Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

Mira followed Alex into the living room, the awkwardness of the door encounter still lingering. Alex closed the door behind them, his mind racing with thoughts of how to explain his absence and the lecture without revealing too much.

He had spent the past few months guarding his secret, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to share it yet.

He offered her a seat on the couch, which she took, and then sat across from her in an armchair. Mira's eyes were curious, studying his face intently.

"I didn't see you this morning, did you go somewhere?" she asked again, her tone casual but tinged with genuine concern.

Alex hesitated, trying to formulate a response. But as he looked at Mira, he realised that evading her questions would only lead to more suspicion. He needed to make a decision, one that could potentially change the course of their relationship forever.

'Can I really trust her?' he wondered. He looked into her eyes, searching for any sign of deceit or doubt, but all he saw was genuine concern and curiosity.

"Mira," he began slowly, his voice serious. "I need to ask you something important. Can I trust you?"

Confusion flickered across her face, quickly replaced by a look of earnestness. "Of course, Alex. You can trust me with anything. You're like family to me now. I don't know what I'd do without you."

This reassurance from Mira hit Alex deeply, where it mattered. This was exactly what he wanted to hear.

He didn't want Mira to treat him any differently just because of the fact that he was different.

Alex took a deep breath, weighing her words carefully. He had to trust her, there was no other way forward. "I believe you," he said softly. "But what I'm about to tell you, it's... it's something I've kept secret for a long time. And I need to make sure no one else can hear us.

Not even the Principal."

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Mira's eyes widened in surprise. "Alex, what is it? And why so much secrecy?"

"Is there anywhere we can talk where not even the Principal can eavesdrop?" he asked, his voice urgent.

Mira looked puzzled, then shook her head slowly. "There probably isn't a single spot in the entire solar system away from the Principal's prying eyes. He's incredibly powerful."

Alex clicked his teeth in frustration. He knew how powerful the Principal was and how difficult it would be to find a truly private space. Suddenly, a thought struck him. He decided to ask the system for help, not expecting any response.

'System,' he called out in his mind. 'Is there any way I can share this information with Mira without anyone else being able to see it?'

To his surprise and delight, the system responded immediately, though its tone was as condescending as ever.

[You're an idiot, Alex. If you can show your information directly from your details via a soul contract, why wouldn't the system be able to do this for you?]

He realised his mistake of underestimating the system's capabilities. 'How can I obtain a soul contract?' he asked.

[Both parties must wish to sign a soul contract with each other. Then the contract will appear.]

Alex had one more important question. 'Since my Soulforge talent didn't show up in my details the last time I signed a soul contract, why would that change now?'

[Your talent is above the level that soul contracts can control. You can choose whether the information on it is shown or not. Although you didn't know this the last time, you subconsciously omitted it from the details shown.]

With this new information, Alex turned back to Mira, only a second of time having passed since he first consulted the system. He met her gaze, determination etched on his face.

"Mira," he said seriously, "do you trust me enough to sign a soul contract with me?"

Mira's eyes widened in shock. She had never expected him to go to such drastic measures. "Alex, a soul contract? What are you hiding?"

She saw the earnest look in his eyes and knew he was serious. Despite her confusion, she felt a surge of trust and loyalty towards him. "Yes, I trust you," she said firmly. "If this is what it takes to prove it, I'm in."

As soon as she agreed, the terms of the soul contract appeared in the air, glowing softly in front of them. It was similar to the detail screens they had seen during the talent assessment. The terms were simple but severe, stating that if Mira revealed what Alex was about to show her, her memory would be wiped and her soul core would be damaged, setting her back to F- rank.

Mira read the terms carefully, feeling a mixture of concern and resolve. She glanced at Alex, seeing the same concern mirrored in his eyes. He wasn't worried for himself, but for her. The contract would benefit Alex, but the consequences for her were severe.

After a moment of consideration, she nodded. "I agree," she said, her voice steady. "Let's do this."

They both reached out to the glowing contract, their fingers touching the ethereal surface. Instantly, they were engulfed in a white light, transported to a space that felt otherworldly and serene.

They looked around, disoriented and nervous about the sudden shift. The white space was empty except for the two of them, creating an atmosphere of isolation and privacy.

[This place ensures no prying eyes,] the system's voice echoed in their minds.

In the centre of the space, a detailed screen appeared, displaying Alex's information. Mira approached it cautiously, her eyes scanning the text. As she read, her expression shifted from curiosity to shock, and finally to understanding.

Alex watched her closely, his heart pounding. He wasn't just showing her the information on his Soulforge talent; he was revealing his entire details. It was a huge risk, but one he was willing to take.

Mira's face slowly went from confusion and caution to one of utter shock as she started reading the words on the huge floating screen.

[Details]

Name: [Alex]

Age: [18]

Talents: [Soulforge(Soul+)], [Flame(C+)], [Inferior teleportation(E)]

Trait: [Seasoned Warrior]

Trait description: [As someone who managed to take down a Variant class beast alone, the system commends you. You have proven yourself worthy of being an awakened.]

Trait effect: [Healing speed increased by 5% and enhanced senses.]

Soul core: [D- 30%]

Soul Classification: [Mutant - 22%]

She read everything from his Age, all the way down to the last area concerning his Soul Classification.

However, the thing she immediately noticed was the fact that Alex had three talents, instead of the two she thought he had, and there was a very obvious discrepancy in the unknown third talent.

'Soulforge?'

Just as she focused on the peculiar name, she noticed the rank right beside it.

'Soul+!? What the hell kind of rank is that??'

This truly shocked her, as she had never, ever heard of any rank other than the traditional F-S rank system.

The fact that Alex's talent somehow broke this almost unbreakable convention, left Mira in awe.

She understood now why he wanted her to sign a soul contract for this, as this really was something that he couldn't just tell anyone.

She also realised how useful the white space they were in was, as she knew from her earlier encounter with the principal that he wasn't one to respect people's boundaries…

But just as she thought the shocks were over, the details of Soulforge showed up before her.

[Soulforge(Soul+): First layer - Condenses the energy of any slain beast into a more refined energy source called soul orbs — the most valuable energy resource in the universe, many would sacrifice millions just for the chance to get one.

Absorbing these soul orbs dramatically enhances your physical abilities beyond what others can do alone with Beast cores, while simultaneously condensing your own energy, enabling any attacks you deliver to be stronger than your peers.]

[Second layer - Soul orbs don't just contain energy, but they can also contain the remnant soul of the defeated foe inside. This is dependent on the strength of the beast's soul, so higher classed and higher ranked beasts will have a higher chance of harbouring these remnant souls.

Through absorbing soul orbs you will gain some remnant memories of the slain beast, chosen at random from the beast's entire lifetime — Find out the rest for yourself.]

'...'

'What?'

Mira didn't even react properly, as she physically didn't have enough shock factor left in her.

'Soul orbs? Is that the glowing orb I saw in Alex's hand earlier?'

Turning around, Mira looked at Alex, who was looking back at her with a concerning look on his face.

This was the first time he was revealing his talent to anybody, so he was still quite nervous.

"Is this the reason why you couldn't absorb those beast cores?" Mira asked.

She spotted the correlation instantly.

She knew about the effects of absorbing a beast core below her own classification, so she couldn't even imagine how much worse it was for Alex.

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