Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy Chapter 3 Extraction

The turbulent shaking of the airship left Kyle feeling lightheaded for a brief moment. Once the vessel finally leveled out and stabilized, he noticed that several new system notifications had appeared before him.

[ Human corpse has been discovered. Would you like to extract it? ]

It appeared that physical contact with the deceased triggered the ability to harvest something from them.

Kyle chose to ignore the prompt once more, settling himself onto the freezing floor. He felt an instinctive repulsion at the thought of sitting on a dead body, so he forced himself to endure the discomfort of the hard ground.

"Haa~ I never imagined I would find myself on an airship under these circumstances..." Kyle whispered, reflecting on the memories that had merged with his own soul.

The original Kyle Marshall was a mere thirteen-year-old boy. He had been supporting himself by assisting a friend of his father—a watchmaker operating out of the dim back alleys of Melthorn City.

The old craftsman had intended for his own son to attend one of the prestigious Arcane Academies. Tragically, those dreams were shattered by a fatal accident involving the son.

To put it simply, Kyle became the unintended heir to the old man's legacy. This inheritance consisted of an applicant’s token and a high-value pocket watch, the latter of which had drawn the unwanted attention of a dozen or so thugs.

Just a few days prior, while Kyle was on his way to see the old man before heading to the recruitment grounds, he stumbled upon a group of people brutally beating the watchmaker.

They were hunting for the watch. Although Kyle wanted to hand it over to save the old man's life, the craftsman shouted a warning for him to keep it. Ultimately, the old man was murdered, and the robbers turned their lethal intent toward Kyle. He understood that regardless of whether he surrendered the watch, they would never let him leave alive.

Ha~

Kyle let out a heavy sigh as he finished recalling the tragedy and checked his current state. While the token had been lost, the pocket watch remained in his possession.

Click…

He triggered the latch on the spherical timepiece. The gold-plated lid popped open, exposing a scorched internal mechanism. It was completely ruined.

Yet, the memories of this body confirmed that the device had been in perfect working order when it was first handed to him.

He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment it broke, but he had noticed the damage while fleeing for his life. At the time, he had considered using the heavy watch as a makeshift weapon and had inspected it mid-run.

'Could this be tied to my soul's transmigration?' Kyle pondered, sensing there had to be a catalyst for his arrival in this world. It was possible this shattered watch served as the conduit for his entry into the boy's body.

'I've probably read too many fantasy novels to be coming up with these theories...' Kyle gave a helpless grin as his hand brushed against the corpse lying next to him.

[ Human corpse has been discovered. Would you like to extract it? ]

'There is no use waiting for something I don't understand. Rather than hoping for safety while I'm vulnerable, I should focus on gaining power. Maybe I can actually enjoy this life, even if it ends up being short.'

Steeling his resolve, Kyle decided to finally engage with the system. He was surrounded by plenty of bodies to harvest, which should provide a significant amount of mystical energy or whatever resources they held. He would figure out his next move once he escaped this room.

He took a long, steadying breath and gave his answer to the system's prompt.

"Yes…"

The system responded instantly with a confirmation.

[ Extraction successful. Energy +5. Intelligence +0.01 ]

'Hmm? Is that all there is to it?'

Kyle was conflicted by the meager result. He had no frame of reference for what this "energy" actually signified.

Ding…

As the thought crossed his mind, a new notification surfaced. It appeared that utilizing the system had triggered the activation of its secondary functions.

[ Name: Kyle Marshall ]

[ Attributes: Strength 0.63, Agility 0.91, Intelligence 0.71, Vitality 0.52 ]

[ Available Energy: 5 ]

Kyle studied the newly manifested interface. While the primary attributes were self-explanatory, the energy points remained a mystery. Seeing them labeled as "available" gave him the impression they were a type of spendable currency or stat points.

He couldn't be certain yet.

However, he knew instinctively that higher numbers were always preferable, just like with his basic attributes.

Scanning the room again, he estimated there were approximately twenty corpses scattered around him.

'If these people also died from the potion, they probably weren't very gifted either...' Kyle mused as he prepared to begin the mass extraction. Since these individuals were just as weak as his current self, he kept his expectations low.

[ Human corpse has been discovered. Would you like to extract it? ]

"Yes…"

[ Extraction successful. Energy +5. Intelligence +0.01 ]

Kyle gave a wry smile and moved to the next one.

[ Extraction successful. Energy +5. Intelligence +0.01 ]

[ Extraction successful. Energy +5. Strength +0.01 ]

[ Extraction successful. Energy +5. Intelligence +0.01 ]

[ Extraction successful. Energy +5. Intelligence +0.01 ]

[ Extraction successful. Energy +5. Agility +0.01 ]

…

[ Extraction successful. Energy +5. Intelligence +0.01 ]

For some inexplicable reason, the extractions were yielding mostly Intelligence points and absolutely no Vitality. It seemed there were hidden mechanics or rules governing the process that he had yet to uncover.

Kyle paused briefly, sensing subtle shifts within his own body. While a single extraction felt like nothing, the cumulative effect of twenty was becoming noticeable.

He had successfully processed 21 corpses in total.

Only one body remained. After a short rest to catch his breath, he moved to finish the task.

He had saved this particular corpse for last because it felt distinct from the others. He wasn't sure if his rising Intelligence stat was sharpening his intuition or if he was simply imagining things.

[ Human corpse has been discovered. Would you like to extract it? ]

"Yes…"

[ Extraction successful. Energy +5. Intelligence +0.05 ]

As he had suspected, this individual was superior to the rest.

The man he had just extracted from was wearing a shimmering necklace. It had been the sole source of faint light in the freezing, pitch-black room.

Once the extraction was complete, Kyle reached down and claimed the necklace for himself.