Endless Extraction in a Game-Like World

Chapter 298: Using Temporal Regression and Changing the Tide of The Battle

Just then, Reign’s fist descended toward Caelus’s fallen form, crimson energy blazing around his arm like a dying star.

In that frozen moment before impact, Caelus made his choice.

"It’s time." Caelus’s eyes flickered.

[Skill Activated: Temporal Regression]

BOOM!

Reality shattered.

The world dissolved into fragments of light and shadow, spinning backward like a film reel played in reverse.

Blood returned to wounds, craters smoothed themselves flat, bodies rose from the ground and flew backward through the air.

Caelus felt the familiar disorientation wash over him as time itself bent to his will.

Whrmmm!

Caelus’s feet touched solid ground as the world reassembled around him.

The battlefield looked exactly as it had sixty seconds ago, Reign and Garrett still coordinating their assault while guild members fought desperately around them.

His arms no longer hurt from the devastating blow that had sent him crashing into the ground.

The cut on Sylvia’s forehead was gone, her silver hair flowing pristine in the wind as she engaged Garrett.

Nobody remembered.

Nobody except him.

A second chance means nothing if you repeat the same mistakes, Caelus thought coldly.

He already knew everything that was coming.

Garrett would expand his Gravity Domain toward the eastern section in exactly twelve seconds.

Reign would attempt his third consecutive touch against Caelus’s left shoulder in eight seconds.

The coordinated aerial assault would begin in forty-seven seconds.

Crimson Lock required five consecutive touches.

Crimson Lion’s Ascension activated immediately after.

’But this time, neither of that will happen.’

Reign surged forward with crimson energy trailing behind him, his movement pattern identical to the previous timeline.

His palm swept toward Caelus’s chest, the third touch of his Crimson Lock sequence.

Caelus shifted his weight three inches to the left.

The palm passed through empty air.

Reign’s eyes flickered with brief confusion before he pressed forward, launching a spinning backfist toward Caelus’s temple.

This would have been touch number four.

Instead of blocking, Caelus ducked beneath the strike and drove his elbow toward Reign’s exposed ribs.

The impact sent Reign stumbling sideways, completely disrupting his approach angle.

The sequence reset to zero.

"Stop dodging you coward! What are you afraid to fight me head on?!" Reign shouted as he looked at Caelus with some confusion.

Did this guy know about his Crimson Lock? Why else would suddenly shift his attack style.

This guy also found out about his talent at a glance.

But even with that, this should be impossible right? Crimson Lock was not some ordinary skill, it was earth’s most secret skills and only few possessed it and he was among the few.

Reign shook his head, there was no way he would know.

"Fine, keep dodging, I’ll just kill you so you won’t keep dodging like a coward anymore!"

Caelus said nothing, his Intent Sense and Chaos Perception Eyes working in perfect harmony with his foreknowledge.

Reign attacked again, his crimson-coated fist streaking toward Caelus’s shoulder.

This time Caelus deliberately stepped into Garrett’s Gravity Domain, the increased weight actually helping him plant his feet more firmly and crossed his arms.

Reign’s strike connected with Caelus’s raised guard instead of his body.

The touch was denied.

The frustration in Reign’s eyes grew with every failed attempt.

He launched a rapid combination, palm strike followed by elbow followed by knee followed by spinning heel kick.

Caelus blocked the palm, dodged the elbow, caught the knee with telekinesis and redirected it.

The heel kick never came because Sylvia’s Blood Sword Construct suddenly swept through the space between them, forcing Reign to abandon his movement entirely.

"What’s happening?" Reign muttered under his breath.

He couldn’t understand why every touch attempt failed, couldn’t comprehend why a fighter he had dominated moments ago with his experience and training from the guild was suddenly untouchable.

Four more attempts followed over the next thirty seconds.

Each one failed for different reasons.

Sometimes Caelus created distance at the exact moment Reign committed to close range.

Sometimes he deliberately provoked an attack that would interrupt Reign’s rhythm.

Sometimes the chaos of battle itself conspired against Reign’s careful planning.

The fifth touch never landed.

Crimson Lock would never activate.

The realization settled into Caelus’s mind with absolute certainty.

Reign’s trump card was completely neutralized now.

Caelus stopped retreating.

His lips slowly curved into a smile, the expression carrying absolute confidence that made Reign’s instincts scream danger.

Blue light flickered across Caelus’s forehead as his draconic horns became more prominent, the circuit-like patterns around their base pulsing with visible energy.

Dragon scales began spreading faintly around his temples and down his neck, each scale catching the light like fragments of the sun.

His pupils shifted, becoming noticeably more vertical and dragon-like.

The Ancient Dragon God’s manifestation behind him surged with renewed power, its form becoming denser and more defined as Caelus’s Fighting Spirit reached new heights.

The temperature around him seemed to rise.

Guild members who had been approaching from the far left instinctively stepped back, their survival instincts screaming that something fundamental had changed.

The Genesis Town seeing this change was astonished.

The livestream that many were conducting also exploded with comments.

[What’s happening to him?]

[He has draconic eyes and horns!]

[That’s so cool. What sort of transformation is that? How did he get it?]

Reign’s expression shifted as he studied Caelus more carefully.

The person standing before him felt completely different from the fighter he had been dominating just moments ago.

It felt like he was facing a predator instead of prey.

"What did you do?" Reign demanded answers as his instincts screamed at him.

Caelus’s smile widened.

"Nothing special, I just stopped holding back. I was just testing waters."

"Boastful Bastard!" Reign said with a sneer. "You are not all that. You cannot win against the experience of us Guild Fighters!"

Reign made his decision.

Since Crimson Lock had failed repeatedly for reasons he couldn’t comprehend, he would simply overwhelm his opponent with power instead.

He was going to activate his trump card right now and eliminate this guy who gave him a sense of danger.

[Skill Activated: Crimson Lion’s Ascension]

Crimson energy erupted around his body like a volcano, his speed and strength multiplying as his ultimate technique activated.

In the previous timeline, this skill had severely changed the tides of the battle.

This time, Caelus had been waiting for exactly this moment.

Instead of raising his guard, Caelus calmly extended his hand.