Endless Extraction in a Game-Like World

Xander walked over with confident steps, his Greek faction members trailing behind him like obedient shadows.

"Lunari," he called out. "I didn’t expect to see you participating in a Domain Event."

"I thought the people from the mighty Vatican never cared about items and rewards."

Lunari’s smile remained politely in place. "Why wouldn’t I participate in a Domain Event, Xander? I can’t miss out on good rewards, can I? Besides, even the great Olympian Faction is here."

"Is the Olympian Faction running so low on resources that their Great Genius had to make an appearance?"

Xander chuckled at her response. "Still as sharp-tongued as ever."

His gaze drifted past her and landed on Caelus and Sylvia. His eyes lingered on Sylvia for a moment too long.

"Who are these newbies?" He tilted his head curiously. "They don’t seem to belong to any guild or faction."

"Mind your own business. I think you have more pressing matters to concern yourself with," Lunari replied.

She knew immediately that Sylvia’s beauty had caught his attention; she was easily the most stunning girl in the vicinity.

Xander ignored Lunari completely. Instead, he smiled confidently at Caelus before turning his full attention toward Sylvia.

"I don’t believe we’ve met," he said to Sylvia. "You are clearly not ordinary, so why are you standing beside someone like him?"

Sylvia’s expression did not change.

She simply wrapped her arm around Caelus’s and leaned against him a little more.

"Because I want to," she replied. "Was that hard to figure out?"

Xander merely smiled, completely unfazed by her rejection.

"You misunderstand me," he said. "I am not questioning your taste; I am trying to save your potential."

"The Olympian Faction does not reject true talent, and I personally do not mind making exceptions for people I find interesting."

"Let me be direct," he continued. "If you join me, I can give you status, protection, resources, and a future that your former profession would have never given you."

His eyes then flicked toward Caelus with clear disdain.

"As for him, he does not look like someone who can offer you anything worth keeping."

Sylvia stared at him for a moment, her lips curling into a cold, mocking smile.

"I would rather crawl into a coffin and nail it shut myself," she said softly, "than join a faction with people like you in it. You’re acting like you’ve never seen a woman before in your life."

"Xander," Lunari stepped between them. "You can’t treat my friends like this."

"Your friends? Why are you friends with a loser like him?" Xander asked, pointing at Caelus.

"Throughout this entire conversation, he hasn’t said a single word," Xander added with a look of pure mockery.

"That’s because I don’t need to," Caelus said, a cold smile forming on his face.

He wasn’t insecure; he knew his girlfriend perfectly well and knew she could handle herself. But he wasn’t about to let Xander walk all over them, either.

If there was one thing Caelus hated, it was people targeting Sylvia.

"I was just curious how long you could keep embarrassing yourself in public," Caelus added. "And you overexceeded my expectations."

"You should be more careful with your words, little boy," Xander sneered, his expression turning icy. "You’ll lose things you never saw coming, and weep when it happens. You wouldn’t be the first."

His faction members chuckled dutifully behind him, mocking Caelus.

Caelus’s eyes turned dead cold. He knew exactly what Xander was implying.

Before anyone could say another word, a system notification chimed.

[The First Trial has begun.]

[Trial: Survival Hunt]

[Objective: Eliminate 10 Trial Beasts within the time limit.]

[Time Limit: 30 minutes]

[Participants will be randomly teleported.]

[Death in this trial is permanent.]

Blinding light consumed everything.

When Caelus opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a dense forest. Twisted, ancient trees surrounded him on all sides.

He quickly scanned his surroundings. Sylvia wasn’t with him.

Before he could search further, a familiar voice called out from nearby.

"Caelus!"

It was Chad, jogging toward him with several guild members following close behind. Relief flooded his friend’s face.

"Thank god you’re here," Chad said. "This trial seems dangerous. We should stick together and—"

"Watch out!" one of Chad’s guildmates suddenly screamed in alarm. "Incoming! Level 35 Elite, Combat Score 70!"

A figure burst from the shadows, a jagged blade aimed directly at Caelus’s back.

"Caelus! Move!" Chad yelled.

But Caelus had already reacted.

Space folded around him as he activated Spatial Blink. He vanished from his position, reappearing instantly behind the ambusher.

His leg swung upward with devastating force.

The kick connected perfectly with the man’s groin.

A sickening crunch echoed through the quiet forest.

The attacker collapsed to his knees, screaming in absolute agony. His weapon clattered uselessly to the dirt.

Caelus crouched down and inspected the writhing man. Floating above his head was the unmistakable emblem of the Olympian Faction.

"So..." Caelus’s voice was dangerously calm. "Has the Olympian Faction decided to make an enemy out of me?"

The man spat blood, wheezing a harsh laugh through his pain. "Who do you think you are, you bastard? Some bigshot who can take on Olympus?"

"You’re dead meat for crossing Xander! No one disrespects him and lives!"

Caelus’s expression remained entirely neutral. "What is your talent?"

"Go to hell!" the man spat.

Caelus grabbed the assassin’s broken fingers and twisted sharply.

Another bloodcurdling scream pierced the air.

"I’ll ask again. What is your talent?"

The man’s resistance completely crumbled under the agonizing pain. "Token Creation! I can condense abilities into transferable tokens!"

Caelus smiled coldly. "Thank you."

His fist drove forward, crushing the man’s skull. Blood splashed across Caelus’s cheek as the body went limp on the forest floor.

Chad and his guildmates stood frozen in horror.

He had actually just killed someone from the Olympian Faction!

Chad could hardly believe this was the same friend he once knew—the gentle Caelus who used to joke around and lose at video games.

An overwhelming presence suddenly erupted from Caelus.

BOOM!

Blue energy crackled around his body as genuine fury radiated outward.

Xander had not only targeted Sylvia, but had immediately sent an assassin over a trivial verbal dispute.

"Just a faction, yet they act like they own the world," he muttered, his voice dripping with venom.

The power of his Ender Origin surged around him like a cosmic storm.

He was going to show them exactly how insignificant a mere ’faction’ was before an Ender.

Chad finally recovered from his shock and rushed forward. "You shouldn’t have done that, Caelus! The Olympian Faction is enormous! You can’t fight them without backing!"

Caelus looked at him with complete indifference. "I don’t care who they are. They bleed the same as anyone else."

He summoned the Ruyi Jingu Bang just as a massive Trial Beast charged toward them from the undergrowth.

Caelus swung the staff casually.

BOOM! WHRMM!

The attack tore through space itself before striking the monster. The beast exploded into a shower of gore and fragments, killed instantly.

Chad’s guildmate stared in utter disbelief. "Just how powerful are you? That monster was a Level 35 Elite! So was the player who attacked you!"

"How are you killing them so effortlessly? How can someone without a guild become this strong?"

Chad finally realized the same thing, looking at his friend in awe.

Caelus simply wiped the blood from his cheek. "Don’t worry about it."

He crouched beside the corpse of the Olympian assassin and mentally pressed extract.

[Ding!]

[Extraction Successful.]

[You have obtained: Token Creation (Passive)]

[Token Creation: You can condense Levels, Skills, Talents, and Traits into transferable Tokens.]

[Limitation: Creating each Token requires 10% of your total Mana.]

He stood up and surveyed the dark forest. "Let’s finish this trial quickly."

Over the next fifteen minutes, Caelus hunted Trial Beasts with ruthless efficiency. His Spatial Blink allowed him to appear behind creatures before they could even react.

His Ruyi Jingu Bang crushed everything in its path.

Ten beasts fell in record time.

Chad and his guildmates barely managed to keep up, contributing only where they could.

[Ding!]

[Trial Complete.]

[Time: 14 minutes 23 seconds]

[Rank: SSS]

[Proceeding to Reward Area.]

White light consumed them once more.

They reappeared in a pristine, circular chamber. A golden treasure chest sat directly in the center.

[Choose One Reward:]

[Option 1: Trait Slot Rune]

[Option 2: +15 Combat Score]

Caelus approached the chest with a thoughtful expression. While Chad and his guildmates debated their choices, he quietly activated his skill, realizing he could extract the rewards directly from the chest itself.

[Ding!]

[Extraction Successful.]

[You have obtained both rewards.]

[Trait Slot Rune acquired.]

Caelus pocketed the rune immediately.

[+15 Combat Score acquired.]

[Combat Score: 82.12 -> 97.12]

Soon after, another prompt appeared before the group.

[Proceeding to Second Trial.]