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

Less than ten seconds have passed since the first round's timer began counting down, but an unsealed 1st Class Demon now lies unconscious on the dueling room floor while a human stares forward with an unchanged expression.

The entirety of the trading center's uproar and cheers that started when the match began ceases.

Just like the tension before this duel began, the unease has returned...

It doesn't make any sense.

A 5th Class human defeating a 1st Class demon in one attack—and it being a mental duel.

It is common knowledge that demons are the most resilient, both in physical strength and mental fortitude, in the Upper Realm.

Unlike other races, who allow anyone capable of ascending to claim their worlds and come to the Upper Realm, demons are far different.

The only way to ascend is to join one of the 5 Great Families and use their thrones.

Demons notoriously hoard high-grade worlds and discard low-grade and drained worlds to everyone else.

The same goes for their kin—only the strongest, the top of their era in the Lower Realm, are allowed to ascend. With this being said, all demons that ascend are capable of controlling the masses with no equals in their World Classes.

What has occurred in front of everyone today is an impossible feat, and only a select few scattered among the crowd in the trading palace truly witnessed what happened.

The 1st Class Demon, Leonard, is one of these few, as he whispers under his breath, "That technique, I've only seen the family head's avatar use it. How could a human be granted access to a command like that... and with a basic-grade avatar..."

This demon is shocked, as even their Premium-Grade Avatars don't allow them to concentrate their Ether so finely, with such speed and accuracy, as he just witnessed.

A few very skilled 2nd Class beings in the crowd understand the significance of what just occurred but keep their mouths shut as they haven't seen attacks like that used in tens of thousands of years.

The rest of the lords who fill the building are oblivious, and after a few seconds of silence, they start cheering and roaring with excitement again.

"No way... the human won!"

"It must have been rigged. The Ogre Conglomeration wanted payback and set a trap!"

"These dueling rooms are inspected and maintained by the Citadel Lord—there's no way it would be rigged!"

"Then how... you don't think this demon betrayed the Citadel Lord?"

"Maybe this human is just a hidden master in a counterfeit avatar."

"Yeah, maybe that's it!"

"No way, look at the dueling room statistics—all of the visual data is here for anyone to scan. He's really a 5th Class human."

"Then what happened? Are demons not as strong as we thought?"

"Who cares? That was awesome!"

"True... to be honest, humans never come around this district. I haven't seen one in decades. Maybe they're the ones we're underestimating..."

"This might be the only time we can publicly root against the demons. Let's make the best of it..."

"Humans! Humans! Humans!"

Everyone begins spewing their theories and showing their anger or excitement in all kinds of ways.

The entire shopping center vibrates with the sheer amount of beings hopping about while the timer on the dueling chamber continues counting down.