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.

____________________________

[Lv. 450]

Active Items:

[NONE]

Active Skills:

Telepathy [Legendary Grade]

Body Double [Special Grade]

Dungeon Walker

____________________________

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?"

The demon takes a step forward, showing off its pearly white teeth, and stares deep into my eyes while continuing to speak through our link.

"You're an odd one, aren't you? A shape-shifting perk? Well, it doesn't matter. Whatever helps you blend in while outside the dungeons is none of my business."

I look at the demon with a slightly confused look on my face, but pay close attention as it continues. I want to ask a million questions, but I'm better off just letting this monster continue doing the talking uninterrupted before it realizes what I really am.

It takes another step forward.

"I really have been getting tired of guarding that place. Only in this recent surge have I been able to open my links to the dungeons that were formed during my creation."

I squint my eyes as the monster continues its long strides, making the ground sink beneath its heavy feet with every slow step it takes in the tall green grass.

"You know, if neither of us reports each other to the King, we can each go our separate ways like this never happened."

I stare forward with half pure astonishment and half mind-bending curiosity. The words that this demon says as it continues to walk toward me without changing its emotionless calm expression one bit are keeping me on the edge of my seat.

A shape-shifting perk? It abandoned its labyrinth? Report to the King?

So many things make my mind buzz with new thoughts.

The shielding around its body is still glowing in the vision of my perception skill on full power. It's spewing unnecessary amounts of MP into the air. If anything, its defenses are getting stronger with every step closer it takes.

My shielding isn't active at all, and Ember is hardly producing any flames.

Either this demon is oddly confident that we're already allies, or it believes the two of us are so inexperienced that this is the peak of our power.

It speaks up again, now less than 5 meters away.

"I heard there was a premature labyrinth collapse recently on one of the newer spawns. In a place humans called, the Vice Region I believe. We were informed that you had perished in the defeat, but it seems this isn't the case. I know your core signature very well. You've gone rogue."

I nod slowly, remembering back to the labyrinth that I collapsed following the C-Class exams. It seems I've really been mistaken for a demon again. All these monsters see is my core and my dragon companion and believe everything they see.

I let out a sigh and go along with its game. If it believes I'm its ally, this may be a positive.

"That's right... We've... been laying low. Looking for others to team with."

The demon takes another step, then its demeanor changes entirely in an instant.

The calm eyes turn fierce, its kind grin shifts to a devious smirk, and it begins to swing its left hand of sharp claws directly at my neck without hesitating for a moment.

I hear it say a final line.

"Too bad you've decided to betray us, I'll make this quick."

I activate my mana manipulation to create a bright pink barrier of energy between my neck and the demon's incoming clawed fingers.

I use nearly half my MP stores on the shielding while activating my stat-boosting skills simultaneously. I'm not taking any chances.

It forms fractions of a second before impact, and I watch the crimson-red claws fracture into dozens of pieces on my dense shielding. The demon's eyes widen with fear, and a spinning black and purple portal opens up behind it.

I lift my sword, instantly charge it with 1000 MP, and swiftly slice the monster's head clean off before it can take a step backward to blip away using its teleportation magic.

I expected it to counter or fight back in some way, but the battle is over in an instant...

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..."