Talent is the root of a monster card's potential for growth.
An entity that can steal the qualities of other monster cards would inherently have strong talent itself.
And when you add Moste's enhanced qualities through the Evolution Core...
What kind of monster will eventually emerge from this?
Moste had already made up his mind: as long as this mysterious entity remained in the breeding zone, he would definitely claim it.
However, he wasn't in a rush. Instead, he continued to browse the information on the various incubation eggs.
What if there's one with even stronger potential?
But while Moste took his time, the expressions of Tutor Vainette and the other students were starting to shift.
Are we all supposed to wait for you?
Malite, in particular, was getting increasingly frustrated. He spoke up sharply, "Moste, have you lost your mind?"
"Do you really think you're some kind of expert? Even the top-level appraisers wouldn't dare claim they can identify the potential of every monster in these eggs."
"Don't end up wasting a whole day, and then choose some trash!"
If it weren't for the tutor being right there, Malite's words would have been far more vulgar.
"I'm just looking."
Moste responded dismissively.
"You...!"
Malite's face flushed with anger, and he almost couldn't help but channel some of the energy in his body, wanting to activate his card.
After all, killing Moste a few times in the game wouldn't be against the rules.
But then, he noticed Vainette's slightly anxious expression, which made him calm down.
Malite was still very much concerned about his image in front of his beautiful tutor. After all, she was the object of his desire at school for years.
"Teacher, how about we just leave him be? Everyone else has made their choice. You can leave him here to take his time, and we'll move on."
"I still need to pick a monster hatchling."
Vainette furrowed her brow slightly.
Though she had a better impression of Moste, she also valued Malite's development. With a sigh, she reluctantly nodded in agreement.
"Alright, Moste, you can take your time. We'll be going now."
"How about the rest of you?"
Vainette turned to the few students who had also not sealed their first monster cards yet. To her surprise, they all displayed eager expressions.
"Teacher, we'll go with you!"
They were clearly excited. These students, who were among the last to choose, had relatively high talent levels. Theoretically, they also had the opportunity to directly seal a monster hatchling.
Monster hatchling qualifications were much more accurate than those of monster eggs, making it easier to find strong candidates. Plus, hatchlings could form combat capabilities sooner, helping the students venture into the Card Realm faster.
Since the Earth's Star Domain had just opened, early progress was crucial. Choosing a hatchling would be a significant advantage.
"Alright, Moste, you can continue looking at your own pace," Vainette said.
"If you have any questions, remember to use the private messaging system to contact me."
With that, the group of students, along with Vainette, left, leaving Moste and the white-tier expert, Bama, who was overseeing the incubator area.
Moste remained unaffected, continuing to quickly inspect each monster egg.
But Bama, the white-tier expert, watched with an amused expression.
"Kid, are you really planning to check every single one?"
Moste paused for a moment before nodding.
"Just don't want to regret it."
He replied politely, maintaining respect toward the strong players of this game world.
Bama shook his head.
"Honestly, the qualifications of an initial monster card... well, they matter, but not as much as you think."
"As long as it's not too bad, you'll be fine for the early stages of development."
"Really good monster cards aren't something you're going to find in this breeding facility."
Bama spoke with the confidence of someone who had been through it all, sharing his personal experience.
His initial monster card had only been a high-tier black iron qualification.
Now, as a white-tier expert, his second monster card had reached high-tier silver.
Later on, Bama would also have the chance to use special items to liberate his first two monster cards and search for new ones.
To him, Moste seemed like he was wasting time.
"It's fine, I'm just looking,"
Moste replied nonchalantly.
Bama's expression changed slightly, looking a bit displeased.
He couldn't help but wonder: were the students from this other world a bit too ambitious?
You see, a local expert like him had to awaken an excellent talent to survive in the wild and fight for monster cards. This student, however, could seal monsters risk-free with the support of the system.
Wasn't that a bit greedy?
...
Time passed quickly.
The breeding hall remained brightly lit, and the golden long clock hanging on the wall struck the long chime of midnight.
It was already past 12 AM.
At this point, Vainette and her group of students returned to the incubation area, where the eggs were being kept.
"Students, our mission to seal the monster cards today has been a complete success!"
"Not only did the students who were refining monster eggs get their wish, but even the three of us who wanted to seal monster hatchlings have succeeded!"
"Today truly is a great day!"
"Now, we can wrap things up..."
Vainette was about to say this when she noticed Moste still indecisively picking through the eggs. Her expression changed.
She walked over to Moste.
"Have you finished?"
Moste calmly shook his head.
"You came at just the right time, I've just finished."
"Oh?"
"Which egg did you choose?"
Vainette was actually impressed by Moste's perseverance. He really had checked every single one.
What a determined person!
With this kind of willpower, how could he not succeed?
However, some students sneered and made dismissive remarks.
"You say you've seen them all? I'm sure you're just bluffing."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Whether you've finished or not, just tell us which one you picked. I don't have time to waste here."
"Honestly, you just glanced through everything, what's the point of that?"
Everyone's expressions were mixed.
Moste calmly replied, "I don't really like any of these eggs. Could you show me the monster hatchlings instead?"
At that moment, the atmosphere shifted again.
Even Vainette, who had always supported Moste, couldn't help but feel a little exasperated.
Wait a minute...
"Out of all these eggs, not a single one caught your eye? Your standards are a bit too high, don't you think?"
"Considering your talent level, you might not even be able to refine a monster hatchling."
The white-tier expert Bama also looked a bit uncomfortable.
What the hell!
I've been here with you for half a day, and now you're telling me you didn't find anything you like? You're just wasting my time!
Especially when the few students who had already selected their monster hatchlings saw that the others were starting to show dissatisfaction. They stepped forward, one by one.
"Moste, with your talent level, it's impressive enough that you can refine an egg. Do you really think you can handle one of our level?"
As they spoke, they released their monster cards.
Immediately, a series of loud noises echoed!
A massive creature, resembling a fox, appeared first.
Next, a giant elephant made of rock emerged. Finally, a monster with hands resembling boxing gloves, resembling a fighter, formed out of the light.
Moste's eyes briefly flashed as he scanned the monster hatchlings. Their levels ranged from 6 to 7, with the lowest being at the Bronze level. The highest quality among them was the fighter-like creature, which had reached a high Bronze rank.
However...
Moste couldn't help but feel a little speechless.
Really?
Who asked for your opinion!
He knew very well that these students, who were pretending to be righteous and critical.
They were actually just trying to show off their monster cards.
The three of them wore smug expressions, and nearby, others were eagerly praising them.
They seemed to be basking in the moment.
It felt as though…
They were the righteous champions of justice.
Before Moste could even respond.
He noticed that someone else stepped forward.
It was none other than Malite.
"Moste, you should stop aiming too high," he casually remarked, pointing with one finger.
Immediately, an eagle, surrounded by frost, flew through the air, landing beside them.
"Did you see that? My Frost Falcon, with Silver-level middle-tier quality, was captured after my previous efforts. It's only because I've become a strong Card Apostle that I was able to tame it."
Really?
Who asked you!
Moste was even more speechless now and couldn't be bothered to explain anything to the others.
However…
Moste suddenly realized something crucial.
The Frost Falcon and the fighter-like monster both had the same description when detected by the Evolution Core:
[This monster has been struck by Thunder attribute power, and its potential has been partially stolen. Its attributes are temporarily reduced.]
[Currently, this monster's attributes are temporarily lowered.]
"Wait a minute!"
Moste's mind suddenly clicked.
It was the stolen potential again!
If the monster eggs could have their potential stolen by that mysterious entity, then the hatchlings that had already been born couldn't just sit back and allow their potential to be taken away.
So that mysterious creature must need to defeat other monsters in order to absorb their talents...
And the fierce monster hatchlings had clearly defined territories.
Moste now understood. He could track down the mysterious entity controlling thunder based on these two injured monsters!