Dungeon Diver: Stealing a Monster's Power

Chapter 149

After a long night of rest, I wake up ready to begin a new week of training.

Today, I'll be entering the Vice City Labyrinth.

I hop out of bed to take in the wide-open view of the city below me. I'm 42 stories up, no matter the weather, the view is always incredible. It's early in the morning, so the sun rises up over the horizon casting orange light through the low clouds.

Taking the elevator downstairs, and walking through the empty lobby, I begin my walk to the Dungeon Hub before the morning crowd of hunters gets a chance to crowd the square.

I walk over to the C-Class gate, show the blond-haired guard my ID, then ask him for directions.

"Hey, how do I get to the Vice City Labyrinth? I just got clearance today."

He looks at me with a smug, yet impressed nod, then points behind him to the moving staircase about 15m away. It's guarded by 2 more men from the association. I've seen parties go back there before, but they always wore Association uniforms and seemed to be in a whole different league than me.

It seems it's my turn to ride that escalator upwards.

"Thanks. Appreciate it."

I give the guard a firm nod and head over with my ID in hand. As I approach, I get a better look at the two men on duty. They're wearing full armor and have shields ready by their sides. Both of them seem to be tanks. One is middle-aged with tan skin, a black beard, and a bald head while the other is younger with fair skin and a full head of glossy black hair.

I use inspect on both of them.

[Lv. 289]

[Lv. 314]

The older guard, level 314, looks me up and down as I approach.

"Hey kid, I think you're headed the wrong way. The dungeons are behind ya!"

I flip my Hunter's License toward him to show my name and rank. With an eye roll and a look of disgust on the older guard's face, he takes my ID and places it on the small metal scanner.

"A new C-Class recruit going solo in the Labyrinth? Yeah right, there-"

He's cut off by the small green glowing light shown by the sensor. The bearded guard looks at his younger counterpart with his mouth wide open. Both of them shrug, then he hands my ID back to me.

"I- Sorry I jumped to conclusions. You must be one of the newer recruits. I wasn't aware there were any Elites in the batch of hunters that just came in."

I take my card and give him a professional smile and nod as I get onto the moving stairs upwards.

"Thanks, have a good day!"

This is a pretty odd feeling, going up instead of down. I've gotten pretty used to going underground in order to dungeon dive. I wonder what's up here? Also... did he just call me an Elite?

As I slowly move up the mana-powered stairway, I see another set of guards eyeing me up and down near the top.

It's another pair of tanks in full shining armor... The Association really keeps this place guarded well. I use inspect as I get closer and closer.

[Lv. 348]

[Lv. 366]

Both of these guards seem to be much older, if I look close enough I'd definitely spot a few grey hairs. They must be hunters working for the Association full-time, leveling up slowly and collecting their pay. It's an honest living, I'm just focused on another path.