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

I keep walking forward, pretending not to notice a thing.

The elevator door behind us closes, and I start to show more interest in the massive cave-like room we're in, while moving toward the back of it, over 100 meters away.

The golden tendrils emanating from the Director's back begin to reinforce themselves with countless threads of yellow divine energy as I raise a question.

"So this is where your Labyrinth is... and you say it's where you and all the A-Class hunters have managed to grow in power?"

The Director follows right behind me, emitting a growing pressure in the air that would easily knock out a normal ranked-up hunter by now, while he replies.

"Yes, yes it is. This is where you'll find monsters above level 1000 to train with. There's no dungeon within the whole 8 great Regions with monsters stronger than we have here. The association keeps them on lockdown so no dangerous individuals can reach the rank of A-Class on their own. This 20th floor may look like a natural cave, but it has been reinforced by the higher-ups in the central branch of the Association as well. Even if this entire labyrinth had a violent break right now, no monsters could make it to the surface."

I do some quick calculations, assuming the Director trained inside this Labyrinth to grow his level above 9000; whatever mana-dense black material that reinforces these cave walls must be considered S-Grade Shielding. I grin beneath my concealment barrier as I continue to walk forward, and the pressure coming off the Director grows so dense that most double-ranked-up hunters would fall to their knees.

A wave of golden light creeps up behind me as the Director continues to speak.

"So... what's it going to be? Will you sign the counter-contract I've provided you and make this process go over easy? Or are we going to have to do this the hard way?"

More and more threads flood from his core as the Director channels all of his soul energy into thick tendrils of golden light curving up over his head and down toward me, poised to make a move.

The pressure in the room reaches levels that should make even a normal level 2000 hunter become lightheaded, but I don't bat an eye.

I just stare down at the new contract the Director sent me on the blue crystal device and shake my head.

"These terms still don't suit me. I guess we will have to do this the hard way."

I let out a sigh and place the blue cube into my item box while coming to a halt in the center of the dark room.

The only light sources are the golden glow from the Director behind me and the bright green light from the Labyrinth portal in front of me.

As the pressure increases even more, becoming equivalent to the yellow-cored lizards I faced inside the construct, it's clear that no hunter without divine energy should still be standing.

The Director realizes something is not right... His voice echoes through the room.

"What is the meaning of this? Are you a Divine Core Holder? Have you tried to deceive me? The Sun God..."

At his words, I turn to face him with a sharp look in my eyes, showing that his small display of power doesn't affect me at all.

He does what any wild beast caught off guard would do and stops holding back. The Director of the Apex Region fully accepts that there is an opponent worth releasing his full power against all at once.

An aura of fear and anger ripples out from the Director, but it is still layered with underlying confidence in his abilities from his decades of battle experience.