Kae

Dungeon Diver CH375

Slow claps from Max, one of the legacy fighters, come my way as he speaks up in a cheerful voice.

"Another interesting show from you. Tonight was one of the biggest events I've ever seen, and as the closing act, you didn't disappoint. I was worried you'd end it in a single move like last time, but it seems you really do know how to put on a show."

I shrug, walking off the platform and replying.

"With the money they're throwing down tonight, I had to give them what they paid ...

Dungeon Diver CH374

The reaction taking place looks exactly like what happened when I used my Red Hydra's Buff on its Soul Energy in my match against a Ghoul last night.

The crimson energy melted away the orange aura in an instant, letting my blade slice through the ghoul and defeat it without a problem.

Although it is happening at a much slower rate, I can see the Ghoul's soul energy disintegrating the Qi in my sword.

My concentration breaks, and I immediately air-step backward and up in the a...

Dungeon Diver CH373

The imagery of white-hot Qi energy rushing from my core into my sword repeats over and over in my mind as I stare up at the Wyvern dripping blood in circles above me.

It continues to throw intimidation attacks down at me over and over, and they seem to be getting stronger with every time it sends one.

My MP is full after recharging from the Dome's outer wall, so I manage to boost my mental strength with buffs, fending off the psychic bombardment.

However, it gets to a point ...

Dungeon Diver CH372

A Blue Wyvern.

As the white flash of transport magic brings my opponent into the ring, it spreads its long pale blue wings and jumps high into the air.

The ear-shattering screech provokes the crowd to yell louder to match its sound, and I get a good view of the 10-meter-long lizard creature doing circles over my head.

It looks very similar to Ember’s younger form, only this monster doesn't have front legs. It just has long taloned feet, a white underbelly, and long out-str...

Dungeon Diver CH371

My mind is trying to fit more pieces of the puzzle together, but there are too many unknown variables in my way.

Clearly, Maria isn't trapped or here completely against her will, and this most likely means my other teammates are fine too. Her level has grown significantly, and fighting ability too.

Although quite a few things don't make any sense here, at least I don't have to rack my brain for ways to get into the center of the City anymore. Maria will have some answers for me. 2024-01-04 00:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post

Dungeon Diver CH370

"Could it be...?" I whisper to myself as I continue squeezing my way through the crowd to get to the underground training room.

My seat is already lost, so there’s no point in trying to go back to the ring to see her up close for myself. The screens that appear all over show the blond-haired woman with a white face covering. Her blue glow has ceased as the announcer hypes up the crowd to bet on the stage 2 matchup.

I start walking underground behind the registration table, and t...

Dungeon Diver CH369

“Welcome back, Mr. Flame Emperor. I wasn’t sure if I'd be seeing you again. However, I’m even more surprised to see you here with Monk. What are the odds?”

Mr. Wright smiles wide as he gets a tablet ready and I reply.

“I wasn’t sure if I’d be back either, but I had a change of heart. The show must go on, right?”

He taps on the silver tablet a few more times before giving me a nod and looking up.

“Indeed, I like the way you’re talking. You’re regis...

Dungeon Diver CH368

We make our way through a winding black hallway before Monk leads me to a room that has dozens of rectangular doors on it.

He turns to one, then points to all of them.

"Choose a room; there are showers and fresh clothing in all of them."

I walk up to the closest door and pause for a moment, then place my palm against the cold stone.

I push on it with a lot of force, but it doesn't budge at all. It's like a solid wall.

Monk speaks.

"All it needs is a small a...

Dungeon Diver CH367

We continue to spar.

The more times I get hit and knocked down, the more I understand the mechanics of this new power source.

Every fist I throw has to have meaning and focus. It feels very similar to my newest swordsmanship skill upgrade. Every time I throw a fist, it feels as if I’m guiding the warm energy in a perfect line to a certain point.

If I ever second guess myself or waver from the correct path, the flow of Qi halts and it all trickles back into my core. The mov...

Dungeon Diver CH366

I put my hands up to show Monk I’m ready, but I see an assortment of rings on my fingers, and the ends of my red robe limit the movement of my arms. Even my armor feels heavy on my chest. Without the magic buffs these items give me, they're very movement-limiting.

For a split second, I re-consider the fact that none of my skills are activated at all. That includes my concealment skill changing my face, but Monk didn't say a word about it... My eyes track over to the wooden table at th...

Dungeon Diver CH365

I let out a long sigh, looking down at Monk's outstretched hand.

"Save the city? Fight a monster that's killed thousands of men stronger than you? The only reason I came here was to get my teammates and leave this place. I'm always up for a good fight, but it has to be winnable in some capacity and have great rewards afterward.  Do you expect me to just agree to help because it's the right thing to do...?"

There's a pause and a moment of silence, but Monk doesn't move from hi...

Dungeon Diver CH364

“Well, to explain this, I'll have to recall some events that go back about a year.”

I nod as Monk continues.

“My monastery here and the Galeheart Guild came to a reasonable agreement ages ago. They have overwhelming power in numbers, so in theory, they could wipe us out in a turf war, but many of their men would die as well. It would make us both too weak, and the land beneath our feet is far too valuable to leave us vulnerable to attack from a third party. We thought if we ...

Dungeon Diver CH363

I stopped my forward motion for a moment, looking back at the sunlight behind me.

"What is this place made of? I've felt material like this before. It blocks me from using mana… Is this—"

Monk turns around and, placing a finger over his lips again, motions for me to walk further into the dark hallway.

“Hold your questions a little longer.”

I try to activate my status window to see if anything works, but the only two things that seem available to me right now ar...

Dungeon Diver CH362

"I have to meet with the leader of the Galeheart Mercenary Guild. Please, tell me what requirements must be met for me to pass."

I get no response.

Eventually, I resort to waving my hands up and down as no words I say seem to make it through to the 4 Royal Guards standing outside the final inner wall.

Without the grey mist activated, these black armored suits seem much less intimidating to me. I witnessed a few of them activate in the fight arena earlier, so I’m almost pos...

Dungeon Diver CH361

The platinum doors close behind me, and I look up at the skyscrapers towering over the outer city.

These are the tall buildings visible from a distance, but it was hard to tell whether they were in this district or one deeper when I was in the golden walls.

As I take a step forward onto the single moving walkway that begins to give me a tour around the city, I take in the view.

Blue text boxes automatically pop up from my wristband, naming each tall building that passes. The...

Dungeon Diver CH360

Only a few hours pass before I wake up feeling great. The morning sun is just peeking through the windows, and it's clear I've only slept a few hours, but it feels like I've been resting for an entire day.

Even with the use of my Red Hydra's buff in the arena last night, the constant rejuvenation of mana in the air heals me up good as new.

Another interesting phenomenon I've noticed recently is that the higher my overall mana control increases, the less food and sleep I need to re...

Dungeon Diver CH359

“What’s this? A city tax? I thought there were no extra taxes in this city! That’s what the fight arena is for… What's going on here?”

Sia turns to me.

“The citizen tax is standard. It’s only business owners and city officials that are exempt from paying it. However, even for visitors, it’s not mandatory. The tax can be avoided as long as you leave the city before the local time hits midnight. Whatever wall you’re standing in, you’ll get taxed 1 credit of that ...

Dungeon Diver CH358

The three other legacy fighters start tapping the blue panels that pop up, ordering food and drinks at a rapid rate.

I’m too focused on the moving picture display of my fight being analyzed on the nightly Valor City News Program like it’s no big deal. After a few more seconds pass, the images shift again and one of the sword moves that Ace used to defeat his final opponent shows up on the screen.

He chuckles and turns to Max.

“Hey, look at that, my finishing move of th...

Dungeon Diver CH357

The stadium is almost empty now, and the shielding that lined the large dome in the middle of the arena is shut down and not buzzing with power at all anymore.

We walk over to the far side of the ring together, near where the announcer’s stand is, and just like on the far side of the ring, there’s an exit back into the city. However, instead of regular stone arching doors that lead out to the silver city section, there's a single golden gate with Mr. Wright standing nearby, typing i...

Dungeon Diver CH356

The first fighter to walk forward is the friendly face of the shield, Max. From being on the verge of death less than an hour ago and completely exhausted, it looks like they healed him up nicely.

“You’re more of a fighter than I thought… Are you from the Royal Guard? A country leader in disguise or something?”

He lets out a laugh, but I don’t respond.

I’m very fatigued from the use of my Red Hydra’s buff, and the majority of my energy is being used to scan the...

Status Update

Pre Arena:

[Status Open]

____________________

Name: Jay Soju

Level: 562

Hp: 2815/2815

Mp: 2815/2815

Strength: 1491 [+2803][+2058][+746][+1491][+746][+746][+2237]

Speed: 1625 [+975][+1625][+813][+1625][+813][+2438]

Agility: 1733 [+780][+1733][+2080][+867][+1733][+867][+2600]

Defense: 1262 [+1401][+1262][+1742][+631][+1262][+1893]

Mental Strength: 1787 [+1072][+1787][+2716][+2109][+1430][+894][+1787][+894][+894][+2681]

Sk...

Dungeon Diver CH355

A monster with no MP and no HP…

It can survive my advanced fire magic, and also can reform and regenerate without any skills or extra visual energy exertion whatsoever.

The only clue I have of how to defeat this thing is the single encounter I witnessed of monk punching the ghoul to death.

Every time his fist would impact the monster's body, I clearly remember its eyes glowing brighter for a fraction of a second, then the glow of the entire beast becoming dimmer every time...

Dungeon Diver CH354

As the announcer's words fade away, I grip my blade and get ready for the real fight to begin. From my understanding of the crowd's reaction and the words echoing through the arena, close to no one is capable of defeating this ghoul monster. The fighter known as Monk is an anomaly to this rule.

Even with the display of strength I showed in the round before, defeating a monster at the peak of stage 6, the crowd is confident enough to place their bets against me still. I showed nearly all...

Dungeon Diver CH353

The edge of my blade shortens the distance between the deep crimson red thread and the neck of the monster threatening the lives of everyone in this arena.

In an instant, using over 1000MP in a single strike, I release a mana blade while making direct contact with the monster's neck and its head is sliced clean off in an instant.

My boosted perception is so much greater than the world around me, that even as the beast's head slowly spins in the air disconnected from its body, the ...

Dungeon Diver CH352

The Red Ogre Tyrant's golden veil of energy starts to shift to red as its rank-up buff activates.

The dome that surrounds us, protecting the audience outside the fight ring, is now rippling and bending toward the monster on the far side of the arena.

I'm sure they fight monsters of this caliber very often, but none of the past monsters could have had a buff and skill combination like this… With the name Ogre Tyrant's Dominance, and the absorption of MP it's taking in from all di...

Dungeon Diver CH351

To make the previous match even more convincing, I stand up and start walking with a limp before facing the crowd again and placing a thumb in the air to begin the next match.

The announcer yells in an excited tone.

“That’s what we like to see! At this rate, The Flame Emperor could actually do it, he could defeat the 6th stage monster and become a Legacy fighter on his first time in the ring!”

The crowd erupts with cheers again, but I don’t like how positively they�...

Dungeon Diver CH350

The plumes of fire clear, and I jump backward, igniting myself with my own flames to play the part. It's a cool flashy power-up to hype the crowd, but also shows that I'm trying to mitigate the supposedly brutal attack that I just took head-on.

For the fun of it, now that I have a natural veil of dark red flames surrounding my body, I activate my newest bloodlust skill to see what improvements going from no grade to legendary grade provide.

The aura that envelops me is much darker...

Dungeon Diver CH349

Showing off my full strength from the start is not a good option; it wouldn't be an optimal move. Having the odds stacked against me in the later rounds would be the best strategy for potentially greater payouts from betting on myself.

However, there’s no reason not to put on a show and get the crowd excited. I get paid the same amount for the first three stages regardless, so I might as well build up some hype.

With this in mind, I raise my left hand above my head and begin for...

Dungeon Diver CH348

The next few fights that follow play out exactly the same as the first. Monk adjusts his speed and power to whatever opponent he’s facing and takes them out in about 2-3 minutes each time; dodging the incoming hits and only throwing normal punches at the monsters' vital points.

In stage 2, a level 113 Orc gets pummeled around the ring and is defeated in 17 punches.

Next, in stage 3, a level 251 bloodhound gets circles run around it and is defeated in 14 punches.

After this...

Dungeon Diver CH347

Ace seems to be extremely strong. He just took out a monster many levels higher than himself with ease, using only his swords and mana, no extra combat skills. However, I can tell he’s breathing heavily. That divine speed buff he uses in a flash of blue light looks like it takes a lot of MP out of him.

“Please would you all begin placing your bets, the Royal Knights are preparing a level 672 Mutant Ghoul.”

Just by hearing its level, my mind is running wild. On top of that, i...