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

Chapter 692

My steps upward are far slower now. While it took less than a single minute to climb multiple kilometers with ease before, it takes me over an hour to climb the next 50.

I'm halfway through the final stretch, but I can feel these last 50 are not going to be easy at all...

The amount of green energy pouring through my core makes the entire orb I consumed earlier seem like a tiny drop in the ocean of power around me.

My core still feels the same, like a True Core cycling in my chest, but the amount of power it can control feels as though it's multiplied by thousands of times...

The jump between green and yellow feels as though they're worlds apart, and it's very apparent as my body continues to reject climbing higher every time the density in the air shifts.

It takes two full hours to climb the next 25 kilometers upward.

The links of loyalty available to me start to slow down, evening out at around 280 million. A few hundred thousand links still roll in every minute, but it's nowhere near the millions per second I felt at the peak of my battle with the demon.

From what I can sense, over half of the system-connected population has signed the mental contract. While I'm not in desperate need of power now, it is still nice to feel new links form.

During the time I've climbed, the Crimson Army and the Inner Circle have made their way back to the Crimson City to be welcomed by tens of thousands of people from neighboring cities all over Sector 2 of the Dark Continent.

Many other nearby and faraway hunters make plans to move to the Dark Continent in hopes of meeting their saviors and searching for a better life.

Bri has already begun sending out calls and orders for expansion and materials to prepare for the massive influx of visitors and new citizens.

However, no work is being done yet anywhere in the world.

Everyone still watches the visual feed of their mysterious leader climbing higher and higher up the silver stairs through the dense green fog.

Another three hours pass as I climb another 15 kilometers, but the heat and pressure are becoming unbearable, even as my body adapts.

The purple ring around my finger doesn't pulse anymore; it glows with a consistent light purple glow, and the barrier around my body becomes extremely strong...

It's hard to track, but the ring feels like it's absorbed as much or even more green threads than me.

It acts like an insulator, similar to the technique Ember is using below me.

Green threads pour in, but it is impossible for them to flow out unless I mentally force them to.

I take advantage of this odd phenomenon, speeding up my gathering process even more, but at the same time, it definitely makes it far more difficult and painful.

My blood, flesh, muscle, and bones have been oversaturated and tethered with these threads for so long and under so much pressure that my entire body starts to feel like it's a Divine Core itself.

When I take steps upward, the propulsion of my feet uses divine energy; however, I don't even have to stimulate my True Core. It's as if the nerves in my muscles have tethered so densely with the threads flowing through me that portions of my body can act as their own power sources.

Ember watches with curious eyes, replicating what I do using silver threads to isolate his flesh from the violent green threads when it becomes too much to bear.

My mind is completely focused on reaching the top....

The final 10 kilometers take six full hours. The thread density has increased many times over again, but at this point, it all feels the same. Even with over 290 million links of loyalty powering my footsteps and a green core and divine body pushing me upward, my legs still feel extremely heavy with each new step.