Assimilate All Talents

Chapter 5: Purpose

The next morning, Sol woke up a little later than he normally did. The first thing he did upon waking up was check his status screen:

Name: Sol

Race: Human

Talent: [Siphoner]

Level: 25

Exp: 10,060/35,000

HP: 300

MP: 100

Str: 40

Vit: 30

Agi: 30

Int: 10

Wis: 10

Available Stats: 0

Talent Skills:

[Siphon] Lv 2, [Analysis] Lv 1

Passive Skills:

[Intermediate Swordsmanship] Lv 3, [Basic Trapmaking] Lv 1, [Silent Steps] Lv 2, [Parry] Lv 4, [Quick Cast] Lv 4

Active Skills:

[Cross Slash] Lv 1, [Leap] Lv 6, [Basic Wind Magic] Lv 1, [Intermediate Fire Magic] Lv 4

Sol smiled, "It wasn’t a dream."

He then got up and got ready to head over to the guild, passing through the same route as yesterday.

The elderly woman in the bakery watched as he passed by and then looked to her husband, "Honey, he seems different today."

"How so?"

"Not sure, but he is smiling and acting as if he is about to fly. Do you think he got a girlfriend?"

"Him? Impossible, all he does is leave town every day. When would he find time to meet a girl?"

The couple kept gossiping as Sol arrived at the guild and made his way in.

Once inside, Sol headed straight to Annabel’s counter. As he approached, he saw Annabel glaring at him, and he braced himself for this unwinnable situation.

"You fought the Thunder Wolf King? What were you thinking?!"

Annabel reached over the counter and smacked him over the head.

"Ow! Hey! I didn’t know it was still alive. I thought I could gather its teeth to sell them back in town."

Sol rubbed the area that got hit as he then realized something.

"Wait, how did you know what happened; it’s only been a day?"

"Did you forget who my father was?"

’Isn’t it impossible to be the best at anything if you don’t have a talent for it? You could spend years learning blacksmithing and produce lower quality goods to someone who had a smithing talent for a few months.’

A few minutes later, she returned holding a metal plate and a small bag.

"Answer me something real quick, what do you think I am good at?"

About to ask what it has to do with the current situation, Sol held himself back and instead thought of an answer.

"Um... You are the best guild receptionist I know?"

"Why is that a question?!"

Sol continued, "Your memory is wicked good. You are able to perfectly transcribe documents you had only seen once and keep everything organized. You are also really good at throwing things, never missing, which is why I can never beat you at darts."

Annabel chuckled at his description of her. "Look at this." Annabel then handed over the metal plate she was holding.

Looking at the plate, he saw it filled with information. More specifically, Annabel’s status.

Name: Annabel

Race: Human

Talent: [Cooking]

Level: 14

Exp: 6,750/15,000

HP: 100

MP: 70

Str: 15

Vit: 20

Agi: 15

Int: 13

Wis: 7

Available Stats: 0

Talent Skills:

[Preserve Ingredients] Lv 3

Passive Skills:

[Cooking] Lv 5, [Basic Bowmanship] Lv 1, [Calculations] Lv 2

Active Skills:

[Rapid Cook] Lv 1

"Cooking? Why do you work as a guild receptionist then?"

"Because I want to."

"Huh?"

Annabel smiled at his confusion and elaborated, "Just because one has a talent for something doesn’t mean that’s what they have to do. You might not believe me, but I actually wanted to be an adventurer. I dream of being able to go on adventures and travel the world like my dad used to. After gaining that talent in my leveling ceremony, dad would take me out of the city every so often to protect me while I leveled up, hopefully my next talent will be with bows as I really enjoy using them."

The image of Annabel wielding a bow and sniping enemies made Sol laugh in his head as he had never seen her fight, but he understood her point.

Annabel continued, "Just because I had a talent for cooking, it doesn’t mean I have to go and open a restaurant. Even when you didn’t have a talent, you could do whatever you wanted, the same thing applies now."

"What I want to do..."