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

[~3 Hours Later]

Sixteen Divine Cored Hunters arrive back at the central headquarters of the Association.

One of the orange cores is a young man who wields wind magic, dressed in green metallic association-branded armor.

He uses a transmission tablet and a spatial magic-imbued item box linked to all 15 of the other scouts to collect their findings from the extensive scan of the 8 Great Regions, Dark Continent, and Raven's volcanic base they've conducted.

Once all of the information is collected, he makes his way into a private S-Grade shielded room with many similarities to the Big Three's, though there are no special decorations and the thick outer layers are not as densely fortified, as it is made specifically for meetings between the red and orange cored guards.

After sifting through the information and noting down the key points of today's mission, he opens up a private line with his employer.

"Redgrave, I have the survey report ready for you as requested."

A click is heard on the other end, and the fire user's voice channels through.

"Send over the haul to Beckman, and provide me a summary. The others are on this line."

The wind user nods, activating the spatial magic enchantment on his item box, sending it directly to its creator in the dark confines of his bunker.

Once there's a click back, the orange core speaks up again.

"Done. Now, for a summary; you were correct in believing two True Cores have created a partnership. It appears Raven is in excellent condition, with a core capacity 10.22% greater than our last assessment of her three months ago. The reasoning behind this rapid jump seems to be the use of a unique healing magic used by her new allies. We have not pinpointed exactly what skill or item was used just yet."

There's a pause between both of them, and once the orange core assesses that Redgrave has nothing to add, he continues.

"In addition to this, it seems the assumption that the 8 Great Regions would fall into chaos with their leader being assassinated is not entirely correct. It seems the assistant of Mr. Freeman, an A-Class hunter named Rodrigo, and his biological sister, a former Black Market trader, have taken control of the region and kept the nation under control, sending out orders and fulfilling necessary protocol during the surges after the throne's awakening."

There's another pause, but the red-haired True Core responds with a question back.

"How is that possible? I remember permitting two other divine core awakenings in that nation; they are far more powerful than that assistant. Were the top A-Class hunters all assassinated by the Flame Emperor as well?"

"No, Sir. They are alive and well, following orders from the two new overseers of the 8 Great Regions for reasons we couldn't assess in a simple area scan. There is reason to believe the Flame Emperor has ties with them, as large-scale construction projects are taking place with Association workers, 8 Great Region citizens, and Dark Continent citizens all together. They are tearing down the wall that separates the Dark Continent from the outside world and making a trade route to connect the nations. We have surveillance of expansion to the west and south as well; they are moving into Sebastian's old territory and filling the dead zone of Sector 2 in the direction of Raven's territory."

Another long pause occurs before Redgrave replies.

"This is all within expectations. Once the world is ours, it's better we already have functioning societies and a well-connected grouping of nations to inherit rather than nations at war and chaos among citizens... Let the ants play."