The new tablet showed the statistics of his aptitude. On the upper page, it was the statistic of his talents. Talents were innate abilities that existed within one’s bloodline and soul. People, of course, could awaken these talents automatically when they became an Artist. However, some people weren’t born with talent. It all depended on their bloodline and soul.

Looking at the talent statistic, his face beamed. He was actually lucky to have one talent from his bloodline. He immediately read his talent’s description.

[Name: Troll’s Regeneration. Description: Increase the regenerative ability of the physique by consuming mana.]

Tusk suddenly realized this talent was familiar to him. He had seen troll artists fight, and they could regenerate their injuries. It turned out this was a bloodline talent every troll had. Of course, he needed to become an Artist to awaken this talent.

After seeing his bloodline talent, he glanced at the empty soul talent and sighed in disappointment. However, he immediately shook his head. Having one talent was great. Many people didn’t have a talent at all, especially those humans. So, Tusk still felt great about having one.

Next, Tusk looked at the lower page that was showing his elemental affinity and his aptitude to sense mana in the air. First, he peeked at the aptitude. From scale one to five, his aptitude was at grade three, meaning he had the medium talent to become an Artist.

Knowing this, Tusk felt his future was bright. He couldn’t wait to see what elemental affinities he was best at. He looked at the bar chart that represented nine elements: water, nature, metal, earth, fire, wind, lightning, light, and darkness.

On the bar chart, there was only one metal elemental bar, meaning he only had a metal elemental affinity. According to the diary, average Artists had one elemental affinity, so this was normal.

After confirming his aptitude, he closed the tablet and the old one reappeared with updated information.

Name: Tusk Tuskless

Race: Noland Troll

Rank: Mortal

Bloodline Talent: Troll’s Regeneration

Affinity: Metal

Strength: 0.3

Vitality: 0.4

Agility: 0.3

Magic Force: 0

Astral Force: 0

After checking his aptitude, Tusk immediately wanted to practice meditation. However, he had to find a place to shelter himself first, so he grabbed his belongings and left the place.

After an hour of traveling, Tusk arrived at the Camp of Rogues at the bottom of the cliff. As the name suggested, many rogues stayed here. It was one of the most popular places among native races on Noland Island, and the manager of this place was an Artist with an excellent reputation, so it was the nearest safest place he could think of.

Tusk came with nothing but a sack in his hand. He entered the chief’s hut and approached a minotaur who was sitting on a bone throne. After that, he knelt before the humanoid bull. “Greetings, chief.”

“I have heard from the guards that an odd-looking troll is coming to rent a place. After looking at you directly, your face is really horrible,” the chief said with disdain.

Tusk kept his head low, not daring to defend himself. The chief in front of him was an Artist. That was how he managed this camp peacefully. To live in this place, he couldn’t afford to offend him.

“Lord Chieftain is right. I want to rent a place to live.”

“People come to this place with that intention. First, I need to hear your backstory. Do tell.”

“I am a troll from Kershak’s tribe. We fought an army of humans that had the backing of an Artist. Many people died, and I was lucky enough to run away from the battlefield. I don’t wish to fight on the battlefield anymore. I hope to live peacefully as a rogue.”

The chief laughed in a mocking tone. “You know… a rogue’s life is worse than a warrior of a tribe. However, I understand why you want to become a rogue,” he said as he looked at Tusk’s horrendous appearance.

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Tusk hid his hand and clenched it harder, enduring the humiliation. Even so, he still humbled himself in front of an Artist. “My lord really has vast wisdom. Can I rent a place here?”

The chief nodded in approval. Even though Tusk was ugly, the troll’s respectful attitude pleased him. “Alright. But as you know, our payment is rather expensive. Of course, if you are rich, you can enjoy many services in this place, and you can even buy weapons for yourself. Now, let’s see your payment, little troll.”

Tusk immediately unwrapped the pouch and presented a four-leaf blue clover. This wasn’t an ordinary clover, but a magical herb. It was one of Ariel’s belongings. He didn’t know what it was, but he knew it was precious, judging by its glowing appearance. The night was approaching, and he really needed a safe shelter.

Tusk knew he could use a magical herb as a payment, but he underestimated the value of the four-leaf blue clover. When the minotaur looked at it, his eyes widened in disbelief.

“This is a rare herb that can increase an Artist’s magic force! Only humans can cultivate this plant. How did you get it?”

When he heard the effect of the herb, Tusk immediately regretted his foolish decision to use the clover as the payment. He subconsciously retracted his hand. However, the minotaur immediately grabbed his wrist.

Tusk fell to his knees and begged, “Please spare my life, my lord. I have nothing with me anymore.” He intentionally increased his voice so people outside could hear him.

The chief broke a sweat when the troll shouted for his life. If it was elsewhere, he would just snatch the clover from him, but he had a reputation to maintain in this place. He hurriedly said, “Calm down! I won’t steal this from you. If you give it to me, I will pay you handsomely. This item is useless in your hand too as only Artists can use it. How about that?”

“As long as you spare my lowly life, my lord.”

“Why would I want to take a mere ugly troll’s life?” the minotaur scolded.

“Forgive me, my lord. My lord really has a magnanimous heart.”

“Hmph. I have a good reputation here, so you can trust my words. Let's forget about this trivial matter and get down to the business. How did you get this magical herb? Do you have more?” the chief asked in anticipation.

“Apologize, my lord. That’s my only belonging. We ganged on a lone Artist. Of course, we couldn’t injure him a bit, but someone was lucky to snatch his pouch and throw away the items inside it. I was lucky to grab this clover. After that, I ran away from the battlefield.”

“So that’s what happened. Your luck is rather good, little one.” Unknowingly, the clover was already in the minotaur’s hand. After that, the chief said, “Follow me.”

The minotaur led Tusk into a room with many weapons. He said, “According to the value of this clover, you can stay in my place for three months. You can enjoy free meals and free facilities for three months too. I will even let you pick one of my top-quality weapons for free.”

Tusk heaved a sigh of relief and bowed at the chief. Luckily, the minotaur stayed true to his words. As an Artist, he was magnanimous. If it was the cruel Ariel, he wouldn’t have a chance to trade for his life.

Feeling lucky, Tusk browsed each weapon rack and considered his choice. After a few minutes, he picked a saber. The other weapons were too heavy for his fragile appearance, so this weapon was the most suitable for him because he could lift it easily.

Tusk approached the minotaur and said, “I picked this weapon, my lord.”

“Very well. Now, you can go to your place. A guard will guide you and explain the rules here,” the chief said impatiently as he looked at the clover intimately. He can’t wait to use the magical herb.

A minotaur guard stood behind the chief and signed Tusk to follow him. They left the hut together.

After a while, they arrived at the wall with many ellipse-shaped holes. Ladders were attached to the wall so the tenants could arrive at the holes.

The guard tossed a stone at him, and Tusk suddenly could sense his place. After that, he climbed the ladder and entered his own hole.

To his surprise, the inside of the hole was spacious enough for two people, and a hazy mana wall protected the entrance from outsiders so only he could enter this place. Moreover, the air was cool as if he was on the outside in the dawn, making him refreshed.

No wonder this place was really expensive. The facility was of top quality. He could tell because many tenants were rogue Artists, so no wonder the owner had to maintain the quality.

As a former lowest caste troll, this place was luxurious for him. Tusk wanted to rest immediately, but he needed to retrieve his belongings back, so he left the cave.

After a while, Tusk came back safely. He had left his belongings in the forest, fearing the chief would snatch them all from him. He only dared to retrieve them back when he had made the deal with the chief. Luckily, the sight of mortals carrying many precious things was common here. They only thought of him as a lackey of an Artist. That was how many mortal rogues survived here, aligning themselves to an Artist.

Only a few lucky mortals could rent a place on their own just like him. Those people were stronger than him. If he didn’t change in three months, he didn’t have the confidence to rent in this place anymore, even if he had a top-quality mortal weapon. That became his main reason for becoming stronger.

At the moment, his desire drove him. He didn’t feel worthy to rest. Tusk immediately opened the second book of the three. It was the meditation technique called Elemental Breathing. According to Ariel's diary, mortals could practice the meditation technique to become an Artist, and this manual was his main pathway to becoming one. He determined to grasp the way to meditate before he could rest.

Tusk focused all his cells on reading, memorizing each word written. He really didn’t take a rest. At night, he closed the book and finally took a rest. He hadn’t read all the contents, but luckily, he didn’t need to. The knowledge of meditating was written in the first ten chapters, and he had memorized it.

Tusk couldn’t wait to try it out, but his baggy eyes felt heavy, forcing him to close them. It had been a tiring day for him, but he felt he could change his destiny. He couldn’t wait to wake up the next day.

When he woke up, Tusk immediately peeked outside of the cave and saw the sunlight. His lips curved up into a wide smile, and he crossed his legs into a lotus sitting position.

Sitting in this position was the first thing he needed to do before he started the Elemental Breathing technique. After that, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind. He breathed in and out in a rhythm, trying to feel the mana particle in the air.

At first, Tusk felt nothing, but this was a normal occasion according to the Elemental Breathing manual. People with average talent normally needed three weeks before they could feel the mana particle for the first time. So, he didn’t feel impatient. He still had many things to do, especially the contract mission from the fiend, but he wanted to dedicate this day to meditation.

After a few minutes, Tusk unexpectedly felt something.