Chapter 607

I turn my head in the direction of the odd presence that pressures the back of my mind, but I don't activate my full perception skills and buffs because I'm too close to my teammates and the Crimson City to risk letting out that much power.

Instead, I calmly look back toward Abby, who posed the question, and nod.

"You're right. We'll have to prepare for that possibility if it comes."

My head turns back toward the south, and a notification hits my inner ear.

[Skill Transfer To Main Body: Complete]

[Echo][Mythic Grade]

I raise an eyebrow at the fact that I just received a new skill out of nowhere, but then more notifications hit my inner ear seconds later.

They're all small MCP transfer notifications for just a few thousand MCP at a time.

I pull up the new skill description and find that it is similar to a mix between my body double skill and the Sun God's buff, Master of Illusion.

I'm able to create a lifelike image of myself that acts like a body double; however, it is nothing but an illusion. It cannot physically interact with the world around it, but it has far greater range than the [Master of Illusion] buff or my light magic.

I can't think of a good use for this skill right now, but a grin comes onto my face as these notifications tell me my body double has begun climbing the labyrinth in the Apex Region.

I levitate into the air while speaking up to the four teammates bending the sand with orange threads for hundreds of meters in all directions.

"We have unknown visitors from the south... but don't worry, I'll handle it. Continue your training; we might need to use this new power sooner than I thought."

Then, I fly away, headed south while small MCP gain notifications ring in my head repeatedly.

The sand below me zips by as I gain altitude and I focus on the vague pressure pulsing in the back of my perception.

No readings show up in my status or skills, but the heavy gravity in the back of my mind keeps getting closer. The eerie feeling that two beings with immense power are coming my way won't shake from my psyche.

I finally get a few dozen kilometers away from my teammates, high in the air, far enough that I'm comfortable letting more of my aura leak out from my purple limiter, and even activate my greater form to improve the range of my perception to get a better view of what exactly is coming my way at such incredible speed.

As the wisps of divine energy flow out of my True Core and tether to my buff to create a bright yellow greater form of me as I fly through the air, a ripple of divine perception soars out to the south, and I see the volcanic region that I vaguely felt before in so much more detail.

With my level rising by over 1000 after defeating the Director, and the steep climb in Divine Threads in my core after consuming every last drop of his power that he cultivated over the decades, I'm able to feel the difference in power even from just this morning when I awakened my True Core.

An endless landscape of black mountains, flowing lava, erupting volcanoes, and thousands of dungeons are scattered around the land.

In this pulse of surveillance, I watch as there are dozens of dungeons breaking, and the air quality in this region is almost two times as dense with mana as the Dark Continent is.

These are the first things my mind notices, but very quickly after, my aura meets the two gravity fields rocketing my way, and my eyes widen with surprise once I see a clear image of what's flying toward me.

An enormous bronze dragon flaps its wings, flying through the air high above active volcanoes.

The sun glistens against its scales, and the monstrous creature's pointed tail gracefully flows back and forth behind it.

Each minute that passes, we get closer and closer; the mountain range that splits the endless sandy desert of Sector 2 and the mysterious volcanic nation draws closer to each of us.

The MCP gains that echo in my mind begin to increase in value. It started at just thousands per notification when I was still on the ground. Then, less than 15 minutes ago, each notification granted me millions, meaning my double definitely made it to floors where the monsters he's fighting are ranked up. Now, over a billion MCP is being added to my status after every ding.

Once less than 1000 kilometers remain between myself and the dragon soaring my way, another ding of a skill being added to my status rings in my ear.

[Skill Transfer To Main Body: Complete]

[Spirit Anchor][Mythic Grade]

While the name intrigues me, my eyes are laser-focused on the bronze behemoth soaring my way.

Even the hundreds of billions of MCP hitting my mana control pool don't distract me as I pull out the same two swords I killed the Sun God with just hours ago.

Minutes pass and my mind becomes completely clear and focused as my speed continues to increase, preparing for any scenario to play out.

My red and black blades become soaked with yellow divine energy as both of us come within 500 kilometers of each other.

The mountain range that separates our nations is completely visible to my unaided eyes now, and stretches off endlessly to my left and right.

I've soared so far away from civilization that no towns or living beings have even touched my perception in over 1000 kilometers.

There is no water at all out in this portion of the desert. Where in the outer portions of Sector 2 and 4, some dry patches still have small shrubbery and occasional desert wildlife to support small villages, this wasteland has none.

I'm so far out in the dead zone of the Dark Continent's Desert, it's hard to tell if human eyes have ever seen these rolling dunes before.

My heart begins to beat out of my chest, but the anticipation and excitement only turn into adrenaline as the moment comes near.

There is less than 200 kilometers between myself and the only other True Core I've ever known to exist in this world.

[Level Transfer To Main Body: Complete]

[Level Up] x11

The tension in the air is so immense, I hardly register the fact that my double has managed to make it to floors in the Apex Region's labyrinth that are starting to level me up.

I can physically feel the weight of the bronze dragon, as it makes the mountains below it bend with gravitational pressure.

Even though we're both flying dozens of kilometers above the ground, avalanches and minor earthquakes form as I watch a bright yellow silky aura flow out from the Dragon's core just like mine.

Its entire body becomes covered in the bright divine energy.

Whether it's a reaction to me unsheathing my swords and activating my divine energy on full display, or if this was the creature's initial decision to challenge me to a fight; there is no backing out now.

In the next few seconds, it is inevitable that we will clash.