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

Gabriel’s eyes snapped open to the ceiling, and a splitting headache hit him so hard that his jaw clenched on reflex. He sucked in a rough breath, then forced it steady, sitting up with one hand pressed to his temple as if he could hold the pain in place.

The room was not the same one he had fallen in, and when he turned his gaze, he saw Anna leaning over him, frozen in shock, her face pale and tight, her eyes wide like she had just watched a corpse stand up.

She stumbled back half a step, her hands hovering in the air, and her voice came out broken as she tried to speak.

”Master... you... you were not breathing.”

Gabriel blinked once, slow, and his calm did not crack even though the ache kept pulsing softly.

”I’m awake,” he said. ”So talk properly.”

Anna’s throat moved as she swallowed, and she shook her head as if she could not accept what she was seeing.

”You stopped,” she said. ”Your chest did not move. I checked. I checked again.”

His eyes narrowed slightly as he asked the most important question.

”Where am I.”

”Henry’s mansion. The room that once belonged to him,” she answered fast, like she was holding herself together by rushing through the facts.

He nodded once, then asked,

”How long was I out.”

”Only a few minutes,” she said. ”But two minutes ago... you stopped breathing.”

His eyebrows rose. ”Two minutes?”

She nodded hard. ”About two minutes. I was counting because I did not know what else to do.”

His frown deepened.

”So I wasn’t gone long.”

Anna stared at him, confused and frightened at the same time.

”Gone,” she repeated.

He did not give her a long explanation. He only said what mattered.

”I was somewhere else,” he said. ”It felt longer than a few minutes.”

Her shoulders tensed, and her voice rose a little without meaning to.

”Master, you died,” she said. ”You were here, and then you were not.”

He held her gaze and kept his tone steady. ”Yes, I did. For two minutes, which is surprisingly short.”

He could swear he had spent at least twenty minutes talking with the giantess.

Anna’s breathing stayed uneven, and she pushed the words out like they were stuck in her throat.

”What if it happens again,” she asked. ”What if you just stop again.”

Gabriel swung his legs off the bed and stood, moving with care so the headache did not spike. He stayed balanced even as Anna reached out on instinct, then stopped herself.

”It won’t,” he replied. ”Even if it does, I’ll be able to come back.”

”You should lie down,” she said. ”You fought all night. You need proper rest.”

”I’m perfectly fine,” he said, waving her off. ”Do the others know I stopped breathing.”

She looked toward the door, then back at him, and shook her head quickly.

”No,” she said. ”They think you fainted. I didn’t call them. I stayed here.”

He let out a slow breath, and the tension in his shoulders eased a little.

”Good,” he said. ”That would be hard to explain.”

It was easy to explain to Anna because she was one of the few people he trusted not to betray him, but even though the others were his subordinates, he was not comfortable sharing this kind of information with them yet.

Her eyes stayed locked on him like she was scared he would vanish again if she blinked, and her voice softened into a plea.

”Let me stay,” she said. ”Just until you are stable.”

”You need rest too,” he replied. ”You’ve been overworking yourself.”

”I can rest later.”

He shook his head once. ”No. You will rest now.”

She tried again.

”Master—”

He cut her off without raising his voice.

”Go,” he said. ”If I need you, I will call you.”

Anna stood there, shaking, then nodded reluctantly, backing toward the door with her eyes still on him.

”If you call, I will come,” she said.

He gave a small nod, and she finally left, closing the door behind her. The room went quiet.

Gabriel stood still for a moment, rubbing his temple as the pain pulsed, and the memory of the chamber he had been in felt too close, like it was still clinging to the back of his mind.

The worst part was how short it had been out here, because inside it had felt longer, and that difference told him the time flow was not the same, which meant any plan that depended on hours and days could twist if he got pulled back again.

He pushed the thought away without letting it grow, then crossed the room and stepped into the attached bathroom, letting the heat and steam wash over him the moment he entered.

The place was too luxurious for the situation. Clean stone, polished fixtures, thick towels, and a wide tub already giving off steady steam. He turned the water hotter without hesitation, stripped out of his clothes fast, and lowered himself into the bath until the heat wrapped around his body.

He let out a breath that sounded like relief, leaned back against the tub, and let the water loosen the tightness in his shoulders and arms, because after a long night of battles, his body needed something simple and real.

He did not close his eyes for long, and he did not drift. He only stayed still, letting the heat do its job while the headache slowly stopped biting as sharply.

”I needed this,” he muttered as he shifted once so the water covered more of his chest, then rested his arms along the edges.

The mansion around him felt distant through the bathroom walls, and for a rare moment, nothing demanded an answer. He reached for the soap, washed the blood and dust from his skin, and watched the water cloud before it cleared again. His muscles still ached, but the heat dulled it enough for him to move without feeling like his joints would snap.

He exhaled slowly, letting his breathing settle.

Suddenly, while he was catching a brief respite, a translucent System screen flashed before his retina.

[Ding. You have completed your first class advancement quest.]

[Your advancement boons are being calculated...]