Died for a Million Times: I can Copy Infinite SSS Talents!-Chapter 41 --Life in the Barracks

Inside the dormitory,

Link toyed with the metallic badge in his hand, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

This was the badge that Commander Brian had just given him — a symbol of the Northern Front.

Every soldier stationed at the Northern Front would receive one.

On the battlefield, if you happened to lose your badge, it would cause serious trouble.

After all, the badge symbolized one's identity and also served functions such as positioning, issuing distress signals, and even containing poison.

Overall, this small badge turned out to be far more useful than Link had initially expected.

At the very least, until he found a suitable suicide talent, the badge could temporarily act as a safeguard.

Perhaps... he should also consider searching for some particularly effective poisons?

The thought flashed through his mind, but Link quickly shifted his focus back to his main goal:

finding the right talent.

No matter what, he could not allow himself to fall into another month-long coma again.

It was simply too great a waste of time!

Fastening the badge securely to his chest,

Link stepped out of his dormitory.

At the very center of the camp stood a massive screen.

Its contents were simple — the merit points rankings for the Eagle Hatchling Camp trainees.

However, curiously enough, Seraphine's name was nowhere to be seen.

"1st Place: Annora, Merit Points: 1818"

"2nd Place: Ally, Merit Points: 998"

"..."

Just as Link was looking at the screen, a clear yet slightly timid voice called out from behind him.

"Link, you're finally back!"

Somewhat surprised, Link turned around and found himself facing Annora,

someone he had only briefly met before.

In truth, he didn't have a particularly strong impression of Annora herself —

he remembered her more vividly because of the guy who had challenged him in her name.

"Annora, is there something you need from me?" Link asked politely.

"I... I want to challenge you!"

Annora's voice was still shy, but her gaze was unwaveringly firm.

"Even if you defeated Tron, I won't be afraid of you!"

What in the world?

Link felt a headache coming on.

He honestly couldn't understand this girl's logic at all.

Yet Annora continued,

"I don't want to take advantage of you, so I'll give you one month to recover."

With that said, she promptly turned and walked away,

leaving Link standing alone in the breeze, utterly bewildered.

Seriously... was this girl mentally sound?

Link shook his head and decided not to take the matter to heart.

Given his actual strength, there was an immense gulf between them.

Meanwhile, back in her dormitory, Annora buried her face into her thick blanket like an ostrich.

She was practically trembling.

That was so nerve-wracking!

Had she managed to scare Link at all?

I hope I did well...

They said this kind of confrontation could help increase her strength,

but why did it feel so uncomfortable instead?

I didn't embarrass myself, did I...?

...

Link, however, did not dwell on the encounter for long.

Instead, he made his way directly toward the Mission Hall.

Soon after he left, the other trainees nearby broke into a flurry of heated discussion.

"My god, Annora actually challenged Link??"

"I'm really curious who's stronger between them now.

Even though Link completely crushed us during the Entry Test, it's already been a month.

Both Annora and Ally have reached Level 3 Esper now.

Who knows if Link can still handle them?"

"Yeah, although Link was amazing back then,

we were all at the basic esper stage.

A month of training could make a huge difference."

"It's such a shame about Link.

If he hadn't gotten injured back then,

he might still be unbelievably strong!"

Most of the trainees expressed sincere regret over Link's situation.

They weren't particularly optimistic about his chances.

Of course, Link was completely unaware of these discussions.

Right now, he had only one thing on his mind:

finding the best talent to help him "die efficiently."

According to Lib's recommendation, there were currently three talents among the moonfolk that suited him best.

To clarify, it wasn't that there were only three —

it was just that, given Link's current level of access,

only three available moonfolk races had talents most suitable for his needs.

The term "moonfolk" was a collective label.

In truth, it encompassed tens of thousands of different races living on the moon.

Their appearances, talents, and strength varied wildly.

The strongest ten races —

any one of them would be considered a terrifying foe to humanity.

Their habitats were incredibly perilous places,

far beyond what someone like Link could currently reach.

Thus, Lib's recommendation was based purely on practical accessibility.

Once inside the Mission Hall,

Link immediately began scanning the mission panels for suitable tasks.

Ignoring the murmuring conversations around him,

he headed straight to the task window.

"Excuse me," Link asked politely. "How do I accept missions?"

The receptionist was a blond, blue-eyed young woman with long, wavy hair.

Seeing Link's youthful and handsome face,

she immediately flashed a warm, welcoming smile.

"You must be one of the Eagle Hatchling Camp trainees, right?

Just hand me your badge, and you'll be able to select missions from the window."

"But I should remind you," she added,

"you can only accept three missions at a time."

"In addition, the mission ranks you can access depend on your merit level.

From SSS-rank to F-rank, the higher the rank, the more difficult the missions."

"For you camp kids," she explained kindly,

"even though you technically start with an F-rank merit level,

you're granted special privileges by the warzone authorities —

you can accept missions two levels higher, meaning D-rank missions."

"But," she warned gently,

"I really suggest you think carefully before taking them.

D-rank missions aren't easy."

"Also, the merit ranking system is directly tied to the merit points you accumulate.

Take you, for example:

as an F-rank, you'll need 100 merit points to advance to E-rank."

"Since F-rank missions generally reward about 1 point each,

that means you'd need to complete 100 missions."

"E-rank missions usually reward around 5 points each.

D-rank missions offer about 10 points."

"In other words, if you focus on D-rank missions,

you'll only need 10 missions to rank up."

Link nodded in understanding and thanked her politely.

Then he turned his attention back to the task selection screen.

Before long, he locked onto his targets and quickly entered the corresponding serial numbers.

"You're taking three D-rank missions at once?!"

The receptionist looked at him in open shock.

"I really think you should reconsider," she urged.

"Those missions are seriously difficult, and—"

"No need," Link cut her off with a calm smile.

"I've already made up my mind."