I Can Extract Game Items

Author's Note: Do Not Unlock Yet.

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Other players were forming up in groups, eyes flickering with tension, ready for the next battle phase.

Some nodded at him. Others stared in suspicion.

"Yo, where'd you disappear to?" asked Lilo, the elf ranger with short silver hair and too much sass.

"Found traces of Monarch Elindra," Aleman replied casually. "Pinged the elves."

Lilo choked on her laugh. "You what?! You're insane."

"I'm aware," he replied smoothly, already drawing his assassin daggers and sheathing them behind his back. "Let's just win this damn thing."

> [Tournament Final Phase Initiating…]

---sss

Chapter — The Final Five

The arena was unlike any other phase before. Suspended in mid-air, five massive floating platforms spun slowly in a circular formation, glowing with ancient glyphs. A blinding column of light hovered in the center, like the eye of a magical storm, and lightning crackled above it. It was beautiful—and terrifying.

Above it all floated a glowing system announcement:

> [Final Phase: Group Clash | Teams of Six | Victory Condition: Capture the Heart Crystal or Eliminate All Opponents]

Below that:

> [Winning Team Will Receive Exclusive Mythic Tier Gear, Global Prestige, +1 World Influence Token]

Aleman's eyes narrowed. That World Influence Token wasn't just for bragging rights. It could be used to affect real-world trade, secure private server gates, or—if in the wrong hands—disrupt digital defenses. And if Oni got it…

"Not happening," Aleman muttered under his breath.

---

The Groups Assemble

The five groups were spread across five separate floating platforms, each tailored to a different battlefield:

Group One: A well-known PvP guild called SoulFangs. Their platform resembled a fractured castle keep. Known for their trap-magic and ruthless tactics.

Group Two: Another guild, Crimson Thorn, stationed on a nightmarish battlefield with lava rivers and spiked terrain.

Group Three: Mistveil Syndicate, famous for their illusionists and time-warping spells. Their platform was a mystic marsh.

Group Four: A coordinated group of friends, nicknamed The Nomads by the fans. Their arena was a sleek magical citadel with glimmering shields and pulsing cores.

Group Five: Aleman's team.

He stood on a floating plateau carved from jagged obsidian, surrounded by his five temporary allies. A brutal battlefield with unstable magical zones, swirling mana storms, and shattered terrain.

"Okay," Lilo said, adjusting her quiver. "Tell me I'm not the only one getting ominous vibes from Group Five over there?"

She pointed at the sixth group—hovering directly across from them. They had no guild name, no emblems. Just six cloaked players, all wearing identical black armor with faint violet inscriptions.

"They're not showing health bars," muttered Harlun, a war cleric beside her. "Which means they've hidden their status. That's only possible with rare-grade invisibility perks or admin-level stealth cloaks."

Aleman's sharp green eyes flickered.

"That's them," he said. "Oni operatives. I'm almost sure of it."

"You sure?" Lilo asked.

"No proof," Aleman said, drawing his blade and letting sparks of arcane fire ripple across it. "But if they win, I know exactly what they'll use that influence token for—and it won't be anything good."

---

Phase Begins

A horn blared across the sky.

> [Final Phase Commences in 3… 2… 1…]

The five arenas locked into position as the center of the ring pulsed with power. Runes flashed across every platform.

> [Objective Activated: The Heart Crystal has emerged at the center]

A crystalline structure slowly formed in the very core of the battlefield—floating over nothing but sky. Whoever reached it and held it long enough… would win.

---

The Battle Ignites

Before the group could coordinate, a meteor shower screamed across the sky—aimed directly at their platform.

"Scatter!" Lilo yelled.

Aleman reacted instantly. With a twist of his wrist, he activated his mage spell Blink Surge, teleporting away from the blast zone. He reappeared behind a jagged rock, and his assassin instincts kicked in.

> [Spell Used: Arcane Cloak]

He vanished from sight, blending into the air with a ripple.

The meteor exploded behind him, sending Harlun tumbling, but the cleric rolled and activated a healing aura. Sparks and stone sprayed in every direction.

Across the sky, the Nomads launched toward the Heart Crystal using enchanted gliders, while the Crimson Thorn group slammed into them mid-air with wind magic and combat beasts.

It was chaos.

---

The Oni Strike

Aleman reappeared behind one of the black-cloaked players, now confirmed Oni.

> [Assassin Skill Activated: Shadow Implode]

A glyph formed on the Oni member's back as Aleman jabbed his dagger in and kicked off, flipping midair. The glyph detonated a second later, blasting the man across the platform and into a pillar of raw magic.

> "One down," Aleman muttered, landing smoothly.

But he didn't get to breathe.

The ground beneath him cracked—and an Oni mage rose from the shadows, chanting in a forgotten language.

> "Vel'korr… Drel'thane…"

A rune-cursed spear emerged from a magic circle and launched itself at Aleman.

He spun and activated Chrono Step, a rare spell he'd just learned. The world slowed—barely—and he shifted to the side as the spear grazed his shoulder.

> "You've improved," said the Oni mage.

Aleman's eyes widened.

He knows me?

"You were in our records… Reacher, wasn't it?"

Aleman's heart pounded. They know my old username?

"You died," the Oni added. "You weren't supposed to come back."

Aleman's dagger glowed purple.

> "Guess you forgot I don't stay dead."

---

Across the Arena

While Aleman fought, his teammates clashed fiercely with the rest of the Oni players.

Lilo sent a wave of spectral arrows into the sky, and they split mid-flight into dozens of homing projectiles. One struck an Oni warrior right between the eyes—exploding into vines that bound him in place.

"Eat that," she snarled.

Harlun, now chanting, summoned a celestial hammer from above that came crashing down, obliterating the ground beneath one of the Oni rogues.

"Fall back!" Aleman shouted, reappearing beside them. "We're not winning this by brute force. We have to play smart."

---

Aleman's Plan

"Listen," Aleman said, panting. "They're not trying to kill everyone. They're trying to clear the center."

"Why?" Harlun asked.

"So they can use a ritual on the Heart Crystal. It's not just a prize. I think they're going to corrupt it."

Lilo looked horrified. "That could crash the server!"

"No," Aleman replied darkly. "That would cause an in-game rift to open again. You saw what happened last time."

---

As the teams dwindled, explosions and magic collided mid-air. Only three teams remained—Aleman's, the Nomads, and the Oni group.

The Nomads held the Heart Crystal—but not for long. An Oni sorceress cast a Void Displacement Curse, which ripped the entire crystal platform sideways.