My Talent Skill Mutated

”Incoming call from 0117770. Connect?”

Just as Chen Yu finished reading the information, his Life Watch suddenly vibrated. He frowned at the call notification that popped up.

He didn’t recognize the number.

A quick glance showed the call was local, from the Capital City.

After a moment’s thought, Chen Yu accepted the call.

”Is this Chen Yu? Hello, my name is Zhuge Qingfeng. I’m a student from the Capital City.”

A young man’s voice immediately came from the other end of the line.

’Zhuge Qingfeng... one of the students on the finals roster.’

Hearing the name, Chen Yu quickly recalled who it was.

He naturally remembered the finalists from the three Superpower Academies in the East Asian Region.

”...This is he. What is it?” After a brief pause, Chen Yu asked.

”Are you free right now? I’m at the entrance to your villa complex with a few friends. If you’re able, how about we meet at the restaurant?”

Zhuge Qingfeng’s voice came from the other end.

Hearing this, Chen Yu glanced out the window.

’What’s this guy up to?’

’And he brought others to see me?’

After a moment of deliberation, Chen Yu replied, ”Alright, wait a minute. I’ll be right out.”

He was a finalist, after all. And while he might not have been a top-tier talent, he was a multiple Ability User with three A-rank talents. His power was not to be underestimated.

”Great, thank you,” Zhuge Qingfeng replied politely before hanging up.

After the call ended, Chen Yu glanced out the window, then stood up and left his villa.

...

The night was tranquil.

Outside the villa complex, three figures stood under the lamplight.

When he reached the entrance of the complex, Chen Yu spotted the three figures immediately.

They were none other than the three finalists from the other two Superpower Academies in the East Asian Region.

Maya from Shanghai!

From the Capital City, Dongfang Ji, and the one who had just called him, Zhuge Qingfeng!

The three of them arriving together at his doorstep was a bit of a surprise to Chen Yu.

He’d barely exchanged a word with any of them.

The only one he had any real impression of was, perhaps, Dongfang Ji.

Chen Yu had never fought any of them before either.

But their strength was not to be underestimated. Besides Zhuge Qingfeng, both Maya from Shanghai and Dongfang Ji were S-rank Ability Users.

”Chen Yu,” Zhuge Qingfeng said, stepping forward with a smile as Chen Yu appeared. ”Hello.”

Chen Yu nodded and looked at the trio. ”What brings the three of you here?”

”Let’s discuss it at the restaurant,” Zhuge Qingfeng said. ”This concerns all of us.”

”All of us?” Chen Yu was taken aback for a moment, but then he nodded.

...

At the villa’s restaurant, they each ordered a drink and sat down.

”Chen Yu, here’s the situation,” Zhuge Qingfeng began, getting straight to the point. ”We’ve received intel that the students from the other three regions seem to have reached some sort of agreement. They may move against us in the Abyss tomorrow.”

Hmm?

Hearing this, Chen Yu looked at him.

’The students from the other three regions made a deal to come after us?’

Meeting Chen Yu’s gaze, Zhuge Qingfeng continued, ”Chen Yu, while we can’t be one hundred percent certain, there’s at least a ninety percent chance this information is accurate.”

Chen Yu frowned. ”Why would they team up against us?”

The finals were taking place in the Lola Mountain Anomaly, a place for slaughtering beasts. Chen Yu couldn’t understand why they would turn on each other under these circumstances.

”Because the other three regions want to use us as stepping stones,” Maya interjected suddenly.

Chen Yu’s brow furrowed deeply.

’Use us as stepping stones?’

Zhuge Qingfeng looked at him, seemingly aware of his confusion, and began to explain.

”To really get into the specifics, we have to look back a bit. The truth is, there are two factions within the Superpower Alliance.”

”The first is the Eastern Faction, led by the Great Xia.”

”And the second is the Western Faction, led by the four other great allied nations.”

”This factionalism has always been a conflict at the highest levels of the Superpower Alliance, but now, it has trickled down into the Superpower Academies.”

”The core reason is quite simple. Among the five great allied nations, the Great Xia’s power has grown too rapidly. No single nation can contend with it alone. Even the Golden Eagle Empire has been suppressed, and the other three have been left behind by more than just a single tier. As a result, those four nations gradually formed an internal alliance—the Four Directions Kingdom—to resist the Great Xia.”

”This rivalry ultimately led to a similar bipolarization within the Superpower Alliance.”

”The other three regions in this competition belong to that Western Faction.”

”This has been happening for over a decade. The other regions team up and suppress ours in almost every tournament final. As a result, the East Asian Region’s ranking is almost always last.”

”There was only one exception: the year Senior Dongfang Yi appeared. He single-handedly broke through their suppression and took first place.”

”This final will be no exception.”

At this, Zhuge Qingfeng paused before continuing, ”The main reason we wanted to see you was to discuss a partnership. We want to cooperate to face the students from the other three regions together.”

”I see...”

Listening to Zhuge Qingfeng’s explanation, everything suddenly clicked into place for Chen Yu.

He’d never imagined that such petty politics would be involved in the tournament rankings.

’The three regions teaming up to suppress them.’

They were all Superpower Students, yet they were willing to attack their own kind.

And the source of it all traced back to the five great allied nations, trickling down from them to the Superpower Alliance, and from the Alliance into the Superpower Academies.

A conflict within the Human Race itself.