CHAPTER 89: TALENT TICKET

"Uncle," Gara spoke softly into the ring, "are you anywhere near Sir Idris?"

Through the crystal, he could hear the faint patter of rain.

"Wait a moment," came the reply.

A pause, then the voice returned. "I’ve pulled over to a hut. I’m far enough from Sir Idris now. What happened? What do you want to tell me?"

Relief swept through Gara. Tristan always understood without needing explanations.

"The delivery is over. Everyone’s safe and healthy. Uncle, please come to my village alone later and check on my children."

"It’s done?" Tristan’s voice lightened with relief. "Thank the stars you and the babies are well. Very well, once things settle down in town, I’ll head over. With this rain, I only need to manage security around the burned area first."

"Alright. Be careful, Uncle."

Outside, it took only minutes for Wina to raise a new barrier. She ordered Madha and Fian to change clothes first, since the two had been drenched standing guard in the rain.

Once they returned, dressed in dry clothes, both men entered Gara’s chamber with Rea in tow.

The moment they moved to approach, Gara raised a tired hand, gesturing for them to stop. "I’m exhausted. I can’t talk much. Just... help me watch over the children."

He didn’t want their worried gazes pressing on him. His body was already drained, his spirit worn thin.

And now, knowing that Langga was a devil—and that his only daughter had inherited her father’s features—the weight on his heart grew even heavier.

Gara watched the two tall men standing side by side. Strangely enough, for once, they weren’t shooting hostile glares at each other.

He had always thought Fian was shorter than Madha, but it turned out the opposite was true. Back when he was still a slave, Fian’s posture had been hunched and his body malnourished. Now, he looked completely different.

Shifting his attention away from the two men, Gara pulled up his status panel. He was curious, not just about his progress, but also about the Talent Ticket he had received as a reward for giving birth.

* * *

[PROFILE STATUS]

Name: Gara

Age: 17

Charm: 20

Bloodline: Freya, Elemental

Talent(s):

- Max Charm – Boosts charm to the maximum (100 points). Passive. Activates when needed.

- Divine Fertility – Greatly enhances fertility. Passive. Always active.

- Unlimited Water – Generates clean, fresh water. Active.

Partner(s): 1

Children: 3

[CHALLENGE STATUS]

Challenge Name: 100 Baby

Objective: Have 100 biological children

Reward: Return to previous life with memories intact

Penalty: NoneProgress: 3/100

[ITEM]

Talent Ticket ×3 – Can be used to upgrade a Talent or acquire a new (basic) Talent.

* * *

Several things had changed in his status, and that made him itch to question the goddess.

Why do I only have one partner listed? Who is it supposed to be? Madha, the one I actually like? Or Langga, the father of my children? Or even Fian, who’s been living with me and... probably likes me?

"..."

No answer.

Gara exhaled heavily and decided to focus on the Talent Tickets instead. A new panel appeared in front of him.

[Upgrade – New]

With a thought, Gara selected Upgrade.

[Max Charm – Divine Fertility – Unlimited Water]

This time, he chose Unlimited Water.

[Talent has reached its maximum level]

Huh? My Unlimited Water is already maxed out? No wonder I can basically do anything with water now.

Next, he tried Divine Fertility. He hadn’t really planned to upgrade that one, but since Unlimited Water couldn’t be enhanced further, it wouldn’t hurt to strengthen another.

Besides, Divine Fertility had been useful for more than just childbirth, like accelerating plant growth.

[Talent has reached its maximum level]

Maxed out too?

A suspicion formed in his mind. He selected Max Charm.

[Talent has reached its maximum level]

All of them. Every single one of his Talents was already maxed out. The goddess’s gift really was no joke.

Thank you, Goddess Freya. Though honestly... it’d be better if you just sent me home.

Silence.

Gara shrugged it off. Since his current Talents couldn’t be upgraded, that left only one option: using the Tickets to get something new.

[Offensive – Defensive – Healing – Utility – Control – Summon]

Unlimited Water was already incredible. It served as an Offensive with his water slash and water bullets, Defensive with the water shield, Healing when mixed with or without herbs, Utility for lifting objects or neutralizing poisons, and even Control by cutting off an enemy’s air. The only category it didn’t cover was Summon.

He made a mental note to try that later, but for now, what he needed most was a Talent that could hide his presence or his scent.

He selected Utility.

Instantly, a flood of Talents appeared before his eyes. Just from the names alone, Gara could already tell what each one did.

[Sprint – Jump – Climb – Light – Levitate – Swim – Stealth]

Stealth. That one immediately caught his attention.

[Stealth – Remains unseen as long as no direct interaction occurs]

It was clearly a very basic Talent. But maybe if he picked it, he could upgrade it into something far stronger later?

Tempted, Gara lingered on the option, but decided to browse through the others first, just in case something better showed up.

"Waaah—waaah!"

Gara’s attention snapped back to reality at the sound of his baby’s wailing cry.

Talent needs to wait for another time.

The two men standing by the crib froze like wooden statues, then slowly turned toward Gara with the look of innocent children that seemed to say, ’I didn’t do anything.’

Wina hurried into the room, scooping up the youngest, who was crying loudly. As she lifted the baby, the blanket slipped a little, exposing the tiny sharp horn on her forehead.

Both men’s eyes locked on it.

"T-this..." Wina faltered, not sure what to say.

Gara cut in firmly. "My child is half-devil. The man I was with... he’s a devil. I didn’t know it before. But even so, my child is still my child."

Those last words echoed clearly in the ears of the two men. Their expressions turned serious, their fists clenched as if they wanted to tear that devil man apart with their bare hands.

...