back... I'd say that means your training with Seraphel ended in a success? Did he survive it?"

The expression on the red-haired dragon's face in his human form is one of complete nonchalance. He even looks entertained, with a gleam of mischief in his eyes that have far more meaning behind them now...

Looking at my Soul-Bonded partner in the face now feels quite odd.

Memories of fighting together on the human world come rushing back to me while I stare at him in his deep crimson eyes.

The being behind those same eyes saved my life many times before, but the grin that shows a few teeth at the corner of his mouth gives me a tinge of unease.

He's never actually been honest with me about his goals or his purpose here.

For all our time together, he's played the role of a clueless and new-to-the-world dragon, with varying histories that shift and conveniently tell just enough to make sense in the moment.

He always has the answer to a problem, an artifact that helps when it is needed most, or a new way of training to reach the next necessary level.

All of the Warlords have very similar experiences with him, even after tens of thousands of years and many meetings through countless past lives. Even Seraphel, over hundreds of thousands of years, seems to have been helped many times but opened up to me and told me he still does not know this dragon's motives.

With these thoughts rushing through my mind, I hesitate to reply for a few tenths of a second longer than usual, but it only makes the crack of a grin on his face grow more.

"Indeed, it was a success. Once these seals are removed, I will have the capabilities of a High Noble... and Seraphel, he is still adjusting to his new freedom."

My eyes move all over Ember's body, and I realize that he is using extremely advanced ether commands, just like I am, to create a false identity and a fake connection to the Citadel as though he is using an avatar.

The others in the room are unregistered, classified as illegals through Citadel system commands when I scan them, but Ember registers as a normal Fifth-Class human Lord... just like me.

The inner golden and silver light in his chest is unable to be sensed at all, and the same goes for my inner secrets, as my Demon's core is completely hidden and sealed away. It appears as though I am an average human with no True Core and only simple access to mana and basic-grade ether commands.

He nods at me with approval.

"Good disguise. I can see your seals, but barely. I doubt even a High Noble will be able to see them. In this form, I'm having trouble sensing the presence of that third one myself..."

"Thanks," I reply, deciding right now isn't the time to bring up my concerns.

I then scan the room again and speak to everyone.

"For those of you that haven't seen me in this form before, yes, I really am a human, and this is, in fact, my body from the Lower Realm. Soon, we will be welcoming four more from my world here to the Upper Realm and attempting to conserve their true forms just like mine."

I pause and turn my gaze to Asic and Torvak.

"Oh... and one other thing. I need another craft done. Well, almost ten thousand of them, actually."

—

The initial shock of my return in this strange, sealed human form wears off, and I can discuss my updated version of the plan with these warlords and get confirmation that my demonic servants can get their avatars created easily.

Meanwhile, the four generals in the Lower Realm that are being discussed prepare for their ascension after receiving confirmation from me on my way over to the Citadel.

Two days have passed since they all arrived.

Bri has taken full advantage of the entire Great Belt of Brymia, using as many teleport platforms as she can to move from market to market on all 40 worlds in the ring multiple times over.

While it is not as fast-paced and lucrative as using the World Wide Connectivity system, these are still business connections and new markets to exploit.

None of the Commanders or Generals use any of their borrowed stats on their private asteroids, as the facilities they're in cannot withstand such stress.

Monk decides to leave and get his master and the saint's insight on the artifacts to gain a better understanding of what they all mean. A majority do not hold ether, and even more are written in texts no one can decipher.

Fisher and Lydia follow Monk, as they must return to their posts as pillars of the Crimson Army; Protectors of the human world.

Arie and Luna reconnect briefly, but the young woman who has bonded with the mental power of a beholder only woke up because of the emergency alarms Alveron sent into her resting room on the moon base that no longer exists.

She goes back into closed-door cultivation and recovery on a far more secure base here on Brymia.

Arie decides to explore the ring, and Raven goes with him. Neither of them can benefit any further from cultivating yellow threads, so they take these two days off to relax, try exotic foods, and enjoy entertainment around the ring of worlds.

Abby, however, stays within her private suite.

Now that she has left the Wyvern's home world, and it's been destroyed, more memories from the staff she carries with her are appearing in her mind.

When Kelfar was destroyed, she felt its connection with her inheritance become altered as well.

The soul of that planet has been changed, no longer strongly linked with the Wyvern's fate. However, a great relief has been lifted from her psychologically that she didn't know was holding her captive and suppressed.

The black roots that were devouring this planet were holding back her soul weapon as well...

It feels free, with far more potential, and the ability to choose its own new destiny now.

These are all the feelings Abby gets as she stares at the Soul Weapon that feels as though it has a metaphorical heart that beats in perfect rhythm with hers. However, the path and directions on how exactly she can do such a thing are still extremely foggy in her mind.

When not staring at the Amplifier with wide eyes, she examines the frozen battle of Wyverns and Demons that still rests in her item storage deep within her mind. Doing so triggers images of that very war to continue flashing into her psyche like they were always there.

She begins to see through the eyes of many of the Wyverns that fought that day, and even further back in time, hundreds of thousands of years—all the way back to when Kelfar was first linked to the system and the Wyverns of that flourishing world awakened.

She sees through the eyes of a Blue Wyvern on this world that ruled a massive sea. It was right where the desert was when she claimed this inheritance.

These memories further back are choppy and blurry, but the longer she meditates and focuses, the more clear some of them begin to appear.

Meanwhile, Maria has been completely asleep.

For a True Core of this strength, sleeping more than an hour or so every few months is considered excessive. Though, her body and mind just produced and consumed more power than 100 True Cored humans might ever use in their entire lives—all in less than a few seconds to complete the bond with a soul-imbued Source Resin from a Noble-Grade World.

At the words in her inner ear from the Upper Realm, this is enough to wake her from her peaceful slumber and stare up at the stars again; her bones, muscles, and mind feeling as good as new thanks to 48 hours in a rejuvenation chamber specially designed by Alveron.

Her Soul Energy Core has shrunk back down to a calm state, and her True Core has settled nicely deep inside it.

This Ice Mage consumed six full First-Class Worlds' worth of mana, qi, and divine energy resources just on autopilot while sleeping.

—

While all of the generals receive this ping, a powerful army of True Cored Demons arrives on the far side of the Belt of planets.

They arrive only three worlds away from an auction house where Bri is scouring for deals, and just five worlds away in the opposite direction from Arie and Raven at the most extravagant VR fighting simulator in the system.

It allows them to use exo-suits to simulate up to level 1000 mana control levels and choose from a wide range of skills to go on simulated missions, dungeon runs, and fight boss monsters.

While far below their skill levels, it is entertaining and informative to watch other races complete similar quests and compete in local leaderboards to pass the time.

—

Though, the four generals all stop what they're doing and turn their gaze toward the planet these demons have arrived on, as a slight taboo of the Great Belt of Brymia was just broken.

The feeling of a weak wave of visual perception sweeps through all 40 planets and all of the asteroids, and it doesn't come from Alveron's internal systems.

It's clear a new foreign visitor has just illegally scanned this entire neutral star system with a very advanced piece of technology.