Kae

Dungeon Diver CH612

It isn’t flapping its remaining wing or using any magic to slow or change the direction of its fall.

The creature seems to have given up and is just permeating sadness as it falls into this artificial abyss.

My steps through the air are powerful, so the distance between us closes in less than a minute. However, half my mind is still in fear of the dual-wielding silver swordsman right behind me. Any lag in my downward momentum will leave me open for another attack that I can’t ...

Dungeon Diver CH611

I walk up and down the aisles, picturing the two silver blades aimed at my core and heart slowly piercing through my flesh.

The microseconds pass as the rush of new stat points adds to my base power. My speed and agility are what I have to rely on most for the plan I’ve devised next. I slowly make my way back to the white marble throne and replay the exact movements my body has to make in my mind a hundred times.

I want to make them feel more intuitive, like second nature, befor...

Dungeon Diver CH610

More and more level-up notifications ring in my ear as I push the dragon back even further.

Every time I land a full-powered hit with both my swords, I’m able to shatter the barrier and send this beast flying back.

The only problem is, I don’t have enough time to throw the same powered attack at it right after the barrier is destroyed.

My Soul Energy needs to be re-channeled into my swords to create another slash, and the telekinesis-powered elemental attacks are nothing...

Dungeon Diver CH609

The second collision goes almost exactly as expected.

Our speed on impact isn’t as fast, so my strike is less powerful, but I’m more focused on keeping this dragon entertained while I figure out how to gain slightly more power and fully understand what this yellow hexagon ability is.

The fact that there is no mana or qi inside the manifestation makes me believe this is some kind of unique trait that this being awakened with its True Core.

The Lich King said all True Core...

Dungeon Diver CH608

The seconds before the collision are the most intense.

The entire flight over has been slightly nerve-wracking, but now that I am about to collide with a bronze earth dragon that is 5,000 levels above me, with a True Core of similar strength to my own, the reality of my predicament sinks in.

The air becomes thick as our silky white-yellow auras intertwine from over 20 kilometers away, exerting pressure on each other even before we physically meet.

I can feel dense gravity wa...

Dungeon Diver CH607

I turn my head in the direction of the odd presence that pressures the back of my mind, but I don’t activate my full perception skills and buffs because I’m too close to my teammates and the Crimson City to risk letting out that much power.

Instead, I calmly look back toward Abby, who posed the question, and nod.

“You’re right. We’ll have to prepare for that possibility if it comes.”

My head turns back toward the south, and a notification hits my inner ear.

Dungeon Diver CH606

Both of the teleport crystals are crushed in our fists, and we’re brought to the Crimson City.

My double greets us beneath the guildhall, keeping guard over the last remaining isolation pod that’s healing Ember.

“Back so soon?” He locks eyes with Rodrigo, then looks back at me before continuing. “It appears everything went exactly as expected. He didn’t take the deal?”

I smirk and reply while leading Rodrigo to the stairway upstairs. “No, he didn't. I’m the...

Dungeon Diver CH605

Despite locking eyes with Rodrigo, the voices that yell the loudest throughout the room are the fire and wind users who radiate bright red divine energy.

“What is the meaning of this? My life has been a lie! My mind—I—” The wind user shouts out, now fully missing his hand and leg due to the lack of borrowed golden soul energy available to him.

“I gave over a decade to this damn Association, and still, you continuously manipulated all of us! Why are you even letting us in...

Dungeon Diver CH604

All over the globe, nine silver devices ping simultaneously.

Some are locked away in item boxes and magical storage vaults, while others are worn around strong hunters' wrists and necks like ornaments.

Every one of them sends the same signal: a flashing yellow light among nine other lights that glow brightly.

Some of the lights are a dim yellow, just like the one that is blinking, while others vary in brightness. Some are so bright they almost shimmer white.

The dull y...

Status Update

[Status Open]

____________________

Name: Jay Soju

Level: 4246

Hp: 21235/21235

Mp: 21235/21235

Strength: 19011 [+61025] [+85740] [+92013] [+77565] [+61025] [+142963] [+117108 ] [+92203] [+172050] [+9506] [+19011] [+87831] [+47528] [+47528] [+76044]

Total Strength: 1,208,151

Speed: 15339 [+52153] [+46170] [+87279] [+62737] [+52459] [+90653] [+76542 ] [+108447] [+61970] [+103078] [+7670] [+15339] [+83751] [+38348] [+38348] [+61356]

Total Spee...

Dungeon Diver CH603

I keep walking forward, pretending not to notice a thing.

The elevator door behind us closes, and I start to show more interest in the massive cave-like room we’re in, while moving toward the back of it, over 100 meters away.

The golden tendrils emanating from the Director's back begin to reinforce themselves with countless threads of yellow divine energy as I raise a question.

“So this is where your Labyrinth is… and you say it’s where you and all the A-Class hunter...

Dungeon Diver CH602

A confident woman’s voice echoes from the door as a narrow white entrance hallway comes into view.

“Welcome back, Mr. Freeman. That was a quick trip, as expected.”

A woman with tightly tied back blond hair, clad in a black and green association-branded combat suit, greets us at the end of the short hall.

She’s holding a silver tablet, and I watch each of the new A-Class hunters reach into their item boxes to pull out their IDs. I do the same.

Mr. Freeman gives ...

Dungeon Diver CH601

The dark room moves just like the smaller cube I was in before.

I take a few steps forward and pull a black chair from the opposite side of the table and sit down, doing as the Director asked. The three new A-Class hunters take seats near me as well. Their golden collars glow brightly.

The feeling of being guided along a magical railway continues as the room speeds up, leading us in a direction unknown to me. It feels like we’re heading north, but it's hard to tell without expos...

Dungeon Diver CH600

I spend the night in one of the newest hotels in the Crimson City.

My doubles helped recreate a small number of luxury rooms similar to the mana dense rejuvenation rooms found at the Moon Bar back in Valor City. With my new imbuement skill, creating building materials and furniture that release controlled amounts of mana throughout these suites is an easy task.

I take a well-needed rest after my awakening and feel completely refreshed once the sun rises again.

–

I sp...

Dungeon Diver CH599

The echoing cracks of Soul Energy attacks, strengthened by countless red threads of divine energy, ring throughout the desert as I approach my teammates training.

None of them have their main weapons out, and no ranked-up buffs are activated; they’re all fighting in their base human forms.

Reality bends beneath the desert ground, and even the air between their fists colliding distorts slightly before they make contact. It makes me momentarily question whether we’re still insid...

Dungeon Diver CH598

I can feel the massive yellow core cycling energy in my chest reach a point where, in the last few sessions, it's been pushing the green threads back despite the immense pressure.

I’m prepared to go for another run, but my core finally hits its critical mass.

Not a single thread of divine energy can be pushed into it without an intense burning sensation rippling through my body.

An eerie sound, like massive metal structures creaking under thousands of tons of pressure, ech...

Dungeon Diver CH597

While I continue to think, I eat another yellow fragment to continue the process.

Even though it's not quite perfect yet, it's still close to 100 times as efficient as just eating a gem in the open desert without the aid of the trees or my limiter.

Over the next hour or so, I repeat the process, cycling the energy from four more fragments.

It feels as though I’ve consumed hundreds of yellow cores, and finally, I sense a tiny noticeable difference in the size of my own core...

Dungeon Diver CH596

As I turn to the real yellow divine fragment in my hand, the body double that was on its way here as this display from the Lich King unfolded sends a telepathic message as it arrives nearby.

“The last remaining isolation pod has been recharged up to a stable 10.5x dilation. Ember can begin his hibernation beneath the guildhall with my supervision right now.”

It touches down, and I think about a response while it pulls the large cylindrical metal contraption out from its item s...

Dungeon Diver CH595

I finish shaking the Lich King’s hand and speak again.

“So where do we begin?”

The jet-black skeletal figure ponders for a moment, staring off into the direction of the black abyss on the horizon.

“In my first life, it took me many decades to compress my core…”

He turns back to me.

“I had a teacher, but on that world, Divine Energy was far more prevalent than it is here…”

He puts his arms up in the air like he’s feeling it.

“Ther...

Dungeon Diver CH594

I think about his offer and see only green mist coming off his aura from my lie detector skill.

Even so, the Lich King’s calm demeanor and willingness to help me feels very out of character for a self proclaimed Dark God. Even if he is my summon, I want confirmation that whatever this True Core progression is, it is a safe direction to move toward.

The only person I’d trust to ask is Ember.

The last time I saw him, he was falling asleep while I opened my item storage ben...

Dungeon Diver CH593

A large black shadow of dark magic grows around me, and from its depths, the shadowy summon of the Lich King rises.

His concealment buffs are all dispelled, as there is no reason to hide. He looks like a pitch-black skeleton wearing the cloak and pendant I gifted him during the exams.

Without me using my limiter on him, and with his own divine limiter fully decayed, the ominous aura of evil energy permeates off of him.

All four of my teammates get back into their battle stan...

Dungeon Diver CH592

His eyes are filled with hope, but his body still trembles with fear.

This man was captured by an unknown rising kingdom in the Dark Continent by a force that easily defeated two of their strongest A-Class hunters and dozens of elite B-Class hunters in seconds.

Now, he’s face to face with me, a man who tortured information out of his allies for hours without any remorse.

Even if I freed him from his golden collar, it seems he’s still unsure if he’s now just being shack...

Dungeon Diver CH591

We use teleport crystals to return to the Crimson City, and I'm led out into the desert, about 50 kilometers away.

There are no main trade roads connecting this far out, and the only major landmark here is the edge of the dark abyss on the horizon.

A large rectangular prison made of mana-manifested stone comes into view, far out in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but a single door on its front and two level 1400+ guards from the Crimson Army standing watch.

There’s a l...

Dungeon Diver CH590

[Body Double POV]

I accept the pile of skill orbs from my main body and teleport back into the guildhall.

While I witnessed the memories of its new renovations, seeing it now with the old version that was partially built just a month ago fresh in my mind makes everything here all the more impressive.

There are six full-time workers buying loot from hunters who farm in the dungeons, selling potions, standard gear, and necessary monster hunting items.

There are very orga...

Dungeon Diver CH589

The room is left with just ten new B-Class hunters standing in a line, and the Regional Directors stare at the empty spot where Emrie and I just left.

Brutus, the Regional Director of the Vice Region, is the first to break the silence.

“Is this a joke? He may have come in first place in this year’s ranking, but to become a Regional Director at such a young age? What kind of demand is this?”

More whispers fill the room.

“Wouldn't he just be happy with the opport...

Dungeon Diver CH588

Many of the applicants looking at the manifested contracts in front of them press down on options, pushing a finger into the fragments of blue crystals.

I watch the holograms of text fold back into the floating devices, and the crystals shift their form slightly into compact cubes with data swirling inside of them before they float back to the oval table at the center of the room.

A majority of the crystals hover back toward the Apex Region’s Director, while Dane and Nat’s fly...

Dungeon Diver CH587

I walk back into the waiting room and flash Rodrigo a small smile.

His expression doesn't change, but I can tell he’s both confused and relieved at the same time as he speaks up, and the door behind me closes.

“Now that all of your personal meetings are complete, please, do take time to rest while the regional directors make their way to the Apex Region.”

A door on the opposite side of the room opens up, revealing a well-lit hallway.

It has numbered doors on the ...

Dungeon Diver CH586

The waves of energy that flow off him now ripple with newfound strength. After being healed, the aura in the room feels like its coming from a whole new person.

The Soul Energy feels pure, and the Divine energy permeates through it with precision and strength that makes me begin to understand the Director's power.

While he may be sick and seem to be on the brink of death, that does not mean he is weak.

A desperate man is at his strongest when he is close to victory, yet wave...

Dungeon Diver CH585

At first, my confidence that I can handle whatever is behind that door is at an all-time high.

The dark purple ring around my finger is a reminder that I’ve already witnessed beings far more deadly than any yellow core could possibly aspire to rise to.

However, with every step closer I take, the feeling of this being’s unwavering confidence and desire to control and destroy everything that stands in its way washes through me.

The pressure of threads in the air isn't too ...

Dungeon Diver CH584

The golden eyes glow brighter, and it feels like pressure is pushing down on us through the screen.

Yellow threads of divine energy even leak into the room straight through the mana shielding, and I see other applicants start to sweat and shake.

The gravity in the room increases slightly, and the Director continues to speak.

“It appears our stage 5 simulation room has been prematurely terminated… This was not within our expectations… There have been many oddities poppi...