Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Innate Talents
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I thought that if we were extremely lucky, half of them might see the level message, and in the worst case, only about 10 percent.
When we first came here with the group, including the Janschtrick Mercenaries, only Piot and Stel had seen the level message.
And those two were exceptionally talented individuals, even in Sion's eyes.
But.
"Good grief, does this even make sense…?"
Sion muttered in disbelief without realizing it.
Out of the 150 troops, a whopping 90 had confirmed their level messages.
The sixty or so who couldn't see their levels were disappointed, but they quickly shook it off at Sion's assurance that they could see the "Divine Words" soon enough with effort.
After all, it was Sion who had told them about the Divine Words in the first place, and Sion who had brought the troops here to check them.
To them, the words of their inhuman monster instructor, who had knocked them all down at once, were like scripture.
That's why the troops who hadn't seen their levels resolved to give their all in the upcoming "combat evaluation," burning with determination rather than disappointment.
The ones who had seen their levels were in an uproar of shock and joy.
Naturally, their awe and trust in Sion, who had revealed the letters containing the literal will of the gods, soared beyond the atmosphere.
And among them was an elf female warrior with a rather unique personality who had declared Sion her lifelong idol.
* * *
"Name."
"Pablo of Eran Village."
"Right, Pablo Eran. What was your position in the Black Eagle Legion?"
"I was a swordsman."
"Starting tomorrow, you'll train with the spear. You have talent for it."
"Pardon? Ah, yes!"
"Next."
The reason Sion was immediately reassigning the troops' positions was simple.
He could now see past levels to each individual's status— their "stats."
Of course, he couldn't see everyone's stats.
Like the troop who had just left, or the one standing at attention right now.
They were all listed as members of the "Sion Clan."
'The clan leader can see the stats of awakened clan members.'
Naturally, those who hadn't awakened yet—those who hadn't seen the message—didn't have visible stats.
'That said, this feels a bit cheat-like.'
The stats were displayed like this.
-Level
-Strength
-Agility
-Intelligence
-Charisma
-Innate Talent
The other stats mattered, but to Sion, the most important wasn't the numbers—it was the one described in words: Innate Talent.
Take Pablo Eran, who had just left, for example.
-Innate Talent: Warrior (C) Swordsmanship (D) Spearmanship (C)
In other words, Pablo Eran was born with solid warrior qualities, but more talent for spearmanship than swordsmanship.
Crack!
And now, the elf snapping into a perfect at-ease stance.
'Female warrior?'
An elf female warrior wearing a brigandine emblazoned with a jagged mountain peak pattern against a backdrop of tall trees.
Unlike the others Sion had interviewed so far, she was staring straight through him with an intensely burdensome gaze.
Of course, the immortal old monster didn't particularly care. Elves were always peculiar.
"Name."
"Stella, Stella Gosan."
"Stella?"
Sion narrowed his eyes at the name matching his late wife's.
After scrutinizing the elf female warrior with the same name as his wife for a brief moment, Sion nodded.
"Are you Clara's daughter by any chance?"
"Yes."
"I see. So Clara named her daughter…"
Sion's gaze grew distant.
Clara Gosan.
The one elf he had truly opened his heart to alongside his wife. During his wife's lifetime, Sion had occasionally joined them and built a friendship.
But after his wife passed, Sion had deliberately avoided Clara.
Seeing her—or even thinking of her—brought back memories of his wife.
And just as the man who lost his beloved wife distanced himself, the elf who lost her only human friend seemed to feel the same, never seeking Sion out.
Anyway, after years of no news, he had vaguely heard she'd finally had a child.
But a daughter named Stella…?
"You don't look anything alike…"
"I didn't catch that."
"It's nothing."
With a wry smile, Sion focused on Stella Gosan. Semitransparent letters appeared right beside her.
-Level: 28 (Limit 99)
-Strength: 31 (Limit 50)
-Agility: 33 (Limit 60)
-Intelligence: 18 (Limit 20)
-Charisma: 53 (Limit 70)
-Innate Talent: Ranger (S) Swordsmanship (B) Archery (A) Spirit Arts (S) Tracking (S)
"……!?"
Sion was genuinely shocked.
Levels over 30 weren't unheard of, but a level limit of 99? He hadn't seen that since Blaho.
Her current physical stats for strength and agility were impressive, and their limits were the highest among all the troops he'd interviewed so far.
Intelligence… well, average enough to overlook.
Charisma was typical for elves—usually over 50.
But five innate talents, with the lowest rank B?
This was legendary Pokémon territory—no, super rare talent.
"Clara raised you well."
"Exactly. My mother raised me very well."
Sion flinched at the immediate response to his mutter.
Somehow… her intelligence stat suddenly made sense.
"Between sword and bow, which have you used more?"
"The sword."
"From now on, focus on the bow."
"Yes."
"And… do you know anything about spirits?"
"Spirits don't exist in this world."
"……"
Sion had thought the same until just now.
Because in all the long years since falling into this world, he'd never seen or heard of spirits.
But there it was in Stella Gosan's innate talents: Spirit Arts, S-rank.
'It's certain. This means spirits will appear soon. And this one has the potential to become an S-rank spirit mage. But how do I explain it right now?'
After a moment's thought, Sion decided to sell some snake oil to this elf female warrior, whose head was clearly just ordinarily average.
"Stella Gosan."
"Yes."
"Spirits exist. You can't see them now, but they'll reveal themselves to you soon. The Divine Words say so. So…"
"Understood."
"…Huh?"
"…Yes?"
Sion was flustered.
He'd just been about to peddle the story, and she was already buying?
"The instructor said it. Spirits exist, and they'll appear before me soon. That must be true."
"Uh… right. Well, thanks for believing me."
"No need to thank me. It's because it's you, Instructor."
"…Alright, then you're dismissed."
"Yes!"
Stella Gosan turned and walked away with crisp military precision.
Sion unconsciously checked her intelligence again and nodded with a slightly pitying expression.
'Her brains are… average, but she's a good kid. Clara really raised her right.'
Sion thought it fortunate her intelligence hadn't broken 20.
Any smarter, and he might have been in a slight bind.
But Sion didn't know.
The reason Stella hadn't questioned his words at all wasn't her intelligence below 20.
Click, click, click.
As Stella returned to her spot with disciplined steps, fellow High Mountain elves spoke to her.
"Stella, what did the instructor say? Probably something about honing your archery, right?"
"Yes. Pretty much that."
"As expected… Anything else?"
"He said spirits exist, even if we can't see them now. And that they'll appear before me soon."
"…Pardon?"
The elves froze at her utterly confident words.
Then, uncharacteristically expressive for emotionless elves, they all wryly smiled in unison.
"Stella, looks like the instructor noticed you're a bit different. He was probably teasing you."
"Yeah, you were the first to charge at him. Maybe he already saw then that you were a little… reckless."
Elves tend to speak bluntly. They don't consider others' feelings.
But these High Mountain elves had grown up with Stella since childhood.
So they knew.
'At her age, still believing in spirits? She's kind-hearted, but really…'
'My friend Stella—lacking, but kind. Still, believing in spirits is a bit…'
Despite their companions' pitying looks, Stella declared stoutly.
"I know the instructor was either teasing me or testing me."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. I'm not an idiot."
*Usually real idiots claim they're not.*
Without voicing that to her companions, Stella continued confidently.
"Even so, I believe the instructor. He's my idol. The one I'll follow and chase after my whole life. So I'll believe his words."
"Stella…?"
Her elf companions' eyes twitched slightly.
Who said elves don't show emotions?
Stella Gosan.
The elf maiden, unaware herself but plunged into deep, profound admiration the moment she laid eyes on him, smiled radiantly—like goldenrods blooming profusely in the High Mountain depths.
* * *
After confirming the Monster Hunting Corps troops' awakenings and detailed statuses, and reassigning positions to match their innate talents, Sion returned to the encampment.
The Iron Mountain dwarves' craftsmanship was indeed remarkable.
In just eight days, the encampment reconstruction had progressed substantially.
The forge and workshop, converted from empty barracks, were nearly complete, and the warehouse for weapons and gear was already staked out and raising its frame.
That wasn't all.
Dozens of large tents had sprung up around the formerly barren encampment, and dozens of buildings, large and small, were rising simultaneously five hundred meters from the main camp guard post.
The workers laboring diligently under the Dukedom administrators and dwarf foremen's directions were Dukedom residents.
The dwarves, experts in all forms of work, didn't rely solely on their own strength.
Smirnov, quick to grasp Sion's intent, had used Jonas to hire residents from the Dukedom's small villages—hard-hit by the administrative vacuum over the past year—as laborers.
The residents were glad for immediate relief, Jonas and the ministers were glad to secure public sentiment without much budget, and Smirnov was glad to impress Sion while making money.
And Sion was simply pleased.
Turning misfortune into fortune, adversity into prosperity.
It seemed bad luck didn't last forever.
"This is how it should be."
Satisfied, Sion resolved to execute his next plan.
The Monster Hunting Corps was a combat unit assembled from veterans.
Prepared experts, in other words.
So they should head out monster hunting immediately.
"Grandfather! Urgent supply requests from Rozin and Fland!"
If not for the emergency news from the two southern Dukedom cities.
(To be continued in the next chapter)