Endless Extraction in a Game-Like World-Chapter 40: A Combat Score of 41.15! The Lie of the Mysterious Pool

Chapter 40: A Combat Score of 41.15! The Lie of the Mysterious Pool

The door clicked open. Albert, a towering wall of newly refined muscle, slowly entered the room.

Instead of the heavy, brooding silence he expected after a world-shaking event, he was greeted by the melodramatic audio of a romance web series.

"So it was all a lie? Every single word we shared?"

"You knew about the will this entire time and you did not tell me?!"

"I gave up my entire life for you, and this is how you repay me?"

Albert glanced at the source of the voices with a bewildered expression. He stared at the figure comfortably laying in the bed.

The phone screen illuminated Caelus’s face, reflecting a deeply serious expression as he watched the trashy drama unfold.

Albert’s lips twitched violently. "Brother Caelus, the entire Solaris Kingdom is in a massive uproar and you are here watching a romance drama series?"

He did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"What else can I do? I am lowering my cortisol by chilling in bed after an eventful day. Do you see how I look right now?"

"Looks like you had some crazy encounters of your own, Caelus," Albert said with a heavy sigh.

"You could say that," Caelus replied. "I never expected things to turn out this way or to enter a World Quest area so unexpectedly."

Honestly, far too much had happened today.

He had awakened as a Chaos Perception Dragon, drastically changing his physical appearance as a result. He had survived the terrifying Ender’s Tale and casually completed his first World Quest. After realizing a full day had passed in the outside world, he had simply taken a hot shower, emptied his exhausted mind, and put on a trashy drama.

Missing a single day in the Domain did not matter at all. His Combat Score was sitting comfortably in the forties, and his loyal Knight retainer had full authority to keep the town running smoothly in his absence.

As of right now, the top geniuses of Fortis-01 High were completely beneath him.

"So what exactly happened to you?" Albert asked, tilting his head. His roommate’s hair had turned entirely white, and his facial features had become vastly more handsome. If he was below average before, he was undeniably striking now.

"What happened?" Caelus echoed. "It is a long story. But I encountered a top-tier Mysterious Pool in Golden Eagle City."

"A Mysterious Pool?" Albert’s expression turned strange.

A Mysterious Pool was exactly as its name suggested. Whoever encountered and entered one would gain massive, unexpected benefits. A huge boost to Combat Score, increased elemental affinity, drastic changes in appearance, rare talents, or perhaps even supreme skills.

But the catch was that across the entire Solaris Kingdom, throughout its 251 years of recorded history, only sixty-seven Mysterious Pools had ever been found.

"So it turned out to be a Mysterious Pool. You really are incredibly lucky, Brother Caelus," Albert said with a sigh.

If Caelus was strong before, then he was an unstoppable beast right now. Albert knew he simply could not match his roommate’s Combat Score.

Caelus simply nodded. He did not reveal anything about his true change of race or the dark matter of the Enders. This was strictly not something anyone else should know about.

His hidden identity as an Ender and a Chaos Perception Dragon was not something he could casually reveal right now. He needed to first understand exactly what it was and where it came from.

With that thought in mind, he silently checked his status window.

[Name: Caelus Kross]

[Race: Chaos Perception Dragon (Locked)]

[Class: Ender]

[Aspect: Chaos Perception Eyes (Mythical, 1-Star)]

[Talent: Endless Extraction (SSS-Rank), Body Enhancement (D-Rank), Dexterity (C-Rank), Fire Manipulation (D-Rank), Lightning Domain (Lower B-Rank), Charge (D-Rank), Weapon Light Barrage (D-Rank), Shadow Hand (D-Rank), Projection Frame (Upper A-Rank)]

[HP: 110/110]

[CA: 100/100]

[Rank: Iron I]

[Level: 6 (39/1,400)]

[Combat Score: 41.15]

[Affinity: E-Rank]

[Origin Credits: 13,971]

[Reputation: 16]

[Title: Rookie Emperor (Passive Skill), Town Leader of Server 513]

[Skill: Fireball (Common, 1-Star), Blood Manipulation (Common, 1-Star), Compressed Lightning Shot (Rare, 1-Star), Lightning Step (Common, 1-Star), Weapon Manifestation (Common, 1-Star)]

The first thing he noticed was his combat score. It had increased by three instead of the usual two and that’s because of his class passive which gave him an increment to all four dimensional stats to raise his combat score by an additional point.

Then, his eyes fell onto the aspect.

The Chaos Perception Eyes were not a mere skill; they were an Aspect. And as someone who now held an Aspect, he understood exactly what that meant.

It was the core power aspect of a supreme race. Right now, he had at best awakened one percent of the Chaos Perception Dragon’s true powers.

He did not even possess its true physical form yet.

As a result, while his Combat Score had increased exponentially, he was still technically half-human.

There were still many more Aspects waiting to be unlocked. One of them was the true Dragon Transformation physique, which would undoubtedly be game-breaking.

Then, Albert spoke up again. "Caelus, I heard wild rumors from the people on Server 513 that you possess a retainer now. Is that true?"

"Yep. I do. It is a Knight at the Legendary rarity," Caelus said with a simple nod.

"What?! A Knight at the Legendary rarity?" Albert was completely tongue-tied.

Every man had a similar fantasy: having a loyal knight in shining armor blindly following their orders and eliminating enemies with ease, no matter how strong they were.

It seemed like Caelus was literally living out their deepest fantasies!

"That settles it, Brother." Albert slammed a heavy fist into his open palm, making a firm decision. "I am immediately shifting to Server 513."

"What?" Caelus recoiled, shaking his head speechlessly. "Why are you trying to get into my server? If you do that, there will be fewer monsters for me to hunt. No way. Stay away. Shoo."

"Just wait for the mandatory server merge. It is not that far off, is it?"

"Oh yeah, that is true." Albert showed a highly helpless smile. "Caelus, I will probably shift servers by tomorrow or the day after. Meaning I will be actively fighting your town for resources."

"Yeah, do not worry. You are not winning," Caelus said with a highly confident chuckle.

"Hey... at least be lenient on your fellow schoolmates," Albert replied with a dry laugh.

If a town was lost in a server war, the defeated players would automatically become citizens of the winning faction. The victorious Town Leader could then set tyrannical taxes on them, forcing them to hand over a set percentage of any new items entering their inventory. Furthermore, the defeated players would lose all access to their respawn cabins in the old town. Unless the new Town Leader explicitly granted them permission, they would be barred from using the safe zones.

Cabins were essentially a vital lifeline in the Domain.

Once the beginner servers were no longer considered newbie zones, players did not normally respawn. If you died, you died permanently. The cabins were the final line of defense against true death.

Depending on the cabin’s level, a player could respawn inside it at least once before it went into a lengthy cooldown. It could literally save someone from permanent erasure. Of course, it was not infinite. Once a player respawned, they would not be able to do so again for a long while. Meaning, if they died again during that cooldown, it resulted in permanent death.

Because the cabins were that incredibly important, players simply could not afford to lose their towns to rival factions. That was exactly why they had to fight so ruthlessly. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"The Domain will officially open in a few hours. I plan on entering. What about you?" Caelus changed the subject and inquired.

"I am going in too. I wish to get stronger. You are already so far ahead, I cannot afford to lag behind," Albert said with burning determination.