Chapter 190: Using The Shadow Self To Conquer More Dungeons!

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Riven thought of an interesting idea. Perhaps it could be possible to lend authority over his dungeon if it was fused with a spiritual realm where such control was already possible.

If that were the case, Riven could give that authority to his own Shadow Self and allow it to create a gate that would bring him wherever it went. The concept was risky, but the potential efficiency was too valuable to ignore.

However, there was another problem.

"How far can you walk away from me? Can you sustain yourself completely?" Riven asked, studying the shadowy figure carefully.

"I’ve recently crystallized a Shadow Spirit Core," his Shadow Self answered. "I believe with that, I can sustain myself and go further away, at least a few dozen kilometers without issues. Our connection remains, and I use your Mana for sustenance. I can also just bring Mana potions with me if needed."

"Good. Then the plan begins now. Let’s plan things out carefully."

While everyone else in the house slept, Riven, his Shadow Self, and Vladimir sat together in the quiet living room and wrote down a list of close, easy-to-conquer Dungeons that were still within Riven’s current power level. The soft ticking of a clock and the distant sound of night insects were the only background noise as they worked.

In total there were four suitable targets, all of them D-Rank or below. He did not want to risk C-Rank Dungeons for now because his Shadow Self was still not as strong as he himself was. The margin of safety mattered more than speed.

The Gates were carefully chosen:

The Abandoned Subway Line, an E-Rank Gate. Its difficulty made it almost trivial, but it sat right under the industrial district and produced a steady trickle of low-grade cores. It would serve as the perfect warm-up and a reliable source of basic resources.

The Whispering Caves, a D-Rank Gate on the eastern outskirts. It was known for packs of Wild Beasts and a single mid-boss that dropped decent essence stones. The terrain was narrow and winding, which would favor ambush tactics.

The Rotting Orchard, another D-Rank Gate. It was a half-collapsed orchard filled with venomous plant-beasts and a few corrupted dryads. Clears here were usually fast, making it ideal for quick levels and material gathering.

The Crimson Marsh had two floors and sat at the borderline between C-Rank and D-Rank, making it the riskiest of the four. Mud-dwelling blood leeches and a nest of lesser were-creatures infested the area. Riven decided this one would be left for last.

Riven briefly thought about eating the monsters from these Gates himself. The idea of absorbing their strength was tempting. But that would mean he would have to hunt them personally, and then... his beloved wife would be left alone again.

He did not want that. The memory of her still recovering, of the fragile progress she had made with her hands, made the decision clear. He had to make some sacrifices for the sake of efficiency and safety. There was also the faint theory that perhaps his Shadow Self’s kills could count as his own, which could lead to an incredibly easily abusable exploit.

But until that theory was proven true, he did not want to rely on it.

"I can go with him," Vladimir offered. "I can also move away my scent mark so they won’t be drawn here."

"Good idea. I’ll ask Label to clean the area with a chemical solution anyway," said Riven. "For now, let’s begin."

Riven summoned the Sovereign Codex. The heavy tome opened on its own, pages turning until they displayed the two Dimensions he currently owned — the Dungeon and the Spiritual Realm — alongside the small number of believers he had and the daily Faith he gained from them.

While Vladimir and his Shadow Self stared blankly at the floating book, Riven’s will quickly manipulated the Codex, a physical embodiment of his Lord Authority.

"Combine the Dungeon with the Spiritual Realm."

Ding!

[Requesting Confirmation from the Lord’s Authority.]

[Do you wish to combine the D Rank Dungeon "Dark Cave Labyrinth" with the Tier 2 Spiritual Realm "Spring Paradise"?]

[Warning: This is an unprecedented event. Caution is recommended.]

[Yes] [No]

Riven did not hesitate. He quickly pressed [Yes], activating and initiating the combination of the two pocket dimensions.

RUMBLE!

From one moment to the next, Riven was suddenly teleported into a vast sea of golden light. Soul essence and ghostly energies mixed with colorful spiritual energy that flowed endlessly in every direction. The sensation was weightless and overwhelming at the same time.

"This is...? My soul?"

He realized that his consciousness had been transported inside of his own Soul. From there he saw a vast, endless sky with clouds stretching as far as the eye could see. Soft golden light bathed everything, and distant currents of spirit energy moved like slow rivers through the air.

Within this endless space, two small worlds were about to collide. Enormous translucent bubbles floated toward each other, each containing the matter and essence that made up the D-Rank Dungeon Dark Cave Labyrinth and the Tier 2 Spiritual Realm Spring Paradise.

As the two bubbles began to touch and press against one another, a loud dimensional tremor echoed through his soul. Riven slowly regained his composure and focused on the collision.

One bubble contained three floors — or four if the abyss was counted as one — of dark caves. It was a small fragment of a planet long destroyed, drifting across space and time until it reached Earth and manifested as a Gate. The interior was dim, rocky, and filled with residual monster energy.

The other bubble was a beautiful, vast, and colorful series of mountains, forests, lakes, and rivers. Large gardens of flowers and natural caves inside the mountains made up most of its landscape. Soft light, gentle winds, and the faint scent of spring filled that space.

In terms of sheer size, the Spiritual Realm was at least four times as big as the Dungeon’s interior.

FLUOSH!

The moment the two bubbles fully pressed together, streams of energy began to exchange between them. Dark cave rock met living forest soil. Shadowy mist mixed with spring light. The fusion had officially begun, and the pressure inside Riven’s soul continued to build as the two realms started to rewrite each other’s structures.

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