Time and Talent

"Speaking of which, how long have I been asleep?"

Moss closed the panel and looked up to survey her surroundings.

The pile of white bones on the ground, some scattered so much they were almost unrecognizable, only the scales nearby still indicated their identity.

"These are the bones of that Fire Lizard. They're so rotten, they must have been eaten by Little Ball."

Moss looked at the bones on the ground, walked over to the pile of scales, and poked them.

Crunch, crunch...

With a texture like potato chips, the scales had completely petrified and crumbled into finer fragments under Moss's pressure.

She picked up a slightly grayish white bone from the ground and snapped it with a gentle bend. Looking at the bone in her hand, she murmured to herself:

"Theoretically, it would take several years to reach this state..."

Even with Little Ball's acidic slime, it should have taken several months.

But Moss sniffed the air and found that the temperature hadn't changed at all since she fell asleep!

The cave in her hometown wasn't too close to the river where the magic array's wastewater was discharged, so the surrounding temperature was significantly lower than the path Moss had taken to get there.

Therefore, Moss could use the temperature in the cave to estimate the approximate season.

Although the air wasn't cold, it was still a bit chilly.

She was certain it wasn't summer; it must still be winter!

"Could it be that I only slept for a few days? There's no way I slept for a whole year, right?!"

Moss scratched her head, asking herself in confusion.

At this moment, Little Ball, which had been lying sprawled on the ground, suddenly jumped up and bounced in front of Moss, trying to get her attention.

'I know! I know!'

Little Ball's young and cheerful voice continuously entered Moss's mind, making her chuckle.

Moss reached out and patted Little Ball, calming it down before saying with a smile:

"Alright, then tell me how many days have passed."

'This way! This way!'

Little Ball extended its tendrils and pulled Moss towards the cave entrance!

"Huh? Where are we going?"

Moss looked at Little Ball pulling her towards the cave entrance, thinking they were going outside, and couldn't help but ask in confusion.

'Record! It's here!'

Little Ball jumped up and turned around, shouting. It was as if a child was eagerly showing their achievements to their parents, its transparent tendrils pointing insistently at the wall!

"Record?"

Moss followed Little Ball's direction and looked up, only seeing the patterns on the wall in front of the cave entrance.

The patterns before her eyes completely dispelled her doubts!

Moss's eyes widened, her face filled with astonishment!

Dense, fine scratches, covering over ten square centimeters at a glance!

These scratches, forming a fishbone pattern of four horizontal lines and one vertical line, were carved into the wall. Some looked crooked, and some overlapped.

Because the patterns were so dense, they were completely unnoticeable from a distance, which was why she hadn't noticed this spot earlier!

Moss counted them carefully, and the more she counted, the more shocked her expression became!

There were thousands of scratches on this wall, forming over two hundred patterns!

"This... This, how can there be so many?"

Moss recoiled in shock, staring at the wall and muttering to herself.

If each scratch counted as one day, then with so many scratches, it would mean at least two, nearly three years had passed?!

"Wait! If that's the case... my lifespan!"

Moss's expression changed drastically. She quickly closed her eyes and felt the changes in her body!

Her body felt light and powerful, her bones were strong and flexible, and her teeth and claws showed no signs of loosening. It was a perfectly healthy, youthful body!

Moss opened her eyes, patted her body, spun around a few times, and then jumped a few times, confirming she wasn't mistaken.

"There's absolutely no problem. My body is still as young as it was three years ago, even more energetic!"

"What's going on..."

Moss murmured, her face still etched with surprise and confusion.

Suddenly, Moss thought of something!

"This... Could it be the effect of my talent?"

Moss remembered her Golden Finger talent, the one that caused changes in her body, Talent Effect ②!

The body will adjust to the highest compatibility with talent changes, which likely means her lifespan will also change with these adjustments!

Moss looked down at her body, her guess becoming more certain!

As it stands, this effect is very likely real; her lifespan has genuinely increased!

So, if she gains more talents in the future, will her lifespan continue to grow longer?

The thought of this possibility made Moss sigh in amazement once more:

"As expected... it's a bug!"

Suddenly freed from the threat of death due to insufficient lifespan, and no longer having the appearance that drew everyone's scorn and hatred.

Moss suddenly felt that her desire to become human wasn't as urgent anymore. It felt like a shackle had been broken!

This situation had its pros and cons, with freedom and safety being the most significant advantages!

Now that she didn't need to worry about her lifespan, Moss no longer felt the desperate need to become stronger!

She didn't have to risk her life stealing those three humans' Magic Cores to get stronger; she could take a more cautious approach to ensure her own safety.

Of course, Moss didn't not want to become stronger; her goal was still to become human!

But under the current circumstances, her drive to become stronger would undoubtedly weaken!

Moss was certain that when facing certain situations in the future, her priority would be to cautiously evade rather than confront.

This wasn't a lack of confidence; it was a clear understanding of herself. Or rather, it was simply human nature!

Courage is always a rare trait; what truly drives humanity forward is fear and desire!

"Ahahaha, deep down, I really am just an ordinary human!"

Moss scratched her head, laughing carelessly as if it didn't matter.

What's so bad about being ordinary?

Living a simple life, peacefully closing her eyes surrounded by her children in old age, leaving the world with a smile – simple, yet happy.

However, Moss also knew that her current life was destined to be anything but ordinary!

"Oh well, thinking about it now is useless. I should check the effects of my new talent!"

Moss shook her head, pushing the thought aside.

She opened her status panel and looked at the talent that had occupied her for nearly three years!

Flame Manipulation!

Moss clicked on the description of Flame Manipulation and studied it carefully, gaining a basic understanding of this talent.

Flame Manipulation, as the name suggests, is the ability to control flames!

The description on the panel was that simple!

However, it was important to note that Flame Manipulation could only control external flames; it lacked the ability to generate them.

Moss had already tried to activate Flame Manipulation earlier, but nothing happened.

If she had to describe it, the talent's effect was similar to the Human Torch's abilities in Marvel.

The Human Torch could control fire, but he couldn't generate it; he always needed to carry a lighter.

Moss's current ability was the same; without a source of fire, she couldn't control flames!

But don't worry, after all, this is a world of magic!

The biggest difference between Moss and the Human Torch was that she possessed Mana, while he did not!

The research on Magic Substance, we've already covered that, right?

The Magic Substance possessed by every creature carries the characteristics of that creature, often derived from the creature's innate talents.

"So, I should be able to generate fire too, right?"

Moss chuckled softly and slowly raised her right hand!

[Talent: Flame Manipulation · Mana Release (Activated)]

Mana Release · Flame!