Adam didn’t waste ti.
He focused on the new talent.
Stone Cold E and the panel responded imdiately.
[Stone Cold E:
Allows the bearer to trap foes in a modest stone-cold enclosure
while granting the bearer a modest stone-cold defense.]
"..."
Adam stared at the description.
For a mont, he wondered if he’d been too generous thinking he’d gotten used to the panel’s... creative explanations. Every ti he thought it couldn’t get worse, it proved him wrong.
He exhaled slowly and shook his head.
Not everything can be perfect.
Still, he understood it.
The panel always understated things. Rapid E had been described as a modest increase in speed, yet it gave him fine control over his movents, balance, and montum far beyond what "modest" implied.
So he didn’t doubt Stone Cold E either.
Let’s test it.
He couldn’t test the entrapnt aspect in his current condition, but the defensive side was fair ga.
Adam activated the talent.
In the next mont, his bandaged body shimred.
His skin turned crystalline, an eerie fusion of ice and stone, translucent yet solid, cold light refracting off his form. Despite the drastic change, he could still move.
Well. As much as my current state allows.
He flexed slightly, examining himself and understanding dawned quickly.
The talent wasn’t just coating him, it was restructuring him. His cells had beco extrely compact and dense, far denser than what should be possible for a living being.
Normally, sothing like this would be fatal. The only reason he could still move was because he had direct control over the transford cells.
But if I trap soone else in this...
Adam’s eyes narrowed.
They won’t have control.
They’d be immobilized and worse, their body would be subjected to constant internal damage until the enclosure was lifted.
He deactivated the talent, and his body reverted to normal.
A cold smile tugged at his lips.
With this defense... that bastard will find it much harder to put a wound on .
Adam had no intention of forgetting the profound lord.
When the ti cos, I’ll collect my debt.
He leaned back slightly, exhaustion creeping in.
It all started with a single E-rank talent.
Now I have three.
The thought filled him with a quiet, dangerous satisfaction.
Then the fatigue hit him like a hamr.
His vision dimd.
And Adam fell asleep.
****
Redy moved through the forest without a care in the world. She wore a black-and-white tracksuit, a black cap pulled low with hands tucked casually into the jacket pockets.
At first glance, she looked like soone out for a late jog. In reality, she was hunting.
I have to make this lunch nothing but special.
Deep roars echoed through the forest, countless of them, layered and distant. That was normal. They were in the wild zones, not the Alliance-controlled area where rifts and incursions were constantly managed.
This was untad land.
A place where monsters road freely.
A place where letting your guard down even once ant death.
Redy didn’t care.
A sudden roar suddenly erupted much closer and she jumped back as a massive wooden log slamd into the ground where she’d been standing a heartbeat earlier, dirt and splinters exploding outward.
Her hands were still in her pockets as she turned.
An Unranked Level 3 tal Tail stood there.
Its body was wrapped in thick tal armor plates, and its tail ended in a massive spiked tal ball. A freshly felled tree lay beside it, evidence of its crude but effective ranged attacks. The monster reared back, tail coiling as it prepared to launch another projectile.
Redy’s eyes sparkled.
Perfect.
"tal Tail at," she murmured happily. "One of the sweetest among level three monsters."
She pulled her hands from her pockets.
"Adam will definitely love it."
The tal Tail roared and whipped its tail again, sending another massive log hurtling toward her.
Redy dodged effortlessly and closed the distance.
The monster snarled, its tail swelling, tal expanding until it was the size of a boulder, swinging down with the intent to crush her completely.
Redy didn’t flinch.
"Light Barrage."
The tail slamd down...
And passed straight through her, as her body dissolved into motes of light.
In the next instant, multiple Redys appeared around the monster, forming a perfect circle. They moved in absolute sync, hands glowing as spears of condensed light ford.
They struck together, and the tal armor shattered like glass, as the monster died instantly.
Redy reford from light, not even breathing hard. She stored the corpse into her storage item, gave the area a brief glance to make sure nothing else was approaching...
Then turned and headed back.
Lunch was secured.
****
Redy reached the mouth of a cave, where a giant monster slept deep inside, its slow breathing shaking the stone. She passed it without a second glance. It was hibernating, and more importantly, its presence alone was enough to keep lesser monsters far away.
She moved deeper until she reached what looked like a dead end.
Then she stepped forward and the wall rippled. It was an illusion disguising a secret passageway.
The mont she passed through, she was back in their room.
Redy’s eyes went straight to the bed noticing the still sleeping Adam.
For a mont, a sad look crossed her face.
Then...
Shock, followed by excitent that grew stronger.
She could feel it clearly. The change was unmistakable. Adam’s presence had sharpened and his strength had surged past a threshold.
He surpassed .
Redy shook her head and smiled softly.
"I decided to take care of you," she murmured, "and you used that chance to pass ."
Her smile widened slightly.
"You’re still the sa."
She wasn’t upset.
If anything, she was pleased.
Adam growing stronger didn’t just an competition, it ant acceleration. It ant montum. And at this rate...
We’ll be able to hit the Family much sooner than expected.
Her expression turned solemn for a brief mont as an old mory surfaced.
She shook her head, pushing it away.
He must’ve awakened Fuse this ti.
Redy didn’t linger. Even asleep, Adam could sense when soone watched him too long. She didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.
She headed into the kitchenette.
With a flick of her wrist, she took out the tal Tail at. Thanks to her storage item’s disabling and arrangent features, the at was already cleaned, portioned, and perfectly cut.
All that was left...
Was cooking.
"I’ll have to make it extra delicious," Redy said lightly, "since we’re celebrating your progress."
A smile blood on her face as she got to work.
****
A/N: Well, my sister just got discharged today so hopefully I can properly edit future Chapters. Also, there will be a mass release is what I would have said if I didn’t burn through my stock. but a little motivation from you guys can go a long way since the goal is still up for top 60 in golden ticket rankings or 800 powerstones.
Ps Thank you for reading
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