SSS-Tier Extraction: From Outcast to Overgod!
Chapter 53: The Broken Alliance

Chapter 53: The Broken Alliance

The Core Chamber, once calm and grand, was now ready to explode.Ryan stood near the god Weaver, the prize at the center of it all.

Before him were the gathered sharks of Sector Gamma: Tom Kane’s Crimson Banner, nursing their wounds and their pride; Zara Khan’s Circuit Breakers, with their gleaming, high-tech toys; and Viktor "Ironjaw" and his Iron Wolves, who looked less like soldiers and more like a pack of rabid bears in power armor.

The ten-minute countdown for "Provisional Governorship" was ticking away in everyone’s vision, a constant, pressing reminder of what was at stake.

Ryan checked himself quickly. The energy bolt had burned his side badly. It wasn’t serious, but it hurt.

He looked at one of the glowing blue conduits that snaked across the floor, feeding power to the dormant machinery. He had an idea. He reached out with his hand and activated his "Energy Siphon" talent.

A thin, crackling strand of black energy linked his palm to the conduit.He felt a rush of clean, pure energy flowing into him. It wasn’t just replenishing his Spirit; it was so pure that it was actively mending his wound.

The searing pain faded to a dull ache as his own Vitality, boosted by the energy, healed the damage. He was ready to fight again.

He did a quick mental check of his stats, now that he was Level 8 and fully geared up.

Strength: 84

Agility: 93 (plus 20 from his Boots)

Vitality: 79

Intellect: 101 (plus 15 from his Map)

Spirit: 93

Threat Level: god Commander

Unspent Flex Points: 6

"god Commander," he thought. "Sounds impressive. Hope I can live up to the title."

The tense standoff broke. It wasn’t Ryan who made the first move. It was the other factions. But they didn’t charge at him. Instead, they charged at each other.

The Iron Wolves, led by the roaring Viktor "Ironjaw," were the most direct. They saw Zara’s Circuit Breakers, with all their delicate, shiny technology, as the biggest and most immediate threat.

With howls of pure aggression, they charged, their massive power axes and hammers held high. They were a wave of brute force, aiming to smash the Circuit Breakers before they could even set up their fancy gadgets.

Zara Khan, however, was prepared. "Deploy sonic disruptors!" she commanded, her voice cutting through the chaos. "Net teams, section off the Wolves’ advance!"

Her Circuit Breakers moved with the efficiency of a well-drilled science team. They deployed tripod-mounted devices that emitted a low, gut-wrenching hum.

The air around the charging Iron Wolves seemed to warp and ripple. The Wolves staggered, clutching their heads, their charge faltering as the sonic waves scrambled their senses.

Other Circuit Breaker teams launched projectors that fired nets made of crackling energy, trapping several of the enraged but disoriented Wolves.

While this was happening, Tom Kane and his recovering Crimson Banner squad didn’t just sit and watch. Kane, with his S-Tier tactical mind, also identified Zara’s technology as the primary obstacle.

He ordered his soldiers to provide covering fire, not for the Iron Wolves, but at Zara’s disruptor teams. Energy bolts started flying across the chamber, forcing the Circuit Breakers to take cover.

The Core Chamber erupted into a chaotic, three-way brawl. It was a beautiful, deadly mess. Alliances that had been formed in the CommNet just an hour ago were forgotten.

The Iron Wolves were fighting the Circuit Breakers. The Crimson Banner was fighting the Circuit Breakers. And everyone was trying to keep an eye on Ryan, the lone wildcard standing next to the ultimate prize.

This was his chance. While they were busy killing each other, he could slip away and do what he did best.

He activated his Cloak of Shifting Umbra. The shadows in the vast chamber seemed to reach out and wrap around him, his form becoming a faint, blurry outline that was almost impossible to track amidst the flashing lights and explosions.

He became a ghost, moving along the edges of the conflict.

He watched a Crimson Banner soldier take cover behind a pillar, firing precise shots at one of Zara’s engineers.

Ryan slipped up behind him, silent as the grave. Before the soldier even knew he was there, Ryan’s hand shot out. He didn’t use a knife. He used his Weaver’s Interface Gauntlet, pressing it against the soldier’s comm-implant at the base of his skull.

He activated a micro-version of his Extraction ability.

"Extracting ’Combat Heuristics’..."

The system whispered in his mind. He didn’t gain a skill, but for a moment, he gained a flash of insight into the Crimson Banner’s combat protocols, their hand signals, their firing patterns.

It was like downloading a piece of their training manual directly into his brain. He then tapped the soldier on the back of the neck, a nerve strike that sent him slumping to the floor, unconscious.

He moved on, a predator hunting in a jungle of chaos. He saw an Iron Wolf break free from an energy net, swinging his massive power axe in a wild, furious arc. The axe hummed with a powerful kinetic charge. As the Iron Wolf roared, Ryan used his system again, targeting the energy of the axe itself.

"Extracting ’Kinetic Energy Signature’..."

He felt a surge of raw, physical power, a temporary boost to his own Strength. The Iron Wolf’s axe sputtered, its power charge momentarily drained. A nearby Circuit Breaker took the opportunity to hit the confused Wolf with a stun bolt.

Ryan moved like a ghost through the battlefield, choosing his targets with care. He wasn’t just fighting, he was learning. He was extracting bits and pieces of information and power from everyone, adding their strengths to his own.

He was like a living combat analysis program, and the battle was his data stream.

Through it all, his eyes kept returning to the god Weaver’s main console. It was a sleek, glowing pedestal right at the base of the massive machine.

The god Warden’s announcement had been clear: "establish and maintain stable control." That meant someone had to get to that console, interface with it, and hold it for ten minutes. Right now, it was sitting in the open, in the middle of a massive, four-way deathmatch.

He couldn’t just run for it. The moment he made a move for the console, every single gun and axe in the room would turn on him.

He was the biggest threat, the one who was already here, the "Primary User." They were fighting each other now, but they would unite in a second to stop him from winning.

He needed an opening. A perfect distraction. A moment where every single person was looking the other way. He faded back into the shadows, his mind racing, formulating a new, even riskier plan.

The countdown timer continued its relentless march. 8 minutes and 42 seconds remaining. The clock was ticking.