Awakening: Reincarnating With the SSS-Level Extraction Talent

The colossal Dungeon Golem crumbled to dust, its fragments scattering across the stone floor.

Alex let out a long breath, shoulders dropping.

Just moments ago, he was fighting for his life against a Tier 4 powerhouse, a feat the game deemed "impossible" for players at his level.

Yet here he was, standing alone in the aftermath of his victory.

A notification flickered to life in front of him.

[Extraction talent activated.]

Three extraction options materialized, each radiating a different energy.

[Dungeon Golem Core (Legendary Material)]

[Description: A rare heartstone infused with the power of an ancient dungeon guardian. Rumored to enhance constructs or grant durability to any armor crafted from it.]

[Golem Rock (Epic Material)]

[Description: Tough and resilient, Golem Rock has long been used in fortress-building for its impenetrable nature. It's said to add extreme defense to anything it strengthens.]

[Fragment of Abyssal Stone (Epic Material)]

[Description: A dark stone fragment, pulsing with an otherworldly energy. Only harvested from defeated dungeon bosses, it's a prized component for enchanters and mages alike.]

...

Alex's eyes scanned the options, fingers itching toward the first.

The Dungeon Golem Core was a legendary item, leagues above what most players could hope to acquire at his level.

Without hesitation, he chose it.

"Legendary gear, here I come," he muttered, storing it inside his backpack alongside his many [Poison Antidotes]

He was planning to go sell them all before the event ended to turn in a good profit.

The aftermath notifications continued:

Ding!

[You have defeated "Dungeon Golem lv100"]

[Experience gained: 100,000]

[You have defeated x10 "Smaller Golems lv100"]

[Experience Gained: 150,000]

Another string of alerts followed as his experience bar rocketed up.

[You have leveled up to level 42, all attribute points have been raised by 5, and you have 4 free attribute points to assign as well as 1 skill point!]

[You have leveled up to level 43...]

[You have leveled up to level 44...]

.

.

[You have leveled up to level 48...]

Alex's eyes widened as he absorbed the upgrades.

Seven levels in one go was more than he'd hoped!

As he checked his attribute screen, more notifications unfurled.

[Explosive Fireball has leveled up to level 2.]

[Crimson Spike has leveled up to level 2.]

.

.

[Rending Slash has leveled up to level 2.]

Basically, every skill leveled up once.

And this was no easy feat by the way, as the more you upgraded your skills, not only would it be harder to evolve them because of skill points as the amount you needed to spend would increase, but simply having them increase in levels would be hard!

His mastery of them was amazing!

He exhaled, taking it all in, "Alright, time to go sell these antidotes and call it a day," he muttered, glancing at the piles of items cluttering his inventory.

His little side business of antidote trading was about to pay off handsomely, especially with the event wrapping still active and more players wanting to join in.

Today had been absolutely terrible, or maybe it was good, who knows.

The recent events had been overwhelming to say the least: the event, hatching the pet who sent Alex to Undead Land early, meeting the Undead Lord, going to bell city, and finally, fighting monsters in here after receiving the [Undead King Curse].

In rough comparison, in his previous life, he would still be in the toxic forest, some of his poison antidotes dealing damage to him as they were of low-quality.

Ding!

[You have killed the "Dungeon Golem" and thus received the "Spider Nest Key"!]

A key materialized in his hands, which he could use on the door the golem had been guarding.

"Not a chance," Alex smiles.

He had barely made it through the fight with the Dungeon Golem.

Venturing deeper into the spider-infested floors was asking for trouble.

At his level, he'd be torn apart by whatever lay beyond that door.

Only his [Bony Knight] and [Spectral Wraith] had survived, and they were the only undead he could summon for now, since his mana had run out.

'Mana's a real issue...'

He stored the key in his inventory, then got ready to leave.

Yet, right as he was about to teleport out, a panel appeared in front of him.

Ding!

[You have received a call for help.]

Alex froze.

A call for help?

That wasn't a regular notification, even for hidden quests.

His eyes narrowed in curiosity, and he scanned the screen again.

[You have triggered the SS-Level Hidden Quest; "Save the Fox Beast Tribe Princess"]

[Reward: None.]

[Time Limit: 1 week.]

[Description: The Fox Beast Tribe Princess is inside the nest of the spiders (20th floor), go inside and rescue her before she becomes a feast for the spider queen.]

Alex's eyes widened.

An SS-level quest at this stage was insane.

Worse, it was asking him to reach the 20th floor, where even the weakest spiders were around level 200.

"No way," he shook his head, biting his lip.

There was no record of any "Fox Beast Tribe Princess" in his past life's knowledge, which likely meant she hadn't been rescued back then.

The fox beast clan in [Universal Descent], or at least those that weren't taken over and became monsters, which is the majority, were rthat had less than 1000 of them remaining.

All the males were gone, leaving only the women.

"Well..." Alex thought about it, "There's nothing I can do," he shook his head.

Just as he prepared to leave, though, a desperate voice echoed in his mind, sounding faint and broken.

"Please, adventurer… I beg you… If you don't come, my clan… we… we will be no more. I am giving my life force for this message, please… come…"

The voice of the Fox Princess carried a sorrowful plea, trembling with pain and desperation.

He winced, shaking his head. "I can't. Even with Alphox, there's no way we can handle that."

A gleam of light flashed beside him, and the form of Alphox, the Primordial Dragon, appeared in spectral form, his eyes blazing with challenge. "Are you questioning my power, mortal?"

"Yes," Alex replied bluntly. "Tier 4 or not, you're still level 200, and I'm level 44. We're out of our depth here."

Alphox growled, his pride flaring, "Weakling or not, I am still a Primordial Dragon! I'll burn those wretched insects to ash if they dare face us."

Alphox had an intense ego, just like every other primordial dragon, and he wouldn't allow these weakling monsters to tarnish his reputation!

The dragon only narrowed his gaze before retreating back into his spiritual space, muttering about "insects" and "weak mortals."

Trying to shake off the whole incident, Alex pulled up his World Map, preparing to return to safer territory.

[Teleportation points have been set on each floor.]

"Oh."

He had expected to be able to teleport to the entrance of the [Dark Dungeon], but he was wrong: a small point appeared, and when he clicked on it, he could select which floor he wanted to go to.

[Fast Travel] was an even better perk than he believed.

"Convenient," he muttered, impressed.

For now, he chose [Toxic Forest], the ideal place to offload his goods.

A small circle expanded over his destination, and with a flash, he was gone, the dungeon fading from view.

A brisk wind greeted him as he arrived in the Toxic Forest, the familiar scent of damp earth and old trees grounding him.

He took a deep breath, grateful to be out of the dungeon's oppressive atmosphere.

He'd missed the open air more than he realized.

"Well... Time to sell the goods again."