Even with this powerful attack, in a matter of minutes, the massive tear in the shielded walls heals back to as good as new.
I try using the same attack a few more times, tearing massive cracks in the rectangular prison that open the floor and ceiling up to the black void surrounding me. Each time it soars through the darkness and makes it out, but nothing changes.
The walls continuously heal on their own, and I'm left alone in the blank white room.
Letting out a sigh, I whisper to myself.
"Well, there's still one thing I can try."
Facing the back wall of the room, I charge up my sword with mana and fire magic just like before, but before releasing the attack, I activate my Red Hydra's Buff.
A dense crimson aura forms around my mana blade and once I release my attack from my sword, the impact makes the entire structure of the room I'm in shake multiple times more violently than before.
It slices through, and the red aura that remains begins to eat away at the mana-imbued wall that it comes in contact with very quickly. Burning it away like tissue paper to a hot flame.
A flash of light tells me the brunt of the attack has hit the outside world through the void, but what fascinates me even more is the sight of the entire back wall of the room being completely destroyed.
The red aura exhausts itself eventually, but it does some serious damage. I can't even see the corners of the room; it looks as if it was sliced off completely with a jagged blade.
However, soon enough, the white mana-shielded wall begins to heal itself up.
I let out a sigh, realizing the more I throw attacks at that wall, the more useless things may become. The only thing it will do is increase my fatigue from using the buff over and over, and possibly just destroy the entire room I'm standing in and leave me floating in the dark black void of energy all around me.
I open my item storage and let Ember come out. If anyone has insight on my situation, it'd be him.
As he flaps his wings once, then lands on the ground with a thud, he almost instantly curls into a comfortable-looking ball and looks at me with interested eyes.
"So you took my advice? I can tell you're a lot stronger..."
He looks around, pausing his gaze on the open wall that's slowly closing up still, then back to me holding a flaming sword.
"You need help getting out of here, don't you?"
He starts to chuckle as I nod and reply.
"Well, yes. But I'd rather find a way to get out of here myself. I'd like to train with my teammates here, but don't want to expose you to any prying eyes. I have a feeling that would be problematic."
Ember nods, returning his gaze to the wall as it fully heals up.
"Yes, anyone that has knowledge of the last war knowing of my existence may bring more problems than good for you if they knew of me. Even if you trust your teammates, I advise you to follow your gut and not tell a soul until you're much stronger."
I raise an eyebrow at his mention of a war, but reply with a much more important series of questions.
"So, is there any way for me to break out of this Domain myself? My attacks are much stronger than before, and my Hydra's Buff increases that attack power by a considerable amount too. But, that doesn't account for the void around us. It doesn't seem to have any effect on it, and I'm hesitant to dive into it without knowing the dangers."
Ember smiles.
"Well, to put it bluntly, you're too weak. The Titan's domain is a pocket world formed by magic far greater than your own. It is supposed to be a trap impossible to escape. The only reason we can is because of my skill that retained its Mythic grade status. Time dilated pockets of space can only exist when immensely high density amounts of mana are stored in a small place."
I nod, crossing my arms trying to follow along as Ember continues.
"We're just packets of information stored inside a small domain deep within a titan. Think of this Domain as its own Dungeon. Can you throw energy attacks at a dungeon floor enough times and break out?"
"No..."
"A Titan's domain acts no different, it's just a much smaller version, with more mana. This leads to very odd space and time-bending properties. The only way to weaken its defenses is to turn off its energy sources entirely. It's similar to collapsing a dungeon and forcing a dungeon break. However,, we're the only monsters inside this pocket world trying to get out."
I respond in a disappointed tone.
"So there's no other ways to get out? What about jumping in the void? My energy attacks can make their way through, why can't I?"
Ember replies.
"Are you sure they leave the void? My theory is energy distorts more and more the closer it gets to the outer edge. The flashes of light and disappearance may just be the attack dispersing into the darkness."
Then he sighs.
"Though I could be wrong, I haven't studied these Domains very much. The Void Creeper's Rifts are rare to come by, even more so than Demonic ones in recent times."
I reply.
"So it's just not worth the risk. What if I increase my mana control high enough to the point where my legendary plunderer skill has enough power. Or.. maybe if I just upgrade-"
The idea comes to mind and I immediately open my status with my all-seeing eye activated to check how many PP it would take to upgrade my skill further. I had planned to save up all of these points to use on Absorption, but if this is an easy fix to my issue it would be worth a shot.
My eyes widen at the sight of glowing blue text before me displaying the details of my plunderer skill. Below it is a greyed-out text box showing how much an upgrade would be.
[Upgrade]
[Legendary Grade]->[Mythic Grade]
[1,000PP]
[YES][NO]
Even at the increased rate I'm gaining PP with the help of my absorption skill, this option is far out of my grasp.
I look back to Ember with a hopeful gaze.
"What about Qi? My Red Hydra's buff did a lot more damage than my base level mana attacks. What if I just continue to raise my Qi Capacity and tear it open with pure power?"
Ember thinks for a moment, then responds again.
"It's possible, but highly unlikely. You'd need to awaken a very specific Soul Energy designed to drain energy. On top of that, you would need to be much stronger as well. My Soul Energy with the unique trait to cleanse may be able to deteriorate this realm if I tried, but it may be detrimental to my growth if I used that much of my inherited power from a past life in this weak of a form. Plundering the mana is our safest bet."
I think to myself for a few seconds too, but Ember interjects again before I think of a response.
"Speaking of Soul Energy, how far have you come along? I can tell you've improved a lot. Are you able to manifest Qi outside your body yet?"
I turn to Ember with wide eyes.
"No. I don't think so. Well- I haven't tried."
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Author's Note:
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Thanks for reading:)
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[CH399+ Continued] Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster's Power
FantasyA story following a young hunter named Jay. He has grown up in a world where dungeons, monsters, and humans with leveling systems are a cultural norm. At the age of 20, he awakens a skill that allows him to steal the abilities of monsters. While oth...