NOVEL WEB Chapter 18: One Punch Summoner.
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> STATUS WINDOW
Name: Elias Ashbourne
Level: 3
Class: Undead Summoner
EXP: 430 / 600
Health: 198 / 200
Mana: 162 / 162
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength: 48
Agility: 62
Intelligence: 58
Endurance: 41
Willpower: 46
〔Attribute Points: 9〕
[TALENT & SKILLS]
Unique Talent: Legendary Extraction
Base Skills: Undead Awakening, Undead Summoning
Skills: Shadowmeld, Smoke Veil
Craft Skills: Cooking [Lvl 1], Construction [Lvl 1], Woodworking [Lvl 1]
[SPECIAL TRAITS]
Commander's Bond
[RESOURCE POINTS]
Extraction Points (EP): 58
Summon Capacity: 1 / 5
[SYSTEM CURRENCY]
Karma Points: 1,780
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Elias stared at the status window, a small smile playing on his lips. He had leveled up again—more attribute points means more power.
A wide, slightly dumb smile formed on his face. He knew it looked silly, but he didn't care. There was something oddly satisfying—almost addictive—about growing stronger. The more progress he made, the more he wanted.
But just then, a soft sigh came from the side.
Elias blinked and turned his head. Vael stood nearby, arms folded, his usual cold expression on display.
"Something wrong?" Elias asked, tilting his head slightly.
Vael sighed again, this time a little louder than before. "Master… You told me to preserve the alpha's corpse."
Elias raised an eyebrow.
"And…?"
Vael motioned to the field with a slight nod.
Corpses were everywhere—Dire Wolf bodies scattered across the ground in all sorts of broken, torn, and brutal shapes. Crushed skulls, snapped limbs, ripped chests… not a single corpse was whole. The place looked more like a butcher's yard than a battlefield.
Elias blinked again.
"Oh."
He scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed. Right. He had said that, hadn't he?
He clearly remembered telling Vael to make sure the alpha's corpse stayed intact… then he went all out and turned the rest of the pack into mush.
"Ah, yeah… that." Elias cleared his throat. "In my defense, I only needed the alpha preserved. The others? They're just for extraction. Doesn't matter what shape they're in."
Vael didn't say anything, but his brow twitched. From an undead, that was probably the same as a full sigh of disappointment.
Elias coughed and looked away. "Anyway, enough of that. Time to extract."
His eyes scanned the battlefield, quickly picking out his targets.
He didn't have unlimited Extraction Points, and he wasn't going to waste them on low-quality beasts. If a corpse didn't offer value, it wasn't worth a single point. To him, anything below a 1-Star ★, Level 3 beast was trash.
Out of the twenty-eight Dire Wolves—excluding the alpha—fifteen were below that line. That left thirteen that might be worth extracting.
Among those thirteen, five were 2-Star beasts: two Level 3s, two Level 4s, and one Level 5. The Level 5 one was the one that had used the claw ability earlier. These were the valuable ones—the ones that could truly offer something useful. So without wasting any more time, Elias walked forward and got to work.
His first priority was the 2-Star corpses. They were the best option in terms of value and return, and with luck being a factor in extraction, he wanted to hit the best ones first before his luck ran out.
Crouching beside the first one, Elias activated his talent. A swirling red vortex formed in his hand as the extraction began.
The higher the star rating, the greater the beast's value. That was basic knowledge. Even the Frosthide Shawl he currently wore, which had come from a 1-Star, Level 3 Dire Wolf, was already a decent Common item.
So what about a 2-Star Dire Wolf's pelt?
If the pelt of a 1-Star beast could make something like the Frosthide Shawl, then a 2-Star pelt—even from a lower-level beast—would be far more valuable. Its crafting value was simply higher.
For example, the Frosthide Shawl came from a Level 3, 1-Star beast. That only gave it enough quality to rank as a basic Common item. But a Level 1, 2-Star beast's pelt? That could be crafted into something near the very peak of the Common grade.
Now, imagine what a Level 3, 2-Star beast's pelt could do.
In the hands of an average craftsman, it might produce a high-end Common item. But in the hands of a skilled or master-level crafter? That same pelt could easily cross the line and become Uncommon grade.
That's how wide the gap between stars truly was.
A 3-Star beast's material could be worth ten times more than a 1-Star's. Sometimes even more—especially if the creature was mutated or rare.
That's why boss monsters were so highly desired.
Powerful. Dangerous. But extremely rewarding—if you survived.
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A few moments later…
Elias let out a long breath as he wiped the sweat from his brow. The air was thick with the heavy, metallic scent of blood.
He stood straight, eyes locking on the numbers glowing before him.
> Extraction Points (EP): 14
He blinked once.
Then smiled.
From 58 down to 14—that was a massive drop. But he wasn't upset.
Not even a little.
His grin grew wider as he checked the organized materials in his inventory.
This was a haul. A serious one.
But more than just the loot—he had made an important discovery.
Out of the thirteen extractions he performed, he had received thirteen beast cores.
One from each corpse.
That alone was surprising.
Beast cores weren't as rare as drops, but they were never guaranteed. A beast core was the physical form of a creature's life force—refined energy and natural instinct packed into one small crystal. Most times, when a beast died—especially during a violent or long battle—its instincts would flare up during its final moments, causing the core to break or shatter.
So to get thirteen intact cores?
There was only one explanation—his Legendary Extraction talent was preserving them.
And that was a massive advantage.
Normally, getting a core required special conditions. Either the beast had to die too quickly for its instincts to react, or the core had to be extremely tough to withstand the backlash. But with his talent, Elias didn't need to worry about that. His ability could extract the raw essence and reform it back into a core.
That alone made his skill priceless.
But the surprises didn't end there.
From those thirteen extractions, Elias also received six drops in total.
> ▸ Five items
▸ One skill book
The skill book had dropped from the 2-Star, Level 5 Dire Wolf:
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> Blood Claw Slash
Rarity: Rare
Type: Active / Offensive Skill
Effect: Summons a red, translucent claw made of condensed energy that slashes forward in a straight line, dealing 140% Strength as physical damage.
Applies Bleed, causing damage over time and reducing healing effects by 25% for 5 seconds.
Range: 5 meters
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Mana Cost: 10
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The other notable drop came from a 2-Star, Level 3 Dire Wolf:
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> Dire Fang Knife → Dagger
Rarity: Uncommon
Type: Enchanted Dagger
Passive Effects:
• +18 Attack Power
• +5% Critical Chance
• 20% chance to inflict Minor Bleed (8% of total damage over 3 seconds)
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Elias gave the blade a quick glance but didn't feel much excitement.
Sure, it was a solid item. Better than the Frosthide Shawl in terms of market value. But it wasn't his style. So with a casual swipe of his hand, he stored it in his inventory.
He still hadn't fully decided what type of weapon he wanted to specialize in. But one thing was clear—
Daggers weren't it.
In fact, after today, he was starting to think he might not use weapons at all.
His fists?
They were more than enough.
The crunch of bone.
The spray of blood.
The raw power he felt when his knuckles slammed into flesh—
It all felt real. Wild. Right.
Was it savage? Maybe.
But he couldn't lie to himself—he enjoyed it. Maybe a little more than he should.
Thanks to his Commander's Bond trait, he didn't suffer from the usual weakness most summoners had—low physical stats. Since he would be sharing attributes with Vael and his future undead summons, Elias wasn't stuck relying only on mana and summons to fight.
Normally, each class followed a path:
Mages stacked Intelligence.
Tanks boosted Endurance.
Assassins like Vael focused everything on Agility.
As an Undead Summoner, Elias should've done the same—pour points into Intelligence to boost his mana and summoning potential.
But with Commander's Bond?
He had a cheat code.
He could spread his stats more freely—build his physical strength without weakening his class. With that, he didn't need to rely only on his summons.
So no weapon for now, his fists were enough.
That might change in the future… but for now?
He liked things just the way they were.