The moment he arrived at the center of the [Heart of Calamity Chamber], which was massive and empty after he took the [Heart of Calamity] from its display, roars and sounds could be heard from everywhere.
[Shadow Dire Wolves], [Shadow Great Serpents], and [Scorpions of Oblivion] advanced as a single, menacing horde, encircling him after emerging from the darkness.
But in contrast to the Alex from a week and so ago, he had now advanced far enough to not fear them.
He had been saved by the Hydra previously, but this time it was only him.
[Shadow Dire Wolf - Level 400 - Superior Monster]
[Rank: Tier 6]
[HP: 25,000,000]
[Shadow Great Serpents - Level 420 - Legendary Boss Monster]
[Rank: Tier 6]
[HP: 30,000,000]
[Scorpions of Oblivion - Level 450 - Legendary Boss Monster]
[Rank: Tier 6]
[HP: 33,000,000]
The creatures numbered in the dozens, their forms grotesque and terrifying. Glowing eyes locked onto Alex, and the air grew thick with the scent of blood and shadow.
A single one couldn't even hope to fight Alex because of his high damage output, but when it was in such large numbers, it could become difficult.
Yet, all Alex saw once these monsters emerged were experience points, new items and attributes, as every single one of them would activate the extraction prompt.
The wolves charged first, their massive forms racing toward him with jaws wide and claws bared. Alex leapt back, his mana surging.
[Crimson Cataclysm]
The ground beneath the wolves exploded as crimson spikes erupted in every direction.
Dozens of sharp spires skewered the monsters, impaling them mid-leap. Blood sprayed as several wolves staggered, but the onslaught continued.
-30,000! -30,000! -30,000!
One serpent lunged at him, its fangs dripping with venom. Alex sidestepped, narrowly avoiding its bite, and retaliated with a precise strike from his dagger.
Bleeding Strike!
-234,022!
The blade sunk deep into the serpent's scales, and the massive creature recoiled, hissing as a crimson gash opened along its side.
Before it could recover, Alex raised his staff, using his most powerful spell.
"Hellfire Spear!"
A massive molten spear formed above him, its heat radiating through the chamber.
With a swift motion, Alex hurled the fiery spear toward the serpent.
The impact was cataclysmic.
The spear detonated on contact, engulfing the serpent and the surrounding enemies in a fiery explosion.
The blast obliterated everything in a 100-meter radius, leaving a smoldering crater where the serpent once stood.
-1,637,170! -1,372,994! -987,612!
The burn effects left the nearby monsters crippled, their movements sluggish and labored.
The scorpions retaliated, their pincers snapping and stingers striking with precision.
Alex conjured a shimmering barrier just in time.
High-Defense Wall!
The barrier absorbed the brunt of the attack, shattering under the force of the stingers but giving Alex enough time to reposition.
"Time to end this," he muttered. With a wave of his hand, he summoned his undead army.
From the shadows, skeletons, knights, and wraiths materialized.
The chamber was now a battlefield of chaos as his undead clashed with the encroaching monsters.
The extraction panels soon followed.
It was the same every time for the [Shadow Dire Wolves], so he simply selected the [Attributes Points Packs] 34 times.
Ding!
[+680 Strength, +680 Agility, +680 Vitality, +680 Spirit.]
It was decent, and it also allowed all his other stats to increase, but it wasn't enough yet.
Then he moved on to the [Shadow Great Serpent]'s extraction choices:
[Poisonous Serpent Meat (Epic)]
[Description: In exchange for a massive temporary boost in agility, it will give the "Poisoned" effect to the user who eats it, dealing continuous damage for 6 hours.]
[Shadow Great Serpent Fangs (Rare)]
[Description: Can be used to craft sharp weapons with the "Poison" buff on them.]
[Great Serpent Scales (Epic)]
[Description: Can be used to craft the "Great Serpent Armor"]
Alex's looked down at his own body, his [Cursed Eyes of the King] activating to check the description of the armor he was wearing.
[Superior Awakener's Set (Mythical): +3000 Physical Resistance, +3000 Magic Resistance, +1500 Strength, +1000 Agility.]
It had helped him a lot in the beginnings, but to be honest, it was starting to become outdated, especially at this stage of the game, even this random [Great Serpent Armor] probably surpassing it in terms of gains.
'Maybe I should ask Arceus,' he mumbled, though he wasn't sure he would answer, and even if he did, Alex wanted an armor that combined both Spirit but also Strength because of his assassin class.
He decided to select 17 pieces of [Poisonous Serpent Meat] and 13 [Great Serpent Scales].
No one would try to eat this meat normally, since it gave a debuff even with the massive agility boost, but thanks to Alex's [Poison Resistance], he didn't have to worry at all!
In the end, he simply moved to the [Scorpions of Oblivion].
And they granted him a very pleasant surprise.
[Please pick what to extract.]
[Superior Attributes Points Pack (Divine+)]
[Description: Grants +30 permanent points to all attributes upon use.]
[Scorpion Stinger (Legendary)]
[Description: Can be used as a weapon or to enhance another.]
[Oblivion Scorpion Pincers (Epic)]
[Description: Can be used as a weapon, nothing else.]
Of course, Alex wasn't an idiot, and so he selected the [Superior Attributes Points Pack] 23 times.
In fact, he even got lucky enough to trigger the [Double Extraction] perk he recently acquired, granting him the ability to take a [Scorpion Stinger] as well.
[Perk #2: Double Extraction; Every extraction has a 5% chance to trigger the "Double Extraction" perk, meaning you can select two items out of the three available instead of one.]
Ding!
[+690 Strength, +690 Agility, +690 Vitality, +690 Spirit.]
"Nice."
He left the [Heart of Calamity Chamber], then got rid of every single [Shadow Dire Wolf] outside of it, gaining more attributes.
This kept going for 6 days, as he had to wait 1 day every time for the monsters to respawn, and thus repeat the process.
But at the end of the sixth day, he finally managed to do it.
[+7130 to all attributes.]
The [Attributes Points Packs] he got were incredible, and though they had a less than 0.001% drop rate usually, extraction made it infinitely easier to get.
[Vitality 22,427; Strength 34,011 + 1500 + 15000; Agility 21,727 + 1000 + 10000; Spirit 26,624 + 10000]
He had also used up his [Skill Evolution] during those six days, allowing him to evolve [Hellfire Spear] to its [High-Tier] upgrade: [Spear of Hell].
And now, it was time to max it out and see just how good it would be.