Chapter 10: Evolving Both Skill and Talent

Leon took a single step, and before his foot had even fully landed, a translucent notification suddenly materialized in front of him.

[Players: 100,000,000]

Leon stopped walking.

His eyes remained fixed on the number for several seconds before a faint smile appeared on his face. So that was how Eternal Heaven intended to keep track of its population. One hundred million people had been selected, and apparently, every player would be able to see the current number whenever they entered a new area or perhaps at certain intervals.

"That’s convenient," Leon murmured, folding his arms as he studied the floating number. "Although I have a feeling this number is going to become a lot less comforting once the elimination cycles begin. One hundred million sounds impressive until you remember that Eternal Heaven has already informed us that some of those people are going to die."

After several seconds, the notification disappeared on its own.

Leon continued down the road, but his thoughts remained on the player count. He wondered whether the number would decrease only when someone died permanently or whether there were other circumstances that could cause it to change. More importantly, he wondered how quickly it would fall once the first hundred days ended.

The thought made his expression slightly more serious.

"Better not become one of those numbers," he said quietly.

Leon then opened his Status Panel again.

The familiar translucent screen appeared before him, displaying his current information. He ignored his basic attributes for the moment and immediately focused on the abilities he could improve. His eyes settled on his Role Talent, Close-Ranged Healing.

He tapped it. The interface expanded, revealing the evolution options available to the ability.

[Role Talent: Close-Ranged Healing]

[Current Grade: C]

[Evolution Available]

[C → B: 1 Evolution Points]

[B → A: 3 Evolution Points]

[A → S: 5 Evolution Points]

[S → SS: 7 Evolution Points]

[SS → SSS: 9 Evolution Points]

Leon stared at the requirements. His eyebrows slowly rose.

"So that’s how Evolution Points work."

He tapped the first option, and another description appeared beneath it. The evolution would improve the effectiveness of the healing ability, increase its range slightly, strengthen the amount of vitality restored, and alter its fundamental properties.

Leon nodded thoughtfully. That was already useful.

Leon then tapped the B-rank evolution.

[B-Rank Evolution: Vital Touch]

[Evolution Requirement: 2 Evolution Points]

He read the description carefully. Vital Touch would retain the original principle of restoring another person’s vitality through direct contact, but the efficiency of the healing would be considerably greater. It would also allow Leon to heal deeper injuries and restore a greater amount of HP with less mana expenditure.

Leon smiled.

"Not bad."

He tapped the next evolution.

[A-Rank Evolution: Life Mend]

[Evolution Requirement: 4 Evolution Points]

Leon stared at the new name: Life Mend. That sounded significantly better than Close-Ranged Healing.

He had to admit, there was something satisfying about watching a mediocre-looking C-rank ability transform into something more powerful.

Leon briefly considered taking it immediately. Then his attention shifted to his skill.

He returned to the main Status Panel and tapped Mana Burst. The information expanded.

[Skill: Mana Burst]

[Level: 1]

[Grade: Iron]

[Evolution Options Available]

[Iron → Bronze: 2 Evolution Points]

[Bronze → Silver: 4 Evolution Points]

[Silver → Gold: 6 Evolution Points]

[Gold → Platinum: 8 Evolution Points]

....

Leon rubbed his chin.

"Now we’re talking."

Unlike his healing talent, Mana Burst was an actual combat skill. It allowed him to gather mana and release it in a concentrated burst, making it considerably more useful than simply standing around and hoping monsters became frightened by his Support Role.

Leon selected the first evolution.

[Iron → Bronze]

[Evolution Name: Mana Surge]

[Proceed with Evolution?]

[Yes / No]

Leon selected Yes. The moment he did, a faint blue light flowed across the skill interface.

[2 Evolution Points consumed.]

[Mana Burst has evolved.]

[New Skill: Mana Surge]

[Grade: Bronze]

Leon could feel something change inside his body. He felt the flow of mana inside him become smoother, more responsive, as though an obstruction had been removed from a river.

Leon flexed his fingers.

"That’s actually a pretty good feeling."

He immediately opened the evolution interface again. The next option was waiting.

[Bronze → Silver]

[Evolution Name: Arcane Surge]

[Evolution Requirement: 4 Evolution Points]

Leon didn’t hesitate.

[Yes.]

Another wave of energy passed through his body.

[4 Evolution Points consumed.]

[Mana Surge has evolved.]

[New Skill: Arcane Surge]

Leon took a slow breath. The skill had gone from Iron to Bronze and then from Bronze to Silver. He could already feel the difference.

The mana circulating through him was more refined than before, and the skill itself felt considerably more powerful. His mind immediately began considering different applications. If he could combine his Supreme Comprehension with Skill Evolution, then even an ordinary combat skill might eventually become something frightening.

Leon glanced at his Evolution Points.

[Evolution Points: 4]

He nodded. Four remained. That meant he could now evolve his healing talent all the way to A-rank.

Leon opened the Role Talent interface again.

[Close-Ranged Healing]

[Current Grade: C]

He selected the B-rank evolution.

[C → B: Vital Touch]

[Proceed?]

[Yes.]

[1 Evolution Points consumed.]

[Role Talent has evolved.]

[New Role Talent: Vital Touch (B)]

Leon immediately selected the next evolution.

[B → A: Life Mend]

[Proceed?]

[Yes.]

[3 Evolution Points consumed.]

[Role Talent has evolved.]

[New Role Talent: Life Mend (A)]

Leon stared at the result. His remaining Evolution Points had fallen to zero.

For a moment, he simply stood there. Then he smiled.

His starting Role Talent had been C-rank only a short while ago. Now it was A-rank. His starting combat skill had begun at Iron. Now it was Silver. And he had done all of it before even fighting his first monster.

Leon closed the interface.

"Not a bad first day."

He had just taken another step when a thought suddenly occurred to him. Leon stopped.

His expression slowly changed.

"What about the SSS-rank talents?"

He immediately opened his Extra panel. The ten talents appeared before him.

[SSS-Rank: Infinite Growth]

[SSS-Rank: Supreme Comprehension]

[SSS-Rank: Eternal Mana]

[SSS-Rank: Absolute Adaptation]

[SSS-Rank: Skill Evolution]

[SSS-Rank: Talent Devourer]

[SSS-Rank: Perfect Body]

[SSS-Rank: Lucky Fate]

[SSS-Rank: Monarch’s Will]

[SSS-Rank: Origin Eyes]

Leon stared at them. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"What if..."

He tapped Infinite Growth. Nothing happened.

He waited. Still nothing.

Leon tapped it again. No evolution interface appeared.

He tried Supreme Comprehension. Nothing.

Then Eternal Mana. Nothing. He went through several of the others, but the result remained exactly the same.

Leon eventually sighed.

"So the Evolution Points are for normal skills and talents, but not these ten."

He wasn’t particularly disappointed. In fact, the conclusion made sense. These talents were already SSS-rank.

Trying to evolve them might have been like trying to upgrade something that was already at the highest recognized grade. If they could evolve normally, then the existence of SSS rank itself would become rather meaningless.

Leon closed the Extra panel.