Was Talent Trade (Gold) powerful? Of course, it was!
The fact that its talent grade was labeled as Gold already proved how great it was. Moreover, it could potentially acquire other talents by trading with others, thereby breaking the limitations of players mostly having one talent.
It was a very powerful late-game talent. The only problem was that it was very weak in the early game, and Gabriel doubted whether he could even survive the late game if he couldn't successfully survive this ordeal.
'At this point, I can only bite the bullet and bet on my luck that Lucas and Mathew haven't been replaced by those Rule Monsters.'
Having that thought in mind, Gabriel wasn't an indecisive person, so he immediately enacted his plan.
Turning his head towards Mathew, he stated, "I am Gabriel Ashford, a student."
Hearing Gabriel's statement, Mathew immediately realized what he meant, so he responded, "I am Mathew Hayes, a student from Green Grass College!"
After Mathew finished his introduction, he and Gabriel shifted their attention to Lucas, signalling him to do the same.
Lucas declared, "I am Lucas Kane, a gangster!"
As soon as Mathew and Gabriel heard Lucas's declaration, their expressions turned grim as Gabriel immediately sprang into action.
Before Lucas could respond, Gabriel left his bed and kicked Lucas's chest, sending Lucas stumbling towards the dormitory room's right corner.
Without even needing Gabriel's command, Mathew responded quickly as he placed his hand on the floor.
-Ding!
[As the Landlord, do you—]
Before the Dormitory Survival Game's notification could finish, Gabriel replied in an instant, "Agreed!"
Gabriel guessed that Mathew had activated a talent that could modify the interior of the dormitory room.
Since Mathew was merely a tenant, Mathew needed the Landlord's confirmation if he wanted to modify the dormitory room.
After Gabriel agreed, the floor tiles beneath Lucas rose to three meters tall, forming a concrete wall that sealed him inside.
Although Lucas was already trapped in the right corner of the room, Mathew felt it wasn't enough. Despite the stamina he lost from using his talent to modify the dorm, he gritted his teeth and ran towards the wall.
Afterward, Mathew placed his hand on the concrete dorm wall, manipulating it to extend and form a ceiling above the three-meter wall, thereby completely sealing Lucas inside it.
After sealing Lucas inside a rectangular box at the right corner of the dorm room, Mathew couldn't help but doubt, "Is this enough? If Lucas has truly been replaced, I don't know the power of these imposter rule monsters."
Like Gabriel, Mathew had also read rule horror novels. Or rather, almost all four of them had similar hobbies, which was the reason why they bonded well.
If not for the realization that Lucas had already been replaced by an imposter, Mathew would have already planned for Gabriel to lead them in avenging Thomas.
Gabriel shrugged, "You're the one who made this box, so you should know how durable it is. But since it's formed from the dormitory walls and floor, it should be considered indestructible as long as the dormitory door hasn't been breached yet."
"Speaking of which, when did Lucas get replaced? Didn't you two leave Dorm 69 when I was asleep? I thought you two were watching each other?"
Hearing Gabriel's inquiry, Mathew's brows furrowed in confusion, "That's what I found strange as well."
"Although I can't completely guarantee that I watched Lucas throughout the entire time we left the dorm, there had been students who were watching us at times when I wasn't."
"So technically, those rule monsters shouldn't have replaced Lucas since there shouldn't have been a time when no one had watched him."
Before the two of them could doubt any further, Lucas retorted, "Of course I haven't been replaced! I was merely joking!"
Feeling that they still doubted him, Lucas stated, "I am Lucas Kane, a student!"
Only after Lucas's statement of his identity did Gabriel and Mathew sigh in relief.
With Lucas's identity confirmed, Mathew placed his hands on both the floor and walls to remove the concrete walls and ceiling that sealed Lucas.
After Lucas was freed, he took a gasp for air and panted. Although it hadn't been long since he was trapped inside, it was indeed very suffocating since Mathew had completely sealed him inside it, leaving him no ventilation.
When Lucas had completely recovered, he immediately extended his hand towards Gabriel and used the Dormitory Survival Game's system to reveal his talent to him.
-Ding!
[Player Lucas Kane has revealed his talent information to you!]
[Wanderer Of The Void (Orange): You can leave the dormitory and wander outside regardless of an ongoing dormitory survival game phase occurring. Upon using the talent, you can lower your presence so that monsters will be inclined to ignore you.
Your mobility has also improved, and at the cost of stamina, you can either temporarily boost your agility, hide in the void, or move in ways that aren't humanly possible, such as walking on the wall or ceiling.]
Lucas had already revealed his talent to Mathew and Thomas before, so only Gabriel was unaware of it.
They all knew that uniting and teaming up would improve their chances of survival in this damn game, so they didn't mind revealing their talent information. And besides, they already trusted each other due to the time they spent together and the bond that they had formed, which was why Thomas's murder enraged Lucas and Mathew, who had witnessed it firsthand.
After Lucas revealed his talent, Mathew did the same.
-Ding!
[Player Mathew Hayes has revealed his talent information to you!]
[Minister Of Defense (Purple): You can freely modify any structure at the cost of stamina as long as it's for the sake of defense. Furthermore, you can repair the dormitory door without using any of the required resources.
Not only that, you have a reduced cost of materials when constructing and upgrading defense-related structures such as the dormitory door and turrets.]
After they revealed his talent to him, Lucas immediately asked Gabriel, "Did you awaken a combat-related talent? We woke you up for that reason since I know you hated being disturbed from your sleep."
"It was only under the combined usage of Mathew and my talent that we escaped from Damien and his cronies." Lucas clenched his fist in frustration and self-blame. "We couldn't even avenge Thomas due to our talents not being suited for combat."