Chapter 2 - Talent Bead

"What is going on? What is this place? Whose voice is that??" Leyvi was confused about the sudden female robotic voice. 

[This is a space inside the Talent Bead]

[And I am the Toy Spirit of this Talent Bead]

"Toy spirit?? Not Artifact spirit?" Asked Leyvi again.

[Correct. Talent Bead is a toy made by a Supreme existence, my master.]

[Therefore, I am a Toy Spirit]

Leyvi was still dumbfounded by the explanation and kept staring at nothing for a while. After a few minutes, he gained his clarity again and started to look around. It was just an illuminated space. Nothing looked special here.

The toy spirit said something about Talent Bead and giving a talent to Anda. What does it mean by that? Aren't I the one who is supposed to get the talent since I got this treasure, no, toy? Leyvi felt like this was unfair to him, he asked the toy spirit, "Why am I, not the one getting the talent?"

[Because this is a Toy]

Leyvi despaired by the reply. His knees dropped to the floor and his fist slowly hit the floor repetitively. Damn it, this Supreme existence is just trolling with people.

[That is right, my master is quite a playful person]

"What, you can even read my mind!?" Leyvi was shocked once again. I better not talk bad about Lord Supreme again, or I might get deleted.

Sigh, although I can't get the talent, if I give the talent to Anda, I might get some benefit from her since we are very close. 

"Toy spirit, how do I give talent to Anda?" Leyvi decided to give Anda the talent after some thinking.

[Host need to say 'I want my toy' to open the menu]

Leyvi felt like fainting. Why is this Lord Supreme so childish? Leyvi gritted his teeth and then said, "I want my toy!" 

Right after saying the cursed words, a menu pops up right in front of Leyvi.

[Talent Bead |Level 1| EXP 0/100]

[Talent list] Alchemy, Steal, Stealth, Sturdy

[Recipient: None]

"Alchemy, steal, stealth and sturdy. Is this the only talent I can give?" Leyvi was a bit disappointed by the lack of selection.

[More talents will appear after the Talent Bead leveled up]

If I give Anda 'Steal' talent, will she become a pro thief in the future? No, no, no. I can't let her do that. I can't imagine her going around stealing other people's treasures. She might get killed sooner or later.

If I give her 'Stealth', it might be useful for her to save her life, hiding from danger. Maybe she can also peep on people. Wait a minute, she's a lady, why would she need to peep? Leyvi immediately gets rid of the stupid thought.

What about 'Sturdy'? Will she become immune to physical attacks or something? Maybe this is good for her. Wait, don't tell me she's going to be hulking if I give her this talent. Leyvi was afraid that she might get way too muscular for his liking.

Why can't this thing be more specific? Leyvi complained. "Toy spirit, is there a way to see how these talents function?"

[This is a toy, it was made for my master's amusement. So the host has to find out on your own]

Leyvi dropped his shoulder, "Sigh, why do I even bother asking? I keep asking for more disappointment". He was totally dejected.

Looks like I can only give her 'Alchemy' talent. This is the safest choice. Although she is an alchemist right now, her talent is not very good. She is only at the Alchemy Student level. She can only refine low-grade Tier-1 pills, like the low-grade Qi refining pill. If I give her this talent, she might be able to make higher-grade pills and I will shamelessly benefit from it. Leyvi had already fantasized about all the luxurious pills he would be consuming.

"Alright, I decided to give Anda the 'Alchemy' talent," Leyvi told the Toy Spirit.

Suddenly, the menu in front of Leyvi updated.

[Talent Bead |Level 1| EXP 0/100]

[Talent list] Steal, Stealth, Sturdy

[Recipient: Anda | Alchemy | 85/100]

[Host benefit: Fire Affinity]

"What!?" Leyvi was surprised by the benefit given to him.

"Toy Spirit! What does this mean? You didn't tell me I can get any benefit just now?" Questioned Leyvi.

[I am given the order not to tell the benefit to the host before the host had given the talent to someone]

"Why is that?" Maybe this Lord Supreme wanted to troll people again. Leyvi guessed in his mind.

[Host is correct. Some previous hosts did not use the talent bead at all because they thought giving talent to other people was a waste and did not benefit them. They never used the talent bead until they died]

"Ugh, stop reading my mind, please. It felt so weird." Leyvi was a bit confused by the actions of the previous hosts. Are the previous hosts stupid or something? Even if you don't want to give talent to other people because of jealousy, can't you give the talent to your son or daughter? Are you impotent too? 

"So how do I level up this talent bead? Where do I get the experience point?" Leyvi was getting more excited after knowing he could benefit from this, so he asked more related questions.

[Talent bead can get experience points whenever the recipients are conducting activities related to their received talent. As for how much the points were given, the host can find out on your own later]

"Yes, yes. This is a toy. I need to find out on my own, sure." Leyvi accepts his fate of not getting reliable information from the toy spirit.

Hang on, I got fire affinity as a benefit. Does this mean that I can use Fire-based martial skills or techniques easily now? As an attributeless, I can learn all of these elemental attacks, but it will not be as efficient and powerful compared to having affinity toward these elements. That's why I never learned any of them. However, it is different now. I can learn a powerful fire skill, and maybe I can hunt those demonic beasts easily.

"Hahaha!!" Leyvi started laughing out loud while flexing his non-existence muscle. "Now I don't need to look for spirit herbs all the time, I can act stronger in front of Anda!" 

Toy Spirit: "....."

"Toy Spirit, how do I get out of this place? By the way, what is even this place? It's just a bright empty space. I can't even see you, I can only hear your weird way of speaking, Toy Spirit." Leyvi brought up more questions.

[If the host wants to enter this space again, say 'log in'. If the host wants to go out, say 'log out']

[If the host wants to know the function of this space, the host will have to figure it out by yourself]

"Alright, alright. I'm tired of talking to you. Log out!" Leyvi did not want to be in the empty space anymore, so he immediately went out with a shout.

Suddenly, the illuminated space disappeared and Leyvi went back to his familiar-looking house. Leyvi immediately felt his left ear being twisted. He grabbed Anda's hand and stared at her curiously.

Did her Alchemy talent increase? How should I know? Maybe I should hand over all the spirit herbs I got yesterday and let her refine them for me. With her new Alchemy talent, maybe she can make higher-grade Qi refining pills.

"Leyvi! Why are you staring at me like that??" Anda asked Leyvi while blushing intensely. Not to mention that he was still grabbing her hand, this situation was very awkward for her.

Leyvi immediately snapped back to reality, but he still did not let go of her hand. He smiled at her, which made her blush even more. He recalled that Anda has an 85/100 points of feeling toward him. This should mean that she really likes him, right?

"Why? No reason. I suddenly feel like my panda girl looks a bit cute today." Leyvi has always felt that Anda was quite cute, but he never actually said it to her. Now that he got the talent bead, Leyvi felt a bit more confident and wanted to act like a flirty guy.

Anda shyly looked at Leyvi and said, "Really? Nobody ever told me that. You must be lying". She did not actually believe him, but she was still quite happy to hear that.

"Why would I lie to you? We have been together since a kid. You should know how I am." Leyvi tried to convince her.

"Of course, I know you, but me being cute was just a bit farfetched. Everyone thinks I'm ugly" Anda felt a bit dispirited when she thought about all the guys that seemed interested in her but immediately changed their attitude the moment they saw her panda eye.

Looking at Anda getting dispirited, Leyvi immediately made his decision, "Fine, If you don't believe me, how about this? Would you like to be my cultivation partner, my dear Anda?"

Anda's eyes widened. She was totally shocked by the sudden proposal by Leyvi. "Ley..Leyvi, are you serious about this? Please don't joke with me". Anda stammered a bit.

Leyvi who was still holding her hand, lifted it, kiss it, and looked at her again with sincere eyes. "Be my cultivation partner, please!"

Anda who was still shocked replied, "YES!! I would love to." She immediately hugged Leyvi.

Leyvi who was suddenly hugged felt a soft feeling in front of him and a nice fragrant coming from her, he also hugged her back. I didn't know it felt this nice, to hug a girl. Not to mention, this panda girl is quite voluptuous. 

Leyvi smiled. He found a way to make all the talent he gave not go to waste and also benefits him. He just needs to have his harem! Give the talents to his people and benefit from it.