"Who are you? Why are you here?!"
A furious roar shattered the tense exchange between the disguised Adamu and the massive Brain Swarm.
Spinning around, Link saw the real General Adamu standing just behind him, cloaked in black as ever, eyes wide in shock. His expression twisted in disbelief as he stared into the face that mirrored his own.
He was, quite literally, looking at himself.
And in that instant, the Brain Swarm's bulbous eyes narrowed with pure, seething rage.
"You bastard… you actually dared to deceive me?!"
Link gave a helpless chuckle. With no point in dragging it out, he activated a poisonous self-termination talent, ending his own life instantly.
Whoosh!
Gasping for air, Link opened his eyes once more—back in time, back from death, as always.
He had now looped through this moment dozens upon dozens of times. But this time, it wasn't for nothing.
At last, he had pieced together a clear understanding of the plan between General Adamu and the Brain Swarm.
Their ultimate target was none other than the Legion of Elites stationed at the Northern Front.
The so-called Legion of Elites wasn't just a title—it was the backbone of every war zone. Veterans forged in fire, warriors tested through countless battles. Their combat power was second to none, and they formed the very spine of humanity's resistance.
If something catastrophic were to happen to them—if they were severely crippled or wiped out entirely—the entire Northern Front might collapse. Maybe even humanity's frontlines would fall in their entirety.
Because the Legion of Elites wasn't just about raw numbers. It also included rare, battle-hardened commanders. Every officer was the cream of the crop, hand-picked from hundreds of candidates.
Now that Link had discovered the plot ahead of time, a critical question remained.
Should he play along and bait the trap?
Or should he try to spring it and catch the traitors red-handed?
But before any of that, Link had to solve a more immediate problem:
How would he convince anyone to believe him?
No matter how accurate his intel, he was still just a student with a few noteworthy talents. General Adamu, on the other hand, was a decorated military hero, a general whose deeds were written in blood and fire.
If Link tried to report the betrayal directly to Northern Front command, his voice would most likely be ignored. At best, they'd consider it a mistake. At worst, they'd accuse him of slander.
He couldn't take that risk.
If his warning went unheeded, it could spell the downfall of the entire front—and with it, the lives of countless soldiers.
So he needed someone powerful, someone influential, and most importantly, someone who would believe him.
A name suddenly flashed in his mind—Headmaster Ryze.
Although Link was far from a major player in the human command structure, Headmaster Ryze certainly wasn't. With his status, arranging a direct audience with Northern Front leadership wouldn't be difficult.
But that led to yet another issue—how to reach him?
Link scratched his head. He didn't even have the man's contact information.
"Alright, Link. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."
First things first. He still had one objective left: capture a Cycle Wyrm.
When he returned to the Northern Front base, most personnel were already asleep. Still, Link managed to contact Sergeant Martin, hoping to get Ryze's personal contact information.
Fortunately, Link's previous performance had earned him both Martin's attention and respect.
Not long after, with Headmaster Ryze's consent, Link received the private line.
The moment he got it, he immediately placed the call.
"Headmaster Ryze, this is Link."
"Ah, Link. It's quite late. I heard from your instructor that you wanted to speak with me urgently. Has something happened?"
"Yes, sir. Something very serious. I was hoping you could make a discreet trip to the Northern Front. It's important that no one knows."
On the other end of the line, Ryze's voice became sharp and cold.
"Link, what's going on?"
"Headmaster, please… I swear on my life and my future—I would not lie about this. Please trust me this once. I need your help."
Silence followed.
Link gripped the communicator tightly, fearing rejection. But then—
"Very well. I'll come."
Lying on his bed, Link finally let out a deep breath.
He could tell—Ryze truly valued him. He probably had a mountain of responsibilities, and yet, he agreed without hesitation.
Ryze would arrive at the Northern Front in three days—which gave Link more than enough time to prepare.
And then, a sudden, mischievous idea lit up Link's eyes.
"Ryze is probably incredibly powerful… should I try apologizing and… maybe 'borrow' a talent or two?"
Then he scoffed at himself.
"Come on, Link. Think bigger."
Why stop at Ryze? What about Sergeant Martin? Or the other elite instructors in the camp?
Every single one of them had incredible talents. Why not take advantage?
A real plan began to form in his mind.
His thoughts wandered next to Seraphine of House Roland. She likely had exceptional talents of her own. He'd definitely need to find a chance to copy them.
Lost in thought, Link gradually drifted off to sleep.
When he awoke, he headed straight to the logistics center to collect the camp's reward for his last mission.
Once he had all the supplies in hand, he quietly transported the valuable psionic potions into his mobile storage space. After securing everything, he returned to his room and began his next step.
It was time for a real training session—one with a very specific goal:
Fully activate and test his new Cannibal Devour talent.
With Lib's guidance, Link soon laid out a comprehensive devouring strategy.
To his surprise and delight, he discovered something incredible:
His SS-grade talent Collapse could actually be devoured along with the S-grade talent Vitality.
When merged, the result was nothing short of miraculous.
New SSS-Grade Talent Acquired:
Destruction and Rebirth
The two talents had fused into something exponentially greater—a cycle of destruction that strengthened him through devastation and recovery.
But the surprises didn't stop there.
Several of his attribute-enhancing talents—ones that he previously saw as "meh"—when devoured together, produced completely new and powerful talents.
One fusion even yielded a brand-new SS-grade talent:
Child of the Elements
And though he hadn't yet collected enough mind-based talents to produce a fusion, Link noted a curious trend: recently, many of the poison-type talents he acquired were perfectly suited for cannibalization.
The result?
S-grade Talent: Child of Poison
Talents he once considered useless clutter were now a goldmine.
They weren't just being consolidated—they were evolving into unique, custom-fitted skills that amplified each other in power.
This was no longer a lucky acquisition. This was a game-changer.
Link could barely contain his excitement.
For the first time, he had a way to refine, customize, and perfect his talent arsenal.
His vision for the future grew sharper: optimize his talent pool, evolve what's useful, discard what's not—and rise to godhood one fusion at a time.
He cracked his knuckles, eyes glowing.
"Let's see just how powerful these new talents really are."