Vael returned a few moments later, dragging a grey-furred dire wolf by its leg.
Its neck was mangled—crushed badly, with only a thin strip of flesh still holding the head to the body. Blood dripped steadily from the wound, leaving a trail behind him as he pulled it forward.
With a soft grunt, Vael dropped the corpse in front of Elias with a dull thud.
"All done, Master," he said calmly, straightening back up.
Elias gave him a nod of approval. "Good job. Looks like you didn't use your dagger, just like I asked."
Vael nodded. "Yes, I didn't need to. I just crushed its neck."
Elias blinked, then let out a slow breath. "Right. That explains it."
He looked at the wolf's shattered neck. The creature's eyes were still open wide, frozen in a mix of shock and confusion—as if it never even realized it had died.
'It must not have seen death coming.'
That was Vael's way—fast, quiet, and strong.
Elias shook his head, staring at the mess. Vael must've misunderstood his instructions. Elias had told him not to use his dagger to avoid any contamination, since the blade was enchanted with poison. He had expected Vael to use the dull knife they'd used earlier to cut the ashveil grass. With Vael's strength, that would've been enough to get the job done.
Instead, Vael had gone with brute force.
Elias sighed.
'Whatever works, I guess.'
In the end, he got what he wanted—a fresh meal.
Then he paused.
'Now how the hell do I butcher this?'
He frowned. Back on Earth, he hadn't even cleaned a fish before—let alone butchered a magical beast. He had no clue where to start.
> [Why not use your Extraction Talent?]
Elias' eyes lit up.
"Oh… right."
He hadn't exactly forgotten about his talent—but it still felt kind of vague. He only had a rough idea of what "Extraction" meant. But hearing the system suggest it now was all the confirmation he needed.
"Here goes nothing…"
He stretched his hand toward the wolf's corpse.
> [Would you like to extract Dire Wolf? Cost: -3 Extraction Points]
[Yes] / [No]
Without hesitation, Elias willed it to proceed.
The moment he did, another screen flashed in front of his eyes:
> [Perfect Extraction triggered.]
Suddenly, a swirling red vortex formed in his palm, spinning with raw energy. He felt his mana being pulled—less than when summoning Vael, but enough to feel the drain.
The wolf's body shimmered, then vanished into the vortex, as if swallowed by an invisible mouth.
> [Extraction Complete.]
You have received:
×25 Dire Wolf Meat
×1 Beast Core
×2 Beast Fangs
×1 Frosthide Shawl
Note: All items have been added to your Inventory.
Elias' eyes widened. "Woah…"
But before he could process it all, another notification appeared:
> [First Extraction Complete.]
Reward:
+40 Experience Points
+10 Extraction Points
+3 Attribute Points
"Not bad at all," Elias muttered with a grin.
Then Alia's voice echoed in his mind, confused and amazed.
"[W-What just happened to the wolf, Master!? I felt it get… broken down somehow, and then—poof—gone.]"
Even Vael, still standing nearby, furrowed his brows. He didn't speak, but Elias could tell he was curious too. First the grass disappeared—now a whole wolf.
Elias answered Alia first.
"It's my talents," he explained. "Extraction. It lets me extract things out of stuff. I don't fully understand how it works yet—this was my first time using it."
"[Wooah. That's crazy… Can you extract everything?]" she whispered, amazed.
"Seems like it. But I haven't tested the limits yet."
"[I see…]" Alia went quiet again, clearly still thinking it over, as she always did.
Elias then turned to Vael.
"You know you can ask me questions, right?"
Vael hesitated. "It is not my place to pry, Master."
Elias gave a tired sigh. "Don't be like that. We're going to be together for a long time—fighting, surviving, building something bigger. We won't get far if we don't understand each other. So if you're curious about anything, just ask."
There was a short pause. Then finally, Vael gave a slight nod. "…Then allow me to ask. What was that just now? The grass, the wolf… Is it some kind of spatial magic?"
Elias smiled, then began explaining.
He told Vael about the system, how it worked on a point-based structure, and how he could sell things to the system in exchange for points, which could then be used in the system shop. He also told him about the Extraction talent—how it allowed him to pull useful items or resources out of things.
Vael remained quiet, listening closely as Elias explained everything.
When Elias finished, Vael was silent for a moment, then simply nodded. "I see."
Without saying anything else, he turned and walked toward the edge of the house, standing still like a statue, blending into the shadows as if he were part of them.
Elias, meanwhile, focused back on the system.
"That 'Perfect Extraction' message… what does it mean exactly?"
[Extraction comes in three categories:]
• Basic Extraction – yields 20–30% of possible items
• Advanced Extraction – yields 50–70%
• Perfect Extraction – yields full or nearly full item count
Elias frowned. "Then how do I trigger each of these categories?"
[Extraction category is determined randomly. There is no known method to force a specific result. It's based on luck.]
"Tch… Just my luck," Elias muttered.
He opened his inventory screen next, smiling as he looked at all the items he had gotten. Then his eyes landed on one in particular—Frosthide Shawl.
Curious, he focused on it. A moment later, a detailed description appeared.
---
Frosthide Shawl → Cloak
Rarity: Common
Type: Crafted Outerwear
Passive Effects:
• Insulates against cold environments
• Grants +2 Physical Resistance
• Lightweight and durable
---
Elias grinned as he stared at the information.
'I can extract drops too?'
He remembered how rare item drops were back on Earth. In all his months playing Emperor's Dominion, he could count the number of drops he received on one hand.
Sure, some of that was due to his bad luck—but even the average player rarely got more than a handful of drops in that time frame. It was just a rare occurrence overall.
But now, from a simple dead wolf, he had gotten a drop. Even if it was just a common item, it was still something. After all, the dire wolf was only a level-three beast—you couldn't expect much more from it.
Still, being able to extract drops like this was a huge deal. A complete game changer.
Though one thing lingered in his mind—was it only possible because it was a Perfect Extraction? Or could the other extraction types give drops too?
He didn't have an answer yet, so he decided to test that later. For now, there was something more important to handle—food.
He opened the system shop and navigated to the recipe section.
He had no cooking experience at all. Back on Earth, he mostly survived on takeout. The closest he ever came to cooking was making instant noodles—and even that probably didn't count.
There was no way he was about to attempt some fancy wolf steak with zero skills.
So, he needed a recipe.
After adjusting the filters to show basic options, a small list appeared.
---
> [Recipe Shop – Basic Tier]
• Dire Wolf Bone Broth Soup – 100 Karma Points
• Spiced Meat Jerky – 120 Karma Points
• Roasted Dire Shanks – 90 Karma Points
• Dire Wolf Meat Stew – 150 Karma Points
• Plain Grilled Chops – 80 Karma Points
---
He chose the Dire Wolf Bone Broth Soup for 100 Karma Points.
A parchment materialized in front of him.
> [Would you like to learn Dire Wolf Broth Soup Recipe?]
Without hesitation, Elias selected Yes. The parchment turned into golden dust and floated into his head. Instantly, a wave of information hit his mind—the full recipe had been learned.
"Nice."
Now he just needed a way to cook it. This wasn't Earth—there were no stoves or microwaves lying around.
---
> [Cooking Setups Shop]
• Basic Campfire Kit – 80 Karma Points
(Includes cooking tripod, iron pot, and fire-starting tools)
• Stone Hearth Blueprint – 300 Karma Points
(Unlocks building a simple outdoor cooking area)
• Magic Cooking Pot – 600 Karma Points
(Cooks meals without flames, consumes mana)
---
"Let's go with the campfire kit," Elias muttered, selecting the cheapest option.
A moment later, the Basic Campfire Kit appeared in front of him, fully materialized.
But he didn't start cooking just yet—there was still one problem.
He didn't have any water.