SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System-Chapter 59: One Soul at a Time!

Daniel extinguished the miniature sun in his palm. The sudden silence was deafening.

He looked at the unconscious Chloe, then at the terrified, blubbering Ben. He walked over to Ben and relieved him of his chipped dagger.

"Get up, Ben," Daniel said, his voice firm.

"You and Chloe are coming with me. We’ll find the nearest Academy checkpoint. They can deal with you."

He wasn’t judge or executioner for every minor betrayal, not when he could simply incapacitate.

Damon and Marcus had been different; their malice had been far more pronounced, their threat more immediate to his team.

He then walked over to Alex’s unmoving form.

A quick check confirmed Alex was dead, his internal organs likely pulverized by the initial impact.

A grim necessity. Daniel knelt. Time for the harvest. The SSS-Talent hummed, ready.

He performed [Soul Assimilation] on Alex’s corpse. The essence was weak, tainted with greed and fear, but even dregs could be useful.

[Soul Assimilation successful on Fallen Awakened: Alex Cross.]

[Gain: Strength +0.08, Agility +0.05]

[Minor Skill Fragment Acquired: ’Shifty Eyes’ (F-Grade - Passive, slightly increases chance of noticing unattended valuables, mostly makes user look untrustworthy.)]

Daniel almost snorted. Shifty Eyes? His Talent clearly had a sense of humor. The fragment was absorbed instantly, likely doing little beyond making him seem slightly more suspicious at the Exchange Post. He filed it away as ’utterly useless.’

With Daniel’s SSS-Talent, he was quickly becoming the apex predator in this resource-rich, morally grey world, claiming power one soul at a time.

He glanced at the still forms of Damon and Marcus nearby.

He’d deal with them next. Then the Savage Blades Ayra had annihilated. It was going to be a busy afternoon of... recycling.

The Dark Forest clearing was littered with the aftermath of Ayra’s earlier rampage against Damon and Marcus’s group and the subsequent ambush by Kane’s Savage Blades.

Fifteen corpses in total, plus Alex. Sixteen souls, ripe for [Soul Assimilation]. His SSS-Talent pulsed with anticipation.

He started with Damon Cruz, the barrel-chested thug. The energy was coarse, brutal, tinged with desperation.

[Soul Assimilation successful on Fallen Awakened: Damon Cruz.]

[Gain: Strength +0.15, Vitality +0.1]

[Skill Acquired: Crude Intimidation (F-Grade - Attempts to scare weaker opponents with loud noises and aggressive posturing. Effectiveness highly questionable.)]

Daniel sighed. Crude Intimidation. Another gem for the collection. He moved on to Marcus Harris, the skinny, leering one.

[Soul Assimilation successful on Fallen Awakened: Marcus Harris.]

[Gain: Agility +0.12, Spirit +0.05 (surprisingly, from sheer malice perhaps?)]

[Skill Fragment Acquired: ’Nasty Giggle’ (F-Grade - No discernible combat application, may cause unease in civilized company.)]

He was beginning to think his SSS-Talent was deliberately curating a portfolio of utterly ridiculous F-grade social demerits.

He systematically worked his way through the thirteen Savage Blades Ayra had so thoroughly dismantled.

Their essences were weak, mostly offering fractional attribute gains and a smattering of forgettable F-grade combat notions like ’Rusty Pipe Proficiency (Basic)’ or ’Desperate Lunging’.

However, the sheer volume added up. After processing all sixteen Awakened corpses, his Nexus Interface gave a summary:

[Total Attribute Gain from 16 Awakened: Strength +1.8, Vitality +1.5, Agility +1.9, Spirit +0.8, Adaptability +0.5]

[Multiple F-Grade & E-Grade Skill Fragments/Concepts Acquired and Integrated/Discarded.]

The attribute gains were minor individually, but collectively they provided a noticeable, if small, overall enhancement.

The real potential, as always, lay in the skills. He felt a familiar chime as his talent sifted through the absorbed essences, looking for synergies.

From one of Kane’s more seasoned thugs, who had apparently fancied himself a trapper, he’d absorbed a D-grade [Lethal Poison Application] concept.

This immediately resonated with his existing C-Grade [Virulent Venom Strike].

[Detected compatible skill resonance: Virulent Venom Strike (C), Lethal Poison Application (D-concept).]

[Attempting Skill Fusion...]

[Fusion Successful! Skill Upgraded: Virulent Venom Strike (C-Grade) has evolved into MALEVOLENT TOXIN BLADE (C+-Grade)!]

[Skill: Malevolent Toxin Blade (C+-Grade): Imbue weapon with highly corrosive and paralyzing neurotoxin.

Inflicts severe damage over time, drains vitality, and has a chance to temporarily paralyze minor nerve clusters.

Mana Cost: 35. Cooldown: 40 seconds.]

Nice! The poison was now significantly nastier, adding a paralysis chance.

From another Savage Blade, an unusually agile one who’d almost escaped Ayra, he gleaned a D-grade [Sudden Burst Evasion] technique.

This pinged against his C-Grade [Phantom Shift].

[Detected compatible skill resonance: Phantom Shift (C), Sudden Burst Evasion (D-technique).]

[Attempting Skill Fusion...]

[Fusion Successful! Skill Enhanced: Phantom Shift (C-Grade) has been refined to PHANTOM BLINK (C+-Grade)!]

[Skill: Phantom Blink (C+-Grade): Active. Triples Agility for 12 seconds. Greatly enhances camouflage during movement, making user appear as a flickering shadow.

Activation ’boom’ sound significantly dampened, almost silent. Minor chance to briefly phase through non-solid obstacles.

Mana Cost: 45. Cooldown: 55 seconds.]

Longer duration, better stealth, quieter activation, and a chance to phase? His primary movement skill just got a serious upgrade.

But the most interesting acquisition came from Alex Cross, the treacherous leader he had just neutralized.

Alex, despite his F-grade weapon and general incompetence, had apparently possessed a surprisingly decent, B-grade Talent focused on acquisition – [Opportunistic Snatch].

Daniel’s [Soul Assimilation] latched onto this core concept.

[Unique Talent Essence Acquired: Opportunistic Snatch (B-Grade Core Concept).] frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

[Attempting Skill Manifestation via Soul Assimilation...]

[Skill Manifestation Successful! New Skill Acquired: ACQUISITIVE GRASP (B-Grade)!]

Daniel’s eyes widened. A new B-Grade skill, directly manifested from a Talent essence!

He eagerly checked its description.

[Skill: Acquisitive Grasp (B-Grade): Active Skill. Project a subtle, nearly invisible tendril of focused intent (range: 5 meters) to retrieve a specified, unsecured, non-living item weighing under 5kg.

Success rate depends on item’s energy signature, user’s Spirit vs. ambient interference.

Requires precision focus and moderate mana. Cooldown: 30 seconds.]

This was incredible! Not quite the direct [Theft] skill from the outline, but a ranged, telekinetic-like retrieval skill.

It was more subtle, relying on spirit and focus rather than agility and stealth.

It could be used to snag keys, snatch datapads, retrieve dropped weapons, or even disarm less aware opponents from a short distance.

The potential was immense. This single skill was worth more than all the fractional attribute gains combined.

His SSS-Talent was truly a marvel, not just absorbing and enhancing, but now directly manifesting new, powerful skills from the core essence of others’ Talents.

With the human harvest complete, Daniel turned his attention to the beasts Ayra had dealt with earlier.

There was the large, lizard-like "Shadowscale Mauler" and two smaller, panther-like "Gloom Stalkers" that Nyx had spotted.

Their corpses were battered but largely intact.

He placed his hand on the Shadowscale Mauler.

[Soul Assimilation successful on Creature: Shadowscale Mauler (Level 12).]

[Gain: Strength +110, Vitality +185, Adaptability +35.]

[Combat EXP Gained: 420!]

[Level 5: 1096/1800 EXP]

The EXP gain was significant! His earlier realization was correct: [Soul Assimilation] was now yielding direct combat experience from beast corpses, a massive accelerator for his leveling.

He was already a good chunk of the way through Level 5.

He quickly assimilated the two Gloom Stalkers.

[Soul Assimilation successful on Creature: Gloom Stalker (Level 11).] x2

[Total Gain: Strength +100, Agility +150, Spirit +45.]

[Combat EXP Gained: 700 (350 each)!]

[Level 5: 1796/1800 EXP]

His attributes surged again, Agility in particular getting a hefty boost. He was feeling incredibly powerful, the constant influx of essence making his very cells hum.

He had used a good number of his 25 charges, but the gains were undeniably worth it.

Daniel stood up, dusting off his A-Grade Kinetic Void Gauntlets.

He glanced at Ben Carter, who was still whimpering nearby, and the unconscious Chloe Davis.

He’d tie them up securely and leave them for an Academy patrol to find later, along with a note explaining their attempted treachery.

For now, his priority was rejoining Lia and Ayra.

He used his newly upgraded [Phantom Blink].

The world blurred, the activation ’boom’ almost completely silenced, replaced by a faint whisper of displaced air.

He moved through the Dark Forest like a flickering shadow, his speed astonishing.

He soon caught up with Lia and Ayra, who were examining a strange, pulsating dark flower.

"Find anything interesting?" Ayra asked, noticing his almost silent approach.

"A few new tricks," Daniel said with a grin. "And it seems our Yin card collection just got a little bigger.

Turns out, treachery sometimes comes with its own rewards." He explained what happened with Alex’s group, omitting the more esoteric details of his SSS-Talent.

Lia looked thoughtful. "It seems the dangers in this Basin are not limited to the beasts, then. We must remain vigilant, even against fellow aspirants."

Ayra just snorted. "More targets for me. Good."

Daniel checked his internal map, cross-referencing it with Nyx’s aerial scouting reports.

"Alright, we’ve swept this immediate sector pretty thoroughly. Time to head deeper.

The trio set off again, Daniel’s new B-Grade [Acquisitive Grasp] skill already tingling with potential.

The Dark Forest was proving to be a treasure trove, one way or another.