Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster’s Power

Another dozen exchanges pass, and neither of us lands a single hit on the other.

Redgrave's advantage at the start, as I had a weaker set of weapons, has been nullified; and now, the element of surprise is no longer to my advantage as the divine flame user is fully focused and waiting for me to slip up.

Two massive divine energy wounds burn in my chest, while ten smaller slashes glow all over Redgrave.

All over this side of the world, more and more people are stopped in place, pausing their usual morning tasks to watch the movie playing in the back of their minds.

My understanding of the scenes playing out is transmitted to their subconscious minds, allowing them to receive a high level of perception of my surroundings.

Even if this wasn't an extreme life-or-death battle, the clarity with which I'm looking into my surroundings would already be jaw-dropping. Even the speed at which I'm processing changing variables is transferred to the viewers minds in a digestible manner.

The looks of awe and amazement on family members and friends prompt tens of thousands more links to rush in every few seconds, not wanting to miss out on the world-shaking event happening—or at the very least to be entertained.

The pairs of eyes watching me surpass 18 million, and rise with every exchange, adding more base stats to every strike I throw.

Not only this, but I become far more proficient with my new blade. It is longer, heavier, and sharper than any sword I've ever used before, but with every hit, I feel more confident throwing more deadly strikes.

Redgrave also falls into his own rhythm, digging deep into the depths of his mind to remember the old days when he was fighting to the top to become one of the three strongest figures in this world, even before it was connected to the system.

His calculated gaze grows sharper, and the energy pouring out of his core grows hotter and more precise.

Our rate of improvement feels equal, as both of us are raising the stakes after every exchange.

The old man's anger deep down grows, as he feels he should be the superior fighter by a long shot. It's masked well, but after another dozen clashes without either of us even landing a single hit on one another, his rage comes out, and he yells again... but not at me.

"Hey Mut! Ignore that overgrown lizard and help me take this imposter down. I have trials to complete, I can't be wasting my energy on this warmup."

A ripple of fear comes out in his yell as he looks down at the battle below, and I take advantage of his plea for help to land another light slash on his midsection.

I grin and kick off the air to follow the old man.

Down below, Ember shows off a toothy grin as well, realizing I've turned the battle around and put all of the odds in my favor.

The fiery hound that Ember has been trading equal blows with turns its gaze toward me, and its collar burns bright yellow, mimicking the True Core glow that Redgrave's sword gives off.

The flames that erupt from the monstrous hound's mouth are many times hotter and stronger than its past ones, and a yellow aura surrounds its body, showing off a greater energy form manifesting around it.

The massive wall of flames sent Ember's way is meant as a distraction as the bloodhound jumps upward toward me, attempting to keep me occupied while Redgrave gets a hold of himself to send a fatal blow my way.

However, Ember's words before the match began give me confidence that I can focus on my own fight.

He would take care of the pup, and I handle the old man.

I airstep forward without caring to defend against the approaching fiery dog at all.

My gaze and blade are completely focused on Redgrave as I land another hit on his side as he's off-guard again.

The reaction to my hit isn't the same, as his confident fiery attitude returns even while he's sent flying backward into the black wall.

His laughter and mocking tone echo throughout the room while I lunge toward him again, with the bloodhound approaching from my back at a fast rate.

"This is it, you can't dodge both of us! Your measly hits will be a reminder for me to keep my guard up when I climb the tower. I'll still feel these fresh scars when I watch your people burn."

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His eyes widen with his excited crazed stare as I swing my sword across my body, and the hound's open maw is aimed for my exposed back.

Right before its jaws clamp down on me to stop me from swinging at Redgrave, the yellow wall of flames from below that covered Ember pulses and ripples, then parts entirely.

A flash of light beams upward, and a massive dragon's set of claws covered in silver divine light makes contact with the throat of the fiery hound's greater form.

It's sliced through like butter, leaving bone-deep claw marks in its flesh and shattering the yellow collar around its neck.

Crimson blood explodes from the wound, and the greater form of the hound is broken while it's sent flying upward from the impact to smash against the red artificial sky above.

I continue my forward slash while Redgrave's excited gaze turns to fear, and he uses the last few milliseconds to move his sword in front of mine to try and block.

"Too Late."

I yell into his consciousness while twisting my body and completely avoiding his blade to land a direct hit on his right leg.

Without any proper preparation to block, other than the last-ditch effort with his sword, my attack slices cleanly through, crippling him on the spot.

The intensity of the clashing divine flames in the room incinerates the severed flesh before it even falls to the ground.

His murderous roar is horrific, but that doesn't deter me from kicking off the air again to land a counter and leave a deeper gash across his chest before we're both sent flying back.

His greater form allows him to create a phantom limb, so our battle isn't over just yet, but both of us know that was the deciding factor, and the rage-filled flames and incoherent yells he lets out like a kid throwing a tantrum say it all.

Ember soars upward with a single set of claws glowing silver with a calm expression on his face, while I rocket myself forward with the same precision and patience as any other attack and the slow grind continues.

Redgrave's excess energy is now allocated to forming an extra leg, while his mental state is broken again.

I land light hits almost every exchange, landing 34 more divine slashes all over his torso, back, and arms over the next 40 collisions.

Confusion, stress, and fear ripple out of the man that was on top of the world just minutes ago as my strength continues to rise, and his fatigue and blood loss become worse.

The fiery hound's amplifier of a collar has been shattered, and it has to rely on its True Core's strength alone.

Ember doesn't miss a single shot, toying with the pup, leaving claw marks all over its body while sending it flying into pillars and walls with no mercy for its pain-filled howls.

Redgrave's anger takes over, and he loses all focus while yelling out loud as he realizes his end is truly near.

"Beckman! You were wrong! You're never wrong! This isn't right! I'm the strongest!"

He sends waves of fire at the ceiling while his greater form grows and his tantrum gets louder.

I land an easy hit on his left shoulder, as he's not even blocking properly anymore, and slice it clean off, sending it to spiral downward and burn to nothingness in the flames while he yells even more.

"I'm the Strongest Divine Fire User! I can't die, it's impossible! I'll burn this entire world to ash to prove it! The prophecy, the man of flames will be the one to walk through the final door... It's me! This is a dream! This isn't happening—"

His yells are cut short again as I push myself off another nearby pillar and cleanly slice off his last remaining leg, then bounce off the closest wall and slice off the final defending sword-wielding arm without taking another breath.

My mind's eye watches Ember pin the flaming hound to the floor on the opposite side of the room and swipe his claws across its neck to decapitate it, finishing the final blow.

At the same time, while the glowing yellow sword falls to the floor with the defenseless man's burning limbs, I airstep off the air to look the delusional angry man in the eyes while plunging my sword forward into his chest.

Once I feel the Soul Sword pierce his True Core, I finally speak again.

"You were right, this was a good warm up. One down, three to go."

There's a final burst of yellow flames that erupts from Redgrave's greater form, but his mind has become too fractured, and his decades of prophecy driven fantasies of becoming a god have made him far too delusional to even accept the reality in front of him.

I shove my blade deeper into his core, shattering it, and thrusting upward to finish the kill.

His screams vibrate through my body, but I don't feel sorry even for a fraction of a second, as this quick death is a blessing compared to what he taunted he would do to my Empire.

Level-Up Notifications ring in my ears from both Ember's kill and mine. Plus, absorption pop-ups show in my mind's eye as an absurd amount of True Core threads is siphoned out of the greater energy form I've killed and enter my own.

I feel my core grow in size by over five times, and the amount of divine threads coursing through my body multiplies enough to finally fill out my entire greater form to handle the hundreds of millions of borrowed stats coursing through my veins.

[Level Up] x4638

[Use Absorption]

Skill: Fire Summoning

Upgrade: Supreme

[YES][NO]

[Use Absorption]

MCP: 5,988,728,288,427,550

[YES][NO]

[Use Absorption]

Stat: Strength

Points: 9,941

[YES][NO]

I reach [Lv. 12,589] and press [YES] to accept an upgraded version of my fire magic, almost ten thousand strength stats, as well as a massive amount of mana control while the innate understanding of a new True Core ability flows into my mind.

Without even trying to activate it, the flames that surround my body become hotter and they're tethered with True Core threads with such ease it feels like the fire is made of divine energy, and mana isn't even their base anymore.

The room fills with flames as both my power and Ember's power instantly skyrocket, and all the remaining flesh and weak gear from our enemies is burned away.

The three eyes of the silver statue at the back of the room pulse with silver light again, and the massive pillars of stone and red sky of a battlefield start to shift and revert back to their black natural state.

The only thing left is the yellow blade Redgrave was wielding, fractured pieces of a collar, and a massive red burning firestone in place where the corpse of the hound was under Ember's claws.

I can feel my blade drawn toward all three of these items in an odd way, tugging at the back of my consciousness, wanting to consume them.

However, one last notification that I haven't touched yet still lingers at the back of my mind and keeps my attention.

[Rank Up]

[YES][NO]