Extracting a unique talent

Five minutes ago,

"Have you managed to contact Daniel? I can't endure this wretched situation any longer!" Gregor inquired.

"I'm sorry, sir. I couldn't reach Mr. Daniel. I suspect he may have lost his phone or worse he became—" the man began to explain.

"Don't say it. It's impossible for Daniel to turn into a zombie while your useless ass still alive. It's because you're piece of garbage," Gregor yelled at the man before muttering to himself, "If he really turned into a zombie, how will I ever reach Prince Marcus? Without his assistance, I might meet my end on some forsaken street at the hands of these ugly monsters."

"I'll keep trying to reach Mr. Daniel, and I'll inform you when I succeed," the man promised before exiting the room.

He ventured into a corridor filled with numerous doors, heading directly for one from which light spilled underneath.

Upon entering, a woman with a mocking tone immediately greeted him, "How did it go, Cedric? Is that jerk still up to his usual shit?"

"Gregor is certainly frustrated," Cedric acknowledged in hushed tones. "But keep your voice down, Carla. Despite him being insufferable, we still require his cooperation. If we can secure a place under Prince Marcus's protection, we'll have a safe haven in this chaotic world."

"You're indeed right, Cedric. If it weren't for Gregor's connections, I would have quit this job on day one," Carla admitted.

"Speaking of his connections, how could a mere manager have ties to a prince?" inquired Tony, the third and last person in the room.

"Ah, yes, you're new here Tony, and it hasn't been long since you entered this field, and you're still quite young," Cedric began to explain. "You see, Gregor managed a relatively unknown fighter, but that fighter turned out to be an anomaly in the industry. He utterly dominated everyone, and, naturally, Gregor's star rose with him. You know, Ashen the fallen king?"

"Oh, you mean him. Yeah, he was undeniably one of the best fighters I've ever seen. I still can't believe he got caught using banned stimulants," Tony replied.

"You're incredibly naive to buy into that nonsense. You're a world-class bodyguard, Tony. Shouldn't you know the difference between a genuine fighter and an enhanced one?" Carla mocked.

"What? Do you mean he didn't? But the examination organization can't be bribed, not even by the royal family. He must have," Tony expressed in shock.

"Well, after the news about him came out, experts in the field were divided into two groups. Some believed it was impossible, while others insisted it had to be true because bribing the organization wasn't feasible," explained Cedric.

"Initially, we thought the organization had lost its credibility due to bribery because we were sure that he was clean, but the real story is that Ashen was betrayed by his own comrades. Daniel, his opponent in the final of the empire championship, was quite wealthy, thanks to his father's numerous world-class companies.

He met Ashen's comrades at a special event, initially trying to woo Ashen's girlfriend. Through her, he gained access to Ashen's friends and offered them substantial sums of money to put banned stimulants in Ashen's food. Greed clouded their judgment, and that's how they agreed. The rest, as they say, is history. Ashen, of course, sought revenge, but Daniel had many more connections than him and one of them was the prince Marcus. He enlisted the prince's help and managed to isolate him. No one dared to speak a word about it as on one hand was a new rising star with no connection or anything and on the other hand the prince of an entire empire ."

"Damn, so this is the real story behind it. Wait, is the media frenzy against him also orchestrated by the prince?" Tony inquired.

"Well, yes, it was, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Ashen, consumed by rage, attempted to attack the prince. Naturally, that didn't end well for him. Afterward, the prince resolved to completely destroy Ashen, leaving him cast aside in the streets, stripped of his dignity, and on the brink of starvation, he may even be dead now" Cedric concluded.

"Following that, Ashen's former comrades joined Daniel's entourage and rose to prominence alongside him. They eventually reached the prince's inner circle and the global stage. Consequently, they hired us, world-class bodyguards, out of fear that Ashen might target these 'small fries,'" Cedric added.

Before Tony could respond, the door swung open, and an infuriated Gregor stormed in, his face red with anger as he shouted, "Who are you calling small fries? That idiot Ashen believed he was some big shot after a few victories, but he was destined to fail. So why should I stick with a losing bet? Now, get back to your damn duties and cut the chit-chat!"

"Yes, sir," they responded in unison. Just as Gregor was about to exit the room, he was startled by a voice filled with intense hatred, seemingly rising from the depths of hell, coming from the window.

"It's really you. I never thought I'd encounter you this soon."

Gregor's heart began to race, and his knees felt like jelly as he turned toward the window, only to be met with the sight of Ashen glaring at him with an intense violet glow in his eyes.

"A-Ashen, what are you doing here? Get away from me! Get away!" Gregor stammered, his voice trembling as if his worst nightmares had come true. He stumbled backward, landing on the floor, and shouted at the trio, "What are you waiting for? Go and kill him! Do your jobs!"

The trio exchanged nervous glances, their eyes revealing the anxiety they were experiencing. Confronting a seemingly unbeatable opponent had placed immense pressure on their shoulders. Just as they were preparing to take action, Ashen fixed his gaze on them and uttered with a chilling, intimidating tone, "Don't you dare to interfere. If any one of you takes a step forward, I'll kill him."

A shiver ran down their spines upon hearing his ominous words. However, Gregor's voice pierced through their hesitation once more, urging them into action. "Don't just stand there like statues. What are you afraid of? Have you forgotten the abilities and powers you've acquired? This isn't the old world. You can defeat him easily."

After being spurred into action by Gregor's words, the trio decided to confront Ashen. As Ashen leaped through the window, his first encounter was with Cedric.

Cedric's hands emitted a searing red glow, exuding intense heat. He attempted to grasp Ashen's head, but Ashen's agility prevailed. With a swift low kick, Ashen brought Cedric to his knees. Cedric's last memory was of Ashen's other leg moving toward the side of his head before everything faded to black.

Following this, Ashen hurled his two daggers at Carla, who stood behind Cedric. The daggers flew at an incredible speed, one aimed at her head and the other at her heart.

Carla had little time to react as the events unfolded rapidly. She witnessed Cedric on his knees and the next moment, his head was sent flying by a kick. Then, two daggers were hurtling toward her.

Quickly activating her unique talent, Carla summoned a small ice shield in front of her face, successfully deflecting the first dagger. However, the second dagger managed to pierce her, and as she shifted the shield away from her face to face Ashen, her vision faded to black, the last thing she saw was a punch .

Following his actions against Cedric and Carla, Ashen intended to confront Tony next. However, before he could reach him, he was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning, and thorny roots swiftly coiled around his legs.

After a few moments, the lightning dissipated, leaving Ashen standing there, his body scorched and emitting steam.

"Hahaha, Ashen, you fool! What did you think would happen with your dramatic entrance? Do you still believe you're an invincible fighter? HAHAHA!" Gregor mocked, his laughter echoing in the room.

While Gregor laughed maniacally, Tony retrieved a dagger from his pocket and advanced quickly toward Ashen, intending to deliver a fatal blow.

However, Ashen moved swiftly when the bodyguard was in his range, surprising Tony, and struck him with a powerful punch to the throat. Following this, a radiant white light enveloped Ashen's body, and his previous injuries were healed and he was back at his peak .

Gregor's laughter abruptly halted, replaced by sheer horror that overtook his face as he witnessed this turn of events.

After retrieving his daggers and approaching Gregor, Ashen began walking towards him with determination. He spoke, his voice cold and filled with contempt, "Now it's just you and me, you worthless piece of trash."

"No, no, stay away!" Gregor screamed, panic overtaking him. He raised his hand, conjuring bolts of lightning that struck Ashen's body. However, Ashen continued to advance, seemingly unaffected by the electrical onslaught.

After several more futile attempts, the lightning ceased to appear, and Gregor began to crawl backward until he was pinned against the wall. At that moment, he realized his impending demise and started pleading for Ashen's forgiveness, offering the most feeble excuses. But Ashen had only one word for him, "Trash."

Gregor's agonizing screams echoed for hours and hours that night.

__________

After several hours of brutal torturing, Ashen was drenched in blood from head to toe, and what remained of Gregor's body lay in front of him. There wasn't a single unscathed patch left on Gregor's corpse.

"Now, let's return to the kids; they must be worried," Ashen thought, a sense of satisfaction washing over him for the vengeance he had exacted.

However, just as he was about to leave the room, a memory stirred within him, prompting him to pause.

Ashen paused, contemplating the possibility of extracting the unique talents from the corpses. He touched Cedric's body, which was closest to him, and commanded, "Extract."

Dark energy surrounded the lifeless forms of everyone in the room, and after a minute, it dissipated. Two notifications rang in Ashen's mind:

[ You extracted the corpses of level 9, 8, 10, and 11 humans! + 7 mana, +5 dexterity, +4 strength ]

[ You extracted four unique talents:

Fire hands (C rank)

Ice shield (C rank)

Thornal roots (B rank)

Lightning bolt (A rank)

You can only add one unique talent because your level is very low. The rest will be stored ]

Ashen stood there in awe, his mouth wide open at the second notification. After a moment of stunned silence, he regained his composure and thought, " I've struck gold this time."

He decided to add the talent "Lightning bolt." Initially, he felt nothing, but after a second, an intense surge of lightning coursed through his entire body, accompanied by excruciating pain and numerous small injuries.

This torment continued for approximately ten minutes, during which Ashen felt he was reaching his breaking point, on the verge of losing consciousness. Then, suddenly, the pain ceased, and the last thing he heard before slipping into unconsciousness was the system notification confirming the successful addition of Lightning bolt .