SSS Transmigration: I Can Extract And Evolve Overpowered Shadows-Chapter 24: Investigating The Pleasure House (1)

Gunther’s office was exactly what one would expect from a guild master—large, furnished with several tables and chairs, documents spread across every surface, the scent of fresh wood and crisp paper hanging in the air.

From the moment Hinata entered the room, his eyes swept continuously across the space, absorbing every detail.

Once Gunther settled into his high-backed chair, he tapped a pen once against the table, drawing Hinata’s attention back to him.

"Since we are all alone, why don’t you drop the hood?"

Hinata hesitated for a moment before removing the hood concealing his features. The moment it came down, Gunther inhaled sharply.

"Oh wow, you are quite the looker, aren’t you?" He laughed loudly. "I bet if the female adventurers saw your face you wouldn’t have needed to fight at all."

Hinata moved closer to the somewhat young man’s chair. He had long white hair that fell over one shoulder, sharp eyes, and a single long scar cutting across the bridge of his nose. "You don’t seem to be from this area, Hinata. Are you an immigrant?"

Hinata ran a hand along the chair on the other side of the table. Finding no dust on it, he glanced up at Gunther, waiting for permission to sit.

Gunther nodded once, and Hinata sat without hesitation.

After settling into the chair, he looked at the white-haired man and addressed the earlier question. "No, I’m not from here, neither am I an immigrant."

The man’s eyebrows shot upward. "Oh~"

Hinata continued in a subdued voice. "I lived in the mountains close to Falmouth with my grandfather, but since he passed I decided to travel to the city and meet other humans."

Gunther nodded in understanding. "That explains where your absurd strength comes from. Your grandfather must have been an expert."

Hinata simply smiled, offering nothing further.

Gunther, noting that Hinata had no intention of elaborating, pressed on. "You must have been fighting those goblins in the mountains for years."

Hinata nodded.

"So how old are you? Thirty, Forty? Or are you one of those who age very slowly — if that’s the case it would certainly explain your strength."

Hinata tilted his head. "I’m eighteen."

Gunther nodded. "Oh yes, you’re eight—" the words died in his throat, his eyes going wide. "You are what!?"

Hinata blinked, visibly caught off guard by the reaction. ’Was being eighteen really that shocking?’

Gunther pressed his fingers to his temples, his complexion draining. "He’s eighteen..." he kept muttering under his breath.

Hinata brought his hand down lightly on the table, jolting Gunther out of his daze. "Is it really that shocking that I’m eighteen?"

Gunther studied Hinata’s eyes as though searching for a lie. A beat passed before he exhaled. "You’re really eighteen, aren’t you?" He shook his head slowly. "Never thought I would witness something so absurd in my entire life."

He glanced up at Hinata’s bewildered expression and let out a weary sigh. "You genuinely don’t know how strange what you just said is, do you?"

He straightened in his seat, interlacing his fingers and resting his chin against his knuckles. "You may not know this, but in the world of the awakened there are four principal types of abilities. Talent, Authority, Gift, and Bloodline."

Gunther let the words settle for a moment. "As far as I know, gifts are special abilities bestowed by a god upon those they favour. Because of how unpredictable it is, no one knows whether they will receive one or when theirs will awaken."

"Because of this," he said, his tone sharpening, "most gift users tend to be older than other awakened, with only a select few manifesting below thirty — like the young lady of the Sterling family."

He abruptly unclasped his fingers and pointed a finger at Hinata. "Your name doesn’t belong to any noble or prestigious family I recognise, so you cannot be a bloodline user."

He scratched the back of his head absently. "As for authorities, those are what most clergy workers use. It revolves around borrowing power from a god, though some individuals make better vessels for such possession." He paused. "Which leaves only one option."

Gunther’s gaze turned deliberate. "You are a talent user, who just so happens to have natural purple eyes, aren’t you?"

Hinata absorbed the information in silence, which visibly unsettled Gunther.

’So that’s the distinction between the four.’ He raised his head to meet the man’s gaze. "So what if I’m a talent user?"

Gunther struck the desk with his palm. "Then I might just be the luckiest guild master alive."

Hinata raised a brow. "Why so?"

Gunther glanced away, his hand working slow, deliberate circles against the back of his neck. "Well, your kind are extraordinarily rare. Do you understand what it means to awaken an ability entirely on your own, without any god’s intervention? That is the highest pinnacle a human being can ever reach. I personally trained for thirty years and still couldn’t awaken a talent — that alone tells you just how rare it is."

Hinata’s attention drifted from the conversation as he processed Gunther’s words.

The distinctions between the four ability types were far more intricate than he had initially assumed.

Gifts were bestowed by gods upon those they cherished. Authorities were powers that select individuals with a compatible vessel could borrow from a deity. Bloodlines were precisely what he had imagined. The most shocking of all, however, were talents — a rare phenomenon in which an ordinary human could awaken an ability through their own means alone. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

According to what Goku had said earlier, talent users held the potential to surpass even those with gifts, provided they trained rigorously enough.

Hinata couldn’t help but scoff. ’What a fucking protagonist class.’

One way or another, he knew he would eventually encounter someone with a talent. What he didn’t understand was what Gunther’s explanation had to do with his reaction to him being eighteen, but he was grateful for the extra knowledge nonetheless.

’So my classmates all have gifts, then.’ He refocused his attention on Gunther. "Do you know anything else about the awakened?"

Gunther shook his head. "As an unawakened, my knowledge of the awakened world is limited — though I do know about the three classes."

"The three classes?"

Gunther was on the verge of answering when he suddenly stopped. After a brief pause, a sly smirk curled across his lips. "I don’t think it’s fair simply handing you that information."

He leaned back in his chair and tapped the table three times. "Why don’t you help me, and in return I’ll give you everything you need to know."

Hinata, already drawn in by Gunther’s explanation, asked in a measured tone. "Help with what?"

Gunther’s smirk widened. "I need you to investigate something for me. Complete it, and not only will I share everything I know — I’ll expedite your registration and set your starting rank at D. How does that sound?"

The offer was enticing, but Hinata still withheld a direct answer. The sweetest deals always carried the deadliest costs.

"What exactly is it you need me to investigate?"

Gunther leaned forward as though to whisper. "The pleasure house in Falmouth City. I need you to gather intel on the recent sighting of demons."