Chapter 226

Chapter 226

I turn to see what the source of this overwhelming power is and my jaw drops at the sight of a full-blown demon with red horns, white eyes, dark skin, and pointed white teeth staring at me curiously.

Dense white mana shielding covers its bulging muscles and I see the thin black line on its forearm stretch all the way up its nice, shoulder, and curl onto its chest just like mine.

The monster doesn't have any armor or gear on other than tight black pants that hug its overly muscular legs.

It looks very similar to the Greater Demon I faced in the past. The only difference is this monster looks much more compact, more muscular, and possesses the ability to control mana at a much higher level.

Its skin is such a dark red color it almost looks jet-black. The creature's white eyes wander back and forth from me to Ember, to the dungeon behind us, then back to me.

Then, it speaks...

Breaking through my telepathic links defenses immediately, I hear the deep voice of the 3-meter-tall entity invade my mind.

"A demon and a dragon, what a lucky surprise."

Its eyes tighten on me like it's looking straight through my body.

I gulp as the monster continues.

"Now how did the two of you get all the way out here...?"

I don't say a word, cautiously gripping my sword tight by my side and activating Inspect and Appraisal.

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[Lv. 450]The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.

Active Items:

[NONE]

Active Skills:

Telepathy [Legendary Grade]

Body Double [Special Grade]

Dungeon Walker

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No items and it has a skill I've never seen before. The other two are common demon skills, but... There's no core. Where is the Arch Demon's Core?

Ember stands up and begins to flicker with dark flames behind me. I put my left hand in the air as the Dragon stares down the demon in front of us.

"Wait... wait. Doesn't something feel off?"

Ember nods but keeps his eyes locked on the potential enemy.

The demon smirks and continues to talk through our link like nothing has changed.

"Oh come on, don't be like that. I haven't had anyone to talk to face-to-face in years. I abandoned my labyrinth too, can't you tell?"

As the head of the demon slides off its body, the portal behind it fades and a few final words come into my telepathic link.

"How interesting..."

Its eyes close and the head drops toward the ground. The demon's body falls backward. It whispers out a final line through our link before hitting the grassy floor.

"Come see me in Solara, I'll be waiting for you..."

*THUDD*

Its head and body hit the ground at the same time, then the entire dungeon falls silent.

I look up at the grey spinning portal in front of me, then turn back to Ember, then finally back at the corpse on the ground.

In just mere seconds, its body dissolves into thin air, not leaving a single thing behind.

"A Body Double... That skill I'd never seen before. This is the only explanation."

I turn to Ember again, he speaks up before I can get another word in.

"That was far too easy to be the real thing, your thinking I most likely correct. A body double skill. Possibly similar to your Advanced Mana Manipulation perk. Arch Demons aren't easily fooled."

I nod.

"So it probably knew I was a human all along? Or... Maybe it was just testing my strength...? And how does it know all of these city names from outside the dungeons? It wants me to meet it in Solara."

I gulp, then my facial expression slowly morphs into a grin.

"That means there's a Labyrinth in the Capital right? Or... maybe it's just in another dungeon like this."

I scratch my chin, looking up at Ember while standing in place and thinking about our new situation for quite a while. So many things just got much more complicated than they were just a few hours ago...

"I'll deal with this threat once I get to Solara. For now, one thing at a time, let's clear this break."

I open up my item storage to let Ember hop back inside. The last thing I need is to have Issac see my 7-meter-long fire-breathing companion when I leave the dungeon. That grunt already knows one too many things about me.

After entering the boss room, a mutant hobgoblin appears at level 41. I take it out in a single swing of my sword and wait for the white transfer magic to take me back out to the surface.

Putting away my weapons and powering down my skills, the white light takes over and the break is cleared.

I mutter to myself as I feel the earth under my feet shift from soft grass to hard smooth flooring that does not feel like the rocky desert.

"That went well... Easy enough, wait-"

While transporting back to the real world I begin to feel a very odd humming sensation.

As my vision comes back I see white walls surround me on all sides and the buzzing sound of manmade mana shielding fills my ears.

I'm in a box... It seems to be about the same size as the metal contraption I saw in the village square earlier this morning.

Activating my All-Seeing Eye reveals that it is in fact, exactly the same as the box from DryRock.

"What have I gotten myself into this time..."