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As we moved through the corridors, I continued spreading Harmony across my surroundings, suppressing the Nightmare Erosion as much as possible.

While I did so, Astraea spoke to me once more.

[Elizabeth, did you notice? I have unlocked a new function: the Extraction System.]

"Extraction System?"

[Yes. By using it on a viable target, it is possible to Extract Items from them.]

"Wait, like Treasure Chests?"

[Treasure Chests and dropped items are part of most Dungeons. This Nightmare Nest does not seem to be fully assimilated with the System. However, if you go deeper, items may begin to appear.]

"Okay, so this is different?"

[Yes. At this level, the Extraction System allows you to extract Values, Low Grade Items, and Skill Shards from targets. They must be recently deceased corpses, within 24 hours.]

[You cannot use it on anything else for now.]

"I see. Let me check then."

I quickly laid out all forty or so corpses on the floor and pointed my hand forward.

"Extract."

With that System command, Astraea’s power activated. In mere seconds, dozens of ethereal fragments emerged from the monster corpses, flying toward me before transforming into items.

Ding!

[You have Extracted]:

[Soul Enhancement Elixir (C Grade)] x3

[Spirit Enhancement Elixir (C Grade)] x3

[Mana Enhancement Elixir (C Grade)] x3

[Bonus EXP Card (C Grade)] x3

[Nightmare Beast Skill Shards (??? Grade)] x7

[Low-Tier Nightmare Beast Ring (C Grade)]

[Low-Tier Abyss Necklace (C Grade)]

[Low-Tier Shadow Sword (C Grade)]

[Low-Tier Book of Nightmares (C Grade)]

"Oh, maybe I could feed these to my Grimoires or the shapeshifting weapon," I said. A powerful wave surged through me, leaving me feeling far stronger than before.

First, I inspected every new item, driven by curiosity. The Nightmare Beast Ring boosted strength and agility slightly while infusing attacks with nightmare energy. The necklace offered similar benefits. The sword was forged entirely of darkness and could shapeshift to surprise foes. The Book of Nightmares served as a lesser grimoire containing only a few spells.

"What do I do with these Skill Shards?" I asked Astraea.

[If you gather ten, you can create a new Skill to use yourself or grant to someone else. You can also use them now to boost the growth of compatible Skills or even evolve them.]

"I see... and these cards? Wow, what are they?"

I was most surprised by the strange cards. They felt like they were made of some kind of metal.

[Hold one and think about using it. Why not give it a try?]

"Okay."

I nodded and activated the card. Green energy shot into my body, enhancing my ability to earn Experience Points.

[You have used the [Bonus EXP Card (C Grade)]. Your EXP earned has been doubled for the next hour.]

"Doubled?!"

[Doubled is the smallest multiplier. You can later obtain cards that increase EXP earned by three times, four times, five times, ten times, and more.]

"I see."

They seemed identical to those from the game. It appeared there were far more mechanics and hidden items in this world than I had imagined.

"Extraction is an incredible ability, Astraea. Does everyone have it?"

[Hm? Of course not. Only those with an independent System Spirit such as yourself—or a few others—could develop such a unique power. It is essentially your personal cheat, Master. Quests, however, are common. In Yggdrasil specifically, Quests are commonplace, especially Instance Party Quests.]

[Adventurers gather where portals open toward large temporary dungeons filled with challenges. Once the party completes the Instance Quest, they earn luxurious rewards to accelerate their growth.]

That was just like in the game!

So many elements from "Your Story Online" existed in this world, yet they were not obvious at first. They were scattered and integrated more naturally into the world itself.

"With us dragons overseeing everything, is it really necessary to incentivize the growth of mortals?" I asked, a touch of cockiness in my voice.

[Hmm. From what I have learned, dangers lurk in every corner of all Worlds. No matter how many guardians exist, if the people themselves remain defenseless, there will always be victims. That is why the System strives to help anyone willing to grow.]

"So that’s how it is. I understand."

I took out the Elixirs from my inventory and drank them all after Astraea confirmed they would permanently increase each Stat by 5,000.

[You have consumed [Soul Enhancement Elixir (C Grade)] x3]

[You gained +15,000 Soul Stats.]

[You have consumed [Spirit Enhancement Elixir (C Grade)] x3]

[You gained +15,000 Spirit Stats.]

[You have consumed [Mana Enhancement Elixir (C Grade)] x3]

[You gained +15,000 Mana Stats.]

"Stats! I became stronger?"

I was surprised. Though the increases seemed small compared to my already high base stats, they were still valuable—especially if I could obtain more Elixirs by slaying additional monsters.

[Daily Extraction Uses: 1/3]

"Only three?!"

[Yes. For now it is at the lowest level, so you do not have unlimited uses. Targeting large groups of corpses is always better, so wait until you have defeated enough foes, Elizabeth.]

"Hmm, true. Alright," I nodded. "As for these items... Asmodeus, eat!"

Asmodeus opened his jaws, revealing sharp fangs within his pages and a long tongue. I threw several items inside. He crushed them with his teeth and swallowed, clearly enjoying the taste.

[You have fed your Familiar: [Demonic Grimoire of Chaos: Asmodeus – Rank 1: Level 0/100] the following items: [Low-Tier Nightmare Beast Ring (C Grade)], [Low-Tier Abyss Necklace (C Grade)], [Low-Tier Book of Nightmares (C Grade)]!]

[Your Familiar: [Demonic Grimoire of Chaos: Asmodeus – Rank 1: Level 0/100] has Leveled Up to Level 25!]

[Your Familiar: [Demonic Grimoire of Chaos: Asmodeus – Rank 1: Level 25/100] has learned the new Spell: {Nightmare Curse}!]

Asmodeus even gained a new Spell. It was simpler than it sounded: it inflicted nightmares on a target’s mind, confusing them, slowing them down, and weakening them for a few seconds.

"As for this sword... Huh?"

Ariel floated beside me, clearly expecting her reward as well. My shapeshifting weapon had yet to receive a proper meal.

"Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t have given so many to Asmodeus..." I sighed. "Okay, wait here."

I retrieved some Nightmare Cores from the stored corpses and used Harmony on them.

Ding!

[You have transformed the [Nightmare Cores (Rank 6+)] x4 into [Harmonious Dream Cores (Rank 7)]!]

"Rank 6 Nightmare Cores became Rank 7... I guess that’s my power," I said. "Here, take these."

I fed Ariel the purified cores. She ate them happily and began leveling up. For now, I planned to feed them gradually rather than all at once. Too much at the same time could never be good for them.

[You have fed your Familiar: [Divine Grimoire of Harmony: Ariel – Rank 1: Level 0/100] the following items: [Harmonious Dream Cores (Rank 7)] x4]

[Your Familiar: [Divine Grimoire of Harmony: Ariel – Rank 1: Level 0/100] has Leveled Up to Level 20!]

[Your Familiar: [Divine Grimoire of Harmony: Ariel – Rank 1: Level 20/100] has learned the new Spell: {Good Dreams}!]

Ariel learned a new Spell capable of clearing Nightmare Curses—like a perfect counter—and granting wonderful dreams that rejuvenated those who slept.

"I’ll take it," I said. "Now it’s your turn."

My Spirit Golem Shapeshifting Weapon appeared beside me, resembling a cute red slime with golden horns. I held the Shadow Sword and inverted it as well.

"Harmony."

FLASH!

The Shadow Sword glowed with brilliant white and gold light. Its shadows vanished, replaced by blinding radiance.

[You have used Harmony to transform: [Low-Tier Shadow Sword (C Grade)] into [Spirit Sword of Light (B Grade)]!]

"It worked! Here, little one, eat this!"

The little slime absorbed the sword of light with ease, dissolving it inside its body.

[You have fed your Spirit Soul Weapon: [Spirit Golem Shapeshifting Weapon – Tier 2] with the [Spirit Sword of Light (B Grade)]!]

[Your Spirit Soul Weapon: [Spirit Golem Shapeshifting Weapon – Tier 2] Growth has increased from 0% to 30%!]

[Your Spirit Soul Weapon: [Spirit Golem Shapeshifting Weapon – Tier 2: 30%] has unlocked the Ability to transform into constructs made of Light.]

We continued deeper into the Nest, entering the first of the three corridors and pushing into its depths. There, I found a vast chamber forged from crystals and nightmarish trees. It was far larger than I had imagined—and oppressively dark.

"It’s so dark and quiet here..." Mongrel whimpered.

"Are you chickening out?" I teased. "Alright, let there be light."

I conjured a simple Light Spell, summoning dozens of glowing spheres throughout the room. The bright light illuminated everything for a moment before the darkness swallowed it once more.

In that instant, it revealed dozens of giant bat-like Nightmare Beasts hanging from the ceiling.

And that light had truly enraged them.

"HISSSSS!"

With furious hissing roars, a massive flock of car-sized bats swarmed us in seconds. They descended from above, baring razor-sharp fangs and venomous claws.

The System quickly identified them as Rank 7 Monsters called "Venomous Nightmarish Bats." What shocked me most was their high rank. Wasn’t this level reserved for bosses?

"Careful!"

I instantly called upon Ariel and conjured barriers while holding Tiamat’s shield at the front. I enlarged it to its maximum size, over five meters tall. The shield protected me from attacks above and ahead, while Ariel’s strengthened Protective Shield Spell guarded everyone behind me.

I held my shapeshifting weapon and, with a mental command, transformed it into the Spirit Sword of Light—now scaled up to match my size and easily exceeding five meters in length. With Tool Mastery and Astraea correcting my accuracy, I swung desperately at the bats in front while gripping the shield tightly.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

I wished I knew a proper swordsmanship art! I had yet to learn any of those. After all, I was still a six-year-old in body. My Dragon Form thankfully made my small physique irrelevant, but I still needed to train more seriously once I escaped this place.

"Gyyaaaarrr!"

The bats died in droves. They kept hurling themselves at me, clawing uselessly at the shield before being sliced apart by the giant sword. Infusing it with Harmony and Origin Flames made each strike even deadlier.

At the same time, I pointed behind me and launched Harmonious Origin Flame Knives. I elongated them with a mental command, turning them into burning swords of holy fire that bombarded the bats above and behind us, exploding them into pieces.

Paragon and Mongrel fought well. After leveling up significantly, both had grown tougher and stronger. Mongrel summoned black chains that drained nightmare essence from his enemies, while Paragon’s sword strikes grew increasingly precise and powerful.

Wait, Paragon was an amazing swordsman. Since he was my Incarnation, perhaps I could imitate his movements?

"HISSSSS!"

But I had little time to dwell on such thoughts. The bats outnumbered us far more than expected. As we defended and killed as many as we could, several remained on the ceiling and began dropping acidic venom. It slowly eroded my barriers. Some venom splashed onto my scales, burning like hell. The damage could heal, but if too much fell on me, it would melt me to the bone.

Tiamat’s shield was large and strong, yet it consumed massive amounts of Mana and Divine Energy to maintain its size. And because it was so heavy, holding it overhead felt like inviting death by crushing.

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