[CH598+ Continued] Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster's Power

Chapter 656

As my gaze remains fixed on the silver contraption at the back of the room, where Ember is contained, I feel the mind inside the pod shift. In response, the link within my rising Emperor's Domain activates, bypassing the need for direct contact through my aura to enable telepathic messages.

"You've been quite busy since the B-Class exams. Our power has grown a substantial amount... While our stats and mana control are linked through our system pact, divine energy cannot be created nor destroyed. I must awaken my True Core alone, using an old technique I created."

There's a brief pause—less than half a second—before a pulse of weak divine energy ripples through the room. Ember's voice then vibrates through my mind at a rapid pace.

"You found yourself an amplifier too... how interesting."

I raise an eyebrow, replying through the link while my peripheral vision tracks the black cube slowly rotating around me.

"What is an amplifier?"

There's a much longer pause before Ember replies again.

"It is difficult to explain in these circumstances. I must keep my mind and body focused on compressing my core without harming your teammates or crippling my own core with too many movements before it's complete..."

Another pause, even longer than the first, follows before Ember continues.

"I have a few hundred yellow fragments of my own from the construct. I will add them to the room's cycle; it should be enough for me to finish in less than a month within this pod, which will be three days on the outside."

Our link grows silent for a moment before he speaks again.

"An amplifier is the result of an originator's failed ascension. This was before the era of demons and the system, and the ascension process was different. It is the echo of a dead soul that holds onto the mortal realm with a desire too strong to be broken by death alone. They cannot think, lie, act, or grow more than they already know, but often share incredible powers with those who share a common desire."

Ember's cryptic description doesn't tell me much more than I could have guessed, but the fact that he says they cannot lie makes me less hesitant to leave the cube floating around me. The mention of a different process of ascension raises an eyebrow.

I remember, in the statue's memories, beams of light all over the world, and its description of those beings ascending, though it didn't know how it died or have any memories before its death.

I reply quickly, "How do I use it? Or activate its powers?"

After no reply for a few more seconds, I assume Ember has fallen into his final state of concentration. I leave him with a final message.

"Well... the faster you awaken your core the better. The throne is opening its doors in four days."

As I turn around and pull out a teleport crystal, a final reply echoes through our link, slower this time.

"One day for us to train together will be more than enough. Focus on what you can do in the present. All amplifiers are unique. It will most likely take an absurd amount of divine energy to activate; it was a True Core holder in its past life, after all. I must focus now. See you soon."

Our link goes quiet, and I look around the room at my teammates, still cycling the divine energy in the air around them. They, too, are in total concentration.

I peer into their cores to see how far along they've come and notice that Maria has the most saturated core of all. At this rate, she'll complete her breakthrough even before Ember wakes up. Abby appears to be in a similar state, lagging by about 30%, but she maintains a constant ring of restoration below everyone in the bunker. Fisher and Lydia are absorbing far fewer yellow threads than I expected. At this rate, they won't awaken their yellow cores within four days. The natural talent barrier shows itself again.