Marcus stood frozen among the crowd, his practiced composure cracking for the first time since arriving at the academy. While he had already noticed several divergences from his previous timeline - Ambrose's premature awakening, Adelaide's unexpected survival, and her possession of a Top Level intelligence-type talent - these had been relatively minor variations. Things he could rationalize as butterfly effects from his interference or details he might have overlooked in his first life.
But this? A Mythical-grade talent, completely unheard of in his previous timeline, manifesting in someone he had never encountered before? The implications sent a chill down his spine. Unique talents were already exceptionally rare, but for one to appear at Mythical grade was almost unprecedented. His eyes narrowed as he studied Liu Meihua's unremarkable appearance, searching for any hint of familiarity. Nothing. He was certain he had never seen her before.
"It seems the Spirit King's power isn't as perfect as promised," he thought bitterly, retreating deeper into the crowd. The weight of uncertainty pressed down on him like a physical burden. If such significant changes were already occurring, how many of his future predictions could he truly rely on?
Meanwhile, Ambrose observed the interplay of reactions with calculated interest until the instructor's voice cut through his thoughts: "Ambrose Rothschild."
He strode forward with measured confidence, ignoring the whispers that followed his every step. The crowd's speculation about his talents was meaningless - he could see his abilities clearly displayed in his status panel. As he approached the testing orb, however, something unexpected occurred. A familiar sensation washed over him, but unlike previous instances where his Space-time talent had resonated, this time it was his Observation talent that stirred to life.
The feeling intensified as he placed his hand on the crystalline surface. His analytical mind immediately recognized the significance - this was the first time his Observation talent had shown such a reaction. Could the testing orb hold some secret related to talent enhancement? Without hesitation, he activated his focused state:
[Focus State](C) - Mastery over concentration has deepened significantly. The user can maintain unwavering attention for up to 45 minutes, with a 60% reduction in external distractions. Mental fatigue during observation tasks is reduced by 70%, and the user can now maintain awareness of their surroundings even while deeply focused on a specific target.
Channeling his mental strength, he pressed his awareness deeper into the orb's mysterious depths. The attraction grew stronger with each passing second until suddenly...
[If you gaze long into the abyss...]
The system's warning came too late. Before the message could complete, Ambrose's consciousness plunged into familiar darkness. The void embraced him like an old friend, pulling him deeper into its murky depths. Time lost all meaning as he drifted downward, his enhanced mind already calculating possibilities. His last experience with this void had cost him a week of consciousness - a duration that would certainly mean failing the entrance exam if repeated.
But before he could pursue that line of thought further, system notifications began materializing before him:
[Ding! The host has comprehended an advanced form of observation]
[Your Observation talent has evolved into [God's Eye] (Legendary)]
[WARNING: Not enough stamina/mental strength to advance]
[Using mental strength to forcefully advance Observation to [Mind's Eye] (Top Rank)]
[Yes/No]
Learning from his previous experience with forced advancement, Ambrose immediately selected 'No'. He had already deduced the pattern in these notifications - the system was attempting to skip multiple ranks at once, a process that had nearly destroyed him last time.
[Forceful advance canceled]
[Observation has advanced into [Mind's Eye - Semi Awakening] (High Level)]
The unexpected notification caught him off guard. He hadn't anticipated that rejecting the forced advancement would still allow for natural progression to an appropriate level. The logic became clear - by refusing to skip ranks, he had allowed his talent to evolve along its natural path.
As this realization struck him, Ambrose suddenly noticed his surroundings had changed. Lost in his analysis, he had failed to notice his ascent through the void. Above him, a familiar light beckoned, promising return to consciousness - and hopefully, not another week-long coma.
…
Consciousness returned to Ambrose with startling suddenness. He expected to find himself collapsed on a bed somewhere, perhaps facing another week-long recovery. Instead, he stood exactly where he had been, hand still pressed against the testing orb, as if no time had passed at all. Before he could fully process this peculiarity, the orb began displaying his talent reading: [Observation].
Just as the rank was about to manifest, the crystalline surface flickered erratically. Hairline cracks appeared across its surface, spreading like lightning through glass, before the entire orb exploded into countless glittering shards. The crowd gasped collectively, but Ambrose maintained his composure, watching with clinical detachment as the fragments rained down around him.
The instructor, clearly rattled but maintaining professional dignity, cleared his throat before announcing, "Ambrose Rothschild: [Observation] (Ordinary)."
Ambrose descended from the stage with measured steps, his expression revealing nothing. Behind him, the instructor knelt to examine the shattered remains of the testing orb, his brow furrowed in confusion. The mystery deepened as the academy principal suddenly appeared beside him, proffering a replacement orb with one hand while studying the scattered fragments with intense focus.
"Just what are you playing at, Victoria?" she murmured, her words barely audible even to enhanced hearing.
Once safely back among the crowd, Ambrose immediately called up his status panel, eager to examine the changes he could already feel coursing through his being:
[Name: Ambrose Rothschild]
[Level: 1]
[Species: Human]
[Physic: Weak Body (Can't increase physical stats in any way)]
[Title: Rothschild's Heir (+10 Charm), One who leapt through through Space & Time (Space-time Talent), One who gazes (+10 Intelligence)]
[Talent: Mind's Eye - Semi Awakened, Space-time]
[Health: 100/100 (Tip: Can at least take a punch, from a five year old that is)]
[Mental Strength: 250/250]
[Strength: 0.1 (Average 5)]
[Stamina: 0.1 (Average 5)]
[Agility: 0.1 (Average 5)]
[Intelligence: 115+ (+10)]
[Stat Points: 0]
[Experience: 0/10]
[Overview: You actually managed to advance your talent! I'm impressed. But this doesn't change anything! Trash is still trash]
His analytical mind quickly identified the key changes. The new title, "One who gazes," had granted him an additional ten intelligence points - a significant boost considering how heavily his abilities relied on that stat. Mental strength had also increased, climbing from 230 to 250, expanding his capacity for using his enhanced abilities.
But the most dramatic change lay in his talent classification. The ordinary-ranked [Observation] had evolved into [Mind's Eye - Semi Awakened], achieving High rank even in its incomplete state. Ambrose could already feel the difference - his perception had sharpened beyond what he'd thought possible, as if a veil had been lifted from his senses.
Eager to understand the full scope of these changes, he pulled up his skills panel:
[Observer's Intuition - Transcended](Intrinsic) - Through deep understanding and countless observations, this natural talent has evolved beyond its enlightened state, reaching a transcendent level that fundamentally alters how the user perceives and processes reality. This evolution grants supernatural insight into both the physical and metaphysical realms, allowing for observation and analysis that transcends normal human limitations. (Subskills: [Mind's Eye](S), [Heightened Perception](A), [Pattern Recognition](A), [Thought Transmission](A), [Detail Retention](B), [Focus State](B))
The universal rank improvement across his subskills explained the dramatic enhancement in his perceptual abilities. Yet something about the change seemed disproportionate - the improvement felt more substantial than a simple rank increase should warrant. After careful consideration, Ambrose theorized that talent rank acted as a multiplier on ability effectiveness. Even identical abilities would perform differently depending on the underlying talent's grade, explaining why Higher-ranked talents held such significant advantages over their lower-ranked counterparts.
Finally, he turned his attention to his newest ability:
[Mind's Eye](S) - The pinnacle of observational ability, granting the power to perceive the true nature of all things. This supernatural sense allows the user to instantly analyze and understand the complete information of any person or object they focus on, including stats, skills, abilities, history, and hidden properties. For living beings, it can reveal their true nature, current state, emotional condition, and potential futures. For objects, it unveils their composition, purpose, magical properties, and even their past. The depth of information scales with the user's mental strength, and prolonged use on powerful subjects can cause mental fatigue. At its peak, this ability can even perceive conceptual information like fate, destiny, and metaphysical properties.