Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster’s Power

I'm left floating high above a dark crater in the desert, hundreds of kilometers wide.

As Raven completely disappears from my sight, wisps of green mist are left in my vision as my lie detector skill confirms her words are genuine.

I power down my greater form again and place my swords back into storage, letting only the single teleport crystal I took out earlier float in front of me.

My body is still riddled with hundreds of puncture wounds, and my mind races to make sense of all the information streaming into my brain.

I use half of my remaining energy to continue the slow and painful healing process, while using the other half to extend my net of perception outward to assess the true aftermath of my battle here in the deadzone.

Hundreds of dungeons are breaking all over the Dark Continent and the 8 Great Regions, and powerful hunters are securing the territories with impressive speed.

In the Crimson City, the army has already set up makeshift roadblocks in front of each dungeon that has broken, only allowing hunters 100 levels above the normal threshold to farm from them. Meanwhile, my double evacuates and stabilizes the more violent breaks with plunderer-imbued element stones.

Far off in the Apex Region, my double that was farming in the labyrinth uses all its concealment skills, light magic, duplicated gear, and ranked-up [Master of Illusion] buff to act as the Regional Director, ordering the A-Class hunters to guide the B and C-class Apex Region workers to handle the usual protocol for the breaks.

Meanwhile, Rodrigo gives my double and Bri a tour of the Apex Region Headquarters, as soon this will be another home base for all of us.

Throughout the entire 8 Great Regions, messages are transmitted with Rodrigo's help to all of the Regional Directors.

My divine thread-enhanced gaze skims through all the regions, pinpointing various dense points of mana where the highest-grade breaks are appearing.

Familiar faces pop into my mind's eye.

Deep in the Talton Region, a few B-Class breaks appear in the heavy jungle. Marcie, the newest B-Class warrior in that region, leads the charge, sensing the breaks the moment the first surge rippled through, and taking out full dungeons solo in a matter of minutes.

Out in the Raya and Silca Regions, a new B-Class wind magic wielder, Dane, is the first to notice dozens of breaks in the partnered regions.

The two Regional Directors get a transmission at the same time, and the three of them—the strongest hunters in both regions—begin instructing hunters and taking on the most difficult breaks alone.

The Vice Region and Veridian Region receive the signal from headquarters, but have already started sending out extra hunters to handle the surge.

The fact that no order has been given to send extra troops to the Dark Continent is unusual, as these two regions are usually responsible for keeping it in line. Neither of the old Directors comments on it, however.

Nat, now contracted to the Veridian Region, is sent out to secure a batch of the deadliest B-Class breaks in the region.

Many of the other hunters in her party are anxious and scared, as it's likely many will be severely injured and some could die today.

This is the largest mass dungeon break to be recorded in decades.

Fear and unease fill the streets, as many hunters from the association know what's happening. There seem to be many more on duty, rushing toward the dungeon hubs than usual.

Even the weakest merchants and non-hunter citizens can feel the eerie atmosphere.

There's a protocol for off-duty E and D-class hunters to ensure there aren't riots or mass hysteria in the streets.

As Nat enters the strongest break in the entire region, her demeanor is calm, and her fists ignite with flames.

The monsters inside the Divine Construct were far more deadly than anything that could possibly spawn in here today.

–

In the Dark Continent, my last remaining double speeds through all of Sector 1, 2, 3, and 4 deadzones and unpopulated areas.

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Months ago, when I was in my exploration phase while farming mana for the labyrinth, and even further back when collecting luminite and mana for the isolation pods, I placed dungeon walker points all over the continent.

Many breaks need to be dealt with quickly, as there are no strong hunters in some of the far-out villages who can handle them.

The higher-populated cities like Solara and Valor City are easily taken care of as I expected.

Chester and Lith deploy their guards and hold a temporary lockdown on the public dungeons.

Best of all, around the Crimson City, there is no panic at all...

Many hunters and merchants remember the last surge that occurred in this city and easily stand in line to enter the unique dungeons and buy loot from hunters who manage to get in early so they can sell to neighboring nations.

Even the outer city folk, who are usually just passing by, become interested as word of what happened last time spreads.

Over 200 new links of loyalty are formed from traveling merchants and hunters in the outer city, just so they can enter the Crimson Dome and get a piece of the pie.

–

A wide grin crosses my face as I watch the results of my actions play out in real-time.

While it may look like a catastrophe on the surface, there are upsides to this mayhem.

Notifications ring out in my ears as my doubles farm a few unique breaks and secure new skills before stabilizing the dungeons.

[Skill Transfer To Main Body: Complete]

[Final Strike] [Mythic Grade]

[Skill Transfer To Main Body: Complete]

[Dark Mist] [Mythic Grade]

[Skill Transfer To Main Body: Complete]

[Enrage] [Mythic Grade]

About half an hour passes before all of the breaks throughout the 8 Great Regions and Dark Continent are secured.

I read these 3 skills' details and continue healing myself with more of my remaining power, allowing my perception to dull. Then, deactivate my stat and mana control sharing perk, to give those I've borrowed power from their full strength to battle the mutant monster back in the canyon of dungeons.

[Final Strike] is similar to my [Final Breath] ability, allowing me to unleash a single final move with increased attack power. It doesn't show the exact amount of power it adds, nor does it show the downsides afterward. It is pretty much based on how much mana I imbue into it, but if it's anything like the final breath's aftereffects, I don't really want to test it out.

[Dark Mist] creates an aura of darkness, blinding opponents that come within a certain range. Only the caster can use perception skills within it. This, too, depends on the caster's mana control.

Lastly, [Enrage] is a buff similar to [Bloodlust] and [Berserker]. It raises my Strength and Speed by 250% while active, and gives an additional 150% to my base perception as well.

This is definitely a passive buff I'll be keeping active during battle.

As I close my status screen, I finally grasp my floating teleport crystal nearby.

It's been long enough now that my wounds have all finally closed up entirely.

They're still healing slowly, and even my blood-bonded armor is still regenerating. It feels like this may take many long hours, or even days, to fully recover from. My body is still trying to absorb and break down the divine energy residue from each slash.

Even though my body is healing, my fatigue from the most intense battle of my life is not fading at all.

As I contain my entire aura beneath my purple limiter and crush the teleport crystal in my hand to bring me beneath the Crimson City, I'm met with exactly what I was looking for.

Abby, Maria, Fisher, and Lydia all stand in the bunker below the guildhall, watching over Ember in the isolation pod while my double continues to work out in the canyon of dungeons.

A bright green restoration circle tethered by red and orange divine threads covers the floor, and a rush of healing magic surges through me.

"Welcome back, Jay. I take it my assumption was right?"

Abby looks at me with a worried face, while my other three members share her sentiment.

I respond.

"Yeah... you were right."

I form a [Hush] barrier around us.

"It was two more True Cores... One I managed to kill, the other got away... but they consider us an ally, for now."

I feel a small amount of my fatigue disappear as Abby's Mythic Grade Restoration magic, fueled by a red core and small traces of leftover orange threads, trickles through me. However, they do nothing to combat the yellow True Core residue that still burns me from the inside out in hundreds of places.

These wounds are on another level, and I'm sure the silver sword wielder is feeling the same burns thousands of kilometers away right now...

I grit my teeth as another wave of fatigue hits me, and Maria speaks up.

"What do you mean they're an ally for now? How long is that going to last?"

My head turns in the direction of the abyss.

Even though we're underground, all four of them know exactly where I'm looking, as this is where the source of the three surges came from not long ago.

I respond and cough up blood mid-sentence.

"Not long. I need to rest, and you four need to consolidate your orange cores. Soon, we'll be venturing into the Abyss."

My gaze turns to the isolation pod sitting inside Abby's restoration circle, and whisper, adding on to my statement.

"You better wake up soon too, we're going to need all the help we can get."

—

High atop a snowy mountain, just outside my perception range, the three surges finally ripple through the endless Icy Region to the north.

An old man with a dense, bright yellow core stands up from his sitting position and places the half-consumed yellow fragment in his hands into an item box beneath his robes.

He speaks up to his two orange-cored disciples, cycling orange energy in their cores at his sides.

"The time has come sooner than I believed it would. However, it looks like this threat in the Dark Continent may be more formidable than the Order."

A blue video crystal plays a blurry image of an endless pit in the center of the desert, shifting to show another visual thousands of kilometers away in much higher resolution of the black cylindrical tower.

He speaks again, as his disciples haven't stopped cycling their orange fragments.

"Stand up, we're going on an outing. Prepare to defend yourselves; where we're headed doesn't seem to greet its guests very lightly."

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