CHAPTER 92: TALENT TREE

Yesterday, Gara had received a Talent Ticket, something that allowed him to unlock new talents, though he hadn’t had time to check it properly.

Now, his child had something called a Talent Tree.

At first, Gara thought the system would only matter once he found a candidate partner. But it turned out to be far more useful than he imagined.

The panel also confirmed something he had long suspected—Langga was indeed a devil. The race field made that clear.

But then, why had Langga hidden his true identity? Was his human-like appearance his real form... or was he, like Gara himself, only half-devil, born with nothing but human features?

Even though he was curious about Langga, Gara found himself far more intrigued by the Talent Tree.

Compared to his own Talent Ticket, this feature looked far more powerful. Unfortunately, the conditions for activating it were absurdly difficult.

How could a baby possibly earn the sympathy of a wild beast? More likely, the beast would eat him first.

He wanted to check the status panels of the other two children, but for now he had to calm Arion down.

Bringing the baby close to his chest, he prayed Arion would latch and nurse properly.

Thankfully, he did.

Once Arion drifted back to sleep, Gara carried each of the two in turn, changing their cloth diapers one by one, while checking their status panel.

* * *

[ALDWIN – PROFILE STATUS]

Name: Aldwin

Age: 0 years

Birth Order: 1

Father: Langga Alterian

Race: Human – Druid – Devil

Association: Bamboo House, Suruta Village – Human-based

Bloodline: None

Talent: None

[TALENT TREE]

Level 1 – Domain Map

Activation Requirement: Save a life

Level 2 – Unlock after completing Level 1

* * *

[AVA – PROFILE STATUS]

Name: Ava

Age: 0 years

Birth Order: 3

Father: Langga Alterian

Race: Human – Druid – Devil

Association: Bamboo House, Suruta Village – Human-based

Bloodline: None

Talent: None

[TALENT TREE]

Level 1 – Whip of Fire

Activation Requirement: Contact with fire for a certain period of time

Level 2 – Unlock after completing Level 1

* * *

Beast Speech was strong, but seeing Domain Map and Whip of Fire, Gara realized the other two children also carried incredible talents.

Sadly, their activation conditions were almost impossible to achieve.

He guessed everyone in this world had different ways of awakening their Talents.

Some lucky ones might trigger them by accident, while most commoners—trapped in repetitive, unchanging lives—might never awaken theirs at all.

Goddess... how are my children supposed to save the world if they can’t even awaken their own talents?

"When the time comes, it will happen."

Why did she always speak in such vague riddles? It was maddening.

Still, Gara noticed the gap between his own basic-level Talent Ticket and the Level 1 Talents from his children’s Talent Tree.

This isn’t fair, Goddess!

"Don’t compare yourself to the chosen ones!"

But I carried them in my body. To keep them safe, I have to be stronger.

The endless back-and-forth, with neither side willing to yield, only ended when the crystal ring on Gara’s finger flickered with light.

It had to be Tristan.

The argument with the Goddess would have to wait.

"Gara!" Tristan’s voice rang out, laced with panic.

"What is it, Uncle? Is this about Sir Idris?" Gara felt his chest tighten.

"No. Can you call your mother? I need to tell both of you at once."

"Alright, please wait."

Gara hurried out to find his mother, who was preparing lunch.

"What’s wrong?" Wina asked.

He only shook his head.

Back in the bedroom, with the soft snores of the triplets filling the air, Tristan delivered the news—the very thing they had feared the most.

"The druid envoys stationed in Raksa County suddenly departed for Falopo Town yesterday."

The room fell silent.

Wina clapped her hand over her mouth, afraid of waking the babies, though her heart was screaming inside.

Gara tried to stay calm. "Uncle, yesterday the protective barrier around the house was destroyed by lightning. I’m afraid they may have sensed our presence. How long until they reach Falopo Town?"

"A week if they travel by carriage. But it looks like they’re on horseback. Four days, at most."

"We need to get out of here, now," Wina squeaked, her voice trembling with panic.

"Start packing right away. I’ll head over there now. Once I arrive, we’ll discuss this further."

"Yes, Uncle."

When Tristan’s voice finally faded, Gara saw Wina nearly falling apart, cold sweat beading across her forehead.

He was anxious too, but not nearly as frantic as Wina.

Perhaps it was because she had once survived a pursuit that claimed many lives.

Pulling his mother into his arms, Gara patted her shoulder gently. "We’ll be fine, Mom."

Wina didn’t answer, but her stiff body loosened just a little.

That very day, they began packing. Wina went to the village chief to hand back the authority over the herb fields.

Her excuse was simple: Gara wanted her to live in town with him.

Meanwhile, Gara pulled Fian aside to explain the danger.

"Fian, you’ve only been free from slavery for a few months. If you come with me, getting caught won’t just mean going back to chains, you could be killed." Gara’s gaze was deadly serious.

Fian didn’t speak. He still couldn’t. But his eyes burned with emotions—shock, anger, disappointment... and finally, sorrow.

After months together, Gara understood the elf’s expressions better than words.

"I’m not trying to drive you away," Gara continued softly. "Leaving us would be the best choice for you."

He truly didn’t want anything happen to Fian.

The elf shook his head, his eyes glistening, as though holding back tears.

Gara let out a heavy sigh. The road ahead would be brutal, and he wasn’t sure if he could protect everyone.

When Gara looked away, his face drawn tight as he stared blankly at the bamboo wall, Fian’s chest clenched painfully.

Fian couldn’t bear it. He didn’t want to be left behind. He didn’t want to lose Gara.

"I... I will stay... with Gara."

The broken, shaky words reached Gara’s ears. The voice was deep yet fragile, raw with despair.

...