Chapter 3: Mission Hall

[Notification]

[Second Soul Detected]

[Soul meets criteria for awakening]

[Analysis Complete]

[Talent Awakening—Initiated]

Adam remained silent through the entire process.

A faint burning sensation ignited in his chest, sharp yet fleeting, that it vanished almost as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind only a lingering warmth.

He didn’t waste time; the moment his mind cleared, he willed open his Panel.

╭───────────╮

〖Name: Adam〗

〖Rank: None〗

〖Cultivation Talent: G〗

〖Special Talent: Equip ❖ Connect〗

〖SLOT〗

↳ BODY(5): Empty

╰───────────╯

Adam’s gaze froze on the panel.

During the induction of new martial artists, they were taught how rare it was for one to awaken a special talent.

Those who successfully awakened a special talent were believed to have a huge advantage over those who didn’t.

Although Adam was an outlier, it didn’t remove the fact that special talents were rare, and that was when only one was involved.

On the other hand, two special talents seemed like something one would only see in web fiction.

Though both were rankless, the fact itself was extraordinary.

“Could this be a sign…”

He stopped himself, unwilling to jinx whatever fortune might be stirring.

Instead, he focused on the new special talent, and as his thoughts converged, a new line of text appeared before him.

[Connect: Allows the bearer to connect with the mind and soul].

Adam went still.

The words were brief, vague and almost disappointing.

A sense of déjà vu hit him.

Still, he refused to jump to conclusions as he activated the talent.

The activation came naturally, an instinct more than a command.

The instant he triggered [Connect], his surroundings warped.

The world didn’t twist or shatter, it simply shifted.

Colors deepened, light bent, and a surreal clarity flooded his senses.

It felt… detached, like being suspended between sleep and wakefulness.

Then he saw it.

In the reflection before him, countless luminescent nodes glimmered across his head, all intersecting and pulsing at irregular intervals like a living constellation.

But what truly caught his eye was the ember-green flame burning faintly over his left chest, it was silent, steady, and impossibly alive.

Adam’s eyes lingered on the ember-green flame flickering faintly over his chest.

Among all the strange sights in this new vision, that flame drew him the most, it pulsed slowly, like a heartbeat.

He studied it for a while, trying to understand its meaning.

Then, after a brief moment of hesitation, he reached out and touched it.

His fingers passed straight through.

There was no heat or resistance, just the solid feel of his own chest beneath.

Then—

[Talent is already equipped].

Adam’s breath caught instantly.

Already equipped?

A shiver ran down his spine as his Panel flickered and shifted before his eyes:

╭───────────╮

〖Name: Adam〗

〖Rank: None〗

〖Cultivation Talent: G〗

〖Special Talent: Equip ❖ Connect〗

〖SLOT〗

↳ SOUL(2): Empty

↳ BODY(5): Empty

╰───────────╯

Adam froze. His gaze locked on the new slot addition—SOUL.

From what he knew, his Equip talent only allowed him to equip physical items; things that could be wielded or worn by the body. That’s why there was a body category under the slot section, with a limit of five, being his body’s maximum capacity.

But with [Connect] giving him access to his soul and adding a soul category to his slot, it meant something else entirely.

“Does that mean I can equip my soul?”

The idea sounded absurd and too good to be real.

But the thought refused to leave his mind. Instead of wasting time doubting, Adam decided to test it.

Keeping his hand pressed to the green flame, he attempted to unequip his G grade cultivation talent.

He wasn’t insane enough to mess with his special talents, but this one… he could risk.

However, the moment he tried, another notification appeared:

[Talent is already equipped].

He tried again.

[Talent is already equipped].

Again.

And again.

The message didn’t change.

After several attempts, a dull ache built behind his eyes.

His head felt heavy, his vision blurring slightly. Eventually, he gave up and sat on the edge of his bed, exhaling through clenched teeth.

“So it’s still the same mechanics.” he muttered, realizing the problem.

Although his newly awakened talent [Connect] had increased the scope of his talent [Equip].

The talent still followed a particular set of strict rules:

1. He could only equip an item by touching it directly.

2. He could only equip items that weren’t already equipped

3. He could only unequip items that were equipped through his talent.

In other words, if he picked up a sword normally, it wasn’t considered equipped by his talent, so he wouldn’t be able to unequip it with his talent.

But if he activated [Equip] while picking it up, the sword would bind to him, allowing him to unequip it later through the same ability.

The same applied to other people’s equipment, if someone was holding a weapon, he couldn’t equip it until they released it.

Adam ran a hand through his hair, his eyes narrowing.

“And it seems, it works the same way for my soul,”

He hadn’t used [Equip] to bind his talents, they’d been awakened naturally.

So there was no way for him to unequip them using [Equip].

“But does that mean there’s no other way?” he murmured, frustration bleeding into his voice.

Then, halfway through the thought, his eyes widened.

A spark of realization flashed across his face.

He stood abruptly, the earlier dizziness fading beneath sudden excitement.

“That might work.”

Grabbing his jacket, a back pack and a Knife, Adam slipped on his jacket and headed straight for the door.

His heart raced with anticipation as he stepped into the dim corridor of his apartment complex.

His destination,

the Mission Hall of Sector 516.

****

The Mission Hall, was an organization operating under the vast authority of the Alliance, it was responsible for assigning and overseeing missions given to martial artists.

Whether it was monster subjugation, rift containment, or escort duties, everything passed through its hands.

But the Mission Hall of Sector 516 hadn’t always existed.

No, its establishment came one year after the Sector 516 Rift Disaster, a catastrophe that had claimed hundreds of lives and left the area in ruin.

The backlash that followed had been immense.

For once, the cries of the impoverished masses reached the ears of the Alliance.

Their outrage painted the Alliance as negligent, cowards who only protected the wealthy inner sectors while the outer zones bled.

In response, the Alliance opened a branch of the Mission Hall here, in the poorest and most neglected part of the sector.

At least, that was the official story.

Adam didn’t buy it. He leaned against the window of the bus, his expression calm but his thoughts sharp.

“This world respects martial power above all else, the weak can scream all they want, but in the end, a single Martial Warrior could silence a crowd.”

That was reality.

So no amount of protest or moral outcry would’ve been enough to make the Alliance bend.

Adam’s eyes narrowed slightly, his mind running through the possibilities.

“The Alliance must have discovered something here, something the rest of the sector was too blind to see.”

The bus rattled along the uneven roads, weaving past crumbling buildings and old rift barricades.

A few minutes later, it came to a stop before a massive gray structure that stood out among the decay.

A sign etched in cold steel read:

SECTOR 516 — MISSION HALL

Adam stepped off the bus, adjusted his jacket, and gazed up at the building. His eyes glimmering faintly with purpose.

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