My Three Vampire Queens In The Apocalypse-Chapter 36: Poor Arin, Bro got no Talent!

"I am tired, big bro..."

Juli’s voice dragged as she dropped flat onto the ground, arms and legs spread. It looked like she had just fought a war instead of pushing ants around for a few hours.

Dust puffed up around her, and she did not even bother to move away from it. She just lay there, staring at the sky absentmindedly.

I looked down at her, then at the empty road around us, and then back at her again.

For a brief moment, I considered pretending I did not hear anything and continuing to walk.

Unfortunately, she was my responsibility now, which meant I could not abandon her here like a tired piece of luggage.

Truly tragic.

I let out a slow breath and crossed my arms. "You have been training for just a few hours."

She turned her head slightly, her cheek still pressed against the ground, and looked at me with the most exhausted expression I had seen all day. "That is a lot..."

I stared at her.

Then I nodded slowly, because arguing with that level of confidence felt pointless.

"Right. A few hours is apparently equal to a lifetime of suffering."

She did not even react to the sarcasm. That was how tired she was. Still, as ridiculous as she looked right now, the results were... not.

I opened her stat window again, and the familiar blue screen appeared in front of me.

Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 3 Physique Lv. 2 Strength Lv. 3 Agility Lv. 2 Magic Power Lv. 4

I stared at it quietly. Then I read it again, to make sure I was not hallucinating.

Then I closed it before my mood got worse.

It was too late, though. It was already worse.

I looked down at Juli, who had now rolled slightly to the side, still completely drained. I felt something dangerous rise inside me.

It was Jealousy! Pure, unfiltered, completely justified jealousy.

"What is this..." I muttered under my breath, running a hand through my dirty black hair.

She had started with stats so low that calling them average would have been generous. Now, after a few hours of practice, every single one of them had increased.

Not just one or two. All of them.

And her magic power had jumped like it was trying to speedrun the system.

I looked up at the sky for a moment, as if expecting an explanation to descend from above.

Nothing came. Of course, nothing came! Because this world was clearly very fair and very balanced.

I crouched down beside her and poked her lightly on the forehead. "Do you even understand what you just did?"

"I moved ants..."

I closed my eyes for a second.

Yes.

That was exactly the problem.

In [WOMD], there were two ways to increase stats, and the difference between them was like the difference between walking and teleporting.

The first way was simple and brutally honest. You used coins. You took your hard-earned coins and poured them directly into your stats.

The system accepted them, your numbers went up, and that was it. Clean, reliable, and painfully expensive. Every level cost more than the last, which meant that unless you were constantly earning, you were constantly falling behind.

The second way...

I opened my eyes and looked straight at her.

"...is talent. If someone is naturally good at something, and they keep doing it, their stats increase on their own. No coins. No cost. Just growth."

I gestured toward Juli. "You have been using your ability non-stop. Calling insects, controlling them, sensing through them. Your body and your magic are adapting to that."

"So... I got stronger because I used it?"

"Yes. And not just a little stronger. Your magic power increased by three levels."

"Three...?"

"Yes. Three," I repeated, making sure she understood. "Do you know how long that usually takes?"

She shook her head.

"Days. Sometimes weeks. For normal people."

I paused for a moment, then added with a completely straight face, "Months, if they are unlucky like me."

She blinked again, clearly trying to process that.

Meanwhile, I turned my gaze away and stared into the distance, because if I kept looking at her, I might say something very unkind.

Because while she was casually gaining three levels like it was a side effect of breathing...

I had gained nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I had used more mana than her. I had pushed myself harder. I had actually risked my life multiple times.

And what did I get?

Zero.

Not even a courtesy level. I placed a hand on my chest for a moment, feeling my own mana circulate.

There was no change. Not even a little.

"Yeah," I muttered, "this is definitely fair."

Juli looked at me, confused. "What is fair?"

"Nothing," I replied immediately. "Nothing is fair."

She nodded like that made sense, which somehow made it worse.

I stood up and stretched slowly, trying to shake off the irritation before it turned into something more permanent.

"Listen carefully, what you have is not normal. If you keep using your ability like this, your stats will keep increasing. That is how talent works."

"So I just have to keep using it?"

"Yes, but not randomly. You need to push it. Challenge it. Make it harder each time. If you only do easy things, your growth will slow down."

I pointed toward the ground where a few ants were still moving around.

"Earlier, you could barely move a pebble. Now you can control multiple groups at once. Next, you will control more. Then bigger insects. Then entire swarms."

As I spoke, I could already see the path ahead forming in my mind.

And it was... not a comforting one.

I looked at her again, at the way she was trying to stand properly despite being exhausted, at the determination slowly replacing that earlier fatigue.

"Alright," I said, clapping my hands once to break the moment. "Break is over."

She froze. Then she slowly looked up at me, betrayal written clearly on her face. "Already...?"

"Yes, already."

She stared at me like I had just committed a crime against humanity, then glanced at the ground as if considering going back to lying down permanently.

I raised an eyebrow. "If you stop now, your growth slows down."

She hesitated.

I added, very casually, "And slower growth means a higher chance of dying in a very unpleasant way."

She stood up instantly.

"I am ready."