Talent Merging

But humans were clearly the best at managing things.

The only problem was...

World Stones were scarce.

Most people only had one chance to receive one for free.

Today, besides activating their talents, they would also receive World Stones.

The school also provided a bonus: a [Heroic Soul] that could summon a starting hero.

That made today crucial for these twenty-year-old students.

The principal clapped his hands at the front.

Then he urged them, "Students who haven't chosen a talent yet, please hurry. We'll soon be handing out Heroic Souls and World Stones."

Zhao Chi immediately pulled his thoughts back and looked at the three talents before him.

The first:

[Talent] Female Scholar

[Rank] E-rank, upgradable

[Effect] 1. Skill effectiveness on female allies +20%.

[Effect] 2. Skill effectiveness on male allies -10%.

This was a basic talent.

Its effects were average, nothing powerful.

It had two effects, one positive and one negative.

Whether humans, orcs, elves, or other humanoid races, females naturally had less physical strength.

So females were inherently at a disadvantage in combat.

As for races like fishmen, kobolds, spiderfolk, skeletons, and stonefolk...

They either had males and females classified differently, or simply had no sexes at all.

This talent would not work on those races.

So, to make this talent work, he could only choose humanoid races.

And specifically humanoid races with females.

This talent had racial requirements.

Still, it was an upgradable talent.

It could advance and grow stronger later, which was an advantage.

Zhao Chi looked at the second talent:

[Talent] Judging by Appearance

[Rank] E-rank

[Effect] When using skills on allies of the opposite sex, effectiveness +5% for each point of their appearance stat.

This talent...

Honestly, it was average too.

This world had an appearance stat, and naturally, the higher the stat, the better-looking someone was.

This talent depended on appearance. The better-looking someone was, the greater the bonus.

It certainly lived up to the name Judging by Appearance.

But good-looking people were rare, after all. Most people were ordinary.

Ordinary people only had four or five points in their appearance stat.

That worked out to a bonus of just 20-25%, and it was limited to the opposite sex.

So its range of application was narrow.

It was not an upgradable talent either, giving it a lower ceiling.

It was worse than the first talent.

Zhao Chi looked at the third talent:

[Talent] Gluttony

[Rank] F-rank

[Effect] 1. Food intake +500%.

[Effect] 2. Fecal output +500%.

This...

What the hell was this?

It was a completely useless talent.

Perhaps it could help a little with making fertilizer.

No wonder that student earlier had hated goblins but ultimately chosen a goblin-related talent.

After all, trash talents like this existed.

He dismissed the third talent outright.

It looked like he would have to choose between the first and second talents.

Zhao Chi was somewhat disappointed.

None of these were the talents he had hoped for.

Then I'll pick the first one. At least it's upgradable.

Just as Zhao Chi was about to choose, he suddenly noticed that these two talents were shining with golden light.

It was the same color as the talent he had just awakened, Transplant Flowers, Connect Jade.

Why were they glowing gold?

Chapter 2: Talent Merging

Faced with the glowing talents, Zhao Chi could not help reaching out and tapping them.

A system prompt appeared:

The current talents meet the conditions for "Transplant Flowers, Connect Jade." Transfer information?

Golden text again!

This notification was also shining gold!

Transplant Flowers, Connect Jade could transfer talent information too?

So this was how the talent worked!

Zhao Chi immediately tapped to transfer.

Please select a transfer target.

There were no other options.

He could only select the first talent, Female Scholar.

Please select an effect to transfer.

Zhao Chi thought for a moment.

He tried replacing Female Scholar's negative effect with Judging by Appearance's positive effect.

It actually worked!

First talent data transfer: restrictions lifted, success rate 100%. Confirm?

So there were restrictions and a success rate.

But this time, there were no restrictions, and the success rate was 100%.

Zhao Chi had no other choice. He immediately tapped to confirm.

The first talent changed at once:

[Talent] Female Scholar

[Rank] C-rank, upgradable

[Effect] 1. Skill effectiveness on female allies +20%. Additional effectiveness +5% for each point of the target's appearance stat.

[Effect] 2. When using skills on allies of the opposite sex, effectiveness +5% for each point of their appearance stat.

Its rank rose from E to C.

It had jumped two ranks.

After all, the talent's negative effect had disappeared.

It had also gained another positive effect, which had merged with the original one.

There was nothing left to hesitate over.

He chose this talent outright.

A system notification appeared:

[You have obtained the starting talent "Female Scholar."]

This was his starting talent, then.

It seemed that from now on, he would not just need to recruit female soldiers as subordinates, but good-looking women in particular.

But good-looking women seemed to be rare in any world.

Fortunately, this talent no longer had any negative effects.

Even without good-looking female soldiers, it would still be usable with other troop types.