Chapter 285: Talent Upgrade...New Ability
I looked into her eyes. They felt strange—distant and alive at the same time, like she was seeing me but also seeing something far away.
Then, without warning, I heard a faint clink.
A single ethereal blue chain extended from my chest, glowing softly as it arced through the air and connected to her chest. It shimmered like moonlight.
I blinked at it, surprised. I had the same link with Silver as well.
The chain shimmered once and then vanished but I could feel something.
Her emotions.
And in turn, she could feel mine.
It was a strange connection. But what really surprised me was what she felt on her end—curiosity. That was it. No fear, no confusion, no anger. Just curiosity, as if she were seeing the world for the first time.
I took a step back and looked into her eyes again.
"So, what’s your name?" I asked gently.
She didn’t respond, only stared. But I could feel it—she was unsure. She didn’t remember.
I gave her a small nod and said, "Alright then. Your name is Lyrate. Lyrate Evergreen."
I felt a quiet agreement in her mind, like she accepted the name—even if she didn’t fully understand it yet.
That’s when an idea came to me.
In her memories, I’d seen the dress she was wearing. She had crafted it herself—woven with fragments of the Law of Creation. If she could do it then... maybe she could still do it now.
I smiled slightly.
"Lyrate," I said, pointing at myself. "Make one for me too."
She raised her hand. The air shimmered.
From the space around us, threads of natural Essence—soft green and glowing—began to gather. They moved like ribbons in water, twisting and braiding together with a quiet hum.
First, the pants formed. The Essence wove into sleek black fabric, fitting perfectly to my frame. It felt light and breathable, yet strong. Reinforced, probably—maybe even resistant to minor elemental forces. I didn’t need to tell her; she understood instinctively.
Then came the shirt. Threads of Essence danced upward from the earth, wrapping around my torso in slow, precise spirals. They layered themselves into a crisp, clean shirt—white as snow, but not stiff.
Last came the smallest detail.
A thin strand of green Essence coiled into a bracelet, forming a ring of tiny smooth beads around my right wrist.
When she finished, the Essence threads faded, the air fell still, and she lowered her hand again.
I looked down at myself, running a hand along the fabric. It was comfortable—tailored exactly to my shape.
I glanced up at her, then casually unbuttoned the top two buttons of the shirt.
"Thanks," I said quietly.
Finally, I turned my attention to something I had been looking forward to—the physical trait I could gain through our bond.
I focused my will inward, reaching into the connection that tethered us. A soft glow flickered through my vision as a system prompt materialized before me, displaying four distinct options:
[Crimson Crest]
[Verdant Heart]
[Crimson Eyes]
[Crimson Veil]
Four choices. One more than I had received from Silver. And just like before, there were no descriptions—just names. I had to rely on intuition and memory to decide.
I studied them one by one, trying to piece together their meanings. From the names alone, I could tell that these weren’t purely from her elven side. Some of these were touched by her Phantom transformation.
Crimson Crest sounded like a boost-type trait—maybe something that would enhance my stats or increase my Essence flow. A crown of power, perhaps, or an amplifier embedded into my body.
Verdant Heart immediately caught my eye. That was definitely from her elven bloodline. It likely had something to do with regeneration or life force.
In her memories, I had seen how she could draw energy directly from nature—how her heart stored pure life force pulled from plants and the world around her.
Then I paused. My heart wasn’t exactly... available. It was already occupied by my evolving talent. What would happen if another force was layered over it? I didn’t know. But the idea that it might mutate or evolve my talent—that thought alone excited me.
Crimson Eyes I dismissed almost instantly. I didn’t need vision that revealed Essence trails or vague insight. If I ever accepted a visual trait, it would have to be something incredible, not just "better sight."
Crimson Veil was vague. Probably a stealth trait or something tied to illusions. Phantom-like. It sounded useful, but too ambiguous to gamble on now.
In the end, my decision was already made the moment I saw it.
I reached forward and chose Verdant Heart, already imagining the pulse of life and power it might unlock within me.
The moment I confirmed my choice, the crimson mist around Lyrate exploded outward like a crashing wave. It surged toward me and struck my body, flooding through my skin like hot wind. I could feel the force of it flowing in through every pore.
Inside me, something responded.
The runes—the ones etched into my body during the race evolution—lit up, glowing faintly with violet light. They moved, shifting, guiding the energy through my system.
The mist and the runes mixed together, reacting like two halves of a lock and key. The moment they connected, a surge of energy rushed toward my chest.
But before the crimson mist could settle into place, the runes already etched into my heart pulsed with sudden intensity—like a warning.
Ba-dump.
My heart thudded once, deep and forceful.
And just like that, the mist was pulled inward, absorbed entirely without resistance. It vanished into the glowing web of runes, drawn in like a drop of water falling into flame.
I watched closely as new runes etched themselves across the surface of my heart, weaving into the complex pattern already there. Then, just as quickly as it had started, everything dimmed again.
A soft pulse echoed in my mind.
[Talent Upgraded]
[New Ability Acquired]
[Verdant Extraction: Extract life force and distribute it throughout the body. Cannot be stored.]
I blinked at the message.
That was... different.
Lyrate had been able to store life force inside her heart like a reservoir. I had seen it in her memories. She could draw from it at will, using it for recovery or even to power spells. I had assumed I would gain something similar—maybe even more advanced.
But apparently, my talent had other plans.
No reservoir. No storage. Just a direct line—life force drawn in and instantly distributed.
I stared at the notification, unsure how to feel. It wasn’t weaker, not exactly. But it felt... efficient. Stripped down. Like my talent hadn’t found this worthy enough to evolve into a full sub-function. Just a utility.
Still, a smile tugged at the edge of my lips.
"Not bad," I murmured to myself. "Not what I expected, but not bad at all."
Even if I couldn’t hoard life force like Lyrate, I could now draw it in and flood it through my system instantly. A surge of vitality, whenever I needed it.
And I had a feeling that would come in handy soon.
I looked back at Lyrate and spoke softly.
"I’m not sure if you understand what just happened... but thank you for the gift, Lyrate."
She stood there, silent and still, her glowing red eyes watching me without reaction.
I sighed under my breath.
"It’d be great if you could speak. Or if I could return even a sliver of your memories. Right now, you’re like someone lost in a fog—alive, powerful, but with no direction."
A part of me did not like this. It didn’t feel right. She’d been a grandmaster once. A guardian. A sister.
I decided to test something else.