Each of the three talents was extremely powerful, with incomparably vast potential for development.
But considering his own circumstances, he had to rule out the third option first.
After all, he was not a member of the Undead Clan, nor did he have any undead around him.
Perhaps he could find undead helpers in the future-
But someone was hunting him down, and his first priority was staying alive.
As for the first and second talents...
Both were useful.
The first effectively let him obtain information related to death at any time.
The second was practically an extra life.
So...
What did he want most?
Shen Ye closed his eyes, and the thought in his mind grew clearer and clearer.
If he encountered another assassin or something like a curse, he could avoid it for five seconds.
And then?
Wouldn't he still be in grave danger?
What he needed now was information. He had to drag out whoever wanted him dead and settle the matter.
He needed to know why that person wanted to kill him!
Who was he?
Where was he?
At that thought, Shen Ye reached toward the first ball of green light.
"You actually chose this one?"
An astonished voice rang out.
It was Big Skeleton's voice.
"Huh? You're here too?" Shen Ye asked in surprise.
"Of course I'm here-those fellows wanted this chance to inherit a talent from me. That's why they didn't kill me immediately."
"But they had no idea I'd already given that chance to you!"
"I gave this chance to a human!"
Big Skeleton spoke with a touch of madness and glee.
Shen Ye shrugged. "You seem surprised that I chose the first one. Is there something wrong with it?"
"Not exactly, but it won't give you combat strength quickly," Big Skeleton said.
"It's a talent for gathering information." Shen Ye nodded.
"In my memory, the Undead Lords of the past all chose the third option. A very small number chose the second. No one chose this one," Big Skeleton said.
Shen Ye opened his hand.
"All right, I'll accept this inheritance talent."
The Frost Crystal radiating emerald light immediately appeared in his hand.
"The second and third talents are obviously stronger in battle. Why choose this one?" Big Skeleton asked, puzzled.
"There's a saying where I come from," Shen Ye said.
"What is it?" Big Skeleton asked.
Shen Ye placed the Frost Crystal on top of his head. It immediately emitted endless rays of green light, which streamed into the space between his brows.
"To get by in life, you've got to wear a little green on your head!"
He said it loudly.
A flash.
He absorbed all the green light.
The Frost Crystal vanished completely.
Every illusion around him dissolved, and Shen Ye found himself still standing in the classroom.
He instinctively walked to the north-facing window and looked toward the distant mountains.
According to his memories, that was the direction of the Funeral Home.
-Vaguely, he seemed to have gained some sort of sense of that direction.
"Please tell me what exactly happened. This is very important to me," Big Skeleton said again.
"All right, I'll tell you what happened."
Through the windowpane, Shen Ye gave a rough account of what had happened in the Elf Village.
But as he spoke, he left out the fact that he had seen an appraisal tag above the elven leader's head.
-Appraisal tags were a special power that came with his "Gate" ability. It was best not to tell anyone about them.
"Those three undead were captured?"
Big Skeleton asked in a trembling voice.
"That's right. They were absolutely no match for the elven leader," Shen Ye said.
"Impossible! The leader of the Elf Village is a Nature Priestess. She isn't strong enough to handle three Nightmare Knights!" Big Skeleton said.
Shen Ye froze.
That's not right...
"You must be mistaken. The elven leader was a male elf," Shen Ye said.
"A male? What did he look like?" Big Skeleton asked.
"Long golden hair, looked like all the other elves-but he wore a magnificent purple robe set with multicolored gems and beads, and a dagger like a mirror hung at his waist," Shen Ye described.
Big Skeleton shuddered and cried out:
"I know him-he's the strongest High Priest of the Elven race!"
Shen Ye understood.
No wonder that fellow had such impressive tags as "Spirit of Ten Thousand Forests, heir to the Ancient Tree Throne, Nature Law Master who could fight ten thousand alone, Grand Arcane Master, guardian of the Nightmare Magic Realm, Fifth of the World's Heads."
The Elven race was on friendly terms with the Human Race.
Under those circumstances, revealing that he was human really did give him a chance to survive.
If Big Skeleton had gone personally-
The moment he revealed his undead identity, the elven High Priest would surely kill him.
If he did not reveal it, those three "accomplices" would keep him under surveillance, leaving him no choice but to find a way to assassinate the elven leader.
For him, it truly was an impossible situation.
"The Elven race already knows about the undead attack, right?" Shen Ye asked.
"It seems so," Big Skeleton said.
"So you escaped death," Shen Ye said.
"Hmph, mainly because those three Nightmare Knights were captured by the elves... They can't watch me or threaten me anymore..."
"This is my only chance!"
Something seemed to occur to Big Skeleton. He suddenly turned, hurried to the other end of the corridor, opened a door, and went inside, disappearing from Shen Ye's sight.
Shen Ye waited a few minutes. When he did not return, Shen Ye shrugged and dismissed the "Gate."
The transaction was complete.
There was no need to concern himself with the other's private affairs.
After all, he was facing an unknown assassination threat himself.
-I wonder what sort of appraisal tag I'll get from this trip?
As the thought crossed his mind, faint glimmers appeared in the surrounding space.
The glimmers gradually gathered into lines of small text:
"Appraisal tag obtained from this Gate opening:" "One of Us." "Green tag (excellent)." "Appraisal: As an ordinary human, the highest-grade tag you can obtain is white. However, in an environment where you could defeat no one at all, you used others' strength to resolve your predicament and return safely. This is the fundamental reason you were granted this tag as an exception." "Equip this appraisal tag to gain the following benefit:" "When you say to a target, 'Hey, I'm one of you!' they will treat you as one of their own." "This effect lasts ten seconds. After ten seconds, the target will forget everything that just happened." "Can only be used once a day." "The target's total attributes must not exceed twice yours, or they may resist the tag." "You may keep this appraisal tag and upgrade it in the future, or consume it to obtain basic attribute points."
Shen Ye suddenly felt troubled.
He had risked his life on this trip to consume a tag, obtain basic attribute points, and improve his strength.
But this tag seemed worth keeping!
At the very least, he had to test its power.
Suddenly.
Several more lines of glowing text appeared in the air:
"Your mental power has increased by 0.1." "Current mental power: 0.8." "Please continue wearing this bracelet." "Nature's Blessing Bracelet:" "Accessory, green (excellent) quality, rare." "Continuously wearing this bracelet can slowly increase your mental power."
A bracelet?
Shen Ye reached into his pocket and immediately pulled out a bracelet woven from multicolored wild grasses.
The elf Lanny had given it to him in exchange for a magic show!
Mental power was extremely difficult to increase.
Just carrying this bracelet on him could increase his mental power?
Good stuff!
Shen Ye immediately put the bracelet on, fastened it tightly, and hid it inside his sleeve.
Looking at it this way, he had gained three things from this trip.
A Scout's Short Sword named "Nightfall."
A green appraisal tag.
A green Nature's Blessing Bracelet.
It counted as quite a haul.
As for attribute points, he would have to wait for tomorrow's appraisal tag.
Shen Ye pushed open the classroom door, went out, and headed down the stairs, quickly returning to the sports field.
By then, most of his classmates had completed the mock test.
"Chen Haoyu."
The teacher in charge of the test called his name.
Chen Haoyu hurried forward in a fluster and stood in the center of the testing area.
"There are thirty-six rounds of attacks in total. Dodge them all for full marks. Begin!" the teacher announced.
The testing area covered a little over two hundred square meters.
The ground was densely packed with holes, each of which would spray water mixed with paint.
The less paint that got on a student within three minutes, the higher their score.
This mock exam was no different from the actual high school entrance exam, testing both body movement and footwork.
"Begin!"
The teacher announced loudly.
A hole beneath Chen Haoyu's feet suddenly sprayed dark green water.
He hurriedly dodged left, only for three holes on his left to spray red water in succession.
"Holy crap!"
Chen Haoyu cried out, frantically shifting his steps.
Just then, a gust of wind blew past-
Mist drifted toward him, forcing him to dash dozens of meters low to the ground, barely avoiding that round of area attacks.
Once he steadied himself, he looked down and saw red paint already on his body.
"Come on, stay calm!"
Shen Ye called from a distance.
"Thanks for cheering me on, Brother Ye, but this is nothing. Your buddy can handle it!" Chen Haoyu replied with a grin.
A jet of water shot up and hit him square in the face, dyeing it yellow.
Laughter erupted from the surrounding students.
Shen Ye rubbed his forehead too.
A few minutes later.
Chen Haoyu walked off dejectedly, and the testing area immediately began cleaning itself.
"Go wash up, Chen Haoyu-you should be glad this isn't the actual high school entrance exam."
As he spoke from the sidelines, the teacher raised a scorecard.
71 points.
That score really was a little low.
Shen Ye encouraged him, "You just get distracted too easily. Concentrate during the exam, and you'll score at least eighty."
"Got it. I'll go wash up first," Chen Haoyu said dejectedly.
"Next, Shen Ye," the teacher called.
"Here!" Shen Ye answered.
He walked onto the mock exam course and took his position.
All his classmates turned to watch.
Chen Haoyu stopped too.
"Shen Ye, how's your recovery coming along?" the teacher asked.
"Much better. Thank you for asking, sir," Shen Ye said.
"Shall we begin, then?"
"Yes."
"Three, two, one-begin!"
A jet of green water shot straight up from a hole beneath his feet.
Shen Ye retreated three meters.
A whole row of multicolored water jets rose in succession.
But Shen Ye was already standing at the other end of the course.
The water jets were like a child chasing an adult: no matter how hard they tried, they could never keep up with him.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he moved at will, his whole body seeming to glide across ice as he dealt with every jet in an elegant, leisurely manner.
He passed through countless jets without a single drop touching him.
Even the watching teachers and students found the sight somewhat refreshing and uplifting.
And Shen Ye had not even added his Attribute Points. He had achieved this with nothing but his original Agility and the Elven Footwork he had mastered.
"Time's up!"
The teacher called out, then shook his head and sighed. "If only you hadn't missed one of the exams."
The board in his hand displayed the highest score of the entire morning:
100 points.
"Thank you, sir. I haven't given up on getting into high school yet." Shen Ye smiled.