Nicholas collapsed onto the back seat and let out a long sigh.
The adrenaline was fading and his nerves were slowly relaxing although his heart was still pounding fast.
Suddenly Nicholas burst into a happy laughter.
*HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA*
"THAT WAS FUUUNNNNNNN!!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs as if he didn't just almost die.
And just as fast as the happiness appeared, it disappeared as he closed his eyes but just as he was about to drift off, he felt something strange.
A faint surge of strength flowed through his body. It was warm like a gentle wave washing through his muscles.
His eyes snapped open immediately.
*'Wait... what?'*
He hadn't trained or pushed himself and yet, somehow, he had grown stronger.
He could feel that this surge came from his Adapt Soul Ability and almost immediately, realization struck him.
'Adapt is also a conceptual ability.'
It made sense the more he thought about it.
Higher-grade Soul Talents—especially those ranked S and above—were fundamentally different from lower-grade ones.
A Fireball Talent grew stronger by creating more fireballs while an Ice Manipulation Talent improved through controlling ice… Their paths were simple and straightforward.
But Conceptual Talents were different.
They weren't tied to a specific action, no, they were tied to an 'idea' and ideas could be interpreted in countless ways.
The strongest conceptual users were often not the most talented. They were the ones who discovered the most creative interpretation of their concept.
Take an ability like… 'Victory'.
Victory could be interpreted in so many ways by different people.
The first path would be the 'Conqueror'. The one who believed victory meant defeating enemies. The effects of this path might provide may include increased strength against opponents, damage that grows when winning, an aura that weakens enemy morale, and maybe even the ability to sense weaknesses in opponents.
The second path would be the 'Survivor'. Someone who believed victory simply meant staying alive. The effects may include incredible endurance, extreme luck in dangerous situations, and enhanced escape abilities.
The third path would be the 'Strategist'. One who believed victory was achieved before the battle even began. Possible effects might include predicting enemy actions, enhanced planning and analysis, and creating battlefield advantages.
The fourth path would be the 'Manipulator'. One who believed victory meant getting what you want with effects that enhanced persuasion, negotiation, influence, and social domination.
All four people possessed the same Talent, but the Talent evolved differently based on how they understood and embodied the concept.
And this was just off the top of his head.
'What if several different paths could be fused into one?' Nicholas's eyes widened.
That was the same path he had been going, he just hadn't had enough information on Talent Evolution.
It was only briefly explained by one of the main characters, and none of them had ever reached the point of needing to evolve their Talents.
Malakar Pendragon—one of the main characters, grandson of Elizabeth Pendragon the Western Monarch—had explained that his grandmother managed to evolve her SS Fire Manipulation to SSS by compressing or combusting fire hard enough that it turned into lightning.
It wasn't clearly explained but Nicholas had always thought that simply taking an unconventional path would be the key to evolving an ability.
Now he wasn't so sure… at least, not completely.
Perhaps it was about combining different paths… that would make his ability far easier to evolve.
His original plan was actually to switch from the regular understanding of Adapt—the one the previous Nicholas had employed—to his more radical one by simply implanting organs into himself.
'The previous Nicholas has been going down the... let's call it the Situational Path.'
The body had been adapting and growing stronger under extreme situations like intense workouts and near-death experiences.
And now Nicholas had experienced it himself… The faint surge of strength after nearly dying.
'While I plan to follow the path of Biological Adaptation… If this works,' he mused. 'I guess it would have still worked anyway but good to know.'
A wide smile spread across his face, then it quickly disappeared.
Still, something was off about Malakar's words.
How did fire evolve directly into lightning? The explanation—compressing or combusting fire until it changed—didn't make much sense.
Lightning could only be created through controlled environments or massive forest fires that disrupted the weather… It was never just 'pure fire'.
Nicholas had never considered this before while playing the game or reading the books… It was just something he saw in passing, found interesting, and it stuck with him.
He paused.
'Perhaps using scientific parameters is not the best option when trying to solve issues in a magical world.' He laughed quietly at himself.
Of course, he was trying to apply the logic of his old world to a place that ran on entirely different rules.
He reached out and grabbed the box Tessa had placed in his truck. He opened it and removed a wrapped bun and bit into it.
*MMMMMMHHHNNNN*
Nicholas moaned in delight, the bun tasted incredible. It was soft, warm and sweet.
'Every one of those ladies in that house is one of the best cooks and their food is the best I have ever heard.'
He was about to take another bite when his terminal suddenly began ringing.
He glanced down at it.
Auntie Penny.
He considered ignoring it and just letting it ring but soon decided against that.
She would only worry more if he didn't answer and he didn't want that.
He picked up the terminal and swiped to accept the call.
"Hello, Auntie."