"I don't know, Anna. I need to think hard about this."
"Of course, this is your future," Annabel said as she nodded. "But Sol, you should not tell anyone about your talent, at least not yet."
"You're right, but I trust you, Anna, and maybe if you know a bit more, you can help me figure out what to do."
Annabel shook her head; while curious, she knew that whatever it could be would be extremely dangerous to simply know about. There were also many ways to extract such information from a person, so the fewer who knew, the better.
"I know you can figure it out, Sol, but before you go, there is something I want you to take. To protect you from others finding out your secret." She then handed over the small bag to Sol.
Wondering what was inside, he opened it to see a small locket. Knowing there was more to it than meets the eye, Sol used [Analysis].
Locket of Safekeeping
Rare
Skills:
[Block Perception] Lv 5, [Mind Shield] Lv 3
[Block Perception] Lv 5: Renders the user immune to the effects of [Analysis] Lv 5.
[Mind Shield]: Protection against Lv 3 and below mind-related abilities. Ex. [Read Thoughts], [Mind Invasion].
Realizing how precious this item was, Sol was left speechless.
"Anna… Thank you."
Sol then thought to himself, 'I have only ever touched common items my entire life. This must cost hundreds of gold.'
Annabel then put her index finger over her lips and said, "Just don't tell my dad." She then stood up and looked at Sol. "Alright, that should be everything. I need to get back to work."
Sol also stood and started heading to the door to leave, and on the way out, he realized something.
"By the way, Anna, one of the skills I gained was [Analysis]."
Hearing Sol say that, Annabel's face went red in embarrassment. The next thing Sol saw was a hand smacking him on the back of the head.
"Idiot! Why didn't you tell me sooner!"
"Ow! How was I supposed to know you were going to share your status page?"
Having no good comeback to his question, Annabel smacked him again before heading back to work.
Sol, having no more reason to stay, walked out of the guild as he thought about what he could do with his life. Not having any set direction, Sol just wandered through the town, seeing all kinds of people in their day-to-day lives.
He passed by a group of adventurers as they celebrated their recent victory.
He saw a blacksmith dedicating all his focus to his creation.
He watched as guards patrolled through the town, keeping a vigilant eye out for any suspicious activity.
Soon the sun began to set, and Sol headed back to his home, with no answer to Annabel's question.
Sol lay in bed and let his mind wander, thinking of what he had achieved so far in his past as to maybe help him figure out his future.
'I haven't done anything really. I guess you can call it an achievement to dedicate the past 4 years to unlocking my talent, but that doesn't leave any impact.'
His gaze then fell onto his worn-down sword and shook his head as well.
'I may have slain the Thunder Wolf King, but that was by pure luck and not something I can do even now with my new talent.'
As Sol kept pondering, he suddenly heard a knock at the door.
"At this hour?"
He got up from his bed and walked to the door to answer it, and when he did, he was surprised by who it was.
"Jayce?! What are you doing at my house?"
It was Jayce in his casual clothes, which let one see how he truly looked under all his armor. Tall and toned is the best way to describe him as he was taller than most men and has muscles that can put even the strongest guard to shame.
"Hey, is now a good time?" Jayce asked as he took a glance inside Sol's home.
"Yeah, sure. Come inside."
Sol led him in and then realized a problem. There was only one chair.
"Sorry, I don't have a lot of guests. Take a seat, I will sit on the bed."
Nodding his head, Jayce then took a seat by the table. What happened after that was dead silence as the two young men stared at each other, not knowing who should speak first.
Eventually, Sol asked, "So… What are you doing here at this hour?"
Jayce then took a deep breath before he said, "I know we never were on the best terms. We had our leveling ceremony together, and when we didn't get our talents at level 2 I was happy we were lucky. Then I unlocked my talent at level 3, but you still didn't. When I saw that, I was jealous. I thought you would unlock a unique or even legendary talent that would put mine to shame. So when I saw that after level 5 you still didn't unlock your talent, I was relieved. In that feeling of superiority, I took every chance I could to make sure you knew I had a talent and you didn't. For years I did this, I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway."
"What are you trying to get at?" Sol asked, as this is something they both already know.
"What I am trying to say is that you had every right to leave me there; I would have died, and nobody would know. But you didn't. When I woke up this morning, they told me it was you who dragged me, armor and all, back to town."
Jayce took a moment to pause, thinking back to when he woke up in the church.
"My first thought when I heard that was, 'Why?' and suspected that you had an ulterior motive for doing so. But when the guard captain came and told me your account of the events, including you forfeiting the reward, I realized something."
Sol tilted his head at what he said.
"What did you realize?"
"Regardless of what the system says, you are special. You have more heart and determination than anyone else. These past 4 years, you could have given up at any moment, from my treatment or lack of results, but you didn't. There is no one in this town who can beat you in that department, so even if you have no system-given talent, I believe you will eventually do something great."
Jayce then stood up and faced Sol.
"I am sorry for the way I have treated you; if you ever need anything, anything at all, let me know, I will be the first to stand beside you."
Finishing what he wanted to say, Jayce then walked out of the house, leaving Sol alone.
'This feeling…'
A warm feeling rose from his chest and spreaded to the rest of his body, Sol felt a sense of fulfillment.
"I know what I want to do."