Alexia was surprised by Déon's question. No one had ever been able to prove the theory of innate talent evolution.
"You're interested in the theory of innate skills?" she asked him, visibly curious.
The theory of innate skill evolution stated that innate skills could evolve to become stronger if trained. And the stronger the initial skill, the more powerful the future skills would become.
"A theory? I was just curious. I read some information about it in the library. So, has this theory ever been proven?"
"No, scholars were never able to confirm it, so everyone eventually forgot about it."
"I see. And you, to what rank did you raise your initial innate skill before you started evolving?"
"My tutor made me wait until my skill reached Rank A."
Déon was happy that the theory he had read in the library wasn't confirmed. Still, if Alexia's tutor had made her wait until Rank A, that suggested some people gave it importance.
"I'm glad the theory is kind of baseless, but still… imagine if it were true…" he thought vaguely before dropping the subject.
"Alexia, do you know a way to deprive me of my senses? It's for training," he quickly added at the end of his sentence.
He didn't want to abuse Alexia's kindness; after all, they had just met. But he didn't want to bother his parents over every little issue—he was old enough now.
"Block your senses, huh? I could help with that, but I'd need my tutor's assistance."
Déon was curious about Alexia's tutor. It might seem strange, but Déon had never really tried to interact with the villagers more than necessary. But now, he was becoming more and more curious.
"A tutor, huh? I wonder where her parents are?" he thought to himself before questioning his own curiosity. He knew curiosity was a bad habit—he had paid the price for it in his previous life.
After their exchange, Déon began eating the meal Alexia had brought him.
Not wanting to take advantage of her hospitality more than necessary, he asked to leave.
Alexia then brought him a shirt since his own clothes were in tatters.
Déon hesitated at first but eventually accepted the outfit, since he couldn't walk around the village half-naked.
"I'll bring it back tomorrow," he said, leaving the house a bit embarrassed by how tight the clothes were on him.
Just as he stepped out of the house, his Sixth Sense activated on its own. He sensed presences around the house.
Glancing in a direction, he leaned toward Alexia and whispered in her ear that they were being watched. He expected her to overreact, but instead, she smiled and said:
"They're the village guards. I'm surprised you can sense them. Have you already surpassed Rank D?"
"No," Déon replied without much explanation before leaving.
Déon already knew about the village guards, but what intrigued him was why they were watching Alexia's house. And judging by her reaction, she seemed used to it.
As he walked away, he couldn't stop wondering. But just before reaching his house, he ran into Théo's group.
Déon had crossed paths with them often over the past four years, but they had never had a real conversation. Not because he didn't want to, but because he found them a little distant and didn't want to force things.
As usual, he gave them a smile as he walked past. Normally, they wouldn't react, but today, they smiled back and even slightly bowed their heads in greeting, which was surprising.
"Why are they acting so strange today?"
...
Théo didn't care about anyone but himself, and unlike other kids his age, he had huge ambitions. He didn't bother with those weaker than him.
At first, he saw Déon as nothing more than a loser with no will to train hard. But lately, he had noticed a change in him. The frail, harmless Déon had disappeared, replaced by someone well-built with the gaze of a predator.
"He's gotten really strong, it seems. What rank is he now?" he wondered, almost ignoring one of his friends speaking to him.
"Hey Théo, are you listening to me?"
"Huh? What? What were you saying?"
...
Once home, Déon didn't wait long before resuming his sword training. Today, just before the end of his fight against the demonic alpha, he had seen the lines. He hadn't yet reached sword comprehension, but he was sure he was close to accessing the first state of the Forgotten Truth technique.
After hours of training without concrete results, he finally took a break, completely exhausted.
"That's enough for today. Sword comprehension, huh? I wonder how long it'll take me to reach it."
"Hmm, not too long if you keep training at this pace."
A familiar voice had just answered Déon. Turning his head, he saw his mother accompanied by his father.
"Father? What are you doing here at this hour?" he asked, a bit surprised to see them home together.
"At this hour, huh? Young man, sounds like you're getting bold," his father said with a grin.
"No, I just meant it's rare to see you home at this time."
"Look at him trying to act all formal. You think I'm gonna fall for that? Tilda, who did he inherit this attitude from?" he asked, while Tilda watched silently.
Nox usually didn't come home so early, but today, he had a special reason. He needed to scold his son for recklessly charging into a portal head-on.
"Déon, you've got some explaining to do," he said in a very serious tone before heading inside with his wife.