I Can Copy And Evolve Talents

Chapter 1331: Effortless Superiority

Northern continued to watch from behind as the man shuffled the bowls with a speed he would have commended, given that it was coming from a mundane.

’How can such an ordinary man move his hands so fast?’

It was amusing. This was no talent—if it had been, Aoi would have asked if he was willing to copy it.

This was simply the man moving his hands. His own physical prowess, honed over years. Northern found that genuinely interesting. Low rank Drifters compensating for their lack of strength and skill through sheer repetition and dedication. There was something almost admirable about it.

The man finally came to a stop and looked at Northern once more before focusing on Roma.

Roma sat there squinting her eyes at all three bowls, her nose scrunched in concentration. Northern leaned in and spoke to her. The man’s frown deepened slightly as he watched this exchange—the same exchange that had cost him several rounds already.

Roma pointed straight to the one in the middle.

The man’s jaw tightened.

He opened the middle bowl. The black pearl sat there, gleaming dully against the worn wood. His face turned sour as Roma swept more gold coins from his dwindling pile.

”Good stars, I’m going to double my money today... hehehe.”

Poor Roma was only getting happier, completely oblivious to the indignation burning in the man’s chest. She counted the coins with a satisfied hum, adding them to her growing pouch.

The man’s thoughts were considerably less pleasant.

After all, Roma was not supposed to win more than the one time he gave her the victory to lure her in. That was how the game worked—always had, for fifteen years. But because of this white-haired individual standing behind her, the one who kept leaning in to whisper in her ear, Roma kept winning. His business. His reputation. Both bleeding gold with every round.

’How can he even follow my hand? I’ve been doing this for fifteen years. I’ve never met someone capable of following my speed!’ His fingers curled around the bowls. ’I need to do something...’

The man covered the pearl again and began to shuffle slowly, his eyes flicking first to Northern, then to Roma.

’I know. I’ll just move fast enough that neither of them can see. I have never used this speed because I’ve never seen the need to.’ His grip tightened on the bowls. ’Now, I must raise the bar.’

The man’s eyes narrowed.

[Talent: Strengthening (Class D) has been discovered]

[Do you want to copy talent (Class D) for 300 talent fragments]

Northern was about to decline immediately. A Class D talent was useless to most. But he calmed himself, considering.

With him, it was different. A Class D talent was potential waiting to blossom. When he copied Duke Amene’s strengthening talent and combined it with this one after evolving it to EX rank, perhaps he could get something that would compensate for Titan’s Reckoning—which he had been forced to destroy rather than let the Clone that Kryos had turned into claim it for himself.

Three hundred fragments for future possibility. Acceptable.

The man continued to shuffle, and this time he was actually fast. His hands blurred across the platform, bowls swapping positions with practiced violence.

A pity his opponent was Northern.

Northern’s eyes tracked each movement without effort, following the trajectory of every exchange as easily as watching leaves drift on still water. At the same time, he asked Aoi to copy the talent. He had fragments to spare.

[You have copied talent Strengthening (Class D) for 300 talent fragments]

He felt the subtle addition settle into his soul—a small weight, barely noticeable—but didn’t let it distract him. The bowls continued their frantic dance, the man’s hands becoming a genuine blur now, moving with everything he had.

”Ahh! What?! Ahhh! I can’t follow it anymore!!”

Roma threw her hands up in defeat, her eyes spinning from trying to track the motion.

The man smiled subtly as he watched her give up. Finally. He risked a glance upward to Northern—

And his smile died.

The white-haired guy was tracing every movement with those strange eyes of his. Not struggling. Not straining. Just... watching. Like the speed meant nothing at all.

’What?! Is he...’

The man was speechless. What exactly was he up against?

By the time he finally stopped, he was breathing hard, sweat beading on his forehead. His hands trembled slightly from the exertion.

And Northern was just there. Indifferent. Staring.

He bent down and whispered to Roma’s ear.

However, before Roma could even open her mouth, the man raised his hand and stopped her.

She paused, blinking in surprise.

”Please, Lady Miss,” the man said, his voice strained with forced politeness. ”Can we stop playing...? I’ll give you this round. Please. You’re ruining my business.”

Roma’s eyes went wide.

”Oh...”

”Gambling is supposed to be a losing game. When it’s winning like this, something is definitely wrong...” He swallowed, choosing his next words carefully. ”I don’t want to have to discover that Lady Miss and her boyfriend are cheating due to superior skills. Because I would like to not cause any trouble here. So please—after this, can you kindly leave?”

Roma was silent for a moment. She glanced at Northern, who remained indifferent and staring, then glanced back at the man and shrugged.

”I guess that’s okay. I’ll stop after this.”

She pointed to the left one. The man opened it.

The black pearl gleamed up at them both.

At this point, he wasn’t even surprised anymore. He had more or less expected it. His shoulders slumped with something between resignation and relief.

Roma swept the gold coins from his platform and added them to her pouch. She shook it once, testing the weight, and a bright laugh escaped her.

”Haha, heavy!!”

The man just stared at her retreating form with suppressed anger, watching his morning’s profits walk away in her coin purse.

Northern studied him carefully as Roma stood up—then studied his surroundings before they began to walk away. Old habits. The gambling man wasn’t a threat, but the people watching from nearby stalls might have taken note of Roma’s winnings.

Nothing stirred. They moved on.

After that, they walked forward and reached the stall where they were to buy muscovy.

The vendor had a platform with coal burning beneath it, heat shimmering in the evening air. Rows of meat had been pierced by long white sticks and laid across the heated surface in neat columns, fat dripping and sizzling on the coals. To the side sat the unroasted ones—oiled and sprinkled with ground vegetables and seasoning, waiting their turn.

The smell hit Northern before the vendor’s voice did. Spices and char and something savory underneath.

”Hello beautiful miss, handsome mister, good evening!” The man spread his arms wide, gesturing to his wares. ”Today is a good day—we finally have another Duke amidst us, one so strong as they say. Because of this new Duke, there’s a discount on these Muscovy.” He pointed to the roasted ones, golden-brown and glistening. ”Usually, it would be 15 Taliis, but because of today, I’ll sell one for 10 Taliis.”

Roma jumped, her earlier winnings clearly burning a hole in her pouch.

”10 Taliis! Yay! Give me twenty!”

Northern looked at her with genuine shock.

She grinned and looked back at him, completely unrepentant.

”You said you wanted something spicy, didn’t you? How’s two going to be enough? You have to have ten!”