Endless Extraction in a Game-Like World

Whoosh!

Blinding light assaulted both Sylvia and Caelus.

In the next moment, they were back at the bustling park in District A of Fortis City.

"We made it back safely." As soon as she descended, Sylvia jumped directly into Caelus’s lap.

The onlookers walking around the park gasped when they saw the sudden public display of affection.

"Hey, everyone is looking," Caelus said speechlessly.

He could smell the sweet scent of the young lady sitting in his lap up close. Even after hours of fighting, she still smelled like lavender. The exact same could not be said for Caelus, though.

"You need a shower," Sylvia blinked and spoke.

"You do not need to say that. I know that myself."

Caelus’s lips twitched. Damn, where was his special scent as a Chaos Perception Dragon?

Ring!

Just then, Sylvia’s phone rang loudly. Hearing the chime, she took it out of her pocket with an absentminded expression.

However, as soon as she saw the caller ID, her red eyes constricted. She swiftly jumped out of Caelus’s lap to take the call. At that exact moment, her expression was completely devoid of any emotion.

"Yes... Yes... yeah... I will be right there." Sylvia affirmed multiple times before quickly cutting the call.

"What happened?" Caelus frowned. She suddenly seemed to be in a terrible mood.

"Something happened. I need to leave quickly," Sylvia spoke, a highly complicated expression forming on her flawless face. "I will come look for you once this is over. Wait for me at school."

As she said that, without even waiting for Caelus’s reply, she frantically ran away, acting almost as if she were afraid someone might see her here.

"..." Caelus said nothing upon seeing her abrupt departure.

It looked like something had gone terribly wrong. But since she did not want to tell him yet, there was no need to be pushy about it.

With a heavy sigh, he also took his phone out to check the time.

"Huh?" Caelus gasped.

The instant his eyes fell onto the screen, he saw the current date and time. "This does not make any sense."

The digital clock showed the 11th of January. The day he originally entered the Domain was the 5th of January, a Friday. Now almost a whole week had passed. Precisely six days to be exact!

"Could this be the so-called ’disconnected from reality’ penalty mentioned by Allstar?" Caelus was utterly stunned.

Did that not mean the Middle Expanse operated on a completely different space-time continuum? They were not even in the same world! This was a shocking revelation.

But then he quickly calmed down. It was not like he was going to miss anything crucial just because he skipped a week in the real world. His in-game town should be in the incredibly safe hands of his retainer, Prime. The golden knight was Level 10 before Caelus left for the Multi-Expanse Raid. His raw Combat Score should be more than enough to keep any greedy players at bay.

Just then, he caught sight of a new notification out of the corner of his eye. It was surprisingly an official email from the Fortis-01 High Head of Management.

[Notice of Expulsion: Caelus Kross]

[Starting today, you are no longer a student at Fortis-01 High. You have repeated punishable offenses multiple times. The academy has been lax with you for a while, but you are no longer eligible for a second chance. Please take your belongings from your dormitory and leave the premises, or else we will be forced to physically remove your things within a week’s time.]

"..." Caelus looked at the expulsion notification with absolute indifference.

He wondered briefly. Would things have been different if he had just revealed his SSS-Rank talent to the world? The answer was obviously yes. Here in this modern society, if you possessed a top-tier talent, you naturally commanded a high standing.

He knew exactly what he needed to do. For starters, he should go pack his belongings and find himself a new place to stay.

At the same time, he noticed several other unread notifications. They came directly from his Class-03 group chat.

[Toby: @Caelus. This is exactly what you get for messing with me, you bitch. You got expelled. Good luck being homeless.]

[Brad: Now do not be so rude, Toby. He will start crying, hahaha.]

[Ivy: He entirely deserves it. He thinks the world revolves around him when, in reality, he is just a weakling that can only hurt those weaker than him.]

[Brad: Anyways, Class Rep. Kick this loser out of the group chat. He no longer belongs to Fortis-01 High. Why is he still here?]

[Ivy: Yeah, kick him.]

[Diona: Yeah, kick him out. He has been a nuisance since the first year. Thank god he is finally gone now.]

[You have been kicked from the Class-03 Group Chat of Fortis-01 High.]

Caelus stared at the chat logs with burning anger.

It had not been long since he crossed over to this world, but he had inherited all the painful memories of the original Caelus. By now, he had completely taken on the role and the feelings of the boy whose body he inhabited.

"To be this incredibly heartless. The world truly is a dark place," Caelus clicked his tongue in disgust.

Right beneath the toxic group chat was another private message. It was from his good friend. He had actually received this message the day before the Domain opened, but he never had the time to check it during the chaos.

[Albert: Caelus, this is abrupt, but an emergency has arisen in the Windborne Kingdom. It is related to my mother, and I have departed for the border with my father. The communication signal will not work there, so you will not be able to contact me for a while.]

Caelus sighed upon reading this. No wonder his friend was offline.

He knew a bit about his background. Albert’s full name was Albert Lionheart. His father was a prominent business magnate operating across the Solaris Kingdom and its neighbors. During his travels, he met Albert’s mother, who was actually a runaway princess from the Windborne Kingdom. It looked like the political situation there had taken a turn for the worse.

He could only silently offer his blessings to his friend’s family as he stood up from the park bench.

This world was undeniably dark. The surrounding kingdoms constantly hated each other and frequently waged bloody wars. In fact, Caelus’s own parents had died as martyrs in one of those exact border conflicts. The Awakened players hated each other’s guts for petty reasons. With supernatural power, people simply wanted to violently assert their superiority over the weak.

The Solaris Kingdom was bordered by the Windborne Kingdom, the Ritewing Kingdom, and the Windblown Kingdom. They were currently located on the Western Continent of the Azure Origin Planet, a vast landmass commonly known as Continent Aria.

The most prominent superpower in this world was the Holy Church, established by a massive guild worshipping an ancient god from the Domain. They originated from the Central Plains, but a branch church existed in almost every major city. They seldom showed themselves to the general public, but they were deeply notorious for enforcing extreme purity in the name of the God of Boundless Light.

There were still countless mysteries related to the Domain hidden in this world, along with a lot of special individuals pulling the strings in the shadows.

This was really just the beginning of his journey.

However, just as he began walking back toward the academy to pack his bags, he suddenly stopped and frowned. He turned his attention to his left.

There was a large, open courtyard covered by a faint privacy barrier. Stationed around the perimeter were dozens of men in dark suits. In the very center of it all was an old man with slicked-back white hair and a terrifyingly muscular body, wearing nothing but a tank top. He was moving his limbs with a profound, heavy rhythm, and visible steam was rolling off his hot skin.

Caelus squinted his draconic eyes, analyzing the specific movements.

"Those forms... is that the Aura Manifestation Technique?"