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.

The creature's status shows a Superior Earth Summoning skill, and a [Lv. 9722] in bright blue text that burns into the back of my mind.

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The fact that there is a living dragon outside of a Labyrinth isn't what shocks me most; it's the fact that in the center of its chest as it flaps its wings, a bright white and yellow True Core bends space around it, showing me that this is exactly what I sensed with my intuition a few minutes ago.

Its level is not much higher than the Apex Region Director's was, but their Divine Core's Strength is worlds apart.

This is a true monster, that old man was a sorry excuse of a Divine Energy Wielder.

The pulse of aura continues past the point I was trying to examine, and it just reveals to me how vast the volcanic region really is.

Even using a focused pulse of enemy detection, I still can't see the edges of this seemingly endless nation of volcanoes, dungeons, and small pockets of military bases tucked away within the mountains.

Another ring echoes in my inner ear that isn't a normal MCP addition, and my concentration from the sonar I just sent out is broken.

[Skill Transfer To Main Body: Complete]

[Metal Creation][Mythic Grade]

As I continue to fly forward toward the elegant dragon coming my way, I read the skill's description to find it is similar to the barrier and crystal creation skills I obtained while in the exams. It allows me to create a unique metallic material and decide its hardness based on how much mana I imbue while activating the skill.

While I'm happy about the progress, one odd thing resurfaces in my mind and irks me quite a bit.

Before I sent out the pulse of surveillance, I could have sworn there were two dense masses of gravity.

While having to confront another True Core may be dangerous enough, the fact that there may be another one that is capable of escaping my senses makes me even more curious and confused about this whole scenario.

If I don't confront this mysterious dragon out here, its travel course directly collides with the Crimson City.

This means if this foreign entity is looking for conflict, meeting them far away from anyone that can get hurt is the smartest thing to do even if it puts me at a slight disadvantage.

I'm not particularly fond of jumping into the fight blind, without any information on what my opponent is capable of, but I might not have a choice here.

All these thoughts speed through my mind as I rocket through the air, finally getting up to speeds that match the dragon coming my way.

Every minute or so, another MCP notification rings in my inner ear.

My double seems to be dungeon walking through entire floors, ignoring normal mobs, and only killing the bosses to make it up to the next.

The teleportation magic at the end of a boss fight is the only limitation that it is working with; if it wasn't for this small time delay on each floor, I'm sure my double would be at the top by now.

My heartbeat speeds up, and all I can focus on is my crystal clear view of the bronze dragon's True Core still over 2000 kilometers away.

Its calm eyes stare forward, like it's watching me fly too.

There is no killing intent coming off of this mythical creature, but the mundane look in its eyes, making this seem like a simple and menial task, gives me chills.

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.