Chapter 15 – Talent Bloom

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After talking with him, I found out that Pacheonmaje was a player who had reached Foxtail without ever joining a single party. What brought him this far was his unwavering diligence.

Every morning, he would wake up and swing his sword. It wasn’t to gain bonus stats, nor did it make his skills stronger or earn him experience points. He repeated this until lunchtime.

After lunch, he would head to the hunting grounds to test the swordsmanship he had been practicing, fighting monsters until the sun set.

That was Pacheonmaje’s daily routine.

“You’ve been repeating that routine since the very first day?”

“There’s not a single lie in my story.”

“Wow…”

“People laughed at me, saying my actions were meaningless.”

“That must have been hard.”

“I proved them wrong. I showed them that my training wasn’t a waste of time. I want to ask them, who else has managed to leave the starting village and successfully settle here entirely on their own?”

“When did you acquire the ‘Effort’ skill?”

“It was just like any other day. I woke up early and was practicing my self-created ‘Pacheon Divine Sword’ when I felt a surge of energy in my chest. I instinctively knew it was the moment of enlightenment.”

“So that’s when you got the Talent Bloom skill?”

“Heaven recognized my efforts. My diligence over all these years.”

As he spoke, Pacheonmaje continued to swing his sword. Even during our conversation, he didn’t stop his training.

Whoosh—!

To me, it just looked like he was swinging wildly, but there must have been more to it.

“Did anything change after you acquired that skill?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure.”

“I see.”

I nodded at his response. It wasn’t the answer I was hoping for, but I wasn’t disappointed. After all, I had almost figured out the conditions for acquiring the Talent Bloom skill.

Pacheonmaje, who had never slacked off and continued his training diligently, received the [‘Effort’] skill. Meanwhile, I, who hid my dark intentions behind a facade of kindness, received the [‘Hypocrisy’] skill.

Talent Bloom reflects a player’s nature. It analyzes and records their playstyle, marking them with a kind of stigma bestowed by the world itself.

At least, that’s what I thought.

“Supreme Swordsman.”

“Yes?”

Whoosh—!

As I tilted my head in response to his call, Pacheonmaje’s sword, which had been floating in the air, smoothly slid back into its sheath.

After taking a deep breath and straightening his posture, Pacheonmaje continued.

“The fact that you asked me this question makes me think you’ve also gained some insight. If it’s not too much to ask, could you share it with me?”

“My skill…?”

Hypocrisy. It’s not exactly something to boast about. The negative connotations of this word could significantly hinder my future activities, so I planned to keep it hidden as much as possible.

Neukmam and Han Chanseong were likely in similar situations.

“Hmm. If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine.”

After hesitating for a while, Pacheonmaje casually brushed it off. A pleasant smile appeared on the face of the handsome man with long white hair.

Aside from his awkward use of formal speech, Pacheonmaje seemed like a decent person without any major flaws.

Perhaps we might form a party together in the future. I made sure to remember his name as we parted ways.

Talent Bloom Skill

A week had passed since I acquired the Hypocrisy skill. My level had risen significantly over that time.

[Level 13]

[Supreme]

Like most RPGs, reaching a certain level allows you to learn new skills. This world was no different.

After surpassing level 10, I was able to learn two new skills. One was [Holy Shield], which blocks all damage for 5 seconds, and the other was my first offensive skill, [Holy Strike].

In this way, a week had brought many changes. Information about the Talent Bloom skill was no exception.

By now, the Talent Bloom skill was no longer a secret. Players were actively exchanging information about their new skills.

The players’ personalities were as diverse as their appearances, and as a result, there were dozens of different skills revealed.

Effort, Arrogance, Greed, Wrath, Humility, Temperance, Sloth, Wisdom, Nobility, Sacrifice, Courage, Tolerance—my notebook was filled to the brim with an overwhelming number of skills.

The Talent Bloom skill isn’t unique. It’s not tied to a single player. In other words, dozens or even hundreds of players could possess the same skill, like ‘Effort.’

The same applied to my ‘Hypocrisy’ skill. However, among the information shared by players, no one had admitted to acquiring the Hypocrisy skill.

Either they were hiding it like me, or perhaps no one else had it.

Either way, it worked in my favor. I used this fact to claim that my Talent Bloom skill was ‘Tolerance.’

As information about Talent Bloom spread, the situation I had feared began to unfold. Some players started avoiding those with negatively perceived skills.

In severe cases, even players with negative traits avoided each other. A notable example was a player named ‘Striped Underwear,’ whose Talent Bloom skill was ‘Lust.’

After revealing his skill, he was unable to form a party and had to retreat to the starting village, living in seclusion.

Another change had come to Foxtail: the departure of the vanguard players. Those who had focused solely on leveling without rest had moved on to the next area as a group.

Since my level was too low to join them, I remained in Foxtail with Isolin, continuing our laid-back lifestyle from a week ago.

An Ordinary Morning

Like any other day, I started my morning with some stretching exercises and then stepped outside the inn. There, a pink-haired twin-tailed girl was waiting for me.

“Supreme!”

“Ah, Isolin. Did you sleep well?”

Isolin nodded, her eyes sparkling. As a result, the large pointed hat on her small head wobbled wildly.

Behind the swaying hat, something caught my eye. At first, I thought she had bought a new weapon, but that wasn’t the case.

What Isolin was holding was a fishing rod.

“A fishing rod?”

“Yeah. Let’s go fishing today.”

Last time, she wanted to go eat grapes, and now it’s fishing. I guess she was craving fish. I nodded.

“Sure. But where do you buy a fishing rod? And do you know a good fishing spot?”

“I’ve got it all figured out. An older sister I know told me about a great spot before she left Foxtail.”

“Ah…”

I nodded at Isolin’s response. The older sister she mentioned was a vanguard player who often shared useful information with her.

They seemed to have been friends since before this world, so I didn’t pry further.

“Shall we go then?”

Clatter—

Isolin and I dashed energetically toward the city gates.

After passing through the city gates and walking along the river, we reached a grape farm where bears roamed. The fishing spot Isolin mentioned was a hidden lake beyond the vineyard.

“Wow…”

It was a place you’d never find without knowing where to look, surrounded by dense trees. The calm lake was serene, with deer and raccoons drinking from its shores.

Chirp chirp—

Occasionally, birds would flutter by.

There were no aggressive monsters nearby, and no other players passing through. I changed into comfortable clothes, took off my shoes, and carefully dipped my feet into the lake.

“Ah…”

The initial chill gave way to a refreshing sense of liberation. I wiggled my toes submerged in the lake and lost myself in thought.

How long had it been since I last let go of everything and relaxed? Others might call this life a curse, but to me, it was a blessing.

The heavy, painful body I once had was no more. I splashed water with my feet and lay down on the soft grass.

The cool breeze brushed my cheeks. The sunlight filtering through the leaves tickled my eyes pleasantly.

“Supreme~ Aren’t you going to fish?”

“I’ll just lie here a bit longer. You go ahead, Isolin.”

“Okay…”

Isolin sat nearby and started fishing. She swung her flexible fishing rod, and the float flew far before landing with a plop— in the lake, creating ripples.

“Supreme, have you ever fished before?”

“A few times.”

“Really? So, when do the fish bite?”

“Hmm…”

I didn’t know when the fish would bite. Experienced anglers say you can feel it, but with my limited experience, I couldn’t possibly know.

(tl: anglers – person who catch fish)

“They’ll bite if you wait.”

Fishing is all about patience.

I closed my eyes, surrendering to the pleasant sensations. The cool breeze carried a faint mix of grape scent and Isolin’s natural fragrance.

How much time had passed? Something wet and squishy began gently caressing the soles of my feet and calves.

“Isolin. Stop touching my feet.”

“Huh? Me?”

Isolin responded with a puzzled tone. I sat up and looked down at my feet. Beneath the clear water, something long and tentacle-like was wriggling.

“Eek…?”

In that moment, a long tentacle shot out from the water and wrapped around my ankle. Before I could react, my body was lifted and spun around rapidly.  (tl : :0)

“Eeeek! Isoliiin!!!”

“Supreme!!!”

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