Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster's Power

At the top of a tower in the heart of the Ellipsia Citadel, three green-cored demons sit around a large table, overlooking the city below.

Glowing green transmission blocks project holograms of fifteen other demons based in other citadels across the Upper Realm.

One of the holograms of a Lord is far larger than the rest, leading their meeting. He happens to be the Vermillion Family Head.

His voice echoes for all his subordinates to hear.

"That wraps up our monthly profits meeting. Up 7% on mana, up 1% on demonic energy, and an 11% increase in low-quality ether stores. And congrats, Andras, on your expected Duel Victory. Acquiring that 1-Class world and four 2nd-Class worlds will certainly increase profits in next month's report."

Andras Vermillion stands up from his seat and bows his head, with the Ellipsia Citadel in all its glory behind him, showing off a beautiful view from the large penthouse estate of the tallest building in the center of the grand city.

"Of course, as requested, taking a few planets from one of the 1st-Class Blue Ogres was not a problem. Their influence was growing again too fast. We own this Citadel now. Those creatures are stuck in the past. We must continue to remind them that we are in charge. That will set them back a few centuries."

The Family Head grins.

"Yes, very good work. Now, moving on to more interesting business... A 19th Lord shall be joining us soon. The Vermillion Family grows stronger yet again."

One of the holograms ripples from a foreign Citadel, projecting a voice in response.

"I was reading over the future plan reports, but they weren't fully updated. It was a third-class world, right? We have more of those than we know what to do with... Using resources for a throne barely gives us a doubled return over a few decades. Wouldn't it have been far more worthwhile to use a throne on a 1st or at least a 2nd-class world? We only get access to new throne artifacts from the Overseer every few hundred years. What was so special about this world?"

A few voices murmur in discussion, but the Family Head dispels their concern with a wave of his hand.

"Quiet. Have I led us wrong yet? In the last 12,000 years, we've grown from a laughingstock in the Demonic Realm to an official family in the council of rulers. This new member of our Family Lords is from a Noble Grade World. We could have waited a few hundred years for a new first-class world to connect to the system in our sector, but a perfect mana-rich world came onto the radar just as this specimen awakened his True Core. It's better we bring him up here now than risk missing the mortal window of those yellow cores in the lower realm."

More discussion continues among the holograms, and the demon who objected earlier speaks again.

"Understood, Family Head. If you would like me to greet him when he arrives, I would be honored to meet a Noble you've handpicked. We only have two other Nobles in our family branch in this realm."

The Family Head stands up from his throne and walks over to the window, gazing out across the city toward the endless sky.

"Yes, the selection test for Nobles is strict on purpose. We do not want untalented warriors sullying our brand in this Upper Realm. The other four families have far stronger footings even here in the green zone. Quality is far more important than quantity now that we have their respect and a foothold... I believe being greeted by a fellow Noble will only be fair to our future powerhouse. The closest Citadel registration point to that ascension sector should be Ellipsia."

The Family Head's hologram pauses, then speaks again.

"Andras, you're the stationed Lord of Ellipsia. Please personally bring him into our ranks once he is flagged by the surveillance system. With his raw talent, it shouldn't take more than another month to assimilate with the throne. Show him around and transfer him a few hundred 3rd Class worlds to get moved up into the Citadel Rankings. I'll have two pure Low-Quality Ether packages shipped to your residence—one to give to Drako Vermillion once he arrives, and another as a reward for your exceptional work in your duel. We'll have a new face here during our next monthly profit meeting."

"I thank you, Royal Vermillion Family Head." Andras replies.

Discussions peak again, while the Vermillion Family Head turns off his holographic transmission.

Andras turns his hologram off as well, then turns to stare out the window with his arms crossed.

Three dragons sleep at the far back of the room, undisturbed as their demonic pairs carry on with business as usual.

---

Down below, two ether orbs rocket toward the Ellipsia Citadel from a lower-realm transport point.

The first orb easily passes through the two security layers and halts at one of the city's access points, designed for visitors to sign in and for newly ascended beings to register.

Ember steps off his ether orb onto a large green platform in front of the city.

The access point is positioned between two massive towers, with a smaller archway—only 10 kilometers high—leading into a street that runs to the center of the citadel, flanked by countless other towers.

Notifications ring in Ember's inner ear as he walks forward, but a more alarming telepathic message captures his attention.

"It ejected me! This orb really just dropped me into the clouds..."

Ember can't help but grin at the absurdity of the claim ringing through his inner ear but replies in a semi-serious manner.

"Never a dull moment with you, is it? It probably couldn't get a full scan on your world token. You tried opening up that ring's barrier, right?"

"Yes! Twice. The pressure and gravity are way too strong. It's going to take me longer than just a few minutes to get used to this."

Ember considers some options for a few seconds, but another message comes blaring into his mind.

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"Still falling, by the way..."

"It must be a result of keeping your physical body instead of a weightless energy form. It's going to be much harder to adapt."

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"That makes sense. I'll just have to become strong enough to withstand the pressure with my real body. Where do these clouds even lead? Is it safe down here to train?"

"I'm not sure what's below the citadels anymore, to be honest. However, it should be fine, it's not like you'll fall out of the Upper Realm. If you're truly in a bind, I can follow you down there. But if I release too much power, we'll gain attention from the Overseer—or, at the very least, the local Citadel Lord."

There's no response for a few seconds, but a voice from below the clouds hits Ember's inner ear again.

"Alright... That wouldn't be good. I'll figure this out myself and message you with updates. Don't have too much fun while I'm away."

Ember grins while walking up to the green archway, raising both hands to be analyzed by rays of green light.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll scout the place out and keep a low profile until you arrive. I have a few errands to run anyway."

The wireless transmission ceases, and Ember raises the World Token from his palm.

However, instead of showing the surveillance arrays his un-altered body and World Token details, silver threads and waves of Ether manipulate everything these high-tech arrays see. Notifications echo through his mind as he walks right through the archway into the city.

[Welcome, New Lord!]

[Race: Human]

[Worlds Claimed: 1]

[Classification: 5th Class]

[Fast Travel to nearest Human Embassy][Free]

[Fast Travel to Your Selected Location]

Ember smirks and thinks to himself, 'A human from a world not even up to the standards of the Demon classification system. This should be low-profile enough.'

He clicks the bottom option on the green floating text before him.

A large holographic map of the city materializes, and he zooms into an intersection between four streets just a few blocks from the center of the city.

A few blocks in this massive city is still over a thousand kilometers, and from the access point he's standing at now, tens of thousands of kilometers away.

[Ashen Blue District Selected!]

[Fast Travel Time:

[Cost: 0.005 Low-Quality Ether] [Pay Now]

Ember raises his finger, and it begins to glow white as he's about to send his payment, but more notifications ring in his ears.

[Danger! Area not Recommended for Lords Below 2nd Class!]

[Danger! Area not Recommended for Human Lords!]

Ember brushes these alerts out of his consciousness and taps the text to pay.

The instant the transaction goes through, an orb of translucent white light wraps around him. He rises about a kilometer above the street's surface and zips through the streets in an instant.

Tens of thousands of kilometers go by in minutes, and the streets below become far more packed and lively as the orb brings him closer to the center of the Citadel.

Thousands of other fast-travel transport orbs zip by above, below, and beside Ember's orb.

Outlines of all kinds of riders flash past. Some appear to be humanoid, while others have long wings, clawed arms and legs, feathers, multiple heads, or forms that defy recognition entirely.

Ember doesn't care to look around, crossing his arms while the orb speeds up, the buildings blurring past.

Eventually, it stops with an abrupt halt and descends to street level in an instant.

[Arrived! Ashen Blue District!]

Ember steps onto the green city sidewalk in front of a shop built into the side of a building.

Looking left and right, he sees thousands of shops lining every building down here on the street level. They all fork off from this four-lane intersection.

Monsters of all kinds roam the streets—walking, flying with their wings, floating through the air, or disappearing from the square while activating fast travel.

He walks right into a shop whose name has faded from its old solid metal sign. Below it are far newer ads, some even digitized with moving green divine energy text, reading:

[Buy/Sell Dungeon Contracts]

[Ether - Mana - Item Trade]

[Un-Bonded Soul Weapons]

It's clear whoever owns the shop leaves their name faded on purpose.

As Ember walks through the large 20-meter-tall front doors, a single head at the back of the shop looks down at him with an angry expression.

Ember, appearing as the long red-haired human walks forward, letting the massive door swing closed behind him, his eyes scanning the walls. Green divine force fields display chunks of mana, white crystals, and even un-bonded Soul Weapon frames. Everything for sale floats and slowly spins like paintings neatly fitted on the walls.

Staring at one for over a second reveals detailed descriptions of what kinds of contracts are necessary for the dungeon being programmed, how much mana and ether is being sold, and the special abilities of the Soul Weapon frames.

Ember nods slowly, not stopping despite the ominous pressure radiating off the 15-meter-tall Blue Ogre at the back of the shop.

It finally speaks in an echoing, resounding tone.

"Your kind isn't welcome here. I don't do business with 5th-Class Lords, and certainly not human Lords. None of you ever make it past a thousand years old. I don't deal with short-term clients."

Ember grins and keeps walking forward, unfazed by the green pressure the ogre emits.

"Oh, come on, Torvak. You've grown soft, haven't you? I'd expect you to kill a weakling like me the moment I walked through the front door."

The ogre has three short black horns pointing out of its forehead and a pale blue skin tone barely containing the enormous muscles and veins bulging all over its avatar.

Its True Green Core burns far brighter than Ember's, but that isn't what sends the majority of the pressure his way. Most of the aura comes from the glowing green [826] on its palm.

It speaks again, quite confused how this weak human hasn't fallen to its knees yet.

"Who are you? State your name."

The ogre presses a security protocol on its status feed, creating an additional layer of green divine shielding around all the merchandise in the shop, even sealing the exit doors.

Ember reaches into his Ether storage and pulls out a marble-sized white gem glowing brighter than everything else in the shop. He tosses it across the room toward the Blue Ogre.

Its eyes widen the moment it sees the quality of the Ether being thrown its way. The moment it catches the gem, Ember speaks again.

"I'm not sure how long you've been keeping my goods in storage. Time moves by quite differently hopping between Realms, but that should be enough to cover it."

The Blue Ogre stops exuding such a domineering pressure and stares down at the Ether Crystal, then back at Ember.

"That's far more than necessary. You're definitely not actually a human... Wait... The only being who would throw around items like this back in the day was—"

His words are cut short as Ember waves his hand to show a ripple of silver light masked by a thick cloud of white Ether.

Then, he speaks as the Ogre's face is frozen in shock.

"Ember. My new name is Ember in this life. I need to lay low for a while, and yes, the cover I've chosen is a human skin. I'm in need of some 3rd-Class bodyguards and simple employment to play the part before surveillance catches any inconsistencies. I want to be in the middle of the action. The more I can listen in and understand the new culture of the Citadel, the better."

The Ogre shows a smile, revealing two sharp white tusks from its lower jaw.

"Of course, sir... Ember. To answer your question, I believe it has been over 15,000 years since we last met. I have a property six blocks over you can take charge of for as long as you'd like—it's even more lively than even this part of town. While humans aren't well-liked in the Volterra District either, with two of my men as guards, there won't be trouble. Even though we lost control of the Citadel, our influence in the streets hasn't dwindled to zero."

Ember's eyes track down to the Blue Ogre's world count glowing on its palm.

"That explains your severe drop in claimed planets..." He pauses after this comment but looks back at the ogre.

"Very well. I'm glad you survived. Do me this favor, and I'll see what I can do about your demon problem."

Ember grins as Torvak looks shocked again.

"It is the demons, isn't it?"

Torvak nods quickly, opening his status feed to deactivate the security system.

"Yes... Yes, it is. As you wish, I'll have my men come to pick you up and get you situated right away. As for those goods that you left with me, I'll retrieve them and have them hand delivered to your residence in less than 2 days."

Ember crosses his arms and nods.

"Good. Have the guards you send believe I'm just a human too. So far, you're the only soul in the Upper Realm that knows I've returned. For now, I'd like to keep it that way."