Endless Extraction in a Game-Like World

[Calculated Rewards...!]

[You’ve obtained The Final Reward Chest]

[Final Reward: Awakening Stone (SSS-Rank)]

[Final Reward: Mind Increment Card (Rare)]

[Final Reward: Regional Lord Token]

Caelus’s eyes widened at the rewards displayed before him. These were all incredibly valuable.

Without hesitation, he extracted all the rewards from the chest while Sylvia took the Awakening Stone for herself.

His Mind Power had been lagging behind his other stats for far too long, and this was the perfect opportunity to fix that problem and make it come closer to his CA and HP.

But why settle for one card when he could have more?

He pulled out the Gacha Wheel and placed the Mind Increment Card inside without hesitation.

The wheel spun rapidly, colors blurring together as it rotated through the various multipliers.

It slowed down gradually before landing cleanly on the golden section.

[x5 Rebate!]

[Mind Increment Card (Rare) x5 obtained!]

"Five cards," Caelus grinned with satisfaction. "Three for you, two for me."

Sylvia caught the cards he tossed her, a smile spreading across her face.

"Always looking out for me, hubby."

They used the cards simultaneously.

[+10 Mind Power]

[+10 Mind Power]

[Current Mind Power: 210 → 230]

Sylvia’s notification showed a similar increase, her Mind Power rising to match his own.

The mental clarity that followed was immediate, both of them feeling sharper and more focused than before.

Caelus then turned his attention to the Regional Lord Token, examining its description carefully.

[Regional Lord Token]

[Effect 1: Summons a Wonder of the World from the user’s possession]

[Effect 2: Once sufficient cities have been conquered, promotes all Rookie Rank players within controlled territories to Elite Rank]

"This is incredibly useful," Caelus muttered. "We can use this to strengthen our entire population at once."

But the most anticipated reward still remained untouched.

The SSS-Rank Awakening Stone glowed with power, and this time around, they were bound to get something good.

They activated the stone together, and light consumed their vision completely.

When Caelus opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a familiar void, the space where racial awakenings occurred stretching endlessly in all directions.

His Chaos Dragon bloodline stirred within him, responding to the stone’s power.

[Analyzing Chaos Dragon bloodline...]

He was immediately shown a category, but there was one particular trait that stood out.

It was called Dragon Ascent (Secret).

He immediately selected it after reading through it.

Power flooded into his body like a tidal wave, his cells restructuring themselves to accommodate something extraordinary.

The sensation was overwhelming, dragon energy coursing through every fiber of his being as the new skill integrated with his soul.

[Dragon Ascent (Secret)]

[Description: Consumes all remaining CA to unleash a devastating attack. During activation, speed increases dramatically, the attack ignores all defenses, and damage scales based on total CA consumed. The user partially transforms into a dragon during execution.]

[Warning: Cannot be used if CA falls below 50%]

Caelus read the description three times, his heart pounding with excitement.

This was exactly what he needed, an ultimate trump card that could turn any battle in his favor.

The damage scaling based on CA consumption meant that at full power, this skill could potentially eliminate even King Rank enemies.

Meanwhile, Sylvia experienced her own awakening in a separate space.

Her True Vampire Progenitor bloodline responded eagerly to the stone’s power, unlocking a new skill.

[Skill: Crimson Eclipse]

[Description: Creates a dome of Death infused with blood energy. All enemies within the dome suffer continuous HP drain while the user gains 50% of HP lost from enemies back and increased defense. Duration scales with Mana consumed.]

She emerged from the awakening space with a satisfied smile, her new power humming beneath her skin.

Light faded around both of them as they returned to the tower’s exit area.

"What did you get?" Caelus asked immediately.

"A skill called Crimson Eclipse," Sylvia replied. "It creates a dome that drains enemy HP while boosting my own abilities."

Caelus grinned at her words.

"Perfect."

"What about you, hubby?"

"I got a new skill as well. It’s called Dragon Ascent," he answered. "It converts all my CA into a single attack that ignores defenses completely."

Before they could discuss further, familiar voices called out from nearby.

"Caelus! Sylvia!"

Freya bounded toward them with her usual energy, Lunari following close behind with a warm smile.

"You finished already?" Freya asked excitedly. "We just got out too!"

"How were your rewards?" Caelus asked.

"Amazing!" Freya’s eyes sparkled as she pulled out a glowing crystal. "I got a skill that lets me form a resonance with my familiars and perform a joint attack!"

Before Lunari could say anything, a system notification appeared in their visions.

[Domain is closing]

"The time is already over?" Caelus was taken aback by this.

Did the Tower have a time dilation?

That had to be the case.

Light consumed them once more.

Caelus opened his eyes to find himself back in his airplane seat, Sylvia stirring beside him as consciousness returned.

The plane had already begun its descent, the pilot’s voice announcing their imminent arrival in Rome, Italy.

Through the window, Caelus could see the Italian coastline approaching rapidly.

But something was wrong.

Dark clouds hung over the land below, unnatural formations that pulsed with corruption.

His eyes widened as he recognized the phenomenon.

"Corruption Zones," he muttered. "There are dozens of them."

Sylvia leaned over to look, her expression turning serious immediately.

"They’re everywhere."

The plane touched down at Rome’s airport, and the moment they stepped outside, emergency warnings blared from every direction.

[EMERGENCY ALERT]

[Multiple Corruption Zones detected across Italy]

[The Church is actively containing the disaster]

[All citizens advised to seek shelter immediately]

Caelus’s jaw tightened at the announcement.

Something major was happening here.

Freya appeared beside them with a worried expression.

"Big Brother Origin, what should we do?"

Ayame and Zhang Wei emerged from the terminal next, their faces grim as they observed the chaos spreading through the city.

Lunari rushed over with holy energy already crackling around her fingers.

"I just received a report. The Church has been fighting these zones for hours," she reported urgently. "My contacts say the situation is deteriorating rapidly."

Caelus frowned.

This timing could not possibly be a coincidence.

But now was not the time to think about this.

If this Corruption Zone worsened, then the Hollow Beast might as well completely break through from that Pocket Dimension by swallowing up the land in Italy.

"Everyone, we need to move out now and clear as many zones as possible."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

They burst into action immediately, spreading across the city to engage the Corruption Zones.

The first zone fell within minutes.

VWOOOM—!

Caelus’s Singularity Collapse crushed the spawns before they could organize, dark energy imploding inward and erasing everything caught within.

[Extract?]

[+0.25 Combat Score]

[+1 Level]

[Combat Score: 54.92 → 58.17]

[Level: 1 → 2]

Sylvia carved through another zone nearby, her Crimson Sovereign tearing through enemies like paper.

SLASH—! SLASH—! SLASH—!

Blood sprayed through the air as corrupted creatures fell in pieces around her.

Freya’s newly awakened skill, the Life Joint Attack, provided immense firepower.

BOOOOM—!

Golden light erupted from her position, her familiars moving in perfect synchronization as they unleashed devastating combination attacks.

Ayame and Zhang Wei worked together efficiently, their faction skills complementing each other perfectly.

Zone after zone fell before their combined assault.

[Combat Score: 58.17 → 61.42]

[Level: 2 → 3]

[Combat Score: 61.42 → 64.67]

[Level: 3 → 4]

The levels kept climbing as they pushed deeper into the affected areas.

[Combat Score: 64.67 → 67.92]

[Level: 4 → 5]

After clearing the seventh zone, they encountered a group of Church soldiers fighting desperately against a larger corruption formation.

A man in silver armor led them, his sword blazing with holy fire as he cut through spawns with practiced efficiency.

FWOOSH—!

Sacred flames consumed corrupted flesh, turning monsters to ash with every swing.

Lunari’s eyes widened the moment she saw him.

"He’s my mentor!"

The man turned at her voice, relief flooding his weathered features.

"Lunari! Thank God you’re safe!"

He finished off the remaining spawns before approaching their group, exhaustion evident in every step he took.

"This is Commander Marcus," Lunari introduced quickly. "He trained me when I first joined the Church."

Caelus stepped forward at her words.

"What’s happening here, Mr. Marcus? Why are there so many Corruption Zones?"

Marcus’s expression darkened considerably.

"I don’t know anymore..." He ran a hand through his graying hair. "Everything has fallen apart in the past twenty-four hours."

His voice dropped to barely a whisper.

"The Pope... the Pope is dead."

"What?" Lunari’s voice cracked with disbelief. "That’s impossible!"

Marcus shook his head grimly.

"The Demonic Faction appeared yesterday and launched a coordinated attack across Italy. The Vatican was breached, and the Pope fell during the defense."

"How could demons breach the Vatican?" Ayame asked in disbelief. "The holy barriers alone should have been impenetrable."

"I don’t know," Marcus admitted. "Something went wrong from the inside, but I haven’t been able to investigate properly."

Zhang Wei’s expression remained calm, but his eyes burned with cold fury.

"This was planned," he stated flatly. "Someone helped them from within. There is no way the Vatican Defense failed on its own."

Marcus sighed at his words. He also realized this truth.

"We will talk about this later. Let’s go clear more corruption zones." Caelus spoke up, and everyone nodded at his words.

Ayame and Zhang Wei were King Rank, but they knew not to mess with Caelus Kross, and hence, everyone in the group considered him the leader.

Right now, they needed to focus on clearing the remaining zones.

They pushed forward as a unified group, Marcus joining their efforts as they systematically eliminated every Corruption Zone in the area.

[Combat Score: 71.17 → 74.42]

[Level: 6 → 7]

More zones fell in rapid succession.

CRACK—! BOOM—! CRASH—!

[Combat Score: 74.42 → 77.67]

[Level: 7 → 8]

[Combat Score: 77.67 → 80.92]

[Level: 8 → 9]

The extraction continued relentlessly.

[Combat Score: 97.67 → 100.92]

[Level: 15 → 16]

By the time they finished clearing the final zone, Caelus had reached a new threshold.

[Combat Score: 124.42]

[Level: 25 (Master Rank)]

The area around them finally fell silent, the last traces of corruption fading into nothing.

Marcus collapsed against a wall, his breathing heavy with exhaustion.

"Thank you," he said. "Without your help, we would have lost this entire district."

Caelus nodded before turning to more pressing matters.

"We need to find out what really happened at the Vatican."

Before anyone could respond, Freya suddenly froze in place.

Her eyes glazed over as though seeing something far away.

"Wait, there’s something..." she whispered. "Beneath the Vatican... I can sense it."

Everyone turned to stare at her.

"What do you mean?" Caelus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A hidden space... deep underground... someone is trapped there."

"Someone?"

Could it be Seraphin Lin?

Freya said "someone" because she didn’t want to alert others by mentioning terms like "I can sense her" or "Tiamat."

Marcus’s face changed when he heard Freya.

"The Vatican dungeons," he said. "They’ve been sealed for centuries. There’s no way someone is there."

"But it’s still worth checking, Commander Marcus," Zhang Wei said. "After what happened here, anything is possible."

His words made sense, and this was also a good opportunity for the Taoist Faction to know what exactly the Biblical Faction was doing.

Guided by Freya’s connection, the group made their way toward the Vatican.

The holy city lay in ruins, evidence of the demonic attack visible everywhere they looked.

Broken statues littered the streets, and scorch marks covered ancient walls.

They descended beneath the main cathedral, following passages that hadn’t been used in generations.

The air grew colder with each step, dust swirling around their feet.

Finally, they reached a massive iron door covered in holy seals.

"This is it," Freya confirmed. "Whatever I’m sensing is behind this door."

Marcus stepped forward and placed his hand against the seals.

"My authority should still work..."

CLICK—

The seals flickered and faded, the door groaning as it slowly swung open.

What they found inside made everyone freeze.

A young woman hung from chains against the far wall, her clothes torn and bloodied and bruises covered every visible inch of her skin.

But Caelus recognized her immediately.

"Seraphin Lin?" His voice came out in shock.

The woman’s eyes fluttered open at the sound of his voice.

"Cae... lus...?"