Chapter 1323 Talent Mechanism

Although Timi had already completed the establishment of his subsidiary station, the process hadn't been nearly as peaceful as he would have liked.

Before leaving the Origin Battlefield, Lily had specifically told him that establishing a subsidiary station would cause a considerable commotion.

Though Lily hadn't set up any substation yet, Michael, who knew she'd eventually do so in some important regions of the Origin Battlefield, had mentioned it in passing during one of their conversations.

Timi had taken Lily's warning seriously.

After all, he had personally witnessed what happened when he established his Universal Cornerstone in the Origin Battlefield.

Although a subsidiary station wasn't a Universal Cornerstone, it was still something connected to one.

There was no reason to assume its establishment would be completely peaceful.

That was why Timi hadn't chosen to establish it immediately upon reaching the wooded area near his settlement.

Instead, he had continued deeper into the forest.

The northern outskirts of Atlanta were fortunate in one particular regard.

Unlike the densely developed areas closer to the city's center, Sandy Springs and the surrounding northern suburbs had always possessed considerable woodland.

The Chattahoochee River flowed along the western side of Sandy Springs, with wooded riverbanks, steep slopes, and stretches of protected land forming part of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

Even before the apocalypse, some of those areas had been sufficiently forested that visitors could temporarily forget they were standing within a major American metropolitan area.

After the apocalypse, that contrast had become even greater.

Without people maintaining trails, clearing vegetation, and controlling the spread of plants, the forests had begun reclaiming much of the surrounding land.

And that was before considering the changes brought by the apocalypse itself.

Some trees had grown considerably larger than they should have.

Others had developed unusual colors, while certain plants now possessed properties that hadn't existed before.

The forest wasn't exactly an untouched wilderness, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish some sections from one.

For Timi, that was convenient.

The deeper he went, the less likely he was to encounter ordinary survivors.

Of course, the same couldn't be said for monsters.

However, those dangers weren't particularly concerning to the current Timi.

Standing before his newly established subsidiary station, Timi could already sense several presences approaching from different directions.

Some were still far away.

Others were considerably closer.

He looked toward the surrounding forest and sighed.

"If you're going to come out, then do so now."

His voice wasn't particularly loud.

Nevertheless, it carried clearly through the surrounding trees.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then the bushes to his left rustled.

A large creature emerged.

At first glance, it resembled a wild boar.

However, its body was considerably larger than that of an ordinary boar, with dark, almost metallic bristles covering its back. Two enormous tusks curved upward from its lower jaw, while several smaller protrusions extended from the sides of its head.

Its eyes were bloodred.

A low growl escaped its throat as it stared at Timi.

Before Timi could examine it further, another creature appeared.

Then another.

Within moments, several monsters had emerged from the surrounding forest.

Some resembled wolves, though their bodies were larger and their limbs unnaturally long.

Others looked like mutated deer, with branching antlers covered in strange growths and mouths filled with sharp teeth.

There were even creatures resembling enormous raccoons, except their bodies were covered in dark scales rather than ordinary fur.

Of course, not every monster resembled an animal native to Earth.

Monsters like these had most likely come from the dimensional cracks that released monsters, or were severely mutated animals.

In any case, it didn't matter what kind they were.

Timi counted them with a glance.

There were twenty-three monsters of varying sizes around him.

"Quite a gathering. I wonder if there are any survivors around."

Although he'd ventured considerably deeper into the forest, he couldn't be certain that the phenomenon hadn't been visible from somewhere inhabited.

However, after considering it, Timi wasn't especially worried.

Even if someone had witnessed the commotion, that didn't necessarily mean they would dare investigate.

This wasn't the Earth of a year ago, where any random human would first bring out a phone and investigate something unknown.

In the present Earth, many valued their lives.

Of course, there would always be exceptions, but there was nothing much Timi could do about them.

His immediate concern was the monsters surrounding him.

It wouldn't look good on his part if he were to bring Lily here and she had to dirty her hands on her first visit.

Timi reached into his storage space.

A dagger appeared in his hand.

He casually twirled it between his fingers, his movements smooth and effortless.

Thanks to his Nimble Fingers Trait, Timi possessed an extraordinary degree of control over his fingers and wrists.

The dagger spun once more before settling comfortably into his grip.

Timi looked at the monsters.

"Well, since you're already here..."

His lips curved slightly.

The next moment, he disappeared from where he stood.

The entire encounter ended in less than ten seconds.

By the time Timi reappeared, every monster that had emerged from the surrounding forest was already lying motionless on the ground.

Not one remained standing.

Timi glanced at the dagger in his hand.

There was barely any blood on it.

He gave the blade a casual flick before returning it to his storage space.

His expression showed little excitement.

The difference in strength had simply been too great.

Timi considered leaving them there for a moment. With his strength, he doubted any of them were worth the effort.

That would be wasteful.

Though he disdained using his Talent on weak monsters, and putting aside the questionable Traits, the normal ones could add to his accumulation even if the increase wasn't noticeable.

Still, it was better than nothing.

With that thought, Timi approached the nearest monster.

Among the twenty-three monsters that had surrounded him, the enormous boar was undoubtedly the strongest.

Although it had died just as easily as the others, it was actually a monster above Level 30.

More importantly, it possessed an Extraordinary Grade with one star.

That wasn't something Timi encountered every day on Earth.

Unfortunately for the boar, it had encountered Timi. Perhaps in the future it might have become a great demon.

He decided to leave the best for last.

Timi briefly examined its corpse before moving toward the weaker monsters and began using Devour.

One after another, the corpses lost their remaining vitality as his Talent extracted what it could from them.

Familiar notifications appeared before his eyes.

[Devour successful.]

[You have obtained 0.04 Strength.]

[You have obtained 0.03 Agility.]

[You have obtained 0.03 Constitution.]

It was less than a twenty-dollar pack of peanuts, but twenty dollars was still twenty dollars.

[You have obtained a Trait.]

Timi paused.

"Oh?"

A new notification appeared.

[Nocturnal Scavenger]

[Description: Your senses become slightly sharper when searching for discarded food, rotting organic matter, and other edible refuse during nighttime.]

[Note: This Trait does not improve your ability to determine whether such materials are safe for consumption.]

Timi stared at the description.

"..."

He slowly looked toward the enormous raccoon-like corpse.

What the hell am I supposed to do with this?

Timi shook his head.

The Trait disappeared from his available selections as a slight stream of black blood ejected from his finger.

[You have obtained a Trait.]

[Startled Leap]

[Description: When suddenly frightened, your legs may instinctively release a burst of strength, allowing you to leap considerably higher than normal.]

[Note: The reaction is involuntary and may occur even when jumping is unnecessary.]

Timi's expression became strange.

He glanced at the deer-like corpse.

The Trait wasn't entirely useless.

A sudden increase in jumping ability could potentially save someone's life.

But the problem was the word involuntary.

What if someone suddenly shouted behind him?

Would he jump into the ceiling?

What if he was standing on a narrow ledge?

Or worse, what if Lily suddenly appeared beside him?

Timi could already imagine the embarrassment.

"No, thank you."

He rejected it without hesitation.

The next few monsters provided ordinary attribute points.

Then another Trait appeared.

[Territorial Scent]

[Description: Your body can produce a distinctive scent that allows certain animals to recognize an area as your territory.]

[Note: The scent may be unpleasant to humans and can attract the attention of creatures that interpret it as a territorial challenge.]

Timi stared at the notification for several seconds.

"...Seriously?"

He looked down at himself.

Then at the corpse.

Do I look like a fucking animal?

Still, though... hmm.

Timi decided to store it.

In three days, before it got automatically ejected, he'd make his choice.

Fortunately, not everything he obtained next was useless.

After devouring another wolf-like monster, a more interesting notification appeared.

[Devour successful.]

[You have obtained a Trait.]

[Predator's Balance]

[Description: Your body possesses an enhanced instinct for maintaining balance during rapid movement, sudden changes in direction, and movement across unstable terrain.]

[Effect: Reduces the likelihood of losing balance while moving at high speeds or fighting on difficult surfaces.]

Timi's eyes brightened slightly.

"Now this is useful."

The Trait was somewhat redundant since his bloodline did the same, but it all added to his foundation in the end.

Soon, after a few more redundant Traits, Timi turned to the final prize.

The enormous boar lay motionless near the edge of the clearing.

Even in death, its massive body was imposing.

Its dark bristles resembled metal needles, and the enormous tusks protruding from its mouth looked capable of piercing through reinforced concrete.

Timi approached it.

He placed a hand against its enormous body.

"Let's see what you've got."

He activated Devour.

The familiar sensation spread through his palm.

A moment later, notifications appeared.

[Devour successful.]

[You have obtained a Trait.]

Timi's attention sharpened.

A new panel materialized before him.

[Enhanced Olfactory Sense]

[Description: Your sense of smell is greatly enhanced, allowing you to detect and distinguish scents from considerably greater distances than ordinary creatures.]

[Effect: Improves your ability to track targets through their scent and identify subtle changes in the surrounding environment.]

For a moment, Timi didn't know what to say.

The monster had been an Extraordinary Grade creature with one star.

Although Grade didn't necessarily determine how useful a Trait would be, Timi had still expected something more impressive.

Perhaps an enhancement to his physique.

Or some kind of defensive ability related to the metallic bristles covering its body.

Instead, he'd obtained an enhanced sense of smell.

Compared to what he'd hoped to obtain from such a powerful monster, this was somewhat disappointing.

Just as he was about to reject the Trait, another notification suddenly appeared.

[Compatible Trait detected.]

[The newly obtained Trait possesses a high degree of synchronization with an existing unintegrated Trait.]

[Compatible Traits:]

[Enhanced Olfactory Sense]

[Weak Dog nose]

[The two Traits may be merged to produce a new Trait.]

[Would you like to proceed with the merger?]

Timi froze.

Then his eyes brightened.

"Oh?"

"A merger!"

A smile appeared on Timi's face.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

Since obtaining Devour, he'd encountered situations where two compatible Traits could combine into something different.

Unfortunately, such opportunities were extremely rare.

Despite the number of monsters he'd devoured, he'd only encountered this phenomenon a few times.

And every time it happened, the resulting Trait had been considerably more useful than the original ones.

Unfortunately, while his Talent seemed capable of recognizing when two Traits complemented each other, when a Trait threatened to conflict with something already inside his body, it didn't offer any helpful warning.

Timi shook his head and focused on the notification again.

There was no reason to hesitate.

"Yes."

[Merger confirmed.]

[The two Traits are being synchronized.]

[Weak Dog nose has been selected for integration.]

[Enhanced Olfactory Sense has been selected for integration.]

[Devour initiated.]

The familiar sensation of his Talent activating spread through Timi's body.

*

A/N: Sorry for the late update dear readers ಥ‿ಥ