Alex approached Aris' now deceased body, her eyes devoid of any life, and her skin now dull and cold, reflecting the light filtering through the small cabin window.
[You have poisoned "Aris, The Silver-Skinned Mage", and gained 36,748 experience points!]
"Holy!" as he had been the one that created and gave her the potion, it was considered as though he was the one who finished her off!
Ding!
[You have leveled up to level 10, all attribute points have been raised by 5, and you have 4 free attribute points to assign as well as 1 skill point!]
Ding!
[You cannot level up anymore until participating in your 'profession' trial!]
[The profession trial is located before Dawn City, the first city!]
This basically locked out Alex until his village unlocked the first city by defeating the final boss of the novice village, until then all he could do was extract from monsters and stack up experience.
[Experience: 36285/1000]
Ding!
[You have failed the S-Level quest: 'The Greatest Silver-Skin Mage', because your target has died!]
This meant he wouldn't receive any rewards, but to be honest he didn't care much about it.
Because…
"Extract…!"
[You have extracted "Aris' Golden Staff"!]
[Description: Grants +500 spirit when equipping it, and increases spell casting speed!]
He just got an item way better!
The staff materialized in his hands, its golden surface gleaming with the magic still imbued within it.
As he examined the staff, he felt an electric thrill pulse through him, the essence of Aris pulsing into the very fibers of the weapon.
And that's when he immediately remembered the third perk of [Extraction] he had gotten from the [Talent Evolution Fruit]!
[Talent Effect #3: Potential Extraction; Once every in-game 24 hours (meaning 12 hours in real life and 24 hours in the game), you will be able to use extraction on an item to extract its full potential and enhance it; this only works on items for now, so trying it on anything else will fail the extraction and spend the talent effect for the day.]
He had been saving it for this exact moment, and he could hardly contain his excitement as he gripped the staff tightly.
"Potential Extraction," he shouted as he concentrated on his third perk.
The world around him blurred, and a brilliant light enveloped the staff, colors swirling in an enchanting dance.
Alex felt the energy surge around him, the very fabric of magic bending to his will as he drew forth the latent potential from the staff.
Fwish! Fwish!
The staff's appearance gradually changed as [Extraction] began to extract its full potential, shaping it into the optimal form.
Ding!
[You have successfully enhanced "Aris's Golden Staff!"]
[New Legendary Item: "Elysian Staff of the Silver Mage!"]
[Description: Grants +1000 spirit when equipping it, increases spell casting speed by 200%, and boosts the effectiveness of all magical spells!]
"Incredible…" Alex could feel it in the sheer texture of this staff that it was strong.
[You will be able to use 'Potential Extraction' on an item in: 23:59:43 hours!]
And so just like this, Alex became the strongest player in his novice village, no, in the entire game.
But just as his satisfaction was about to reach its peak, something else came to drop it down a little.
Ding!
Another notification popped up under the one that told Alex he had failed the quest, stealing his focus.
[You have killed a silver-skinned human mage: reputation -1000.]
Alex's brow furrowed as he read the message, but he was far from troubled.
His reputation among the Silver-Skin was now utterly tarnished forever, with no way to recover from that, but he had anticipated such a consequence.
They were a race that ranged from level 10-20, a beginner one, so it didn't matter much.
Gripping the Elysian Staff tightly, Alex turned away from Aris's body, leaving her behind as he grabbed Alice's body and stepped out of the cabin, he had everything he wanted and needed now.
"A… Alex…?" suddenly, he heard a voice behind him, and he saw that Alice had opened her eyes, her head resting cutely on his shoulder, "Where are we?"
"Just completed the quest," he replied.
"Oh, so did you save Aris?!" Alice beamed, she was like a true young lady, enjoying happiness and when stories ended well.
"Yes," Alex smiled, "I sent her to salvation and saved her corrupt soul from this game."
"???" Alice tilted her head in confusion, "Alright?"
But right as they were beginning to walk back toward the village.
"Grooarrr!" a [Bear King Boss] appeared, and this time it was level 7.
[Bear King Boss - Level 7 (Elite)]
[HP: 750]
It rushed toward Alex and Alice, trying to slash them both.
"AH, W-WATCH OUT!" Alice pointed at it, she just woke up and was instantly thrown into danger again.
But this time, Alex was extremely calm, simply pointing his new staff toward the bear, and using a single fireball.
Fireball!
Boom!
-1374!
That thing instantly caught on fire and died, and Alex extracted another [Bear King's Chest Armor] from it, putting it inside his snake backpack too, which was almost full by now.
[Beginner Backpack: 5/5]
[Snake Backpack: 6/10]
"…" Alice looked at the monster before her, "What?"
The number that rose up above the beast's head was… weird?!
Since when could Alex do so much damage?
"Alex?"
"Yes?"
"How long did I sleep for?"
"Around… an hour?"
"And so, you can now do over 1000 damage?"
"Yes."
"…Alright," she didn't even question it, Alex was already exceptional as he was, so such growth spurts should be expected, and no, she's not talking about the other 'kind' of growth.
"I'll be logging off," he dropped her on the ground and smiled, he had been inside the game for around 12 hours, meaning 6 hours in the real world, and he just wanted to rest now.
"Oh wait, before," Alice said, her voice soft, "Can I have your number? I'd like to stay in touch… outside of the game."
"Sure," he replied, sending his number through the [Party Chat].
"See you on the other side," she said, her smile tinged with something deeper, "I'll disconnect soon too!"
"Yeah, later."
[Do you want to log off?]
"Yes."
Alex's body was surrounded with energy, and in a flash of blue light he disappeared.
Less than five minutes later, Alice disconnected too.
…
As the digital world dissolved around her, Alice found herself back in her room, her heart racing from the intensity of her gaming experience.
The moment she logged out, her father, Richard, stood at the doorway, his expression expectant.
"How was the game?" he asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.
"Um, it was good," she replied, her mind still racing with thoughts of Alex and their shared moments.
"Just good?" Richard teased, raising an eyebrow. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"
She felt her cheeks warm at his observation, but she quickly brushed it off. "No, it's just… I was really into my character. I leveled up and stuff."
"Ah, I see!" He chuckled, clearly amused. "Just make sure to take breaks, I know this game is important and all, and that you were selected, but being at full of energy means getting stronger!"
"Yeah, I will," she promised, though her mind kept drifting back to Alex.
The way he had wielded Aris's staff, the confidence radiating from him—it was intoxicating, and it stirred feelings within her that she didn't fully understand.
"I'll send you the items I bought soon," he informed her as he closed the door behind, sensing that his daughter wanted some time alone.
"Thanks dad," she smiled, and he smiled back.
"Phew…" Alice rested on her bed, her arm covering her eyes, and her cheeks flushed, "Ah… Alex…"