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] 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. 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. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. 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. 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.