Chapter 22: Massage from marcus

The lift finished its upward movement, locking into the platform of the twenty-sixth level. The front panels slid to the side with a click, but Dante did not take a step out. He remained standing on the back of the giant reptile.

Suddenly, a tone rang out inside his head. It was not a standard system notification. A massive, glowing red text box expanded in the center of his vision, forcing its way through the tower network.

[Incoming Direct Text Transmission via Guild Master Override.]

[Sender: Marcus (S-Rank, Radiant Dawn Guild Master).]

Dante did not close the box. He simply watched the text lines form across his vision. Thanks to his SSS-Rank Sovereign’s Mental Domain, the psychological pressure Marcus tried to send through the transmission did not cause a single tremor in his brain. His mind remained as still as a mountain.

["I don’t know who you are"]

Marcus’s voice come through the text channel, sounding tight and full of hidden panic. ["But you just emptied my primary treasury on Floor 25. Ten thousand Calamity cores. That resource pool belongs to the global investment board. If you stop your movement right now and return the assets, I will grant you an official vice-leader position in the main branch. I will give you five floors to manage as your personal property."]

Dante let out a very small breath through his nose. He didn’t answer.

The text shifted again as Marcus kept typing from his office on the fiftieth level. ["If you think your reflection ability can carry you to the top, you are being a fool. The upper levels are not ruled by humans anymore. We have already signed contracts with the ancient alien clans from the deep dimensions. If you take one more step up the stairs, I will unlock the level borders and let them hunt you down."]

Dante finally moved his right hand out of his pocket. He did not type a reply. He simply tapped the text box with his index finger, activating his Property Seizure ring to target the connection strand itself.

Snap.

The red transmission box violently shattered into tiny pixels, cutting off Marcus’s access to his vision permanently.

"He is terrified," Yenna said, "My map shows that the twenty-sixth level has zero human guards left. But Marcus was telling the truth about the alien entities. The system logs show that he just used a high-tier mineral token to open a dimensional tear on Floor 30."

"Let him open it," Dante said "The more allies he calls, the more cores my private world can consume."

He looked down at his own status screen. A full hour had passed since his Sovereign’s World-Eater Void had swallowed the treasury. Inside his private dimension, a hundred Calamity cores had just dissolved into raw fluid.

[System Notification: Resource Assimilation calculation complete.]

[100x Calamity Cores dissolved.]

[You have permanently gained: +10 Strength, +10 Agility, +10 Vitality, +10 Intelligence.]

Dante felt a profound current of physical energy surge through his bones. His skin grew tighter, his muscles expanded under his clothing, and his perception became so sharp he could hear the faint movement of dust particles settling on the floor outside. His baseline attributes were multiplying while he was just standing still.

He tapped the side of the alligator’s neck with his foot. "Move."

The twelve-meter reptile let out a low rumble from its teeth, its massive legs stepping out of the lift onto the floor of Floor 26.

The environment here was a desolate plain. There were no trees, no office buildings, and no market stalls. The entire level was just a long, straight avenue made of blocks, leading directly to the next level gate.

Because Dante’s raw presence was becoming more god-like with every passing hour, a strange phenomenon occurred as the alligator walked.

The small reptile monsters hiding inside the cracks of the floor—creatures that usually ambushed rookies for food—did not even dare to look up. The moment the giant alligator approached, the low-level monsters instantly rolled onto their backs, their scales trembling in absolute terror from the crushing pressure radiating off Dante’s .

Yenna sat behind him, her eyes scanning the empty plain. She could feel the mental link between them vibrating with immense stability. She did not feel a single drop of sweat on her skin despite the tension.

"Floor twenty-six is completely open," Yenna reported, her Fate Wire Mapping projecting a clean line straight to the exit. "We can reach the twenty-seventh level in less than ten minutes."

"Then let’s increase the speed," Dante replied,

" I am going to show him that when a ghost comes to collect a debt, even the gods he serves have to get out of the way."

The giant alligator accelerated its movement, its claws tearing through the floor as it carried them deeper into the upper sectors of the tower.