Chapter 10: Extraordinary Items Reaped

"Dual talents? What's that supposed to mean?"

Su Lun lacked basic knowledge of this world, so even with the extra talent revealed, he had no clue what it was for.

Moreover, he noticed his spiritual power score had dropped from "26" to "18".

His spiritual power decreased by 8 points, and that whispering sensation by his ears had completely vanished.

Su Lun speculated, "The principle of this altar is to offer items in exchange for some extraordinary talent. Before it was an eye for an eye. Now that my spiritual power has decreased, could it be... the original host's remnant soul has been fully sacrificed, granting me a new talent?"

He didn't dwell on this question, as there was no way to confirm it anyway.

But then, a bizarre thought popped into Su Lun's mind: What if one were not a transmigrator, what would a normal person offer to obtain this talent—commit suicide on the altar and sacrifice their own soul?

....

"What's the use of this [Talent S-004-Death Reaper]?"

After all, this wasn't a game; there were no skill usage instructions in reality.

Su Lun looked for a moment but was still utterly clueless, and his body underwent no noticeable enhancement.

He thought for a bit, stopped fretting over it, and continued to test the ability his eyes had gained.

Suddenly, he turned his gaze towards some stone sculptures, and a string of text emerged.

[Broken Sculpture]

Detailed Explanation: A sculpture that has lost its extraordinary powers, not worth observing;

This time, Su Lun roughly understood the use of this talent: "Isn't this just like the 'Identify Skill' in games..."

If one spoke of how the talent augmented combat ability... Well, it didn't enhance it much, to say the least, one could say it's completely useless.

This could basically be classified as an auxiliary feature.

At least, in a real fight, it was not at all on the same level as Baldy's [Strengthened Skeleton].

"Probably I haven't figured out the use of this 'All-knowing Eye', or maybe there are capabilities I haven't yet unlocked. Such a complex awakening ritual can't be this simple..."

Looking on, Su Lun didn't feel too disappointed.

At least, his vision had improved, which seemed to have made his marksmanship even more precise.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered something, descended from the altar, and took out the magic doll that Pestoya had given him to assess.

Upon examining it, he realized it was indeed a treasure.

[Cursed Object: Rune Puppet]

Quality: Gold

Description: It dislikes being controlled, preferring to control humans;

Cursed Attributes: Within a ten-meter radius, it indiscriminately exerts mental control over creatures with a spiritual power lower than 15, inducing hypnosis, limb disarray, madness...

Detailed Explanation: A mystical series material for the 'Puppeteer' occupation in Alchemy; after employment, substantially enhances technique and agility attributes, comprehending exclusive inherited skills.

Evaluation: Body compatibility 93%, this is already a profession advancement material of quite impressive quality.

If not for the "All-Knowing Eye", Su Lun wouldn't have guessed that a toy doll he regarded as a "souvenir" could be so powerful.

"Limb disarray, huh... Isn't that one of Pestoya's extraordinary abilities?"

As he read the detailed explanation, Su Lun immediately recalled the scene where his hands and feet uncontrollably moved to eat during the banquet.

Directly stripping control of one's body, this ability was indeed sinister.

"To think it's indiscriminate mental control..."

Su Lun observed, his expression growing stern. If not for his spiritual power being stronger than that of a normal person, having this thing close by would likely drive him insane on spot.

Well... It's akin to carrying around a dangerous "nuclear radiation toy."

And at that moment, he also noticed a new term in the detailed explanation—employment material.

He thought of the time when Bald Ivan had used a magic array to transform his metal scale armor. Could this be some kind of special technique for an advanced career?

Su Lun, with his head full of strange knowledge, also guessed that this so-called "initiation" was probably similar to a job change in a game.

"Pestoya's career must be 'Puppeteer'... But how to initiate?"

Su Lun's mind was filled with countless question marks as he sighed softly.

His understanding of this world was far too limited, lacking many essential pieces of common knowledge.

Now, having the ability of the "All-knowing Eye" seemed quite useful, at least it allowed him to see these magical items without being completely baffled.

.....

Su Lun put the puppet back into the wooden box.

To his surprise, upon a closer look, the rune-engraved puppet box itself turned out to be a treasure.

[Level II Rune Sealed Wooden Box]

Detail: A special alchemy box that blocks the fluctuations of spiritual power; upon closer inspection, you will find some text carved on it.

Su Lun had previously felt there was something special about the patterns on the box, and now, seeing this prompt, he looked closer and discovered those patterns were actually tiny characters tightly packed together, astonishingly constituting a "Beginner's Guide to Crafty Puppetry".

"Could it be that Pestoya, feeling my spiritual power was strong, deemed me suitable to be a Puppet Master and not only provided 'initiation materials' but also sent along a book on vocational skills?"

Su Lun suddenly thought of the well-behaved girl with golden hair and blue eyes, feeling an unshakable sense of regret in his heart.

What a pity...

He hadn't forgotten the promise he made to the girl, to ask her parents why they had burned her.

But the manor had been abandoned for at least a few hundred years, her parents were probably long gone.

This "promise" may never be fulfilled.

Then, looking again, he noticed the butterfly brooch that the little girl had affixed to his chest, which was also an extraordinary item.

[Pestoya's Brooch]

Focus +10

Detail: A brooch with a strong sense of resentment. A delicate alchemy product, it allows the wearer to learn, cast spells, work... with greater concentration. However, wearing it long term, the resentment makes one's temperament become perverse and violent.

(Note: Your extraordinary ability prevents you from detecting or understanding things that are far beyond your cognitive level, so after careful sensing, you also see a string of 'unknown???'...)

Su Lun looked at the brooch, originally thinking it was just a random gift from the little girl.

But unexpectedly, when he saw the "???" note at the back of the brooch, a string of question marks also appeared in his mind.

A sense of mysterious bewilderment suddenly enveloped him.

Was there something in the brooch that he couldn't yet understand? Something that made the "All-knowing Eye" determine it was beyond his comprehension—like explaining the concept of three or four dimensions to a two-dimensional being, who can hear and see but just cannot comprehend?

Anything that confounded even a transmigrator like himself must be no simple matter...

"Could there be some secret hidden in this brooch?"

Su Lun instinctively felt something was amiss.

At that moment, the troubling question that plagued Su Lun surfaced again in his mind: why did Pestoya's parents burn her?

Perhaps there was a problem with her very being?

In this world of extraordinary abilities, who knows what kinds of bizarre entities may exist.

If it weren't for the "All-knowing Eye", Su Lun might never have noticed anything unusual about the brooch.

But now that he had discovered it, he grew more wary.

Yet Su Lun thought again, since Pestoya was the big boss of this manor, even with these doubts, it was better not to linger here.

With that thought, he decided to leave this place first.