Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster’s Power

Ember gets up from his seat and walks out of the private room's massive doors to be greeted by Randel and Syl.

"You've completed your assessment of the documents we had transferred over already?" Syl comments.

Ember shakes his head and begins walking down the narrow hall to make his way back to the main shopping center.

"No, not yet. There seem to be some unique guests selling worlds down on the first floor. I believe they're going to cause some trouble. I'd like to be there when it happens."

The two Red Ogres look at each other with confused expressions but follow the long-haired human they've been tasked to protect into the main hall and down into the transport elevator to bring them to ground level.

Once the door clicks open and the three walk out, with the Ogres ahead first, the tense atmosphere in the room is very apparent. The lack of active shoppers points the two bodyguards' heads to the left.

Two 9-meter-tall 1st Class Demon Lords exude an ominous pressure, standing with their arms crossed and white eyes locked on a moving status screen, while one of the 2nd Class Red Ogres below them diligently scrolls through the worlds they've provided, giving quotes for how much Ether they can purchase them for outright, one by one.

The sweating Red Ogre looks up from his status and stutters to the Demon before him with a single purple horn jutting from his forehead.

"Myron Vermillion, your excellence. I... I can't agree with this pricing. It's double the market's price."

Myron lets out a domineering pressure, rippling with Demonic Energy, a Green True Core, and waves of Ether radiating off his entire Premium Avatar. He turns to the Demon beside him, who has two jet-black horns curving out from his head.

"Leonard. Shall I teach them a lesson?"

The more well-composed Demon stood behind him smirks, looking to another sales rep and waving him over.

"I have a similar-sized bundle of worlds to sell in bulk too. 1,410 5th Class, 434 4th Class, and another 21 3rd Class."

Ember spots the [19,882] on his palm as he turns back to the purple-horned hothead and whispers under his breath, "Don't worry, they'll submit before we have to make a mess..."

Then, turning back to the Red Ogre salesman, he accepts the worlds into an escrow status device to be appraised of their total energy as a spectator only.

The Demon looks down on the worker and speaks up for the entire lobby to hear.

"I want 5 Low Quality Ether apiece for the 5th Class, 25 for the 4th, and a minimum of 200 each for the 3rds. We're not accepting no for an answer..."

Ember and his bodyguards stop about 30 meters from the commotion, standing out like a sore thumb as no other passersby dare to intervene.

Even the bodyguards whisper to Ember as they halt.

"Are you sure about this, Sir? If they decide to become hostile, we cannot defend against the Vermillion Lords..."

"Yes, it's fine. I'm the new manager, after all. I can't watch us be ripped off this badly on my first day on the job," he replies, walking through the two guards and making his way over right behind the Demons who tower over the salesmen, continuing to plead that these prices are unreasonable.

The newest salesman who just accepted Leonard's worlds replies to his words in a cowardly manner.

"Impossible. The best I can do is 1.5 Ether average cost for these 5th Class worlds. And... maybe 9 Ether apiece for the 4th Class you've brought. These 3rd Class... they're completely drained of their mana, and populations are declining rapidly on all of them. Dungeon contracts would be impossible to form on these. They're... worthless... This price is impossible."

The Demon laughs and takes a step closer to the worker.

"I wasn't asking. It's an order..."

The hotheaded purple-horned Demon steps in, finishing his black-horned partner's words after letting out a degrading laugh.

"You should be happy I'm even giving you any worlds in return. We have a new Noble joining our ranks this month. This entire conglomeration will finally be crushed. This zone of the Upper Realm is already property of the Vermillion family, and everyone knows it."

Many customers look down at the floor, and some even run out of the center, not wanting to be dragged into this mess. However, a human's voice echoes through the room, shocking all of the remaining customers and salesworkers left.

"What seems to be the problem here? I would be happy to be of assistance."

The purple-horned Demon's sharp teeth grind as he turns around and lets out an anger-filled aura. Its [20,062] worlds glowing bright on its palm are visible for the lobby to see while it glares down at the human with a [1] dimly glowing on his palm.

"How dare you address me while I take care of important family business? A mere human shouldn't even lay eyes on a 1st Class Demon like me..."

As the Lord takes a full step forward, Ember's indifferent expression while he replies makes it even more mad.

"Unfortunately for you, the Ogre Conglomeration still holds some prestige and connections with the Wyverns, High Orcs, and Berserker Kings in neighboring districts of this Citadel. I am the general manager and sales consultant of this World Trade branch. If you are trying to force new market prices upon us, I will have to decline your offer and begin spreading the word."

The sharp grinding of the Demon's teeth makes the entire room shiver, but the more level-headed Demon behind him turns and takes a step in Ember's direction to speak up.

"Is that a threat? Our family is backed by far more than just this Citadel. It is not wise for a human to be poking their nose into the business of higher-class beings."

The black-horned Demon sifts through his status, scanning the confident red-haired human before him, then rolls his eyes.

"A 5th Class at that... Just because you've managed to make a few connections and have an eye for the market does not mean you know the history of the Upper Realm. You could live your full life and die in the time a single cultivation session of mine passes... Do you wish to make an enemy of us?"

Ember shrugs.

"You already extorted a 1st Class world and a handful of 2nd Class from our conglomeration head earlier this week. If this continues and we allow it, we've already died. You're the ones who have made an enemy of us."

The Demon's eyes narrow, as its simple tactic of intimidation on a mere 5th Class human should have been more than enough for them to scatter or bow down.

While it is true that the Vermillion Family has the greatest influence in the City right now, if they made an enemy of all the major trading hubs and gangs that have long-standing loyalty to the prior Citadel Lord, a dispute could very well set them back thousands of years.

Waiting until their new Noble arrives would be the safest move, but saving their honor is almost as equally important.

Both of the 1st Class Demons know this, but the purple-horned hothead interjects, making it clear they're not taking no for an answer.

"That's right, we're being merciful Lords by allowing you all to live on under our rule. You will pay us what we ask and be thankful your head still stays connected to your shoulders."

The Red Ogre guards that brought Ember down are wide-eyed in fear, their stomachs twisting and their hearts dropping to the floor once they hear the red-haired human's reply.

"No. We will pay 30% below the market price for bulk orders like this so there is still room to resell to individuals. Your ask for 200% of the average market price is absurd and clearly an abuse of power."

The Red Ogres now understand very well why their bodyguard contract price paid out the equivalent of a 4th Class world in profits each per month now... Their client is insane.

Myron steps closer, less than 3 meters in front of Ember, towering over him.

"You'll pay the price we set and beg for your life."

Ember looks up with his arms crossed.

"No."

Leonard watches them with confusion racing through his mind, as in the 18,000 years he's been following his Lord, even before they were established as one of the 5 Great Families, he's never seen a human even look a Demon in the eyes.

This was meant to be a simple task. Overcharging for a few thousand 5th and 4th Class worlds, plus getting rid of some junk 3rd Class worlds, might only set the trade center back a few months' worth of profit.

It's a simple hit any logical owner would take not to anger the Citadel Lord.

However, this new human in charge is willing to set the entire city on fire just to prove a point...

He whispers under his breath, "So short-sighted... then again, what else would I expect from a human..."

As Myron is about to burst with anger and cause an even bigger scene, Leonard believes this is exactly what the Ogre Conglomeration wants.

He steps forward and pushes a hand in front of his hotheaded partner to save some dignity.

"It is a negotiation, after all. This is the largest public trading center in the district. It's only right to challenge the market prices and see if we can get a good deal, isn't it?"

Ember grins and walks right in between the two Demons, ignoring their domineering presence.

Standing in front of the salesman who initially took their planets to trade, he peers into the holograms floating above the escrow status devices to look at the worlds in question for himself.

Ember swipes through the worlds, replying to the Demons, forcing them to turn around to be spoken to.

"The prices my salesmen gave were already at the market. If anything, I'd offer even lower. They were already being courteous."

Myron yells out, equally mad at his partner for holding him back and at this human disrespecting him.

"You do not understand who you are dealing with. I should crush your avatar right now, shatter your soul to pieces, and wipe this shopping center off the face of the Citadel for your insolence!"

Ember raises an eyebrow, and speaks with a sarcastic undertone.

"Oh? Was that a declaration of war? Against me? Or the Ogre Conglomeration? Or this entire district? Or all of our trade allies? I'm just a human. It's hard to understand the hidden meaning behind your words..."

The black-horned Demon, unable to stop his counterpart, wishes he came to this shopping center alone today, dreading telling Andras of this blunder and being outwitted by a human.

However, Ember's next words make both of the Demons' eyes widen in shock.

"How about we settle things with a duel? This is a simple dispute of prices, isn't it? No reason to set the Realm on fire over a few thousand Low Quality Ether, right?"

The hotheaded Demon lets out a murderous laugh, taking a step forward and yelling back.

"Humans are even more stupid than I ever believed they'd be! Duel accepted! Come on, let's go right now!"

His laugh continues to echo throughout the floor, while Leonard is hit with both a wave of relief and worry mixing together.

This human had them right where he wanted them, then gave up any chance of leverage without batting an eye.

The black-horned Demon scans Ember over and over with his system, but nothing out of the ordinary comes back.

He is merely a 5th Class human lord... It should be impossible for a being like him to even stay conscious while standing in their presence.

Something isn't quite right about all of this. However, Myron already publicly accepted their duel, so there is no backing out now.