Awakening: Reincarnating With the SSS-Level Extraction Talent

[HP: 25,000,000]

[Skills: Infernal Swipe, Obsidian Roar, Flame Surge, Molten Leap, Infernal Endurance]

The giant wolf, at least ten times Alex\'s size, approached, appearing from the darkness of the cave.

"This is insane," Alex took a step back, "Holy shit."

It seems like the [Cave of Oblivion] was an area that held only elite and above monsters, meaning that each one of them was equivalent to a boss.

"Alphox, how about you test out your strength again," Alex gripped his staff and dagger, his undead army positioning itself to defend him.

"That monster is level 400, I am level 500, testing my strength is futile," Alphox laughed.

Alphox only ever intervened when it was a fight that interested him.

For the battle against Eleonora, he wanted to test the power difference between him and another dragon.

And as for the guardian of the tower, Alphox had just reached level 500, so he wanted to test out his new skills as well as see if he could beat it.

But against a level 400? Not a chance!

Alex was alone on this one.

Well, he had the [Death Call], but using it right now was stupid.

The Shadow Dire Wolf towered over Alex, its dark fur bristling and eyes glowing ominously.

Each step it took shook the cave floor, and its low growl sent chills through Alex\'s spine.

"Well," Alex said under his breath, "guess it\'s all on me."

The wolf lunged without warning, claws glowing with an infernal aura.

Alex barely dodged, retaliating with a quick [Fire Meteor].

The meteor fell from the ceiling of the cave, crashing onto the monster.

-219,993!

"Yes," Alex was excited to know he could still deal decent damage to it.

But its counterattack was brutal.

Fwish!

The wolf ignored every single undead, destroying them all by simply rushing through them all.

Then its [Infernal Swipe] tore through Alex\'s defenses, his [Stone Fortress] shattering under the force.

A single swipe left him sprawled on the ground, vision fading.

[You have died.]

[Reviving in 5 seconds...]

Alex respawned at the entrance of the cave, panting heavily.

His HP and mana were restored, but the Shadow Dire Wolf was back to full health as well.

In Universal Descent, you couldn\'t possibly hope to abuse the system and respawn over and over to kill a boss.

Especially in the latter game since the 30-minutes death restriction would be removed.

Meaning that every time Alex died, it would fully regenerate.

Alphox\'s laughter echoed from within the cave.

"You failed already? Pathetic!"

Alex ignored him and marched back into the cave. The cycle began again.

The Shadow Dire Wolf\'s attacks were relentless. Its [Flame Surge] engulfed the area in a wave of molten fire, incinerating Alex\'s undead summons in seconds.

When Alex tried to retreat, the wolf used [Molten Leap], closing the distance with a fiery explosion.

His [Spirit Chains] slowed the wolf for a moment, but its [Infernal Endurance] allowed it to break free quickly.

Even [Fire Meteor] and [Crimson Cataclysm] couldn\'t bring its health down by more than a fraction before the fight ended.

Alex died. Again.

And again.

And again...

Every death was met with Alphox\'s mocking laughter.

"You\'ll collapse from exhaustion long before you kill that beast!" Alphox called out, leaning casually against the cave wall.

But Alex refused to give up.

After hours of repeated attempts, Alex began to notice patterns in the wolf\'s movements. Its attacks were powerful, but predictable.

When it used [Obsidian Roar], Alex learned to activate [Shadow Veil] to avoid detection.

When it charged forward with [Flame Surge], he used [Stone Fortress] to block long enough to be able to avoid it.

Each death taught him something new.

Little by little, he began to chip away at the wolf\'s massive HP pool.

Three days passed.

Alex\'s body screamed in protest from the repeated deaths and endless fights.

His undead summons were obliterated almost instantly each time, but their brief presence gave Alex moments to reposition.

The wolf\'s movements, once overwhelming, now felt manageable.

During one attempt, Alex used [Rain of Fire] to blanket the area in flames, forcing the wolf into a vulnerable position.

He followed up with [Fury of Thunder], three lightning strikes crashing down in rapid succession.

The wolf roared in pain, momentarily stunned.

Alex seized the opportunity, casting [Crimson Cataclysm]. Crimson spikes erupted from the ground, piercing the wolf\'s body repeatedly.

Its health dropped lower than ever before.

But it wasn\'t enough.

The wolf retaliated with [Molten Leap], flames engulfing Alex in a deadly explosion.

[You have died.]

Alphox\'s laughter rang out once more.

"Three days, and you\'re still failing. Give it up already!"

Alex ignored him, determination burning in his eyes.

His [Skill Evolution] was available, and he used it on [Spirit Chains], evolving it to its next form.

[You have evolved "Spirit Chains" (Intermediate) to "Chains of Restraint" (Advanced)]

[Chains of Restraint lv1: thirty transparent chains come out of your staff, giving your enemies a 100% speed reduction and stunning them for 5 seconds. Once shackled, targets also receive 300% of spirit as damage; Mana Cost: 80,000 Cooldown: 3 minutes.]

It was decent, but not an earth-shattering skill like the others.

...

On the final attempt, Alex felt a shift.

The wolf\'s movements, once overwhelming, were now second nature to him.

He opened with his newly acquired [Chains of Restraint], and this time, the monster couldn\'t actually just breakthrough, meaning that he managed to stun the wolf and reduce its speed.

-59,979!

The undead would only then rush at the wolf, dealing the maximum amount of damage they could deal.

-473,928!

It wasn\'t much, but when 100 beings attack you at the same time, it meant you could receive damage.

As the wolf struggled, he unleashed [Fire Meteor], the massive projectile slamming into its head.

-219,993!

And before the wolf could recover, Alex activated [Shadow Veil], disappearing from its sight.

From stealth, he used [Shadow Strike], aiming for a weak point on its side.

The attack landed perfectly, applying a bleeding effect that removed 10% of its hp.

-2,500,000!

Bleed was truly a fantastic effect.

The wolf roared in fury, using [Flame Surge] to hit Alex.

But the boy anticipated this, casting [Stone Fortress] to block the damage and immediately following up with [Rain of Fire].

The area filled with flames, the burn effect chipping away at the wolf\'s health.

When the wolf lunged with [Infernal Swipe], Alex dodged and countered with [Bleeding Strike], his dagger carving deep into its flesh.

He kept going like that several times over.

This simple strategy resulted in hundreds of deaths, but it was the best he could think of.

His undead minions could only attack when the wolf was stunned, meaning that he only summoned them when needed.

The wolf\'s HP was dangerously low now.

"Oh?" even Alphox was surprised.

Alex raised his staff, channeling his mana for one final attack.

"[Crimson Cataclysm]!"

Dozens of crimson spikes erupted from the ground, impaling the wolf in a devastating flurry.

The Shadow Dire Wolf let out one final, deafening howl before collapsing.

[You have defeated "Shadow Dire Wolf – Superior Monster" and gained 50,000,000 experience points]

Ding! Ding! Ding!

[You have leveled up to level 144.]

[You have leveled up to level 145.]

.

.

[You have leveled up to level 151.]

[+40 to all attributes and + 32 free points to allocate.]

Alex dropped to his knees, breathing heavily. His body ached from the endless battles.

The really interesting thing though with this cave was that as every monster was considered a boss level, the extraction rate was 100 percent!

Ding!

[Extraction talent activated!]

[Attributes Points Pack (Divine)]

[Description: Permanently increases all your attributes by 20.]

[Shadow Dire Wolf Fang (Legendary Material)]

[Description: Fang of a Shadow Dire Wolf, powerful beast located in the Cave of Oblivion, its fangs can be used to craft melee weapons.]

[Shadow Dire Wolf Meat (Mythical Food)]

[Description: Meat of a Shadow Dire Wolf, grants a massive but temporary strength buff.]

Alex stared at the rewards, a small smile forming on his face.

"Oh, so it\'s finally starting," he muttered, glancing at the [Shadow Dire Wolf Meat].

As you might have noticed, this meat was ranked above even the legendary material, and its description stated that it had special effects.

The longer Universal Descent went on, the more people would discover the incredible effects of food in this game.

Right now no food could grant any effect, but later on, there would be some extremely powerful and specialized players that could prepare dishes that could go as far as make you invincible or heal you from any status effect.

It was akin to potions and alchemists, except this time instead of brewing you needed to cook.

But just like potions, food also had its own rankings.

It didn\'t depend on the item itself though, as the [Shadow Dire Wolf Meat] was only ranked Mythical, but once you cooked it, your expertise would determine how well it would work.

The higher the ranking of the food, the more powerful its effects would be.

The [Shadow Dire Wolf Meat] was only Mythical, but its effects could become game-changing if cooked properly.

For now, though, Alex decided to select the [Attributes Points Pack] since it was just too good to pass.

Ding!

[All attributes increased by 20!]

"You actually managed it," Alphox said, approaching with a smirk. "Took you long enough."

Alex glared at him. "If you\'re not going to help, at least shut up."

Alphox laughed. "Fair enough. But don\'t think this means the rest of the cave will be any easier."

Alex sighed, gripping his staff tightly.

He knew Alphox was right.

The [Cave of Oblivion] was far from over.

And if the Shadow Dire Wolf was just the beginning, he could only imagine what awaited him deeper inside.