The Discarded Son's Skill Market
Chapter 2: Talent Copy Shop System

Chapter 2: Talent Copy Shop System

On impulse, Zaid pressed the button that lit up in front of him as soon as he realized his talent was about to be upgraded.

He didn’t understand anything until he saw the next system window.

[Scavenger has been upgraded to Rank C]

[Talent: Scavenger – Rank C]

| Talent Type: Soul Talent.

| Talent Effect: You can process Monster Essence from the corpses of beasts that have been killed by others within a 1-hour timeframe.

[]

"W-What!" His mind reeled as he felt the poison vanish from his body in an instant. The pain faded along with it, and this system notification made him take a closer look at what he had always lacked: The System.

He was the only Awakened person in the entire world who had a talent but no System. That’s why he was considered a non-Awakened person.

"Did I... finally Awaken?" He pressed his hand against the ground to get up.

The blue and black light of the System illuminated his face, though it was translucent and only he could see it.

So excited by what had happened that he even forgot about the snake and struggled to sit up so he could finally take a look at the system.

’A Rank C Talent... Its effect is exactly what you’d expect from a Scavenger. It lets me gain power from beasts killed by others... It’s way too overpowered.’

Moreover, a Rank C—even within the prestigious Zachary Family—is a high and rare rank.

’Although it doesn’t compare to my father’s S-Rank, my older brother’s A-Rank, or my two younger brothers’ B-Rank, it’s still on par with Elara’s—and more...’

He wanted to know more about his talent, but something else caught his attention.

His System... wasn’t like the one he’d heard about.

’A Shop?’ Zaid was perplexed when he saw the description before him.

[Talent Copy Shop System.

You can purchase copies of the talents of those around you using Monster Essence.

Each talent you purchase will be automatically added to your arsenal. You can choose to use it or save it for later.

You must have a meaningful interaction with the target to purchase their talent.

*Purchases from this Store are non-refundable.

[]

Zaid jumped to his feet, completely shocked. "Can I buy Talents with Monster Essence?" he shouted.

Right below that explanatory window was an actual Shop.

[Talent Shop.]

[Select an option.]

[Soul Talents] – [Spirit Talents]

Without hesitation, Zaid chose Soul Talents.

A list of Talents appeared.

[Soul Talents.]

"Reminder: You can have up to three (3) active Soul Talents at the same time."

[]

| Soul Talent – Rank S – "Monarch of Devastation."

| "Monarch of Devastation": This is Roger Zachary’s primary Talent.

| Effect: Each time the user kills a beast or enemy, their physical and elemental damage permanently increases by 0.5% until the end of the battle.

| Cost: 1,000,000 ME.

[]

’O-one million...’ Zaid swallowed hard when he saw the cost of his father’s talent. ’The equivalent of 10,000 stat points.’

He shook his head. What kind of absurdly high cost was that?

It was a blatant rip-off.

He kept looking.

[]

| Soul Talent – Rank A – "Lightning Executor."

| "Lightning Executor": This is Zayn Zachary’s primary Talent.

| Effect: Grants the ability to infuse all his attacks with massive electric damage. Reduces the cooldown of active abilities by 50%.

| Cost: 250,000 ME.

[]

Zaid shook his head again. ’No. That won’t work. It’s impossible to buy these things.’

Looking further down the list, he skipped over his siblings’ Rank B Talents, which also cost a lot of ME.

But he stopped as soon as he saw Elara’s.

[]

| Soul Talent – Rank C – "Essence Harmony."

| "Essence Harmony": This is Elara Brown’s Talent.

| Effect: Allows the user to "see" the quality of any creature’s essence before killing it and increases harvesting efficiency by 100%.

| Cost: 10,000 ME.

[]

’I see. That’s why they call this woman the Princess of Efficiency...’ He nodded.

The talent was very good, and its cost was affordable—at least more so than the others.

’Although my dad’s... There’s no one better in the whole country.’

That talent was the pinnacle of absolute power. It ranked him among the top Players in the world.

1 million ME to buy something that good wasn’t such a "crazy" amount.

’Although I’d have to farm for years to earn it.’

There were other talents listed further down—Rank D, E, and F—that belonged to other acquaintances. Their prices were considerably lower.

A Rank D cost 2,500 ME. A Rank E was even lower, at just 500. And a Rank F was 100 ME. However, these last three were not at all interesting.

Zaid decided to check out the Spirit Talents Shop. Maybe he’d find something more affordable there.

[Spirit Talents.]

"Reminder: The number of Spirit Talents you have depends on your level."

[]

| Spirit Talent – Rank F (Passive)

| "Keen Senses": Elara Brown’s Spirit Talent.

| Effect: Improves visual and auditory perception. It is vital for detecting surprise attacks or living beings in the dark.

| Cost: 100 ME.

[]

[]

| Spirit Talent – Rank F (Active)

| "Dagger Mastery": Robinson Shawn’s Spirit Talent.

| Effect: Increases accuracy and cutting power when using short-bladed weapons.

| Cost: 100 ME.

[]

[]

| Spirit Talent – Rank D (Passive)

| "Steel Skin": Robinson Shawn’s Spirit Talent.

| Effect: Grants a 15% reduction in physical damage. It is essential for surviving in dungeons.

| Cost: 2,500 ME.

[]

’Dagger Mastery is a good talent, despite its low rank. Should I buy it?’ he thought, and a second later he made up his mind.

He clicked the "Buy" button...

[Insufficient funds. Collect Monster Essence to purchase this talent.]

[Monster Essence available: 10.]

’Oh.’ Zaid wanted to smack himself on the head. He’d forgotten just how broke he was.

But for now, it wasn’t a problem. If he had Awakened, he had a chance.

’I have a chance to get revenge on all of you.’ He remembered the faces of his relatives throwing him out onto the street. Of the guards beating him. Of his fiancée betraying him...

Someday, he would get his revenge.

He brushed the dust off his clothes, and at that very moment, he remembered the snake. His body tensed, and he didn’t move. He carefully scanned his surroundings for any signs of that dangerous, deadly snake... but found nothing.

’Did it go away?’ He checked inside his clothes, in his shoes, and even on his head... but it wasn’t anywhere to be found.

All he found were the wounds left by the beating, blood, and mud...

’Did it take pity on me and leave? Or did it ignore me because there was a predator nearby?’

However, there was no sign of any of that around him.

’Maybe I’m going crazy,’ he concluded, shaking his head.

"Status Window." He commanded the system to display his stats window, and it appeared immediately.

[User Panel: Zaid Zachary]

Level: 1: 0/200 Primordial Essence.

Monster Essence (ME): 10.

[Statistics Window]

| Strength: 6.

| Agility: 4.

| Vitality: 9.

| Intelligence: 10.

[Unique Awakening Ability]

Talent Market: Talent Copy Shop System.

[Soul Talent]

Scavenger: Rank C.

Slot #2: Free.

Slot #3: Free.

[Spirit Talents]

Slot #1: Free.

Slot #2: Free.

-

[]

Although it hurt to see those stats so low, he wasn’t dying right now. The poison had been removed from his body.

Even though he had broken bones, he could move. And he had awakened.

He was in the best shape he’d been in since birth.

He looked around to figure out where he was.

’I’m in the Scrap Portals area, right? Students usually come here to hunt,’ he thought.

’I could go back to the city from here, but that wouldn’t make sense. I need to try to find some Monster Essence so I can buy that Dagger Talent. After that, going back to the city to enroll in the academy would be ideal.’

With a plan in mind, he made up his mind. But just then, he froze.

"Grrr." The soft roar of a beast reached his ears.