Exploring The System

As mentioned previously, talents can either be innate or acquired. Innate talents are passed down by parents to their offspring, making it possible for multiple people to hold the same talents. These are the talents people are born with, which sometimes lie dormant within them, making even the possessor unaware of them.

Acquired talents, on the other hand, are talents that one gains after using certain treasures. Once a talent is acquired, it can be passed down to one's offspring, allowing the lineage to gain talent. These treasures are very rare, and even for F-rank talents, the prices of these treasures can reach several million.

A person can also possess more than one talent, which is quite rare in humans but common in monsters. Some have no talent at all, known as the Dulls. The history of Dulls and the talented is a very interesting topic with a quite controversial relationship, but that's a tale for another time.

"Copying talents..." Ian said with a dazed expression. "It's something unheard of in the thousands of years of human history."

Gaining a talent is considered a blessing, and one's talent can also be said to identify their lineage. Talents are studied thoroughly and can be replicated in the form of spells, but that's something one needs to spend years learning. Moreover, it is not something one can add to their lineage and pass down through their genes.

The creation of these spells is also very complicated. Even in the current age, only talents of C grades can be converted into spells at most. A grade higher than that is out of the realm of possibility with the current technologies humans possess.

'But now this fucking system...' Ian didn't know how to react as his worldview was turned upside down by gaining the ability to copy talents in the form of his system. 'Damn... not only from other humans but monsters and the dead too. That's fucking overpowered...' To be able to replicate the talents of others—just imagine Ian gaining the talents of the greatest legends of humanity or from the strongest in the world.

Ian gulped in excitement, just imagining these fantasies before coming back to reality and wiping the saliva that flowed out of his mouth. 'For a system, it's one of the most cliche types but also an overpowered one.'

In various novels, the ability to copy skills, talents, and whatnot is literally the most repeated cheat the protagonists have, which just have their names changed in the form of devour, necromancy, steal, and whatnot. But one can't deny that it is really overpowered. This ability has infinite potential, making protagonists of novels grow super strong, breaking the balance of the power scale completely.

'Not to mention in this world with millions of different talents, it's just awesome.' Ian thought as he imagined the ways he could use this ability. 'I can go to other nations and copy the talents related to royal families or famous houses, claiming to be one of them... No, that's idiotic and dangerous.'

Even if they acknowledged the talent and lineage, Ian might become an enemy to the heirs of the families, who, in their race for succession, might order his assassination. 'I ain't doing some shit like that...' Ian shook his head. The ability he has can be both a boon and a curse, depending on how he uses it. Doing something like this, which only some third-rate protagonists of cultivation novels do, and courting death isn't something Ian would do.

'On the note about the protagonists...' As the mention of protagonists popped up in his mind, Ian paused for a moment, thinking of something. 'Can Alan be considered a protagonist now?' The regressor who came back in time with a system and a pitiful backstory... isn't this the plot of the majority of novels nowadays?

'Nah, that's a concept of novels... this is reality, not some world of a fucking novel... the existence of a system can be real, given it's a magical world.' Ian reasoned with himself while closing the topic, chuckling at himself for thinking of something absurd like this. He looked at the system and finally decided to leave the 'Help' tab after learning everything about the system's functions.

With a simple mental command, the system screen closed, and he returned to the status screen. [Rewards (3)] 'Yeah, there were these...' After the deletion, almost all of the things in the system were deleted, leaving a few rewards that thankfully weren't deleted and were issued to him earlier due to the lack of reward control and quest board, which were also deleted.

"Ian?" As Ian was looking at the system screen, a voice suddenly called for him. Jumping a little from the fright because of the sudden call, he looked sideways where Jessica was placing some files back into the cupboards. "Yes?" Ian replied as he looked at Jessica.

"It's time for school to end. You should pack your bags too and get ready," Jessica said calmly as she continued to arrange the files and pack her stuff. 2:35 P.M. 'It's already time for school to end?' Almost five hours had passed since Ian's arrival at the infirmary, where he lay unconscious most of the time.

Getting up from the bed, Ian began to pack his stuff that the staff had brought for him after his unconscious self was sent to the infirmary. Still wearing his school uniform that was slightly covered in blood, Ian packed his stuff, waiting for the time to pass and the bell indicating the end of the school day to ring.

'System.' Calling out for the system, Ian looked at his status once more, finally deciding to check the items provided by the system. 'Well, let's open it.' As Ian thought, the system screen changed, and a new screen appeared in front of him.

[Talent Upgrade Card (Myth)×1 Valid till: 19:18:37] [Talent Upgrade Card (Legend)×1 Valid till: 19:18:37] [Talent Upgrade Card (Ex)×1 Valid till: 19:18:37]

[Talent Upgrade Card (Myth) Allows the user to upgrade a targeted talent to the level of Myth, the highest possible grade of talent. Valid Till: 19:18:37]