The classroom was unusually quiet.
Thirty students sat in their seats, staring at the crystal sphere placed on the teacher's desk. The crystal was about the size of a basketball and emitted a faint white glow.
For most people, it looked beautiful.
For the students in Class 3-A, however, it looked like a judge waiting to deliver a sentence.
Because today was Talent Awakening Day.
Teacher Zhao stood beside the crystal and glanced at the list in his hand.
"Next student. Zhang Wei."
A tall boy immediately stood up. His confidence was obvious from the way he walked to the front of the classroom.
Zhang Wei placed his palm on the crystal.
The entire class leaned forward slightly.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then suddenly—
A burst of red light exploded from the crystal.
Heat spread through the room like someone had turned on a heater.
Teacher Zhao's eyes widened.
"Fire Talent. Mid Grade."
The classroom instantly erupted with excitement.
"No way!"
"Mid Grade Fire Talent?!"
"He's definitely joining the Hunter Guild!"
Zhang Wei lifted his hand. A small flame flickered above his palm like a tiny candle.
He grinned proudly and walked back to his seat.
Teacher Zhao nodded approvingly before checking the next name.
"Next… Lin Kai."
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
Several students quietly turned around to look at the back of the classroom.
Lin Kai slowly stood up.
Unlike Zhang Wei, his reputation at school was… not great.
Last year he had already attempted awakening once.
The result was simple.
Nothing.
Some students whispered to each other.
"Didn't his parents pay a lot for a second attempt?"
"Yeah, I heard it was fifty thousand credits."
Someone sighed dramatically.
"That's the most expensive gamble in school history."
Lin Kai pretended not to hear them as he walked toward the podium.
His palms felt slightly sweaty.
This was his second chance.
If he failed again… there probably wouldn't be a third.
Teacher Zhao looked at him for a moment before speaking.
"Place your hand on the crystal."
Lin Kai nodded and placed his palm against the cold surface.
He closed his eyes.
Please…
Anything is fine.
Even the lowest talent would change his life.
The classroom waited quietly.
One second passed.
Two seconds.
Five seconds.
Nothing happened.
The crystal remained completely dark.
Someone in the back muttered softly.
"Yeah… that sounds about right."
Teacher Zhao sighed.
"Lin Kai. No talent detected."
Lin Kai slowly opened his eyes.
The result was exactly the same as last year.
No talent.
He removed his hand and quietly walked back toward his seat.
Some students had already lost interest and started chatting again.
But just as Lin Kai reached the middle of the classroom—
He suddenly noticed something strange.
Above Zhang Wei's head, a small glowing spark had appeared.
It floated in the air like a tiny star.
Lin Kai blinked.
"…What?"
The spark drifted slowly downward.
Next to it, faint words appeared in the air.
Fire Talent Fragment.
Lin Kai stared at it in confusion.
Am I seeing things?
Before he could figure it out, the spark floated closer and lightly touched his shoulder.
Then it disappeared.
A voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
Ding.
A cold mechanical notification appeared in front of his eyes.
Talent Collection System Activated.
Lin Kai froze in place.
The voice continued.
Fire Talent Fragment absorbed.
Talent Progress: 1%.
Lin Kai's heart began beating faster.
He quickly looked around the classroom.
No one else seemed to notice anything unusual
Teacher Zhao was already calling the next student.
"Chen Hao, come forward."
Lin Kai slowly turned his head back toward Zhang Wei.
Another spark had appeared above Zhang Wei's head.
Then another.
Then another.
They floated lazily in the air like glowing dust.
One of them drifted toward Lin Kai again.
Out of curiosity, he reached out and touched it.
Ding.
Fire Talent Fragment absorbed.
Talent Progress: 3%.
Lin Kai's eyes widened.
"Hold on…"
He quickly looked around the room.
And this time he saw something unbelievable.
Above every student's head, glowing sparks were floating.
Red sparks.
Blue sparks.
Golden sparks.
There were hundreds of them.
Some slowly drifted through the air like falling snow.
Lin Kai swallowed.
He reached toward the nearest spark above a classmate.
Ding.
Basic Sword Talent Fragment absorbed.
Lin Kai nearly dropped to his seat.
Another spark floated toward him.
Ding.
Agility Talent Fragment absorbed.
His breathing became slightly faster.
A terrifying realization appeared in his mind.
Everyone else needed years of training to develop a talent.
But him?
He only needed to do one thing.
Pick them up.
Lin Kai looked around at the completely unaware students in the classroom.
Then he whispered quietly to himself.
"…So I'm basically collecting everyone's talents while they sit here?"
He paused for a moment.
Then added thoughtfully,
"Should I feel guilty about this?"