I begin holding random items in my storage with my left hand while keeping contact with my right hand on Ember's scales, attempting to imbue the Mythic Grade Plunderer skill into them, but I'm not getting the results I imagined I would.
Some of my failed crafts sit on my lap as I appraise them and use my all-seeing eye to check their abilities.
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[High Orc Ring][+70% Mental Strength][Plunderer Attribute]
All enemies below the user's mana control rating will lose 5% of their MP every time the caster makes contact with the target. The caster will gain 100% of their lost MP.
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Another one reads out a similar ability.
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[Enchanted Dagger Set][+80% Agility][+65% Speed][Plunderer Attribute]
All enemies will lose 1% of their MP no matter the mana control difference each time they have blood drawn by this dagger. The caster will gain 100% of their lost MP.
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Then lastly, I even try to imbue it into a random item that can't be worn, and it transforms into a wearable necklace.
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[Enchanted Lizardman's Claw Pendant][+55% Mental Strength][Plunderer Attribute][Cursed]
[Cursed Item Created!] The holder of this item will lose 1% of their remaining MP every minute. If the item holder hits 10% of their original max MP with this cursed item still on their person, even if MP is restored and the item is removed, the item effects will not leave the user's status.
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I hold the green claw in my hand, examining it closely and feel a trace amount of my mana seep through my fingertips into the item. A new text box shows up in my status, under a new section labeled [Debuffs] with a [-1% MP Per Minute] labeling.
My eyes widen, and I throw the item into my item storage.
The debuff disappears and no more mana drains from me. I let out a relieved sigh and can't help but to smile inwardly as I continue sifting through items to try. I murmur to myself as I imbue more miscellaneous gear with the Mythic Plunderer skill.
"A cursed item, huh?"
This is not what I initially thought the items created would be when I imagined imbuing a Mythic Grade skill into them.
They are very unique, and unlike any items I've ever seen before, but none of them allow me to use Plunderer at its full capacity like I imagined they would.
"It must be the quality of the crafting items."
With a disappointed expression, I start placing every item back into my storage.
Upgrading from [No Grade] to [Special Grade] costs 50PP, and upgrading from [Special Grade] to [Legendary Grade] costs 250PP. The jump from [Legendary Grade] to [Mythic Grade] is another 1000PP.
With 1PP being distributed for every level up, this means a hunter would need to be level 1300 to obtain a Mythic Grade Skill naturally. This is a skill for A-Class hunters only.
Using high-grade D and C-Grade items as crafting materials will not bring out the skill's full potential. I need something extremely rare and High Grade to mix things up. Something equivalent to a B-Grade rating at minimum.
While sifting through my storage to try and find something worthy to interact with, my attention finally comes toward one of the element stones I recently harvested from the 29th floor.
I pull it out of my storage and use telekinesis to let it hover above my left hand. Violent waves of wind magic spiral out of it, but once my crafting skill activates, and the option to imbue it with plunderer is shown, I select yes with curiosity.
A bright white light flashes and the wisps of wind around the stone only grow larger.
In an instant, tornadoes of energy erupt from the stone and I feel my MP get drained down to under 50% almost instantly.
Out of pure instinctual reflexes, my left arm fills with Qi and I grab the stone out of the air, throwing it downward toward the dungeon floor. Even Ember reacts to the huge disturbance in energy, opening our telepathy link as I recharge my MP from the surrounding dungeon air while the tornado-filled stone plummets to the ground.
"That's a dangerous item you've created. I don't believe you want it touching the dungeon floor..."
I respond as Ember flaps his wings to bring us upward for a moment, then he dives downward to follow the falling stone.
My eyes sharpen on the stone, using Appraisal and my All-Seeing Eye.
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[Advanced Wind Element Stone][Plunderer Attribute][Cursed]
[Cursed Item Created!] This element stone has the fighting spirit of its past life monster to guide its actions. It will Plunder Mana from its surroundings at an exponential rate. If the influx of mana from its environment ceases to please its needs, or the item's maximum storage capacity is met before all mana in the surrounding area is consumed, this item's structural integrity will collapse.
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"You're right... not good."
In the blink of an eye, Ember soars through the air and gets us closer to the bright white stone. The closer I get to it, the faster I feel my mana being drained again. I activate my own plunderer skill to try and counteract its pull, but my MP bar barely manages to stay over 20% even while all my buffs are activated to help my skill's efficiency.
This is more than enough for me to open up an item storage portal underneath the falling stone and its volatile absorption mixed with swirling energy ceases once it falls inside.
I let out a sigh as Ember swoops upward and lets out a laugh.
"You made a cursed item with my Mythic Grade Plunderer skill, didn't you?"
I nod, thinking very deeply to myself about the item's description as he glides high into the sky again back to the cloud level we were at before.
"Yes. It seems I made exactly what I was trying to. Just, not in the form I thought it would take. This could be what is needed to collapse a Titan's domain... right?"
Ember replies.
"Maybe. By nature, cursed items are unpredictable. It's what occurs when powers that shouldn't be mixed are forced together. Whether the strength between an attribute and the material are unique and different, or possibly the quality gap between the material and skill being imbued are too far apart. Cursed, or uncontrollable items with minds of their own, will appear when an item that is not supposed to be crafted comes into this world."
The wind flies by us on both sides as Ember breaks through the cloud line again and continues.
"Some curses are more mild than others, but a cursed item is still a cursed item. It's no joke. I recommend you test that stone out on something before attempting to collapse a Titan's Domain. It'd be smart to test it and watch from afar to make sure there aren't any hidden traps."
I cross my arms and stay quiet for a moment, then finally reply.
"Alright then. What dungeon should we collapse as a trial run?"
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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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[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...