Chapter 43: 43 | Extract C Rank Talent: Thunder & Golden Flames
The Eternal Buddha Endurance Scripture and his Origin Bloodline began working simultaneously.
Warm energy spread through his body.
The torn flesh around the wound slowly wriggled before beginning to close.
Although the injury wasn’t healed completely, the bleeding quickly stopped.
Dexter tore a strip from his ruined shirt and wrapped it tightly around his abdomen before letting out a long breath.
"I really need to stop getting stabbed..."
He gave a bitter smile.
This battle had shown him just how dangerous the Superhuman Realm truly was. If he wanted to survive more assassination attempts, then he would need to get stronger.
The fastest way to grow stronger is to level up. And to level up one needs to head into dungeons to kill monsters and level up quickly.
He staggered towards the corpses of the assassins and activated his second system.
"Extract!"
A faint golden light enveloped the corpse. The light pulsed twice before a translucent blue notification appeared before Dexter’s eyes.
[Extracted +5 Strength, +6 Agility]
The numbers flowed into his body like warm water. He could feel the changes immediately. His muscles tightened slightly. His reflexes sharpened. The change wasn’t dramatic, but it was real.
He moved to the second corpse. The assassin whose throat he had pierced with the curving needle. The man’s neck was still stained dark with dried blood.
"Extract!"
[Extracted +5 Mana, +6 Agility, +5 Strength, +6 Physique]
More energy flowed into him. This time the sensation was stronger. His mana pool expanded slightly. His body felt sturdier. More resilient. Like someone had reinforced his bones with steel.
He moved to the third corpse. The first Superhuman assassin. The one he had cut in half with Spatial Cleave. The two halves lay side by side on the asphalt, separated by a pool of darkening blood.
"Extract!"
[Extracted + C-Rank Golden Flame, +3 Strength, +7 Agility]
Dexter’s eyes widened.
He actually extracted their talents too?
The Golden Flame ability surged into his body like a wave of liquid fire. It settled deep inside his core, nestling beside his existing abilities like a new addition to a family. He could feel the flame’s potential. Its heat. Its hunger. It was a C-Rank talent, which was considered above average for most awakeners.
He had just stolen a dead man’s talent.
The implications were staggering.
Finally, he moved to the fourth corpse. Or what remained of it. The charred skeleton of the second Superhuman assassin. The bones were black and brittle. They crumbled slightly when Dexter knelt beside them.
"Extract!"
[Extracted + C-Rank Thunder Manipulation, +7 Strength, +1 Agility, +3 Mana, +4 Physique]
A crackling surge of electrical energy raced through his body. Blue sparks danced across his fingertips for a brief moment before fading. The Thunder Manipulation talent embedded itself beside the Golden Flame ability, creating a small storm of competing energies inside his core.
Dexter stared at his hands.
He now possessed two additional C-Rank talents.
Golden Flame.
Thunder Manipulation.
Combined with his existing abilities...
His combat potential had increased dramatically.
But the excitement was short-lived.
He suddenly heard sirens in the distance.
Woo — Woo — Woo —
The sound was faint at first. Barely audible over the ambient noise of the city. But it grew louder with each passing second. More sirens joined the chorus. From multiple directions.
Dexter’s expression shifted instantly.
More than a dozen police vehicles sped toward the highway from both directions.
Behind them came several armored response trucks belonging to the Hero Association.
Their flashing lights illuminated the battlefield.
Within moments, the entire highway was surrounded.
Officers quickly aimed their weapons toward the scene.
When they saw four masked corpses lying on the ground and only one bloodied young man still standing...
Every one of them froze.
"...What happened here?"
One officer muttered in disbelief.
Another looked at the assassin whose body had been sliced perfectly into two.
His eyes widened.
"That... wasn’t done by an explosion."
"It was one slash."
Nearby, another investigator examined the burned face corpse.
"There isn’t even enough face left for identification..."
The surrounding civilians, who had hidden behind abandoned vehicles, slowly emerged once they heard the commotion stop. The battle was over. The danger had passed. Police and heroes were on the scene.
People stepped out from behind cars, bushes, and guardrails. Some were shaking. Some were crying. Some were recording on their phones despite the earlier destruction of most devices close to the battle.
A woman holding a child hurried toward the nearest officer.
"Officer! Officer! There was a battle!"
"We saw fire and lightning!"
"It was terrifying!"
An elderly man approached another officer.
"I’ve never seen anything like it."
"The whole highway shook."
"I thought it was an earthquake at first."
More witnesses gathered. Each one tried to explain what they had seen. Their accounts were fragmented. Confused. Contradictory.
Some mentioned a man with a black sword.
Others mentioned blue lightning.
Some mentioned golden flames.
Some mentioned crimson fire.
None of them could provide a clear description.
---
Dexter remained calm despite the dozens of eyes fixed on him.
He had already changed into a fresh set of clothes from his system inventory while the police were busy securing the scene. Apart from the bandage wrapped around his abdomen beneath his shirt, there was nothing to suggest he had just fought two Superhuman assassins and killed them too.
The lead investigator stopped before him.
"I’m Senior Inspector Harris of the City Police Department. I need your statement."
Dexter nodded.
"I’ll cooperate."
The investigator activated a recording device.
"Tell me exactly what happened."
Dexter took a deep breath before speaking.
""We were driving home from the hotel when the driver was suddenly shot."
His voice was steady. Measured. He allowed a slight tremor to enter his tone to sell the fear.
"I didn’t see the bullet. I just heard a sound and then... the driver’s head..."
He paused as he swallowed uncomfortably.
"The car started swerving. I grabbed the wheel and managed to stop it beneath the bridge."
"Then several masked men attacked us."
The investigator’s eyes narrowed.
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