Chapter 20: The Transcendent

Soon, Matthew and the young nurse arrived at Robin’s room. Seeing that Robin was awake, Matthew breathed a sigh of relief.

"Team Leader Matthew..." Robin sat up slightly.

Matthew looked weary; he hadn't changed his clothes, and they appeared somewhat soiled.

"Don't move around too much; just rest," Matthew said, sitting down beside Robin. "How are you feeling now?"

"I feel quite well..." After sitting up, Robin asked, "What did the superiors say?"

"I have provided a unilateral summary of the current situation," Matthew said with a grave expression. "As for what to do next, I haven't received any instructions yet."

This was the inconvenience of poor communication. They couldn't just pick up a phone to discuss matters; they had to rely on sonic telegraphs, which were similar to the telegraphs often seen in spy films. While devices similar to telephones did exist, they required powerful transcendents or artifacts to act as relay mediums. Only those with high enough status could use them; at the very least, neither Matthew nor Vincent had the clearance.

"I understand. You should go get some rest..."

"I slept for two hours, which is enough. My current state is due to excessive mental exhaustion; I need to enter deep meditation. Each deep meditation session must be at least two hours long. I'll wait for the superiors to reply before I decide whether to rest again."

"Meditation, mental power... how much do you know about transcendents and transcendent traits?" Robin chose to ask directly.

He took another look at Matthew’s attributes, which had updated significantly this time.

[Matthew Davis]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 35]
[Strength: D+]
[Durability: E]
[Agility: D+]
[Spirit: C-]
[Magic Power: C+]
[Transcendent Trait: Spiritual Link]
[Spiritual Link: Can replenish the mental energy consumed by others and promote the growth of others' mental power. Can use Mental Blast to shatter another person's mental sea. Capable of telepathic communication. Capable of mental suggestion.]

Robin had wondered earlier why Matthew's attributes seemed low; it turned out the hidden essence was the key.

Training others' mental power was indeed a useful skill, one that could make his own people stronger. It could also replenish mental energy... Robin had a feeling that his ability to wake up now was likely due to Matthew’s treatment. As for why Matthew hadn't noticed his mental exhaustion last night... that was unclear. Mental Blast and telepathic communication likely had a certain range. Since he and Matthew had only spent a short time together, more detailed information could not be displayed.

"Transcendent traits..." Matthew habitually pulled a pack of cigarettes from his coat and extracted one.

"Team Leader, he is a patient!" the young nurse protested.

"Oh, apologies..."

"It’s fine," Robin said, noting that he was used to it, having been surrounded by chain-smokers in his previous life.

"So-called transcendent traits are essentially the materialization of a person's innate talent," Matthew explained, putting the cigarette away unlit.

Soon, Robin gained a general understanding of what transcendents were. If someone was skilled at football, they might possess a leg-strengthening trait; if they were good at throwing discus, they might have a strength-enhancing trait; if they were particularly tough, they might have a bodily resilience trait.

Transcendent traits could be awakened more than once. However, it wasn't a case of "the more, the better," as multiple awakenings could lead to useless abilities that became a burden. Take Vincent’s leg-strengthening; if a second awakening turned into full-body strengthening, that would be good. But if the leg-strengthening just intensified, the rest of his body might not keep up, potentially causing his lungs to explode or his heart to over-prioritize blood flow to his legs, weakening other bodily functions or even causing brain damage.

There were currently two schools of thought regarding transcendent awakening. One group believed in awakening as many times as possible, thinking it made them superior. The other believed that human energy was limited, and it was better to specialize. For instance, if someone awakened Spiritual Link and ignored other skills to focus solely on Mental Blast, the power could be terrifyingly strong once perfected. Both sides had their champions and had clashed before, with similar track records.

Transcendents were divided into several categories:

The Physical Enhancement type was the most common. This didn't mean they were weak; when physical enhancement reached a certain level, one could easily decapitate a general in the midst of an army, as in ancient times. It was said that a Knight of the Round Table in Britain was once the pinnacle of physical enhancement. Beyond the standard limbs, vocal enhancement could allow one to emit ultrasonic or infrasonic waves, ear enhancement could allow one to eavesdrop on conversations, and root-based enhancement could allow for... well, thirteen times in one night. These were all physical enhancements.

Hmm, if ear enhancement just meant the ears grew large and hard, or if vocal enhancement just clogged the throat, it would be a disaster.

The Elemental type was rarer and required an elemental affinity trait. Some preferred water, others fire or wind. Once this trait was awakened, one could control the corresponding element or even conjure it from nothingness. Unlike Devil Fruits, one could not turn their own body into the element.

The Mental Enhancement type included Spiritual Link, Nightmare, and Hypnotist—all types of mental strengthening.

The Phantom Beast type granted features of animals; some could breathe freely in the ocean, while others could grow wings like birds.

The Object Control type showed an affinity for specific objects. Some were naturally gifted with basketballs, some cooked better, and others were more adept at using specific tools. Some people would trip over their own feet while skiing, while others felt the skis were a natural extension of their bodies the moment they touched them.

The Beast Taming type allowed one to connect with certain animals or insects, understand their language, heal them, and strengthen them.

The Special type covered everything that didn't fit into the above categories.

Particularly powerful transcendents were honored guests of major powers and rarely acted personally. There was high risk involved in their actions, so they usually only performed special missions or acted as bodyguards rather than charging into the front lines. After all, even if physical enhancement could withstand knives and bullets, what about artillery shells? Transcendents were not as omnipotent as Robin had imagined; they could not conquer heaven or earth. They couldn't compare to Devil Fruit users or powerful mutants; in the face of massive warships and heavy firearms, transcendents were simply outmatched. There was no such thing as an unkillable transcendent, only insufficient firepower.

However, the trouble with transcendents wasn't just direct confrontation; some had bizarre abilities that were impossible to guard against.

"Transcendent awakening comes in two forms: one is using the power of magic crystals to trigger it, and the other is self-awakening, which is quite rare. If one lacks sufficient talent, no amount of outside force will help," Matthew said. Feeling a bit parched, he picked up the water the nurse had prepared for Robin and took a large gulp.

"There are always signs before awakening. For physical enhancement, the affected area becomes hot or even gets infected. The Phantom Beast type is the simplest, as beastly features appear on some part of the body. As for the mental type, well, the feeling is somewhat indescribable; only the person experiencing it can understand."

Matthew stared at Robin. "I was poisoned last night and didn't treat it immediately, so my mental sensing became weak, which is why I didn't notice your anomaly..."

"Your mental exhaustion yesterday shows that you have begun to self-awaken. Is it the Mental type, Elemental type, Object Control type, or the Special type?"