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, he noticed that his system had populated his vision with several new alerts.

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

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

As he lowered himself onto the chilly floor, Kyle chose to ignore the notification once more. Sitting on a dead body was not something he felt right about, so he forced himself to endure the discomfort of the hard ground instead.

"Haa~ I never imagined I’d end up on an airship under these circumstances..." Kyle whispered, reflecting on the memories that had merged with his own soul.

At only thirteen years old, Kyle Marshall had been supporting himself by assisting a friend of his father. This man was a watchmaker who operated out of the narrow backstreets of Melthorn City.

The watchmaker’s son had originally been the one destined for one of the Arcane Academies. However, a tragic accident had rendered that dream impossible for him to achieve.

To put it simply, Kyle became the beneficiary of the old man's legacy. This inheritance consisted of more than just the applicant's token; it also included a high-priced pocket watch that had drawn the unwanted attention of about ten bandits.

Only a few days prior, Kyle had intended to visit the old man in the alleyway before heading to the recruitment grounds. Instead, he arrived to find the elderly man being assaulted by a group of thugs.

They were hunting for the watch. Although Kyle wanted to hand it over to save the man's life, the watchmaker shouted a warning for him to keep it. Ultimately, the old man was murdered, and the robbers set their sights on Kyle as well. He understood that regardless of whether he surrendered the gold watch, those people intended to kill him.

Ha~

Kyle let out a heavy sigh as he finished recalling the tragedy and began checking his own condition. The token had vanished, but the pocket watch remained in his possession.

Click…

He triggered the mechanism on the spherical watch. As the gold-plated casing flipped open, it revealed a device that had been completely scorched. It was clearly non-functional now.

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

He wasn't certain when the damage occurred, but he had noticed the state of the device while fleeing for his life. At the time, he had entertained the thought of using it as a makeshift weapon, checking its condition mid-run.

'Could this be linked to my soul’s arrival?' Kyle pondered. He felt there had to be a catalyst for his presence here. It was possible this shattered pocket watch served as the bridge that allowed him to inhabit the boy's body.

'I’ve probably read too many fantasy novels to be coming up with theories like this...' A helpless smile touched Kyle's lips 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 in waiting for something that might never happen. Rather than just hoping I survive while being this weak, I should focus on gaining power. Maybe then I can actually enjoy this life, even if it ends up being short.'

Having reached a decision, Kyle prepared to utilize his system. Since he was surrounded by plenty of bodies to harvest, he expected to gather a significant amount of mystical energy or similar resources. He would figure out his next move once he escaped this room.

Taking a deep breath, he finally responded to the system's prompt.

"Yes…"

The system provided an immediate response.

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

'Hmm? Is that all?'

Kyle felt conflicted about the output. He had no frame of reference for what this "energy" actually signified.

Ding…

Just as the thought crossed his mind, another alert popped up. It appeared that using the system had triggered the activation of its secondary features.

[ Name: Kyle Marshall ]

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

[ Available Energy: 5 ]

Kyle examined the new interface carefully. While the attributes were self-explanatory, the energy points remained a mystery. Seeing them listed separately as "available" suggested they might function as a spendable resource or a type of currency.

He couldn't be certain.

Regardless of their exact nature, he knew that higher values were always preferable, just like with his attribute scores.

Scanning the area again, he estimated there were roughly twenty corpses scattered around him.

'If these people died from the same potion, they probably weren't particularly gifted either,' Kyle mused as he began the extraction process. Because these individuals had been as weak as he was, his expectations remained low.

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

"Yes…"

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

With a wry smile, Kyle kept going.

[ 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 ]

Curiously, he was gaining Intelligence points almost exclusively, with no Vitality gains to be found. It seemed there were underlying mechanics he had yet to uncover.

Kyle paused for a moment to sense the shifts occurring within his body. While a single extraction provided a negligible boost, the cumulative effect of twenty was starting to feel significant.

He had processed a total of 21 corpses.

Only one body remained. After a brief rest, 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 this was a result of his improved Intelligence or merely his imagination.

[ 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 of a higher caliber than the rest.

This body belonged to the man wearing the luminous necklace—the very item providing the only source of light in the freezing, dark chamber.

Once the extraction was complete, Kyle reached down to claim the necklace for himself.