Assimilate All Talents

The next day, Sol was clearing rubble from a collapsed building using [Telekinesis]. While [Terra Manipulation] could have done the job faster, he saw this as an opportunity to refine his use of psychic energy.

As the rubble lifted into the air, it revealed a mother with her two young boys, neither older than ten. They were huddled together beneath a sturdy table that had managed to endure the collapse but left them trapped.

The mother’s eyes widened in fear, and she instinctively hugged her children tighter. Sol’s calm voice, however, eased her anxiety.

"It’s okay, you’re safe now. I’m here to help. Stay calm, and I’ll get you out of here."

He gently levitated the trio out onto the clear street.

"Thank you, sir!" the mother said gratefully. She then nudged her boys to follow her example.

"Thank you, mister!"

"Thanks!"

Sol gave the boys a kind smile and ruffled their hair, but his expression faltered when he noticed one of them had a deep cut on his leg. The wound had been hastily bandaged with part of the mother’s sleeve, preventing further blood loss.

"Here, let me help with that. [Life Drop]."

A single, shimmering drop of water appeared in the air and landed on the boy’s leg, instantly absorbing into his skin. The wound closed rapidly, leaving only a faint scar.

"Wow! Was that water magic?" the boy asked in awe, inspecting his leg.

His brother poked the healed spot and exclaimed, "Whoa, it’s like new! I hope I get [Water Affinity] during my leveling ceremony."

"So you can heal others?" Sol asked with a raised brow.

The boy nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I’ll make lots of money healing people!"

Sol froze, caught off guard by the unexpected answer. He chuckled softly, amused but aware that the boy’s dream was very hard to accomplish. Making money as a healer was notoriously difficult, given the kingdom’s generous policies. Churches provided healing at minimal cost thanks to the royal families incentives, leaving little room for independent clinics to profit unless they learned advanced healing magic, catered to elite clients or specialized in rare ailments. The best way to profit off healing magic would be to work as a mercenary and heal wounded soldiers on the battlefield, but doing so carried a certain amount of risk as they would always be targeted by the opposing side, it was only slightly better than being a normal fighter.

Not wanting to dim the boy’s enthusiasm, Sol changed the subject. "Head to Crest Square. You can get a warm meal and rest there."

The mother nodded gratefully. "Thank you for healing my son. May I know your name?"

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Sol maintained his warm smile. "It’s Sol. Now hurry along, the line for food was pretty long last I checked."

The trio departed toward Crest Square, and as soon as they were out of sight, Sol’s smile vanished, replaced by a grim expression. He lifted the rest of the rubble, revealing five lifeless bodies beneath.

Quietly, he used [Siphon] to absorb the lingering energy from their corpses. Then, with a flick of his hand, the bodies floated onto a nearby cart where soldiers were loading the dead.

"That’s all of them in this area." he said to the soldiers. "Take them to the others."

The soldiers saluted and moved to deliver the bodies to the growing collection site.

Left alone, Sol let out a weary sigh.

’This whole situation feels awful.’

The battle had ended with Crestelia’s victory, but it didn’t feel like one. Over 20,000 lives had been lost, and much of the city lay in ruins.

Adding to the complexity, not all the vampires had been killed. With the defeat of the A-Rankers, many of the remaining vampires surrendered in a bid for survival. However, not everyone was willing to show mercy. While some fighters took captives, others executed their prisoners on the spot, fueled by grief or anger.

Of the 6,000 vampires who attacked, fewer than 400 remained, including their Mistress, Nisha. Those who survived were imprisoned in a special facility beneath the palace, guarded by A-Rankers who couldn’t contribute to the recovery efforts but wanted to help in some capacity.

Sol tried to keep up a cheerful demeanor for the survivors, but the strain showed. Each body he unearthed weighed heavily on him. Even the gains from [Siphon], which granted him new skills and levels, felt hollow. Most of those who died were children or low-level individuals, their untimely deaths a stark reminder of the tragedy.

As he contemplated his next move, his PAL activated. Duncan’s deep voice came through.

<Hey, Captain. Can you come to the palace? Commander Zaman wants to speak with you.>

"The Commander? Is he back to full health already?" Sol asked, surprised. Just hours ago, Zaman had been gravely injured, and potions could only speed recovery so much.

<Yes. Diana just finished tending to his wounds. Her healing made all the difference.>

"I see... I’ll be there soon."

Sol wasn’t eager to face Zaman, not after disobeying orders to stay in the palace. Additionally, there was the looming possibility that Wendy had informed the Commander of Sol’s intention to leave. The ideal time to slip away had been right after the fighting ended, but Sol had chosen to stay and help with the recovery efforts.

He could only hope their meeting wouldn’t escalate into conflict.

On his way to the palace, Sol noticed a tall, pale man with long, vibrant red hair standing near the massive gap in the palace wall. The man’s presence radiated an overwhelming aura of danger, setting off Sol’s recently acquired [Battle Intuition]. But as quickly as the warning flared, it vanished, leaving Sol unsettled.

Against his better judgment, he approached the man. "What are you doing here?"

The man turned, surprised. "You can see me?"

Sol blinked in confusion. "...Yes?"

The man glanced around. No one else reacted to his presence. "Huh. Interesting."

He was using a multi-layered illusion that was impossible for A-Rankers to detect unless they had a law technique specialized in detection. Sol didn’t even notice he was even using such a technique to hide himself thanks to [True Sight (Variant)] and a combination of other skills made him immune to the illusion that he at most felt that his presence was somewhat faint.

Though the man hadn’t planned to explain himself, he decided there was no harm in doing so and on a whim said, "I’m here to pick up my daughter. Now, if you’ll excuse me."

"Your dau—?" Sol began, but the man vanished before he could finish.

’Could he be...?!’

Realizing something, Sol sprinted toward the palace. Ignoring the startled guards, he made his way to the underground prison as quickly as he could.

When he arrived, his fears were confirmed.

"They’re gone..." he murmured, staring at the empty cells.

The A-Rankers assigned to guard the prisoners lay unconscious on the ground, and every vampire, including Nisha, had vanished.

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