Chapter 389: Talent Level And A Reward
A few more minutes passed in silence before I finally heard the notification.
[2900/2900]
[Requirement completed]
[Talent Leveling Up...]
The air around me trembled slightly as Essence burst through my channels, flowing straight into my core like a river rushing toward a dam. I could feel the pull—it was hungry, drawing in Essence in huge amounts.
My body responded instantly. Every part of me vibrated with the frequency of the core. My muscles tensed, then relaxed as they adjusted. I could feel my bones shifting subtly, strengthening. The channels inside me widened again, just a bit, making more room for the flow.
It wasn’t painful, but it was intense, like being rewired from the inside out.
The feeling lasted only a few more seconds before it faded. I let out a deep breath and opened my talent panel to check the changes.
[Talent Panel]
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Talent Name: Generator Nexus
Level: 4
Activation Command: Power Up!
Recharge Sources: Any form of energy
Upgrade Requirement : Level 5
Function 1 : Essence Generation
– Generates Essence from absorbed energy
– Essence : 150 / 235 units
– Level-Up Requirement: 4700 Essence units generated
– Progress: 0000/4700
Function 2 : Null Heart
– Generates Soul Threads from generated Essence
– Combines Soul Threads into a Soul Shackle
– Null Heart Charge: 0 / 1000 Essence (1 Soul Shackle = 1000 units of Essence)
– Soul Shackle : 3
– Anchored Soul : 3
– Soul Shackle Limit: 4 (equals to level of talent)
Abilities:
– Essence Transfer : Can transfer stored Essence to an attribute. After use, 50% of the transferred Essence unit remains as a permanent boost
– Essence Infusion : Can infuse stored Essence.
– Particle Absorption : Can directly absorb energy particles from the environment.
– Sovereign’s Mark : Generated Essence bears your unique signature, bending only to your will.
– Soul Shackle: Anchors a corrupted Bonded Soul into the Null Heart, allowing control and shared evolution.
– Sovereign Absorption: Generates a violet vortex that devours energy and channels it directly into the generator core, bypassing the engraved channels. Scales with Talent Level and Psynapse strength.
– Verdant Extraction: Extract life force and distribute it throughout the body. Cannot be stored.
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There wasn’t much change with this level-up, at least not on the surface. My Essence storage had increased, and the soul shackle limit had gone up, but unlike the previous level, I didn’t receive a new ability this time.
Still, I wasn’t disappointed. I was on the edge of stepping into the Grandmaster rank, and any skill I wanted next had to match that level of power. It made sense to wait.
I took a moment to stretch, then focused inward. I wanted to test the newly widened channels. With a simple thought, I imposed my will on the surroundings and called out to the energies nearby.
The response was immediate. The energy particles in the air rushed toward me, faster and more willingly than before. I only needed a few seconds to realize it, my absorption speed had improved by about ten percent.
"Not bad."
I gave a small shrug and stood up.
Next, I reached out to the core, forming a mental connection. Without needing to say anything else, I summoned Lyrate.
Crimson mist burst out of the core in front of me, swirling and thickening until she stepped through it like a queen returning from war. Her red eyes locked onto mine, and we stared at each other for a moment in silence.
She was different.
I could feel it, her aura had grown much stronger, as if it was ready to explode. She was waiting on me. I had no doubt that the moment I became a Grandmaster, she would evolve too.
"Lyrate," I said softly, "some clothes for me, please."
She raised one hand. The mist obeyed her instantly, wrapping around my body in gentle waves.
Within seconds, a long black coat formed across my back, loose and flowing, with thin red lines along the cuffs. The coat remained open in front, revealing my chest and the tattoo engraved on it. Then came a pair of black pants, smooth and well-fitted.
I whistled as I looked down, letting a grin spread across my face.
"Looks good. Thank you."
"I think it’s almost time," I said, stepping closer. "Once I finish the rank up quest, I’ll break through to Grandmaster."
Her eyes didn’t blink, but I saw the faintest twitch of excitement in her eyes or maybe I just imagined it.
"When that happens," I continued, "you’ll rank up too. We’ll do it together."
She kept her eyes fixed on me.
I reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. The mist around her swirled gently. "Soon," I promised. "Very soon. I don’t have much time to waste."
With a deep breath, I dismissed her. Crimson mist wrapped around her again and pulled her back into my core. The space fell silent.
I turned and walked out of the pool, moving through the halls of the old castle. My footsteps echoed faintly against the stone walls.
Outside, the air was cooler. Clouds drifted overhead, and the sun peeked through patches of them. I walked toward the courtyard where I sensed familiar presences.
Steve and North were standing near a pile of broken weapons, laughing about something. Steve was waving his hands around, clearly exaggerating a story. North caught sight of me first.
She blinked. "Wow."
Steve turned. "Well, look at that. Did a model just walk out of the ruins?"
North giggled. "We just crawled out of a war zone and you’re over there looking like you stepped off a stage."
I grinned and spread my arms. "What? I like feeling clean."
Steve raised his hands. "That’s my cue. I need a bath too, before I start smelling worse than one of those monsters."
He walked past me, clapping me on the back as he went. "Don’t steal all the romance while I’m gone."
I laughed and turned to North. She stepped closer, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Her smile was soft now, warmer.
"I missed you," she said quietly.
"I wasn’t gone that long."
"I know," she said, "but still."
I sat beside her on the edge of the stone platform, close enough that our shoulders touched. She leaned her head against me, and for a while, we just stayed like that.
Then, I turned to her. Her eyes were already looking into mine. I didn’t speak.
I leaned closer and kissed her.
It was slow, gentle, but I liked it that way. Her hands rose to my chest, fingers curling against the fabric of my coat. I moved in again, kissing her a second time, deeper now. Her lips parted, responding to mine with eagerness.
We kept kissing, lost in the moment. I slid my arm around her waist and, without breaking contact, lifted her easily and placed her on my lap.
She let out a soft laugh against my lips but didn’t stop me. Her arms wrapped around my neck as I kissed her again, slower, firmer, like time had stopped for us. I didn’t gain any new ability from leveling up but this kiss felt like a reward all on its own.