Outside Tyrant

Seven commanders, one from each of the empires, one from the lesser demon tribe and one from the unbowed league, talked to the newly arrived people from the family of Dé.

"I'm surprised you took interest in this dungeon," commander Ayata Déniz said, "I have come to believe the family of Dé have no interest in dungeons."

"We don't." De Abas said, his eyes still fixed on the screen. "I just want the red-haired boy. The rest is yours."

"Well, that's not gonna happen," commander Dáya Báyir said, "that boy is already under my watch for violating our Contract."

"We don't want him alive, a mutilated corpse will do." Abas said calmly.

"Well, I will have to contact my superiors about it." Dáya Báyir said.

"What does the family of Dé want with him? Is he an Outsider?" Commander sukar from the lesser demon tribe asked from the side.

"Not everyone believes the Outsider bulshit but even if I do, how could someone, not from this world, looks just like us and even uses our skills and Contract?!" Commander Farir from Fáyra said.

"Our business is not your concern. The terms are simple: give us the boy and we won't interfere with your dungeon, refuse and everything goes to hell." Abas said with a level confidence that couldn't be bluffed.

"I don't really have a problem as long as you don't interfere with us." Commander Barbila from the unbowed league said.

"I would love to see that red hair on fire but I can manage." Commander Kinra from Djinn empire said.

The last person who hadn't spoken was Micro Furtak from the Micronomad empire. Furtak was an old man with a short, white hair that accentuated his old age. "We haven't yet discussed his abilities." He said, "he just defeated an undead at the peak of the Secondary Awakening, I don't think we are dealing with a rookie."

They gave him a look that said, 'what do you suggest?'.

"He won't be defeated by anything less than the Tertiary Awakening. I'm suggesting we wait till the dungeon allow Senior Conquerors to enter. And then..."

"We finished the job." Dáya finished the sentence.

"Yes, we go in and do it." Micro Furtak said, "no matter how powerful he would get before then, he can't take us on."

"I agree." De Abas said, "since he has violated your Contract I will let you kill him yourself. As I earlier said, even a mutilated corpse would do. I will also give all the dungeon stones and crystals he had to you."

"Let's see how the next floor would turn out." Micro Furtak concluded.

Edard

Three teams, including Edard and Dylas, were transported to the next floor.

Welcome to Luffy, a Tier-3 dungeon.

Collect as many longevity crystals as you can in the next one-hour.

The team with the most crystals will take the boss.

Edard looked around him. Besides the corpse and Dylas, there was one big jungle around him. The trees were broad and short, sitting close to one another like pieces of chess. Their huge branches created an artificial roof that blocked sunlight from reaching the ground, making the temperature cool and natural. Edard was engulfed in the scenery around him he missed the shock on Dylas's face.

"This is so unfair!" Dylas said through gritted teeth. "Tyrant has just proved he is a cunt. How can he send us here after a Tier-1?"

Lancel was a tier-1 and the logical thing would be a Tier-2 next. It was unfair to just jump a Tier without a proper dungeon quest.

"The foot soldiers here would be stronger than the boss in Lancel." Dylas added.

"What the hell...?!" Edard cursed out loudly.

"That's not even the worst problem. Say we are able to defeat the foot soldiers, which is unlikely, the other teams are also here. There will be a battle for crystals between the teams, with only one team coming out alive." Dylas explained.

Even as Edard thought about it he heard a strange screech from the forest. It was too far for Dylas's ears.

"Something is coming." Edard announced.

The sound became humanly audible few seconds later.

"Goblins!" Dylas cried, identifying the source. "Greenish little things with an unbelievable reproductive capacity. They are weak and small but always attack in multitudes."

As Dylas explained, five goblins came out into the open, holding shining swords and shields. Their clothes were speckless and colorfully attractive. Nothing like the goblins he knew in myths.

Megagoblin, level 10/10 (secondary)

Five megagoblins at the same level with the skeleton boss in Lancel. The largest goblin stood four-meter tall with arms half a meter wide. He had no scar and his skin was a shining green. Even the scanty hair on his scalp was green. The rest were smaller and they shared similar features with the larger goblin, with little variations. The most conspicuous thing being their crooked noses that looked as if it had been broken countless times before.

"Megagoblins! They eat smaller goblins to gain power. I have read about them." Dylas said.

"We won't be seeing any greenish little things then?" Edard asked, referring to Dylas's description of goblins.

Dylas slightly frown. "They have probably already eaten the smaller ones."

"Or Tyrant is hiding the smaller ones." Edard suggested with a shrug. It was typical of dungeons.

"Are they waiting for us?" Dylas said, surprised that the megagoblins had been standing patiently by the side while they discussed.

"I don't think they are in a hurry." Edard said, "we are the ones with a time limit."

"Well, we might as well take the initiative."

The two of them nodded at each. Dylas fired a giant bolt of lightning, half a meter wide. Edard fired a lava fist. He activated Crush to prevent the goblins from dodging but they didn't attempt to dodge. The two goblins carrying shields came forward while the three with swords went back. They joined the two shields into a perfect square that protected all of them. The lava fist hit the shield, releasing an explosion that ripped the nearby trees. Dylas's lightning bolt also hit the shields, causing more explosions. But when everything settled, the shields were intact and the goblins didn't budge. Edard and Dylas fired more attacks but the goblins blocked them in a similar way. It didn't work.

Time to test the Thunderbird.

Edard could sense the surrounding nature energy and, after activating the Thunderbird, he had the ability to convert it into a lightning, the same way he had been converting life energy to elements. He could use five units every second, which translated to an adult-size fist. Much smaller than Dylas's bolt but the color was the same.

He fired it.

The speed was also close to Dylas's bolt. The goblins used the same tactics to block it. Upon hitting the shields it just... dissipated.

Edard blinked twice, trying to understand what just happened.

He gritted his teeth and converted twenty units of nature energy into a lightning bolt. It was still the same size, just a little darker.

Well, darker is good. He thought. When abilities got darker their power increased. But when his darker bolt hit the goblin shield again it just dissipated. It was slightly louder than the first bolt but the result was the same. Not a single scratch on the shield.

Dylas observed Edard's mangled facial expression and felt a little pity for the Seal Lord. It went without saying that all Seal Lords used the most powerful element in their field. No one would ever believe Edard was a Seal Lord for lightning if they saw his wobbling attempts to create a lightning bolt.

Edard didn't give up. He went up from twenty units of nature energy to two hundred units to finally create an eleven inches wide bolt. The attempt took forty whole seconds but in the end... nothing happened, besides a muffled explosion.

Edard frowned. The Thunderbird was just an elaborate prank.

"It probably won't work from here." Edard said, ignoring the Thunderbird's obvious incompetence.

Edard merged with his clone to use the afterimage technique but he soon detected a bunch of fast moving objects flying towards them.

"Arrows!" He shouted, taking a step back.

Before he closed his mouth, over one-hundred arrows flew out of the thick-branching trees.

"Dylas, take those tanks out I'll cover you." Edard said, pointing at the two goblins carrying shields.

"But... "

"Just do it."

Dylas nodded and jumped on the closest goblin.

Time to test another skill. Hopefully, it wouldn't be another prank.

"Violet Push."

A thin layer of a violet light surrounded him for a split second and when it disappeared all the previously approcaching arrows were gone, pushed five meters back by an invisible force. Even the goblins were pushed back, forcing them to lose their footing and formation. This gave Dylas the chance to punch the startled goblin with an enchanted fist. Surprisingly, the goblin didn't dodge or use his shield, he allowed the punch to land directly on its stomach while it took the opportunity to reciprocate the punch. Although, it was the largest goblin around, its punch came as a surprise. It hit Dylas on the shoulder, dislocating the joint and sending him flying several meters back.

It wasn't like Dylas's punch didn't work, it actually worked. There was a gaping wound in the stomach of the goblin, revealing greenish, severed intestines. The problem was the wound was closing, rapidly.

Regeneration! Edard thought, running over to Dylas.

"Are you alright?"

Dylas nodded. "Hell, that punch is at least 90 points of strength. Their blood is poisonous as well." Dylas said, pointing at the smear of green blood on his fist.

"How poisonous?" Edard asked.

"-2/sec stamina for 30 seconds." Dylas answered.

"They maybe slow but they balance it with their regeneration ability. Look at his stomach." Edard pointed at the rapidly-closing wound in the goblin's stomach. "Look at how they have been carefully avoiding my eyes. How did they even know? I don't think Tyrant can tell them, can he?"

Dylas shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Hybrid dungeons are anomalies, they do things other dungeons can not."

"We have one advantage over them." Edard said.

"If you are talking about their speed then you are the only one with that advantage." Dylas said.

"That's why I will do it. Just block any incoming arrows and slashes."

They prepared again and attacked. This time Edard faced the five goblins while Dylas block the arrows.

The giant goblin tried to punch but it couldn't lift its hand due to an increased gravity. Edard pierced its heart with Dragon-essense sword. A greenish blood and gore splashed on his face as the goblin's lifeless body fell on the ground. It couldn't regenerate a missing heart.

You have absorbed a bio energy in the dragon dimension.

+80 life energy

Before Edard removed the sword, the two goblins carrying swords slashed him in the side while the goblin carrying shield erected four pillars of light to create a force field. The last one took a few steps back and fired a barrage of heavy artilleries.

You have stepped into a hostile force field.

-35% to all skills

"Violet Push." Edard called his attack. A thin layer of violet light covered his body and pushed all the goblins back. Yet, the force field remained.

On the other side, Dylas dealt with hundreds of arrows which were simply too much for him. You might think there was an army hidden in the forest, firing the arrows. At any case, Dylas wouldn't be coming to his aid.

Both speed and attacking power would be limited as long as Edard was inside the force field.

Three goblins attacked Edard while one stayed behind to maintain the force field. With the force field suppressing Edard, the goblins were now able to match him up in terms of speed. Their steel weapons couldn't possibly compare to the Dragon-essence but they were damn clever.

"Dammit! Aren't goblins supposed to be dull!" Edard cursed.

He had gravity and Dragon-essence but the goblins just kept dodging and covering for each other carefully.

At one point, Edard slashed at the shield bearer who mistakenly used his shield to block. The shield was slashed in half and so was his shoulder. Edard cut his head off before he could regenerate.

You have absorbed a bio energy in the dragon dimension.

+70 life energy

Two goblins down.

The remaining goblins acted desperately and ended up slashing Nusi's corpse. Instead of blood, a blinding light shone from the corpse, attracting everyone's attention in and out of the dungeon. Edard felt a searing pain in his back.

You have sustained a deep laceration through your soul bond.

Injury share: 40:60

NB: distance yourself from the bond for five minutes to minimise soul damage.

Pain Resistance has reached level 8

The corpse didn't have any physical injury despite the slash and he didn't have it as well. Yet, the notification mentioned a 'laceration'. He quickly made up his mind and threw the corpse aside. Even if the goblins decided to attack it it would be a physical injury that would heal in no time. But keeping it beside him would lead to a soul damage which he, certainly, didn't know how to heal.

The goblins looked at the corpse carefully for a while before they decided to stay away from it. The battle continued.

Meanwhile, the goblin maintaining the force field had a different opinion about the corpse. It felt it was better to check it out now than be sorry later. The curious goblin pulled out the cloth covering Nusi to see the face behind it. You would think the goblin would be satisfied after seeing the face but apparently not. It went ahead to rip up Nusi's robe and exposed her underwear. The goblin practically blushed, though you wouldn't call it blushing if the color was green, but it actually became deeply green. It tried to rip up the underwear but a protective rune placed on Nusi to prevent violation of the royal bloodline activated. A preformed lightning bolt erupted from the rune and burned the curious goblin alive.

The other two goblins were distracted by the outcome which gave Edard a split second opportunity to slash both of them simultaneously. He was further helped by the disappearance of the shield.

Surprisingly, as soon as the goblins fell, the arrows stopped coming.

Edard covered Nusi up.

"It's just a corpse, why do you care about its identity?" Dylas asked, curious about why Edard was covering the corpse's face.

"She is a princess from Déniz empire that went missing last year. Probably, the entire world is currently looking for her." Edard answered.

"A missing princess?!" Dylas exclaimed.

"That's why we can't let anyone see her before we find a way to get rid of her." Edard said, tying the corpse on his back.

They retrieved the crystals from the goblins and searched for the source of the arrows. After searching for thirty minutes, they found a hundred meter wide, bottomless underground tunnel. The inside was dark but Edard could hear the distant conversations inside.

You have learned goblin tongue.

Interracial Communication has reached level 10 which is the maximum proficiency for a Tier-1 skill.

Interracial Communication has reached Tier-2: besides your ability to hear shouts, chattings and whispers and to understand all languages, you can now turn off your hearing at will. You can choose what to hear and what not to hear.

Range: 200km

Cost of learning a language: 50

Interracial Communication has reached level 1 (Tier-2)

After gauging the tunnel, Edard shook his head. "We have five crystals already, no need to take any risk."

Dylas nodded. It would be easier to find the other groups than to find the goblins in the bottomless tunnel.

"How much time do we have?" Edard asked.

"Thirty-five minutes." Dylas answered.

"Tyrant didn't mention what would happen to the teams with fewer crystals, did he?" Edard asked.

"He need not. He knew we will kill each other to get the crystals. The question is how do we find the other teams? Anyone with more than five crystals will be hiding."

As if answering his question a loud explosion followed by a firework came from the jungle.

"What was that?"

Even as they debated, a second firework came from another part of the jungle.

"Now what?" Dylas asked.

"We are not responding to an obvious invitation." Edard said, climbing a tree branch to search the surroundings. "Think about it, if you have crystals, will you be broadcasting your position or will you hide?"

Dylas nodded and found himself a seat. Since both the other teams had broadcast their positions it was likely for them to fight each other long before they targeted them.

"Tyrant is intentionally hiding the goblins underground. Why is he so stingy? If I'm in his place, I wouldn't mind going all out." Edard said.

"You never know a dungeon's greed." Dylas said, "by the way, just how many Classes do you have?"

"Five." Edard answered.

"So my guess was fairly close. I guess Psychomancy, Lightning Elementalist, gravity, that speed class and the blue flame class?"

"A good guess. The gravity class is called Violet Rose, the blue flame is Dragonbreath and the speed class is Cloning."

"But... that would give you at least ten slots for Acquired skills at the first Awakening. Just by adding the attribute benefit of each class you should be close to the early Tertiary Awakening. If you add the individual classes and their atypical skills then I don't think you will be defeated even by a mid-stage Tertiary Awakening cultivator. You are even flashier than the flashy nobles." Dylas explained jealously.

Edard suddenly remembered that he'd some unopened notifications.

Pain resistance has reached level 10 which is the maximum proficiency for a Tier-1 skill.

Pain resistance has reached Tier-2: by levelling up pain resistance to this level you can turn off pain sensation to 50%, you also channel 5% of the remaining 50% to a familiar.

+5% per level

Pain Resistance has reached level 1 (Tier-2)

Status-key has reached level 10 which is the maximum proficiency for a Tier-1 skill.

Status-key has reached Tier-2: besides your ability to see name, race, sex and skills, you can now see the stamina of your opponent.

Some people can manipulate what you see when appraising them, hence whatever you see has a 50% chance of being false. That percentage has been reduced to 25%.

Status-key has reached level 1 (Tier-2)

They chatted for the next ten minutes. During which Dylas created several force fields ready to be used at a moment's notice.

"Something is off... I expect explosions from that fight." Edard said, spreading his senses.

Dylas nodded.

"Maybe they are using stealth." Edard said.

"I don't think so. They are using Contracts: either fire, water, earth, lightning or wind. Nothing stealthy." Dylas explained.

Another discussion on the reason behind the silence came up. But before they reached a conclusion a powerful wind picked up and pushed them backward. The temperature in the surrounding raised and they started sweating. Six people, three in each team, came out into the open. One team carried the sigil of House Djinn and the other carried that of House Fáyra.

Surprisingly, the team carrying the sigil of House Djinn were lesser demons consisting of a deerkin, a wolfkin and a hyenakin.

Since when does the lesser demons wear the sigil of House Djinn?! Dylas thought. A lot had changed since he left.

Edard immediately recognized Sinta but he didn't even care to give her another look. He also recognized Dario.

"Is that what I think it is?" Dario said, pointing at a crystal in Edard's hand. "Huh, I recognized you." He went on before Edard could answer. "You are the one from the entrance. Ah.. I see, that useless Báyir, thank you for killing him." He turned to the lesser demons and said, "We even have a princess from Déniz. Dammit, if not for the video we will take our time with her. Never even sniffed a princess."

His face reddened by the mere thought of it. The guy had no mind shield and his emotions were spilling all over the place. Edard sneered.

"Captain, wake up you are embarrassing us." The man behind Dario whispered.

"He doesn't want others to see her but why carry her on the back? Is she dead or something? I can't get any aura." The hyenakin, Jarka, asked, observing the princess.

"Does it matter?" Dario asked.

Jarka shook his head. "I was just curious." He pointed at Edard's red hair. "He is kissed by a Djinn, let me give him a goodbye kiss."

"That's okay with me." Dario said. "But whoever finishes first will take the boss. Do you agree?"

They had two crystals each and their strength was close, that was why they decided to join hands and defeat Edard's team. They believed Edard and his team were the weakest and were afraid of broadcasting their position.

"I agree." Jarka said.

"Good." Dario nodded.

Edard had come to the same conclusion. Because they didn't broadcast their position and they didn't try attacking the others who did, they gave the impression of weakness.

But they were wrong and ignorant. Both had been making a direct eye contact with him: they didn't even know of his skill. He already had one chance to bring one of them down.

Dario or Jarka?

He debated between the two. More importantly, he debated which skills to level up after taking their crystals.

"Your name is Dario, right?" He attracted Dario's attention as he activated the full power of his Intimidation. As soon as their eyes met, a slight tremor passed through Dario's body and his body stiffened, his expression a mixture of awe and shock.

"I don't know how long that would last. Just incapacitate him, I need him alive." Edard said as he turned to Jarka.

Jarka, hyenakin, male, fire elementalist level 4/10 (secondary)

Stamina: 94%

"Fiery Breath!" Jarka breathed a fire ball at Edard. He avoided looking at Edard's eyes, afraid of falling victim to another psychomancy. That gave Edard the opportunity to easily dodge and activate Crush without being noticed. However, the massive fire ball made a u-turn and attacked him from behind. He dodged it but it followed him like a missile.

"Fiery Brick!" Jarka summoned a three feet wall of fire to protect himself as he watched his fire ball chased Edard.

If he stopped the fire ball would hit him and if he attacked directly the wall of fire protecting Jarka would burn him alive. He debated several ideas but none viable.

Suddenly, another ball of fire materialized out of nowhere and and joined the first fire ball in chasing after him. With Awakening, Jarka could control more than one ball remotely. He had three skills: Fiery Breath, Fiery Brick and Meditation. Fiery Breath was a primary skill. It gave his fire the ability to react to people's breathing. It was like a guided missile, following the target as long as they breathed. Only limited by range and life energy. When he Awakened, he was given a chance to either upgrade the class to Fiery Breath Classification or choose an Awakening skill. He chose to upgrade to Fiery Breath Class which increased his range and effectiveness. The only drawback being massive life energy drain. Fiery Brick was an Acquired skill with a fire shield. It was very effective but costly. Hence, Jarka chose Meditation to balance the high energy demand.

With two roaring flame balls chasing after him, Edard had no choice but to attack. He created a Dragon-essense sword and ran into the wall of fire to appear next to Jarka. He was so fast he left an afterimage behind. Yet, his skin and hair were singed.

You have received a superficial burn.

+0 resistance.

Jarka tried to dodge the flame sword but he was Crushed. The Dragon-essence cut through his neck, absorbing half of it into the dimension. The wall of fire did little harm because of Edard's speed but, as soon as Jarka fell, the two balls of fire hit Edard and exploded.

You have absorbed a bio energy in the dragon dimension.

+103 life energy

You have sustained deep burns on the face, neck and upper body.

You have been cleansed by fire.

+5 resistance

The deerkin and the wolfkin, watching by the side, attacked ferociously. Unfortunately, they were only in the Primary Awakening and Edard had already prepared a surprise for them. He struck them unconscious with barrage of already prepared lava fists.

Edard fell to the ground, barely conscious. Half of his eyes were burned, smelling like a smoked salmon. His face not recognizable anymore.

That was reckless.

On the other hand, Dario's surbodinates stood their ground despite Dylas's nonstop lightning blasts. Seeing Edard was down, Dylas quickly erect his preformed force field. With the effect of the field none of them could withstand his attacks. A massive bolt of lightning blasted the male aside and proceeded to deal a critical damage to Sinta. Dylas drew a few complicated runes on Dario before he turned to Edard.

To Dylas's surprise, Edard's skin had returned to normal. The burn had somehow disappeared completely, revealing an even more fairish complexion. Even his hair was back to its shining, bright red.

The pain that knocked him out was gone. He slowly regained his composure and observed his body. His eyes were perfectly fine, his charred hair was back to its normal color.

Skin Tempering, huh!

He was interrupted by a big horse, shaking his shoulder.

Dylas?

"How do you feel?" Dylas asked.

"As good as new. How much time do we have?"

"Twenty minutes at most."

Edard nodded and quickly touched the blood of the deerkin and the wolfkin and that of Sinta, Dario and the other Fáyra.

You have successfully cursed a deerkin for five minutes.

+1min/second

You have Cursed a wolfkin for five minutes.

+1min/second

You have Cursed Sinta Luke for five minutes.

+1min/second

You have Cursed Fita Fáyra for five minutes.

+1min/second

You have Cursed Dario Fáyra for five minutes.

+1min/second

Cursed has reached level 10 which is the maximum proficiency for a Tier-1 skill.

Curse has reached (Tier-2): you can now Curse cultivators by simply touching their skin. No need for touching blood anymore.

Curse speed: +5minutes/sec for 10 minutes

[+1minute/second for every level].

After successfully Cursing them, he turned to Dario. He was out of Edard's control but he couldn't move due to Dylas's paralysis runes.

"Mind Read." Edard summoned the skill. This was his first time using it. The mind, to his surprise, was divided into two: superficial and deep minds. Superficial mind, as the name implied, was closer to the surface and harbored short-term memories and memories currently being processed. Deep mind laid directly beneath the superficial mind and harbored long-term memories. His Mind Read gave him a direct access to the superficial mind, which allowed him to read short-term memories, emotions, lies, and even the long-term memories the target was currently thinking about. It was difficult to make your target think about a specific memory because anyone with rudimentary knowledge of psychomancy would know about that and try to resist. But with Intimidation, you could easily manipulate a target into talking about what you wanted. Sometimes the information contained in a particular memory pack would be too much to decipher in a short time. And that was where the memory pack came in. Edard could just store the memory and read it later.

Dario's mind was surprisingly easy to read. His superficial mind was filled with short-term memories of mundane activities: mostly brothels, money and cultivation. There was just too much of it to fish out anything useful. Edard decided to be direct. "What do you know about 'the missing princess'?!"

"I know nothing." Dario answered. The Intimidation might have waned but its aftereffect was still effective.

"You mean besides what everyone knows?" Edard asked.

He nodded. "Yes."

"And what does everyone knows?" Edard asked. The more Dario talked about it the more the memories became clear. Before the end, Edard had understood everything, at least from the general public view. He talked about other things in general, like the Contract, relationship between the empires and between the North and South, family of Dé and so on. He ripped the map of the South and stored it in the memory pack. Dylas asked some personal questions about his family and race and the answer was exactly what he expected. Bad.

"We should kill him to prevent others from finding out about your skills." Dylas said.

Edard was thinking about the same thing. Dario had seen him using earth and it was possible he'd seen him earlier when he used lightning. He knew about his psychomancy, Violet Rose and Dragon-essence. It was a huge risk to leave him alive but the human in him was hesitating.

"If you kill me, you will be hunted all your lives. The whole world is looking at us right now." Dario shouted desperately.

"Shut up, idiot." Dylas snapped, ignoring the threat as a bluff.

"The whole world is looking at us, what do you mean?" Edard asked, focusing the Mind Read again.

"Believe it or not, Tyrant has been broadcasting everything to the outside world." Dario said.

"And how do you know about that? You came into the dungeon before me and there was nothing like that when I entered." Edard asked.

"Seven other teams came in after us. One of those teams are my subordinates." Dario answered.

His thoughts confirmed it.

There was a period of silence before Edard and Dylas started sweating.

"That son of a bitch has been broadcasting everything to the outside world!?" Dylas cursed out loudly. "Now everyone has seen your earth and lightning element, that's using two elements, both without a Contract."

Edard sat on the ground, eyes closed, thinking deeply about the situation. Not only his face and skills were now known to the public, even the corpse on his back was seen as well.

Stupid, curious goblin. Edard cursed inwardly. He remembered the goblin that unveiled Nusi's face and felt the urge to just dig a hole in the sky and hide. Nusi's story was pretty known worldwide. It was something that happened seven months ago.

Every year, a competition called the Salvation would take place between the major countries. During this competition, each participating country would provide a designated number of slaves as payment. The winner would take all the slaves and the second position would host the subsequent slave auction. It had been like that for more than one-thousand years. The Salvation Army supervised everything and made sure no problem occurred.

Seven months ago, Báyir empire won the Salvation and Déniz empire, as the second position, hosted the auction. Nusi Déniz was the crown princess of Déniz and she led all the arrangements of the auction. The auction took place peacefully until the final stage when Nusi, for no apparent reason, beheaded the envoy representing Báyir empire. It was a such a sight: the head of envoy Bilád Báyir, who was the younger brother of emperor Báyir, flying out of the noble section of the theatre. The following uproar led to the escape of more than twenty thousand slaves.

"What happened to the princess afterwards? I don't think anyone could have entered the Déniz capital and killed her." Dylas asked.

"Báyir empire went to court. They demanded all their missing slaves back and Nusi's head as well. The court summoned the entire Déniz empire, including the princess, and fixed a date for a hearing. The princess disappeared a day before the hearing. The Déniz empire had to pay thirty thousand slaves to the Báyir empire to prevent an immediate war. The court gave the Dénizens two months to find the missing princess, else the court would judge in her absence." Edard explained.

"I guess she didn't go back and the court decided without her. What was the penalty?" Dylas asked.

"Death." Edard answered. "Forget about the Contract, this corpse is the worst thing that has ever happened to anyone. Both the Báyir and Déniz empires will be here at anytime. We have to find a way out of this dungeon before they come. How much time before the boss fight?"

"Three minutes." Dylas answered.

"From here on, every second count." Edard said with a determined voice. "You still have a bottleneck, right?"

Dylas nodded. "Three bottlenecks actually. I have some hope of breaking into the Tertiary Awakening with your lightning Contract because of the nature of the bottleneck. But it will take some time, maybe a month or two."

"Then I'm going to be a bit selfish; I need all the crystals." Edard said and without waiting for a 'go ahead', he crushed all the nine crystals in his hand.

You have gained 165,002 hours from longevity crystals x 9

He knew what he must do.

Cloning has reached level 2/10 (200 hours)

Cloning has reached level 3/10 (300 hours)

Cloning has reached level 4/10 (400 hours)

Cloning has reached level 5/10 (500 hours)

Cloning has reached level 6//10 (600 hours)

Cloning has reached level 7/10 (700 hours)

Cloning has reached level 8/10 (800 hours)

Cloning has reached level 9/10 (900 hours)

Cloning has reached level 10/10 (10,000 hours)

+18 vitality

+18 agility

+18 intelligence

Upgrade: leave an afterimage behind that will last ten seconds. Afterimage will maintain your last pose and you won't able to control it.

You have Awakened Cloning to the Tertiary Awakening for 10,000 hours

Choose an Awakening skill

1] Clone Camouflage: create the clone of other beings by simply touching them. You can merge with the clone to gain the same physical characteristics at a perfect level. You will not be detected by anyone below the immortal realm.

Plus one clone per level

+5 vitality per level

+6 intelligence per

2] Clone Messenger: create an intelligent clone that can use the skills of the original at 30%. All information learned by the clone will be transmitted to you either verbally or when the clone dies.

Maximum distance of a clone from the original: 10,000km (+1000/level)

Cost of a clone: 250

Cost running a clone: 2/sec

Half life: 5 hours (+2/level)

Clone material: ectoplasm

Percentage skills of the original: 30% (+5%/level)

Maximum number of clone(s): 1 (+1 after every 3 levels)

+7 vitality per level

+8 willpower per level

Alternatively, you can choose to upgrade clone acceleration for the second time.

Clone Acceleration Class: create two different clones: speed clone and space clone.

Merge with a speed clone to leave an afterimage behind that can be controlled remotely for at least ten seconds.

Merge with a space clone to teleport yourself through both space and solid objects. You can teleport any object touching your body at an increased cost.

Distance: 50 meters (+10/level)

Cost: 50

+5 intelligence per level

+5 vitality per level

+5 agility per level

Despite the enticing skills, Edard had a clear plan in mind.

You have activated Clone Messenger.

Cloning has reached level 1 tertiary (11,000 hours)

+7 vitality per level

+7 willpower per level

+1 slot for Acquired skills

He created a single clone and sent it out of the dungeon, just to make sure it could go out, before he went all out.

Cloning has reached level 2/10 tertiary (12,000 hours)

Cloning has reached level 3/10 tertiary (13,000 hours)

Cloning has reached level 4/10 tertiary (14,000)

Cloning has reached level 5/10 tertiary (15,000)

Cloning has reached level 6/10 tertiary (16,000)

Cloning has reached level 7/10 tertiary (17,000)

Cloning has reached level 8/10 tertiary (18,000)

Cloning has reached level 9/10 tertiary (19,000)

Cloning has reached level 10/10 tertiary (100,000 hours)

Upgrades:

Distance from the original: 20,000km

Maximum number of clones: 4

Percentage of skills of the original: 80%

Half life: 25 hours

+72 willpower

+63 agility

Edard created four identical clones of himself. As soon as they appeared, they both nodded and flew out of the dungeon with full knowledge of what they must do.

"Where are you sending them?" Dylas asked.

"Four different places to gather information and to intervene if necessary." Edard answered.

"I may not be that experienced but I know this Cloning is a soul magic Classification. Your psychomancy is a mind magic Class, your Dragonbreath, Violet Rose and lightning elementalist are both body magic Classifications. If you have any longevity related Classification you will receive the title of an Arch-conqueror when you reached Sagehood." Dylas explained. "An Arch-conqueror is the type of cultivator no one wants to mess up with. They are vastly experienced in the four fields of magic: soul, mind, longevity and body. Only the emperors and admirals are known to have this power."

Arch-conqueror? Edard mused. He had seen a similar term before but he just couldn't remember where. It wouldn't matter if he died in the dungeon, or if he was killed by a vengeful Báyir or an idiot Dénizen the minute he stepped out. He needed to get out of the dungeon alive and to escape from the forces waiting for him outside with his head intact.

One last thing, because of the four clones he would be running at -8/sec regeneration which necessitated Meditation to balance the high energy demand.

You have activated Meditation.

Ability to calm your internal energy and sense the energy around you.

+100% life energy and stamina regeneration.

It was time to meet the boss.

Megagoblin, male, Goblin Brute level 10/10 (Tertiary)

A seven-meter tall goblin with a bald, green scalp, brightly reflecting the dungeon sun. Its massive arms alone were equivalent to Edard's size. It was at the very peak of the Tertiary Awakening.

"He is calm, he won't give us any opening." Edard said, observing the boss carefully. "It will be better if we used long-range before we know its abilities."

Dylas nodded. "I don't mind showing my skills but you are different, it will be a disaster if... "

"Stop it, Dylas, they have been watching for several hours. I'm sure they have seen all my skills and I don't think we can escape death if we hold back. Survival comes first, remember?"

Dylas made a few incomprehensible murmurs about how important it was for Edard not to show off before he changed the topic.

"It will be a waste if we all attack from the same direction. If we separate, the goblin will have to pick one. And since I don't have any long range attacks I should be the bait."

Edard sighed but didn't stop him. It was an acceptable course of action. Even if he took the goblin head-on, Dylas didn't have any long-range attacks to back him up.

"Just don't get too close and don't take any unnecessary risk."

Edard fired ten successive molten rocks at the goblin while Dylas attacked the goblin from the back. But before Edard's lava could hit it, it was right in front of Dylas. It punched with its giant, greenish fist and Dylas used his enchanted fist to punch back.

When the two punches collided, Dylas was sent flying. His hand contorted and several bones broken. The goblin didn't pursue him, it turned around and took Edard's lava directly. Even though, you could see some bruises on the goblin's chest, it was just fine. It traveled so fast to appear next to Edard and punched.

Edard Crushed the giant fist down and slashed with Dragon-essense, absorbing the hand into the dragon dimension.

Dragon-essense has stored bio energy in the dragon dimension.

+4 life energy

Edard didn't see a kick from the ground which successfully landed on his left leg. His ankle released a popping sound as he was sent back flying. He looked at the ankle, not a single bruise but the bones inside were broken. The worst part was the goblin had already regenerated its missing hand.

They were lucky the goblin didn't pursue them and Dylas worked his magic to get them back on their feet.

"We will attack it again, together." Edard said, activating all his skills.

Instead of using Dylas as a bait, Edard became the bait. He attacked the goblin head-on while Dylas attacked from the side. A combination of Crush and lava fists rained down on the goblin. The goblin was too big to dodge both Crush and the lava fists together, leaving it open to a barrage of attacks.

The goblin attacked Edard directly, ignoring Dylas. It grabbed Edard's arm holding the Dragon-essence sword. But it was too late, Edard switched hands in a practiced manner and used his left hand to slash the goblin's neck. The sword first burrowed through the green muscles in the neck to reach the spine. It then sucked the cord, the spine, the muscles, the fascia and the skin into the dragon dimension. The entire neck disappeared and the head fell to the ground with a thud. Dylas looked at the scene with eyes full of shock.

Yet, the goblin didn't lessen its grip on Edard's arm despite loosing its head. It crushed the bones completely and minced them with the muscles and vessels.

"Aaargh... " Edard screamed in anguish.

Dylas cut off the goblin arm holding Edard with a lightning laser and pulled him back.

Everyone thought it was over but the goblin started moving again. His head and neck regenerating rapidly like it was a normal thing.

Edard was barely moving. Even though, there wasn't a single scratch on his skin, blood had accumulated inside the markedly swollen arm. Dylas was trying to save Edard and at the same thinking about a way out. If the goblin monster came back then it was over for them.

It was a moment of profound crisis. Edard decided to improve the power of his Dragon-essence and gave it a try again.

Dragonbreath has reached level 2/10 secondary (200 hours)

Dragonbreath has reached level 3/10 secondary (300 hours)

Dragonbreath has reached level 4/10 secondary (400 hours)

Dragonbreath has reached level 5/10 secondary (500 hours)

Dragonbreath has reached level 6/10 secondary (600 hours)

Dragonbreath has reached level 7/10 secondary (700 hours)

Dragonbreath has reached level 8/10 secondary (800 hours)

Dragonbreath has reached level 9/10 secondary (900 hours)

Dragonbreath has reached level 10/10 secondary (10,000 hours)

+18 intelligence

+18 willpower

+18 free points

Upgrades:

Percentage of life energy taken per slash: up to 4% of their total reserve.

Life energy absorbed after killing a target: up to 30% of their total reserve.

Cost: up to 105

You have Awakened Dragonbreath to Tertiary Awakening for 10,000 hours

Choose an Awakening skills

1] Pocket Dimension: expand the internal space of solid objects by pumping Dragon-essense into them to create a massive storage. Alternatively, you can cut out space from the dungeon dimension and hide it in the material plane to create a pocket dimension. The maximum space you can take in the dungeon dimension is '2 units'. However, you can expand space and create material things using ether.

Capacity of a storage: 200 (20/level)

Cost of a storage: up to 550

Capacity of a dimension: 2 (size depends on ether)

Cost of a dimension: 2,250

Cost of maintaining a dimension: 3/sec (can increase, depending on the size)

+20 willpower per level

NB: all storage devices and pocket dimensions would collapse if you die or lose consciousness for an extended period. Pocket dimensions can only be used at 100% life energy and vitality.

2] Dimensional Annihilation Class: create a permanent blade from Dragon-essence. You will get the ability to use two more elements stored in the dimension.

+350% increase in suction power.

Cost: 10

+10 intelligence per level

+8 willpower per level

NB: only you can use created blade.

Alternatively, you can upgrade Dragonbreath to Open Annihilation class.

Open Annihilation Class: absorb your opponent's life energy with Dragon-essense.

Percentage of life energy taken per exchange: up to 10% of their total reserve (+1%/level).

Life energy absorbed after killing a target: up to 60% of their total reserve (+5%/level).

Cost: up to 100

+7 intelligence per level

+8 willpower per level

Although, the pocket dimension was quite tempting, the decision had already been made.

You have upgraded Dragonbreath to Dimensional Annihilation Class.

+10 intelligence per level

+8 willpower per level

+1 slot for Acquired skills

The same Dragon-essence sword he'd been using appeared in his hand, but this time it was corporeal. A blue, double-edged steel, one meter long and six inches wide, shining brightly in the sunlight. He swung it two times and he just felt slightly more secured. He'd always wanted a sword but, unfortunately, he didn't know how to use it. He swung it again and a new screen popped up.

You have gained the skill Elven Dance

Join with the sword to become a sword immortal. The sword becomes an extension of your arm and you wield it like you do your hand.

Activate skill? Y/N?

You have five slots remaining. Choose wisely.

With so many slots available no need to worry anymore.

You have activated Elven Dance

Elven Dance has reached level 1

With his speed and newfound swordmanship he certainly felt more secured than yesterday. He was still not stupid enough to think he was safe, the goblin in front of him making sure of that.

He slashed the nearly-headless goblin with the new sword. This time the sword cut through the goblin with an obvious ease, like a knife cutting through gel. He cut through the goblin from the top of its half-regenerated head to its tail, completely dissecting it into two equal parts. He then cut each part transversely, making it into four. Then eight and then sixteen.

Just like a melted sculpture, the goblin was sliced into sixteen parts. It burst into a pool of green blood and gore, dropping two big crystals.

Congratulations, you have successfully conquered Luffy.

You have absorbed a bio energy in the dragon dimension.

+210 life energy

His new sword gave him both life energy and a superior cutting power that couldn't be blocked.