Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster’s Power

After just under four days, my first stage of training within the first floor of the High Orc tower is complete.

I stand before Seraphel, still glowing with an ethereal pristine light in my Noble Human Form. As his deep blue eyes stare down at me with the same jaded gaze, his words seep into my mind.

"You're a quick learner... I'm still surprised a human without a special physique could bring their true body to the Upper Realm. Even in your Noble Form, your adaptability is impressive."

–

Over these last few days, I've managed to absorb far more green divine threads as they flow through me, without using any borrowed stats. On top of that, I've been focusing on synchronizing my Noble Vibrations with Seraphel's.

The first few hours were quite chaotic, as I deactivated all of my external system aid, only using my Noble Body to adapt to the Upper Realm. However, with the use of my absorption mutation, getting to a stable state doesn't take long—especially with the mental clarity my Noble Form grants me.

Once I am coherent in the dark room with this Ancient Wyvern, the real training and lesson on wielding Noble Vibrations begins.

He says that everyone's wavelength is unique, and usually, a Noble slowly adapts to their Vibrations as they grow stronger and eventually unseal their Noble Forms.

It seems I've missed an important step in the usual process.

While my mind seems clear and the will I can exert over my environment has grown to a mind bending amount, the blue Wyvern relates my power to the words of humans it has spied on in the past, and this is burned into my psyche once our training begins.

"You are but a baby wielding an axe heavier than yourself. By working all day to move its blade toward a tree's base, you may be able to chip its bark, which is far more efficient than using your hands alone... Though, if your body can mature enough to synchronize with this new power available to you, that same tree can be chopped down with a single swing."

Seraphel states that he will teach me how to control a very steady state of vibrations, along with a technique to suppress them when not in use. However, his words about showing me the Wyvern Race's techniques sink into my core even deeper than his analogy of harnessing this power.

"I have not lived through your eyes, so I can never understand the exact vibrations that suit your needs. In fact, my own interpretation of the true path of nobility very well could be flawed. Don't listen to every powerful elder's advice. Fools grow old too, you know."

At this, I see the Wyvern grin, which is a rare occasion for the stoic being. So, I begin comprehending the basics and don't worry about creating my own style just yet. For now, I need to adapt my body to this new environment and strange power enough to the point where I can lift up this metaphorical axe.

–

After this initial round of three days straight of synchronization and suppression techniques, I reply to Seraphel's compliment about being a quick learner.

"Thank you, but I now see how much I still don't know..."

My breathing stays steady, and despite my outward flowing ethereal appearance, there are no longer Noble Vibrations rippling off me.

There aren't any coming off Seraphel either, as we are both using the same suppression technique.

The only difference is Seraphel has practiced this for hundreds of thousands of years.

I've hardly even known about it for three days.

My body feels hot, and my heartbeat's pace rises with every second I keep myself concealed.

Even my mind feels hot, becoming a little foggy the longer I spend holding myself back.

This is part of my training—to now take a lap around the entire Citadel without letting go of a single Vibration.

To stay in disguise, I alter my outer appearance to be Drako Vermillion, the Ellipsia Citadel's Demon Lord. Then, Seraphel speaks to me while the High Orc's door opens up again.

"The hardest part is over. Well, more so the most important part, I'd say. Getting you to this point where your Vibrations have stabilized is an important foundation. Soon, you can begin altering their unique purpose. This is how you attain the title of a High Noble."

I nod and trigger Citadel Commands to shut off the surveillance system and step out, but I get a frantic ringing of updates in my inner ear from Ava the moment I regain access to my links to the generals' telepathy channels.

I'm only a few seconds into my suppression practice at the moment, so my mind is still moving extremely quickly with crystal-clear thoughts.

I receive a transfer of hundreds of holographic files and explanations of an event called a Realm Wave that occurred less than a day ago.

As a result of this, the generals in the Lower Realm received almost three months of extra training.

I watch three of them awaken True Cores, and I even see a file containing a strange stone tablet that says Seraphel's name on it.

After my experience in an Originator's tomb, receiving the black cube that called itself Atom, which I merged with my sword, I too can read some of the texts that Monk translated.

However, the black doors of the High Orc tower behind me shut, and I decide to confront the blue Wyvern about it once I finish the test of my lap around the Citadel before coming back.

–

I float upward, high into the sky above the highest towers, and move to the outer ring of the enormous city in the sky.

How exactly it floats is still beyond my comprehension.

I can feel that it has something to do with the silver reactor in the core of the power plant. On top of that, many of the ether arrays that surround and tether into all of these buildings pull it upward to lessen the stress.

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Though, these thoughts aren't my main concern as I slowly circle the outer ring, shutting off surveillance and sifting through the files Ava shared with me.

My attention to detail begins to get worse the longer I look through them, as my body heats up and my mind begins to itch like it wants to let the vibrations out to grab a breath of fresh air.

However, it's still very mild, and I can power through the irritable sensation.

I even contact Bri once I watch some files of her making large trade agreements and collecting the resources I asked for.

A telepathy wave is sent directly to her down in the Lower Realm.

"I just finished up the first stage of my new training. Ava filled me in on the fact that you all had a lucky head start. Does that mean the list of items I need to finish my craft is ready early?"

I know they are in fact ready, but after months of not talking in her eyes, it is kind to ask politely.

A response comes back almost immediately.

"Yes, yes! Good to hear your voice, Jay. I have everything you asked for. It's ready to be sent to the Upper Realm."

I smile.

"Excellent. I will send a trade request right away."

I pause while floating through the dense green clouds, leaving trails of demonic energy behind me, and taking in the view of this massive circular city in the Upper Realm with my unaided vision—without taking even a single stat point from my followers.

Then, I add to my point while opening my system and sending the prompt through the World Wide Connectivity System as its Creator.

"Congrats on making it to a yellow core so quickly as well. I advise you to upgrade your craftsmanship skill to divine grade and master it before compressing your True Core. I'm sure the results will be far more impactful. There's no need to rush any further..."

A notification hits my consciousness as pure compact mana—enough to create hundreds of stage 3 labyrinths—shows up as a single message in the trade window.

Then, another notification as over a hundred thousand luminite crystals from varying worlds enter the window next.

After this, a massive amount of Demonic Energy in its pure unrefined state hits the trade window. This is the item I'm most surprised about her obtaining, but Bri's connection with this 1st Class ruler named Alveron seems to be the common link in retrieving this.

Lastly, an unmarked containment case full of various miscellaneous items I asked for appears.

Bri replies once it's all in the trade window.

"It's all there. –And yes, I was planning on mastering my craftsmanship more here before compressing my core. Soul Weapons are my next task to understand. Raven and Arie have sent me some blueprints, but it seems to be a very personal process, one best suited for the crafter to make for their own use."

I press accept, and all of the resources Bri collected—worth over 50 1st Class Worlds in pure energy—get transferred directly to my storage.

My eyes widen in surprise, as I thought it wouldn't be this easy...

An undetectable amount of energy was used up in the transfer.

I feel no different, no fatigue, nothing.

A massive transfer of wealth from the Lower to Upper Realm was just made with a mental click of a button.

I push my surprise to the side and respond.

"Resources received. Thank you. And soul weapons, you say?"

I think about the soul weapon frames all over this citadel, and the simple process it takes to merge one's avatar to it; however, doing so with a real body does seem like more of a challenge...

"I'll get some information on Soul Weapons sent down to you soon, and I'll pay you back for these goods. I can't rinse the human world business dry—we need to thrive."

I see Bri smile through our mind link, and I do the same.

However, some interference starts to make the connection go static.

This coincides with my lap around the citadel hitting its quarter-way point, and the Noble Vibrations being suppressed inside my body starting to grow even more irritated.

My mind grows fuzzy, and a low static hum forms in my mind.

My fingers and toes feel extremely hot, along with my heart that beats loud in my chest and ears.

Though, a little headache and light burns are nothing compared to the torture I've endured in the past.

Bri sends me a message back.

"It feels like you're in the middle of something."

I reply as a streak of heat rushes through my neck into my mind, elevating the discomfort to a new level.

"Yes, I am. I'll call you back in a bit..."

Then our connection shuts off, and I focus on completing the lap around the floating city.

I am traveling quite fast, but then again, I'm set to fly over a hundred thousand kilometers to make it around the entire city's outer edges—also, while not borrowing any stats and holding back the Noble Vibrations that are the only edge I have.

Even so, the next quarter-way around the city only takes a few minutes.

I'm not trying to stay stealthy either. If powerful lords look hard enough up into the sky, I'm sure a few see me taking a lap around the Citadel.

By the halfway mark, my whole body is burning like the tips of my fingers were. My heart is pounding out of my chest, and the searing static noises vibrating in my inner ear are beginning to become nauseating.

However, I push through, breathing deep and consistently paced despite my heart rate rising.

I even close my eyes and just let my senses guide me through the final half of my lap.

It feels like I'm being burned alive from the inside out, though the physical pain is bearable.

I've been in far worse states before—as fire magic is my favorite destructive element in battle, the burn will never make me break. Even the test during the Demon Lord's trials within the throne, putting me through what was meant to be torture, being melted alive in lava, was quite soothing.

The part that makes me debate quitting is the mental strain that keeping these Vibrations inside me puts out.

The static noise, mixed with the pressure pushing outward to make my mind feel dull and empty, is what I dislike the most. My thought processes become foggy and slowed, but I know that once I make it all the way around the Citadel I can release the pressure.

The last half takes over twice as long as the first, making the full lap 37 minutes in total.

Once I get back to my starting point, I decide to release my suppression without any precaution.

I'm the Lord of this Citadel, and I've completed my test—this is my reward.

With a grin, I stop using the suppression technique Seraphel showed me and allow what's been boiling up inside to flow out.

–

A relentless wave of Noble Vibrations explodes outward.

The stats I borrow have little effect on the strength these waves release, and after days of synchronization and learning to understand the basics of controlling their flow, the waves released are far stronger than the meager display I showed within the dueling room after killing Andras Vermillion.

Instantly, the entire Citadel falls cold.

From the far side I'm on near the High Orc's tower, to the center tower, and all the way to the human district on the complete opposite side; every single living being on this floating city feels domination sink deep within their avatars.

All Lords 2nd Class and below instantaneously lose access to their systems and their avatars shut down, forcing them to faint and fall unconscious wherever they stand or sit.

The very few 1st Class Lords scattered among the large businesses in the center of the Citadel feel immense mental pressure. Some of them fall unconscious too, but those who don't are frozen in fear as they have never felt such a vicious aura in their lives...

There are only two towers in the entire Citadel that block these waves. One is where Seraphel, Asic, and Torvak stay; and the other is where Ember and Zashen still train.

While the entire Citadel falls into despair, I feel a euphoric release of power.

My mind instantly clears, and the energetic feeling in my numbed body returns.

It feels like my senses are sharper, and my ether is even more refined.

Every single particle of energy my Vibrations ripple through as they flow through the Citadel gives me feedback on the system users I've affected, in a strange form of data I've never tried to read before. It's like I can feel the experience of every system user, and get an instinctual vision of their fighting prowess.

However, its intricacies are still hard to comprehend. There is more to it than just this vague sense, I feel like I need more control over this power still.

Seraphel is right, this is just the start of understanding my Noble Form.

Though, one thing my Noble Vibrations ripple through that does give me a confirmation of certainty is that the demonic servants I tasked days ago to collect taxes and strip out the inside of the central tower have completed their jobs.

Instead of floating back down toward the ground where the High Orc tower awaits me for my second stage of training, I float forward.

I have all of the materials necessary to begin my craft, and I want to get it completed now. Having the ascension chamber completed and ready for the generals will clear up a lot of mental space.

I'll soon be able to fully focus on becoming a High Noble before they arrive.

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