[System: Extraction Successful...]
[System: Extraction Successful...]
[System: Extraction Successful...]
[System: Extraction Successful...]
[System: Extraction Successful...]
[System: Extraction Successful...]
[System: Extraction Successful...]
[System: You have received Essence of the Boar x2]
[System: You have received 70kg of Fresh Boar Meat]
[System: Your stats have increased.]
"I didn't get their skill." Caelus sighed, looking at the floating notifications.
Just his luck. He had hoped for 'Boar Rage' or something similar.
Well, it was better than nothing. The raw stats were permanent, unlike a temporary buff.
[Name: Caelus Kross]
[Class: None]
[Talent: Endless Extraction (SSS-Rank)]
[HP: 100/100]
[Mana: 100/100]
[Realm: Iron]
[Level: 1 (65/200)]
[Physique: E-Grade]
[Combat Score: 5.45]
His combat score had reached 5.45.
By now, Caelus's stamina had recovered slightly.
"If I could cook this boar meat, I could rapidly restore my stamina."
Stamina was a hidden status value. You could not see a bar for it, but if it became dangerously low, the system would send a critical danger alert. Stamina played a crucial role in how active one could be and how effectively one could push through the game's challenges.
And it was even said that higher-ranked players had something like a special transcendence core which gave them infinite stamina or something. He was not sure if this was real or not.
Caelus slowly sat up from the grass and moved to a nearby fallen trunk to rest. For now, his top priority was getting back to full energy. After that, he would complete the mission of getting ten kills and push for Level 2.
Currently, everyone in the server was at the Iron I Ranks.
The power system was divided into distinct Ranks. After Iron came Bronze. After Bronze was Silver.
And each rank was divided into three stages: I, II, and III.
Each stage had 20 levels. At the 21st level, one had to undergo an advancement quest. Once a player advanced, their combat score would evolve.
For example, his current combat score was calculated on an [Iron Stage I] scale. It would turn into an [Iron Stage II] score once he reached the threshold. It was speculated that one needed a combat score of at least 100 in the Iron Stage I just to equal a combat score of 1 in the [Iron Stage II].
It was a massive threshold. To this date, nobody had ever crossed into [Iron Stage II] while still in the [Iron Stage I].
Of course, the possibility wasn't nonexistent. It was just that Caelus had never seen someone reach that level of power despite being Iron I.
"My combat score is steadily increasing."
"An ordinary Level 1 has a combat score of 1. A Level 2 usually has a score of 4, and a Level 3 holds a score of around 6. A Level 4 hits 8."
As he was right now, he was sitting on the threshold of Level 3 power, infinitely close to it.
Of course, this calculation was without taking party buffs or equipment into account. A Level 3 player from an above average family might have a combat score of 8 or even 9 due to their already trained body and buffs from teammates.
But as a solo player at Level 1, Caelus was an anomaly.
"I need a higher combat score."
Caelus clenched his fists. "But more importantly, I need more combat experience."
He looked back on his fight with the boars.
It was extremely poor.
The previous Caelus hated taking combat lessons. He genuinely wondered if his past self had any survival instincts at all. It was common knowledge that everyone would enter the Domain eventually, yet he had neglected his training entirely.
"Sigh... This is a sin you will never be able to wash away, previous Me."
"But... can I extract combat experience from other players?" Caelus became thoughtful.
If he could extract proficiency or muscle memory, that would be a game-changer.
Could he cheat his way into becoming a pro overnight?
Just the thought alone made him feel excited.
At the very least, he wanted to reach a level where he would not embarrass himself. Just imagine: two beautiful ladies watching him fight, and he was panic-rolling around the ground like an idiot, dodging with no control whatsoever.
Yeah, just imagining it was humiliating.
Caelus decided to clear his name. Since he had the means to reclaim the potential he should have had, he needed to fix his combat problem immediately.
He was quite literally wasting the potential of the D-Rank Body Enhancement due to his lack of skill.
"This extraction talent is a godsend." Caelus sighed with emotion.
He might become a notorious criminal known for killing players left and right in the future. But what the world might not know was that their sacrifices would progress the salvation of the Azure Origin Planet.
"I will help everyone clear dungeons by becoming the strongest. Yes, I am helping humanity reclaim our world. Their temporary deaths are a worthy sacrifice for my rise."
Caelus nodded, justifying his future villainy with twisted logic.
Just then, the bushes in front of him abruptly shifted. Three people emerged from the foliage.
"A player?"
The young man walking in the front spoke first. He looked to be about the same age as Caelus.
"Greetings," the young man said swiftly, raising his hands to show he held no weapons. "No need to be alert. We were just passing by and looking for a place to rest after a battle."
Behind the young man was a burly guy carrying a shield and a girl holding a magic staff.
Magic staffs were available as a starter weapon. They amplified the spellcasting of a mage class. A 1-Star Fire Spell, the most basic attack, could be amplified two times over with a starter staff.
"It looks like you guys are a party." Caelus gestured toward them casually.
"You guys can rest here if you want. This is a safe space. I haven't detected anything nearby so far, and I have already taken care of the boars here."
"Took care of the boars?" The party exchanged skeptical glances.
"You must be joking, brother. The intel said there was an Elite Boar and its entire pack in this clearing."
"Yeah, I took care of it." Caelus crossed his legs, putting on an indifferent look.
He sat on the tree trunk, radiating the aura of a hidden expert. He felt quite proud of his acting skills.
Just then, the girl holding the magic staff stepped forward, squinting her eyes.
"Huh? Aren't you Caelus? The guy with the E-Rank Affinity?"