Chapter 8: A New Talent, Father God Listens!

『Innate Talent ‘Hibernation Expert’ (white) selected』

『Simulation start…』

『Day 1: Doomsday arrives; you remain in the dormitory and receive a notice that no one is allowed to leave campus from now on…』

『Day 2: …』

『…』

Although only garbage Talents were available, at least he still had a top-tier Talent like Fallen Benefaction as a safety net.

If he only wanted to scrape by in the apocalypse, it did not seem difficult.

But secluding himself in one corner was clearly not the result Su Ze wanted right now.

Likewise, it was not what his simulated self wanted either…

In the simulation, he continued to adopt the same strategy.

He treated the school as an intelligence hub and tried to get solid information from the Awakeners who emerged there.

… specifically, intelligence about the ‘spells’.

『Day 30: The first Awakener who appeared on campus tells you she has remembered the dream she had when she awakened, and her spell is… ‘Starry Sky’. You thank her, then rush overnight to the corresponding Contaminated Zone.』

『Day 31: You destroy the pollution source…』

『Day 32: You spend the night in the Contaminated Zone; in your sleep you are hunted by mutant beasts and drain all your healing energy… You die.』

He falls again…

Even though he had already obtained the spell, he still returned in defeat.

For the moment, Su Ze could not figure out the reason.

He could only remain patient and keep running simulations.

…

『Innate Talent ‘Silent Warlock’ (green) selected』

『Day 1: …』

『Day 26: You confirm that the spell for awakening is… ‘Starry Sky’.』

『…』

『Day 30: You have a nightmare; in your dream you are in a bizarre space and are hunted by hounds that seem able to teleport; you expend all your healing energy… You die.』

…

『Innate Talent ‘Then Nobody Eats’ (blue) selected』

『Day 1: …』

『Day 35: You learn a different spell… ‘Inspiration’… from other Awakeners, and you suddenly realize that people’s constitutions are not identical. Perhaps different people need different spells to awaken…』

『…』

『Day 44: You once again try to draw the uncanny to yourself, hoping to become an Awakener.

Sure enough, you have a nightmare and make every attempt within it, yet even after exhausting all your healing energy you still fail…

You die.』

…

Endless simulations, endless deaths.

Su Ze had grown somewhat numb.

For others, becoming an Awakener seemed fairly easy.

They just touched a pollution source, had a nightmare, recited a spell, and gained great strength.

But he still could not awaken even with powerful Talents to assist him.

As a result, his focus shifted in subsequent simulations.

He no longer insisted on becoming an Awakener quickly.

Instead, he wanted to learn more information…

The effect was that he now understood the area around his school much better.

Where the boundaries of the Contaminated Zones lay…

Which places were Safe Zones…

What the main threats of each Contaminated Zone were…

He even learned that a Contaminated Zone could not be eradicated.

Even if the pollution source was destroyed, a new one would soon appear, and the new pollution source would bring fresh lethal threats…

For example, a zone that originally teemed with zombies might spawn wall-phasing wraiths after the pollution source changed.

Su Ze kept grasping more and more intel of this kind.

If he wanted to set up a safe house in advance now, it would be a piece of cake.

After all, he knew exactly which spots would become so-called Safe Zones once doomsday arrived.

As the simulations continued, more than four hours quickly slipped by.

The standard 10-minute cooldown plus the time spent inside each simulation made Su Ze feel a bit pressed.

He wanted to collect as many simulation rewards as possible before doomsday, which meant he had to use his time well.

If a simulation session lasted more than four hours, he could no longer exploit the simulator’s cooldown perfectly…

Luckily yesterday’s run had taken less time, so he still had some leeway.

“If I’d known, I would have taken that purple Talent ‘Retreat in One Piece’ earlier…”

Such thoughts always echoed in Su Ze’s mind whenever the simulator presented trash Talents.

Until this moment…

『Please choose one of the following three Talents as your innate Talent for this simulation!』

『Secure Fortress (white): You give people a much stronger sense of security; with you around, everyone feels at ease, but in fact you do not become any stronger.』

『Natural Furnace (green): When you activate this Talent, you become as warm as a stove.』

『Father God Listens (gold): You will often hear genuine voices that you may want to hear; these voices may contain vital secrets, and when your desire is strong enough you can also hear the thoughts of people around you.』

“Whoa!”

A gold Talent again at last… what a rarity!

Su Ze had just been thinking that if another purple Talent reward appeared he would never let it slip.

To his surprise, the simulator had simply handed him another gold Talent.

Naturally, there was no need to hesitate.

He chose the gold-grade Talent on the spot.

Father God Listens!

『Innate Talent ‘Father God Listens’ (gold) selected』

『Simulation start…』

『Day 1: Doomsday arrives; the school allows only entry, not exit; you stay in the dormitory and watch events unfold』

『Day 2: The temperature plummets; you do nothing』

『Day 3: Panic spreads; every face you see is filled with anxiety』

『Day 4: You sneak out of school and return to the hillside complex where you live; every resident has been dragged into the mirror world and their whereabouts are unknown… You are aware that the mirror world triggers once every 7 days and everyone within the Contaminated Zone is pulled inside.』

『Day 5: You stay in your stockpiled room and feel bored』

『Day 6: You remain bored』

『Day 7: Your Talent, Father God Listens, activates; from far away you hear information you want to know. … Different Contaminated Zones correspond to different spells.』

『Day 8: You hear another unfamiliar voice; through it you identify a new spell… ‘Fantasy’.』

He was finally making progress!

The newly acquired gold Talent was truly extraordinary!

It had delivered the intel he wanted most so quickly.

It seemed the information he had previously collected about becoming an Awakener was indeed correct.

It simply was not yet comprehensive.

However, that still could not fully explain why all his attempts to awaken had failed.

After all, he had used the right spell in the corresponding Contaminated Zone, yet still could not succeed.

It was baffling…

Fortunately, he had chosen Talents that directly boosted combat power in earlier simulations.

A typical green combat Talent was enough for him to contend with an Awakener.

A blue combat Talent was enough for him to thrash an average Awakener.

Therefore, Su Ze had already made up his mind.

If he absolutely could not become an Awakener, he would choose a Talent that raised his combat strength directly.

That way, even if he failed to awaken quickly in the simulation, it would not matter.

Either way, the Talent would give him the combat foundation to explore the Contaminated Zones…

『Day 9: You wait an entire day, but do not hear the voice you wish to hear…』