Awakening: Reincarnating With the SSS-Level Extraction Talent

Ding!

[You cannot level up anymore until completing your Tier 5 Advancement Task.]

But before watching that task of his, Alex decided to use his talent perks to make sure he was ready.

"Skill Evolution," he whispered, selecting his [Stone Fortress] skill.

Ding!

[Your skill "Stone Fortress" (Advanced) has evolved to "High-Defense Wall" (High-Tier)]

[High-Defense Wall level 1; Create a sturdy barrier that can block up to 100,000 damage at once; costs 100,000 mana; 3-minutes cooldown.]]

It was a massive increase, one that was greatly needed if he wanted to continue.

Then moving to [Potential Extraction].

He didn\'t use it much because he wanted to keep it in case an item needed an instant upgrade once he got it, but it didn\'t happen much so he decided to use it regardless.

He first tried to use it on the [Thunder Wolf Meat] in case it could great better effects.

But of course.

[Did you really think you could upgrade food?]

It failed.

"I mean, it worked on the shadow egg before," Alex shrugged before moving on to another item.

In the end, he decided to upgrade his [Superior Python Backpack] (Mythical) as it only had 500 slots, and would soon be filled if he continued like that.

Ding!

[You have upgraded "Superior Python Backpack"!]

[It has evolved to Divine item: "Divine Cobra\'s Backpack"]

[Description: it can hold up to 1000 items from up to Divine rank.]

"Nice!" with that he wouldn\'t need to worry about items for a very big while, "Alright, let\'s read about that thing," he mumbled.

He opened up his task panel.

[SSS-Rating Detected for Previous Advancement Tasks...]

[Adjusting difficulty accordingly...]

Ding!

[Tier 5 Advancement Task: Kill an angel.]

[Requirement: Eliminate any member of the Angel Clan.]

The simplicity of the description was deceiving. Alex knew the reality of facing an angel would be anything but simple.

"Are you okay, you\'re sweating..." Alice looked at Alex with worry in her eyes, she had gotten much stronger, each one of her arrows able to deal very big damage to even level 400 monsters.

"Artemis!" Alex called out, and instantly, the two-winged angel appeared beside him from a portal.

"Yeah?"

"..." Alex was surprised, but didn\'t question it, "My advancement task is to kill an angel, what do I do?"

"Oh..." Artemis whispered, scratching his chiseled chin.

Actually, Alex wanted to see the angel\'s reaction.

There was no way his loyalty to Arceus was so high he would even go as far as to not only betray but also kill another angel, right?

Alex was proven wrong instantly.

"Arceus told me to aid you until you reach level 300 at any cost, but advancement tasks are up to you to complete," Artemis mumbled, "But I\'ll just tell, there are some level 500 angels still training in the forest sometimes."

"Hm..." Alex urged him to continue.

"Though they are extremely dangerous and hostile, sometimes they even attack one another, so I\'d watch out," Artemis continued, "I don\'t know if you\'ll manage to beat them, but it\'s up to you, if you don\'t, you\'re going to be stuck here anyway."

"Are you gonna help if something bad happens?"

"Nope," Artemis said bluntly, "Arceus asked me to assist you, but not in situations like this. If you fail to even complete this small challenge, then you\'re not worthy of being his student."

Alex was perplexed, he didn\'t know why Artemis knew so much and was given this much authority by Arceus, yet somehow wasn\'t a student.

"If you\'re thinking about whether I\'m a student or not, I\'m not, I\'m simply a servant ready to serve the master at all cost, for he is the one that will rise above all eventually."

"Alright..." Alex raised his eyebrows.

"Then good luck, I\'ll grab your dead body and bring it back to the master if you die," Artemis chuckled, "Goodbye."

And then he disappeared in a flash of golden light, leaving Alex and Alice alone.

Alex clenched his fists after Artemis vanished, staring at the notification screen floating before him.

"Kill an angel... Seriously? They want me to kill one of those?!" he muttered under his breath, his frustration growing.

Alice frowned, her bow still in hand, but didn\'t say anything.

He rubbed his temple, letting out a deep sigh. "But I don\'t have a choice. Advancement tasks are mandatory. If I don\'t do this, I\'m stuck at Tier 4 forever."

Alice hesitated, then spoke softly. "Well... maybe there\'s a way. If we find a weaker one, like Artemis said. You\'ve beaten things way stronger than you before, right?"

Alex gave her a wry smile. "Yeah, but this isn\'t some random monster, Alice. Angels are... different."

Alice wondered how her companion knew that, but didn\'t ask, as she knew he was already stressed enough.

The pair moved cautiously through the dense Angel Forest, their steps muted by the mossy ground.

Alex kept his senses sharp, his hand gripping his staff tightly, while Alice walked behind him, her arrows ready to be nocked at a moment\'s notice.

It wasn\'t long before they noticed the atmosphere changing.

The air grew heavier, charged with a faint divine energy that made the hairs on Alex\'s arms stand on end.

"Feel that?" Alice whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Yeah," Alex replied, his eyes scanning the surroundings. "We\'re getting close. Stay sharp."

After a few more minutes of walking, they stopped abruptly

In the distance, through a thick canopy of trees, a clearing came into view.

"Look," Alice said, pointing.

Alex followed her gaze and froze. There, in the clearing, stood a radiant figure, its golden wings glowing faintly even in the dim forest light.

[Angel Clan Member - Level 500 Rank 6]

The angel was tall and imposing, with armor that shimmered like polished gold.

He wielded a massive blade, the weapon crackling with divine energy.

But he wasn\'t alone.

Facing him was a monstrous creature, a towering, scaly beast with fiery red eyes and jagged horns that scraped the forest canopy.

[Divine Behemoth - Level 500 Rank 6 - Mythical Boss]

[HP: 50,000,000]

Alex\'s eyes widened as he crouched lower, pulling Alice down with him. "That... must be one of those Artemis mentioned," he whispered.