Chapter 92: Drawing a Racial Talent
As the last pincer-wielding river crab was killed with his bare hands, the noisy mudflat finally fell silent.
With Cecilia assisting with her crowd-control Spells, the cleanup was astonishingly efficient.
It was a wide, muddy shoal. The shelled carcasses lying here alone numbered close to forty.
Counting the ones they had cleared at another rocky beach before arriving, their daily quota of fifty kills had already been surpassed.
Lance put away his Kite Shield, and with a mere thought, the translucent panel that only he could see instantly expanded.
[Demon Stone Shell River Crab Level 4 (Racial Talent Extractable)]
[This species has been detected as a Low Tier basic Demon with no Professional Level. Its core biological Traits have been extracted, and human racial Adaptive Transformation has been initiated (filtering out all options for limb mutation and deformity).]
When he saw the specially noted line in parentheses, Lance finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The settings in the game from his past life had been the same—acquiring a Talent through Biological Research wouldn’t change a player’s appearance.
But this was a real Otherworld, after all.
He was genuinely afraid this sometimes-unscrupulous system would stick a giant turtle shell on his back.
Since the system guaranteed it was a "human Adaptive Transformation," there was nothing to hesitate about.
Lance chose to extract it immediately.
[Extracting... Racial Talent: Mineral-Rock Symbiotic Skin acquired... Converting to human Adaptive Talent...]
[Binding Racial Talent: Solid Stone Membrane (White)]
[Description: Your skin will become as tough as tanned and cured cowhide.]
[Effect: Your Natural Base Armor +1, Constitution Cap +1, Power Cap +0.5.]
The moment the text appeared, an indescribable, sour itch erupted from the surface of his skin all over his body without warning.
The sensation wasn’t painful, but it was intensely sharp, as if countless ants were crawling in and out of his pores. His skin even began to feel faintly hot to the touch.
Lance gritted his teeth and endured it. The transformation lasted for about half a minute before slowly receding like the tide.
He lifted his hand to observe it closely.
Visibly, his skin retained its original healthy, wheat-colored tone. It hadn’t turned grayish-white, nor had it grown any bizarre, stone-like calluses.
But when he reached out and gave his left arm a hard pinch with his right hand...
The flesh beneath his fingers felt unbelievably tough!
To verify the effect, he pulled a small skinning knife from his belt and gently dragged it across the back of his hand.
The sharp blade, which could have easily cut an ordinary person’s skin, merely left a faint white mark as it slid across the back of his hand.
It hadn’t even broken the skin.
’My Defense Power has gone up by at least a whole tier...’
A sharp glint flashed in Lance’s eyes.
The physical damage reduction from this Natural Armor was practically tailor-made for him.
Many techniques of the Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style came with immense recoil. With this layer of skin, not only would he be more resilient to attacks, but the self-inflicted damage from using his own hand-to-hand combat Skills would also be greatly reduced.
He opened his Attribute panel again.
[Power: 6 → 6.5]
[Constitution: 7 → 8]
Looking at the updated numbers, Lance couldn’t hide his delight.
The Attribute bonus from this Talent alone was worth at least thirteen Gold Coins in Giant Amber Potions, plus half a bottle of a Power-type Potion.
And this was an increase to his *caps*, no less.
This meant the enhancement stemmed from his very life force, raising his entire physical constitution to a higher level.
Even a common Low Level Demon like the Stone Shell River Crab could yield such a practical Talent.
Lance subconsciously turned his head toward the deep, dark expanse of the forest nearby.
’How many other types of Demons are lurking in the whole of Copper Creek Forest?’
’What about the High Tier Magical Beasts with their Extraordinary Power?’
’What about the legendary Giant Dragons that soar through the heavens?’
’If I could extract the Talents from all of them...’
’What kind of terrifying monster would this outrageous system eventually turn my body into?’
The mere thought made Lance’s blood pump with excitement.
"Senior!"
Just then, a clear voice interrupted his reverie.
Cecilia came jogging toward him across the damp sand.
The sky was now painted orange-red by the brilliant sunset.
Lance reined in his thoughts and casually held up his right hand.
The girl, getting the cue, raised her own hand.
"CLAP!"
The two of them exchanged a crisp high-five in mid-air.
It was a unique celebratory gesture Lance had taught Cecilia over the past few days.
"What a haul!"
Lance said with a grin.
He glanced around the littered mudflat and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
To be honest, after grinding Stone Shell River Crabs for days on end, the very sight of the sideways-scuttling creatures now made him want to puke.
But this didn’t just mark the end of Cecilia’s internship; it also meant that his own initial phase of resource gathering was finally complete.
At this thought, an idea suddenly occurred to Lance.
"Cecilia, come here,"
he said, beckoning with a casual tone.
"How about we take a picture together?"
"A picture?"
Cecilia tilted her head, clearly perplexed by the unfamiliar term.
’Senior often said the strangest things.’
Still, out of trust, she obediently walked over to Lance’s side.
She watched as Lance fished out a thin, translucent crystal wafer.
"Is that... an Imprint Crystal for a Panoramic Card?"
Cecilia’s eyes lit up.
Of course, she recognized it. Back at the academy, several of her wealthier classmates had been avid collectors of such cards.
She’d heard that many Minstrels made a living this way, traveling the continent to capture rare images, then selling the rights to the Cartographer Association and making a fortune off the royalties from subsequent sales.
The rarer and more magnificent the recorded scene, the higher the value.
"That’s right,"
Lance said, waving the Crystal Card in his hand.
"Let’s make a record of this moment. We’ll most likely never come back here again, after all."
"We’re not coming back?"
Cecilia froze for a moment, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
’Even though these days of rolling around in the mud and wiping out river crabs were tedious, and even a bit dirty and exhausting... she thought it was a lot of fun.’
’But on second thought, this doesn’t mean the internship is over. I’ll still be following Senior around.’
At that thought, the girl’s mood visibly brightened.
She shuffled closer to Lance, finding a good spot to stand.
But just then, as if she’d suddenly realized something, she whipped her head around to stare at Lance’s face.
"Um... Senior,"
Cecilia said hesitantly, blinking her pretty eyes.
"I’ve never actually seen what you look like."
"Is that so?"
Lance paused, taken aback.
He subconsciously touched his own cheek, and then it hit him.
Out of caution and habit, he had kept his wide hood on for the past few days, whether in town or in the wild, keeping his face completely hidden.
He really had never shown his face to Cecilia.
Lance chuckled in spite of himself.
"Perfect timing, then."
He raised a hand and casually pulled back his hood.
As the fabric fell away, a crop of neat, black hair was revealed.
It was a young, handsome face with clean, well-defined features.
His unique, boyish charm was on full display before the young girl.
Cecilia’s mouth fell slightly agape, and she stared, a little dazed.
’So Senior is this young?’