Infinite Extraction

Note: I-grade is the lowest ranked talent a candidate can obtain, and SSS-grade is the highest talent that can be obtained. Anything from A-grade to above is considered Unique and one of a kind ]

"...Seriously?"

Jason's calm was immediately toppled down as he slightly became nervous. It was not only him, every other candidate was nervous and curios.

The [Chat Room] already had +200 new messages in just seconds. These people were really hyped up for the talent. And so was he.

[ XXX45: Damn!! There's such a thing?! ]

[ XXX15: Hahaha, even if I start off as Rank 0, if I obtain a very high ranked talent, I'll still f*ck you all up ]

[ XXX19: Wishful thinking ]

[ XXX15: Why you..!! ]

[ XXX19: Oh!! Would you look at that, an SS-grade talent. Along with a Rank 1 starting point. What did you get, champ? ]

[ XXX15: ... ]

[ XXX855: F*CK!! A B-grade? ]

[ XX136: ... ]

Jason ran through most of the notification and realized a trend. The so called Unique Talents, A-grade and above, were quite rare.

'It's like a real game. The most powerful tools and treasure arent easy to come by. The amount of Unique Talents I've counted so far don't exceed a hundred.' He assessed.

'Then does that mean that out of seven billion people, probably only 1% or even less, will have Unique Talents. Thats amazing, and if I'm lucky enough to be one of them... I'd have more confidence in surviving this thing.'

His thoughts continued, while he looked down on the notification that just appeared.

He did not previously check it to keep himself at slight suspense, but now it was time.

He viewed the new notification within the [Game Announcements] tag, glowing in gold. And once opened, he was dumbstruck to the extreme.

[ Congratulations!! ]

[ You have awakened the SSS-grade talent, [Infinite Extraction] ]

"Huh...? Huh?! Are you serious?! Fuck, yes!!" He exclaimed in excitement, not hiding away the joy on his face.

Wasn't SSS-grade the highest attainable grade? And he obtained it? 'Fuck potential, my talent is above the top.' He thought.

Amd with such a thought, he held his breathe and immediately called up his personal information, focusing on the new changes.

[ Talent: Infinite Extraction - SSS ]

–[ Distributable Points: 0 ]

–[ Extra Talents: None ] (Cannot surpass the grade of the main talent )

Jason read through everything with bated breathes. And while he was still excited, he viewed the definition of his Talent.

[ Infinite Extraction (SSS) - The very essence, embodiment and conception of extraction. The user can extract anything from anything, regardless of what it is, or what rank it is. The only drawback being the rank of the user themselves, but in essence, this talent can even extract Infinity itself once unleashed to the peak of its effects... ]

[ Note: Candidate should explore the functions of the talent themselves ]

Jason could not believe what he was reading. '...This is just, unbelievable.' He thought in stupor.

At some point he even subconsciously held his breathe, and commented, "Amazing. Is this what a peak Talent can do? Just, amazing."

There was nothing more he could say.

He could only think. Think about what the short definition truly meant. What extracting Infinity signified. And what heights he could achieve.

But as he was having such thoughts, some real, and some delusional, more notifications from the [Game Announcements] abruptly chimed within his head.

And taking a look, he realized that it was actually information about the talents the others obtained.

[ TING ]

[ Player XXX has activated the Level G Talent - Eagle Sight ]

[ Player XXX has activated the Level I Talent - Deep Slumber ]

[ Player XXX has activated the Level C Talent - Enhanced Strength ]

[ Player XXX has activated the Level B Talent - Invisibility ]

[ Player XXX has activated the Level A Talent - Infinite Flames ]

[ Player XXX has activated the Level C Talent - Enhanced Speed ]

[ Player XXX has activated the Level F Talent - Extra Limbs ]

[ Player XXX has... ]

The information continued on.

And Jason skimmed through everything, realizing that the names were hidden. Which he was more than happy about.

He then moved to the [Chat Room]. It was quite busy at this moment.

[ XXX564: I have a Level F Talent ]

[ XXX44: I have a Level C Talent, aren't I amazing? ]

[ XXX79: What's so special about that? Not like you got something Unique ]

[ XXX1246: Yeah ]

[ XXX785: ...Level C? How envious ]

[ XXX23: I have a scouting Talent, anybody with a Level C Talent and above wants a scout? ]

[ XXX677: I have a meat shield Talent, I'm willing to join a strong person ]

[ XXX2: I have... ]

[ XXX2899: I have... ]

"..."

Jason went through the chats like usual, and nothing interesting was happening. Thus he moved on, anticipating what next would happen.

The self advertising within the chats was useless. As far as he knew, most of these people are not within the same Game Sever.

[ TING ]

[ 995 Players Activated Level I Talents ]

[ 769 Players Activated Level H Talents ]

[ 501 Players Activated Level G Talents ]

[ 429 Players Activated Level F Talents ]

[ 258 Players Activated Level E Talents ]

[ 037 Players Activated Level D Talents ]

[ 008 Players Activated Level C Talents ]

[ 001 Players Activated Level B Talents ]

[ 001 Players Activated Level A Talents ]

[ 001 Players Activated Level SSS Talents ]

'As expected, something did happen.' He went through the new notifications, and with swift speed, calculated the total number of all the Talents.

It did add up to 3 000. And another thing he immediately realized was how rare and special his Level SSS Talent was.

'...If I were to guess, there wouldn't be more than a million people with Unique Talents.' He thought, using the current data presented, and estimating for every other Game Sever as well.

The [Chat Room] further proved that.

[ XXX1: Damn!! Level SSS? Whose such monstrous and lucky? ]

[ XXX467: Probably some Rank 1 fellow ]

[ XXX23: The gap between them and the second highest is leagues apart!! ]

[ XXX67: ... ]

"..."

The more he read through the messages, the more he came to a sudden decision: I have to stay low key for the time being, no matter what.

There were many reasons to this decision, which he did not have time to completely go through all of them. But the major one was that, he was still Rank 0.

And there were Rank 1 fellows out there.

He did not want to be used by them. Or in the worst case scenario, be killed by them.

"Plus, I still have to check out what my Talent is capable of." He thought to himself. But at this moment, a countdown appeared at the corner of his eye.

Followed by another notification...

[ There are ten seconds left before the beginning of the first theme of the Welcoming Survival Ceremony, the Predator Vs Prey Survival Game ]

[ Whether you become a Prey, or a Predator, depends on your determination to live ]

[ Note: Your main target is to achieve Rank 9 by the end of the week. Failure to oblige will result in the candidate losing their rank, talent, ability, consciousness etc, degenerating to a ferocious monsters, prey, demons etc, to forever be hunted by all the players universally ]

[ But, if you try your best and survive, you shall be rewarded by your hardwork and effort. Those talented enough to enter the [Talent Global 100] by earning more Hunting Points, shall be rewarded greatly ]

[ Note: The SOLE method of leveling both the Rank and the Hunting Points is to hunt down ferocious beasts, demons, evil spirits, bogeymans, bugbears, zombies etc. The higher the rank, the higher the rewards ]

[ Note: Hunting down other players yields no value whatsoever. The main theme is to Survive, not to Slaughter one another ]

[ ... ]

"..."

Jason was momentarily shocked upon reading the notifications. But moments later, he hurriedly crouched down and took hold of the rusty axe besides his foot.

His actions ignited the appearance of a small Template before him;

[ Name: Rusty Axe ]

[ Rank: 0 ]

[ Function: Damage +5 ]

Yet before he could even absorb the presented information, his Talent subconsciously activated itself. It extracted away the impurities held within the Axe, making it as good as new.

And so did the information presented to him.

[ Name: Upgraded Axe ]

[ Rank: 1 ]

[ Function: Damage +30 ]

"..."

Jason was surprised once again, but more importantly, he now knew more about his Talent. He then tried to use it once again, but led to failure.

'So I can extract impurities only once? Well, yeah, that makes sense.' He deduced that the Axe had been evolved to its highest potential, and could not be tinkered with anymore.

Which he was spot on.

Nonetheless, he was glad.

Time then rushed forward, and the ticking time finally stopped. With that, the door, or what he presumed was the door of this stuffy room, opened itself.

Outside the door was pure white light. And as immediately as the door wrung open, the light swarmed in and swallowed his entire visage like a flood.

"Wa–?!" His words were also drowned within the light, as his entire body disappeared.

Seconds later, he appeared within a vast, open space. Where there were a lot of humans, ranging from ages 13 to around those in their sixties.