Legendary Extraction: Kingdom Builder in a Ruined World
Chapter 44: Vael’s Evolution [2.]

Chapter 44: Vael’s Evolution [2.]

> [Evolution Triggered: Undead Kael has absorbed Death Essence.]

[Your Undead has evolved slightly.]

Elias stared at the system screen.

"Evolved...?" he muttered, curious.

Meanwhile, Vael also felt the change from the slight evolution. There was no explosive surge of power or sudden boost in stats—but something had definitely shifted. It was subtle, yet real.

Wanting to understand more, Elias opened Vael’s status screen to check what had changed.

---

> [Vael – Status]

Name: Vael the Great

Titles: Whispering Blade ➤ Shadow’s Edge

Level: 6

Evolution Progress: 0.03%

Class: Assassin

---

[Attributes:]

Strength: 69

Agility: 64

Intelligence: 65

Endurance: 52

Willpower: 58

[Skills:]

_Shadowmeld

Rarity: Rare

Type: Active / Stealth Skill

Effect: Enter near-complete invisibility in darkness—immune to sight, sound, and non-magical detection.

Cooldown: 20s

_Smoke Veil

Rarity: Rare

Type: Active / Area Control

Effect: Conjures shadowy smoke in a 120 m radius, blinding enemies for 6s (visibility and accuracy greatly reduced).

Cooldown: 45s

Assassin’s Mark

Type: Active / Debuff

Effect: Marks a target—grants +25% Critical Rate and +25% Movement Speed when attacking the marked target.

Duration: 15s

Cooldown: 30s

[Equipment:]

_Nightweaver → {Armor}

Rarity: Epic

Type: Enchanted Light Armor

Effect: Armor weight reduced by 90% → Movement Speed +30%

Passive: Swift Shadow – +15% Evasion in low-light conditions

_Phantomstep → {Boots}

Rarity: Epic

Type: Enchanted Footgear

Active Ability: Phantomstep – +200% Movement Speed for 10s (no cooldown)

_Whisperlight → {Pendant}

Rarity: Epic

Type: Enchanted Amulet

Effect: Mental Clarity – +20% Perception & Clarity

Passive: Cooldown Reset – Instantly resets cooldown for one skill or item when triggered

_Venomfang → {Dagger}

Rarity: Rare

Type: Enchanted Dagger

Effect: Poison Strike – Applies Venom Debuff: Target Speed –10% (stacks up to 5x)

Passive: Hemorrhage – Each stack causes bleed damage over 5s

---

Elias carefully studied the screen.

The stats hadn’t changed at all. The only new thing he noticed was the Evolution Progress bar.

0.03%.

Such a tiny increase? It seemed evolution was going to be a long and slow journey.

He narrowed his eyes in thought.

What happens when it reaches 100%? Would there be a transformation? A rank-up? A completely new class?

There were no answers now—only more questions.

But that was alright.

He’d find out with time.

For now, he turned his gaze toward Raya, who stood silently, still under the control of the imprint.

And he couldn’t help but smile.

He had made very good progress today.

After that, Elias opened his own status screen.

---

> STATUS WINDOW

Name: Elias Ashbourne

Level: 4

Class: Undead Summoner

EXP: 290 / 1000

Health: 209 / 220

Mana: 98 / 186

---

[ATTRIBUTES]

Strength: 69

Agility: 64

Intelligence: 65

Endurance: 52

Willpower: 58

〔Attribute Points: 54〕

---

[TALENT & SKILLS]

Unique Talent: Legendary Extraction

Base Skills: Undead Awakening, Undead Summoning

Skills: Shadowmeld, Smoke Veil, Blood Claw Slash

Craft Skills: Cooking [Lvl 1], Construction [Lvl 1], Woodworking [Lvl 1]

---

[SPECIAL TRAITS]

Commander’s Bond

---

[RESOURCE POINTS]

Extraction Points (EP): 23

Summon Capacity: 1 / 5

---

[SYSTEM CURRENCY]

Karma Points: 1,475

---

A small smile touched Elias’s lips as he looked at the screen. He had grown stronger—significantly so. In just a few days, he had made progress that most people in the world could only dream of. And the crazy thing was—he hadn’t even tried that hard.

It felt good.

He then looked at his unspent attribute points. He now had fifty-four points waiting to be assigned. Without wasting time, he began distributing them, carefully choosing where each point should go.

Considering his class as an Undead Summoner—which fell under both summoning and necromancy—one of his most important attributes was intelligence. So, Elias added 20 attribute points to it.

After that, he added 6 points to strength. Even though he was a summoner, Elias never believed in relying completely on his undead. He always preferred to have enough strength to defend himself if needed.

Next, he placed another 6 points into agility. Then, for the remaining points, he allocated 10 each into endurance and willpower. These two were his most ignored and lowest attributes so far.

However, it wasn’t because Elias didn’t understand their value. On the contrary, he understood them well. It was just that most of his current stats were received from Vael, and since Vael was an assassin who focused on speed and finishing enemies quickly, those two attributes hadn’t been the priority.

Once he was done assigning the points, Elias decided to hold onto two unused attribute points, just in case he needed them later. His status screen now looked like this:

---

> STATUS WINDOW

Name: Elias Ashbourne

Level: 4

Class: Undead Summoner

EXP: 290 / 1000

Health: 220 / 220

Mana: 226 / 226

---

[ATTRIBUTES]

Strength: 75

Agility: 70

Intelligence: 85

Endurance: 62

Willpower: 68

〔Attribute Points: 2〕

---

[TALENT & SKILLS]

Unique Talent: Legendary Extraction

Base Skills: Undead Awakening, Undead Summoning

Skills: Shadowmeld, Smoke Veil, Blood Claw Slash

Craft Skills: Cooking [Lvl 1], Construction [Lvl 1], Woodworking [Lvl 1]

---

[SPECIAL TRAITS]

Commander’s Bond

---

[RESOURCE POINTS]

Extraction Points (EP): 23

Summon Capacity: 1 / 5

---

[SYSTEM CURRENCY]

Karma Points: 1,475

---

Elias flexed his fingers as the new stats began to ripple through his body.

Heat stirred from deep inside as his body adjusted to the boost. His mana pool grew larger, his mind felt sharper, his limbs lighter, and even his senses sharpened with more clarity.

Without wasting time, he activated Commander’s Bond, sharing his increased strength with Vael.

The bond reacted instantly.

Done.

With that, Elias turned and began walking back toward the area where Vael and Raya were.

The moment he arrived, he was met with a shocked expression.

Raya’s eyes were wide, her jaw nearly on the floor.

"W-What the hell was that?" she gasped. "That... that wasn’t spatial storage. I didn’t feel any spatial fluctuations!"

Elias blinked in mild surprise. Even Vael, the first time he saw Elias use his Extraction talent, had thought it was some form of spatial ability.

But Raya had noticed the truth instantly.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

The arcane race really is sharp.

Unknown to Elias, the reason was simple. Arcane beings were energy life forms. Just like how humans and other flesh-based creatures could sense physical changes, arcane beings were far more sensitive to energy fluctuations.

So even if Elias’s Extraction skill looked like spatial magic, Raya could instantly sense that the energy flow was off—it wasn’t truly spatial.

But even if Elias knew this, he wouldn’t care.

Instead, he gave a small shrug. "It’s a secret technique. Best not to ask too many questions."

Raya frowned, clearly annoyed by the vague answer.

Inside her consciousness space, Thalorimundarazenthriakovellantheronquistarvelmoradrexion raged silently.

(*From this Chapter on, this entity will be referred to simply as Thalor for easier reading, though it will mostly appear as Raya, since she is the one currently possessed.)

"This damned brat! This smug little mortal—!"

But all the rage was meaningless. The being was completely restrained, its freedom crushed by golden runes that floated endlessly around its body like a cage it couldn’t escape from.

Back in the real world, silence filled the air for a few seconds.

Then Elias spoke, his voice calm but firm.

"Alright. Let’s not waste time. The situation is clear now. I’ve enslaved you. You can’t break the imprint—even if you wanted to."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "But I’m not some tyrant who rewards loyalty with chains. I don’t see you as a slave. I’m offering you something else."

Raya narrowed her eyes with clear suspicion.

Elias took a step closer.

"I’m offering you a new role. A subordinate. A companion. Fight beside me, grow stronger with me, and you’ll be rewarded. Maybe... even freedom, in the future."

He let the words hang in the air for a bit.

"But only after I’ve decided that you’re no longer a threat to me, of course."

A heavy silence followed.

Raya’s body trembled slightly as she battled with her pride.

Inside her, Thalor was fuming.

But completely helpless.

There was no way out right now.

Raya slowly went down on one knee. "Then... I submit. My master."

The words tasted bitter in her mouth, but she said them anyway.

Elias tilted his head, unimpressed. "Hmph. That word doesn’t suit me."

He gave a small grin.

"’Lord Elias’ will do."

Raya lowered her head. "As you wish... Lord Elias."

Behind the calm tone, Elias could feel the anger behind her words.

He knew full well there was probably no one in the world she hated more than him right now.

But he didn’t care.

She could hate him all she wanted—as long as she obeyed.

Inside, Thalor burned with rage.

"Keep acting smug... just wait. Once I find a way to free myself, you’ll regret everything."

Elias, meanwhile, was unaware of the exact thoughts going on in Thalor’s mind. But even if he had known, it wouldn’t have mattered to him. The slave imprint had been modified by the system—it was extremely difficult, almost impossible, to break.

Of course, Elias wasn’t naive. He didn’t believe it was unbreakable. That would be foolish. But he did know it was incredibly powerful. So, even if Thalor somehow managed to break free one day, it would take time—and time was the one thing Elias desperately needed.

He had a powerful class, a rare talent, and limitless potential. But none of that had been fully developed yet. He hadn’t had enough time to make use of everything he had.

So he believed in one thing: as long as he kept growing stronger, then by the time Thalor broke free—if it ever happened—he’d already be powerful enough that it wouldn’t matter.

For now, he had to focus on the present.