I Can Devour Monsters' SSS Talents

Before any of them could decide what to do, what was happening, or what situation they were in, the mirrors’ surfaces rippled.

An invisible force came out from within them.

Lian tried to pull his foot back, but the hall’s floor locked around his feet like a sticky substance.

Seris placed her hand on her sword.

Seraphina flowed Mana through her body.

Liana prepared her summoning circle.

But none of them found a chance to use their abilities.

Darkness swallowed them from four directions, and the hall disappeared.

...

Lian smelled old wood before opening his eyes.

A familiar smell, of course not from Glassthorn Forest, but the smell of wooden walls, protective oil, and heavy fabrics of the Vorhelm clan’s main mansion.

He opened his eyes. He was standing in one of the eastern corridors of the mansion.

The orange light of evening was coming through the tall windows and creating drawn lines on the polished floor.

”Here? How is this possible?”

The sound of servants’ footsteps could be heard in the corridor. The curtains moved with a gentle breeze.

Everything was real... too real.

Lian placed his hand on the wall. The texture of the wood could be felt under his fingers.

Even the thin scratch that had been made years ago when moving a training armor on the wall was still in that same spot.

He was sure... this was the Vorhelm clan’s mansion, but how was he here?

An illusion? What other possibility could there be besides an illusion?

He looked at his body. He had his current body.

His armor, Skills, and stats were all in place... but no one saw his presence.

Two servants passed by him without even turning their heads.

At the end of the corridor, a boy was standing.

A younger Lian, from a few years ago, before awakening talents and before leaving the clan... at a time when his awakening failure had destroyed all the future they had imagined for him.

The boy standing at the end of the corridor was thinner, wearing simple training clothes.

In his hand was a sheet of paper with several names written on it.

His gaze was stopped on one of the lines. His own name was not there.

The clan’s instructor came out of the training door.

The younger Lian stepped forward.

”Instructor, my name is not on the list.”

”There is no mistake.” The instructor did not even take the sheet from his hand.

”But today’s tactical training was for all members of the same age.” The young Lian was sure a mistake had been made. Why was his name not on the training list?

The instructor gave him a brief look. Not with hatred or anger, but with a kind of indifference that was heavier than any direct humiliation.

”The clan’s resources are used for those who have a future.” He said calmly, as if explaining an obvious truth.

Then he passed by the boy.

The current Lian watched the scene. He remembered this memory, but not with this clarity. In his mind, only a short sentence had remained.

This was a normal scene he experienced for a while after turning 16.

The Mirror Vault had restored all the forgotten details.

The scene changed. Only a blink was enough, as if the world had suddenly shifted.

Lian found himself in the clan’s dining hall. The long table was prepared for dinner.

Various family members and a few guests were seated around it.

The younger Lian was standing next to his usual seat, but one of the servants collected his plate and utensils.

A young guest with a four-star class was supposed to sit there.

”Your place has been prepared at the end of the table.” The servant who had called him ”Young Master Lian” for years said this time without looking.

Only ”Lian”, not young master, not a member of the clan. Just a name that had to be sent to a corner so as not to disturb the important guests.

Near him, two clan members were talking about him.

Of course, not secretly or even in a low voice, as if his presence didn’t matter.

”Without a Talent, there’s no place for him even in the secondary branches.”

”He’ll probably be given a clerical job later.”

”If it wasn’t for his father, they would have kicked him out of the mansion by now.”

No one directly targeted him. No one needed to. All the behaviors had one message.

He was no longer part of the clan’s future.

The scene changed again.

Lian’s small training room. The weapon racks were empty. His training armor had been removed.

Even his notes table had been moved to someone else’s room.

”They said you no longer need this room.” one of the servants said.

The younger Lian stood in the center of the empty space.

”Then where am I supposed to train?”

The servant shrugged.

”I don’t know.”

And left.

Again, no violence, no shouting, no direct insults. Only the gradual removal of everything that proved he had a place in that house.

The current Lian watched in silence.

Once, he had thought he could leave the clan.

But where would he go? His family name was his entire identity.

He had no money, no connections outside the clan, no school or organization would accept an awakening failure without support.

Even if he left, no future awaited him.

He lived in a house that no longer wanted him, but the outside world also had no place for him.

The scene changed to the library.

It was night. Most of the lights were off.

The younger Lian was sitting at a table in a far corner. Combat reports, maps, and analysis of other people’s Skills were spread around him.

His eyes were red from exhaustion, but he was still reading.

Not just because he loved studying. Analysis was the only thing no one had been able to take from him.

If he couldn’t obtain the power of Skills, he could understand their structure.

If he couldn’t participate in training, he could see others’ mistakes.

If he wasn’t allowed to enter the field, he could reconstruct the entire field on paper.

Those nights built the foundation of the person who had now survived the Graveyard and the Forest of Giants, and had the ability to fight Fallen ones and colonies.

The sound of footsteps was heard from behind.

Lian turned around.

A mature version of himself was standing among the shelves. The face was the same, but he wore the Vorhelm clan’s formal attire.

The heir’s insignia was on his chest, and his gaze was calm and confident.

”All you ever wanted was their acceptance.”

Lian did not answer.

”You didn’t want power for power’s sake.” The Reflection approached the table.

It placed its finger on one of the reports.

”You wanted to force them to look at you.”

Lian looked at his younger version. The boy was still leaning over the report, as if he didn’t see either of them.

The difference between him and the younger version was only two years.

Did he really want to be admired by his family at that time? Maybe.

”You wanted to walk into that same hall one day and make everyone who ignored you stand up.” The Reflection continued.

”You wanted the instructor who removed your name from the list to beg to teach you.”

”You wanted to prove to everyone they were wrong.”

”Back then? Yeah.” Lian finally said. He didn’t want to listen to this nonsense anymore.

The Reflection paused for a moment, perhaps expecting denial.

”I thought about it every day.” The admission was not difficult for Lian. This was a truth that had existed inside him for years.

He really did want power to force others to accept him.

Not out of nobility, not out of a grand ideal, but out of anger, humiliation, and the need to be seen.

”Now you have power.” The Reflection gave a faint smile.

The library hall faded. The clan’s main hall took its place.

Dozens of Vorhelm members were kneeling on both sides of the path, and at the end of the hall, the heir’s seat was placed.

”Don’t you want to go back and force them to kneel?”

Lian looked at the scene. Once, this image was a dream for him.

Maybe even now, part of him would enjoy seeing it. But that desire was no longer the center of his decisions.

If he had wanted to stay in the Vorhelm clan, he would have just said yes to his uncle’s proposal when he returned for the birthday ceremony... but

”No.”

”Why?” The Reflection raised an eyebrow.

Lian took his gaze off the kneeling figures and fixed it on his teenage self standing in the corner of the hall.

”Because if I still make all my decisions based on their opinion, it means I never really left that house.”

”I don’t have to forgive them.” His gaze turned cold.

”I don’t have to pretend those years didn’t matter.” Then he approached the teenager. The young boy finally raised his head.

Lian stood in front of him.

”But what they did to us is not going to be everything we are.”

The young boy said nothing, and Lian placed his hand on his shoulder.

”You were weak, but you were not worthless.”

The environment cracked. The hall... the kneeling figures... the heir Reflection.

”So there is no wound or regret.” The young Lian suddenly said with a smile.

All turned into pieces of glass.

The teenage version of Lian also slowly faded, but this time his face was not empty or broken.

A panel appeared before Lian’s view.

[First Trial Cleared.]

[Trial Boon Acquired: Mirror Anchor]

[Your sense of identity has been strengthened.]

A calm feeling formed in the depth of his mind. Not an increase in physical power or anything like that.

More like a fixed point in the center of his consciousness; something that told him who he was, even if all his memories and senses around him changed.

This was his identity, this was his character, and he had proven that there was no regret about his past.

The days that were expected to be the darkest days of his life... had been buried by himself.

He no longer needed his family’s admiration. He just wanted to be the strongest, to stand at the top of the world, to be above everyone, so that this world would seek his approval... not him seeking the world’s approval.

Before he could find a chance to examine further, the darkness swallowed him again...