The girl looked calm, as if she were talking about what she ate last night.
"According to the records, the mage in the hero team that saved the world had an S-rank damage talent called Extreme Frost!"
"Back then, when she was surrounded and attacked in the city by a group of level 8 to 9 zombie monsters, she awakened as a player. With only level 1 stats and the burst of an S-rank talent, she wiped them out."
"The number of those zombies was at least 30, conservatively."
"If the person who acted in this test dungeon awakened an S-rank fire damage talent, taking out more than ten level-10 Elite Goblins at once is not impossible."
The members of the Heaven Hunt Squad are carefully chosen, with at least a B-rank talent to get in, and they can access some top-secret info.
For example, some data on how S-rank talents perform.
But...
After the girl finished speaking, the whole room went solemn, then one by one they showed a "are you freaking crazy" look.
"Impossible! The last S-rank talent awakening was three years ago."
"Since the turmoil ended and we entered peacetime, on average the world only sees one S-rank talent every 10 years. How could it be our Starling City's turn?"
"Are you saying the Scarlet Tide caused by your Heaven Hunt Squad just happened to mutate the test dungeon, and there just happened to be an S-rank talent in the mutated dungeon, and the United Nations just happened to know nothing about this person??"
...
Everyone's first reaction was to question it!
A-rank talents are rare, but at least people see them.
S-rank talents are like myths and legends.
But...
After arguing for a while, seeing the girl calmly licking her lollipop, everyone fell silent again.
It felt off, but if they didn't explain it this way...
How did that group of Goblins die?
If all other possibilities were blocked, then the explanation the girl gave had to be right!
In an instant, everyone's faces changed in different ways.
The staff looked terrified.
News of an S-rank talent's presence...
Is this something we're allowed to hear? Are we going to be silenced?
City Lord Hamilton was stunned at first, then overjoyed!
A genius with an S-rank talent, not yet found by the United Nations, and under level 10, has appeared?
As everyone knows, the wilds outside the cities are very dangerous!
Only level 30 to 40 players dare to cross between two cities on foot.
And the teleport array needs a level 20 player to use, which means this newly born S-rank talent must be a local of Starling City!
Holy crap!!
The city lord was dumbfounded!
He had been worried that if the Smith family's eldest young master died in the city, he would be finished!
Now he not only wasn't finished, he was about to take off!
How big would the reward be for discovering an S-rank talent for the United Nations?
As a second-tier player, if he put in all his savings to train, or even control this S-rank talent, what kind of return would that bring!!
The city lord couldn't help but swallow, his whole body shaking with excitement.
"Check, check right now!"
"Find the info of everyone who entered the dungeon just now."
He gave the order.
The staff thought for a moment and then ran out one after another, on the surface to gather intel, but in fact to quickly pass the news to their families.
They wanted to keep a backup, in case they got silenced.
In his excitement, City Lord Hamilton did not think about secrecy at first, and only reacted a few seconds after he saw those staff rush out.
But he narrowed his eyes and gave a cold laugh.
Trying to leave?
He beckoned at once, and the player in leather armor came over.
"Seal the Adventurers' Association!"
"No one is allowed to leave!"
"Cut all signals at once, I don't want even a bit of news about the S-rank talent to get out."
"Yes! I guarantee to complete the task!"
The player in leather armor rushed off, and the city lord himself sat down in front of the LCD screen and began to search the data with his own hands.
He swore he would find that S-rank talent before anyone else!
In the room, the girl from the Heaven Hunt Squad just sat calmly on another chair.
She gently rocked, swinging her fair legs, and seemed to be thinking.
If she told City Lord Hamilton now that, before her analysis, she had already sent the news of an S-rank talent awakener to the Heaven Hunt Squad HQ in exchange for a contribution reward.
Wouldn't that be a bit of a buzzkill?
At this moment, it was not only Starling City's Adventurers' Association.
In a high-rise on the southwest side of the capital of Shengtian, the United Nations.
The Heaven Hunt Squad headquarters was also in chaos.
"What, an S-rank talent has appeared!"
"Send people at once!"
"No! I'll go myself! I want to take him as a disciple!"
"Wait, old ghost, didn't you set your eyes on Rayna? You said her talent might meet your standard?"
"What Rayna, what is she? She only has a chance to awaken an S-rank talent!"
One terrifying presence after another shouted at each other…
For a moment, heaven and earth seemed to change color!
…
At this moment Richard did not know that his casual test of power had thrown a whole city—no, even a whole nation—into turmoil!
He had already boarded a shuttle heading out of the city, ready to kill monsters and officially become a player.
Beside Richard were two huge bags, filled with sleeping bags, sheets, supplies for overnight stays, and a pile of food and toiletries.
It was clear that this time Richard planned a long campaign outside the city!
He did not plan to come back, but would grind hard in the wild to raise his level.
After all, Richard could not risk exposing himself by killing the official slimes at the academy to become a player.
That would also test his talent!
As for the two big bags he brought, they would make moving inconvenient.
Richard was not worried either; once he killed any monster, he would become a player and unlock an inventory, and then he could store these supplies.
He thought while watching the flashing scenery outside the window, and could not help feeling some excitement and hope.
Except for human gathering spots and towns, the outside world was all occupied by monsters.
So this was Richard's first time going into the wild in his life!
"Kid, where is the player you said would meet you?"
At this moment, the shuttle driver could not help turning his head to ask.
"Almost there, almost there."
"They're just up ahead."
Richard explained casually.
But doubt showed on the driver's face.
"Kid, are you planning to go to the wild alone?"
"You look like a student from the player academy, and you're carrying big bags. I guess you're not an official player..."
"Going alone to the wild is asking to die, isn't it?"
The driver spoke earnestly.
He was not afraid of wild monsters while driving the shuttle.
This thing was developed by the United Nations, for low-level players to travel long distances when going out on adventures.
The shuttle's shell had a layer of protective energy; wild monsters below level 5 could not break it.
But the driver knew that when they reached the spot and this young guy got off, if he met wild monsters, he would likely be killed in an instant!
As the driver, he could only watch; after running into wild monsters, he could not open the shuttle door to save anyone.
"If you need money and want to kill monsters for drops, it's not necessary."
"Only the materials with a low drop rate are worth money; wild monster corpses don't sell for much."
Seeing that Richard did not respond, the driver quickly added a few more words.
"Alright, I won't hide it from you."
"No one is meeting me, but if I dare go to the wild, I have my reasons."
Richard's tone was calm.
"You've already taken my money. If you don't take me, I'll file a complaint."
The driver was stunned.
"You'd even complain..."
"Forget it, forget it. It's like the saying: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."
He shook his head helplessly. He had seen many hotheads like this; every year he ferried a dozen or twenty of them.
Most of them disappeared in the wild; only a few came back, and they were dirty and disheveled.
When you ask them, not to mention getting drops from monsters, they couldn't even kill a single wild monster.
The luckiest one just ran into a regular team, acted as support for a while, and got a bit of experience.
And it was because he had seen it so often, and there was also the threat of complaints.
The driver said nothing more and just drove in silence.
The shuttle kept going.
Until, suddenly, fierce howls came from ahead.
"Awooo!!"
"Awooo!!"
...
Before the driver could react, a huge rock suddenly smashed hard into the transparent front window of the shuttle!
Clang!
After a crisp sound, the rock bounced away fast, and then a group of strange beings made of rocks charged forward in a rage.
"Holy crap! These are level 5 wild monsters!!"
The driver looked desperate, his face pale!