Deadmeat Saga

Chapter 38 – Talent Combination. Tyrant Bloodline.

When Gerhart saw the Evolvable in Timmy's talent, he suddenly looked at him as if seeing a treasure.

"Can it be?! Can it evolve into the fabled Analyze Status that only one in a million has?!" Gerhart widened his eyes in expectation.

"Uncle?" Timmy blinked his eyes.

"Ah, sorry. I saw you have untapped potential in you, so I became happy." Gerhart smiled.

"Really?!" Timmy immediately became excited.

"That's great!" Libby's eyes lit up.

Besides being happy for her child, she, as his mother, would also gain favor from her new husband. As a concubine, that was a great thing!

Irene, who saw this, was happy for Timmy but also became envious. "Libby will receive more of our husband's favor now..."

It was then that a small figure walked forward from her side.

"Uncle! What about me?" Bonnie walked over with an innocent smile.

"Right! My husband didn't check my little Bonnie yet!" Irene's eyes lit up.

"Oh, right. I didn't check Bonnie, Irene, and Annabelle yet." Gerhart remembered.

"Okay, Bonnie. Come here." Gerhart smiled at the cute 5-year-old, extending his hand.

Bonnie obediently came to Gerhart, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. He didn't expect much, but what he saw shocked him.

Thrall: Bonnie Elkington's worthy qualities:

Talent - Initial Sage(Unawakened): Not Viable(Must be awakened)

"I found a Sage!" Gerhart widened his eyes a bit but tried to mask his shock.

"Bonnie, what is your talent?" Gerhart asked.

"Magic Control!" Bonnie said with a smile.

"Then it must be weak." Gerhart thought.

"No question marks or anything, right?" Gerhart asked.

"No." Bonnie shook her head.

"What about your stats?" Gerhart continued asking.

"Most of them are F, but my Magic is D!" Bonnie reported.

"Okay, that confirms it. Bonnie is a dormant late bloomer!" Gerhart was ecstatic. "First, it is an evolvable analyze status, and now it is a late bloomer! Their father had a good aim!"

"You have a bright future ahead of you." Gerhart vaguely said.

"Really?!" Bonnie immediately brightened up.

"Really." Gerhart nodded.

"That's great, Bonnie!" Irene also became happy for her daughter. And, of course, she was also delighted that she could receive more favor from her husband.

"After the rest of the village joins us, I will try awakening your talent," Gerhart said.

"Promise?" Bonnie blinked her eyes.

"I promise." Gerhart nodded.

"Uncle, what about me?" Timmy asked.

"Your power is not problematic. We can work on it now." Gerhart said and viewed Timmy's talent evolution direction.

 

Talent Evolution - Simplified Analyze Status(Self) -> Analyze Status(Self): 5

"Well... That is a bit disappointing." Gerhart thought.

He thought it might remove the (Self) part but was mistaken.

"Oh, well. That is also good." Gerhart thought and evolved the talent.

The next moment, Timmy fell unconscious, and Gerhart grabbed him so he wouldn't fall.

"He will wake up in a minute at most," Gerhart said, handing him to his mother, Libby.

Libby lovingly cradled her son. In the meantime, Gerhart also checked Irene's talents.

Thrall: Irene Elkington's worthy qualities:

Base Stat - Magic C-grade: 305
Secondary Stat - Water Affinity C-grade: 378
Talent - Advanced Instant Casting: 1,000
Talent - Intermediate Magic Control: 100
Talent - Beginner Alchemy: 10
Skill - 3rd-circle Instant Casting: 100
Skill - 3rd-circle Water Magic: 10
Skill - Intermediate Magic Control: 10
Skill - Beginner Alchemy: 1

"I now feel glad I didn't try the violent way." Gerhart warily thought.

If she instantly cast a 3rd-circle spell on him, it would be a painful experience. With that said, he didn't take her talents and skills yet. Gerhart's energy was limited, so he needed to be careful about how he spent it.

After several minutes, Timmy woke up with a blank look.

"Well, Timmy? How is it?" Gerhart asked with a smile.

"I... See my Status. It has more lines than before. Something about secondary stats and my talent being evolvable..." Timmy said with a troubled look.

"Evolvable? Wait, does that mean..." Libby had a guess.

"Oh?! Please come here for a moment." Gerhart eagerly motioned him.

Timmy obeyed, and Gerhart checked again.

Thrall: Timmy Elkington's worthy qualities:

Talent - Analyze Status(Self)(Evolvable): 10
Talent - Beginner Deep Mana Reserves: 10

"It truly is still evolvable!" Gerhart widened his eyes again, feeling happy. "Maybe this time..."

Talent Evolution - Analyze Status(Self) -> Analyze Status: 500

The change this time was committing the (Self) part and cost a hundred times more than before. But that made a whole world of difference.

"Ha... Hahaha. Kid, you have a bright future." Gerhart grinned.

"Really?" Timmy blinked his eyes, a broad smile on his face.

"My husband, what did you see?" Libby quickly asked, curious about her son.

"Hehehe... You will see." Gerhart decided not to spoil the surprise and evolved Timmy's talent again, making him unconscious. Like before, Gerhart held him and handed him to Libby.

"Take him to the bedroom. It would take much longer to complete this time." Gerhart said with a relaxed smile.

"Yes." Libby smiled and took her precious son to rest in Bonnie's bedroom under Irene's consent.

Havre soon left to help her sister, Annabelle, make dinner, and Hope replaced her. While Gerhart read some books, Hope played with Bonnie, and Irene and Libby cooked dinner together for six, deciding to host Gerhart and Hope for dinner.

Gerhart also checked Bonnie's awakening conditions.

Initial Sage Suggested Awakening Conditions:
All Base Stats D-grade or above,
Magic, Intelligence, and Perception B-grade or above,
level 30(Complete),
50,000 points.

"Yeah... No. Nope. Can't. Sorry. Not possible." Gerhart thought, casting away any thought of trying to awaken Bonnie. At least, not for the foreseeable future.

Before long, Timmy woke up again, looking around with a confused look.

"Timmy! How are you, sweety?" Libby stopped what she was doing and walked to Timmy, concerned.

"I'm okay... I'm just seeing weird things..." Timmy said, his eyes unfocused.

"Oh, Timmy! Come over, kid." Gerhart smiled and motioned Timmy over.

"Okay..." Timmy nodded and looked at Gerhart. However, Gerhart felt that Timmy wasn't looking at him but at something else.

"Can you see it?" Gerhart smiled.

"Yes, uncle... I can see your Status." Timmy replied. "Is this my power?"

"It is. I improved your talent." Gerhart said.

"Can I be a hero now?!" Timmy immediately became excited.

"Eh..." Gerhart had a troubled look.

"Well, you certainly have an enviable talent that can set you up for life. But I think your half-sister is more suited to be a hero, while you should scout out the heroes..." Gerhart thought.

Although he could say it, it would hurt the kid's feelings.

Thinking about that, Gerhart tried thinking of a method to hoodwink the kid to avoid emotionally hurting him.

"Timmy, why do you want to be a hero?" Gerhart asked.

"To protect everyone in the village!" Tommy innocently said.

"If you are the hero that protects the village, doesn't that make me the villain?" Gerhart mentally retorted.

"Timmy, being a hero is nice, but I think you have a far more noble destiny than that," Gerhart said with a mysterious look.

"Noble destiny? What's that?" Timmy blinked his eyes.

"It means you can help uncle conquer the world." Libby walked over and held her son's shoulders from behind.

"Great! Nice assist— wait, what?" Gerhart had a blank look.

"Really?!" Timmy's eyes shined.

"Yes. Really." Libby said with a smile.

"Okay! When I grow up, I will help Uncle conquer the world!" Timmy said with shining eyes.

"I... have high expectations of you." Gerhart gave up correcting them.

"This brainwashing is terrifying..." Gerhart thought.

"Timmy, can you come here for a moment? I want to check something." Gerhart said.

"Okay." Timmy walked over, smiling from ear to ear.

Hesitantly, Gerhart checked again.

Thrall: Timmy Elkington's worthy qualities:

Talent - Analyze Status(Evolvable): 1,000
Talent - Beginner Deep Mana Reserves: 10

"Fuck!!! It can still evolve?!!!" Gerhart tried not to reveal his inner shock.

Analyze Status was already an incredibly coveted talent. What would happen if it evolved?

"I want to check it..." Gerhart thought.

With that, he viewed what would happen if he evolved it again.

Talent Evolution - Analyze Status -> Empyrean Eyes: 50,000,000. Requirements: Perception, Magic, and Aura S-grade, all Base Stats A-grade or above, level 60(Complete).

"Oh... Forget I even saw that." Gerhart took a deep breath, trying not to think about it.

His eyes then returned to the two talents Timmy had.

"Well, might as well take them." Gerhart thought.

"Timmy, don't be scared. Uncle will wince a bit, okay?" Gerhart smiled.

"Okay!" Timmy nodded.

With that, Gerhart reverse-blessed himself with Timmy's two talents.

"Ghk..." Gerhart frowned as he felt a sharp pain in his head, especially his eyes. He felt like he was staring at the sun in midday.

Luckily, thanks to his high level and base stats, the process was relatively brief, only lasting about three minutes.

"Thanks, Timmy. Sorry if I scared you." Gerhart smiled and let go.

"I am happy to help Uncle!" Timmy happily replied.

Gerhart lightly nodded as he involuntarily saw Timmy's Status.

Name: Timmy Elkington
Race: Human
Age: 5
Sex: Male
Level: 2

Skills: None.

Base Stats: (+)

Secondary Stats: (+)

Talents: (+)

"Hah... It doesn't look much different. But I see Secondary Stats. So they do exist, hah?" Gerhart thought and focused on it.

Secondary Stats:

• Charisma: (+)
• Luck: (+)
• Willpower: (+)
• Affinities: (+)

"Supposedly, Secondary Stats are stats that don't improve with level, IE, they are static. Few things can improve them." Gerhart thought.

However, he didn't expand to view the details. Instead, he looked at the talents.

Talents:

• Initial: Animal Communication.
• Beginner: Deep Mana Reserves.
• Intermediate: None.
• Advanced: None.
• Perfect: None.
• Unique: Analyze Status(Evolvable)

"OH! I can see it is evolvable! And it is sorted in such a nice way! Can it also see the evolution conditions?" Gerhart wondered.

He tried focusing on the Analyze Status talent but didn't expect that Item Appraisal would be triggered.

{Unique Talent - Analyze Status(Evolvable): A Unique Talent that can view other individuals' Status in detail. Has the potential to Evolve.}

"Did... Did I unintentionally discover something ridiculous?" Gerhart blinked his eyes. "What would happen if Item Appraisal reaches Perfect?"

"Uncle? Did you look at my Status?" Timmy asked.

"Yes. Was it that obvious?" Gerhart asked.

"Uncle had unfocused eyes," Timmy said.

"Hm. Thank you for telling me." Gerhart nodded.

"My husband... Did Timmy awaken Analyze Status?" Libby quietly asked.

"Yes. And Timmy still has the potential to improve." Gerhart replied with a serious look.

"I... Amazing." Libby looked at her son in a daze.

Everyone with some common knowledge knew how precious this talent was. If they acquired this talent, the kingdom would send experts to fetch the youth, bringing them to the capital to be tutored and guarded like kingdom treasures and given an honorary Duke title. The direct family of said child could also come to the capital and live a life of luxury befitting nobles, and her village could also receive a sizable compensation. Three birds with one stone!

And now, her son suddenly became such a coveted treasure that kingdoms would fight bloody wars for. According to her husband, Timmy had even more terrifying potential. She didn't know what to think about this.

"My husband... What should we do?" Libby asked, unsure of the next course of action.

She was merely a villager and young mother, a humble woman unversed in political intrigues, power struggles, and wars. She didn't know what to do with her son's future direction and how to benefit her husband the most.

"For now, keep quiet about it. Don't tell a soul." Gerhart said and looked at Irene. "Understood?"

"Yes, husband." The two young mothers nodded.

Gerhart then looked toward Timmy and Bonnie. "Both of you, this is an important mission. Do not reveal anything that happened here or your talents. Understood?"

"Yes, uncle!" Bonnie and Timmy responded with serious looks.

.

.

.

Several minutes later, Gerhart left with Hope, leaving Timmy a parting gift, blessing him with another 100 points to improve his Vitality and health. If Timmy somehow died early from a disease, it would be a bad joke.

Once they arrived home, Gerhart took the opportunity to check his Status.

Name: Gerhart
Race: Human
Age: 18
Sex: Male
Level: 50

Skills: (+)

Base Stats: (+)

Secondary Stats: (+)

Talents: (+)

"Finally! I can see my Status whenever I want!" Gerhart celebrated.

Skipping the rest, Gerhart first focused on Talents and ignored the rest of the talents, concentrating on his Unique Talents.

Unique Talents: Pack Mule(Evolvable), Intermediate Treasure Hunter, Contortionist, Analyze Status, Tyrant Bloodline(Unawakened, Slightly Stimulated)

"Pack Mule can evolve?! Great! It never evolved in my last life, so I wonder what it would become. Hazel's Treasure Hunter was Intermediate, hah? And it is a Unique Talent to boot. Is it because of its unnatural nature? Contortionist is also a Unique Talent. I have Analyze Status, but it can't evolve, hah? Hm? Wait, what the flipping heck? Tyrant Bloodline? What?!" Gerhart got shaken as he saw the last part.

Warily, Gerhart tried checking it with Analyze Item.

{Tyrant Bloodline(Unawakened, Slightly Stimulated): A human-lineage bloodline that drastically improves the physique, crushing all obstacles with brute force. It is currently unawakened but is slightly stimulated, showing minor characteristics.}

"Wait a minute... So the question marks were not the relic, but were instead THIS?! Doesn't that mean it got stimulated when I absorbed Mylo and Hazel? Or was it when I died?" Gerhart wondered. "Is my current size perhaps a byproduct of this bloodline?"

But then, something clicked in his mind.

"Wait... How do I even HAVE this bloodline?! It shouldn't be from my previous life, right?! Who are my parents?! And what did Mother Roysa want to show me?!"

The more he thought about it, the more he had a headache.

"Ah... Fuck this. I'll ignore this bloodline for now. It seems like more trouble than it is worth." Gerhart thought and focused on Pack Mule.

{Pack Mule(Evolvable): A talent that augments the back muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones, giving greater passive strength and endurance to carry a more significant load. Can evolve.}

"Well, no surprises there." Gerhart thought and tried to evolve it by blessing himself. Luckily, it worked.

Talent Evolution - Pack Mule -> Goliath Physique: 5,000. Prerequisites: Strength, Vitality, and Endurance C-grade, All Base Stats E-grade or above, lvl 20(Complete).

"Oh?! Goliath Physique? That sounds promising, and it is right within my budget. Okay! I am evolving it tonight!" Gerhart decided.

Knock* Knock* Knock*

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

"I'll get it," Hope said and went to the door.

After Hope opened the door, she talked with the person outside and turned to Gerhart.

"Master, it is the hunting team."