Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster’s Power

Ava surpassed level 10,000 after killing the 3 other Demonic guards that were attacking us.

I send out a pulse of perception, watching four more nearby zones full of guards on duty coming our way; and even further out, transmissions from guard posts further up and around the mountain are being sent out, alerting every Demonic Beast within a 3000 kilometer radius that there are intruders in our exact zone.

"Rank up, I'll hold off the attackers while you're out. You're going to need the extra strength."

In my head, I think to myself that I need every bit of extra power I can get too. My wave of perception imbued with my full mana and divine energy still doesn't penetrate the True Guardian's status at the top of the mountain.

Killing a few more Demonic Beasts may limit me in time, but it seems like the best option I have to adapt to the pressure down here further.

Ava responds while the rock paths to our left and right begin to rumble lightly, as more troops from the neighboring surveillance zones start to come in.

"Alright. I trust you, protect me while I'm out."

I turn around, and we both lock eyes and nod while she sits on the cold ground and presses [Rank Up] in her status.

Her entire Avatar starts to glow with bright white light, but I turn my head away once the two groups of Cyclops and Orcs begin running at a far faster pace with their soul weapons raised.

Even crescents of demonic energy, in the shape of arrows and claw marks, come flying out from the green fog.

I activate shadow step, imbue ether and divine flames into my blade, and go on the attack.

[Level Up] x311

[Level Up] x270

[Level Up] x205

[Level Up] x162

[Level Up] x143

[Level Up] x112

[Use Absorption]

Skill: Swordsmanship

Upgrade: Divine Grade

[YES] [NO]

In less than 4 seconds, I zip through the entire lineup of Orcs and Cyclops to my right side. The majority have standard defense and strength buffs, but one of their members is a very strong High Orc that carries a long sword; when I kill it, I get the option to accept a divine swordsmanship skill. ṚÅΝО𝐁ÈṦ

All of their memories are quite similar to the 3 Demonic Beasts I killed moments ago, and it takes me less than a second to fully contain and adapt to the pressure of divine energy outside and 6 new demonic worlds full of stats added to my status.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

I turn and shadowstep over a kilometer to my left with two simple strides, using Ava's shadow as a bounce point, reappearing in front of her and disappearing to appear right within the second horde of beasts.

With my foresight and swordsmanship creating a synchronicity of unique true core traits, I see perfect threads where my blade can travel in my vision. They are constantly shifting, as fractions of seconds pass; but everything feels so fluid and natural.

[Level Up] x101

[Level Up] x94

[Level Up] x82

[Level Up] x81

[Level Up] x77

[Level Up] x75

[Use Absorption]

Skill: Combat Magic: Earth Summoning

Upgrade: Supreme Grade

[YES] [NO]

One of the High Orcs was slightly larger than the others again, it had an earth summoning skill, but it wasn't even able to use it before I killed it instantly.

Less than 3 seconds pass before this next horde of 6 Demonic Beasts lies dead on the floor.

Their memories surge into me, but I don't even lose focus on the outside world as I close my barrier and restabilize my physical flesh with the pressure.

I can feel it's only a matter of time before I'll be able to fight and heal simultaneously; and the excitement in my heart grows as I let out a laugh and turn my head up the mountain where I see another horde of 6 Demonic Beasts charging my way.

As I shadowstep forward, I enjoy every single slash and movement I make; realizing these past few days how limited my power really was in that exile zone when I first landed down here.

[Level Up] x74

[Level Up] x72

[Level Up] x70

[Level Up] x69

[Level Up] x67

[Level Up] x62

This entire horde falls dead, with no unique skills to upgrade mine this time around, but it doesn't stop me from celebrating outwardly as I turn around again and shadowstep toward the new group of Demonic Guards coming up the mountain's backside behind Ava.

While slicing through more Beasts, I wonder if that sacrifice earlier will truly pay off with greater rewards in the end.

All of the memories I've absorbed so far have given me no insight into what Avatars really are, and why they allow Ether commands but limit their users to not use the substance to its true potential.

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These thoughts race through my mind as I cut through this Demonic Beast Guard grouping, and two more groups of six each that follow up again from all over the mountain.

[Level Up] x629

After killing these 18 Demonic Beasts, my level rises to [Lv. 29,772] and my World Token rises to [242], granting me many more 2nd Class Demonic Worlds. In addition to pure stat increases, my divine core burns far hotter, and I estimate my Low Quality Ether stores have increased by at least another ten thousand points.

On the new worlds that float within the darkness of my mind; I feel all of the forced links within them mutate. Every citizen that is now under my rule, intelligent or not, is now capable of using a mana-based level system to grow stronger; even though many of their worlds are drained completely of this substance and overrun by pure demonic energy.

By now, I'm only gaining 20-30 levels per kill, and many transmissions around the mountain have reported their teams being slaughtered; so from a pulse of perception, I find that many Orcs and Cyclops are grouping up into larger more structured lines far away, and are preparing for a more strategic attack.

From the memories I've absorbed, this formation seems very familiar, so I'm prepared for what's to come.

I can stay with my barrier down for up to 10 seconds, and it takes less than half a second now to acclimate afterward. Even then, I'm still able to do basic maneuvers while processing the excess threads and pressure.

Even so, as I look up to the mountain's top, I see the two massive doors have closed the access point even further.

It's been about a minute since it started closing at most, and almost 25% of the surface area where white light was emerging from has been covered up.

"There isn't much time left..." I whisper to myself while I feel more hordes of Demonic Guards marching my way in a far more organized fashion.

At the same time, Ava's Avatar glows brighter and brighter white in the back of my vision.

This glow is what I've been battling around this whole time, and now it's hit its brightest point.

I wait a few more seconds, gripping my blade and preparing to take on the groups of dozens of Demonic Beasts soon at once; however, as they emerge from the fog, Ava's avatar flashes brightly for a final time, then goes completely dark.

A bright flash of white and green light flashes by me, and I see a large green figure, easily 6 or 7 meters tall, a similar height to the Goblin King. However, it is far more slim, muscular, and curvy; streaking through the air with a hammer that has grown over 3 times in size as well.

Without fully focusing on the Goblin Queen with my all-seeing eye and foresight, I would miss the astonishing display of a mana and ether-imbued hammer shattering multiple Demonic Avatars with every swing.

A full 3% of the stats from many worlds flows through her veins, and it's clear as gravity bends light around her while Demonic monsters triple her level are squashed like flies.

My eyes linger on the skin-tight obsidian armor that has grown and evolved with her Avatar, though my deep gaze focuses more within her avatar as a whole rather than the features on the outside.

I can see through her, and every single Demonic Beast on this mountain.

My powerful Ether senses, trained with over 900 thousand years of subconscious practice, are the reason I'm able to sense ether stones and feel enemies from afar with such accuracy.

Similar to the Wyvern's scanning technique, I can do the same, and until now, the only outliers in my eyes on this entire Exile plot were the Wyvern watching us below, and the Guardian at the top of this mountain.

Now, it's as though a series of strange fractures have been formed in Ava's avatar. The fractures allow her true mind and being to peek through the Avatar that once completely shielded her from reality.

I don't know if it's because of her unique skill, or the fact that she's ranked up while using an avatar, or that far more than the natural limit of stats is surging through her system. However, I do know what I see is real.

Physical Ether is leaking from her Avatar, and being subconsciously channeled through her attacks to make them even stronger; competing with the overwhelming amount of mana and divine energy being used.

–

I just watch with my eyes widened as she kills over 20 Demonic Beasts in seconds, and only her louder far more confident voice breaks me out of my trance.

"Thanks for the spot. Now it's my turn to hold these beasts off. You head for the Guardian before time runs out!"

She turns around with a grin while smashing through an Orc's head, shattering its entire body to pieces from the overwhelming pressure and infusion of physical Ether.

I kick off the ground with wind magic, then reply, "Good. Collect those soul weapons once you're done here, it'd be a waste to leave them all behind..." then disappear into the shadows.

Another loud crash is heard behind me as I reappear 100 meters away, and she kills another Demonic Beast with a single strike. "Got it!"

I tip my sword's blade down to the ground, and let it absorb one of the fallen beast's soul weapons from earlier that I hadn't collected yet, and do the same with about a dozen more before I get out of range and focus solely on climbing the peak.

Ava and the Demonic Beasts are nearly equal in size, but it's a total slaughter. There is nothing to worry about anymore; she'll handle herself just fine.

–

My footsteps are silent up the foggy peak, using the shadows of patrolling guards to speed up my movements and stay completely concealed.

I don't kill any more of them, as there is a network that alerts surrounding zones if avatars are killed in ones nearby. I merely use them as a quick means for transportation.

In just about half a minute, traveling up to 500 meters per step, I make it all the way through the middle of the peak with all kinds of twisting pathways, mining pits, small bases with green structures for guards to rest, and even passing a few of the higher tiered guards with more than just one world.

While some look extremely interesting to fight, the greatest opponent of all is right in front of me.

I make my last shadowstep, and no more guards are up this high on the peak. The final few kilometers up the mountain are traveled by airstepping my way up until reaching the edge where there is a semi-flat area of land.

It is about 50 kilometers wide, with a few small hills and pits.

These are mainly caused by the mass dumping of drained worlds from the citadel above. They fall directly onto the top of this peak, and the Guardian continuously pushes them off its flattened area it calls home.

This allows for new resources to fall down the mountain's sides, and for miners to collect newly dropped ether stones, while also keeping the peak from growing too high.

If left on its own, within just a few years, the pile would be far too large, and touch the bottom of the citadel.

It is at the perfect height, and this is one of the many reasons this enormous beast and the exile mining zones work in a perfect symbiotic relationship.

As I step onto a portion of flat ground, unknown to me, I've just passed through the invisible final zone barrier. It sends a barrage of system alert notifications into the mind of the 150 meter tall shadowy guardian who's back is turned toward me.