Chapter 158: The Cloak and Evolved Talent
Gara lifted the black cloak out. At first glance, it looked ordinary—thin fabric, nothing special—except for the white, translucent crystal embedded in the center of its front.
Heart racing, Gara slipped it on. Could this be an invisible cloak, like in one of his favorite novels?
"Fian, well? Do I look any different?" Gara asked, brimming with hope.
Fian studied him for a long while, eyes moving up and down. In the end, he shook his head.
Gara’s shoulders slumped. "Nothing? You can smell my scent as well?"
This time, Fian noded.
Hilda had managed to win this cloak at quite a high price, and it was only thanks to Yugo and Orman’s boss helping her.
Even if it didn’t work the way Gara had hoped, surely it had another powerful ability hidden within it, right?
He recalled the information that Hilda told him about this cloak: "Can alter one’s identity according to desire."
Ambiguous, at best. For someone like Gara—raised in an era where everything came with tutorials and guides from people who knew more—having to figure things out from scratch was frustrating.
But it was also fun. That thrill of experimenting, learning everything by himself. That was what Gara loved the most.
"Change identity, huh? Could I pretend to be someone else?" he muttered, his mind immediately drifting to Madha.
The next moment, Fian jolted so hard he fell backward.
"What is it, Fian? Are you seeing Madha instead of me?" Gara asked, struggling to contain his excitement.
"Gara, your... your body—it’s big and tall," Fian stammered, his face pale with shock.
"What?!" Gara looked down at himself, but saw no change at all.
Swallowing his disappointment, he pulled up the cloak’s hood and asked again, "How about now?"
"Gara... your hair turned brown, and your voice—it’s like Madha’s." Fian’s eyes widened in pure horror.
Now that was interesting. Gara quickly shifted his thoughts back to his own appearance, not wanting Fian to collapse from a heart attack.
Only then did Fian breathe easier, which meant Gara’s form had returned to normal.
"What about my scent? Does it still smell like me, or like Madha?" Gara pressed, the most important question of all.
"Gara," Fian confirmed.
Gara let out a heavy sigh. So, not quite there yet.
Folding the cloak back up, he tamped down his disappointment. At the very least, it was useful. Something he could put to work in plenty of situations, as long as druids weren’t involved.
Still, he couldn’t help wondering: what was the cloak’s original purpose? A failed product that only changed the body but not the face?
Was it meant for insecure people wanting to look different on their first date? Or maybe it was designed with the idea that you’d just wear a mask on top, and as a countermeasure against spies infiltrating groups?
Whatever the reason, that wasn’t his concern.
Turning his attention back to the box, Gara picked up a blue crystal resting inside. The moment it touched his hand, a system notification appeared:
[Enhance Crystal – Water Element Detected! Suitable!]
His eyes lit up. Water element. It was compatible with him.
But my Unlimited Water has already reached max level. I can’t upgrade it any further. Will this enhance crystal still be useful?
Gara weighed the crystal in his hand. He could set it aside, wait until the core crystal stored in the basement generated an enhance crystal of a different element.
But on second thought, the only Talent he had that wasn’t maxed yet was Woodland Camouflage. He wasn’t even sure what element that counted as or if it had element at all.
He would have to study the books Hilda had just sent over.
Still, leaving this enhance crystal untouched felt like too much of a waste.
It’s not like anything will happen to me since I have the same the element.
At last, Gara decided to give it a try.
According to what Hilda had explained, using an enhance crystal wasn’t simple. You had to hold the crystal, draw out your Talent, but stop before it actually manifested.
Most Liners still thought their Talents just appeared on their own, not realizing they came from the energy flowing inside their bodies.
And maybe, the trick to using an enhance crystal was to channel that energy directly into it. Usually, only Liners with a Psionic Bloodline were skilled at moving energy like that.
But even though Gara didn’t have such a bloodline, he had always known that Talents were controlled by thought. And he could already sense the energy of the trees around him.
So guiding his own Talent energy inside his body wasn’t all that difficult.
When Gara tried, the energy smoothly followed his will, gathering in his hand. And then—
A system panel flickered to life before his eyes.
[Talent evolved: Max Level Unlimited Water -> Max Level Scentless Unlimited Water]
Gara’s hand flew to his mouth, his eyes wide. Seeing him, Fian grew anxious. He reached out to grab Gara’s shoulder but froze when Gara suddenly broke into a wide grin.
He hadn’t even tested this newly evolved Talent yet, but just from the name, Gara knew it was exactly what he needed.
"Fian," Gara whispered, trying to hide his excitement, though it still slipped into his voice, "I... I don’t think I have to be afraid of the druids killing me anymore."
Fian had no idea why Gara said that, but if Gara was happy, then so was he. His lips curved into a gentle smile as he nodded.
With trembling hands, Gara pulled up his status panel. His gaze locked onto the part that once read Unlimited Water, now replaced with Scentless Unlimited Water.
[Scentless Unlimited Water – Generates clean, fresh water without limit. Active | Erases all bodily scent. Passive]
For the first time, Gara was actually glad to receive a Talent with a passive effect. Without the need for any command, it would work constantly, without draining his stamina.
And more importantly, it meant no one would ever know he was a druid.
...