God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World!

Chapter 48: Returning Back To The City

”Huh?” Gabriel blinked, staring at the red string of text flickering in his retina with a frown.

[Insufficient EP]

After killing who-knows-how-many monsters and nearly getting his spine shattered twice, Gabriel had proudly built up a massive EP reserve of 215.

’I thought that’d be enough to extract the corpse,’ he muttered. ’But who would’ve guessed it needs...’

[Required EP Cost: 300]

He felt mildly frustrated, but he wasn’t truly angry. He could always return to the ruins when he had enough Extraction Points.

His gaze lingered on the casket for a moment longer before he eventually turned and retraced his steps back to the place where he had fought the Ant Queen.

The cavern was unrecognizable—deep craters, shattered rocks. Even the starlite on the ceiling looked slightly unstable, as if it would fall with the slightest movement.

His gaze calmly swept across the battlefield. He remembered delivering the third slash—the one that made the Ant Queen explode into fragments.

All he needed now was to be close to one of those fragments for the extraction prompt to appear.

Just then, his eyes caught a large, curved chunk of chitin embedded in a nearby wall—definitely part of the queen.

[Ding! Do you want to extract LV.99 Ant Queen? Cost: 55 EP]

”Yes,” he said without hesitation. Following his answer, another screen appeared, this one listing the available options.

[Please choose what to extract]

[Royal Drone Egg]

[Carapace Skin]

[Piercing Fang Combo]

[+25 Strength]

Immediately seeing the options presented, Gabriel entered a state of dilemma.

’What should I choose?’

None of the options were lacking in any way.

He narrowed his eyes.

’Royal Drone Egg... sounds self-explanatory.’

If that was the case, he could potentially raise his own ant army. But nurturing a high-tier insect-type summon would take time, and it wasn’t exactly mobile or subtle. That kind of beast wouldn’t fit into every terrain or battle.

His eyes shifted to the second option—[Carapace Skin].

’That should be a defensive-type skin skill. Probably offers a ton of resistance.’

Then came [Piercing Fang Combo].

Just reading the name gave him a weird sense of excitement. It was probably a combo-style skill—maybe the one the Queen used during her mad flurry.

’That move could be very useful... but I already have the Three Combo Slash of Crimson Judgement.’

It would just be overlapping skill types, and he valued diversity in his arsenal.

And finally—

[+25 Strength]

A permanent stat boost that would instantly increase his physical power.

”No... this is tougher than I thought,” he muttered under his breath. ”Each one’s a massive upgrade...”

He tapped his finger lightly against Crimson Judgement’s hilt.

In the end, he ruled out the +25 Strength as well. That left only Carapace Skin and Royal Drone Egg.

Time ticked by.

Eventually, his lips curled into a faint smirk.

There was one rule of thumb in Realm of Ascendancy:

’Always prioritize skill over anything.’

There was a reason they were so costly—and why they were monopolized by the large guilds and noble families.

’Carapace Skin it is, then.’

In a flash of purple light, a skill scroll materialized in his grasp.

[Carapace Skin LV.1]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Description: Allows the user to harden a single part of their body with insectoid armor. Can withstand physical attacks below your level and up to two levels above.]

Although it didn’t seem too impressive at the moment, he figured the skill would become stronger with each level.

Little did he know... With each upgrade, Carapace Skin would evolve into a nearly indestructible defense—capable of withstanding attacks strong enough to level entire fortresses or wipe out kingdoms.”

There was nothing left for him to do in the cavern.

He glanced up at the edge of the large pit.

”Did they scale out of there, or is there another route?” he muttered.

While looking around, he noticed a green vine slowly descending from the gap above.

’Sophie.’ His eyes glinted as he grabbed onto the vine, which began to pull him upward. As he ascended, he felt a pair of eyes watching him with murderous intent.

He glanced toward the source.

In one of the side tunnels stood a single drone ant—white chitin with golden stripes, similar to the Queen.

Their eyes locked, and for a moment, it felt like the little ant was radiating pure hatred toward him.

”Tsk.” He clicked his tongue. Lazily raising a finger, he aimed at the creature and muttered under his breath, ”Dark Flame Orb.”

A condensed orb of deadly flame formed and shot toward the tunnel with terrifying precision.

BOOM!

The explosion engulfed the tunnel, triggering several kill notifications from ants that had been lurking within.

’Always better to get rid of the entire bloodline.’

The last thing he needed was for the little ant to grow up and become a powerful monster that would give him a headache later.

”Finally! I almost thought you wanted to sleep down there or something,” Alice said the moment Sophie’s vine pulled Gabriel out.

”There was something I needed to take care of,” he replied.

”This way,” Scarlet gestured as they left through the storm door that led out of the pit chambers.

As the group moved on, Gabriel purposely lingered behind to finish extracting from the corpses of the ants.

[Ding! You have extracted: +2 Strength]

[Ding! You have extracted: Chitinblade Fang]

[Ding! You have extracted: Venomtip Gauntlet]

[Ding! You have extracted: +2 Intelligence]

[Ding! You have extracted: Corrosive Venom Explosive x5]

[Ding! You have extracted: Purpleback Ant Shoulder Guard Armour]

[Ding! You have extracted...]

He nodded in satisfaction.

Some of these would sell nicely. Others would make good quest rewards. He planned to introduce some limited-time events when the players arrived in a month.

And so, the group moved on.

The trip back was mostly quiet... for everyone except Gabriel.

Because somehow, Alice had ended up beside him.

”Hey hey, can you tell me how you defeated the Ant Queen?” Her eyes practically sparkled.

”I just fought,” he replied, looking ahead.

”Did she beg for mercy?”

”She didn’t.”

”Also, how do you feel about bugs? Be honest—was the Ant Queen hot?”

”...”

”....”

”....”

Everyone inside the bus turned toward Alice, staring at her with wide eyes.

”...What?”

”I mean, y’know... in a scary insectoid royalty kinda way.”

He slowly turned to look at her.

”I just blew up her infant. Do I look like someone with insect-based fetishes?”

”...I mean, with your face? Probably wouldn’t be the weirdest thing.”

He stared at her for five solid seconds.

Then turned away again.

He was starting to question all of his life choices.

Gabriel had always projected a detached persona, and everyone respected that. They kept their distance.

But this little brat...

’Well... it’s not bad having a talented assassin like her as an ally,’ he thought, staring out the window.

After a day and a half, they arrived at the outer walls of Stellar City.

As the group made their way through the large city gates, two armored knights approached—completely ignoring the rest of the party.

”Young man,” one of them said politely, ”can you please escort us back to the Church?”

* * *

Thanks to all those Supporting Extraction Talent! I approaciate. Let’s get the Golden Tickets to 100!!!!