Died for a Million Times: I can Copy Infinite SSS Talents!-Chapter 61 --Soul Order, Astral Tide

"Hahaha! See? You should’ve just said so in the first place! Why go looking for trouble for no reason?"

Ryze chuckled as he playfully scolded Link, then grabbed him with one hand and hoisted him onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Without waiting, he shot forward, flying straight toward the depths of the Starshatter Mountains.

At that moment, a clueless Starshatter Wasp happened to block their path.

The sight of those damned creatures reignited Link’s fury. He immediately shouted, "Mentor! Kill that little bee for me! Avenge me!"

Ryze didn’t respond. He simply came to a halt mid-air and stood still.

Soon, the Starshatter Wasp that was hovering a short distance ahead sensed the arrival of unwelcome guests. It raised its abdomen, aiming its sharp stinger directly at Ryze and lunged with aggression.

But something eerie occurred.

Just as the creature entered within a fifteen-meter radius of them, its body suddenly exploded—like overheated glass shattering under pressure. Viscera and blood sprayed everywhere, coating the surroundings. Not a single intact body part remained.

Ryze, as calm as ever, resumed walking forward with Link slung over his shoulder, as though nothing had happened.

Witnessing this, Link could only marvel silently.

A level 9 Esper really is terrifying.

He doesn’t even need to lift a finger to swat those little bugs.

Along the way, they encountered more groups of Starshatter Wasps. Link took the opportunity to copy several new talents from them.

[You have been killed by a Starshatter Wasp. Talent Acquired: Mind Screech (Grade B)]

[You have been killed by a Starshatter Wasp. Talent Acquired: Soul Barrier (Grade A)]

[You have been killed by a Starshatter Wasp. Talent Acquired: Soul Dominator (Grade S)]

Time ticked by, and the number of talents Link collected was growing at an astonishing pace.

After absorbing several waves of soul-type talents, Link finally decided that it was enough. He tapped Ryze on the shoulder.

"Mentor, this is far enough."

Ryze nodded and gently lowered Link back to the ground.

Stretching his shoulders and brushing off the dust, Link took a deep breath and began channeling energy to initiate Cannibal Devour, a process through which soul-related talents devour each other to evolve.

Dying was one thing—but he wasn’t about to let those deaths be in vain.

As talent after talent consumed one another, a brand-new ability was born within him.

[New Talent Acquired: Soul Order (SS Rank)]

[Significantly enhances the user’s Mind Power. The user can directly strike at a target’s consciousness, causing tangible harm. If the target’s level equals the user’s, Soul Order grants control over their body for 60 seconds. For every 100 points the target’s Power Values exceed the user’s, this control duration is reduced by 10 seconds. If the target’s level is higher by Tier 1 or more, Soul Order can no longer seize direct control, but will still interfere with their actions. The greater the level difference beyond Tier 1, the weaker the interference—reduced by 10% per additional tier.]

In a flash, Link’s Mind Power surged into the thousands. frёewebηovel.cѳm

He had just ascended to the peak level of a Tier-2 Esper in terms of psychic might. He couldn’t be more pleased.

Spinning around, Link set his gaze upon the scattered clusters of Starshatter Wasps in the distance, his eyes gleaming with fiery battle intent.

"Your Power Values may be high, but I refuse to believe your mind power is on the same level!"

"Starshatter Wasps, huh? Big fan of swarming tactics, are you?"

"Let’s see what’s tougher—my talent or those needles on your tails!"

With a roar, Link charged headlong into the nearest Starshatter Wasp swarm.

Armed with Soul Order, his mind power now stood in the thousands. This wasn’t just a leap forward in psychic strength—it also meant his ability to reincarnate after death had vastly improved. Based on his rough estimates, he could now die and revive hundreds of times over without issue.

And just as he’d suspected, while Starshatter Wasps were indeed formidable in raw strength, their minds were pitifully underdeveloped.

After all, these were worker bees, born from the Queen Wasp and programmed to perform a single task their entire lives. It was no surprise that their psychic strength was negligible.

After several skirmishes, Link quickly assessed that the mind power of these Starshatter Wasps hovered somewhere around the mid-tier of T2 Espers, completely inferior to him.

Even without relying on Soul Order’s control effect, Link found that simply wielding his mind power offensively allowed him to carve through enemies like a hot knife through butter.

He effortlessly advanced deeper into the Starshatter Mountains.

But as he moved forward, the wasps he encountered grew stronger, and their numbers surged.

As the saying goes: "Even a ferocious tiger fears a pack of wolves."

Link was starting to understand that firsthand.

While he could easily wipe out small clusters of four or five wasps, new reinforcements—sometimes in dozens, sometimes hundreds—kept pouring into the battlefield.

After advancing a few hundred more meters, Link once again collapsed atop a mound of wasp corpses.

It wasn’t that he had been overpowered—he had simply been overwhelmed.

The sheer number of enemies was exhausting. If this kept up, they’d wear him down just by sheer attrition.

Grudgingly, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and call out for help again.

Ryze didn’t hesitate. With a flash, he appeared at Link’s side and swiftly dispatched the surrounding pests.

More time passed.

Just when Link began to think this talent-hunting expedition would end in disappointment, something shifted.

Suddenly, a massive Starshatter Wasp descended in the distance.

[Race: Starshatter Wasp]

[Power Values: 6636 (Mid-Tier T6 Esper)]

[Talent: Astral Tide (SSS Rank)]

[Racial Trait: A unique swarm variant wandering the Starshatter Mountains...]

[Weakness: Removal of stinger...]

The moment Link saw the talent possessed by this monstrous wasp, his eyes lit up. He leapt off Ryze’s shoulder, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Mentor! That’s the one! That’s the one I need!"

Ryze offered a subtle smile, then effortlessly grabbed Link and, like hurling a javelin, launched him through the air straight at the giant Starshatter Wasp.

Unlike its lesser brethren, this creature wasn’t just large—it seemed to possess a spark of intelligence.

Spotting Link soaring toward it like a lunatic, the massive wasp instinctively raised its stinger, positioning it directly in Link’s flight path.

A sickening sound followed.

The stinger impaled Link through the chest.

Blood gushed from his mouth as his consciousness faded and his head slumped to the side.

When he came to again, the first thing he saw was the notification of a newly acquired talent.

[Talent Acquired: Astral Tide (SSS Rank)]

[Unleash the Tides of Stars, Erase the Laws of All. This talent unlocks two companion abilities: Touch of Annihilation and Call of the Stars.]

[Touch of Annihilation: Nullifies and disintegrates three incoming attacks targeting the user, provided they are no more than three tiers above the user’s level. The absorbed energy is then converted into the user’s Power Values. This ability enters a cooldown period during energy conversion and becomes unusable until the process completes. Conversion time decreases as the user’s Power Values increase.]

[Call of the Stars: Doubles the energy absorption rate from any beneficial consumables—be it food, medicine, or energy sources.]