Endless Extraction in a Game-Like World-Chapter 26: An Item That Transcends the Domain! The Treasure Map is a Physical Key?
"What sort of ominous thing is this?" Caelus wondered in a slight daze.
His mind flashed back to all the forum posts and teachings from Fortis-01 High.
Treasure maps, no matter their origin, always looked like a parchment scroll. Untying it would reveal a landmark that you could cross-reference with your system map to pinpoint the exact location.
Inside the domain.
But this?
"How is there a treasure in the real world?"
It did not make any sense. For a split second, he genuinely thought that he was being scammed. But it was clear that was not the case; after all, this item dropped directly from the Domain.
Then what exactly was the truth behind it? He did not know for sure.
But for now, it was clear that this treasure map was anything but ordinary. The words of the system were absolute. There was no room for error.
Hence, Caelus pushed the matter to the back of his mind for now.
There were far bigger priorities at hand, and that was leveling up and becoming the Town Leader.
Caelus waited no longer. Ren and his team had most likely already entered the second area by now. It was his turn.
Whoosh!
Lightning crackled across his boots as he shot forward into the dense forest.
After several minutes of traveling, Caelus finally reached a shimmering barrier. He could not see through to the other side. This barrier was the strict border that separated the first area of the Newbie Plains from the second.
Without a single ounce of hesitation, Caelus crossed over.
Immediately, the world around him shifted. The familiar forest of the first area disappeared as Caelus descended into the second plain.
A vast, untamed landscape of tall grass and jagged rocks laid out before him.
It was honestly mind-blowing. Such a vibrant, hyper-realistic plain existed within this virtual reality, while his physical body was safely sleeping away on the Azure Origin Planet.
As soon as he stepped deeper into the second plains, the atmosphere abruptly changed. The tall grass around him began to rapidly shift as a densely packed, beastly roar echoed from all directions.
Swish!
A fierce beast violently jumped out of the tall grass. It had a massive, muscular body and terrifyingly long fangs. It was a Saber-Toothed Tiger.
"Not bad. To think the beasts would come to me of their own accord. This makes things much easier," Caelus exclaimed as his Tempest Dagger flashed into his hands, gleaming with static lightning.
Boom!
His Lightning Domain immediately erupted as Caelus took a confident step forward.
[Monster: Saber-Toothed Tiger - Level 4]
[Combat Score: 8.25]
"A combat score of 8.25?" Caelus raised an eyebrow. An ordinary Level 4 player or beast usually had a base combat score of 8.0. This one was slightly above average.
The tiger roared fiercely. A sharp, blinding white light gathered rapidly around its massive, protruding fangs.
[Talent: Saber Light (E-Rank) - Shoot a crescent blade of light at enemies. Cost: 25 Mana.]
Swish!
The white, crescent blade of pure light shot through the air towards Caelus with terrifying speed.
Caelus did not panic at all. His Lightning Domain was already active, crackling with violent blue electricity across a five-meter radius. He immediately activated Lightning Step.
Because he was standing directly within his own active lightning zone, the potent passive effect of his newly equipped Tempest Combat Set immediately triggered. The mana cost for his evasion skill was perfectly halved.
From the initial 5 to 2.5.
His body blurred completely out of harm’s way. The exact instant he successfully dodged the Saber Light, a localized, explosive gust of wind violently erupted from his previous position.
The powerful wind slammed directly into the Saber-Toothed Tiger, violently pushing it off-balance and actively stacking Caelus’s chances of landing a critical hit.
At the exact same time, loud rustling sounds echoed ominously from the tall grass. Four more Saber-Toothed Tigers lunged out from the shadows, completely surrounding him on all sides.
"Five of them?" Caelus smirked.
The four new tigers opened their massive maws, rapidly gathering their own concentrated Saber Light.
Caelus moved with explosive, crackling speed. Thanks to his C-Rank Dexterity, his body moved exactly as his mind commanded. He closed the distance to the first off-balance tiger in a fraction of a second.
Slash! Squelch!
His Epic 1-Star Tempest Dagger tore smoothly and ruthlessly through the beast’s thick neck. The passive bleed effect instantly took hold. Because the localized gust of wind from his previous dodge had perfectly stacked his critical hit chance, the impact was completely devastating.
Boom!
A critical hit successfully registered. The tiger’s health bar completely vanished in a single, brutal strike.
Just as the first beast collapsed, four crescent blades of pure, destructive light shot straight towards his back.
Caelus confidently flicked his fingers without even looking back. "Compressed Lightning Shot."
A highly condensed sphere of pure electricity blasted outward. It cleanly collided with two of the incoming Saber Lights, instantly triggering a massive explosion that completely blinded the beasts and wreaked absolute havoc on their internal organs.
He smoothly sidestepped the remaining two attacks, effortlessly triggering another violent gust of wind that blew the surviving tigers back into the jagged rocky terrain.
Caelus did not give them a single moment to recover their footing. He immediately utilized Weapon Manifestation, spending 7.5 Mana to unleash a sharp, terrifying wave of weapon energy.
The energy wave sliced cleanly through two of the stunned tigers, dropping their lifeless bodies to the ground instantly.
The final two tigers roared in utter panic and lunged to bite him directly. Caelus simply stepped sideways like a phantom, his dagger flashing brightly in the ambient blue light of his domain. Two clean slices across their exposed throats officially ended the brief bloodbath.
The massive bodies collapsed heavily onto the rocky ground.
[System: You have killed a Level 4 Common Saber-Toothed Tiger.]
[System: You have received +29 Iron EXP, 15 Origin Credits.]
[System: You have killed a Level 4 Common Saber-Toothed Tiger.]
[System: You have received +29 Iron EXP, 15 Origin Credits.]
[System: You have killed a Level 4 Common Saber-Toothed Tiger.]
[System: You have received +28 Iron EXP, 15 Origin Credits.]
[System: You have killed a Level 4 Common Saber-Toothed Tiger.]
[System: You have received +28 Iron EXP, 15 Origin Credits.]
[System: You have killed a Level 4 Common Saber-Toothed Tiger.]
[System: You have received +27 Iron EXP, 15 Origin Credits.]
[Level: 2 (442/ 500)]
Caelus exhaled softly as the crackling lightning around him slowly faded into nothingness. He had finished eliminating a full pack of Level 4 Saber-Toothed Tigers without breaking a single drop of sweat.
He calmly walked up to the massive carcasses and placed his hand on the first beast.
[System: Extraction Successful...]
[System: You have received Saber Tooth Essence.]
[System: You have received 10kg of Fresh Tiger Meat.]
He smoothly repeated the extraction process for the next three tigers, gathering more essence and fresh meat.
[Combat Score: 15.55 -> 15.75]
His raw stats increased subtly. The essence gathering this time was kind of on the unlucky side.
Did the treasure chest drain all his luck?
Then, he placed his bare hand on the fifth and final carcass.
[System: Extraction Successful...]
[System: You have obtained the Talent: Saber Light (E-Rank).]
[System: You have received 10kg of Fresh Tiger Meat.]
"A talent?" Caelus raised his eyebrows in pleasant surprise.
But before he could even process the new ability, his system interface violently flickered with a completely new prompt.
[System: Resonance Detected.]
[System: The E-Rank Talent ’Saber Light’ and the D-Rank Talent ’Weapon Manifestation’ have merged.]
[System: You have successfully obtained the D-Rank Talent: Weapon Light Barrage.]
"They merged?" Caelus stared at the notification in shock. He quickly opened the skill description.
[Talent: Weapon Light Barrage (D-Rank) - Unleash a continuous, devastating barrage of manifested weapon light that perfectly mimics the physical sharpness of a saber. Cost: 15 Mana per activation.]
