Dimension Weaver: My Wife Is The Dragon Empress!

Opening his mouth in shock, Talon read the description again and again thinking he had mistaken the number he was seeing for something else. But, no matter how he looked at it, it was very clearly 40% and that only amplified his shock.

"Damn, I did not expect this!!" Exclaiming loudly, he turned to Acrypha. The woman had a subtle shock on her face.

"A 40% is crazy! That's almost half my strength added as a bonus." He said.

He couldn't imagine how much that increase would do even when he was aware of how strong he was. It wasn't even just a bonus, it was a fight-altering change that could very much turn the tables completely. However, Talon quickly realized the flow within that.

"Having no control over my mind is horrible though. I might turn into some kind of wild beast if I activate this ability." Scratching the back of his head, he could only sigh. He felt dejected that such an absurdly strong ability had such a massive drawback on it.

But, in context, it made sense why it was this flawed. As Acrypha explained before, the Core Dimension has a balance it works on. The stronger the ability you gain, the bigger the drawback that comes with it. That makes power and balance coexist better and pushes the boundaries of what many would go to achieve certain goals.

It was a very simple question it gave them: Are you ready to give this to get that? If not then you're safe but also you won't become stronger. On the other hand, if you agree, then you have to bear the consequences of that choice.

It makes it far harder for someone to understand what's more worth it, their goals or themselves.

"What a unique ability." Acrypha finally spoke with a quiet tone. "It's certainly very strong. But, the drawback is too heavy to rely on it. No, not even that… You shouldn't use this ability at all. It will only be a spell for disaster." She explained.

"Yeah, I figured that much. If I use it, I don't know if I would be able to even differentiate between friends and foes. I don't want to harm someone I don't want to harm because of it."

Just imagining himself turning into a brainless monster and doing something he would regret for the rest of his life sent chills down his spine.

'Ain't no way something can make me use it. Nothing.' He shook his head as he relaxed a little.

"Well, it's good to know that things like this exist, I guess." He shrugged with a dry laugh.

However, Acrypha didn't smile like he did. In fact, she seemed to fall into deep thought on her own as if she realized something.

'It didn't give him that ability for no reason. It knows that Talon's style changed a little with the current events. That means that in the future…' Looking at Talon, her eyes flashed with a weird glint. 'He might end up being forced into a situation where he has to use it.'

Acrypha was already aware that the death of Talon's mother wasn't just a coincidence. This was a deliberate thing the Core Dimension wanted to happen and so the fact that it was pushing for such a change meant that it was directing Talon or at least trying to direct him to something.

Something that didn't sit well with Acrypha.

'He needs to be careful. But, for now, since he isn't aware of it. There shouldn't be any problems.'

She was contemplating telling him. But, she realized how hurtful that would be for him. To realize that his mother's death was not the course of fate but a deliberate plan from a higher entity would make him blame himself even more for it.

He would think that his existence alone had lost him a precious family member. Acrypha didn't want to see him look crushed again, it tore her heart to pieces.

'Ignorance is sometimes a blessing. I can't let the Core Dimension get to him. He will be the one to topple it down one day.' She thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Talon was completely unaware of what she was thinking of as he stood up. "Ok, enough resting."

After that, he joined the rest of the group collecting the cores together. Collecting this many cores was going to take some time so Talon didn't hurry himself.

He had already achieved a good chunk of what he came here for and the day was still basically starting. They had many more hours to work.

A while later, Talon stood as he looked at the huge piles of monster cores in front of him. Their multicolors shone brightly, illuminating their surroundings.

'Hmm, most of them are below level 20. Some are above twenty and a few are above level 25. Hmm, should I try and find a good weapon from those?' He scratched the back of his head thoughtfully.

The idea of a new weapon had been brewing in Talon's mind for a while now. But, even though he knew he could find a level 25+ weapon easily in the many monster cores he had access to, he was hesitating to search and the reason was simple.

'I want a stronger weapon… Far stronger than the Blue Lapis. I don't want to keep changing spears every now and then.'

The only reason Talon kept Blue Lapis for such a long time apart from its noticeably good strength was how familiar it became. He felt like the weapon flowed in his hands like he wanted exactly and that was because he grew accustomed to it and perfectly synchronized with it.

Now, it became a part of his body that he knew how to perfectly control. If he changed it now to something slightly better, then with how fast he was growing, it wouldn't take long for the weapon to fall behind and he would end up changing again.

He needed to change to something that is so above and beyond that, it would take him a long time to reach its level.

'Would I even find such a thing here? Maybe if I fight an extremely strong monster. That might drop one.'

So far, the strongest monsters that Talon fought only dropped potions and skills. It didn't drop any weapons often for one reason or another and when it does drop a weapon, it isn't a spear so Talon couldn't use it.

"Fuck it, I will keep it for a while longer. I waited this long, I might as well go for the best of the best." He murmured before he turned around.

"You four, get this in the cars. The rest, we are going to continue moving north as we planned. We need to clear at least another 50 kilometers."

"Yes, leader!"

With that, the group dispersed quickly as they went back to work. There was still a lot to do before the end of the day.

However, even with that in mind, they knew that it was just a matter of time before they finished the task at hand. All because they had the strongest fighting with them.

Just that thought alone put them at ease to face whatever was left lurking in the forest.

***

Meanwhile, back at the base.

Hyun-Jae was alone in a small park near the hotel where she was training. Usually, she would leave it for the evening but that day, she had the time to train earlier in the morning and so she used that opportunity.

Standing alone, she held her sword firmly as she stared ahead of her with a sharp glare. Her eyes were cold and serene, carrying no emotions behind them. Her breathing was even and calm and her posture was perfect.

She didn't move for a few seconds as if she was a statue. Then, suddenly her body flashed forward as she swung the sword down. The move was so quick that it almost appeared like a blur, sending a strong gush of wind all around her.

Then, she turned around and swung the sword again horizontally. She continued moving left and right, swinging her sword with unbelievable precision as if she were fighting an enemy that nobody could see.

That was Hyun-Jae's method of training that she developed on her own this entire time. 'Shadow Spars', imagining an opponent and fighting them based on moves that they could do.

She realized that doing this improved her general technique by leaps and bounds in a short period of time. The only limit to this method was her imagination which she didn't lack since she could always imagine a stronger opponent no matter how powerful she got.

Minutes passed as she continued swinging her sword. Her face glistened with droplets of sweat as her eyes focused completely on the training. She didn't let her mind wander to something else the entire time.

'This isn't enough, I need to improve my technique. We are going to start moving again soon and I can't fall behind.' Clenching her teeth, she exerted all of her strength as she moved left and right.

Eventually, her steps halted as she exhaled a long breath. Looking around her, she realized that she had just cleared the entire area of all the sand and dirt that filled it.

"Hah… Hah…. Hah…" Heaving silently, she took a moment to rest before resuming.

"You've got a good technique."

As she was like that, she heard a voice speaking behind her. Turning around, she saw Sophie standing there, watching her.

"... Thank you," Hyun-Jae replied casually as she sheathed her sword. "What brought you here? Did something happen?"

"Hmm, no, not really. I came here for another matter." Stepping into the park, she smiled at Hyun-Jae.

"Wanna spar with me?"

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