Endless Extraction in a Game-Like World

However, that was it. After the initial good drop, he got absolute garbage.

[You got 100 Origin Credits]

[You got nothing... better luck next time.]

By the time Caelus reached the tenth spin, the system finally took pity on him.

[You’ve got 1x EXP Booster Card (Legendary, 1-star)]

"Damn gacha," Caelus cursed, though a sigh quickly followed.

"But at least I got a Chaos Awakening Stone," he coped.

Seeking to salvage the loot run, Caelus turned to the female wolf Sylvia had violently killed and attempted an extraction.

[Extraction failed...]

"Tch." Caelus clicked his tongue in annoyance seeing this.

At least he got the Chaos Awakening Stone...

He turned to Sylvia, expecting her usual smugness, but found her staring at her bloodied hands with an empty, expressionless gaze.

"I did it again... No... Why... why couldn’t I do it normally?" she mumbled. Her eyes were emotionless as she stared at her hands.

"What happened, Sylvia?" Caelus stepped forward, nudging her shoulder gently.

She usually bathed in the bloodshed of beasts with a big smile, so seeing her like this sent a spike of genuine concern through him.

Was it the fact that the wolf had been sentient?

She usually didn’t feel anything about eliminating non-sentient beasts, neither did anyone else in the domain, they merely treated them as ants.

Perhaps, this was a flashback to something much darker?

Hearing his voice, Sylvia snapped out of her daze and pointed at the mangled wolf on the ground.

"I killed her," she whispered. "I did it with no remorse."

She looked up at him, her eyes wide with a confused look. "Hey, Caelus. Do you think I am an evil woman?"

Caelus frowned. "Calm down, Sylvia." He kept his voice serious. "In this domain, killing is the norm. It is a matter of survival. The Origin Network treats us like rats in a lab, and whatever twisted experiment it is running, it forces our hands. If we do not adapt, we die."

He sighed, the adrenaline finally leaving his system had left a heavy weight in his chest. He thought he had gotten used to the killing, but the reality of this two versus two match was setting in. It was kill or be killed. Manipulate or be manipulated. It reminded him too much of his past, the bullies who picked on him simply because he was weak. If he wanted to survive, he could not afford to be weak again.

"We can work it out," Caelus said softly, hesitating for only a moment before resting his hand on her head and giving her a reassuring pat. "The reason you are like this... I am sure you did not become this way without a reason."

He gave her a knowing look. He would bet anything it had to do with her vampire lineage.

’I need to meet her family someday,’ he thought.

"Caelus..." Sylvia stared at him, her wide eyes shimmering before the tension slowly melted from her shoulders. A soft, pleasant smile broke through the gloom. "Thank you."

’It is just like back then,’ Sylvia reminisced, gazing up at him. ’Even if you have lost your memories, you will always be my savior. You pulled me off my dark path once... and you are here to comfort me again.’

Her self-loathing dissolved, anchored by his presence. Taking a deep breath, she let her familiar, teasing demeanor slide back into place.

"I knew I could count on my blood-bond~" Sylvia let out a soft giggle, leaning in close until her lips brushed his ear. "And you patted my head. Is this how you show your affection, Caelus?"

"Tch." Caelus rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue again. "You are a shameless opportunist. You know that, right?"

"Is it bad for me to joke around now~?"

"Whatever, before we go, let us sort our rewards out."

Caelus checked his stats.

[Name: Caelus Kross]

[Race: Chaos Perception Dragon (Locked)]

[Lifespan: 125 Years]

[Class: Ender, Inferno Controller]

[Profession: Blacksmith (Tier 1: Iron II) (1,000/25,000 EXP), Engineer (Tier 1: Iron I) (2,000/25,000 EXP)]

[Aspect: Chaos Perception Eyes (Mythical, 1-Star), Soul-Rending Jaw (Rare, 1-star)]

[Talent: Endless Extraction (SSS-Rank), Body Enhancement (Recalibrate) (D-Rank), Dexterity (C-Rank), Fire Manipulation (D-Rank), Lightning Domain (Recalibrate) (Lower B-Rank), Charge (D-Rank), Weapon Light Barrage (D-Rank), Shadow Hand (D-Rank), Projection Frame (Upper A-Rank), First Generation: Spark Ignition (C-Rank), Tremor Authority (Middle B-Rank), Poison Application (E-Rank), Laser Manipulation (Lower B-Rank), Spirit Tether (Lower B-Rank), Matter Assimilation (C-Rank), Split Awareness (D-Rank)]

[Mod: Golden Light]

[HP: 195/195 (Recovery: 5/min)]

[CA: 185/185]

[Aura: 30/30 (Recovery: 2/min)]

[Rank: Iron II]

[Aura Rank: Tier 5 (0/100)]

[Level: 18 (0/3,600)]

[Combat Score: 96.50 (Iron II)]

[Affinity: D-Rank]

[Origin Credits: 38,483]

[Reputation: 65]

[Title: Rookie God (Passive Skill), Town Leader of Server 513, Harvester (Rare)]

[Skill: Fireball (Common, 1-Star), Blood Manipulation (Common, 1-Star), Compressed Lightning Singularity (Legendary, 1-Star), Lightning Step (Common, 1-Star), Weapon Manifestation (Common, 1-Star), Tremor (Rare, 1-Star), Thunderclap (Rare, 1-Star), Stream (Epic), Plasma Nuke (Mythical, 1-Star), Laser Shot (Rare, 1-Star), Point-Defense Grid (Epic, 1-Star), Aura Density, Glacial Prison (Epic, 1-star), Icicle Spear Impalement (Epic, 1-Star), Cleanse (Common, 1-Star)]

[Class Skills: Ender Passives (???,???), Inferno Tornado (Epic, 1-Star)]

[Profession Skills: Rainbow Light Forge (Tier 1: Iron II), Herb Gatherer (Tier 1: Iron I), Flash Patterning (Tier 1: Iron I), Golden Miner (Tier 1: Iron I)]

He was doing really well, but compared to Iron I, his combat score was not relatively as high. He needed to put in more grind.

Then, Caelus sighed and utilized his Chaos Awakening Stone.

[Choose an option]

[System: Please select a core aspect to awaken:]

[1. Chaos Dragon Body]

[2. Chaos Dragon Aspects]

[3. Chaos Dragon Traits]

[4. Chaos Dragon Skills]

"Should I go for a skill this time?"

But on the other hand, he was against it.

He should go for the body option this time as well!

Last time he went with the body option and got the Dragon Heart.

But there was something specific he was interested in. A Chaos Dragon’s brain matrix.

He wanted to see what sort of unexpected results he would gain from this.

Besides, he was very eager to turn into a full fledged dragon and only by unlocking these will he be able to access Dragon Transformation.

Without hesitation, he selected it from the list.

[Chaos Perception Dragon Brain Matrix Selected.]

Immediately, the world around him began to rapidly glitch.