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

Chapter 594

I think about his offer and see only green mist coming off his aura from my lie detector skill.

Even so, the Lich King's calm demeanor and willingness to help me feels very out of character for a self proclaimed Dark God. Even if he is my summon, I want confirmation that whatever this True Core progression is, it is a safe direction to move toward.

The only person I'd trust to ask is Ember.

The last time I saw him, he was falling asleep while I opened my item storage beneath him.

While many days have passed in real time outside, in the depths of my storage, not a single fraction of a second has passed.

It may be possible to send a single message to him before he goes into full hibernation.

This seems like the best course of action now, rather than taking the Lich King's word at face value.

I stand in silence for a few seconds, thinking up a plan, then take a step back from my shadow summon.

"Possibly. Give me a moment to get a second opinion on the terms of your offer."

I walk away to be alone in the desert, then power up all my perception buffs, pulling out my sword and dagger to obtain as many stat boosts as I can, even triggering the activation of my greater form to push myself further.

I want to make sure my mind is running at the highest capacity possible because I don't know how much time to converse I'll really have.

I take a few deep breaths in and out, sensing the fractions of seconds passing in my improved perception. Then, I open up my item storage to allow Ember's body, in its human form, to fall out into the real world.

His eyes are closing, but I send a wave of telepathy into his mind the instant I see his body materialize and get to work.

In the simplest series of statements possible, I outline the turn of events that have transpired in the last few days.

It comes out in a jumbled bit of words through our link.

"Met purple construct creator, helped escape, faced yellow core director, too strong, need help from Lich King resurrected, is compressing core to True Core Safe? Help me confirm."

I try to explain further, but for every hundredth of a second he stays outside of my suspended animation, I feel him inching closer to a hibernation-like state.

I instantly share my skill [Mind Palace] with him, and a pulse of white light ripples over his body once it's activated.

To me, time is moving normally, but the moment Ember hits the desert floor, his mind has already organized my cryptic message and rationalized a response.

"True Core is the Optimal Path. Link me with Lich."

His words are calculated and cryptic too, making sure every millisecond counts. By his last words, our link is fading fast, but I instantly open up a channel with the Lich King standing close by.

Ember's next words come through with an intensity I've never felt from him before. His core pulses golden and silver, pushing out a last bit of power through his body to make his words clear.

"As a Supreme, I demand you, an Overseer, to teach my soul-bound the path to a True Core. Do not deceive me, or else I will make sure you disappear in the next Council Meeting."

By his second sentence, Ember's words start to fade as his mind and body shuts down. By the time he finishes saying 'meeting,' the three-way link goes silent, and Ember falls into a hibernation-like state on the desert floor.