Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster’s Power

Just over 16 minutes ago, the Ellipsia Citadel encounters the same Realm Wave, and the usual protocol is followed.

An automated Citadel notification rings in all of the citizens' ears, and notices to seek shelter and go inside are all anyone can see or hear on their system interfaces.

While some of the newer Lords that have ascended in the last few years panic, the majority of the citadel is used to this event and calmly take fast travel orbs to the nearest public buildings before the wave hits.

Many feel a strange sensation, as if they are watching their own bodies bend in non-comprehensible directions, and slight ringing in their ears followed by nausea; but this is nothing out of the ordinary.

It ripples through the old structures within the Berserkers' bases, and for the first time in 3 days, Zashen gets 4 seconds of rest between near-death mental attacks.

Though, coming back to reality and having his mind and body bent and twisted while simultaneously healing himself could be considered an even worse and more difficult experience than just the normal mind tempering.

In fact, the very survival instinct Ember was digging for activates as the 1st Class Berserker fights for his life in a strange gravity wave. The red glow in the Berserker's eyes vibrates with what feels like sharp blades, as a part of the war-hungry monster's intent moves the ether in its mind in the absence of perceived time, on instinct alone.

While Ember grins and prepares to attack Zashen again with double the intensity, the wave travels through the High Orc tower as well.

–

Asic and Torvak brace themselves, but have been through thousands of these waves in their past, so they're not very concerned.

Neither even mentions it out loud; they simply stop moving for a moment.

Though, this simple impact isn't the greatest result of the wave.

From below them, as soon as the wave begins to warp their perception of reality, enormous arcs of white ether tethered to green divine threads fluctuating at the same frequency of Noble Vibrations seem to be bursting from the floor and exploding outward.

The physical material in the environment seems as though it's not dense enough to block the force coming through.

Even from outside the tower, if someone were to look from a street view, it appears as though unfathomable layers of strange shimmering translucent auras are bursting out from the tower as its walls are bent and folded in on themselves.

The expansion of this energy seems to be erupting outward and sending power outages through the entirety of the citadel. However, at the same time, the building stands completely still.

Time isn't passing within the wave.

Those that are not directly looking at the source of the erupting chaos do not even know it's happening.

Torvak and Asic, who look down at the floor, feel their systems flicker, and the illusion of cold pours through their veins as if they're being greatly suppressed by a Noble Bloodline. But when the wave passes, so does this feeling that felt like a dream.

No remnants of this anomaly actually made it out of the tower. It's as if reality itself glitched for a moment, and only those who were paying close attention could see.

The street outside remains silent, and the black doors remain closed.

–

Ava has collected about 400,000 Low Quality Ether in the last 3 days while looking through the central peak for 3rd Class Ether Stones.

At first, she had to scan each stone individually, but slowly, as more Ether poured into her system, the cracks in her avatar became far more noticeable.

While she's not able to pinpoint each stone exactly, a warm sensation in the back of her mind allows her to pinpoint the directions of where larger deposits sit.

Every new stone, granting her 1–3 more Low Quality Ether each, allows her senses to slowly become more refined.

In between searching sessions, every few hours, Ava has been mentally mapping the entire Exile Zones, and flying out to inform groups of freed exile slaves of their opportunity to get a ride back up to the Citadel in a few days.

During this time, she has always kept in touch with the generals down in the Lower Realm.

There is no connection to the Rising Emperor at the moment, so Raven has been sending Ava daily updates on their progress.

She is the only one with a True Core already formed, so total concentration is not as vital for her while cultivating fragments.

Ava learns of the fact that they have made an agreement with another strong race in the Lower Realm, and are planning to use their resources to push their progress to the limits if they want to be ready in just 19 more days.

–

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However, when the Realm Wave hits, Ava has little knowledge of what it is.

A wave like this has come through her Exile Zones only a single-digit number of times before.

Though, once the first odd twisting of her body and mind stops, multiple daily notifications from Raven begin pinging in her inner ear.

Less than a minute since the wave has passed, and she instantly understands what has begun.

Ava knows direct telepathic communication won't be effective, so a single written message is sent.

She looks up in the air toward the bottom of the Citadel and smiles, speaking under her breath.

"Maybe they have more time than you thought. We'll be even more prepared."

Another daily notification rings in Ava's inner ear just a few seconds later.

–

However, back in the Lower Realm, at the time of the Realm Wave, everything seems to be moving along as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened.

Over the last 3 days where times between Realms were synchronized, Bri and Alveron have begun negotiating the terms of their trade deal in order to get enough materials for a craft being built in the Upper Realm.

No contact between them and the Rising Emperor could be made, but he did say he would be in a training session for an indefinite period.

Their only contact above is Ava. The two began sending messages back and forth starting the day orders were sent out.

Another 5 days pass, and Raven's daily updates are sent just as requested, and they're usually sent back responses; however, the last few days of chats between the two are one-sided.

[Day 4 Update] [Raven]: Today, after 4 full days using the Advanced Cultivation Chambers in Central, Arie formed his Red Core.

[Day 5 Update] [Raven]: Nothing out of the ordinary to report. True Core progress with Abby and Maria is steady, but still slow. Arie is working on his Orange Core.

[Day 6 Update] [Raven]: Good news. Two of the Commanders, Fisher and Lydia, finally awakened their Yellow Cores today. They will be a good addition to the human forces once we leave.

[Day 7 Update] [Raven]: Nothing out of the ordinary to update. Looking forward to a response.

[Day 8 Update] [Raven]: Bri finalized the terms to a trade and teleport contract deal with a strong 1st Class planet cluster. We have confirmation that their cultivation technology is superior and far more efficient. This may be exactly what we need in order to finish the mission in just 2 more weeks. We'll be leaving in the morning. I'll update you on the facilities once we visit tomorrow.

–

While Raven is a bit confused why the responses stopped after just 3 days, she assumes Ava has a mission of her own to fulfill, and it may be even more burdensome than hers.

Though, a strange response comes back to her in the middle of the night.

[Emergency Update] [Ava]: The Upper Realm has undergone what is known as a Realm Wave... It appears to be a blessing in disguise, but may be a curse if it is a long one. My knowledge of these natural disasters is not perfect, but I do know when one hits, the flow of time between Realms becomes disjointed. While 5 days have passed since I've responded, barely a minute has gone by in the Realm above... I do not know how long this wave will last, but I know time will continue to flow in strange ways until it's over. As you send me daily reports, I will send you reports back by the minute. It seems you have extra time, so do not waste it.

Raven's eyes widen when she sees this ping, as she realizes if what Ava says is true, time is moving 1440x faster in the Lower Realm, or possibly faster... if 1 minute accounts for 5 full days without contact.

She drops the yellow fragment that is half-absorbed in her hand to the ground in the middle of a black room and takes a few deep breaths.

She then looks left and right as in separate chambers of this facility made by the old Order, Abby and Maria are attempting to absorb as many fragments as they can to increase the size and density of their cores in order to trigger True Core collapses by force like the Rising Emperor did.

Though, everyone here knows that they are moving to a new facility tomorrow that Bri's new business contact has created for them.

Instead of disturbing the generals while they still have a few hours to work before the transport is scheduled, Raven calls Bri, and the two of them see each other floating in the same simulated hologram.

Bri looks as if she hasn't slept in over a week, in fact, she hasn't, but her eyes still burn with the fire for more profits while the system is still fresh and not exploited to its maximum potential yet.

She speaks first.

"This is the first I'm hearing of you since I secured access to higher-grade cultivation chambers. There are still a few hours until we leave. Is there a problem? Do I need to push it back or cancel?"

Raven pauses, as she's still thinking over the gravity of Ava's message, but she shakes her head and responds a few seconds later.

"No. There is no problem. Moving the generals to these chambers used on 1st Class worlds is a necessary course of action. I fear they are missing out on potential by not borrowing stats while breaking through to the True Core Stage. One's True Core ability often mirrors their actions before and during the breakthrough itself, so an optimal environment where they can truly go all out without fear of destroying facilities or the world itself is needed...."

Raven stays silent again, and Bri just raises an eyebrow, waiting.

"So there is a problem, isn't there? What is it?"

Raven shakes her head.

"No, it's not a problem. There's actually good news. We have more time than we thought... I just don't know how much yet."

Even more intrigued, Bri listens carefully as Raven explains her thoughts and shows her the exact message Ava sent.

Bri responds.

"Perfect. I'll have even more time to fulfill Jay's request. I won't have to drain too many worlds dry of resources. We can evenly and more slowly scrape profits off the top from just a few thousand. This works even better in our favor. Please do send me updates if you receive more. I have one last task to follow through on before we make our way to Kelfar, the 1st Class Demonic World. I'll see you in a few hours."

Raven nods, smiling with a bit less stress weighing down on her shoulders.

"Good, see you soon."

Their transmission link cuts off, and Raven is left alone in her dark cultivation room with sparkles of yellow threads still swirling about from her last session.

–

Bri, on the other hand, is no longer in the Apex Region's Association Headquarters.

She's with one of the Rising Emperor's left-behind body doubles, in the heart of the canyon of dungeons in the Crimson City.

The two of them enter the Crimson City labyrinth and dungeon-walk all the way to the top floor, where they find a Demon and a Dragon saturated with vibrant red divine energy.

At first, the pair get ready to attack, but once Bri pulls two containment cases from her storage to drop to the ground between them, they hear her out.

"Your name is Pluto, correct? The Demon Lord you made a deal with has given me orders to give you an extension to your proposition."

She looks down at one of the containment cases that is full of incredibly dense crystallized mana farmed from a 1st Class world.

"That right there is enough mana to bring this labyrinth to 200 floors. That would bring it to its next stage, a milestone in which you could close the labyrinth and succeed in your trial. With that, you'd be granted a one-way ticket home."

She looks to the other containment case.

"Before you return, you're going to need to get quite a bit stronger if you'll be of any use... There are a few things our leader wants you to take with you, as he cannot attend your departure himself."

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