Kae

Dungeon Diver CH226

I turn to see what the source of this overwhelming power is and my jaw drops at the sight of a full-blown demon with red horns, white eyes, dark skin, and pointed white teeth staring at me curiously.

Dense white mana shielding covers its bulging muscles and I see the thin black line on its forearm stretch all the way up its nice, shoulder, and curl onto its chest just like mine.

The monster doesn’t have any armor or gear on other than tight black pants that hug its overly muscul...

Dungeon Diver CH225

“…but something feels off…”

As the two of us make our way up the narrow sandy path up the mountain’s side, a light red glowing portal comes into full view.

It gives off minuscule amounts of mana radiation compared to what I was expecting to see.

The closer we get, the more I prepare for a wave of intense energy to come pulsing out, but it never comes. The two of us approach the portal in silence, then I finally speak up.

“This is giving off the mana signatu...

Dungeon Diver CH224

“Hey, let’s let ‘em in. We have some new break challengers today.”

The second guard peeks his head around the corner of the box with a goofy grin across his face, making eye contact with me. This man is heavier set and has a body hardening skill, he’s most likely a tank.

“Is that right? Are you all facing the mid-town break or the mountain break?”

His silly grin turns into a more serious look as he walks from his post to stand by the other guard’s side.

Dungeon Diver CH223

“Your guess is as good as mine. All we can do is head over and find out.”

This is the response I get after asking Issac how the dungeon break could possibly be nearby when there are no monsters in sight.

I can’t sense any mana disturbances at all…

I’m pretty positive the barrier around this city isn’t interfering with my senses either. It’s a high-level D-Class spell at best, there’s no way it’s messing with my mind.

We continue through the underdevel...

Dungeon Diver CH222

It’s [The Newest Vice Region Association Elite Squad] in bold letters with all four of our mug shots posted and bounties labeled underneath them.

Our time in DryRock is not going to be as easy as I thought it’d be.

I turn to Issac, now peeking my disguised face out from my hood.

“Hey, I need to check these out.”

He stares for a second but recognized my voice. The fire wielder looks me up and down, then mutters under his breath.

“You really are full of s...

Dungeon Diver CH221

“Here we are! Welcome to DryRock!”

Issac turns to the open area of desolate sandy flat land in front of the Red Mountain range. Immediately after he speaks these words, I feel the space around me begin to tingle and buzz.

The air before my eyes waves and shifts, giving off a rainbow hue. Almost like the rippling sensation of a heat wave, but there’s definitely some kind of mana-powered illusion at play here.

I activate my All-Seeing Eye and everything becomes clear…<...

Dungeon Diver CH220

“Fine by me. Now get me out of this damn earth magic. I’ll take the 4 of you to DryRock so I can get paid.”

Abby nods at me, then turns to Issac as the stone around his neck starts to melt away, revealing his torso, then flowing off his legs back into the sandy earth.

The green-haired mage heals his leg, making it as good as new.

I get a weird sensation as she activates her healing magic. It tingles throughout my body even from over 5 meters away and buzzes with an ext...

Dungeon Diver CH219

“Oh great. There’s more! Look’s like I’m going to have to teach all of ya a lesson!”

The hunter with a fire aptitude that I saw earlier in the mercenary guild is out here in the desert, most likely looking to get his hands on another Firestone to sell.

I walk closer to see him turn to me with a snide grin.

His slicked-back dark hair glimmers in the sunlight and muscles budge from his tight black shirt. He’s taller than me by a few centimeters.

This hunter m...

Dungeon Diver CH218

As the Golem trudges forward, it takes hit after hit from the Salamander’s molten attacks. Hot lava spews out after every impact staining the battlefield with hot red-orange mass. I continue to drink MP potions and heal its wounds.

Losing parts of an arm or a leg after every blow, the Golem moves forward without flinching. It only costs me minor MP stores that can be restored with ease, while the salamander that’s attacking is becoming more irritated by the second.

The ground ...

Dungeon Diver CH217

The mutant boss peeks out from the bubbling lava pit that surrounds us. All that’s visible are its bright red eyes, jagged white teeth, and scaly black skin.

The island we stand on rumbles and shifts.

Portions of the rocky floor begin to fracture and flood the island with even more molten rock. The cracks are inching closer, threatening to collapse the entire area we stand on at any given moment.

As I stare into the lurking monster’s deep red eyes, I feel the intense wav...

Dungeon Diver CH216

I slowly turn around, taking in my surroundings from all directions.

The air ripples and bends from the incredible heat, making it near impossible to see without the aid of my perception skills. The intense royal blue glow by my side from Maria shines brighter than I’ve ever seen before.

Waves of fire-imbued magic force their way through her defenses, constantly inching closer to burn her skin, but the ice mage pushes onwards digging deep into mana stores unused in any past batt...

Dungeon Diver CH215

I use my telekinesis skill to lift the Firestone from the bubbling pit of molten rock.

Its crackling and flaming with intense heat, but not nearly as powerful as the two stones I’ve encountered in the past.

There’s also a bright pink mana crystal floating by its side. I’ve never tried melting one since I was a much lower level, but it appears they’re heat-resistant even to molten rock. I chuckle and lift it out of the small lava pool with my skill as well.

I place th...

Dungeon Diver CH214

The light blue spinning mass of energy shines bright against the rock wall of the cave.

It lets off a barely audible hum.

Maria shrugs when she sees it, letting out a sigh then begins to walk off to where we were initially headed.

“Not the break. Let’s keep going.”

I throw a hand in the air.

“Hey, hey! Wait a second, don’t you want to at least check it out? Ya never know what’s in there. And- well. I’d like to set a teleport point in this dungeon to...

Dungeon Diver CH213

I stare into the cave in front of me, and it stares back…

The buzz of mana fills the air, even audible for those that don’t have advanced mana detection abilities like myself.

The yellow light from within the cave reflects off its orange walls, shining out with a warm inviting hue.

I take out my sword, and Maria follows behind me.

Arie and Abby start to walk close behind.

I peer into the open cave’s mouth. Rubble lines the walls and steam fills the air, pus...

Dungeon Diver CH212

Danny waves to us as we approach.

"Not at all, I sure am happy to see you too. How do you like your new rides?"

Today he's wearing a new long red robe with a light defense buff, just like the older man that greeted us on our way in here yesterday.

The two golden brown camels have a similar colored cloth over their humps with comfortable but lightweight-looking seating for two on each attached.

He speaks again.

"Hop on, I'll take you to the other side of town to f...

Dunegon Diver CH211

“Sure, I think we can make a deal.”

I let the small dark red flame on my finger flicker out as the frail hunter replies.

“Really? You’ll help us out? What’s your price? I don’t have much at all, but I could get together 100 silver- or- well 1 Gold coin’s worth of silver and bronze that is. I’d have to collect it from everyone that’s willing to pitch in.”

I turn to my teammates.

“What do ya think? A small detour can’t hurt as long as we’re gett...

Dungeon Diver CH210

All 4 of us walk toward the back of the crowded mercenary guild through the tables full of people, sloshing drinks, various colored coins, and magical items being traded.

The situation with a presumably well-known fire-using grunt has distracted the crowd’s attention from our entrance enough that we make it to the front counter without any trouble.

The old white-haired guild manager shows us a professional smile as we approach and gives a nod before speaking up in a much more co...

Dungeon Diver CH209

We approach the desert village and my eyes widen as I take in the view.

This place looks so alive…

There are kids playing and villagers buying and selling goods in the streets.

Mana crystals, potions, food, handmade clothing, and all kinds of other magical items fill the tables and tents that line the streets.

As soon as we approach, an older man greets us. He’s no more than 160cm tall, wearing a pale red robe, and sporting a wide smile across his wrinkled face. 2023-07-25 22:11:24 +0000 UTC View Post

Dungeon Diver CH208

“Perfect. It’s not on that map, but there’s a small village on our way if we take a quick detour. I recommend we stop there for the night.”

While Arie speaks about this mysterious village, I stare down at the clear crystal ball in my left hand.

The blue text from earlier still glows over it in my mind’s eye…

[Use Advanced Mana Manipulation]

Advanced Perk: [Temporary Minion]

Enter Desired Level: 0-423

[YES][NO]

Maria looks over at me while ...

Dungeon Diver CH207

“It has, four cores….”

My eyes adjust to the overly bright Boss Room light and see the readings my data collection skills have gathered.

The final boss is 100m meters away. It’s level 443 and it has 4 cores, one of which is [Bonded].

I’m not entirely sure what this additional detail means, but I do know is we have a monster to defeat. This is our first of many Boss rooms that I’m looking forward to this week.

The 4 of us run forward into the blinding light ...

Dungeon Diver CH206

I watch the Boss Room portal turn a darker shade of grey after the eerie energy pulses out from it. I can't feel it, but my All-Seeing Eye picks up a reading of a nearly invisible mana shoot out in all directions.

More importantly, there are two Mutant Golems guarding the boss room portal with dual cores.

The landscape below is less dry and flat than up here. Small green and yellow shrubs grow out from the bases of high orange rock structures scattered along the desert floor. A br...

Dungeon Diver CH205

The 4 of us backtrack and collect all the shattered black cores from the fallen golems. Their bodies of rock and sand have not disappeared at all.

They’re just laying in chunks and piles all over the desert floor. It’s been close to 10 minutes now, so that confirms my theory that the monsters that die out here won’t dissolve until the Dungeon collapses.

The cores from the monsters that Abby and Maria took on are blown to pieces. The two of that Ari and I faced solo seem to s...

Dungeon Diver CH204

Our first battle in the Dark Continent is getting started.

The hard sand-covered ground feels like it’s rumbling beneath my feet. The cloud of golden brown dust in front of us grows larger and larger until one of the monsters finally shows itself…

My gaze lifts upwards as Abby and Maria charge at the beast that finally reveals its form.

A pair of dark orange glowing eyes is the first thing that I see appear through the cloud of sand, then a 2-meter-thick arm of stone rea...

Dungeon Diver CH203

I peer down into the desolate landscape behind the stone wall that blocks the dark continent from the rest of the world.

There are rolling hills or sand and jagged pillars of rock that stick out in seemingly random formations. Abandoned dirt roads lead off in all directions and the hint of civilization still lingers… barely…

I can feel the slight buzzing vibrations of a strong mana shield not too far away both on my left and right sides.

What Charolette said about the wa...

Dungeon Diver CH202

Charlotte, the orange-haired bartender comes over to us with a bright smile across her face and two steaming hot circular trays of food.

Pitchers of juices and ice-cold water slosh around, making my mouth water at the sight of them.

“Dig in, you all have a long day ahead of you!”

We do as she says.

After 30 minutes of a satisfying feast, the 5 of us sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet of a near-empty tavern in the middle of the open desert on a full stomach of g...

Dungeon Diver CH201

I hear the confident voice of a woman fill my ears as Leo disappears through the front entrance of the wooden cabin.

My other teammates are a few steps ahead of me, so they enter and I follow soon after.

Taking one last look over my shoulder, making a mental note of the open desert and lonely deserted town, I walk through the tavern’s front door.

A bit of dust has kicked up from the 5 of us walking through, but it settles as I shut the heavy wooden frame behind me.

T...

Dungeon Diver CH200

I watch the busy marketplace fade away in the distance as the train leaves the station. All my teammates and our silver-haired guide watch the capital disappear from view as we leave as well.

Almost immediately, we enter a more mountainous region with heavy trees and small lakes that line the train tracks.

We’ve headed almost a full day away from the capital. I’ve never been this far away from my hometown before. Going to the capital was a big deal the first time I left, so wh...

Dungeon Diver CH199

"I can answer all your questions on the way. Come on, let's go. It's time to head out. You have some dungeons to clear."

Leo, the silver-haired artificer motions for all of us to follow as he begins walking toward the elevator at the back of the penthouse office.

I turn to follow, but Abby speaks up to stop us.

"Hey, that's it? No mission specifications? No intel on the dungeons we're facing? You're just handing us a poorly drawn map and transmission tablets to go?"

Sh...

Dungeon Diver CH198

“Now, let’s talk about your new mission to the Dark Continent.”

The Director’s blond-haired assistant places 4 silver tablets on the wooden desk in front of us with a loud thud, exclaiming that our mission to the Dark Continent is about to begin.

The corners of my lips begin to curl upwards and I whisper under my breath.

“Finally.”

Both Abby and Maria look up at the tall thin woman behind the desk with wide eyes. The sun shines in from behind her showing of...

Dungeon Diver CH197

With a light click, the door from the mini market to the lounge area in the back of the Association HQ opens up and the sight before my eyes puts a smile on my face.

Sitting all together on one of the circular couches next to the small cafe, I see my 3 teammates drinking coffee and eating small pastries.

I begin to walk over and raise a hand, but I’m interrupted by a blond-haired blue-eyed hunter running towards me with arms outstretched.

“Jay, you made it back! I knew y...