Endless Extraction in a Game-Like World

"Quick! Someone call the Player Association!"

"We need to hand this criminal over to the association immediately," Instructor Aron yelled, his face turning freezing cold as he glared at Caelus.

He had been genuinely shocked at first, but he still vividly remembered Caelus casually calling him a pig earlier that week. What the boy just did was highly punishable by law. Caelus was technically no longer a registered student at the academy, making this an aggravated assault on minors.

"There is no need to call the Player Association. We are already here."

Just then, a booming voice that Caelus found extremely familiar echoed through the courtyard. Everyone froze in their tracks upon hearing it.

---

"I have been waiting for you for an entire week. Where exactly did you disappear to?" Leonard looked at his younger sister, Sylvia, with a stern, icy smile.

"I was almost ready to turn this entire kingdom upside down if you had not shown up today. My patience was running dangerously thin," he added, picking up his coffee cup and taking a calm sip.

"I had something very important come up."

"Whatever. You should know exactly why I am here today, Sylvia," Leonard said, his tone turning dead serious. "Do you realize the gravity of what you have done?"

"I am talking about your Blood Bond," he specified. "Father is still completely unaware of this matter. But if he ever finds out, you can forget about leaving the castle ever again. Our father had already arranged a suitor with an S-Rank mana affinity and a Middle A-Rank talent for you. But you boldly chose someone with the absolute worst affinity possible. That is detrimental for us in the long run..."

"It will make it vastly harder for our eventual ascension," Leonard said with a cold look. "I want to personally meet this man with the E-Rank affinity. Caelus Kross was his name, was it not?"

"You are way too reckless, my sister." Leonard sighed heavily, picking up the remote and turning on the suite’s massive television.

"I am your sister. So, of course, I am reckless." Sylvia playfully stuck her tongue out.

She knew her older brother was finally done reprimanding her, so she began to show her usual quirks. He was the one who always covered for her mistakes. Even now, her strict father was under the illusion that Sylvia was safely studying with Leonard in the Central Plains.

However, just as the television flickered to life, Sylvia completely froze.

"Breaking news! A former student named Caelus Kross, possessing an E-Rank affinity, was reportedly expelled from Fortis-01 High. He has just returned for violent revenge! All the elite students are currently groaning on the floor as we stream this live!"

"He single-handedly took them all down in seconds!"

"Pfff!"

Leonard spat out his coffee, staring at the news broadcast with wide eyes. On the screen stood a young man with a lean physique, striking white hair, and a thin, mocking smile. Surrounding his feet were dozens of severely injured elite students.

"Caelus Kross... My little sister... is this not your—" Leonard cut his words off mid-sentence when he saw Sylvia’s expression. Her flawless face had turned completely freezing cold as she stared unblinking at the screen.

However, just then, someone else entered the live broadcast frame.

"O-Oh... look who it is, everyone! It is the Association Head of the Player Association here in Fortis City, Chairman Welt, and his trusted subordinate, Mr. Brown!"

---

"Just wait a few more days, Lena. Your merged region has far more competition right now. But it will soon leave the newbie phase and merge with the main servers. Once that happens, I will personally carry you. Across all servers, no matter where you start, the Endless Expanse will always be the same shared map for everyone. Hence, we will enter the Divine Region right at the start to clear out high-tier mobs and get you some premium gear."

"The Divine Region is a brand-new sector, and not many players have successfully explored it yet."

"Of course, I will have to officially descend there first to scout the area."

"Thank you, Big Brother Marco."

Marco Ashborn was an elite member of the second vanguard team of the Black Lightning Guild. He had officially joined the prestigious guild a year ago after graduating with honors from the Solaris Royal University.

"Speaking of which, did you finally get rid of Caelus? Father asked me to handle it if you could not. But I firmly believe you should not get your own hands dirty like this. You are still young," Marco ruffled Lena’s hair softly.

"It is all handled. Father had already sent two hidden operatives to take care of it. They are just waiting for the perfect time to strike. And he has already been officially expelled by the academy," Lena smiled coldly.

"That is good," Marco heaved a deep sigh of relief. "If the matters regarding his parents’ martyr benefits ever leak to the public, our father will be in massive trouble. He aggressively embezzled those pension funds for both your cultivation and his own political sake."

"Everyone, an urgent situation has arisen!" Just then, a suited man rushed into the VIP lounge with a glowing tablet in his hand.

It showed the live local news feed.

Both Lena’s and Marco’s expressions changed drastically, turning incredibly ugly in a matter of seconds.

---

"Association Head! This brat right here returned to the school solely to enact his violent revenge on these poor students just because he was expelled for causing trouble!" Instructor Aron pointed an accusing finger at Caelus and shouted.

Caelus clicked his tongue in deep annoyance. He was just about to curse the hypocritical instructor out when Old Man Welt slowly turned toward him.

"Is this true, young friend?" Old Man Welt had a warm, kind smile on his face. He clearly did not believe Aron’s frantic accusations for a second.

"It is absolutely true, Association Head!" Just then, a frantic Toby spoke up from the sidelines, slightly trembling. "He got expelled because he repeatedly broke the academy rules and even brutally hurt me in combat class!"

"You! Shut your mouth!" Principal Haris suddenly whipped around and glared murderously at Toby.

"It is actually nothing, Association Head. It is just a massive clerical mistake on our administration’s behalf. I never intended to expel Student Caelus!" Principal Haris turned toward Welt, sweating profusely as he spoke.

"No. He is completely lying," Caelus blinked, staring at Principal Haris in sheer disbelief.

What the hell? Why was this corrupt principal suddenly changing lanes? Everyone present knew perfectly well that expelling a student did not happen without the highest authority’s explicit permission.

Principal Haris naturally had a very solid reason to suddenly change his tune. The raw combat power Caelus just effortlessly displayed was far beyond even the absolute best Special Class students. This meant Caelus was an extreme, monstrous talent who had been actively hiding his true power until now!

Haris had not given Caelus’s expulsion a second thought earlier because he believed the boy held zero value to the school’s reputation. He only cared about the talented elites. In fact, if Toby had been in Caelus’s place as a talentless outcast, Haris would have expelled him without batting an eye.

"Student Caelus. There is absolutely no need to make any more trouble. It was just a foolish mistake on behalf of our incompetent staff. You are always welcome to stay at Fortis-01 High!"

"..." Caelus stared at the sweating principal with a completely deadpan look.

Just as he was about to speak up, someone else from the crowd interrupted.