"Candidate No. 211, awakening complete."

With the reminder from the loudspeaker on the stage, another lucky youth had obtained their talent through the Awakening Stone, half a foot into the path of the Apprentice Death God.

This was an "older candidate" who passed the exam at the age limit of 25, and the talent awakened was naturally the most common white.

However, instead of feeling disappointed, he was filled with excitement as he walked to the side, closed his eyes, and began testing his ability.

"Buzz..."

With a faint buzzing sound, a faint blue light appeared on the candidate's body, outlining his shape.

"This is the chemical effect produced when 'Sur Particles' take effect."

Examiner Xizi pointed to the blue light outline on the candidate and explained to Yun You: "We, apprentice Death Gods, are accustomed to explaining [Soul Power] as a kind of supernatural particle, which are the Sur Particles——Soul Particles."

"These are hidden at the root of human self-awareness; theoretically, everyone has them, only the quantity differs."

"What the Awakening Stone does is awaken the Sur Particles, transforming them into a concrete talent ability... In other words, using your talent ability is essentially using your own Sur Particles, and this blue outline is the scene formed after the particles evaporate."

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Yun You nodded.

"It is beautiful, so beautiful that it feels a bit unreal, like..."

The girl paused slightly and whispered, "like special effects."

"Special effects, that's a good choice of words."

Xizi grinned and said, "You certainly feel it's a bit unreal because Sur Particles are just that kind of thing; humanity still doesn't understand their principle, composition, or why they exist."

"The talents and abilities it brings are inherently inexplicable by theory; it's not a 'reasonable' entity—we're merely blindly utilizing it."

As they spoke, the candidate suddenly let out a muffled grunt, thrusting his right hand forward, his palm suddenly spinning rapidly like a propeller, lifting him off the ground!

"The talent abilities brought by Sur Particles are varied and unique; after development, even abilities that initially seem weak can become unimaginably powerful."

"That's exactly why I told you not to be so concerned with the glow on the talent stone; the color of this light usually only relates to its rarity."

"A golden talent easily makes one a powerful being, but that doesn't mean a white talent is useless; these things are unpredictable..."

While the two were chatting, the candidate in the sky gradually floated down, his palm returned to normal.

He smiled smugly, apparently quite satisfied with his ability.

Flying is a very useful auxiliary ability in most cases.

It enhances the user's mobility and introduces a new combat method... For apprentice Death Gods who live by fighting, it is undoubtedly a strong trump card.

No wonder the youth feels so smug—a talent of such strength, and he got it from a white talent, which is indeed something to be proud of.

However, this smug satisfaction didn't last long.

When the blue glow on the youth's body dissipated, his proud expression suddenly froze.

Immediately after, his expression changed, and his proud gaze gradually turned to shock, his mouth slowly widened, as if he had been stimulated by something.

Then he suddenly extended his nails, began scratching his body... with such force that it tore his clothes, ripping open skin and muscle...

In the Ethernet, there's no blood setting, so people couldn't see blood spurting or the body mutilated by nails.

But due to the "Pain Synchronization Setting," the youth was destined to feel pain almost identical to the real world's... the pain of flesh being torn by sharp objects.

This should pain someone to paralysis, enough to make one incapable of action.

However, the youth did not stop, and he scratched harder and harder...

But he still wasn't satisfied, terror and madness filled his face.

Finally, after a few minutes of futile scratching, the youth set his eyes on his fingers.

He gritted his teeth, grasped his index finger, and pulled it back—

Crack~!

A chilling snap marked a broken finger.

"Ah..."

The youth clenched his teeth and roared, writhing in pain on the ground.

But his strange actions indeed ceased.

"It's the [Cost], didn't expect his cost to come so quickly."

Looking at the wretched youth, examiner Xizi calmly spoke a term.

She seemed to see straight through the essence of this odd situation.

"Wu Ming, do you know what a [Cost] is?"

Yun You shook her head.

Old Jin hadn't just mentioned the term [Cost], seemed he planned to explain after Yun You completed her awakening.

"The so-called cost refers to the 'compensation' a person must pay after using a talent ability."

Xizi pointed to the gradually dissipating Sur Particles on the youth, explaining: "To outsiders, it seems an apprentice Death God uses their talent ability without expending energy or physical strength, practically a zero-cost exchange."

"But that's not the case, because what talent abilities consume is not tangible power, but Sur Particles, our very soul."

"The consumption of the soul, unlike physical strength, results in a phenomenon known as [Soul Compensation], which in simple terms causes mental damage, and an intense compulsion to fulfill a certain desire."

"This is an extremely strong psychological suggestion, which doesn't harm the body, but one that an apprentice Death God simply cannot refuse."

"Generally, this desire is often what a person least wishes to face, what they fear most in their hearts."

Xizi paused slightly.

"Doesn't that sound complicated? But it's quite straightforward: after using a talent ability, a person feels an irresistible urge to fulfill some kind of desire, one that if unmet, can lead to mild brain damage or severe mental collapse, rendering them comatose."

"This is what is known as the [Cost]."

"Take that youth we just saw for example; I suspect the guy has a great fear of pain, is extremely afraid of injury..."

"So, his cost became [must be injured and feel pain intense enough to make him pass out]."

"It's because of this cost that he continually scratches his skin, hoping for pain that satisfies the cost... but it was never enough."

"Therefore, he ultimately chose to break his finger, because the pain from breaking a finger, far more intense than flesh wounds, indeed satisfied his need, paying the [Cost]."

"Thus, the complete usage process of an ability—initiating, withdrawing, paying the cost—was completed."

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