Assimilate All Talents

Sol and Amber ran through the passage as Sol spun around with his bow and released a barrage of explosive arrows. However, the arrows didn’t manage to reach their destination as a multitude of projectiles of fireballs, arrows, and daggers collided with them midair, causing them to explode prematurely.

With his arrows negated, the remaining projectiles continued towards the duo.

“[Wind Wall]!”

Sol casted like he had never cast before, quickly creating a massive wall of wind that deflected the incoming projectiles.

With an exasperated face, Sol thought to himself, ‘Are they really going to keep us here till we die?!’

…

Four hours ago, on the 13th floor of Necropolis.

Sol and Amber made rapid progress through the floor. They knew the group would seek retribution for killing their allies, so they planned to make themselves scarce and head to the next floor as soon as possible.

Upon nearing the exit, Sol noticed ten mana signatures standing near the exit.

Sol quietly told Amber, “Multiple people are guarding the exit, let's go invisible and sneak past.”

Although Sol was able to easily defeat a B-Ranker, that was only the case when they were alone. The power of numbers is very frightening, and together they could cover for each other's weaknesses. Sol got a taste of that firsthand when he fought the previous group of five, with his own attack being bounced back towards him.

The only way Sol saw himself winning against such numbers was with the help of [Overpower], but at its current level, it would only last for a minute. Sol wasn’t sure if that was enough to win the fight, and there was no point in risking it.

Both of them went invisible, and Sol trailed behind Amber’s mana signature as they approached the exit. As they turned the corner of the hallway, Sol was able to see who exactly was blocking the exit. They were all people Sol recognized from the big group of resource harvesters, with the sharp jawed man who appeared to be the leader in their midst. Sol used [Analysis] on them to get a better understanding of what they can do.

Name: Erin

Race: Human

Talents: [Sword], [Water Affinity], [Foraging]

Level: 87

Name: Remona Righart

Race: Human

Talents: [Blazing Spear], [Tracking], [Throwing]

Level: 88

Name: Cassady

Race: Human

Talents: [Iron Wall], [Enduring], [Building]

Level: 87

Name: Urian Stillmore

Race: Human

Talents: [Light Affinity], [Multicasting], [Amplifying]

Level: 89

There was a lot of variety between the adventurers blocking the exit, but most of them had one thing in common. Most had one talent that wasn’t related to combat. One of the few exceptions to this was Urian, the tall sharp jawed man, who held a more authoritative presence in the group.

Sol and Amber were nearing the group, and once they were 15 meters away, they heard one of them yell.

“Someone's here!”

The one who yelled was one of the swordsmen. Sol had no idea how he knew they were here, as he had no skills that allowed him to detect or see through their invisibility.

The one who acted first was Urian, instantly casting a spell.

“[Revealing Light]!”

An orb of light appeared above him, illuminating the surroundings. Next thing Sol knew, he and Amber’s invisibility was removed.

Now exposed, Sol took a stance in front of Amber to protect her as he tried to settle this peacefully. Sol knew it was unlikely to work, but he wanted to give it a shot at least.

“Let us through! I promise you'll never see us again.”

Urian took a step forward as he looked at the two of them and spoke in a morose manner.

“I am not one to resort to conflict, but you did kill 4 of our friends. How do you plan to make amends?”

Sol’s eyes twitched. ‘They attacked us first...’

The man’s shamelessness was too much even for Sol, but he could understand there was something Urian wanted.

“What do you want?”

“Hand over what they died for, give us the root.”

“What? Is that all? Just the shadow root?” Sol couldn't believe it, not only the fact they were willing to let him go but also that they only wanted the shadow root. It just didn’t add up.

“...Yes. Just the shadow root.”

Urian’s reaction elicited even more confusion from Sol. Sol racked his brain to figure out what Urian’s angle was, time passed as the two were in a staring match.

“Fine, sure. You can have it.”

Sol took out the shadow root from his spatial ring. Once it was removed, it was as if light wasn’t allowed to exist near it, being eternally sucked inside.

One of the adventurers saw it and mumbled to himself.

“It’s real…”

Though he only said that to himself, his voice reverberated in the quiet hallway, making it so everyone heard him.

Sol, puzzled by his reaction, used [Analysis] on the shadow root. At the time they removed it from the wall, Sol didn't get to check it with [Analysis] like he normally did because he was interrupted by the adventurers.

Void Root

Legendary

Quality: Near-Perfect

Sol stuttered as he read the rarity. “L-l-legendary?!”

Sol had never encountered legendary items, but he had heard stories of how heaven defying they could be. One of those stories featured the legendary helmet of The Holy Kingdom of Delvania. It gave the wearer the ability to summon enormous spears of light that could destroy entire mountains. Although this was only a material and couldn't do much as it was, it was still a priceless treasure that was worth a fortune.

‘Now I understand why Urian wanted the shadow— no, the void root.’

Urian furiously looked at the adventurer who spoke up on accident before turning to Sol with a demanding tone.

“Hand over the void root. Now.”

Given one final chance, Sol was torn between giving it away or keeping it and facing the consequences. After weighing both options, Sol decided.

‘This is a once in a lifetime chance.’

Sol stored the void root in his spatial ring. The moment Urian saw this, he ordered his allies.

“Kill them!”