Awakening: Reincarnating With the SSS-Level Extraction Talent

As the sun began to rise, the streets filled with the remains of a chaotic night.

With the defeat of the [Night Howler Terror], no more [Night Howlers] could be summoned, leaving the remaining stragglers easy prey for the players and guards.

Those who hadn't hidden were already tearing through the last of the creatures, taking advantage of the now vulnerable beasts.

Byt the time the sun was up, each monster had been killed, granting Alex an additional 218 point in strength and 137 in agility, these night howlers were more of a blessing that Alex would have ever anticipated.

In his past life, these things had been such a chore to fight, yet here he was now, able to one shot all of them!

Ding!

[The First Event has been completed.]

...

[Points Ranking]

[First, FateBreaker, 1327 points]

[Second, Fallen Devil, 743 points]

[Third, Shadow, 645 points]

[Fourth, Miria, 531 points]

[Fifth, BeastMode, 530 points]

...

Alex smirked as he read the results. He was still leagues ahead of anyone else. Not even [Fallen Devil], the second place holder, had come close.

Ding!

[You have achieved an SSS-Rating during the first event!]

[Obtained: S-Rank Shadow Pet Egg!]

He glanced at the item that appeared in his inventory.

The egg was jet black, swirling with dark, smoke-like tendrils across its surface.

It pulsed faintly as if alive, radiating an ominous, yet intriguing, aura.

He couldn't hatch it yet, but the idea of gaining a pet was good.

[The hatching method is not available yet.]

A [Shadow Pet], no less, this was an incredible reward.

These pets were known for their power and stealth, capable of dealing immense damage from the shadows while remaining unseen.

It was a perfect match for his growing power.

The egg vanished into his panel, stored away for now.

Pets couldn't be carried in normal backpacks anyway; they had their own space within the system.

As Alex pondered the egg's potential, the system prompted him once more.

Ding!

[Reminder: Earth Shield and Fire Storm have reached level 10!]

[Reminder: Your Extraction Points have exceeded 100 (currently sitting at 337).]

"Oh yeah..." Alex muttered, remembering that fighting this many monsters obviously allowed his skills to level up.

Despite all his achievements though, the system was tight with skill points, forcing him to carefully choose when and how to upgrade his abilities.

[Skill Points: 23]

Notice how even with all his achievements, Alex only had barely enough skill points to upgrade his skills, this was to show just how difficult leveling one of your skills up was!

[Earth Shield has reached level 10; it can be upgraded to 'Stone Barrier' using 10 skill points!]

[Fire Storm has reached level 10; it can be upgraded to 'Inferno Tempest' using 10 skill points!]

Without hesitation, Alex spent 20 of his points to upgrade both skills.

Ding! Ding!

[You have used 10 skill points to upgrade 'Earth Shield' to 'Stone Barrier'!]

[You have used 10 skill points to upgrade 'Fire Storm' to 'Inferno Tempest'!]

[Stone Barrier Level 1; create a barrier around you that can block up to 3000 damage at once; costs 500 mana; one-minute cooldown.]

[Inferno Tempest level 1; deal 100% of your spirit to enemies in a large area; consumes 1000 mana; 20-second cooldown]

Alex nodded in approval.

These new upgrades would significantly enhance his defenses and offensive capabilities.

With [Stone Barrier], he could withstand even harder hits, and [Inferno Tempest] would rain destruction on anyone foolish enough to challenge him.

The cooldowns were reasonable, and the mana cost was manageable, especially considering his Spirit attribute was sky-high.

Now, onto the Extraction Points.

Ding!

[Extraction Points: 337/100]

[You can upgrade your Extraction Talent!]

"Do it."

A golden light enveloped Alex's body, causing Alice, who had been nearby, to glance over in awe.

"Wow..." Alice whispered, her eyes wide as golden specks floated in the air around him, shimmering in the early morning light.

Alex, however, remained focused.

His eyes were locked on the system panels in front of him.

[Congratulations! Your "Extraction Talent" has been upgraded!]

[A random upgrade has been selected... Description Check!]

"Hm?"

[You can now check the descriptions of the items in your extraction prompt!]

A grin spread across Alex's face.

One of the biggest annoyances he'd had with the Extraction Talent was not knowing what each item was before he extracted it.

But now, that problem had been solved.

"Finally..." Alex muttered to himself, satisfied with the new functionality.

[Extraction Points to next level: 227/1000]

'Damn,' he thought.

This would take a while, but it was progress.

He couldn't complain.

With the upgrades completed, Alex decided to check his status window, assessing all the changes and additions from the night's event.

[ID:] FateBreaker

[Level:] 32 (3472/14000)

[Occupation:] Mage; Assassin

[Class:] Unparalleled Mage; Beginner Assassin

[Talent:] Extraction (SSS)

[Talent Effect #1: Upon defeating a monster, you are able to extract an item/attribute/skill/talent from them, with a 20% chance of the prompt appearing.]

[Perk #1: Description Check, you can now check the descriptions of the items before selecting them.]

[Talent Effect #2: Defeating monsters will grant you "Extraction Points", which you can use later on to enhance your talent or buy items.]

[Talent Effect #3: You can use this to extract the full potential of an item and thus enhance its powers.]

[Talent Effect #4: Synthesis; Combine two items, skills, or abilities to create something stronger]

[Health Points:] 4580 (Vitality * 10)

[Mana Points:] 11710 (Spirit * 10)

[Speed:] 447 (Agility * 1)

[Magic Damage:] 1171 (Spirit * 1)

[Physical Damage:] 1281 (Strength * 1)

[Magic Resistance:] 1171 + 3000 (Spirit * 1)

[Physical Resistance:] 485 + 3000 (Vitality * 1)

[Attributes:] Vitality 485; Strength 1281 + 1500; Agility 447 + 1000; Spirit 1171 + 1000

[Skills]:

(1 UPGRADE) [Grand Fireball Level 7; Deal 1800 points of damage to target + 100% of spirit to target; consumes 100 mana; 2-second cooldown.]

(1 UPGRADE) [Crimson Shard Level 6; Deals exactly 1250 damage to target; consumes 75 mana; 4-second cooldown.]

(1 UPGRADE) [Boulder Smash Level 5; create a small ball of rock that you can throw at enemy dealing 2400 damage, chance of stunning; consumes 200 mana; 10-second cooldown]

(1 UPGRADE) [Stone Barrier Level 1; create a barrier around you that can block up to 3000 damage at once; costs 500 mana; one-minute cooldown.]

(1 UPGRADE) [Inferno Tempest level 1; deal 100% of your spirit to enemies in a large area; consumes 1000 mana; 20-second cooldown]

(1 UPGRADE) [Powerful Slash Level 1; Deals 1500 of damage to target + 100% of strength to target, no cooldown.]

[Lightning Strike Level 8 ; Deal 1100 points of damage + 100% of spirit to target + 10% chance to cause stun to target; consumes 20 mana, 3-second cooldown.]

[Attributes Points:] 0

[Skill Points:] 3

[Prestige Points:] 23

[Equipment:] Elysian Staff of the Silver Mage (Legendary), Snake Backpack (Uncommon), Bear King's Chest Armor (rare), Poison Bear Dagger (Uncommon), Wild Boar Trophy (Rare), 2x Boar Meat, Fang of the Python (Epic), x4 Ghoul Wings (Uncommon), x2 Undead Boots (Uncommon); Ghastly Reaper's Cloak (Rare); Death Knight's Cursed Blade (Rare), Rat Helmet (Common), Superior Backpack (Legendary; 100 slots), Superior Awakener's Set (Mythical)

[Important Items:] Mage Tower Token (Artifact), Vial of Undead Blood (Legendary), Soul Contract (Artifact), Howler's Soul Shard (Legendary Material)

...

[The event has ended, you can now do whatever you want.]

As the system announced the end of the event, most players immediately logged out, relieved they had survived, even if they hadn't earned much from it.

Only a few had managed to score real rewards, and most left the battlefield feeling dejected, though it wasn't as bad as those who had actually died.

"My rank dropped because I didn't participate much last night..." Alice sighed as she looked at the points ranking.

Alex gave her a reassuring pat on the head. "Don't worry about it. We'll get stronger anyway."

Alice blushed at his gesture. "Thanks. So, what do you want to do now?"

"I think I'm going to log off. There's something I need to handle in the real world."

"Alright," Alice said with a smile. "I'll see you in like... uhm... 20 seconds," she laughed.

[Do you want to quit the game?]

"Yes."

Both Alex and Alice logged off, waking up in their shared villa bedroom.

They often slept together, like a married couple, despite their relationship still developing.

It was a comfort to be close, especially considering the dangers looming in both the game and the real world.

Immediately after waking up, Alex opened his contact panel.

There was something he needed to do, and it couldn't wait.

[Friends:]

[StarPillow: Offline - Chat]

[RichDad: Offline - Chat]

He clicked on [RichDad], sending a quick message to Richard, Alice's father.

[FateBreaker: Regarding the attack in four days, please do not place any guards close to the villa. Guns won't work on these things.]

He expected it to take hours for Richard to respond, given his busy schedule. But to his surprise, the reply came within seconds.

[RichDad: Ok.]

Richard didn't question Alex's warning.

His daughter trusted Alex, and that was enough for him.

Plus, Alex had proven time and time again that he knew what he was doing, especially when it came to threats.

With that taken care of, Alex sighed.

There was still so much to do.

In four days, the attack would happen, and although he had acted like a big shot in front of Richard, the truth was that Alex didn't have a surefire way to protect Alice in the real world yet.

He wasn't some superhuman out here.

He was just Alex Rogue.

Still, he had a plan—at least the start of one.

And no matter what, he was determined to keep Alice safe.

There was no other option.