As players grew stronger and advanced into the first-tier Professional Grade and second-tier Elite Grade, a very small number of them had a chance to awaken talents.
However, research had shown that these genius players who could awaken talents already displayed extraordinary potential before their talents manifested.
This was known as a Hidden Talent.
The probability of a transcendent second-generation player becoming a Talented Person was much higher than that of an ordinary person. However, once the base of ordinary players grew large enough, heroes and prodigies would also emerge one after another.
There were many types of talents, but they could generally be divided into two categories:
individual talents and Strategic Talents.
Individual talents were exactly what the name implied. Breathing fire, spraying water, telekinesis, Mental Link, and so on all fell into this category.
Strategic Talents were different. They affected groups.
A player with a shooting talent could give ranged-shooting units under their command greater range and a faster rate of fire.
A player with a Spearman talent would have Spearmen with greater killing power under their command. When using Random Remnant Souls for recruitment, they would also have a higher chance of recruiting Spearmen.
This was a form of compatibility.
Being naturally compatible with Spearmen.
This young man, Mu Yuan, was naturally compatible with Skeleton Soldiers. He was also quite calm and composed when issuing commands, and his tactics were sound. He was absolutely a rare talent.
Even if this talent only enhanced ordinary three-star Skeleton Soldiers, it was still quite impressive.
After all, basic units still made up the majority of the armies commanded by Great Lords.
Not only that...
This young man's luck was also extremely strong.
Otherwise, even with a Hidden Talent for Skeleton Soldiers, it would have been impossible for him to raise Skeleton Soldiers to such a level of agility in just a few days. He had clearly unlocked their intelligence.
Examiner Jiang looked at Bone Four, who had already secured two kills. "This Skeleton Soldier of yours is excellent and worth cultivating extensively. Hmm, I suggest you give it a name to distinguish it from your other Skeleton Soldiers. This will help the unit develop its intelligence. One day, it might even awaken a true self-awareness. If that happens, its prospects will be limitless."
Mu Yuan could only say that he would give it a name when he returned. He would definitely give it a name.
He could hardly say that the skeleton already had a name: Bone Four.
It meant that it was the fourth Skeleton Soldier. There were three big brothers ahead of it, and the third brother, Bone Three, had just evolved to the Skeleton Warrior level that very morning.
This was, after all, an examination venue. Once he received Examiner Jiang's approval and learned that the additional benefits were assured, Mu Yuan led the group of Skeleton Soldiers, all missing limbs, away through the side passage.
Of course, he could not carry so many disabled Skeleton Soldiers away by himself, and the Chosen One's Mark could not accommodate that many either. The sentries summoned by the on-site staff had to carry them into the treatment room, one per person.
"Undead System? Proceed to Room Eight."
"Hmm, Undead Energy is harmful to the human body. Players may wait outside."
The person in charge, who was reading a newspaper, adjusted his glasses and spoke.
Mu Yuan thanked him, then watched the alloy doors slowly close, like a family member accompanying a patient for a CT scan.
A moment later, after just a few dozen seconds, the doors designed to block Undead Energy radiation slowly opened again. One Skeleton Soldier after another emerged, fully restored, with their armor and battle knives looking brand-new, as if they had just come out of a forge.
Mu Yuan: "!!!"
He felt as though he had missed out on a chance to get free equipment.
Thinking that it was not easy for Bone Four and the others to come out here, Mu Yuan decided not to waste the opportunity. Surrounded by the Skeleton Soldiers, he headed toward the training area next door.
He wanted to practice controlling them personally.
That way, if he encountered some unexpected situation in reality, he would not be at a loss. He felt that there was still quite a lot of room for improvement in his performance just now. After all, it had been his first time, and he had been a little nervous.
Player Association, lobby.
The newcomers who had come to watch the excitement were gathered around the large screen, and their enthusiasm had not diminished in the slightest.
Although they could only see the examinees' numbers, after some gossip-loving players had passed the information from one to two, then from two to ten, the numbers of the Whale Player and the two or three civilian newcomers—the "seed players"—were no longer a secret.
"The person currently at the top of the rankings is Young Master Tan, right? As expected of the heir to Bai Jiang Real Estate. Having money really is powerful. I'm so envious! Even the Lucky One among us Civilian Players is no match for him."
"I heard the Lucky One has several Skeleton Soldiers and has developed extremely quickly all the way through, but in the end, even the Lucky One couldn't beat the Whale Player. Not only could he not compare with Young Master Tan, the Lucky One has even fallen to fourth place."
"Young Master Tan is indeed impressive. I mean his ability to spend money. He isn't a Game Second Generation, but his family is definitely richer than many veteran players."
"Could Young Master Tan really stay at the top of the rankings the whole time? Will none of the Game Second Generation surpass him? You Game Second Generations need to show some spirit!"
The spectators muttered among themselves, counting the newcomer bigshots who had yet to undergo their assessments.
Number 66, Number 77, Number 96, Number 101...
As for Number 54? Aside from the Frog Seller Bro and White Fox Miss, nobody cared about a passerby number like Number 54. People only cared whether the newcomer bigshots farther down the list could charge to the top.
They only wanted to watch the excitement, to watch blood flow like a river.
"It appeared! It appeared!"
"A new number-one has arrived. His identity is... let me check... Uh, who is Number 54?"
The lobby fell silent for a moment. The spectators looked at one another, shocked, stunned, and bewildered.
Only in one corner, Frog Seller Bro and White Fox Miss exchanged a glance before crying out in disbelief in unison.
"Holy crap!"
Mu Yuan had no idea that an utterly ordinary newcomer player like him, who had summoned some utterly ordinary Skeleton Soldiers, had actually received a high score from the chief examiner, who cherished talent.
Seeing this, the other examiners also awarded him high scores one after another.
After all, this was a newcomer who had received the support given to geniuses. His future was highly promising. Even if his current strength was inferior to that of top-tier Whale Players, he had come from an ordinary background, so giving him a higher score was perfectly reasonable.
It was completely within the scope permitted by the rules.
(Mu Yuan: I don't want it!)
But since he had already taken it, he could only accept it peacefully.
If he wanted to compete for all kinds of resources in the future, he could not remain completely low-profile anyway.
Sigh, he was simply too outstanding.
Mu Yuan had originally planned to finish the assessment, eat lunch outside, and leave immediately. However, he had forgotten that the resources would not be distributed until the assessment had completely ended and all the slots had been finalized.
Even though he had already secured a qualifying spot, he still had to wait.
Mu Yuan took the opportunity to sell a few Remnant Souls and buy Little Skeleton and Slime Remnant Souls from several stalls.
He had to admit that, with so many players in the Association today, there were also an abundance of all kinds of Remnant Souls.
Mu Yuan handed all the affairs of his territory over to Deathbone and busied himself moving between the various stalls, picking through goods and haggling over prices. He only finished today's shopping after half a day of work.
"I've really worked hard."
"Still, the harvest was quite substantial. I bought a total of ten Little Skeleton Remnant Souls, ten Slime Remnant Souls, and one Falcon Remnant Soul."
"And the real highlight of today is still to come: the Outstanding Newcomer Assistance Package issued by the Xuan Kingdom authorities."
By evening, the assessment had ended.
The sixteen outstanding newcomers who had won this term's Newcomer Assistance Packages followed the staff to the designated location to collect their resources.
Mu Yuan glanced around. Sure enough, most of them were the seed newcomers Frog Seller Bro had introduced earlier.
Among the unfamiliar passersby who remained, he actually spotted a familiar figure.
"Liver Emperor?"
"You passed too? I only barely passed by luck. Fortunately, I had half a day of extra hard grinding earlier."
"Same here. Pure luck."
After passing the assessment, Liver Emperor had continued grinding away, oblivious to the outside world. However, along the way, he had still vaguely heard people discussing Examinee Number 54.
Wait a moment—his unfocused pupils gradually came into focus and landed on Mu Yuan.
He slowly typed out a question mark: You call that passing by luck?
By comparison, he himself had only barely passed and was far too inferior. This had to mean that his liver power was still insufficient. He had to grind even harder from now on.
Thanks to "Ting Yu Yin Lou" and "Book Friend 20220902234001003" for the tips, and thanks everyone for your votes and follows. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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