The Greatest Beast Tamer of Earth

Rishi looked at the three objects flying in the air before him; they were the reward he got for clearing the first stage. The one on the right was the silver-colored card, which was shining with a unique silver glitter. To the left was a deck of cards with 'Talent Choosing Deck' written at the center of the cover in a bright purple color.

At the center was a mysterious shard shining in a unique golden aura. It had multiple symbols and patterns that made it look even more sacred and complimented the big golden rune at its center.

At first, Rishi was confused about which item he should use first. After thinking for a while, he decided to keep it simple and use them in the order he received them.

He rubbed his hands in anticipation as he touched the silver-colored card first. The Siver voucher illuminated the whole room in silver. A window appeared before him.

[Do you want to use Lucky Spin (silver grade) (element)? Yes or no?]

"Yes," replied Rishi as a giant dark purple picker's wheel appeared before him. He pressed the spin button in the hologram, and the wheel started spinning.

After a few seconds, Rishi pressed the stop button, and the spinning dial came to a halt at number 27.

A card with its back towards him appeared. It was black with golden borders, and a large 27 appeared before him and started spinning.

The card in front of Rishi grew larger and slowly turned while simultaneously slowing down its speed; the word "Umbrakinesis" became visible on the card. The card then shrank and vanished inside Rishi's body.

Rishi opened his status window to check what this skill was about. He traced down his new skill on his status window and soon found it with his other passive skills.

Umbrakinesis (growth): This skill allows the user to manipulate the shadow according to his will. The greater the user's control, the more multitasking this skill will be. At first, the user will only be able to create 2-D shapes like tentacles, but as his control increases, he will be able to create all sorts of 3-D constructs like weapons, monsters, and even clones.

Rishi didn't know what to say. This skill is very unique and useful, but he will need to practice it to make it useful. Once he is able to master it, this skill will make him a true master of shadow.

After being satisfied with the first item, he touched the second item, 'Talent Choosing Deck.' He had just touched it when he appeared in a strange world. There were uncountable cards there; even when there were cards all around him, despite there being so many, he could somehow feel that each one of them was unique.

At the center of each card was a strange magic rune, which made its presence different and distinct from others; some had a fire-type rune, some an electric-type rune, and some had a hammer-shaped rune.

The cards shook before starting to spin in a cyclone around him. From what Rishi could guess, each card here represented a type of talent.

Talent was something that gave one awakened person an advantage over other awakened people. It could be something as simple as 'Quick Hands, which increased dexterity, or something like 'Blaze, which increased the damage of every fire element type skill.

A white orb appeared out of nowhere and started floating before Rishi. It had strange old runes that had been rubbed away over time to become very light. Its golden color also had big black patches.

It suddenly came to Rishi's mind that he had to put his hand on it. He shut his eyes and put his hand on the orb. At first, nothing happened, but after a few seconds, a golden light burst out of it, blinding Rishi.

He opened his eyes again and saw that he was standing in his original place with the two items in front of him. The cover of the "Talent Choosing Deck" glowed in a comfortable golden light before it opened by itself.

Eight cards flew out of it and surrounded him. He looked at the strange eight cards with different runes, different colors, and different colored borders.

1.) First Card: Berserk: Turn into the incarnation of destruction; let your rage control you and give you strength. The basic stats are increased manyfold. The longer the range, the more power you will get.

"This one looks like a good ability, but I already have stats way higher than average." "Is it worth it to become emotionally unstable and lose the ability to think for a little boost?"

2.) Second Card: Telekinesis: It gives the user the ability to manipulate the objects around him according to his will; the greater the range, the less effective this ability will be.

"Now, this is what I call a cool talent, but do I really need it? I already have 'Reaper's Chains, which can do the same thing. Let's check out other ones before making a decision."

3.) Third Card: Featherlight: Become as light as a feather, which gives the user the ability to float in the air. The effect of all movement skills becomes very fast when this ability is in action.

"This one has some unique concepts, but I believe others are better than it."

4.) Fourth Card: Illusion: It gives the user the ability to create illusions in his attacks, making it very difficult for others to block or defend them.

"It will make my attacks even more unpredictable, but let's check the remaining ones before deciding."

5.) Fifth Card: X-Ray Vision: It grants the user the ability to see through things through magic and illusion.

"This looks like a talent specially made for men of culture." His nose started bleeding as he imagined using this skill.

6.) Sixth Card: Mind Reader: It grants the user the ability to read anyone's mind, but it will be less effective against high-level users.

"This one looks like a cool skill, but it doesn't increase my fighting ability at all, which is the main thing I am looking for."

7.) Seventh Card: Master of All: This grants the user the ability to wield any weapon. To be able to use a weapon even more effectively, the user must first wield that weapon. It also increases proficiency while trying to master any weapon.

His eyes lit up when he saw this talent. "Now, this is what we call a prodigy's talent of prodigy. How cool it will be to defeat every opponent by using their own weapon against them!" he laughed. "It sounds fun."

8.) Eight Card: Smoke Body: Grants the user the ability to turn his whole body or a particular part into smoke; the part turned into smoke will not be damaged by any physical or magic attack.

"This one is also something that will make me even more powerful. How cool it will be to turn myself into smoke and dodge the powerful attacks of the opponent, but somehow it does the same work as 'Shadow Walk."

"They all look unique and cool, but I can only choose one." His eyes were teary; how could they not be when he saw that there were such good talents and he could only get one?

It was like showing him all the delicacies of the world and asking him that he could only eat one: "This is unfair; why does it have to be like this?"

At last, he calmed down and started deciding which one to pick. He activated the 'Extreme Focus' skill and started comparing all the talents. He had only three criterions in mind for choosing a talent, which was that it should be something he needs, not something he wants.

While the need and want sounded very similar, they were very different from each other. The need is something that one requires to survive, while want is something one needs for pleasure or fun.

The second criterion he decided on was synergy: his talent should have synergy with his other skills, which should create an overall greater impact.

The third criterion he came up with was potential--how much room is there for this talent to increase his overall potential?

It took him a while to analyze everything and come up with a decision, but he was satisfied with his final choice. He picked the seventh card. The magic rune on the card shone before entering Rishi's body and creating a rune on his body.

Rishi felt a little pain in his back; it was like someone was carving something on it with a hot knife.

The pain stopped after some time, and when Rishi opened his eyes again, he felt little change. At first, he was confused, but when he tried to test it by using the special daggers he got as a prize, he found that he was somehow able to wield them normally.

After just a few seconds, he was able to use them perfectly; he even tried targeting the objects around him and somehow was able to hit every target successfully. His mouth was wide open when he saw that this skill made people wonder if hard work was really that great.