My aura makes the air for dozens of kilometers heavy, causing all the ice from Maria's previous attacks to shatter, melt, and boil into steam at the bottom of the crater.

I'm still hovering at the same height above this desolate land as the last time I was here, but since then, I've absorbed a True Core, two Mid-Level Yellow Cores, and roughly three thousand additional raw yellow fragments.

Also, I've leveled up, fully healed my body through hibernation, and increased my base energy control multiple times by siphoning raw mana into the labyrinth, as well as farming trillions of MCP from mobs on floors 80-106. To top it off, I recently filled and drained my soul energy core countless times to strengthen the Crimson Dome.

The crater's floor shatters and deepens multiple kilometers under the sheer pressure of my aura's presence.

As I lift my sword and command the manifestations in front of me to charge forward, my curiosity grows with every moment that passes.

Despite the overwhelming pressure, Maria's movements remain steady, and her Ice Goddess' blade collides with the serpent clone I created, its divine thread density equal to the bronze earth dragon I faced as my first True Core opponent.

When her sword clashes with the serpent's fangs, they are locked in place for a matter of seconds.

An overwhelming wave of pure royal blue soul energy explodes from Maria's form, while the serpent bends gravity and tightens its threads to hold on, pushing back against the strike.

Neither side is backing down. My eyes widen as, at first glance, their powers appear equal, showing that it really is possible to overpower a True Core with high stats alone. However, my All-Seeing Eye tells a different story once I fully comprehend the situation.

There is a glaring difference between the two forces that collide.

The serpent's power is far denser and purer, making its yellow energy silky and nearly white. The separation between the mana present in its form is almost indiscernible from the energy itself.

Maria, on the other hand, is now far brighter blue than she was moments ago. A surging wave of mana control and raw power ripples out of her, but the yellow threads reinforcing her form remain just that—threads. The separation between mana and divine energy is clear.

The two forces are working together to strengthen her attacks, but her Soul Energy is the dominant force behind them.

Her Soul Energy core pulses, just like I saw in her previous battle, but it is far denser with pure mana than before. The yellow divine core pulses at the same time, but it is being overpowered by the mana in her Ice Goddess Form. She becomes an even deeper blue, tearing through the serpent in a single strike.

An eerie aura follows, making my real body reflexively shiver as if she's using an intimidation skill.

Looking into her core with my full perception during that attack was no different from staring into an endless abyss with greedy invisible hands trying to pull me in.

The crescent of soul energy that follows her strike heads toward me, but I snap out of my daze before it hits, airstepping to the side while yelling through our link.

"Good. Again, this one's much stronger!"

Then, I command the manifestation of a dragon to flap its wings and dive toward her, its divine energy density matching the power of Raven, what I'd consider a mid-level True Core.

Divine flames burst from its mouth, and a replicated dragon's roar echoes through the air as the Ice Goddess dodges the attack to get a better angle for a counterstrike.

This time, she doesn't hold back, swinging with her full strength and allowing her Soul Energy core to pulse again mid-swing as it collides with the dragon's front claws.

The eerie ripple attacks my psyche, even though I'm on the sidelines, as I can't help but stare into the royal blue darkness in her chest.

The gravitational waves that erupted from their clash feel just as strong as the ones that awakened the throne just days ago.

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This is the first of many.

They appear evenly matched, bouncing off each other dozens of times as their exchanges grow faster and faster.

My mind quickly adjusts to the intimidating soul energy aura, allowing me to manipulate my manifestation with greater speed and precision, while at the same time, Maria grows even more in tune with this new level of power—tens of times greater than she was just moments ago.

After five minutes, and hundreds of exchanges, I feel her intuition and movement surpass the baseline I set for the dragon, and I can't help but smile as she slowly chips away at its manifested armor.

I can tell she's becoming fatigued, and the amount of mana being drained from the air is absurd—millions of MP per second—but I don't want to cut this fight short when she's in such a perfect flow state.

I remain silent, watching as her Soul Energy Core and Divine Core pulse in unison, her strikes becoming more lethal.

Another ten minutes pass, and over a thousand exchanges, a final slash to the side defeats the dragon manifestation, and her fierce icy blue eyes lock onto me next.

During her battle, I've been doing some rough mental calculations. Her base stats have risen by almost 350x, and in turn, her overall power has jumped from handling a mid-level yellow core to matching a mid-level True Core.

The leap may be even greater, as she's still adjusting to her enhanced movements.

As I sever ties with the dragon's remains and erupt with divine flames myself, I wonder if using 30x the stats she has gained will be enough for me to face the big three.

The possibilities of this discovery seem limitless.

I fly forward and clash with the Ice Goddess' form, blocking the 20-meter-long blade of Soul Energy with my sword without activating my greater form.

The strongest pulse from her cores ripples through her entire body, and I don't hold back either.

This is by far the most powerful exchange of pure strength I've ever experienced, the gravity waves from this strike can be felt even to some strong C-Class and above citizens in the Crimson City, and back in Raven's territory.

For a few seconds, I can't push my blade forward any further; there's an unbreakable wall of massive mana based power before me.

The energy readings from her greater form continue to rise, pushing to overpower me with every drop of energy she can absorb from the Royal Blue Abyss.

Maria's mana consumption spikes from millions to billions per second, draining all the MP in the vicinity, fueling the dark blue wall of light.

However, just like during her fight with the mid-level yellow core, she hits a natural limit.

I sense it—the point where she needs time and more energy to build up for another pulse, and the raw strength of her attack wavers for a moment.

I grin and send her a message through our link.

"Not bad... but it looks like we've found your limit."

Then I follow through with my swing, unleashing the full power of my True Core, enhanced by all my active buffs, and overpower her strike in this exchange.

The Ice Goddess' form is sent flying backward, her overwhelming aura of intimidation wavering for a split second as she regains her balance in the air. She sends her own message through the link.

"For now... I think I can break through further, though. Let's go again, I just need another round to—"

Before she finishes, we clash once more, but everything she wanted to say has already been communicated through her strike.

Hundreds of world-shaking ripples shatter the desert below even more as our battle dance in the sky commences.

The waves from my blade are hot and filled with silky True Core threads, while Maria's are icy cold, overwhelmingly dense with pure Soul Energy.

I avoid going for any vital shots, don't activate my greater form, and limit my movement speed and True Core usage to about 80-90% of its full power as we continue sparring.

Maria goes all out, testing the true limits of her new strength, growing more attuned to the power at her fingertips.

—

To the south, in the Volcanic Region, Raven sits in a black room made of originator stone similar to the central headquarters buildings, deep within a dormant volcano where she can train and cultivate in peace.

The quality of shielding isn't as high as the world capital's resources, as some divine threads seep through, and she can still vaguely sense the outside world, but as long as weak hunters stay at least a kilometer away, it's safe enough and sufficient for her needs.

Now, as she quietly consumes the yellow divine fragments she earned from bringing the white dragon back to the deceased True Core Sebastian, odd gravity waves reach her senses.

At first, it feels like nothing—just low-level yellow cores sparring out in the desert, likely the Saint and other newly awakened yellows from the Flame Emperor's team, preparing for war.

But a few minutes later, the ripples seeping through the walls of her private room grow far stronger, reaching levels similar to her own True Core's power.

To her knowledge, only one person besides herself and the big three could possibly wield this kind of power.

Without hesitation, Raven's hazel eyes open, glowing bright yellow, and she activates her divine stealth skill, leaving her quarters to see what's going on for herself...

—

To the north, beneath the Crimson City, Ember feels the faint gravity waves coming from the desert as well.

Inside his isolation pod, his human form sits in the lotus position with his eyes closed and a serious expression, while his long red hair sways from the pressure coming off his core, now over 2.5 times the size a normal yellow core on the verge of collapse should be.

The corner of the dragon's lips curls up, mimicking the toothy grin of his battle form, and he whispers to himself.

"It's about time I get out of here. You're going to need a lot more power than that."

Then, the golden and silver threads in Ember's core stop holding back the energy from collapsing. They begin tightening and squeezing the dense yellow ball of light, as his final stage of core compression begins.