Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster’s Power

No more voices ring out; only footsteps and hot Ether-imbued auras emerge from the green fog around us.

The pull in my Ether Senses tells me all the approaching Lizardmen have Ether strength similar to the one I just incapacitated in a single attack.

However, it most likely means these are all just miners, and their plot Lord is not present.

I try to sift through more of the Goblin King's memories as the hordes of lizards come out of the fog in full clarity.

Every single one of them has the exact same deep blue scales as the one lying unconscious nearby; however, many of them carry varying Soul Weapons.

I spot swords, shields, clubs, axes, daggers, hammers, and strange weapons I've never seen before.

All of them simultaneously glow with a bright white Ether radiance, and I draw a blank in my memories.

This patch of the middle ring is still a complete mystery to me.

The Goblin King always trekked many zones away from this one. All the surrounding zones from here until reaching the central peak—where the land actually slants upward to form a mountain—are unknowns.

Even conversations I recall with the merchants and slave traders in the black market never mentioned renting out these plots. They're all certainly privately owned...

I snap myself back to reality to deal with the situation at hand. It doesn't matter who owns this plot—I just need to make my way through.

I call out again, "I'm not here to make a mess. I just want to leave and make it to the access point in time..."

My gaze scans over everyone, and not a single one of them flinches.

I know that no matter how many physical attacks I take, my purple barrier can protect me.

However, the tightly gripped hammer in Ava's grasp, less than ten meters away from me, doesn't put me at ease.

There is no way to protect her with enemies coming from all sides, and her avatar limits the amount of Ether she can use in a single attack. Even if I gave her half of my stores right now, it wouldn't make a difference.

Transferring some of my base stats to her might give her a slight edge, but it would drastically decrease my own fighting ability and healing speed in case I'm injured. Only one possibility comes to mind.

I make the split decision to use my internal Rising Emperor's domain interface to share my mythic-grade All-Seeing Eye with her and transmit quick instructions on how to upgrade her skill.

It will drastically increase her reflexes—and, hopefully, a little luck. There isn't much more I can do other than yell through our link while I run forward.

"Stay near their fallen miner. I doubt they'll go all out and risk killing a fellow Lizardman."

I watch her skill proficiency tick up to Special Grade, then Legendary Grade, and finally Mythic Grade as her eyes widen and she steps backward toward the sleeping Lizardman.

My fists burn hot with condensed mental Ether, and my footsteps trail with bright physical Ether streams.

Even now, it's become easier to tap into this power than it was moments ago.

I just visualize and manifest the same feeling as I did in my last two battles and challenge the marching blue-scaled lizards without fear.

Their eyes show no fear at all either, and when I run far enough away from their fallen miner, a barrage of energy slashes comes flying my way.

–

I'm hit from every side, but the attacks aren't much more powerful than the ones I received head-on before.

Over a dozen energy slashes dissipate, and their Ether invades my body. But it is nothing more than hot tingles that are instinctively healed by the time I take my next step.

A smile grows on my face as the marching Lizardmen send more attacks my way, and they do little to no damage while I quickly close the gap.

However, I notice that some of their attacks are not water-based.

I sense wind blades striking me, concentrated crescents of fire, and even the rare attack made of mana-summoned stone. While it's unexpected, it isn't something I need to ponder much.

With every attack powered by Ether, being the only substance that can penetrate my defensive barrier, the makeup of the mana base doesn't matter to me at all.

I jump upward to collide with a dual-sword-wielding Lizardman and punch its blade, not even aiming for its body.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The impact is more than enough to send waves of my condensed Ether through its Soul Weapons, attacking its psyche with a horrible shock.

I gauge their strength to be similar to the Goblin King's and only send enough deadly Ether into their minds to knock them out, not kill them.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

They are in the right here, protecting their land from a random rogue Lord trespassing on their territory.

Even if I did kill them, I would make another enemy out of an even stronger Lord ruling over all of them.

This is my thought process as I turn midair to strike another Lizardman's incoming spear while the sword wielder I just clashed with falls backward unconscious, staring blankly.

As my fist collides with the spear's tip, another one falls, and I land on the ground, changing my fists to turn toward the next one.

I waste no time, running in jagged patterns, using condensed mental attacks one after another on the Lizardmen aiming to kill me without fear or remorse.

They see their fellow warriors falling left and right, but dive toward me to try and land attacks like loyal soldiers.

My proficiency with my attacks grows faster and more concentrated with every punch I throw.

I land hits on the sides of some lizards' armor, collide with others' weapons, and strike bare scales on others.

Each attack I throw tones down my Ether consumption because my proficiency rises. If I punch too hard, I'll easily fry these monsters' minds permanently.

Dozens of warriors fall, but from the depths of the fog on the horizon, I begin to see more shadowy outlines of another row of Lizardmen joining the battle.

While I could fight here all day, that's part of the issue...

I want to get past this zone and make it to the central peak, yet I don't know exactly how far I must travel or how many soldiers will appear.

At this very thought, while I punch a Lizardman out cold and land on my feet, I see its palm tightly grasping its weighted longsword and notice an unexpected [1] on its world token.

I lunge forward, blocking an axe swinging down on me while stopping a dagger user from the other side, both with fists full of condensed mental Ether.

They fall unconscious the moment they collide with me, and I pay far more attention to their palms, noticing the same [1] on each of them.

I run forward again, receiving over fifty slashes across my body. Some are strong enough to throw off my footing, but none are strong enough to do any real damage. I knock out another fourteen Lizardmen. Every single one of them has a [1] on their world token, and I realize things here might not be the same as every other exile plot I've seen before.

I look back and spot Ava, standing atop the first Lizardman I knocked out.

Her glowing white hammer is raised above its head, and about two dozen Lizardmen surround her with their weapons raised as well. She's using their fellow man's life as insurance, and they're at a standstill.

A one-against-twenty-four standoff, when all of these Lords have at least Second-Class strength, would not have gone in her favor no matter what she tried. Her tactic worked out well to stall, but it won't last forever.

However, it seems like the more I fight, the more Lizardmen gather around me.

The next line of blue-scaled lizards has now emerged from the thick green fog, essentially replacing the fallen soldiers I've taken out over the last minute.

"Not good... We're going to miss the access point closing at this rate..." I whisper under my breath, surrounded by over a hundred Lizardmen converging on all sides.

Even more emerge from the green fog on the other side of the battlefield, and the two dozen surrounding Ava double in numbers quickly, with far more troops approaching.

Every single one of them is a Lord with a world of their own, and the odds of both of us making it out in one piece drastically fall.

I try to wrack my brain for more ideas as the seconds pass and more Lizardmen fall around me. When I think things couldn't get any worse, I spot a far larger problem.

Above, a few hundred meters in the air, just high enough for my vision to see its shadow, the outline of a massive creature flaps its wings overhead.

My eyes widen as the only thing I can see is a glowing [1426] in the sky as it circles above us, watching its underlings overwhelm their prey.

–

Meanwhile, even higher above the clouds in the Citadel, a meeting is taking place on the top-floor office of the World Trading Palace.

Torvak answers two calls incoming from his system interface, linking it to the room's conference feature; two large holograms stare back at him and Ember.

One of the holograms has a user tag reading [Asic793], and the massive nine-meter-tall High Orc below the tag gives a professional smile as he sees his company.

"Congratulations on your matches. I believe this is a secure channel, correct?"

Ember recognizes the face of another First-Class Lord he's done business with in the past, but Torvak replies with a thin smile.

"It should be secure, but a trip to a central meeting point to discuss real business would be far wiser. In theory, while using linked Avatars, any of our conversations can be tapped."

The High Orc grunts and nods, looking over at the second hologram in the room with the user tag [Zashen1005].

It belongs to a towering twelve-meter-tall Berserker Giant King with terrifying sharpened teeth, green eyes, and two massive longswords in its grip. The swords are raised in the air as it joins the conversation.

"Oh, come on, who cares if they hear us! You've already basically declared war on the Demons. We're going to have to fight them no matter what we say."

Ember laughs and speaks.

"Zash, you haven't changed a bit..."

Ember grins with his arms crossed and looks up at the massive hologram. The Berserker Giant lets out a laugh of his own.

"No one calls me that but..." His eyes widen as he realizes who this red haired human really is. "No way... you're really back?!"

Ember nods.

"Indeed. You think Torvak would provoke the Demons like this without a plan? And I'm Ember from now on. Ember the Human."

The Berserker Giant swings its swords about and even throws one spinning up into the air so high that it disappears from the hologram's view.

Asic, the High Orc, looks far more serious as he replies.

"It's good to see you back. Times have changed up here. I've managed to stay alive and keep a large amount of my First-Class Worlds safe, but that's only natural for us—the Warlords of the Ellipsia Citadel. Many of my lower-class races have had to resort to selling illegal Avatars and black-market deeds just to get by."

Torvak nods slowly and replies.

"Yes, I've brought Ember up to speed. He has seen my books and knows of the Demons' suppression."

Zashen catches his sword mid-air and jumps in.

"I've also managed to hold a good amount of my 1st Class Worlds. Most of my newly ascended race does alright too. We make enough in the Grand Citadel's yearly fighting tournaments to get by. And... for a side business, many of the First- and Second-Class Demons use us as their sparring puppets until our avatars break. We're the only race strong enough to stand up to their raw strength and speed."

Ember nods along and finally replies.

"Good. I studied the books and spent a few days in the Volterra District listening in on the general concerns of citizens. While it looks as though this Citadel is still booming on the outside to visitors, all it would take is one more Noble Demon to show up, and the power balance would tilt entirely in their favor..."

He pauses, glancing over at Torvak's messages and noticing one still completely left in the dark, continuing his thoughts after a few seconds.

"Before I explain what I'd like from you, I have one question.The Wyverns. I didn't expect them to call in after a single stunt, and of course, without confirmation that I'm truly here... but I'm curious. Where have they gone? Not a soul spoke their names in the streets these past three days. It's as if they've disappeared from the Upper Realm."