Endless Extraction in a Game-Like World-Chapter 37: World Quest, the Merged Reality Arena! A 1v1 Against the Behemoth Baal
[World Announcement.]
[System: The first world quest will now commence across the world. Please prepare for the first test.]
[1v1 Combat Mission has been initiated.]
[Beings will spawn across the world. Players in the world quest area will be directly taken in and matched against the beings.]
[Good Luck.]
The world had descended into absolute chaos while Caelus was busy becoming a Chaos Perception Dragon and an Ender.
The first world quest was officially initiated.
---
Golden Eagle City, main street.
"Is this our opponent?" Sylvia asked, looking ahead with a curious light across her face.
In the center of the street stood a huge behemoth. It had dark grey skin, long hair, long ears, and a massive, heavy sword strapped to its back.
The entire Golden Eagle City was thrown into disorder today. A massive, translucent barrier had forcefully risen all around the city limits. It completely prevented anyone from leaving or entering. And most importantly, all beings that were at the Iron II Rank or higher were directly ejected out of the barrier by the Origin Network.
This world quest could only be completed by new players!
The space immediately surrounding the behemoth was highly unstable. It was a flawless merger of the Origin Ascension Domain and reality itself. Simply walking near the creature would cause a player’s physical body to digitize and pull them directly into a localized arena space.
Sylvia stood beside Lena with a deep frown on her face. She had arrived in Golden Eagle City today to clear dungeons. But after finding out that Caelus was nowhere to be seen in his dorm, she had asked his roommate, Albert. Albert mentioned that Caelus had actually traveled to this exact city.
Now that a dangerous lockdown situation had arisen, she was genuinely worried about her blood bond partner’s safety.
[Monster: Baal]
[Level: ???]
[Combat Score: ???]
"So, who is coming first?" The behemoth named Baal’s voice distorted wildly as it spoke the human language.
It looked around the gathered crowd of Iron I players and let out a mocking laugh. "Are all the weaklings of this era too scared to step forward?"
Just then, a girl stepped out from the crowd. A floating drone camera closely followed her every movement. She was Chloe, an honorary member of the ’Solaris Insight’ guild, one of the top news and media organizations in the Solaris Kingdom.
She was currently live-streaming the entire event to millions of viewers. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
"Alright chat, you see that massive guy?" Chloe spoke to the drone with a confident smirk. "I am going to test its strength. Wish me luck!"
Immediately, the live chat interface on her system screen exploded with a flurry of rapid messages.
[Viewer_99: Be careful, Chloe! That thing looks incredibly dangerous.]
[ProGamerX: Do not underestimate it. It is a world boss!]
[RichGuy: 100 Origin Credits if you manage to land a single hit!]
"I will take you on," she shouted confidently, stepping closer to the beast.
The instant she crossed the threshold, her body digitized, and she was pulled into the merged arena. She was not weak at all. She possessed a terrifying Combat Score of 25.
She dashed forward, unleashing a barrage of high-tier spells towards Baal.
But the behemoth merely yawned. It swung its massive sword without even unsheathing it completely. The sheer physical pressure of the swing shattered her defenses instantly.
"Ugh!" She coughed blood and was sent violently flying backward.
Realizing the massive gap in their power, she did not hesitate for a single second. "I forfeit!"
Light flashed, and she was immediately ejected out of the barrier. She landed on the cobblestone street, panting heavily with a completely exhausted look on her face.
There was no forced death cooldown for this specific event. Players who lost or died in the merged space were simply thrown out of the arena, completely drained of their stamina but otherwise perfectly fine.
"Pathetic," Baal scoffed, resting the giant sword back on its shoulder. "Next."
Seeing that death was not permanent here, several other ambitious players gathered their courage.
"Let’s gang up on him in sequence! We will take off his HP one by one." a burly man shouted, charging into the digitized zone.
He was instantly pulled in, but his match lasted barely ten seconds. A single casual kick from the behemoth shattered his shield and sent him flying out of the barrier, landing on his back completely out of breath.
Following him, an agile player tried his luck, attempting to utilize his speed. But the behemoth’s reaction time was terrifying. A simple backhand swat destroyed the player’s avatar. He, too, was ejected back into the crowd with a tired, pale expression.
One by one, more players stepped up. Mages, swordsmen, and archers all digitized and entered the merged reality zone one by one.
Yet, they were all still ruthlessly crushed without even being able to land even one hit.
"Is there truly no one capable of entertaining me?" Baal laughed, his deep voice shaking the surrounding buildings.
Among the terrified crowd, a specific group of students stood together. They were the elite members of the Fortis-01 High Special Class.
Standing at the very front was Kevin Keith. He was a major figure in the academy, widely considered a true, unmatched genius by his peers and teachers alike.
But before Kevin could even make a move, another young man stepped up.
It was Julian, a blonde player with piercing blue eyes. He had always considered Kevin his absolute greatest rival. Ever since their first year, Julian constantly tried to outshine Kevin in every single aspect, driven by a deep, intense sense of competition.
"Stand back. I will show you how it is done," Julian sneered arrogantly as he drew a pair of glowing daggers. "Watch closely, Kevin."
Julian confidently crossed the threshold and was swiftly digitized into the arena. He moved with explosive speed, trying to quickly flank the massive monster.
But Baal did not even look at him. The behemoth simply stomped the ground. A violent shockwave erupted, instantly crushing Julian’s footing.
Before Julian could even regain his balance, the monster swatted him.
Boom!
Julian’s avatar was completely destroyed. Light flashed, and he was violently ejected out of the barrier, landing on his knees while gasping for air with a deeply tired and humiliated look on his face.
Seeing this brutal display, the remaining players were filled with genuine dread.
Kevin finally let out a heavy sigh and stepped forward.
"You can do this, Kevin," Lena said, clenching her fists to offer a sense of encouragement.
Kevin offered a confident smile. He then turned towards Sylvia.
"Sylvia, if I win here today, will you go on a date with me?" Kevin asked, his eyes full of determination.
Sylvia blinked, clearly taken aback by the sudden question.
But Kevin did not wait for her reply. He immediately turned around and walked straight into the merged reality zone to face the behemoth.
