Game's Extra: Starting With SSS-Ranked 1000-Death Talent-Chapter 79: Evolution Requires Sacrifice

"Master Zero," the text stated, covering more than one line.

"I am inside the Arcane Academy as per your instructions. I located the target and am awaiting your orders."

Noa nodded to himself upon seeing the message.

Having a devoted slave was both useful and amusing in its own way, making his life a little easier.

But there was more to read.

"I noticed something unusual about the target. He seems furious and is lingering close to the chamber. I don’t know what his plan is, but I think I need to deal with him before you come back."

’So that buster is resentful,’ Noa mused.

However, Arnold’s fate had been decided the moment he transmigrated.

"Kill him," he instructed.

Then, his body, that appeared out of thin air, dashed, his blood-sucking longsword happy to get back into the action.

[ Leeching Star ]

[ Grade: Primitive Ender ]

[ Attack Power: + 7 ]

[ Attack Speed: + 6 ]

[ Durability: ∞ ]

[ The sword that loves sucking owner’s blood ]

No one could deny its progress, but the grade remained the lowest nonetheless.

However, it was waiting for Noa to become Returne and suck his blood to evolve and gain even more power.

Noa had no reason to stop.

So he ran among the monkeys, painted his visage with their blood.

Each step was calculated, never going too deep.

He was leaving an opening to escape if something went wrong, and dodged more times than ever.

However, Noa felt something for the first time.

The real thrill of the battle—the knowledge that one wrong move would end it all—sharpened his mind and resolution.

’This is how they feel?’ he gulped.

Protagonists with lesser talent than him, average people fighting in wars back on Earth, or Embers venturing into the Abyss, unaware of whether they would survive.

It was his first time feeling sympathy for them.

Noa understood his privilege and considered his sense of superiority.

Now he had to last through this hurdle and not die.

It was that simple.

But he was used to recklessly pursuing and charging at his enemies.

The Leeching Star beheaded beasts in one strike, silencing them forever.

[ You killed Evolved Drymonkey Lv. 19 ]

[ You’ve gained 500 Experience Points ]

Noa couldn’t kill them in batches, but his agility was almost enough to keep up with his previous hunting speed.

The resistance he felt in his hands as he was cutting through the flesh became much softer.

Allowing his knees to bend to the absolute limit, Noa added strength to his legs and leaped forward to another bloodbath.

He was lunged at from two directions.

Arthur appeared behind Noa and cut down the monster as if he needed his help.

"This is for protecting me last time," the protagonist said.

Noa’s blade pierced the hairy neck.

"What about the time I saved your ass after slaying the demon?" he asked.

Snorting in disdain and sidestepping the corpse that almost fell on him, Arthur said,

"I thought we weren’t talking about that."

"You are the one who brought it up. Not me," Noa responded.

He also glanced at Rika, Eza, and lastly at Martha, who, contrary to his belief, didn’t struggle as much.

’She isn’t using tamed animals,’ he noted as the girl was hovering on the ground.

In each second, the number of enemies had gone down.

The fight became easier, and hundreds of corpses covered the landscape, showing the warfare they left behind.

Noa was blowing up the beasts, whether dead or alive, as much as possible, to create more space for them to move.

It was demanding, challenging, and risky, but thrilling nonetheless.

Just as the last remaining beast tried to run away, he received another message.

"Target eliminated."

It was from none other than Dusk.

He had completed the assigned task and was on his way to disappear from the scene.

’He is good,’ Noa thought. ’But I need to help him evolve as well.’

Returne, much like Evolved, was merely a status superior to that of ordinary citizens.

In the grand scheme of things, they were just as helpless and weak.

Deciding to aid his slave, Noa set ablaze the last monkey, neither preserving mana nor sparing energy as system notifications flooded his view.

[ You killed Evolved Drymonkey Lv. 19 ]

[ You’ve gained 300 Experience Points ]

[ Level Up! ]

[ You’ve gained 1 Attribute Point ]

As others encircled Noa, he was watching the hovering system panel, smiling at the progress he had made.

[ Noa Osborn ]

[ Species: Human ]

[ Grade: Evolved (Half State) ]

[ Class: Wizard ]

[ Level: 22 —> 23 ]

[ EXP: 100/26,500 ]

[ Strength: 50 ]

[ Agility: 50 ]

[ Vitality: 50 ]

[ Intelligence: 50 ]

[ Attribute Points: 34 ]

[ Talent: Death’s Companion ]

[ Talent Rank: SSS ]

[ Skills: Echo of Doom, Mana Rage ]

[ Class Skill: Corpse Puppet (Proficiency: 36.4%) ]

"What should we do?" Ezra asked. "Should we just loot them?"

Martha nodded.

"Yep, why not. But I was expecting a boss monster as well. It’s a pity we can’t get items out of this encounter," Rika said.

Noa glanced at Arthur with an all-knowing smile and coughed.

The boy ignored him and began the orb collection.

"I think you should be taking most of them. You did the heavy lifting while we were just carrying our classmates. Pun intended!" Martha spoke softly and chuckled at her words.

Others agreed as well.

"I have no problem with that," Rika said.

Noa didn’t decline the offer.

Why would he when he was getting tens of orbs?

Still, the success rate wasn’t that high to begin with, especially with the burned corpses he had created.

After five minutes of hard work, Noa was the first one to squeeze through the tunnel.

The first thing he noticed upon emerging inside the maze was the chaos his classmates were in.

They were dropped to the floor.

There was no wariness protected as most of them were leaning on the wall, yet to wake up.

"That asshole really tried to kill us," Rika said after the situation settled.

"Yep," Noa said, shaking the sleeping students.

"But," Arthur lowered his eyes. "How did you know that?"