Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster’s Power

17,742,991 people simultaneously receive a notification on their status and a gentle pull at the back of their consciousness, connecting them to a live video and sensory feed of what is happening inside the black tower at the center of the Dark Continent.

Some wake up with a lifelike movie playing in the back of their mind, unaware of what the link of loyalty they made on a whim for an extra stat boost was, but now they're beginning to see the whole picture.

Others are at a family breakfast table, or out and about in the streets on their way to work, and now almost 1 in every 3 people see this live feed pop up in their mind's eye.

The major cities in the 8 great regions and Dark Continent all stand still for a moment in time as the raw emotions and 360 degree view of the battle scene before them is shared.

Those that do not share the link begin asking questions and wonder what they're missing out on, as it seems mass hysteria has captured the nation.

---

Even surrounding the black tower, all of the Crimson Army and Inner Circle receive this link as they all stand on guard with bated breath, waiting for their enemies to make a move.

Now, they too see what is happening within the tower.

The sudden jolt in aura and movement from the Crimson Army prompts the Demonic Forces to act.

The two strongest True Core Generals stand beside each other. One stands 7m tall with a long black spear in hand that matches the obsidian gloss of his horns.

The other, with shimmering bronze horns, standing an identical height of 7m with daggers all over his waist, speaks up to his fellow True Core.

"The New Lord has entered the throne. The Vermillion Empire has grown its reach by another world. Today will be a great day; our reputation in the 5 Great Families shall rise."

The black-horned True Core nods, staring at the Crimson Army and focusing on Raven.

"Yes, but we must do our job on the outside while our Lord secures the throne. That force has a very strong True Core of their own."

The bronze-horned dagger wielder stares at the massive forces of the Central Association, as they have about half a dozen mid-level yellow cores.

"Call me if your squad needs backup. The two groups that came from a foreign land won't take long. Remember, our orders were to keep the strong in line and only kill them if they're going to be a threat in the future or uncooperative."

The black-horned spear wielder grins.

"It won't be a problem. I can always unseal the Vermillion Bloodline if I'm in a bind."

Both Head Demon Generals erupt with the full power of their True Core's aura and give orders to the remaining 4 High-Level Yellow Cored Generals, who yell out orders to their lower ranks one by one.

The forces split into two groups and move out to subjugate the human race.

---

Meanwhile, inside the throne, yellow text hovers before my eyes in front of my two swords and the bright glowing originator artifact that just blocked Redgrave's sword.

[Craft Soul Weapon]

[YES][NO]

Past my blades, I see Redgrave shaking himself out of the impact he's made with the rock about 15 kilometers away, and hear an angry, rage-filled yell come out of him that sends ripples of divine energy pulsing through the entire room.

I know I have to act fast, but I've never heard of this term 'Soul Weapon' before.

Both of my blades are selected as the base material within my Mythic Grade craftsmanship interface, but there are no external popups explaining what this craft will do.

The Amplifier is selected as the power source, similar to if I were to use an element stone with a normal craft.

However, I can feel my True Core pouring energy into this entire process, similar to using mana crystals as a catalyst for a craft.

It all seems far above the capabilities a simple skill like craftsmanship should be able to do, but just like the time I exposed myself to large amounts of Green Divine threads and my body and the system itself began to mutate as a result of it; this feels just the same.

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I need something to bring my abilities to the next level, and my current weapons can't handle the abuse they've been taking much longer. Any more of this and they could take on divine energy wounds that need far longer to heal or, in the worst case scenario, permanently break.

As Redgrave's angry yells cease and his gaze turns to me again, I press [YES] without delaying any longer.

The red and black blades begin to fill with energy from my True Core, saturating them far more than they ever have in battle, beyond their limits, while the yellow cube floats closer to the center between the blades.

I feel the swords begin to pull toward the cube between them with a force of gravity of their own, and I instinctively let go while divine threads continue to flood out from my fingertips to power the process taking place.

The two blades begin to spin around the cube and shine brighter and brighter, giving off the shine and gravity signature of a newly forming True Core.

I watch in awe as they spin faster, getting closer together, while Redgrave kicks off the stone structure at the back of the room to stop whatever I'm doing and attempt to end this fight.

Shockwaves erupt from the bottom of the room as well, as Ember fends off the bloodhound relentlessly, sending flames his way.

The two rotating swords spin so fast and shine so bright, it's hard to see where each one is, and I can't even see the exact location of the originator artifact. I can only make a guess based on the dense center of gravity pulling this craft together.

Redgrave yells at the top of his lungs while swinging his sword across his body my way.

"This is it! You're finished! Not only am I going to obliterate the Eight Great Regions and Dark Continent, I'll slaughter every one of those divine-cored allies you've been nurturing below the Crimson City. Beckman wanted to keep them as farming slaves, but I'll give them a fate worse than that because you scratched my new armor against that rock!"

His laugh and crazed stare return as he gets up close again, and at the same time, a pulse of incredibly dense divine energy and dark red energy explodes out from the center of the three objects that I set out to merge.

My reflexes take over, as there's only a fraction of a second to spare.

I jump off the wall and grab the object from within the aura of divine energy, and swing it across my body while positioning myself to receive the least lethal strike if all still fails.

However, my safety measures aren't necessary.

Both of my hands grasp around a glossy dark red longsword. Its color changes like it's alive, shifting from black to red to yellow to even white as my True Core instantly synchronizes with the blade in my hand as if it's an extension of my own body.

My system interface picks up a glimpse of its new status reading, stored in my subconscious.

-

Divine Emperor's Soul Sword [Soul Bonded][Evolution Attribute: Lv. 0][Fire Affinity][Dark Affinity][+2769% Strength][+2518% Mental Strength][+2502% Speed][+2240% Agility][+2149% Defense]

-

It collides with the hot yellow blade that Redgrave wields, and we're both trapped in mid-air with equal force.

The eruption of raw red and yellow flames intertwined with gravity waves that comes off it is even more brutal than our last exchange.

The old man's crazed gaze locks with mine, and when my sword withstands the blow of the attack, and a surge of hundreds of thousands of new links of loyalty's stats come flooding into my body, I have just the extra push I need to deflect the incoming strike.

I twist my body out of the way to swing again and counter with a slash that lands a gash across the massive greater form's chest.

We're both sent flying back again by the shockwave, but this time, I'm not injured at all.

It's my laugh that echoes through the room now, sending ripples of fear through the self-proclaimed strongest divine fire magic user in the world.

While the counter I sent his way hardly made it through his armor and only left a small scratch on his real skin, it is the first injury this man has felt in decades.

I yell back while jumping off the wall, amplifying my flame's heat, and letting more and more True Core's threads flood into the upgraded weapon in my grasp.

"I'm going to do a lot more than scratch that armor of yours! If you're one of the newest links that just joined the show, I thank you for the push. Today's series of battles have just begun."

Redgrave grits his teeth and holds his sword tight again, but doesn't build up enough momentum to properly block my incoming strike.

As our swords clash again, he's sent flying to the opposite corner of the room, as he's blocked my attack at an awkward angle, and his mind is shaken from the absurdity of my upgrade mid-fight.

Without having to waste time healing myself after every exchange, I immediately kick myself off the nearest rock structure and follow his flight path to send another strike his way with no mercy; going straight for the vitals as fast as I can.

There's another explosion of flames as he blocks me, still with superior overall strength on his side, but I position my strike to send him flying into the nearest rock structure. Then, spin around it to land another hit on one of his exposed legs, melting through his blood-bonded armor again, and leaving another small divine wound on his flesh.

Every few seconds, I feel more links of loyalty forming as a great surge of people not wanting to miss out on the odd shared phenomena spreads like wildfire.

Even so, in the pace that this battle is taking place, I still won't be stronger than my enemy before it's over.

I have to rely on the momentum I have now, and my superior agility and perception.

With a grin across my face, with eyes wide mimicking the crazed state of the man that threatened my life and everything I hold dear, I yell out again while sizing up my next strike.

"What was that? You said you'd do what to my inner circle? And what was it that you were going to do to the nations of people I've vowed to protect today?"

Redgrave is thrown back again as I hit him at an awkward angle, and I manage a secondary swing that rips through his chestplate again, leaving another gash.

There's no response from my taunt, as the old man's fiery, crazed, playful attitude is completely gone.

I land 7 more hits over the next half a minute, but this is over 20 exchanges, as it gets harder and harder to land the perfect shot.

His eyes show hints of fear and despair, but this emotion fades too. His aura grows more callous and his mind becomes more focused after each of our exchanges.

My instincts tell me I need to finish this fast, as the longer I put off landing a fatal hit, the more time this multi-century-old battle master will have to remember his prime and truly come out of retirement as he said he would...