Endless Extraction in a Game-Like World

Lunari’s expression stiffened upon hearing his request.

She could understand asking for a Skill Slot Rune. Those were rare but obtainable with enough effort and connections.

But an Attribute Skill Slot Rune?

"That’s extremely difficult to obtain," she said with a slight frown. "I doubt even the Vatican Church where I’m from has one in its possession."

Those runes were legendary items. Only a handful existed across the entire world, and each one was guarded more closely than national treasures.

Caelus’s shoulders dropped slightly at her words.

"Even a normal Cooldown Reduction Card is fine," he offered instead.

Lunari’s expression softened. "That I can work with. I’ll ask them myself."

She pulled out her phone and made a quick call. Her words were brief and efficient, spoken in a language Caelus didn’t recognize.

Within minutes, a sleek black car appeared at the end of the street.

Caelus’s eyes narrowed as he studied the vehicle. Something about it felt familiar.

"Isn’t that Principal Dickenson’s car?" he said slowly.

The car rolled to a stop in front of them. The driver’s door opened, and Principal Dickenson stepped out.

His eyes widened when he spotted Caelus standing there.

"Caelus? What are you doing here?"

"The corruption zones appeared near my apartment," Caelus explained. "We’ve been clearing them with Miss Lunari for the past hour."

Dickenson’s gaze shifted between Caelus and the holy woman beside him. His expression cycled through surprise, confusion, and finally understanding.

"Oh, looks like you both know each other already," Lunari observed with a pleasant smile.

Dickenson immediately turned to face her. His posture straightened, and his tone became noticeably more respectful.

"Greetings, Miss Lunari. I had heard from my commander that someone from Vatican City was arriving." He bowed his head slightly. "I was waiting for your call, but I didn’t expect you to throw yourself into action as soon as you arrived."

Lunari waved off his concern with a graceful gesture.

"This is my duty," she said firmly. "Purging evil from the world and granting light to those covered in darkness."

Her words carried weight, the kind that came from absolute conviction.

"How is the situation here?" she asked.

Dickenson’s expression turned serious. "Most of the Corruption Zones are manageable since they’re only Elite Rank. But there’s a Master Rank one in Manhattan, and our guild is dealing with it right now."

"That’s good," Lunari nodded.

Her tone shifted to something more grave. "Even Japan, Brazil, and Argentina were hit with this corruption. It’s spreading faster than we anticipated."

"I’m aware," Dickenson confirmed. "The Guild has been coordinating with international branches since the first reports came in."

He gestured toward his car. "Let’s take you to the Golden Light Guild headquarters, Miss Lunari. You can coordinate with the other leaders from there."

Lunari nodded before turning back to Caelus and Sylvia.

"You both are coming as well, right?"

She looked at Dickenson with a serious expression. "These two helped me in battle today. I want to reward them properly for their assistance."

Dickenson’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He clearly hadn’t expected this development at all.

"Of course," he recovered quickly. "We can arrange that."

They climbed into the car together. Dickenson gave Caelus a long, meaningful glance through the rearview mirror before starting the engine.

The drive to the branch headquarters took around twenty minutes.

When they arrived, the building towered above them like a fortress of glass and steel. Golden symbols were etched into the entrance, radiating faint holy energy.

Guild members filled the lobby as they walked inside. Many of them turned to stare at the newcomers.

Recognition sparked in their eyes almost immediately.

"Is that Caelus Kross?"

"The one who killed Reign Bloodfang?"

"And Sylvia Reign too!"

The whispers spread through the crowd like ripples on water.

Lunari chuckled softly at the attention they were receiving. "It seems like you both are already famous here."

Caelus just smiled faintly in response. Fame meant nothing to him right now.

Dickenson led them deeper into the building, navigating through busy corridors filled with rushing personnel.

"I’ll contact my superior," he said. "Please wait here for a moment."

Then he added something that made Lunari’s eyes light up with genuine interest.

"Xander from the Mythos Guild of Greece is here in America as well."

"Oh?" Lunari’s expression shifted to curiosity. "He’s here? Interesting."

Caelus turned to her. "Who is that?"

Lunari smiled, clearly happy to explain. "Someone incredibly talented and powerful. He’s the same age as you and Sylvia, yet he’s already Level 50 Elite Rank."

She continued with obvious admiration in her voice. "He possesses an S-Rank Ability called Template Change. This talent allows him to be one of the few people on Earth capable of using more than three skills."

Caelus leaned in slightly, his interest growing with every word.

"He doesn’t actually have more Skill Slots," Lunari explained. "Instead, he has something called Templates. Think of them like loadouts."

"He can switch between them in milliseconds. Each template contains his three equipped skills, his attribute configuration, and other settings."

She raised a finger to illustrate her point. "For example, if he has six skills total, he can allocate three to one template and the other three to another. He then switches between those templates every fifteen seconds during combat."

"Hence, he’s considered one of the many rising stars of our world."

Caelus’s eyes glowed with intense interest.

Just imagining how useful such an ability would be made his heart race with excitement.

He could have his own personal defensive mode with shields and barriers. Then switch instantly to an offensive mode with devastating attacks.

The tactical possibilities were simply amazing.

"How can I meet him?" Caelus asked eagerly.

He could not wait to extract this guy!

Lunari, however, shook her head with a sigh.

"He’s far too arrogant for his own good. He only meets people that stands at the same level as him or people capable of giving him high-level Mana Increment Cards."

She shrugged helplessly. "They’re necessary for him since he has to support far more skills than an ordinary player. His mana consumption is several times higher than normal."

Sylvia scoffed beside Caelus. "Sounds like a spoiled brat to me."

Lunari laughed at that. "You’re not entirely wrong. But his talent justifies his attitude, at least in most people’s eyes."

Caelus filed this information away carefully.

Mana Increment Cards. That was the key to meeting Xander.

He would find a way to obtain some, and then beat the guy up senseless till he got the talent.

Template Change was too valuable an ability to pass up.