Chapter 610

More and more level-up notifications ring in my ear as I push the dragon back even further.

Every time I land a full-powered hit with both my swords, I'm able to shatter the barrier and send this beast flying back.

The only problem is, I don't have enough time to throw the same powered attack at it right after the barrier is destroyed.

My Soul Energy needs to be re-channeled into my swords to create another slash, and the telekinesis-powered elemental attacks are nothing but a minor nuisance to the dragon. It doesn't even try blocking them anymore because they don't make it through its natural defenses.

The only attack that can really cause damage is the one that takes its full energy to break down its defenses.

As the clashes go on, we're both fully aware of this dichotomy.

It's not fast or powerful enough to catch me with one of its beams or its talons, and I'm not strong enough to break its barrier and have enough force to do actual damage to it before it can create another one.

However, we are both aware that I am getting stronger after every collision.

This sparks a new plan, and I begin conducting some new tests.

Instead of evenly distributing everything I have into two blades, I start to divide my power and test out swinging one sword first. My plan is to follow through with a second fully charged blade once the barrier gives way and go in for the kill shot with an attack that was not weakened by the impact against this immovable yellow hexagon.

While my first few attempts fail, sending me flying backward from not having enough power in just one blade, I quickly get the hang of it and settle into a routine while my levels and MCP rise after each attempt.

Attacking with just one blade is far more unstable, and I'm sent flying backward in less predictable directions, but it feels just the same as when I was attacking with two.

Every exchange gets me closer and closer to breaking through.

An odd unplanned phenomenon occurs after my level hits [Lv. 6371].

Instead of the usual time lag in between floors, many notifications hit my ears over the next full minute.

They rotate on and off with MCP gains of over 10 trillion each, making as noticeable gains as defeating the Director himself each time. The levels, on the other hand, only rise 1-2 after each kill.

As I clash with the dragon 3 more times, dozens of notifications ring in my ears, and I realize what's happening.

My double has decided the floor it is on is worth its time to farm MCP from.

While it would be pointless farming MCP in the millions, or even billions, the monsters on whatever floor it's on now are granting close to 1% increases in my mana control every few seconds.

My levels may not be moving fast, but my overall strength sure is.

Over the next 10 exchanges, it may look like I'm losing, as I'm getting flung even further away after each attack and tightly gripping a sword full of unused soul energy each time; but the reason for this is because my attacks are getting even stronger.

My double makes it to the next floor in the labyrinth after a slight pause in level ups, then the constant stream of notifications comes back.

I'm brought up to [Lv. 6495] over an additional 10 exchanges, and I receive dozens of MCP boosts ranging from 15 to 20 Trillion each.

My mana control surges, and my focus tightens on a single goal.

After one final boost of energy, I can feel that this strike will finish the battle.

I soar through the air, trailed by silky Soul energy and yellow Divine light.

My Dark Emperor's blade collides with the Earth Dragon's reflective barrier, and we pause in the air once again for multiple seconds, pushing back on each other with immense force.

This time, however, my dark blade finally bursts through.

My gaze is only locked on one thing, the bright yellow-white core cycling energy in the monster's chest.

Following through with the swing with my right as the barrier shatters into millions of threads, I swing my Flame Emperor's sword with everything I have, and am certain this battle is over. The kill shot is playing out just as I planned before my eyes.

Still, the Bronze Dragon's eyes don't change. It isn't even surprised like the first time I broke its defenses.

The monster before me seemingly accepts its fate, with no fear or battle instincts to run away on its mind.

The only thing I sense is a small amount of sadness... but not for itself.

The monster is sad for me...

As my blade pierces its natural Soul Energy and Divine shielding defenses and collides with the creature's bare scales, this is when a ripple of fear surges through my own body.

In the center of my back, aimed right for my own core, I feel two thin silver blades pierce through my Greater Form's defenses like there is nothing stopping them.

I didn't sense anything coming, and even now, as the blades tear through my shielding and blood bonded armor, then touch my skin. The only thing I sense is burning hot yellow threads vibrating through glossy silver blades belonging to another True Core holder.

Even now, as the blades pierce my flesh, I can only perceive a small amount of them. My senses can't even detect who is on the other side of this attack.

They're either so much more powerful than me, that a simple cloaking spell is enough to hide their presence from me, or it's a True Core ability that specifically works to hide their appearance.

My best guess in the moment, is that it's both...

I don't have enough time to dodge this attack, and neither do I have the strength to counter it.

As my blade sinks into the dragon's chest before me, it feels like I'm in the same exact situation as it is...

My mind is racing, but I don't have enough time to get myself out of this, and a last-moment decision to activate my skill [Mind Palace] surges through my subconscious.

As the silver blades dig deeper into my flesh, closing in on my yellow core and the other toward my heart; my entire world splits into two different moving realities.

One is a fuzzy image of the tips of two silver blades materializing out of thin air into my back while I strike a bronze dragon, while the other half of my brain stands up from a white marble throne to walk forward into an organized library of my memories.

In the moment, I was only thinking in survival mode, but now I'm able to see the entire situation from an outsider's far more objective lens.

The fact that the dragon I was facing was so calm the entire battle, even though I was slowly gaining the edge, now makes far more sense.

If I had been too strong for it at the start, whoever this mysterious sword wielder is would have taken me head-on without giving me a chance to fight its dragon.

While not going all out from the start, using my subordinate's stats to take the dragon out in a single blow has put me in this predicament to begin with; it actually may have been a blessing in disguise.

I wouldn't have gained the insight necessary to take on this monster, learning how to properly use the full potential of my True Core's power, and also wouldn't have gained over 1000 levels and hundreds of trillions of MCP in the process.

My mind moves faster here...

As the last time I tested it, less than a second went by in the real world while 3 to 4 hours went by inside my mind palace.

My body is unable to move to reflect my thoughts here, as it would be impossible for my physical muscles and bones to catch up to my brain's speed.

However, the system itself can still process commands from within my mind.

I pull up my Rising Emperor's Domain Interface, and scroll through the lists of users while slowly walking up and down the aisles of bookshelves strategically pressing only the names of hunters that are in the Crimson Army, and my teammates that are cultivating orange cores far out in the desert.

I count out everyone on my list that is currently not at max HP or MP, as I don't know if they are at the climax of their own battles. Less than a dozen total are in scenarios like this, so I see it as a better choice to leave them out than to regret it and tarnish my reputation later. Draining 15% of their total stats and mana control in an instant could possibly be their demise as well.

My initial reasoning for not activating the buff was that I didn't want to spread panic, but as I think longer as I walk down the aisles, I come to the conclusion that if I don't make it out of this situation and these two forces get to the city, there will be far more panic than just a city-wide sudden temporary power drain.

The average level 10-200 citizen may not give me a lot of stats on their own, but in numbers, every bit of strength I can get right now counts. There are over 1500 of them contributing far more stats than my teammates and Army Recruits combined.

After just a few minutes of meticulously scrolling through my lists of citizens one by one, counting out about 50 more who look as though they're in dungeons in the middle of fights too, I scroll over to the main interface and choose accept on everyone that can spare the energy.

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[Power Holder: Activated]

[10% Power Share: Receive]

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[Ruler's Gaze: Long-Range Perk: Activated]

[5% Power Share: Receive]

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[Select Party Members: Group Selected]

[Select Stat Points: Group Selected]

[Select Mana Control: Group Selected]

[Temporary Buffs Added!]

[+67,937] Strength

[+65,984] Speed

[+70,044] Agility

[+66,350] Defense

[+75,869] Mental Strength

[+1,329,220,901,545] Mana Control

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I grin while looking at the base stats gains, bringing my own up by over 3-5x. The mana control is negligible, but this rise in base stat power will be an absurd increase that I'm excited to feel.

The screen disappears, and I watch the stats leave my subordinates and add to my own status.

Outside, in the real world, an imperceivable amount of time has passed.

The stats and MCP have transferred, but it will still take time for the other half of my split consciousness to react once this Mind Palace skill is deactivated.

Now, before this happens, I have to figure out the best way to avoid getting killed by the two silver blades about to pierce my chest.

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Author's Note:

If you're enjoying Dungeon Diver and want to follow Jay on his journey 20+ chapters ahead of schedule, check out the Patreon link in my profile bio.

There's custom chapter art for every new daily upload too!

Thanks for reading:)

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