"Come to think of it, how long have I been asleep?"
Moss closed the panel and raised her head to inspect her surroundings.
Some of the white bones piled on the ground had already scattered everywhere, their shapes nearly impossible to make out. Only the scales beside them still revealed their identity.
"These are the bones of that Fire Lizard. For them to have rotted this badly, Little Ball must have eaten it."
Moss looked at the bones on the ground, then came to the pile of scales and reached out to poke them.
Crack, crack, crack...
The scales felt like potato chips. They had completely dried out and crumbled into even finer fragments under Moss's pressure.
She picked up a slightly grayish white bone from the ground and gently snapped it in two. Looking at the bone in her hand, she muttered:
"In theory, for it to become like this, it would be impossible without at least a few years..."
Even with the effects of Little Ball's acidic mucus, it should still have taken several months.
But Moss sniffed the air and discovered that the temperature around her had not changed at all from before she fell asleep!
Her old home's cave was actually not too close to the river that discharged the magic array's wastewater. The temperature there was considerably lower than along the route Moss had taken when she arrived.
Therefore, Moss could still roughly determine the season by sensing the temperature inside the cave.
The air was not exactly cold, but it did carry a slight chill.
She could be certain that it was definitely not summer. It should still be winter!
"Could I have only slept for a few days? There's no way I slept for an entire year, right?!"
Moss scratched her head and asked herself in confusion.
At that moment, Little Ball, which had been spread out on the ground, suddenly bounced up and began hopping repeatedly in front of Moss, drawing her attention.
I know! I know!
Little Ball's childish, cheerful voice kept ringing in Moss's mind, making her burst into laughter.
Moss reached out and patted Little Ball, calming it down before saying with a smile:
"Okay, then tell me how many days have passed."
This way! This way!
Little Ball extended a tentacle and dragged Moss toward the cave entrance!
"Huh? Where are we going?"
Seeing Little Ball pull her toward the entrance, Moss thought it wanted to go outside and asked in confusion.
Record! It's here!
Little Ball bounced around and turned to shout, as though a child could not wait to show its parents its accomplishment. Its transparent tentacles pointed repeatedly toward the wall!
"Record?"
Following Little Ball's directions, Moss raised her head until she could clearly see the patterns on the wall before the cave entrance.
The sight before her instantly dispelled all the doubts in her heart!
Moss's eyes widened, leaving nothing on her face but astonishment!
There were countless fine scratches, covering an area of more than a dozen square centimeters at a glance!
The scratches had been carved into the wall in fishbone-like patterns, each consisting of four horizontal lines and one vertical line. Some looked crooked, while others overlapped.
Because the patterns were so densely packed, they could not be seen from a distance. That was why Moss had failed to notice them earlier!
Moss counted them carefully. The more she counted, the more shocked her expression became!
The wall had more than a thousand scratches—over two hundred patterns in total!
"Th-This... why are there so many?"
Moss retreated again and again in shock, staring at the wall and muttering to herself.
There were so many scratches. If each one represented a day, then it had been at least two years—almost three?!
"Wait! If that's the case... my lifespan!"
Moss's expression changed. She hurriedly closed her eyes and sensed the changes in her body!
Her body was light and powerful, her bones hard yet flexible, and there was not the slightest sign of looseness in her teeth or claws. It was the body of a perfectly healthy young creature!
Moss opened her eyes, patted her body, spun around several times, then bounced a few times to make sure she had not sensed incorrectly.
"There's absolutely nothing wrong. My body is still as young as it was three years ago, and it's even more vigorous!"
"What's going on..."
Moss muttered to herself, astonishment and confusion still on her face.
Suddenly, Moss thought of something!
"Could this... be the effect of my talent?"
Moss recalled her Golden Finger talent, that second talent effect which caused changes in her body!
Her body would adjust itself to the highest level of compatibility according to changes in her talents. That likely meant her lifespan would also change as her body adjusted!
Moss lowered her head and looked at her body, becoming increasingly certain of her guess!
Judging from the current situation, this effect was very likely real. Her lifespan had truly increased!
Then, as she gained more and more talents in the future, would her lifespan continue to grow as well?
At the thought of this possibility, Moss could not help sighing again:
"As expected... it's a bug!"
The threat of dying from an insufficient lifespan had suddenly vanished, and her appearance was no longer that of someone so detested that everyone wanted to beat her down.
Moss suddenly felt that she was no longer in such a hurry to become humanoid. It was as though a shackle in her heart had been unlocked!
This situation had both advantages and disadvantages, with freedom and safety being the most immediate ones!
Now that she no longer needed to worry about her lifespan, Moss did not need to rush to become stronger anymore!
She did not have to risk her life by stealing the magic cores of those three humans to grow stronger. She could take steadier actions to ensure her own safety.
Of course, Moss did not mean that she no longer wanted to become stronger. Her current goal was still to become human!
However, under the present circumstances, her determination to grow stronger would certainly weaken!
Moss was certain that when she faced certain situations in the future, her first consideration would definitely be to evade them more safely rather than confront them.
This was not a lack of confidence. It was simply that she understood herself clearly—or rather, humans were inherently like this!
Courage had always belonged only to a small number of people. What truly drove humanity forward was always fear and desire!
"Ahahaha, deep down, I really am just an ordinary human after all!"
Moss scratched her head and laughed carelessly, acting as though she did not mind in the slightest.
What was wrong with being an ordinary person?
Living a calm life, peacefully closing one's eyes in old age while surrounded by one's children, then leaving the world with a smile—it was simple, but happy.
However, Moss also knew that her life in this world was destined not to be ordinary!
"Whatever, whatever. There's no use thinking about this now. I should take a look at the effects of my new talent!"
Moss shook her head and then tossed the matter to the back of her mind.
She opened her panel and looked at the talent that had tormented her for nearly three years!
Flame Manipulation!
Moss opened the description of Flame Manipulation and studied it carefully. She gained a certain understanding of the talent.
Flame Manipulation, as its name suggested, allowed her to control flames!
That was all the panel's description said!
However, what needed to be noted was that Flame Manipulation could only control external flames. It did not possess the ability to generate flames itself!
Moss had already tried activating the effect of Flame Manipulation, but nothing had happened.
If she had to describe it, the effect of this talent was similar to the Human Torch's ability in Marvel.
The Human Torch could control fire, but he could not generate it. Normally, he had to carry a lighter with him.
Moss's current ability was the same. Without a source of fire, she could not control flames!
But there was no need to worry. One should not forget that this was a magical world!
The greatest difference between Moss and the Human Torch was that she possessed Magic Power, while he did not!
The study of Mana Essence had already been mentioned before, right?
The Mana Essence possessed by each creature carried that creature's own traits. These traits often came from the effects of the talents the creature possessed.
"So, I should be able to generate fire too, right?"
Moss smiled softly and slowly raised her right hand!
Talent: Flame Manipulation · Mana Release (Activate) Mana Release · Flame!
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