God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World! Chapter 573: Proceeding Without Gabriel

Everyone looked toward Gabriel with confused expressions after he spoke.

ChaosCleric blinked twice as if he thought he heard wrong, while several Martial Palace mbers also turned their attention toward the masked man. Even Liang frowned slightly because the timing made little sense when they were already this close to the core chamber.

Gabriel remained calm under their gazes.

The shard inside his coat had been reacting more strongly the deeper they entered the tomb, and after crossing the bridge, the reaction had beco impossible to ignore. The thing almost felt warm against his chest now, and although Gabriel did not fully understand what it contained, he knew this was not the ti to ignore it.

"I need so ti," Gabriel said. "You can proceed without ."

Silence followed those words for a mont.

Several ChaosKnight mbers imdiately looked uneasy because nobody wanted to continue deeper into the tomb without the person who had carried them through most of the dangerous sections. Even the Martial Palace mbers quietly exchanged glances after hearing it.

ChaosCleric rubbed the side of his face tiredly. "Proceed without you? Inside this place?"

"You survived before eting ," Gabriel replied calmly. "You can survive a little longer."

ChaosCleric opened his mouth but failed to argue properly. The problem was that everyone there knew things had changed after Gabriel joined them. Their survival rate had increased too much to pretend otherwise.

IceQueen folded her arms and stared at him carefully. "What exactly are you doing?"

Gabriel looked toward her briefly before shifting his gaze away again. He could not explain the shard, and even if he could, he had no intention of revealing sothing connected to the knight and the core suppressing spike.

"Sothing personal," he answered simply.

Liang narrowed his eyes slightly at that response.

The Martial Palace mbers behind him also beca more alert because "personal" inside a tomb usually ant a hidden inheritance, secret thods, or resources soone did not want others to see. Gabriel could feel their curiosity imdiately, but he ignored it.

VV suddenly stepped forward.

"I will stay."

Several people imdiately looked toward the armored figure.

Even Gabriel paused for half a second because VV rarely spoke voluntarily, especially around this many people. The tone behind the helt remained calm, but there was no hesitation in the statent either.

ChaosCleric pointed at VV in disbelief. "You want to stay behind too?"

VV nodded once.

Gabriel studied the armored figure quietly.

Normally, he did not trust people easily. Most of the ti, he preferred working alone because relying on others created unnecessary risks, but for so reason, he did not reject the idea imdiately this ti.

Part of it was because VV had already proven reliable several tis.

Another reason was because Gabriel could tell the figure had no interest in prying into his secrets. VV watched him differently compared to the others. There was curiosity and interest there, but not greed.

IceQueen stepped forward next.

"Fine," she said. "If VV stays, I stay too."

Gabriel imdiately shook his head.

"No."

IceQueen frowned slightly. "Why?"

"Because soone needs to watch the group," Gabriel replied. "You are stronger than most of them. If both of you stay behind, the rest beco easier targets."

His gaze briefly swept across the remaining players while he spoke.

Several ChaosKnight mbers imdiately looked awkward after hearing that because they understood what he ant. The deeper they went, the more dangerous the tomb beca, and without IceQueen or Gabriel nearby, they would beco vulnerable quickly.

IceQueen clicked her tongue softly. "You say it like babysitting."

"It is babysitting," Gabriel answered without hesitation.

A few Martial Palace mbers snorted quietly at that.

ChaosCleric looked offended for a second before rembering the river incident and lowering his head again. Technically, Gabriel was not wrong.

In fact, he had never been wrong since coming here.

IceQueen stared at Gabriel for several seconds after that.

Her fingers tapped lightly against her arm, clearly reluctant to leave him behind, but she also understood his reasoning. If another large scale fight happened ahead, the remaining group would need soone capable of leading them properly.

Eventually, she exhaled slowly.

"Fine."

Gabriel gave a small nod.

Liang observed the exchange silently before speaking again.

"We will continue moving ahead slowly. If you are delayed too long, we may not wait."

"That is your decision," Gabriel replied calmly.

The Martial Palace group soon began moving again afterward.

IceQueen gave Gabriel one final look before turning away and following after them alongside the remaining ChaosKnight mbers. ChaosCleric looked like he wanted to complain more, but after seeing Gabriel’s expression, he thought better of it and simply followed the others quietly.

The chamber gradually beca emptier.

Footsteps echoed farther away until only Gabriel and VV remained behind near the broken stone path beside the bridge chamber. The sound of distant water still echoed quietly behind them.

VV looked toward Gabriel afterward.

"What are we doing?"

Gabriel glanced at the armored figure briefly.

Even now, hearing VV speak this much still felt slightly strange to him because the person usually communicated through silence or small gestures more often than actual words. The fact that VV had voluntarily stayed behind and continued asking questions showed clear interest.

And the reason for all this was because of his strength.

Gabriel nodded toward a nearby rock formation.

"Watch over for a few minutes," he said.

VV tilted the helt slightly. "That simple?"

"Yes."

Gabriel walked toward the large stone and sat down carefully.

The pressure from the shard had grown even stronger after separating from the others. It almost felt alive now, pulsing faintly against his chest as if reacting to sothing deeper inside the tomb.

VV remained standing nearby with a sword in hand.

The armored figure positioned itself slightly to Gabriel’s left where both the bridge and tunnel entrance remained visible.

Gabriel reached into his coat afterward and carefully removed the mory shard.

The crystal looked darker now compared to earlier, and faint lines of light moved inside it slowly like trapped smoke. Gabriel stared at it silently for a mont before narrowing his eyes.

VV glanced toward the shard once. "Need help?"

Gabriel shook his head.

"No. Just make sure nothing interrupts ."

VV gave another short nod and tightened the grip on the sword slightly.

Normally, extracting mory fragnts required careful preparation, but Gabriel had already realized this shard reacted differently from ordinary items. The thing almost seed eager to rge with him the closer he ca to the core.

Instead of trying to absorb it slowly, Gabriel simply tightened his grip around the shard.

CRACK!

Thin fractures spread across the crystal instantly.

VV’s helt shifted slightly at the sound while Gabriel calmly crushed the rest inside his palm. The broken fragnts imdiately dissolved into black silver dust before he could even drop them.

The dust moved strangely. Part of it slipped through his nostrils naturally while the rest sank directly into his pores and skin without resistance. Gabriel’s eyes narrowed faintly as cold pressure flooded into his mind almost instantly.

The surrounding chamber started becoming blurry.

The sound of the river faded first.

After that, even the torchlight around the walls began distorting slightly while Gabriel’s breathing slowed unconsciously. Strange images flickered faintly at the edge of his vision, too fast to fully understand yet impossible to ignore.

VV noticed the shift imdiately.

The armored figure stepped closer by instinct but stopped after seeing Gabriel raise one hand slightly, signaling not to interfere.

The pressure around Gabriel beca heavier afterward.

Small currents of qi leaked from his body unconsciously while the blurred surroundings continued distorting more and more around him.