August agreed to meet with only a few of Ruel's town officials, which suited both parties' preferences.
Ruel declared he would depart soon and return, at the latest, by dusk.
Naturally, the meeting location was the underground cavern.
It was located on the outskirts of an area where space was unstable and on a normal day, the monsters lurking around here could be handled.
Ruel, with his newfound strength, also believed he served as a big boost to attack power, making the monsters less dangerous.
Speaking of new found strength, based on Muriel's advice, he decided to review his status before returning to town.
So, he remained seated at the entrance, going through the panel which was invisible to others.
- - -
Name: Ruel Varelli
Titles: Talent Breaker, The False Divine
Citizen Tier: 3 [0/4000 Points]
Talent: Cryo Genesis [S+], ??? [???]
Core Stage: 3 Rings
En Coins: 49,924,785
Skills: Cold Touch, Gravity Control, Bestow
Bond: Muriel
Haven: Emberhold
Quests: 1/5
Inventory: 2/16
• Shop •
- - -
From top to down, Ruel started reading, receiving some explanations from Muriel here and there.
Titles were rare. Even in Enma, only a few knew of their existence.
One needed to achieve a feat Enma deemed worthy to be granted a title by it.
It was like a special mark Enma grants to know those who are special.
And Ruel had obtained two right off the bat.
- - -
Talent Breaker: You shattered the natural limits of a Talent, altering its path forever. You are no longer a follower of essence — you are a shaper of it.
Title Effects:
You comprehend your Talent 30% faster.
Your Talent's shape is yet to be defined, you may absorb unlinked Talents or Talent Skills that align with your Talent's nature.
- - -
The False Divine: Having replaced a God's seat, you are connected to their Almighty Talent, but you still lack the divinity and status of a real god.
Title Effects:
You are connected to abilities once wielded by a God.
You have a false status.
- - -
For Talent Breaker, Ruel didn't know how broken it was but the look of surprise the now semi-corporeal Muriel had made him know its value.
Apparently, Talents were typically limited to granting abilities directly, but now Ruel could obtain abilities from others now…
It didn't really make sense, but Ruel was told he would understand the more he used his Talent and the more he encountered Talent users.
For the False Divine, the name alone made Ruel anticipate something great.
Although he didn't necessarily worship any god, he knew of their existence.
And now, he was considered a False God.
Even the foreigners standing in a corner of the cavern were unsettled by Ruel's sudden grin.
He checked his Talent description and got a weird description that said, "The Birth of Ice begins from you."
'I'm not even a lady,' Ruel muttered and shrugged. 'Next is skills!'
Skills are refined powers that allow consistent and immediate use of an effect.–Muriel's words, as Ruel roughly understood them.
For example:
A Fire Ball spell is created by shaping magic—unstable, influenced by the caster's control and surroundings.
A Fire Ball skill, on the other hand, produces the effect instantly and reliably, without the need for casting or deep focus.
He had three new skills, two seemingly from his False Divine title effect and one from his Talent.
- - -
Cold Touch:
The user's touch instantly chills surfaces or beings, potentially freezing liquids, slowing movements, or causing a numbing cold effect.
Mastery: Novice • 11/100 XP
- - -
Gravity Control:
The user can change how gravity affects things—making objects heavier, lighter, or even floating—by bending gravitational forces around them.
Mastery: Novice • 5/100 XP
- - -
Bestow:
You can bestow a part of yourself to strengthen others.
- - -
"Oh, is it the Bestow ability that Muriel used to become stronger?" the thought popped up in his head.
He noticed Bestow lacked a Mastery and Muriel explained.
The skill didn't have much room to grow, it was basically at its peak.
Unlike the others that had mastery tiers of Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Expert and Grandmaster.
After that, Ruel checked the Bond feature which let him check Muriel's status.
- - -
Name: Muriel
Species: Spirit
Skills: Solforge
[Solforge – Allows the user to create and control a miniature sun. The orb's size depends on the wielder's core capacity, and its power depends on the energy invested, though both have natural limits.]
Master: Ruel Varelli
- - -
"What an interesting ability... Muriel seem to have her a core now too!" Ruel shot a nod of approval at Muriel, who hid her proud expression successfully.
After reading it all, Ruel wore a genuine look of satisfaction.
He felt like his hard work had paid off.
But he knew this was merely the start—there was much more to come
He was blessed this much because he had tasks to carry out.
False Divine? His instincts told him he was going to even deal with gods soon.
He wasn't scared or demotivated, instead, he was pumped.
Finally, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
"It doesn't end with skills," Ruel muttered, opening his palms and closing it tightly.
He could feel the change in his body – he had obtained new resistances, strength and limit.
The only thing that didn't change was his core.
"That's my current limit…" Ruel sighed.
But Muriel pulled in to save him.
"Something has been prepared for that as well. I just haven't had time to give it to you."
"Eh?"
Not giving Ruel time to ask for an explanation, Muriel placed her hand on Ruel and let a small warm light enter Ruel.
[You have received a skill, Leech!]
- - -
Leech:
Efficiently draws energy from nearby sources—whether the environment or weak opponents—at a steady rate. Absorption is smoother and faster than average, with reduced risk of backlash and moderate replenishment of own energy.
Mastery: Novice • 0/100 XP
- - -
Reading the content, Ruel was once more shocked.
He had barely come to terms with his current power, and now Muriel handed him more.
Still, this skill felt like taking a pill or herb that enhanced Core Cultivation.
People had techniques for energy absorption, and he felt like this skill could be compared to them, and high-level one at that.
The young man chuckled nervously and said to Muriel, "At this rate, I really can't fail, huh?"
Muriel wore a slight smile. "We will be fine."
Ruel lingered and sighed. "We will."
He then turned to the group of foreigners making eye contact with Jiro who was curiously looking at him.
He tried composing himself as he turned away and looked towards the exit.
"Alright," Ruel said aloud, standing up. "I will be leaving now."
It was time to return to Grayland.