Chapter Five: First Steps Towards Power

  After two days of adapting to his new body and watching his twin sister train, Lucas felt an immense pressure building inside him. He wasn’t jealous of Lisa; rather, he realized that the world wouldn’t give him the luxury of slow adaptation. He couldn’t afford to waste more time.

  Sitting on his bed, he contempted his forbidden talent. Its primary requirement was brutal—to acquire talents, he had to consume hearts. The mere thought of it made him feel disgusted, but the world he was in wasn’t a pce for the weak.

  He gnced at his status card again:

  [Identity Card]

  Name: Lucas Nightbane

  Age: 16 years old

  Talents: Parasitic Sovereignty

  Talent Rank: ???

  Mana Cultivation Realm: Unranked

  His talent was mostly sealed, except for the ability to plunder. He knew he could only steal three talents per cultivation realm, and they would degrade to rank E, but he could enhance them using Talent Shards.

  Moving Towards StrengthAfter deep thought, Lucas finally decided he couldn’t remain idle. He had to find a way to make use of his talent, no matter how cruel it was. But where would he obtain his first talent? Kill someone? No, he wasn’t ready for that... not yet.

  Then it struck him—magical beasts also possessed talents. While most of them were innate and weaker than human talents, they could still serve as a starting point.

  He stood up from his bed and stepped into the backyard, where Lisa was training. Snowfkes swirled around her, and when Elena saw him, she raised an eyebrow. "Have you finally decided to stop meditating in your room?"

  He shot her a side gnce and said, "I need to train."

  Elena smirked but said nothing. Lisa, on the other hand, paused her training and looked at him excitedly. "Brother! Do you want to train with me?"

  Lucas nodded. "Yes, but not here. I want to go outside the city."

  The moment those words left his mouth, Elena froze in pce, staring at him sharply. "Outside the city? Have you lost your mind? You haven’t even fully discovered your talent yet!"

  Lucas tried to expin, but Elena wasn’t willing to listen. "There is no way I’m letting you go alone."

  After much argument, Lucas had no choice but to yield to his older sister’s demands. Following a family discussion, it was decided that they would all go together, offering the twins their first taste of real combat.

  Thus, the family left the city together, heading towards the nearby forest.

  As soon as they ventured deeper into the forest, Elena took the lead. "Don’t attack any beast unless you’re sure you can kill it. Don’t be reckless."

  It didn’t take long before they encountered their first target—a bck panther with glowing golden eyes and a body filled with taut muscles.

  "That’s a Shadow Panther, a Copper-tier beast. High speed but low defense," Elena expined.

  This was the perfect target to test Lucas and Lisa.

  Lisa held herself back, waiting to see how Lucas would act first.

  Drawing his sword, Lucas recalled his training in this world. He took a deep breath and charged toward the panther.

  The beast was fast, but thanks to Elena’s guidance, Lucas managed to nd a direct strike on its hind leg, making it stumble. In that moment, Lisa fired an ice spear that pierced through its body, bringing it down.

  Standing over the corpse, Lucas observed the still-throbbing heart. He knew what he had to do, yet he hesitated for a moment.

  Taking a deep breath, he reached into the panther’s chest and slowly pulled out its heart. It was still warm, pulsing between his fingers.

  The moment he sank his teeth into it, a message popped up before him:

  [Plunder Successful!]

  Choose one of the following options:

  Plunder Speed Talent (E) [Original Rank: D]Convert to Talent Shards to Enhance Future TalentsLucas froze, contempting his options. This was a crucial decision—should he plunder the talent, or store its power for the future?

  A smirk crept onto his lips. This was only the beginning.