New Talent, Dreams

Ding. Absorbable Life Energy Points detected. Absorb?

Ding. Absorbable Mental Energy Points detected. Absorb?

"Yes."

Ding. Absorbing...

Ding. Absorption complete. Gained 50 Life Energy Points and 100 Mental Energy Points.

Ding. Gained Talent: Clear Eyesight LV1.

"Huh? I gained a new Talent? Talents can be acquired too?"

The final notification that popped up on the Status Panel caught Parr's attention, and he looked over it again.

Realm: Elementary Knight Apprentice (0/100)

Talents:

Prompt Wake-Up LV1
Clear Eyesight LV1 (Dark Vision)

Life Energy Points: 78
Mental Energy Points: 146

"There really is another Talent! Dark Vision? It should let me see at night, right? That's incredible! Where did this Talent come from? Could it be..."

Parr widened his eyes and looked around. The moonlit night had become as clear as day. This Talent could even be switched on and off at will. It was remarkably user-friendly.

After testing it, Parr thought of the Black-Robed Man's faintly glowing eyes. Could this Talent have belonged to him? Did I plunder it after killing him? Before Parr could think further, the Red-Haired Man, seeing him standing there in a daze, walked over and waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hey! Little runt, what's wrong? Scared stupid?"

"No."

Parr came back to his senses and closed the Status Panel. This was not the time to think about that.

"If you're fine, go check on that old man! Prepare yourself. He..."

The Red-Haired Man pointed at Old Man Rottus, who lay behind Parr between the corpses of two Black Robe Walking Corpses. Before he could finish, he shook his head, patted Parr on the shoulder, and turned toward the Bronze Walking Corpse, which was standing foolishly in place after the Black-Robed Man's death, getting pummeled by the phantom he had summoned with his Skill.

"Old Man!"

Parr remembered Old Man Rottus. Although the soul controlling this body was now that of an outsider who had transmigrated here, he had inherited everything Parr had possessed, including Parr's feelings for Old Man Rottus. Especially after deciding to truly become part of this world, he would not deliberately suppress those feelings just because he was an outsider.

So Parr turned and ran to Old Man Rottus's side, using all his strength to help him sit up.

"Cough, cough."

Old Man Rottus, barely clinging to life, coughed. When his cloudy eyes opened and saw Parr, the corners of his lips moved. He wanted to smile, but could not. He raised an arm, yet had no strength at all. He knew his life had reached its end. The only reason he had not died yet was because there was still one thing weighing on his heart.

"Parr, come closer."

Old Man Rottus's voice was extremely weak. Fortunately, Parr was close enough to hear him.

"Old Man, don't talk. I..."

Parr wanted to find someone to save Old Man Rottus, but after thinking it over, he realized there was no one. The people of Haystack Village could not do it, and the Red-Haired Man had made his meaning clear earlier—he could not either. Old Man Rottus could not be saved.

"Parr..."

Old Man Rottus could feel the life force within him rapidly slipping away. Soon. Soon. Death was about to come. A trace of anxiety rose in his heart. He had not yet finished explaining his final matter. How could he die now?

"Come closer!"

Old Man Rottus raised his voice. Parr knew he had something important to tell him and quickly lowered his head to listen.

"Tell me, Old Man. I'm listening!"

"Under the fruit tree in my yard, buried beneath it, there is..."

In the end, Old Man Rottus did not finish his sentence. Yet a peaceful smile appeared on his face. Saying that much was enough. Enough. That item would not be lost.

"..."

For a long time, no more words or faint breathing came from beside him. Parr knew that Old Man Rottus was gone.

"Safe travels, Old Man."

That night, the already small Haystack Village lost nearly half its villagers. Every survivor was wounded as well. When they learned that all the cultists were dead, relief at surviving the disaster appeared in their eyes, only to turn into sorrow. In that sudden catastrophe, every survivor had lost family, one way or another.

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

At dawn, hoofbeats sounded on the dirt road east of Haystack Village leading to Straw Stack Town. Church personnel clad in white armor and carrying White Dragon Head Banners arrived belatedly.

"Lord John!"

The leader dismounted and stopped before the Red-Haired Man, who was helping the villagers of Haystack Village treat their wounds. He lightly struck his right fist against his chest, lowered his head in salute, then looked up and asked, "Lord John, how is the situation here?"

"Not bad. At least some people are still alive."

John, the Red-Haired Man, put down what he was doing, rose to his feet, and pointed at the wounded villagers of Haystack Village. "The cultists have already been executed. You Church people, who always arrive late, can still be useful for once. What are you standing around for? Get moving and save them!"

"Yes!"

Faced with John's rather sharp words, the Church personnel did not argue. After saluting again, they turned to their companions and began organizing the rescue effort.

"Seriously, always the last to arrive."

John grumbled unhappily, then walked out of the Haystack Village Grain Warehouse. Now that the Church had arrived, rescuing people was no longer his responsibility. After all, Church personnel were professionals at treating injuries and saving lives.

Huff... "Another sleepless night!"

John stretched toward the dawn light rising at the horizon, rubbed his eyes, then scanned the area. After finding the little runt who had left a deep impression on him that night, he walked over with a smile.

"A restless night, wasn't it?"

Parr muttered to himself while sitting on the ground, then turned to look at Old Man Jack, who was lying on a wooden board not far away.

Old Man Jack's injuries were not serious. Aside from an old internal injury flaring up from overexertion, he only had superficial wounds. John had already treated them all, and he was now sleeping soundly, his snores thunderous.

Snore... snore...

"He sure sleeps well."

Parr sighed enviously, then irritably ruffled his short black hair. He was not sleepy at all now, all because of his Prompt Wake-Up Talent.

At dawn just now, Parr had merely blinked, and all the Stamina he had expended helping John treat villagers and carry the wounded had completely recovered. He was bursting with energy! He felt like he could chop down another dozen Walking Corpses.

"So this is how the Talent works! Looks like I won't have to worry about staying up late anymore."

With no sleepiness whatsoever, Parr could only stare boredly at the morning light in the east, wanting to see whether the sunrise in this world differed from the one in his previous life. The result was...

"Pretty much the same."

Parr sighed, no longer curious. He withdrew his gaze, opened the Status Panel, and continued pondering the Talent section.

"Clear Eyesight, Clear Eyesight... No matter how I think about it, I got it from that Black-Robed Man! But how exactly did I get it? The Status Panel? Doesn't seem like it. Could it really be this mysterious Black Short Sword?"

Parr picked up the Black Short Sword and examined it. It seemed the most likely possibility, because that notification had appeared only after the Status Panel finished absorbing the Energy Points from the sword.

"If that's really the case, then you're amazing!" Fu Xing waved the Black Short Sword twice, a smile appearing on his face. No matter what, his strength had increased. He would learn the truth eventually.

"Little runt!"

At that moment, John, the Red-Haired Man, walked over. Parr quickly put down the Black Short Sword, stood up, and thanked him. "Red-Haired Uncle, thank you for tonight. If it weren't for you, our village..."

"Don't mention it. Killing cultists is everyone's duty."

John waved it off indifferently. Looking at Parr, who was as tiny as a bean sprout, he could not resist reaching out and vigorously rubbing Parr's little head as he smiled. "Little runt, I should be thanking you. If you hadn't stabbed that cultist at the end, I would've suffered heavy losses."

"I have a name!"

Parr shook his head and took a step back, escaping John's large hand. He raised his head and said with a serious expression, "My name is Parr."

Seeing the serious expression on Parr's little face, John held back his laughter and replied just as seriously, "My name is John."

Then John reached out again, rubbed Parr's little head, and laughed loudly. "But I still think little runt rolls off the tongue better! Hahaha..."

"You..."

"All right, all right, I'm done laughing."

Once he had laughed enough, John reined in his smile and asked Parr a question. "Little runt, do you have any dreams?"

"My name is Parr!"

Parr weakly protested again, then stroked his chin and began thinking. For some reason, an image appeared before his eyes.

"Dreams?"

It was a summer night. The young Parr had been sitting in the yard with Old Man Jack, enjoying the cool breeze and looking at the stars and moon. Old Man Jack had told Parr a story about a Knight defeating a Magic Beast and saving the world.

From that day on, Little Parr had carried a dream in his heart.

Parr awoke from his memories and declared loudly, "I want to become the strongest Knight."

"Hahaha, good kid! That's some ambition!"

John laughed and praised him, only to hear Parr continue loudly.

"And I want to see the world. It's so big, and I want to see it for myself."

That was the transmigrator's dream. In his previous world, he had always wanted to travel around the globe and see the scenery of every place with his own eyes. But simply surviving and going to school had been difficult enough, so he never had the chance to fulfill that dream. Until he was hit by a car and died, it remained the deepest regret in his heart.

So after the cultists were eliminated and the danger had passed, the transmigrator looked at his Status Panel and the mysterious Black Short Sword in his hand. The unfulfilled dream from his previous life resurfaced in his heart.

The transmigrator was now Parr. Combining both dreams, he said, "The world is so big, and I want to see it for myself—while becoming the strongest Knight along the way."