Seeking Luo

In Abel's view, the [Ghoul Heart] talent was essentially a life-draining ability.

At a consumption rate of five days of lifespan per minute, an hour of use would cost him three hundred days. With just over a thousand days of life left, he could only enjoy a few hours at most.

What could a few hours accomplish? Not even enough time for a quick trip to a brothel and back.

Let alone those legendary battles that dragged on for days and nights. Even if he bought all ninety-nine [Red Hearts] from the system shop, it still wouldn't be enough to fuel this talent.

So for now, the [Ghoul Heart] talent was really quite impractical.

Still, it was a blue-quality talent—not the lowest tier, but close enough that he couldn't demand too much.

In the transformed ghoul state, his defense, speed, and strength all increased by fifty percent, and his pain perception was reduced by fifty percent.

That seemed decent. If not for the life-draining side effect, Abel would have fully accepted it.

After all, it was just a low-grade blue talent—why ask for a bicycle when you're barely getting a car?

The only thing worth hoping for now was its 'growth potential.' Maybe after evolution, these flaws could be improved.

"No wonder it's only a blue-quality talent. For most people, they probably wouldn't dare use it at all."

"But I'm different. Since the system shop has items like [Red Heart] that increase lifespan, that means I'll definitely be able to buy similar things later."

"So as long as I don't waste it recklessly and save it for critical moments, it's acceptable."

"Besides, this [Ghoul Heart] is a growth-type talent. Even if the conditions for growth are too dangerous, as long as I can ensure my own safety, I might try it out later."

Thinking this, Abel's expression finally improved a bit.

He had originally planned to have either himself or Luo obtain the Ope Ope Fruit and then immediately remove the Lead Sickness toxins.

But he hadn't expected plans to change so quickly.

Now the Lead Sickness had mutated into his talent, becoming a part of him. It seemed he would never have the chance to eliminate it.

Yet every gain comes with a loss, and fortune and misfortune are hard to predict.

Even Abel himself couldn't tell whether this change was good or bad.

Considering that he would definitely need to use this talent to fight for his life in the future, Abel steeled himself and tried to activate it directly. He wanted to experience what it felt like to use this ability, so he could be mentally prepared. Otherwise, when the real moment came, his enemies wouldn't give him a chance to test things out. Any flaw could cost him his life.

"Ugh..."

As he activated the [Ghoul Heart], Abel couldn't help but let out a pained grunt.

His heart began pounding violently, and a massive amount of terrifying toxins surged through his bloodstream to every part of his body.

In the blink of an eye, the skin all over Abel's body rapidly turned a sickly pale white, as if the original white patches had spread across his entire form.

His pupils became bloodshot, flickering with an eerie fiery red in the dim light.

Even his originally short, fine hair began to grow wildly, eventually reaching his waist, and all of it turned white.

This was the true ghoul form!

A bizarre, pale demon!

In this state, even Luo would find it hard to recognize him—or perhaps wouldn't dare to.

"Hah..."

After completing the transformation, Abel let out a long breath. He had never imagined that activating this talent would be so painful.

Fortunately, once he fully turned into this ghastly appearance, the pain was immediately halved, dropping from unbearable to merely furrow-brow level.

"As expected, adapting in advance was the right choice."

Abel thought this, because the pain he was enduring now hadn't been mentioned in the system description.

If he hadn't been mentally prepared beforehand, he would have been caught completely off guard.

Abel looked at his now pale hands, then clenched his fists, feeling the changes in his body.

Though there was no clear sensation, it did seem like his strength had increased a bit.

After all, he was still too weak right now, so there was no intuitive feeling.

To truly unleash the power of this talent, he first needed to build a solid foundation. Leaping to the top in one step was impossible.

So after a brief period of adaptation, Abel quickly deactivated the ghoul form.

The toxins that had spread throughout his body rapidly retracted into his heart. The white patches faded, and his long white hair instantly turned back into short black strands, with the excess breaking off into ash.

In less than a minute, he had already consumed five days of lifespan. That was no longer just a matter of pain.

But then he tried to release just a tiny bit of the toxins stored in his heart.

The next second, familiar white patches appeared sporadically on his body, accompanied by a faint, dull ache.

"As expected, I can control it."

Forcing himself to endure the discomfort, Abel glanced at the [Ghoul Heart] talent. Seeing that this didn't count as activation, he breathed a sigh of relief and maintained his current state.

Otherwise, his conspicuous change would be impossible to explain to Luo, and once left unexplained, a rift would begin to form.

So for now, it was better to keep things as they were.

At this moment, his character panel had become:

[Host: Gustavus Abel]

[Basic Trading Qualification]

[Gender: Male]

[Age: Ten]

[Height: 140cm]

[Weight: 25.5kg]

[Lifespan: 4 years 355 days]

[Talent: Ghoul Heart (Blue)]

[Abilities: None]

[Trading Points: 825]

Staring at his remaining lifespan of less than five years, Abel suddenly felt the urge to spend all his Trading Points on buying [Red Heart].

But he still restrained himself.

After all, he had already realized how precious Trading Points were.

And besides, for him right now, what difference did it make whether the number in the lifespan column was five years or ten?

In the short term, that was entirely an ineffective investment.

Instead, it was better to keep them on hand for flexible use, choosing to buy something more useful for his current situation.

Having thought it through, Abel stopped dwelling on it.

But still—

"That Luo guy has been gone so long, why hasn't he come back yet?"

He frowned slightly, suddenly sensing a bad premonition.

So after leaving a mark, he immediately got up to search for Luo's trail.

Fortunately, he could now control the release of the Lead Sickness Toxin, so as long as he wanted, on the surface he looked like nothing more than a somewhat disheveled ordinary child.

(PS: A blue talent, limited in strength. It evolves into a Purple Talent by chapter forty-six, with further chances to evolve later, growing stronger and stronger.)

PS: Thanks to Gongzi Xun for the two hundred reward, and thanks to the nameless one from the FFF group for the hundred reward. These are also old readers—seeing you all still here feels great~