[CH399+ Continued] Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster's Power

Chapter 483

Maria's level rises by 71, bringing her to level 1065 in an instant.

By the way she's looking at her status, it's clear there is a rank-up notification in front of her waiting to be accepted.

However, she recalls my description of the others' rank-up process that I told her about on our way out here and decides not to press [YES] just yet. She picks up both the fragments of the dormant black obsidian golem's core, and places them into her item storage. Two of the larger chunks have item readings on them that grant over 300% Mental Strength Buffs along with fire resistance.

I speculate what kind of armor, pendant, or possibly even a weapon these materials could make. However, it's Maria's kill, so she'll be the one to decide what to do with these core fragments in the future.

Her ice magic deactivates while putting back up her consistent Qi barrier. Then, she Qi-steps up in the air to greet Luna and me watching from high above.

I'm the first to speak.

"That was very impressive. I could tell you were strong while sparring, but your combination of Qi and Mana brought your abilities to a whole new level. It almost looked like Soul Energy..."

I think to myself about how Maria would have stacked up against the 2nd ranked Dark Guard if she were to battle it alone. On pure physical strength, that silver creature would have had her beat, but just based on pure magic power they may have been close to even.

The only guards that remain are the 3rd, 4th, and 1st. Based on this performance, after she ranked up there is no doubt in my mind the two remaining lower guards will not be an issue for her.

The only real looming threat is the 1st ranked Dark Guard and the Dark One itself.

As my mind races, Maria speaks up again.

"Yeah, it's a neat trick I managed to learn near the end of my session in the pod. Once my Qi control reached a high enough level, I was able to begin incorporating Mana directly into the flow. It works the other way around too. Instead of launching them as separate attacks, the two are slowly becoming one energy source."

She flips her open status toward me to show the [Rank Up] screen.

"Once I get to a safe place to Rank-Up, I'm almost positive they will become even more natural to wield together as one."

We turn back toward the town after Luna does another scan of the desert, confirming there are no other strong beings within 300 km of us. There are a few rogue dungeons and 2 small villages with populations below 50 each, but no sign of the Dark One's army.

"Looks like he really came alone..."

We head back to the town at fairly quick speeds, making it to the bunker in under 2 hours.

Maria sits on the opposite side of the room in the lotus position and presses rank up, glowing white while the 5 machines hum in the background, slowly leaking Qi and Mana.

I turn to Luna, then point to the crates of B Grade weapons and equipment by the back wall.

"Pick out 12 items. Make sure they have spread-out buffs to equally boost all your stats, and choose a weapon you're comfortable learning how to wield. You were over level 250 before the powerleveling session, so I assume you have some monster hunting experience."

She nods and walks over to the crates, putting on a few rings, necklaces, a light armor set, some boots, and picks out a pair of daggers with high speed, agility, and mental strength enchants on them.

Then, we leave the bunker together and I point to the canyon of dungeons.

"This way, it's time for you and a few others to increase your mana control. Let's see if that 300 km range is your skills' hard cap or if there are ways to raise it. There are a few others in the dungeons that need the exact same training as you."