Talent System: I Instantly Master My Opponents Skills
Chapter 72: Evaluation Hall (1)

Chapter 72: Evaluation Hall (1)

The conversation was interrupted as a boy came through the portal.

He was the fifth person to leave the dungeon and would soon be accompanied by many other awakeneds.

The boy fell onto the ground, his legs shaking as he suddenly appeared in the barren field, he fell onto his knees, using his arms.

The elder looked keenly at the fallen boy before walking backwards, obviously going to a distance so he could address everyone once they all arrived here.

Thankfully, with the appearance of the boy the topic had shifted. The boy gasped for breath, his breath ragged.

After some minutes the boy finally looked up, sweat glistened down his brows as he stared at the sky unblinking. Tears streamed down his face.

At that moment several others joined him, theirs forms appearing in the blink of an eye.

Seven people had gone through the portal at once.

"When did you make it out?" A random boy asked the boy who stared at the sky.

"I was the first to come out." He admitted, the tears streaming down his eyes uncontrollably now.

He turned away.

"You bastard!" The random boy shouted, he was about to kick the other boy in the face but was stopped as a pressure bore down on him.

The others in the vicinity also felt it, their bodies falling onto the ground instantly.

Zane, Hereon and the Hachiman boy also fell victim to this.

The only person who was left standing was Jason.

He barely felt anything, that being said what he felt was very little.

’Is the old mana using his mana to pressure them?’ Jason mused seeing the scene before him.

They were pulled towards the ground by an unseen force, as if gravity had been increased.

Jason watched as they fell powerless to the ground while he remained upright, his early stage 000 mana was actively working against the mana the old man was releasing to suppress them.

"Fighting is forbidden, you are all out of the dungeon now." The old man said, his voice carrying finality.

The mana pressing down the many people dissipated into the air.

The others were able to stand up now.

"Why did you do that?!" As soon as they stood up they began bickering among themselves.

Jason could only listen in on their discussion.

"I- I had no choice." The boy cried out. "I didn’t want to die."

"Because of you..." The boy who almost started a fight sniffled a tear. "You killed him."

’What happened?’ Jason thought.

"He reached out his hands so you could grab him, b- but instead, you just looked at him and ran." A girl said. "The dungeon was collapsing and you decided to allow him die."

Jason stifled a laugh, the situation was amusing to him at best.

"You could have saved him." Another one added.

’These poor fools.’ Jason had grown tired of the meaningless argument.

’The one who had died was obviously just a victim of circumstance, he was just unlucky that the only person who could save him is that mess of emotions.’

’I was also a victim of circumstances, but in a good way. The spider could have eaten me alive, but it didn’t. When those cars killed me I was reincarnated into the novel, in a sense I am a victim of circumstance.’

’But then again, it could also be said that I was favored by said circumstances. The chance to live a new life, the chance to be reborn in a world of magic, even though I can’t use said magic. And most especially, the chance to gain the system.’

’That boy simply got the shorter end of the straw.’

Jason watched the drama with a mix of amusement and disinterest. The strong emotions of the group served as a reminder of the dangers of being weak in a world that valued the strong – fear, guilt, loss, disappointment in oneself – emotions he never wanted to have.

If the boy was strong he wouldn’t be entangled in this mess.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" The boy who was on his knees had finally had enough. "Don’t you know I didn’t want this to happen?"

"Liar!" A girl cut him off. "You saw him extending his hand, you could have dragged him out of the way before the boulder fell and killed him."

The tension created a charged atmosphere, emotions both raw and unrefined were let out.

Jason watched all this.

"Alright, I’m bored." He muttered to himself.

Frankly, watching a crybaby and some other nobodies was getting boring.

The elder’s voice cut through the air. "It seems that no one else is coming through."

An hour had passed since the seven came through, it took an hour for a dungeon to collapse, meaning that even if there was anyone in the dungeon, they would be dead now.

"We shall head to the hall where you will be evaluated." His words carried a weight that made everyone gulp.

Almost everyone.

There were some people that didn’t even care about what he said.

The elder began moving into the distance, the youths followed him.

Hereon still couldn’t walk so he was supported by Zane.

"Thirty when we went through the portal." Jason muttered to himself as he walked. "But our numbers dwindled down to twelve after three days."

Jason couldn’t image how many people had pathetic deaths had occurred in the three days they had been in the dungeon. He couldn’t help but shudder.

"But then again, I’m sure it beats being killed by sport cars."

He had come to terms with his death, even seeing it as a blessing disguised in pain. Though this blessing was laced with a curse – no magic.

The path they took was narrow and long, he could tell that this wasn’t the same path he used when he came.

He looked ahead, in front of the many people and in front of the elder. Thanks to his enhanced vision he found what he was looking for, the evaluation hall.

It was a moderately large building situated in the land devoid of vegetation, it was surprisingly that they would even think to build something like this in a barren land.

’I guess that goes to show how much the clan has, to build such a thing in the middle of nowhere just for a simple evaluation.’ Jason shook his head.

If he had that kind of money he didn’t even know what he would use that for.

They approached the building, the yellow and blue colors used to paint the building came into view.

The elder came to a stop before addressing everyone.

"You all will be spending the night here, tomorrow all of you will be taken to the evaluation hall where you’ll be given a score based on how many hearts you have acquired." The elder was about to leave, taking a few steps before stopping.

"Keep in mind that there are several guards stationed here, anyone who tries to steal hearts from their fellow competitors space rings will immediately be disqualified." He warned.

His form glowed in a dazzling light that made it impossible for the teens eyes to see, without warning his body disappeared.