God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World!

Chapter 572: The True History of the Dead God [1]

The surface of the water stopped thrashing, and the sounds below died down one by one.

A few seconds later, Gabriel stepped out of the river as if he had only been gone for a short swim, landing back on the bridge with smooth balance and no visible injury.

He did not even look tired.

For a brief moment, nobody spoke. The fact that he had spent more than five minutes underwater while fighting whatever lived there made the whole bridge feel smaller, and it left a strange pressure in the air that had nothing to do with the tomb.

"...How?" ChaosCleric muttered, staring at him.

"How what?" Gabriel frowned.

"How did you stay in there for so long..."

Before Gabriel could reply, there was movement. The armored figure held out a towel without warning. Gabriel paused for a moment, clearly surprised by the gesture, then took it and wiped the water from his mask and shoulders without making a scene.

"Thank you," he said, though his tone stayed flat.

VV nodded once, and for a second the helmet stayed angled toward him as if the armored figure was studying him more carefully than before. The interest in VV’s posture was obvious now, and Gabriel could tell that the bridge fight had changed how the other viewed him.

After a short pause, VV spoke. "If you are free later, can you train me?"

Gabriel looked at the figure for a second before answering. He had no reason to refuse, and something like this could also be useful later, especially for someone like him who liked poaching talents.

"Yes," he replied. "I can."

IceQueen glanced over at that and said nothing, though the look in her eyes showed that she had heard the exchange. The others were still too busy processing the river fight to react properly that the usually mute VV had taken the initiative to talk to Gabriel.

"Let’s proceed... before more of those monsters appear again," IceQueen said.

The bridge crossing resumed after that, and the group moved with more caution than before. Their path was still damaged, but the remaining snakes had gone quiet, and the river below no longer showed much movement, which made the worst of the panic settle down.

The guide led the way again. The bridge was still unstable in parts, but the damage from the giant python no longer mattered as much now that the immediate threat had passed.

Because he was at the front, the others could not see it, but there was a deep frown on his face as if he was not pleased that the group had survived the bridge.

When they reached the other side, they finally saw that they were not alone.

A large group was already standing ahead in formation, and their presence made the space feel crowded at once. Their robes, ranks, and careful stance made it easy to tell who they were, even before anyone spoke.

It was the Martial Palace.

At that moment, Liang noticed them as well.

"Since we are all heading in the same direction, it means we are on the right path," Liang said with a small smile on his face.

The moment Liang’s eyes swept across Gabriel’s group properly, the small smile on his face stiffened slightly.

The shock was impossible to hide.

Not just him either.

Several Martial Palace members stared openly at the ChaosKnight group as if they were looking at something strange. Their own side looked miserable after the journey through the tomb. Torn robes, lowered levels, missing members, drained expressions. Some still carried injuries that had clearly not healed properly.

Yet the group standing across from them looked far better than expected.

Too much better, especially after crossing the bridge.

Liang’s gaze slowly moved across the surviving players before finally landing on Gabriel again.

"You crossed the serpent bridge?" he asked. "That’s impressive."

One Martial Palace disciple could not hold back anymore and blurted the question on their mind. "How many did you lose?"

"Less than you," ChaosCleric snorted.

The Martial Palace members’ expressions darkened immediately.

Because it was true.

The difference was obvious enough that nobody could deny it.

Gabriel calmly observed them while standing near the front. Their numbers had been cut down by nearly half compared to earlier. Even worse, the levels above several players’ heads had clearly dropped from death penalties.

That meant they had wiped multiple times already.

Evelyn’s eyes narrowed as she studied the ChaosKnight group more carefully.

Her attention lingered on Gabriel for a second longer than before.

Of course he was the one that carried them. She did not mean to discriminate, but a bunch of otherworlders were not smart or strong enough to pull through without help from White Phantom.

"Impossible..." one Martial Palace player muttered quietly. "We barely survived that bridge."

Another player looked toward Gabriel. "Could it be you found another route?"

"No," ChaosCleric answered before Gabriel could speak. "He jumped into the river and killed everything down there."

A few Martial Palace members thought they heard wrong.

Liang’s brows furrowed slightly. "The river?"

"The entire river," ChaosCleric added with visible satisfaction. "Stayed underwater for almost ten minutes too."

The expressions around the chamber immediately became strange. Even Evelyn looked genuinely surprised now.

One disciple laughed nervously. "That is not funny."

"I am not joking," ChaosCleric replied.

Several gazes slowly shifted toward Gabriel again. Most of them knew he was strong thanks to his display back at the gathering before they entered the tomb, but this time he jumped into the water and killed a monster in its natural element. That was unheard of.

Gabriel ignored them. He simply adjusted the wet sleeve of his coat slightly and looked toward the deeper tunnel ahead instead.

Several players subconsciously took small glances toward the masked man again, and the pressure around him suddenly felt different than before.

Before, they viewed him as dangerous.

Now they were starting to view him as abnormal.

The guide suddenly stepped forward again before the tension could continue building.

"We should keep moving," he said quickly. "The core chamber is close now."

A few minutes after they left the scene, another group soon arrived at the bridge.

"What the hell happened here?" Jack Arefeild of Olympus exclaimed upon seeing the bloody river, which was filled with blood and fragments of monster parts floating on the surface.

"It must be the group before us," Aria claimed, the countless jewelries on her body giving off a faint radiant glow.

Ares’ eyes sharpened. He did not say a word, his gaze simply scanning the river before he gestured to the others.

"Come on, let’s cross over."

.....

Meanwhile, on the other side, Gabriel finally brought out the memory shard he had been hoarding away all this time.

He looked at the group and said, "Before we proceed, there’s something I have to do."