Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

Rain’s breathing became slightly heavier as he stared at the notification before him.

This was the moment he had spent almost an entire month preparing for. He had endured the humiliation of his defeat, spent a considerable amount of his clan’s resources, and then traveled nearly three weeks to reach the Eclipse Domain.

Even after arriving, he had been forced to wait for three more days before Merlin finally returned.

Everything had been done for this single opportunity.

Soon, another notification appeared.

Ding!

[ Target 1 Confirmed: Rain Veynar. ]

[ Target 2 Confirmed: Merlin. ]

[ Both targets are within the required range. ]

[ All conditions for Talent exchange have been satisfied. ]

Rain’s eyes widened slightly as he read the final line.

It had worked.

Despite all the things that could have gone wrong, the Legendary Talent Swap Scroll had recognized Merlin as a valid target.

A smile slowly spread across Rain’s face.

He had no idea what kind of Talent Merlin possessed, but after everything he had learned about the old mage, Rain was convinced that it had to be extraordinary. A Mage capable of stopping an entire Draconic Army could not possibly possess an ordinary Talent.

Perhaps it was Legendary Grade... or even something beyond that, like Earth Grade, Heaven Grade, or Celestial Grade...

Whatever it was, Rain intended to take it, so he silently confirmed the scroll’s activation.

The piece of parchment immediately began glowing beneath his robe, and a strange wave of energy spread through the surrounding area. Merlin, who had been explaining the principles of Mana circulation to the gathered Mages, suddenly paused.

His sharp eyes swept across the crowd.

For a brief moment, the old mage seemed to sense something unusual, but before he could identify the source, the scroll in Rain’s hand dissolved into countless golden particles.

Ding!

[ Legendary Talent Swap Scroll Activated. ]

[ Beginning Talent Analysis. ]

Rain’s heart began pounding.

He had imagined this moment countless times, but now that it was actually happening, he found himself almost unable to breathe.

The System continued.

[ Analyzing Target 1... ]

[ Rain Veynar. ]

[ Current Talent: Advanced-Grade Mage Talent. ]

Rain barely paid attention to the information. He already knew his own Talent, and there was no reason to waste even a moment thinking about it.

His attention remained fixed on the next notification.

[ Analyzing Target 2... ]

[ Merlin. ]

Rain’s smile widened.

Then the result appeared.

[ Current Talent: Mortal-Grade Mage Talent. ]

Rain’s expression froze.

For several seconds, he simply stared at the notification without understanding what he was reading.

”Mortal-Grade...?”

The words escaped his mouth before he could stop himself.

That couldn’t be right.

Rain had spent weeks gathering information about Merlin. He had spoken with Mages who had seen him use Spells... Survivors who had fought alongside him, merchants who had witnessed him use magic, and even people who had seen the aftermath of his battles.

Every piece of information had pointed toward the same conclusion.

Merlin was an extraordinarily powerful Mage.

Yet the System was telling him that this old monster possessed a Mortal-Grade Mage Talent?

Rain’s expression gradually became distorted...

’The System made a mistake.’

There was no other explanation.

He looked at the notification again, but the result remained unchanged.

[ Current Talent: Mortal-Grade Mage Talent. ]

”This...”

Rain was speechless...

The treasure he had regarded as the greatest trump card of the Silver Crest Clan was not going to give him some incredible Talent.

It was going to give him Merlin’s inferior talent!

”No...”

Unfortunately, there was no stopping it once the activation was made!

The exchange had already begun.

Golden light suddenly appeared between Rain and Merlin, spreading through the surrounding air before connecting the two of them. Rain felt a strange sensation pass through his body, as though something deeply connected to his existence was being forcibly pulled away.

Merlin experienced the same sensation.

The old mage’s expression changed slightly as he looked down at his hands.

Then the golden light disappeared.

Ding!

[ Talent Exchange Complete. ]

[ Rain Veynar’s Advanced-Grade Mage Talent has been transferred to Target 2. ]

[ Merlin’s Mortal-Grade Mage Talent has been transferred to Target 1. ]

Rain’s face immediately turned pale.

The Talent exchange had succeeded.

At this time, Merlin was still standing in the center of the arena, and the old mage appeared genuinely surprised. He lowered his gaze toward his hands and quietly examined the changes within his body.

”Mhmm? A blessing spell?” Merlin was confused as well. He seemed to have an idea about the system’s mysterious scroll that had this cheat-like ability.

Indeed, it was a spell that even he could not block!

***

In the meantime, the members of the Silver Crest Clan had been watching Rain from different positions around the arena, and although none of them understood exactly what the strange golden light meant, they immediately recognized the signal they had been waiting for.

The scroll had activated and that was enough.

One of Rain’s men suddenly crushed a small black sphere in his hand.

A thick cloud of smoke erupted across the arena, spreading rapidly and obscuring the view of everyone nearby.

At almost the same time, another member threw several small devices toward the ground.

Bang! Bang!

The explosions weren’t powerful enough to injure anyone, but the sudden flashes and deafening sounds caused the gathered survivors to panic.

”What happened?!”

”Get out of the way!”

”Someone attacked Senior Merlin!”

The arena immediately descended into chaos.

Rain didn’t waste even a second.

”Move!”

Two members of the Silver Crest Clan rushed toward him and grabbed his arms before pulling him toward the prepared escape route.

Rain was still trying to process what had happened to his Talent, but there was no time to think about it.

The only thing that mattered now was escaping the Eclipse Domain!

Their carefully prepared plan immediately went into action.

Several more smoke bombs were thrown behind them while another device released a powerful wave of energy that interfered with the surrounding detection equipment....

The Silver Crest Clan members had spent several days studying the western district, and they already knew which streets offered the fastest route toward the outer wall.

However, they had barely escaped the arena before a metallic figure suddenly appeared in front of them...

A Warden Unit.