The Sovereign Overlord: I Can See The Hidden Stats

Falling Skies

A deafening crash shattered the ceiling above them as tons of stone and twisted steel came pouring down. In the Upper Sectors, the ruling families built their underground bunkers beneath thick layers of spell-treated rock to survive full-scale dungeon raids, but no building could withstand an S-Rank strike from the surface.

Ifunanya did not flinch as dust filled the room. She tapped her wrist console twice, bringing up a glowing green map of the facility's deep emergency tunnels. While Marcus Vance's guards scrambled around in total panic, trying to dodge falling concrete blocks, Ifunanya had already identified three different exit routes that her father built for high-level survival scenarios. She had memorized these secret paths months ago, knowing that loyalty to any single guild was a foolish gamble in a world run by cutthroat hunters.

"The main ceiling is giving way," Ifunanya said, her voice cutting through the noise with absolute calm. "Marcus's outside strike team is trying to dig him out, but they just destroyed the structural pillars. This whole sector will be buried in thirty seconds."

Chidi did not waste time looking at Marcus, who was still rolling on the floor, desperately trying to tear off his acid-stained armor. Chidi sprinted straight to the security pod in the back wall. He grabbed the emergency release lever, using his level-22 strength to yank the heavy iron latch open.

The capsule door swung wide, and his mother tumbled out into his arms, her body shaking as she held on to his jacket.

"Chidi, we have to go," his mother said, her eyes wide with terror as another massive slab of concrete crushed two fleeing Vance guards just ten feet away. "The whole place is collapsing!"

"I've got you, Mother," Chidi said. He picked her up, keeping his arm firmly around her waist while holding the Dragon Spear ready in his right hand.

Ifunanya motioned toward a narrow metal hatch hidden behind the main power unit. "This way! It leads straight to the underground rail line that connects to the third district!"

Chidi ran right behind her as the room caved in. Massive rocks slammed against the floor, shattering the glass pods and crushing the remaining control desks. They dove through the narrow hatch just as a giant section of the concrete ceiling dropped, completely sealing the laboratory behind them and burying Marcus Vance beneath tons of solid rock.

They tumbled into a long, dark maintenance tunnel. The air here was cold and smelled of damp earth. Heavy vibrations echoed through the stone walls as the building above continued to crumble.

[Sovereign Gaze Activated.]

[Path Analysis: Secondary Rail Line.]

[Structural Stability: 65 percent. Safe for fast transit.]

[Warning: Multiple high-level energy signatures detected on the surface directly above your position.]

Chidi slowed his pace slightly, his eyes tracking the glowing blue lines of his system map. "Who hit the building from the outside? Marcus was already inside."

Ifunanya kept moving down the rail tracks, her coat fluttering as she picked up her speed. "It wasn't Marcus. The Vance family doesn't have an S-Rank hunter capable of breaking a research bunker from three hundred meters above ground. Only one guild in this region has that kind of explosive firepower."

Chidi’s chest tightened as he remembered the initial system warnings. "The Golden Sun Guild?"

"No," Ifunanya replied, stopping at a junction where two iron rail lines split off into the dark. She turned her head, her sharp eyes fixing on Chidi. "The Cross family's main rivals from the Northern Alliance. Tunde Vance must have sold the location of your spear to them before Marcus even arrived here. Everyone wants the World Tree Core, Chidi. Your existence has turned this entire city into a war zone."

A sharp metallic click sounded from the shadows ahead of them on the dark tracks.

Obi, the tiny golden lizard sitting inside Chidi’s pocket, poked its small head out and let out a fierce, low hiss. The scales on its neck flared with a bright golden light, warning Chidi of immediate danger.

Chidi raised the Dragon Spear instantly, shifting his mother behind his back. "Someone is waiting at the junction."

A low laugh echoed from the dark tunnel ahead. A young man stepped into the faint light of the emergency lanterns mounted on the tunnel wall. He wore a sharp black coat with gold trim, and his face carried a smug, arrogant smirk that Chidi recognized instantly.

It was Tunde Vance.

Behind Tunde stood six heavy mercenaries dressed in dark silver leather, their hands resting on the hilts of long, glowing daggers.

"Did you really think my father was the only one coming for you, Chidi?" Tunde said, his eyes locking onto the Dragon Spear with pure envy and hatred. "My father thought he could take all the credit for capturing the Sovereign weapon. So I made a separate deal with the Northern Alliance. They gave me six elite assassins to make sure you never leave these tunnels alive."

Chidi’s hand tightened around the black shaft of his spear until his knuckles turned pale. All the anger from the novice dungeon, the betrayal, and the way Tunde had left him to die came rushing back to the surface.

"You brought mercenaries to kill your own father?" Chidi asked, his voice deathly quiet.

"My father is weak," Tunde spat, taking a step forward as his six assassins fanned out across the narrow tracks, blocking every escape route. "He let a low-class scavenger like you embarrass our family. Once I take that black spear from your dead hands, the Northern Alliance will make me the youngest guild master in the city!"

Ifunanya stepped up beside Chidi, her fingers sliding over her ice focus ring. "He brought level-35 shadow stalkers, Chidi. They use movement speed buffs."

Chidi did not step back. His level-22 stats pulsed with power, and the silver tip of the Dragon Spear began to glow with a sharp, dangerous crimson light. "Keep my mother safe, Ifunanya. Tunde is mine."

Before Chidi could take his first step forward, the concrete floor beneath Tunde’s feet suddenly exploded upward. Massive, black wooden roots tore through the solid stone, wrapping around Tunde’s legs and lifting him ten feet into the air.

A dark system window flared right in front of Chidi’s eyes, flashing with deep purple light.

[Alert! The World Tree Dungeon Core has forced a localized Rift Expansion.]

[The tunnel is converting into an S-Rank Trial Field.]

[All exits locked.]