"I don't have a choice." Kael took a deep breath and summoned his status.
[ Name: Kael Sunstride
Title: Sunshine
Level: 0
Class: N/A
Talent: Absolute Speed, Light Affinity (Currently Unstable)
Str: 12, Con: 11, Agi: 14, MP: 8
Skill: N/A ]
"Now that I see it calmly... what does it mean by unstable? Does it mean I can't use it?" Kael had never read or studied anything like this.
"Well, it's not the time for this anyway. It's not like I have any spell or ability to utilize it."
Ignoring that, he focused his gaze on 'Absolute Speed'. The status window didn't offer any description of talents, since talents were considered the most abstract thing.
There was no such thing as a weak or strong talent—or at least, that's what they had always been taught. But Kael knew that affinity talents could be judged the moment they awakened, and that was a very controversial topic.
Then he willed the panel to display the title description.
Titles were a very useful thing. Not everyone had one, but almost anyone would kill for any kind of title.
[Title: Sunshine
Like the sun that pierces the night, the bearer of this title becomes a living dawn. When surrounded by allies who see them as their Sunshine, despair fades and hope rises. Faith converges into power, growing brighter with every heart that looks toward the light.
Passive – Beacon of Hope:
The strength of the bearer increases in proportion to the hope of nearby allies.
Simply being present restores courage to allies and strengthens their will, fostering unity.
The flame of faith surrounding the bearer cannot be extinguished while they endure.
Active – Radiant Dawn:
Emits a surge of light that heals allies over time and temporarily boosts their attack power.
Dispel fear and debuffs from all nearby allies.
Duration and effect scale with the number of allies present who recognize the bearer as their Sunshine.]
"Wow! That's so—" Kael's mouth hung wide open, and as he exclaimed, a loud sound erupted.
"WAAAHAHA Ahahaa!"
"Don't have time for this… shit, my title is of no use in the current scenario." Recalling the description of his title, Kael knew the only thing he could rely on was his talent.
"Here we go." He got into a running pose.
The truth was, Kael had always been a good runner. Even Alex had never beaten him in a race.
Then Kael took his first step—and immediately felt something different.
Slow… the world had become slow. His second step hadn't even touched the ground, but his mind was working fast—too fast. Kael instantly felt the asynchronization between his mind and body.
In this state, he could see the world as if time had stopped. He saw the man pressing his head against the tiles. He even noticed a slime-like substance slowly dripping onto the chair, and with a hissing sound, the steel began to melt—slowly but surely.
Damn, what's the use of my brain running fast? Shit, shit. The increase in his thinking had done nothing for him. If anything, he could now only watch in slow motion how that man was about to melt—because at the speed his body was moving, he would never reach in time.
Shit, shit, move, move—dammit, move! Kael's eyes widened, and he moved his eyeballs rapidly, since that was the only part that could keep up with his thoughts.
Talent was abstract—no one should ever underestimate it, no matter how useless it looked.
This was something taught and drilled into everyone's mind since the arrival of the Tower.
If my eyes can move, then surely my body can too… I just have to find the way. Kael screamed inwardly and continued to will his talent.
But talent didn't work that way. If it did, then every person with a talent would have become a god.
To use talent, one had to work hard. Not only did you need to understand the mechanics behind it, but also how to utilize it.
That was also why Jack looked down on Robert's fire affinity—because understanding the mechanics behind fire was like understanding the law itself.
At his level, Jack was still far from such things and didn't even hope he ever could.
As Kael tried his best, time flowed at its own pace. To him, it felt like a full minute had already passed, but in reality, no more than five seconds had gone by. In that time, the slime monster had reached the man—just an inch away.
The man was no longer pressing his head down. Instead, he looked back from beneath the table. Horror—that was the only thing written on his face.
Damn it, move!!! Suddenly, Kael's heart began to pound, and then it grew faster—like the roar of an engine.
Kael, who had been moving at a snail's pace by his own perception, suddenly vanished and reappeared right in front of the table. He looked at the slime monster. The dangerous aura radiating from it made him gulp, but without thinking too much, he bent down. The man was still staring back in shock.
Kael grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him away.
Booom!!
The table broke apart, its pieces melting as the monster walked over them.
And Kael… he was slammed directly into the wall. Luckily, the man was unharmed, as Kael had released him at the last moment.
"Ahhhh, my head—it hurts." Kael grabbed his head as blood trickled down from it.
"WHAHAHAAHA!!"
The monster screamed as it turned toward Kael's direction, even though it had no eyes or ears.
"Shit, we have to get out of here." Kael grabbed the man, who still couldn't comprehend what had just happened—it was all too much, too fast.
After all, he was just a poor man. He couldn't even afford to awaken.
"Wha-What… h-how…" He tried to speak, but maybe because of fear, no proper words came out of his mouth.
"Calm down, sir. I'll get you out of here," Kael said.
He got into his running stance again—but nothing happened like before.
"Wh—" Suddenly, a wave of pain shot through his head. Kael's hand automatically released the man's collar as he stumbled backward.
"Shit, I overexerted myself."
Talents couldn't be used continuously. They required a source of energy.
Even Alex's talent needed mental energy… even if it was very little.
Kael looked at the slime monster, which seemed to have stopped in place for some reason. But he didn't let his guard down or run—because he could feel the mana in the air… flowing into its mouth.
"We're cooked!"