Axel had always set his heart on obtaining the permanent Invisibility talent.

  But when he glanced at the talent exchange list…

  He was stunned.

  [You have unlocked the SSS-rank Talent: "Permanent Invisibility"! Extracting it into reality requires 2,560,000 survival points!]

  Over 2.5 million survival points! Bro... What ?

  Axel had just won a match and only earned 397 points.

  Did that mean he’d have to win thousands of matches just to extract this talent?

  [Good day, Host! As your rank increases, you will earn significantly more survival points. Good luck!]

  The system chimed in with a timely reminder.

  Hearing that, Axel finally let out a sigh of relief.

  "So to extract a talent, I must first unlock it."

  "And once unlocked, extracting it costs 100 times the unlock cost!"

  Axel glanced at the unlock requirements:

  

  
• Unlocking a random F-rank talent required 100 survival points. Extracting it permanently would cost 10,000 points.


  
• Unlocking a random E-rank talent required 200 survival points. Extracting it permanently would cost 20,000 points.


  
• Unlocking a random D-rank talent required 400 survival points. Extracting it permanently would cost 40,000 points.


  

  The cost doubled with each level, following a clear pattern.

  If a talent was no longer needed, it could be reclaimed, but only if it had been actively unlocked by the player. Recovering a talent refunded 80% of the survival points spent on it.

  However, at the Bronze rank, everyone was limited to unlocking talents up to D-rank.

  Unlocking a random talent was a gamble—there was a high chance of getting something useless.

  Even if players ranked up, the highest available talents in the unlock list would only go up to A-rank.

  S-rank talents and above couldn’t be unlocked manually at all!

  "That just proves how powerful my talent system is!"

  "Unlike others, I have every talent from F-rank to SSS-rank unlocked. Whenever I enter the game, I automatically draw high-tier talents!"

  "Lower-rank talents might be completely useless…"

  "But every SSS-rank talent is insanely strong! The only difference is how they’re used."

  "Too bad I can’t reclaim them… Otherwise, I’d just trade in useless talents, convert them into gene enhancements, and turn myself into a superhuman!"

  Axel felt a little regretful about this limitation.

  [Host, this system is much more than that! As your rank increases, more powerful talents will be unlocked for you—including God-tier talents and beyond!]

  Hearing this, Axel’s eyes lit up.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Now, this was interesting!

  That meant his system could also evolve.

  Right now, while other players were struggling with F-rank talents, he was already using SSS-rank talents.

  By the time they unlocked A-rank talents, he would have already moved past SSS-rank and reached God-tier talents—or even stronger ones!

  This meant that he would always have an advantage in the Survival Game.

  Axel looked around.

  The concrete walls surrounding him formed a dark prison, trapping him inside.

  He started thinking carefully about the fastest way to escape.

  "There are two shortcuts."

  "First, search through the millions of unlocked talents and find one that can help me escape the mental hospital. Then, earn enough survival points to extract it!"

  "Second, find a useful skill in the game. If I come across a skill that can help me break out, I can extract it immediately."

  These two methods could be carried out at the same time.

  After all, everything revolved around accumulating survival points.

  If he couldn’t find a suitable skill, he could just wait until he had enough points to extract a talent.

  But if he managed to obtain a useful skill midway, then he wouldn’t need to extract a talent at all. He could just extract the skill for one day—that would be enough for him to escape.

  There was also a third shortcut—gene enhancement.

  But…

  Who knew how much he would need to enhance himself before he could break out of this mental hospital?

  A direct confrontation was far too risky. Too many things could go wrong.

  If he wanted a guaranteed escape, his best bet was still extracting a skill or a talent.

  "System, can you search for talents that could help me escape from this prison?"

  Axel asked in his mind.

  [Host, please explore on your own!]

  The system answered almost instantly.

  Axel couldn’t help but curse.

  "What kind of garbage system doesn’t even have a basic search function?!"

  But after thinking about it, it made sense.

  There were countless talents in the Survival Game.

  Even the system probably had no way of knowing which ones could actually help him escape from a locked space.

  As he scrolled through the list, something caught his eye.

  "Oh… this talent isn’t bad."

  He had just found a D-rank talent: Soul Swap!

  [D-Rank Talent: Soul Swap!]

  Allows the user to leave a mental imprint on an object. At any time, they can swap positions with that object!

  Axel immediately thought of the tray that the nurse had used earlier.

  "If I leave my mental imprint on the tray…"

  "Then, when she carries it out, I can quietly swap places with it!"

  Axel fell deep into thought.

  A plan was starting to take shape in his mind.

  Of course, there were many details to consider—this was only the beginning of an idea.

  "Extracting a D-rank talent requires 40,000 survival points."

  "If I keep winning matches, my survival points will accumulate quickly. I just need a few dozen wins to get there."

  "But for now… I need to focus on earning points and searching for a useful skill in the game."

  Axel’s thoughts were crystal clear.

  Without hesitation, he chose to enter the game once again!

  His 397 survival points remained untouched.

  Anyone else would have been busy exchanging them for extra lifespan or enhancing their genes...

  But for Axel, none of that mattered!

  [Welcome to the Survival Game!]

  [Ding! System has detected that you have activated a God-Tier Talent!]

  [Congratulations! In this match, you have drawn the SSS-Rank Talent: "Insane Evolution!"]

  [Effect: Every 30 seconds, you can choose one piece of equipment or skill to enhance its attributes.

  (The same item or skill can evolve up to 12 times!)]

  Axel’s eyes lit up with excitement.

  SSS-Rank Talent—Insane Evolution!

  As the name suggested, this ability allowed him to evolve any piece of equipment or skill, boosting its attributes and even granting special effects.

  And best of all? Each item could evolve up to 12 times!

  "With this talent, even the weakest F-rank equipment can surpass Platinum-tier gear!"

  "Looks like this match is all about upgrading my weapons and skills."

  Axel smirked to himself.

  Just as he lifted his gaze to examine his surroundings, he realized he had spawned in a ruined coliseum.

  He stood at the edge of the ancient battleground.

  Beyond the arena lay the remains of an ancient city, its architecture weathered by time.

  But before he could analyze further—

  A cold, chilling voice came from behind him:

  "Player ID 00 497… Are you my teammate?"

  The moment Axel heard that icy tone, his face darkened.

  Teammate?

  That voice… Could it be…?

  The woman who had just delivered his food in the hospital?!

  If his guess was right, she was one of the main people assigned to watch over him.

  He hadn’t expected her to be among the 10,000 test players of the Survival Game…

  Not only that—

  She had spawned in the same match as him.

  And now she is his teammate!

  This was bad. Really bad. Really really bad.