Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster’s Power

"Another Noble Demonic Being??" I reply as the slope of the wyvern's back makes it easy for Ava and me to slide down, coming to a thud on the slanted rocky ground beside the large monster.

It replies while looking up at the bright white light.

"That's right. The guardian of the Exile Zones comes from a Noble Grade World. No one but the Noble Demons can control it... Perfect to keep Lords that indulge in illegal business in line down here."

I consider its words and compare them to the knowledge I already have. As far as the Goblin King was aware, 2nd and 1st Class Lords rule the business world in the Citadel Above.

On top of that, certain races live longer and have far higher innate talent and strength. Long-lasting power in the Upper Realm leads to greater family backing as well, which can lead to the inheritance of higher-grade worlds to stack the buffs within one's avatar.

For the average Lords, having a few 3rd Class worlds is enough for most of the Citadel to show respect. However, once a Lord steps into the limelight of having even one 2nd Class world, the true pinnacle of power becomes far clearer.

The Ogres, High Orcs, and Berserker Giants are the highest private holders of 2nd and 1st Class worlds in the Citadel, their leaders being the only ones allowed to hold the 1st Class worlds.

The Goblin King's memories contain no knowledge of Noble Grade worlds ever being traded on any market. However, whispers of the Demon Citadel Lord coming from a Noble world did pass by whenever its subordinates roamed the streets.

My memories of Drako Vermillion coming from a Noble Grade world are quite foggy. It was only a fledgling demon for a few short years before it was taken from that hellscape. However, if this Wyvern says the Demonic Cyclops Guardian atop this peak comes from a Noble World, it must be a similar strength as Noble Demons...

As I stare off into the green fog, I know there is a neutral zone between the middle ring and central peak.

If Ava and I ran forward right now, we could walk around the mountain's base and attempt to go through the access point the legal way.

However, the Wyvern's ancient and wise gaze burns through my back.

If the Goblin King had no knowledge of what Noble Worlds even were, and also had never heard of Wyverns, my guess is this being that has brought me here could certainly be a powerful ally—if I accept its test.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

On top of that... the many thuds of footsteps and churning teeth sound like more power just waiting to be absorbed in my ears. If this Wyvern hadn't saved us all this travel time by flying, I'd be disappointed to not have the chance to fight the Demonic Beasts before me.

From its confidence and its tone, it sounds as though it wants to leave this zone and even challenge the Exile Guardian itself—but it cannot for some reason.

I speak while taking a step forward.

"Very well. Noble or not, I'll kill that Cyclops if it means you'll be an ally. Enjoy the show."

Before my words even finish, I walk right through the zone barrier, and Ava follows behind with wide nervous eyes.

–

I stop walking about two dozen steps in, bend down, and pick up an Ether stone glowing with far more hot light than any I've seen before. I throw it to my side, where Ava follows.

"I owe you 10 Ether, right? How much is in that?"

Her eyebrows raise, and she scans the stone before the mechanical instant drainage command pulls all of the Ether from it.

"2.09... There was over two Ether in that... a 3rd Class Ether Stone... I've never seen one before."

I smirk while moving higher up the inclined slope across the neutral zone, looking left and right to see the ground littered with 5th and 4th Class stones. 𝘙�

Every few dozen meters, another 3rd Class pops up, and I throw it to Ava.

By the time we cross the kilometer-wide neutral zone, and the movement of rocks and grinding of Demonic Sand Worms' teeth gets extremely close, I've thrown Ava over 20 3rd Class Ether Stones.

They range from 1 to 3 Low Quality Ether in each one, far surpassing the amount I owed her for buying that storage command.

"There! You're paid back, with interest. You'll need it."

She replies with a thanks, but finishes her words by telling me to stop, as I'm less than 10 meters away from the invisible zone barrier that restricts demon-owned land from the central peak.

I wait a few seconds for her to catch up.

While doing so, I replicate the pulse of perception the Wyvern showed me when we first met and send it out into the unknown to get a better feel for the sheer intensity of the Ether flowing through a Sand Worm rumbling by underground. I can't see it, but I can feel its power—certainly stronger than the Lizardmen in the plots we just left by a long shot.

Its Ether is consolidated in its Avatar, so I'm quite confident that given enough time, I could defeat it. It doesn't have advanced ether properties to be wary of; carefully placed mental attacks would most likely be enough to take them out if I fight them solo.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

However, the vibrations and echoing sounds that fill the air reinforce the fact that there is far more than just one opponent before me, and many of their capabilities are still a mystery to me.

I speak up as Ava walks up beside me.

"You know what you told me when I first landed here that stuck with me? We're Lords. We fight to protect our home worlds no matter the cost. Right?"

The hobgoblin's grip on her hammer is tight, and the nervous gaze she had when we stepped into this neutral zone has grown even more. Though, she resolutely stares forward, following my lead.

"Of course."

I stare up at the peak and continue as the ground shakes, a Sand Worm churning through the rocks extremely close by.

"We're granted abilities because they're meant to be used..."

She nods, keeping a straight face, while I picture her jumping above the Lizardmen far stronger than herself with no fear—then again, facing the Goblin King to save her fellow mining squad mates despite its overwhelming power.

"Right."

While I open up my Rising Emperor's Domain interface in my mind, I recall the days of training we went through—helping me assimilate to this foreign land when she was far stronger than me but helped me surpass her with ease.

I grant Ava a slot as my 5th General and reply.

"Well, we have a long fight ahead of us. We might as well start off giving everything we've got."

Her eyes widen as a notification rings in her inner ear, and a new function of the buff on her status shifts to allow her to pull a maximum of 3% of the stats available on all of the residents of my many worlds.

I watch her Avatar burst with a bright green light and see the divine energy around us curving toward her. She only pulls a small fraction of the stats available. Without opening up my purple barrier, I can't feel the true extent of the power increase these stats she's taken has translated to. They are merely numbers on a screen, and to test out the power I've granted her, she's pulled less than 0.1%.

No words come back as a reply, but her face is now filled with awe and excitement instead of worry and unease.

"Come on, I wouldn't have accepted this test if I didn't think we had a chance of passing it. Let's kill some Demonic Beasts," I say while walking forward through the zone barrier into the territory of the Central Peak.

Ava doesn't hesitate to walk by my side, glowing brighter and brighter with a visible green aura.

–

Once we both pass through, the constant grinding of teeth and moving stones halts.

I feel many presences shift and stop what they're doing; then hot Ether signatures begin rushing our way from above.

In response, Ava's brightly glowing Avatar rushes forward so fast it's hard for my eyes to track.

Trailing green light is left behind, and I follow upward while powering my footsteps with Ether, readying my fists with layers of condensed mental-infused attacks.

The upward slope has flat ledges and deep ravines, pits where worms must have traveled before. I wrap my way around them, making sure not to fall in the deep holes scattered about, and hear a guttural screech as streaks of flashing green light fills my foggy vision.

Ava's figure stepping through the air, flying while holding her bright white hammer, is all I see at first. But as soon as my vision catches up with my Ether senses, I see an enormous Demonic Sand Worm emerge from the fog, bursting out from the rocky ground.

It's covered in green divine energy and infused with dark purple demonic energy. Its teeth churn massive amounts of black stone, spinning in circles, with countless rows of them stacking back into its demonic maw.

It looks to be easily 25 meters wide, and it's impossible to tell how long just by sight, but my Ether senses track its Avatar back hundreds of meters.

Ava tests out her new, absurd rise in stats, jumping back and forth through the air while the Demonic Beast attempts to track her movements. But its speed falls short.

Her white hammer, filled with Ether, slams down on the monster's tough flesh all around its head as it emerges from the ground. However, automatic Avatar shielding appears in bright white blotches wherever it's hit.

Despite her increased speed, the system's reaction time protects this beast from injury.

Though, her boost in raw power still packs a blow, sending the monster's body flying backward from the pure force of the mana imbued attack.

This is the result of the screech I hear.

Though it only makes the beast angry. Ava flies forward, charging her hammer again, trying to get a feel for this new increase in stats.

I run along the ground, following as the earth shifts, erupting upward as more of the worm's body is pulled from the ground, creating avalanches down the side of the mountain.

When I see the Demonic Worm attacking back, Ava easily dodges mid-air. But two more enormous heads of Demonic Sand Worms emerge from the sides of the mountain to our left and right as well.

I can't even sense where their bodies end, nor can I pinpoint their world tokens. The dense fog still hides many mysteries.

Flashes of green light fill my vision as the two heads of the monsters dive down to get a piece of the action, attacking Ava. But she becomes faster and faster, pulling more stats as her senses and instincts grow more used to the shared power.

I run upward toward the scene, jumping onto large areas of stone that slide down the mountain behind me while I Ether-step upward, until I finally jump straight into the fight.

The rightmost Sand Worm senses me coming and plunges its open demonic maw right in my direction.

While I'm not quick enough to dodge, Ava is fast and strong enough to hit it across the side, making its flight path miss me and plunge into the rocks beside me. It gives me enough space to concentrate and land a punch on its hard outer layer of skin.

I get blowback from even touching its hide, as the automatic physical Ether defenses send shockwaves of pins and needles through my hand and up my arm. Additionally, I'm sent flying back into the air, but a grin is plastered across my face as I feel the mental attack leave my right fist and seep straight through its automated defenses, moving right toward its psyche.

I take advantage of being thrown in the air, twisting my body around as another enormous Sand Worm dives down my way.

Ava slams its neck with her hammer and gives me a shot at punching it with all the stored potential in my left fist, releasing another mental attack straight through its Avatar to attack its true mind.

Physically, again, I'm far weaker and am sent flying backward with vibrations of sharp physical Ether attacking my wrists, arms, and shoulders.

It feels far more intense than the direct blow I received from the Goblin King in the chest, shocking my physical senses and making both of my fists, which I used for these attacks, go completely numb with pins and needles as I flood the impacted areas with more Ether to heal them.

I'm sent hurtling into the hard mountainside while two of the worms let out ear-piercing, ground-shaking roars of agony as their minds are taken over by foreign Ether attacks with unique deadly properties they've never felt before.

Ava contends with the middle worm, pushing it back into the fog even further away from my senses.

I push myself up out of the crater I've been thrown into and raise my fists to create identical attacks, while the sharp tingles in my arms fade away.

The two Dark Purple Sand Worm heads wave back my way. Their minds may be burning with hot, searing pain, but as mindless war beasts, their fighting instincts still allow them to battle—even now, with fractured psyches.

I run forward. "Looks like these worms are pretty durable. Just one hit won't be enough..."

–

The Wyvern, watching from the base of the peak, doesn't change its expression. The ancient dark blue eyes stare up and reflect the white light of the power plant. Behind its gaze, it is reminiscing a past battle involving hundreds of its fellow Noble Wyvern that died in the Grand Citadel's Clan War many years ago.