Chapter 36: Harod’s advice

"That’s unusual... This shouldn’t be possible." Harod said, a deep frown forming on his face.

Frost blinked.

"What?"

Harod finally looked away from the interface.

"You should have an affinity."

Frost pointed upward.

"Well, according to your machine, I don’t."

"I can see that."

"Then maybe the machine is broken?"

"No."

Harod looked at the readings again.

"The assessment array is functioning correctly. Your general talent was measured without issue, and everyone else’s affinity assessment has produced consistent results."

Frost frowned.

"Then maybe I’m just incredibly unlucky?"

"No."

Harod slowly folded his arms.

"You misunderstand. When I say this shouldn’t be possible, I don’t mean that lacking an affinity is merely rare. I mean it should not be possible."

That wiped the faint mockery from Jason’s face.

Jennifer stepped slightly closer.

"Why is that?"

Harod remained quiet for a moment, seemingly organising his thoughts.

"Every living being capable of embarking upon the path of Evolution possesses some degree of resonance with the laws of existence. That resonance may be incredibly weak. It may be narrow. It may manifest toward a Rune family considered undesirable or difficult to develop."

He gestured toward the platform.

"But it exists."

Frost’s expression slowly became more serious.

"Even One-Star Evolvers, and people with barely any talent?"

"Yes."

Frost pointed at himself.

"But not me."

Harod stared at him.

"Apparently."

’Well, that’s fucking reassuring.’

"So what does that mean?"

"I don’t know."

Frost’s eyebrows rose.

That was probably the least comforting answer Harod could have given him.

"You don’t know?"

"No."

Harod stepped closer to the platform.

"In all my years working with Evolvers, I have never personally encountered someone who possessed a functioning Soul Script, measurable innate energy, an average general talent rating... and absolutely no detectable Rune affinity... I’ve never even read of such a case."

Harod looked back at the diagnostic information.

"This is unprecedented."

Frost stared at him.

’Unprecedented.’

That word could mean two very different things. Either he had just stumbled upon something extraordinarily fortunate...

Or he was completely fucked. Considering how his life usually went, Frost wasn’t particularly optimistic.

"Could his System be defective?" Cassie asked.

Frost looked toward her, giving her a nod of approval.

’Thank you, Cassie. Wonderful possibility.’

Harod shook his head.

"If his Evolution System were fundamentally defective, we would expect abnormalities elsewhere. His Soul Script awakened successfully. His attributes are being recorded. His general talent could be measured. The translation function is clearly working; otherwise he wouldn’t understand any of us."

"Haha... Unfortunate for him," Jason muttered. "Do you want to test whether my fist still works?"

Frost glared at the infuriating bastard.

Harod ignored them.

"The anomaly appears specifically related to his affinity."

Jennifer looked toward Frost.

"Could he still learn Runes?" That was the question Frost actually cared about.

Harod hesitated.

"Can I?"

"In theory..." Harod frowned. "But I cannot give you an answer that I don’t have."

Frost’s face fell.

"Seriously?"

"Affinity measures natural resonance and compatibility. Possessing no affinity should imply no natural pathway through which you can establish that resonance."

Harod paused.

"But your situation already violates what I understand to be possible, so applying conventional assumptions to you would be irresponsible."

Frost exhaled slowly.

"So basically, you have no fucking idea."

Harod considered his wording.

"Yes."

Frost rubbed both hands down his face.

"Fantastic."

Yesterday, he had discovered magic was real. Today, he had discovered he might be biologically incapable of using it.

’Five-Star talent and zero affinity.’ He almost laughed. ’What exactly am I talented at, then?’

Jennifer looked toward Harod.

"Is there another test?"

"There are more advanced methods."

Harod continued.

"Equipment capable of examining Soul Scripts and Rune resonance in considerably greater detail exists within Linden. This facility is designed for routine assessment, not anomalous cases."

"So I can take one of those?"

"We don’t have those here."

"Of course."

"You might find one deeper inside the city. However, access is restricted, even for me, unless, of course, you gain enough recognition or money to take this assessment. Nothing is free, after all."

’Of fucking course.’

Harod looked at him for another moment before turning toward the interface.

"However... The best I can do is submit your result for review."

"Will they actually care?"

"Probably... If these readings are accurate, someone might care. I will show these to someone I know. Though you should be careful not to end up as a lab rat."

He frowned... That was a thing?

’How unsettling.’

How tragic it would be if he ended up having his body sliced open by curious scientists. Frost wasn’t entirely sure whether that made him feel worse.

Harod closed several diagnostic windows.

"For now, don’t make assumptions about what this means. Good or bad."

Frost gave him a dry look.

"Easy for you to say."

"Perhaps."

Harod deactivated the assessment array.

The glowing symbols beneath Frost’s feet slowly disappeared.

"Until we understand the cause, your result should be treated as an anomaly rather than a failure, and I suggest that you still try to learn runes anyway."

Frost nodded, stepping off the platform.

He didn’t really feel like paying attention to the last person’s results, so while they went up, he summoned his system panel and spent the next few minutes studying it, though it was more accurate to say he was glaring at it.

Unfortunately, he found nothing unusual, nor anything that could help him with his situation. In the end, he gave up just as Harod was shutting everything down.

"By the way," Frost said, approaching Harod. "Is there a way to increase one’s innate talent?"

Harod raised a brow, surprised that someone had actually thought to ask.

"There are ways, but don’t bother. Any method of increasing talent is obscenely expensive, even for some of the richest people in the universe, and they are also incredibly dangerous. The lower your talent, the cheaper the method, but even for someone who wants to raise their talent from one star to two stars, you would need money equivalent to what the average evolver would earn in ten lifetimes. It is just too unreasonable."

"Ah..." Frost clicked his tongue. "How unfortunate..."

"Do not despair. You are young, and you still have plenty of opportunities open to you."

Harod stepped back, addressing the group.

"Now that you know your talents and affinities, I do not suggest you go into the hunting grounds immediately, unless, of course, you want to die a quick, gruesome death."

He let the warning sink in before continuing.

"You will need gear and weapons, but before even thinking about those, what you need most is battle training and wilderness survival skills.

"I have already learned from your fellow Earthlings that in your world, there was no need for you to learn such skills, since your society had very advanced technology and was mostly peaceful. In this world, and everywhere else you go from now on, strength is a basic prerequisite if you want to survive and live long.

"Usually, evolvers join guilds, which are then responsible not only for training them but also for finding suitable cohorts for them, as a sort of investment in their potential as evolvers.

I would suggest you do the same, but do be careful about which guild you decide to join. Most are known to be exploitative, offering something of a slave contract in their terms and conditions. Worst case, you get stuck working for one guild your whole life trying to pay back the debt you owe them for investing in you. So make sure you know what you are signing up for, unless, of course, you are joining a very reputable guild.

"I have a feeling you intend to form one cohort between the nine of you. While there is nothing wrong with that, seeing as your talents and affinities are so different, it is quite obvious that some of you will be left behind. In fact, as soon as word gets out, some of you will be getting harassed by guilds trying to recruit you, offering benefits and resources, so it is up to you to decide."

This had everyone thinking in silence. They were already beginning to have second thoughts about their little conversation over dinner yesterday.

"I don’t know about you guys," Jason eventually said with a smirk, "but I wouldn’t want trash without an affinity holding me back."

Frost grumbled, but unfortunately, he didn’t have anything to say in response to the snide remark.