"If he is alive, then that means I cannot let the knowledge of totems be spread, otherwise humans would once again become sitting ducks to power up the totem slayer?" Tristan shook his head, he thought he would be able to make a killing this time, but it seems like he can only hide these things. He took out an object and showed it to the AI.
"[Choice Totem], what does this thing do?" Tristan asked.
The AI looked shocked. "This is a legendary item of the totem royalty that should have been snatched by the Totem Slayer. How is it in your hands?"
When Tristan heard that, he was shocked. "Is the demon princess Shamana related to the Totem Slayer? Even the Demonic Scriptures sounds similar in cultivation technique to Totem Slayer's power, except they "sacrifice" the blood to gain power, but who do they "sacrifice" it to? Could it be Totem Slayer? He had to discuss this with Emily.
"What does this [Choice Totem] do?"
"It can be devoured by a totem, but that depends on the quality of the totem user's plate. Clearly Totem Slayer was not able to devour this Choice Totem. In history, no one is known to have been able to absorb the Choice Totem. It was actually the inheritance of the first Totem Ancestor, who had paved the way for totems.
The effect is unknown, because no one has devoured it to date." The AI said.
Tristan sighed. He instructed the mainframe to open up all the totems. There he saw the tattoo, not totem that had been developed by the Research Station. It was the tattoo of a black raven.
"The tattoo will test you for compatibility." The AI said. Tristan nodded.
Then the tattoo of the raven came to life and entered Tristan's body, directly landing on his plate.
[Sovereign Raven Tatoo]
[Fuse? Y/N]
"Fuse." Tristan spoke within his mind. The raven began turning into dust like particles, slowly attaching itself to the plate. The color of the plate slowly changed from Gold to Black-Gold. Tristan felt like his body changed a bit and his Aura Cladding went up from 44% to 50%. Then the tattoo of a black raven formed on his left arm, covering his upper arm.
The AI spoke. "Congratulations on absorbing the tattoo. I hope you can one day defeat the Totem Slayer. Do try and see if you can absorb the Choice Totem."
Tristan didn't respond, because he was busy seeing the notice from the status.
[Congratulations, you have unlocked new trait Plate Talent]
[Race: Duality (Human Form)]
[Evolution: First Plate, Physical Evolution I]
[Progress: 0%]
[Plate Talent: Sovereign Raven Tattoo]
[Physique: Corrosion Resistance 35%, Supreme Human Body + 50% Aura Cladding, Basic Energy Body]
"Amazing. So my notion that Totems are a form of innate talent is misguided. Innate Talents are actually skills that your body gains and occupy the plate. Whereas totems are instead the talent of the plate itself. This is indeed a very unique path, but still along the human path."
Tristan then looked at the Choice Totem. He had a conscious thought and the raven tattoo came to life and swallowed the choice totem. Immediately, Tristan felt his entire body on the verge of disintegrating.
[Attempting Absorb.... Choice Totem]
[Failure]
...
[Attempting Absorb.... Choice Totem]
[Failure]
...
[Attempting Absorb.... Choice Totem]
The system was notifying his progress with failure as well. Tristan felt he was going to completely disintegrate and was on the verge of disintegrating when the system sounded.
[Success]
Tristan sighed. He could feel the totem dissolving onto a liquid and split into two parts. one went to his plate and fused with it, or rather forge the plate and fortifying it to make it more stronger, but also increasing the flexibility of the plate. Till now the plate was extremely rigid, but this new energy allowed the plate to become extremely flexible like rubber despite being as hard as the metal.
Another part of that liquid energy flew to his brain, helping his mental blockade pass the breakthrough. He was now able to use mental energy. Then an illusion covered his eyes and he appeared on a grassland with one extremely large oak tree standing in the center. A man suddenly appeared from the tree's trunk as if nature itself came together to form him.
"I am the first one to discover the talent of the plate. I created the path of the totem. I can be considered the God of Totems. You are the first person to have the talent sufficient enough to barely surpass me. There was another like you, but he was a shy shorter than you and dare I say myself.
I offer you two benefits. One has already been passed on to you. You will hence forth have
absolute control over your talents, totem or otherwise. This is what flexibility of the plate offers you without harming the firmness.
The second is the knowledge I collected in growing my own Totem. Along with it, the choices you could take along your evolutionary path, as well as my Singular Totem Art, a combat art revolving around the use of the plate's talent. Use it well. If you reach my level, we might have an opportunity to meet. Farewell."
Tristan opened his eyes. His eyes looked dangerous. Not only had he unlocked mental energy, he had also gained absolute control over his innate talents and the totems power.
Tristan looked at the AI. "Wipe the mainframe. Wipe all the data, I can never let the Totem Slayer get the opportunity to become stronger." He then collected all the totems in storage into his storage along with the data crystals and blanked the mainframe.
Then he looked at the AI. The AI looked at Tristan. "What are your orders?"
"Can you transfer yourself to my phone?"
The AI shook its head. "No, but I can transfer myself to the watch on your hand." Tristan nodded.
"What should I do about the test takers?" The AI asked.
"Once I go out, throw out everybody else and initiate the self destruct sequence." Tristan said.
Then he walked out of the research in clear contrast to others who were kicked out violently. Everyone outside the ruin looked at White Star with suspicion. Why was his situation different?
Five minutes later everyone else was also ejected out of the ruin and then the ruin collapsed and destroyed within seconds.
Everyone looked at the last 10 who had been thrown out. But they looked equally bewildered.