Chapter 34: Talent: Ego [S]

Embarrassed on the surface, Rahul's heart raced with anticipation after hearing the prompt and delaying his response.

The principal keenly noticed his reaction, but he continued, "It has become a tradition that any student breaking the record time of the novice dungeon clearance will receive rewards. However, in the past, the record time was 10 hours."

"As for your reward, you should understand that your novice dungeon clearance time is significantly lower compared to the previous one. That's why I've decided to give you the chance to choose any reward or request, as long as it doesn't violate the rules," the principal explained patiently.

"Oh! I cleared it in only 6 hours, which is ahead of the previous record by 4 hours," Rahul pretended to be surprised by his clearance record and quickly concealed his apprehension.

"Okay, what do you want?" the principal inquired seriously.

Pretending to think for a moment, Rahul grinned inwardly at his luck, "Sir, I want to meet a high-ranking player whose profession is related to appraising."

"What!" The principal momentarily lost his composure due to the absurd request but quickly composed himself. "You should already know that there is no high-ranking player with the profession of 'Appraisal' in Region Xth. His time is too precious; even the Federation respects him with two points of respect."

"I know, sir, and that's precisely why I'm using this request," Rahul said politely, knowing his request might still be seen as a bit absurd, but it held immense importance to him.

"You really putting me in a tricky situation," the principal sighed, and after a brief pause, he continued, "Okay, I will somehow arrange a meeting with him."

"Thank you, sir," Rahul replied gratefully, well aware of how difficult it would be for him to meet the high-ranking player, but he caught a point—"Arrange a meeting with him"—and grinned inwardly. "Luck is still favoring me."

"Okay, for now, go to the classroom," the principal ordered.

"Alright, sir," Rahul replied, leaving the principal's office.

As soon as Rahul exited, the principal licked his lips, amused by the intriguing young student.

Rahul's mind was filled with thoughts of all the prompts he received, making it both bewildering and exhilarating.

Reaching the classroom gate, Rahul asked, "May I come in, sir?"

"Come in," the class teacher said, and Rahul entered Class Xth and took his seat. Amar, curious about the reward, asked mischievously, "What did you choose as your reward?"

"I requested to meet a high-ranking player," Rahul replied calmly, knowing that Amar would soon find out the specifics.

"What!" Amar exclaimed. "Boss, I don't know why you asked for that kind of reward, but I sense you are up to something. Am I right?"

Rahul put on a surprised facial expression with a wide-open mouth and teased Amar for being observant.

"I never expected that you can even notice this!"

"F*ck you, Boss!" Amar cursed, knowing Rahul was just messing with him.

Time passed with theoretical and practical training, and Rahul delved further into the prompts unlocked by the 'World System.'

Soon the time of school ended.

In his villa, Rahul finished his lunch and went about conversing with the household members, such as Butler, Sneha, and others, before retiring to his room to rest.

Rahul couldn't help but be impressed by how deeply the principal had hidden himself, to the point where even Neo had to alert him. Nevertheless, as long as the principal didn't show any hostility towards him, Rahul didn't see it as a significant issue.

...

As Rahul entered the office, he received a prompt from the World System that sent a wave through his heart.

[World System]

[Ding...]

[Your Talent: Copy [incomplete EX] has the urge to copy Talent: Ego [S]]

[Do you agree?]

[Yes/No]

The shock of the prompt jolted Rahul. His Talent had never shown any signs of activity since awakening. Furthermore, his status panel provided no details about it.

Talent: Copy [incomplete EX]

???

???

Grade: Incomplete EX

The enigmatic introduction of his Talent left Rahul wondering. He hesitated to agree and consulted Neo to confirm if it was the right course of action.

[Yes, host, it is indeed the right direction.]

[Every EX-grade Talent is like a single entity.]

[Your talent is also an EX-grade, but it remains incomplete, requiring consciousness and an appraising talent to reach completion.]

[Your talent may gain consciousness after devouring Talent: Ego [S].]

[Host, I advise you never to show any flaws before this person.]

Neo's assurance dissipated Rahul's unnecessary worry, and he agreed to the copy. As for Neo's last prompt, Rahul decided to focus on it at another time.

[World System]

[Copying Talent: Ego [S] is in process]

[Please remain near the target for 1 minute]

[Process 1%... 50%... 100%]

[Copy successful]

The process swiftly completed, and yet another prompt appeared—this time an outrageous one, although within an acceptable range as Neo explained the significance of what followed.

[Ding…]

[Talent: Copy [incomplete EX] has the urge to devour Talent: Ego [S]]

[Do you agree?]

[Yes/No]

As soon as the prompts appeared, an unfamiliar voice startled him.

"Huh! Where am I?"

"Why do I feel this chill?"

"Ahh! Wh... Who are you?"

He quickly realized that if his talent, Copy, was used to replicate another talent, it could duplicate everything exactly even carrying the data of the previous talent.

The voice seemed to emanate from an unknown place. The chill he felt could be attributed to the devour property of his talent: Copy.

During that moment, he also recognized that the voice belonged to 'Ego,' so he decided to halt the devouring process and do it at home.

He caught a glimpse of details about the sacrifice requirement but refrained from reading further, fearing the principal might notice something off.

Although he was quite shocked, he knew the principal couldn't openly do anything to him, so his worry faded.

...

"His voice still echoing in my ears," he thought with amazement.

"Show Ego details," he murmured curiously, and a panel appeared.

Talent: Ego [S]

It can boost all your stats five times for 30 minutes.

A single entity that gains consciousness through rank upgrades.

Grade: S

Upgrade Condition: Sacrifice the souls of five S-rank players.