Kae

Dungeon Diver CH642

[~3 Hours Later]

Sixteen Divine Cored Hunters arrive back at the central headquarters of the Association.

One of the orange cores is a young man who wields wind magic, dressed in green metallic association-branded armor.

He uses a transmission tablet and a spatial magic-imbued item box linked to all 15 of the other scouts to collect their findings from the extensive scan of the 8 Great Regions, Dark Continent, and Raven’s volcanic base they’ve conducted.

Once all o...

Dungeon Diver CH641

The Saint replies while my divine perception continues to seep out and locate 16 individual gravity wells of red and orange core hunters approaching.

“A demon with a green core? No… no. The one I witnessed plant the throne was a True Core Yellow, yet his aura was overwhelming even thousands of kilometers away… It was like witnessing a being that was not meant to be on this mortal plane. You do have quite the interesting theory, though. A green core is definitely something I’ve c...

Dungeon Diver CH640

As multiple A-Class scouts are tasked with stealth missions across the world to survey the lands of three nations they believe to be in turmoil, the meeting in Monk’s temple beneath Valor City continues.

While a quick history lesson on the old man’s origins and his thoughts on the global economy shifting from education, natural resources, and real estate to dungeon diving and energy gathering is interesting, I’m more focused on the urgent future.

“These trials you speak of...

Dungeon Diver CH639

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, deep in the heart of the Association’s Central Headquarters, a muscular man with bright red hair and a matching beard walks in circles in a large golden room.

His footsteps are light, almost like skips, and the air around him is full of silky yellow-white Divine Energy.

The room is hundreds of meters wide and dozens of meters high, yet it is extremely plain inside.

There is a single entrance and exit point, and on the other side o...

Dungeon Diver CH638

“What is it that I have to offer?”

The old man thinks to himself for a moment, then speaks again.

“I could offer many things. Our ancient techniques, allowing one to let go of their physical body and even separate from the system itself; however, you have awakened your true core and have begun to walk down a far different path. Learning our way would only be a hindrance to your progression.”

He smiles.

“What I can offer you is new information. I’ve studied ...

Dungeon Diver CH637

I don’t directly reply to Monk’s statement, as I know the strength of the people that are here, and am quite positive there is no way they can sense Raven.

“Great, I’d like to meet them right away.”

Then, I say goodbye to Lith, sending him a mental wave of telepathy, linking him with another one of my doubles and Bri thousands of kilometers away in a three-way channel to continue discussing the business idea we came up with on my way over.

He turns away with a smil...

Dungeon Diver CH636

The signal I’m receiving from the direction of Valor City is weak, but I’m positive there are three divine-cored beings there, just concealed by something…

Something is blocking me from seeing exactly where they are, and most importantly, blocking me from seeing them as being connected to the system itself.

My curiosity is piqued, and I walk straight out the door and hover upward as it closes, leaving the man and woman from the Crimson Army to keep the former prisoners in li...

Dungeon Diver CH635

The sun continues to rise, and I proudly let my aura gently seep through my growing lands.

Business as usual goes on all throughout the Dark Continent, and a surprising weight of relief is lifted off my shoulders.

The Crimson City is growing faster than ever before, forming many new links of loyalty every few minutes during this morning rush hour, and the new connection to the 8 Great Regions will only make this growth skyrocket further.

The Abyss is retracting at a slow and...

Dungeon Diver CH634

The five of us shift our appearances as we float in a circle around the Vice Region’s director.

It’s a clear morning on the Dark Continent, with barely a cloud in the sky. With my advanced perception, I have a crystal-clear view of the entire Crimson City to my left and the slowly retracting abyss leading to an enormous black tower to my right.

The director is held up by my telekinesis, but his face contorts in confusion as we’ve all come to a stop.

The complete change...

Dungeon Diver CH633

As white light envelops all three of us, I create a barrier of pure mana shielding around the Vice Region’s director.

If not, the pressure of dense orange divine energy filling the underground bunker in the Crimson City would have shredded him to bits in a matter of milliseconds.

An additional upside to this barrier is that with this man’s lack of strong mana control, it will be impossible for him to see or sense through it, essentially bringing him into my fortress blind unti...

Dungeon Diver CH632

I go over the notes with Bri and Rodrigo one more time, updating them on the new progress of the doubles I just sent out to expand the kingdom further west of the 8 Great Regions and south of the Dark Continent.

Once transmissions of large amounts of hunters arriving in the empty entrance hall begin to reach Rodrigo's tablet, orders are sent out for E and D class workers in the Apex base. They are to greet the parties from each region that arrive and escort them to the elevator.

F...

Dungeon Diver CH631

I walk down a small curving path within a well-maintained park on the edge of the city.

It’s dimly lit, leading to a portion of housing that looks like hundreds of people live in, near one of the local markets. Like most cities, the outer edges are less crowded than the center, where massive apartment complexes, towering association-run businesses, and the main dungeon hub sit.

I keep my stealth skill fully activated, and Raven does too, walking next to me and communicating tele...

Dungeon Diver CH630

The 8 Great Regions and Dark Continent fade away from my perception, but the real-time memories of my doubles are still being relayed to me, and I can swap places with one anytime I’d like.

The progress on harvesting the Apex Region’s mana has moved along quite nicely. By the time I have my meeting with the Regional Directors and powerful hunters in the morning, it should be complete and ready for use.

Even though I know Raven is near me in the sky, it’s still quite fascinat...

Dungeon Diver CH629

Raven replies as we stand a few meters apart in the crumbling mansion below the night sky.

"Where does my loyalty stand? That’s a good question..."

She takes a step forward, and it echoes through the silence.

"If you were to ask me that question a few days ago, my answer would have been with the Association without a doubt. I’ve been a contracted hunter since the day I awakened, skills like mine aren’t common. People in power always needed to hire someone to listen in ...

Dungeon Diver CH628

Raven replies as I’m still lost for words.

“As much as I’d love to speculate if our ancestors left us a gift, or if the demons have fed us enough misinformation over the years to make ourselves crazy; it's best we talk about the more immediate problem at hand.”

She holds up the silver device with eight glowing yellow gems and two stones that are clear and dull on the face of it.

Still, I don’t give a response as my mind is still racing elsewhere.

Celia’s ol...

Dungeon Diver CH627

As the sun sets overhead, I allow my consciousness to shift between all of my body doubles, like I’m in three nations at once, continuing my work while sitting here with Raven as she heals.

One double continues to work with Bri and Rodrigo, acting as Mr. Freeman as transmissions are sent out to all of the eight Regional Directors.

Most still need time and resources to handle the events of today’s surges, but it’s settled that new teleport crystals will be handed out to each ...

Dungeon Diver CH626

The ceiling continues to crumble, and my red aura extends further into the endless forest around us. Past the decimated area of woodlands that were disintegrated by the divine energy waves, and deep into the thick trees in all directions.

It drains the air, ground, trees, rocks, and every living thing that comes in contact with this crimson mist.

The abandoned forest stretches thousands of kilometers in diameter, extending even further to the west.

Its landmass is even large...

Dungeon Diver CH625

The body double at the side of the hall dies, and the shock from my attack makes the white threads and divine energy streaming out from the dragon and clones go wild.

The screams from within the dome make the mansion itself shake and rattle.

My purple barrier transmits all of the offputting emotions and thoughts rippling through the man being burned alive directly into my mind. There is an intense underlying emotion of bliss and genuine pleasure coming from the dying man inside th...

Dungeon Diver CH624

In an instant, all paths of escape disappear.

The dragon’s body grows brighter yellow as pulses of energy come off the orb, and the web of threads all around me gets smaller.

Many options run through my mind.

I could use a teleport crystal to get out of here right now without another thought, but I’d lose the chance to save Raven. Plus, I’d have shown myself and my abilities to another True Core… completely neglecting the warriors’ words I’m trying to protect. 2024-09-12 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post

Dungeon Diver CH623

I feel the outside world becoming far less visible to my senses.

Through the two holes in the mansion floor where I slashed with my full-powered attack to free Raven from the threads, I can still send a weaker pulse of perception through it.

However, the outside world isn’t my main concern right now. It’s the dozens of yellow eyes on me and the pulse of divine energy that floods out of the large marble orb at the back of the room, powering all of these statues.

The densi...

Dungeon Diver CH622

As I leave the A-Class suites and step into the elevator, another pulse of divine energy ripples into my consciousness.

Raven’s is even weaker, becoming overshadowed by a bright True Core far away.

If I were in my greater form and released my full perception, I could get a better view of what’s happening.

Instead of making my way toward the surface, I press the button to head down toward the labyrinth on the 20th floor, believing this will be a faster way to leave this b...

Dungeon Diver CH621

Raven’s silver blades swing upward to block the incoming white threads.

Her greater form activates at the same time, and a reality-bending ripple of divine energy shakes the white mansion.

All of the statues, walls, floor, and ceiling shake, but somehow they all withstand the intense pressure of two true Cores colliding.

The thick forest outside, however, is not so resistant to the energy waves.

Kilometers of forest outside the mansion are vaporized, and even further...

Dungeon Diver CH620

My gaze sweeps over all the maps, regional contracts, and Association Hunter names scattered on the work table in front of me.

Bri and Rodrigo are across the room, and the meeting that's been going on for about an hour floods back into my mind in full detail.

We pick up right where we left off, while simultaneously, the double that swapped places with me activates mind links with my two other doubles, and a mass farming expedition begins.

I just absorbed a large amount of ma...

Dungeon Diver CH619

During my last hibernation process, when I was cleansing my body of demonic energy poisoning, I was fully unconscious until the process was complete.

This time, it's a little different.

While my fully alert and conscious decision-making mind is asleep, my passive perception abilities and the absurd rise in power keep the back of my mind semi-aware of my surroundings.

The dark red plunderer aura grows in size, filling the entire boss room and seeping into the very fabric of t...

Dungeon Diver CH618

I quickly make some upgrades to the shielding in this underground shelter.

With my remaining few million MP worth of mana crystals and a contribution of additional crystals from my four teammates here there's more than enough mana to get the job done. I imbue the shielding in this bunker to far surpass A-Class shielding, giving it additional mythic-grade stealth, hush, and barrier creation protection, lightly imbued with trace amounts of my True Core’s divine threads.

This is no...

Dungeon Diver CH617

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 sens...

Dungeon Diver CH616

As my pulse of perception creeps into the center of the Dark Continent, the cylindrical pillar that grows out from the depths of the abyss becomes visible to me.

The clouds part in the sky to reveal the structure as it seemingly materializes from thin air into existence, climbing higher into the sky.

My divine energy-enhanced vision can see the obsidian black outer barrier of this tower crystal clear, but even with my new Mythic Grade All-Seeing Eye activated, I can’t see within...

Dungeon Diver CH615

Back in the outer desert, just about a hundred kilometers away from the Crimson City, my teammates sit in a circle, absorbing orange divine fragments.

Weak ripples of yellow radiation from my fight reach their senses, and Maria is the first to speak up.

“That’s Jay… First, he leaves in a hurry claiming that we’ll need to use this power sooner than we think, then he borrows our stats and mana control. Now, these pulses of energy can only be the result of a fight.”

F...

Dungeon Diver CH614

My All-Seeing Eye is already activated.

Every bit of my perception has been on full blast since this fight began, yet it’s been hopeless.

Now, as the notification of its upgrade rings in my ear and my Divine Threads tether with the new pulse of aura that radiates out from my eyes, a whole new world becomes visible around me.

I thought my perception abilities were nearly at their peak, but I’ve been deceiving myself all along.

It’s like my eyes have finally opened...

Dungeon Diver CH613

The energy surging through me settles into my muscles and bones, similar to earlier when I was learning how to properly use my true core in the battle against the dragon.

Every step upward through the air assimilates this new power into my being and makes my movements feel more natural.

After a short pause, notifications begin ringing in my inner ear again, showing an increase in the average number of MCP being farmed, telling me my double has raised floors once again.

Hundr...