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

Chapter 584

All I can do right now is wait.

Emrie walks through the door next.

I've briefed him on everything he should know about his role as the Bedrock Region hunter, and he knows not to expose anything about his or my true identity.

Sending him into the room with the Director alone will be the litmus test to see if it is safe for me to do it too...

As he disappears behind the door, and it closes, the next 3 minutes that pass by seem like an eternity.

I wait silently in anticipation, and when the doors open again, I'm even more surprised to see him in perfect condition without a golden collar around his neck at all...

My mind races for answers, but as the Phantom Region's applicant leaves to go out and meet the Director alone, I open a link with the Lich King and he tells me exactly what happened.

As he recalls these events, they don't seem like anything out of the ordinary. It seems this Director really only asked questions about what kind of future Emrie wants for himself, what Region he's looking to contract with, and asks what it was like using the Flame Emperor's power during the fighting tournament of the 4th stage.

He answers without going off script at all, detailing how he only signed up for this exam to get extra funding for the Bedrock Region and have access to B-Class dungeons back home.

He explains that he didn't know of the Flame Emperor before the tournament and that he only called out to use its power to have a chance in that matchup against Nat. He explains that as soon as the match was over, he never got that power back at all once he left the ring, and that it showed up on his status screen under buffs as [The Flame Emperor's Curse Mark].

This last part is a total fabrication, as even the real power users don't receive any visual status changes when they use my granted power.

I want to throw the Director as far off the scent as possible. If he believes that the power only worked while Emrie was in the ring, the possibilities of a traitor messing with the B-Class results could have been anyone that was present that day.

Hundreds of visitors, ranging from C and B class hunters were present in the crowds with the other Regional Directors. There were also over 60 other applicants watching the fights as well.

The final questions are about his time in the construct, and he retells the same story that I told the guards when they questioned me about my red fruit.

At the end of their meeting, the Lich King explains that the room was filled with an immense amount of yellow divine energy and golden soul energy, but his limiter blocked the effects of an odd mental attack that was meant to hit him.

The Director grew tired and had to be healed by three people as he left.

As he finishes up his explanation, the shadowy figure from the Phantom Region comes back. He too has the golden collar on when he walks in the room.

The two Vice Region water wielders walk out, then come back in with golden collars too.

After hearing this, I'm less worried about myself. If the Director bought Emrie's disguise and was unable to overpower him, I believe I'll be just fine.

The only issue I'm concerned about is the other three teammates in the room that I've formed alliances with.

I quickly message them all through telepathy to make sure they won't spill the fact that I helped them in this 5th round.

They all agree, and I make sure to ensure that Nat's experience with the Flame Emperor is the same as Emrie's, using the extra detail about the status change in her story if she's asked about it. She agrees without any hesitation.

The three of them enter the room one by one, and each time about half a minute before they come back, I get the same message pop up in my mind's eye on my Rising Emperor's Domain interface.

[Attempt to Sever Link of Loyalty]

[Failed]

[Attempt to Sever Link of Loyalty]

[Failed]

[Attempt to Sever Link of Loyalty]

[Failed]

Three times in a row this occurs.

I feel an odd pressure on my heart each time it happens, and watch the vitals of my teammates waver during the process. Each time it does, I channel dense Soul Energy within my own body aided by the power of my yellow divine core to flow through my heart and make this external pressure subside.

Every time I manage to fight off the pressure successfully, the three of them walk back into the white room unharmed and without golden collars on their necks.

Each of them recounts their stories of their time in the room, and they all sound very similar to the Lich King's explanation.

The only difference is that when the yellow energy entered their body at the end of the meeting, each of them passed out on the floor and was revitalized by a healer.

None of them are quite sure what happened in the few seconds they were unconscious.

Rodrigo looks up from his silver tablet to me.

"Ray Anderson, you're the last one on the list. Please, walk this way. Good luck."

As I smile and walk by, we meet eyes, as Rodrigo is the A-Class hunter that managed to get me into these exams.

His aura emanates worry and is filled with uneasy nerves.

He's unable to see pure Qi, or inactive Soul Energy; so he doesn't know that some of the applicants today have not fallen under the Sun God's Curse.

As I walk past down the dark hallway, the door shuts behind me, and I see a single black door at the end of a long hall at least 30 meters long.

With every step I take, the aura of the Sun God gets thicker.

There are too many emotions flowing through it to count.

It's furious, impatient, devious, anxious, but also extremely calm and confident in its own overwhelming power. Uncertainty fills the air as I prepare to put on my act and finally meet Mr. Freeman face to face.

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Author's Note:

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Thanks for reading:)

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