I Can Copy And Evolve Talents

"The front gate!"

The terror tilted its head, its grotesque face etched with a puzzled frown.

So Northern replied with an acceptable explanation.

"It might seem like a stupid plan, but think about it like this. Whether it was the front or back gate, we would still end up killing almost all the monsters in the castle anyway, wouldn't we?"

Night Terror was paying full attention.

"So, why not just go through the front where they never expected that we would try to attack them from? Who knows, they might even have stationed more troops at the back than the front just because they expect us to attack from that end!"

Night Terror looked to be lost in his thoughts—If monsters actually did think.

Although this plan of Northern's was quite accurate and sensible, there was a fatal flaw which he also suspected might be the case.

The monsters might not be expecting them at all!

Northern suspected that they would have moved on with their lives and continued going to war, as another battle general would have risen and was maybe on the verge of also being made into a breeding machine… If they had not stayed away for too long, that is.

But he was still going to go ahead with it because it was the least he could do to make things work in his favor.

This plan of his served only one purpose; To make Night Terror the bus he would ride on.

Northern's plan was simple;

Make Night Terror attack through the front gate; it didn't matter if they were waiting or not; the monster would plunge through their defense and into the castle since it was now stronger than ever.

It definitely would not care about their numbers.

Northern's plan was to use that time to sneak in from behind.

No matter how much he wanted to get all the talent fragments, evolve, and unlock a new slot for his talent-copying ability. In fact, merely thinking about it had him all riled up.

But he had to exercise patience and take into account the fact that he had never in his life evolved. He didn't know what it would mean.

How it would work.

Therefore, doing so in the middle of a battle seemed thoughtless to him.

Besides, what changes would it make; sure, he would be stronger and faster; he would be a drifter and also be able to accurately control his energy—void essence; but he would still be unable to copy talents. It wasn't like he could do so with monsters. And even if he could, he doubted whether he would want a monster's talent.

He still had to wait till he closed down the rift and returned to the academy—where he was bound to meet thousands of amazing talents.

So, instead of depending on his state after reaching a thousand fragments to pull this mission through, both defeating the castle lord and his inevitable battle with Night Terror.

He could just lower the odds by being sneaky and wearing down Night Terror, while preserving the majority of his own strength and unleashing it at the last moment, in the last fight.

However, since it was easier said than done. Northern did not expect a perfect execution of this plan as the monster itself had proven to be quite smart.

But should it fail, Northern would have no choice but to depend on his evolution and what came after it.

However, he really didn't want to go down that route.

Having convinced Night Terror that going through the main gate of the castle was better.

They changed the course of their destination. Instead of going through the brown lush and the tunnel, they would have to go around it.

'Step one is done! Step two is to make it trust me even more… Now, let's hope that works out.' Northern thought to himself as both of them strode away.

———

Meanwhile, outside the rift…

Footsteps resounded in the hollow hall as two individuals walked along.

One came off strong and powerful while the other was soft and almost staggering. Soon, they arrived before a door, pushed it open, and entered.

The individual with the soft footsteps slumped into the tattered couch of the room. Her overflowing vermilion hair gently brushed against her face with each sway of the wind.

She had a blank expression on her face, and her usually vibrant but now dull eyes slowly slid to her dominant hand, which usually held a bottle.

Unfortunately, this time there was no bottle in it, and neither was there any in her armpit.

She let out an exasperated sigh and leaned her head on the couch, staring up at the ceiling that had been covered with cobwebs.

Since they were in an apocalyptic environment, a lot of things were quite hard for them to get. Most especially alcohol.

Food was obtained by hunting the monsters that wandered around.

Teams of drifters were formed and each team was tasked with hunting food for the people. Of course, they also had to eat moderately so the drifters wouldn't have to hunt every day.

This little arrangement had been put together by Gilbert after they all arrived here six months ago.

And it had brought about considerable development to the place. Half of the Lotheliwan nation had been taken from the monsters.

The other half, however, was still teeming with extremely strong monsters that none of the students could handle at their level.

Gilbert and his citadel cohort could have handled it and tried to vanquish the monsters there, but he decided against it.

This was to control the people by instilling fear in them, having done so much for them after their arrival.

The native people of Starlock Continent, to be particular, Lotheliwanians, began to depend on them more since they were the most affected by this incident.

Leaving those monsters there was Gilbert's idea to not make the people think that they were free.

Regardless, he had completely handled the aftermath of the fiasco such that the people were better now than they had been in thirty years.

Of course, events had come and gone… many of which Gilbert could not have done much against.

Overall, everything was manageable, and Gilbert needed it to stay that way.

Walking towards the wooden office table, Gilbert unhooked his scabbard from his waist and placed it on the table.

Then he turned and leaned against it, looking at Annette indifferently as he asked.

"So… What about him?"

The warm and elderly innocence in his eyes from months ago had completely disappeared. Now he only radiated a cold demeanor.

Annette sighed again, then straightened her head, propping herself to sit up before speaking.

"It's the same. There were no signs of him… I don't know why you won't give up on searching for the boy. It's either he didn't come with us or he's dead. What are the chances that Grandmaster Rughsbourgh did not deceive you?"

Annette's voice was cold and void of its usual energy.

Gilbert folded his hand in front of his chest, spending a dozen seconds in silence before giving Annette his answer.

"Keep looking, there is a chance that the Slorians might have picked him up. We can't be sure of anything. One thing I know, though, is that Rughsbourgh couldn't have tricked me."

Annette frowned, inwardly gritting her teeth. She stood up and lowered her head, hiding the grim expression on her face as her throaty voice came out.

"You know… I used to respect you so much… but ever since your meeting with Grandmaster Rughsbourgh, I can't even tell who you are anymore; a dog… or the citadel headmaster I once knew."

She left the office without sparing him a backward glance.

Gilbert, folding his arms, gripped his sleeves tightly for a couple of seconds before he let them go and exhaled heavily.

With a sad expression dawning on his face, he breathed.

"I'm sorry, Anne. I am nothing but a dog desperately trying to be free from that man's reins."

Then he sat on the floor and let a heavier sigh.