Will of Vienna

The strong smell of blood and iron from the thirty-three dead monsters filled the cold air. The dead bodies lay beneath the students' boots. The narrow stairwell was littered with corpsed and torn fur.

Michael stood straight, looking away from the stairs. He was completely calm, while the students behind him were still nervous.

Rashid and Maximilian had already explained their talents. Rashid’s active talent was called **[Sharpness]**, which could make his own weapons incredibly sharp. Maximilian’s active talent was called **[Strength Boost]**, which gave him a short five percent strength increase. Together, they formed a solid frontline core.

The real strength of the group now depended on the ten other students standing behind them. They had all just reached Level 3, and their new talents were ready.

"You guys," Michael said while pointing his bloody spear towards the rest of the group. "Tell us your talents and what they do at the same time. We need to know exactly what everyone can do before the next monsters arrive."

The golden light from the level-ups of the students had completely healed their bodies and cured their exhaustion, but they were still shocked by the system screens in front of them.

Elena Petrova was the first to speak. Her voice was quiet but steady.

"My name is Elena," she said. "My talent is called **[Stat Transfer]**. I can temporarily send my own stats to another person. Right now, it is strictly limited to the Stamina attribute."

Michael nodded flatly. *For now she is just a resource battery. But she has a high potential and could be an ace. Not as a fighter on her on though. Imagine what would happen if she would transfer the strenght stat of a level 50 to another level 50 guy. That would double his power.* For now she could just restore the stamina of a frontline fighter to keep them going in a long fight. It has something of a healer. But it won’t play a big role in the upcoming battles because the stamina will already be restored after each level up.

Lukas Brunner spoke next.

"I am Lukas Brunner. I have **[Weight Manipulation]**," Lukas explained. "I can change the physical weight of objects, myself, or even other living beings but I need to make physical contact. I hope this restriction will be lifted later."

*Excellent crowd control. It has also a good potential, but the restriction is too fatal for the beginning,* Michael noted. Changing a monster's weight would completely ruin its balance and changing the own weight would make yourself faster. In the hands of a talented, experienced fighter its effect would be massive.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

Jakob Wallner stepped up.

"My name is Jakob Wallner. My talent is **[Explosion]**," Jakob said while grinning widely. "It’s simple as its name suggests. My attacks cause explosions. I’m also curios how big it will be. I want to try it out as soon as possible."

*A classic attack based talent. Other than the previous ones, it will be strong from the beginning,* Michael analysed.

David Lindner followed immediately.

"I am David Lindner. I got **[Gravitational Force]**," David told the group without much emotion. "I can controll gravity to some degree. I can use it to pull or push things or living beings."

*Wow. This is some high tier talent. Attacking, deflecting and controlling the battle in one,* Michael thought. David could pull enemies away from wounded allies or shove a charging monster backward. He could even do more depending on his horizont. *Why does he sound so indifferent? Doesn’t he know his potential?* Michael pondered.

Then the other fighters continued to introduce themselves and their skills.

Amir Al-Sayed said, "Amir Al-Sayed here. I have **[Momentum Burst]**. It gives me a massive speed boost for a few seconds so I can close gaps or bridge distances instantly."

Sarah Nowak kept her eyes on the corridor. "Sarah Nowak. Mine is **[Precision Focus]**. If I concentrate and focus on an enemy, their vital weak points—like eyes, throat, or joints—glow faintly in my mind."

Matteo Rossi added, "I am Matteo Rossi. I got **[Rhythmic Attack]**. Every successful attack in a row increases my attack speed by two percent. It stacks up to five times, but I lose it if I miss."

Mei-Ling Zhou spoke softly. "Mei-Ling Zhou. My talent is **[Cellular Regeneration]**. It speeds up healing to close wounds and repair damage, but right now I can only use it on myself. I guess i won’t be of big help, I am sorry."

Sophie Dupont tapped her ear. "My name is Sophie Dupont . I have **[Environmental Radar]**. It creates a three-dimensional map of our surroundings directly in my mind. Right now, it only works through sound waves, footsteps, and vibrations through the walls. You can count on me if it comes to informing about lurking enemies."

Jonas Holzer finished the reports. "Jonas Holzer. Mine is **[Sunder]**. A targeted strike creates a weak spot in an enemy's armor or skin and destroys its defence at this spot." Jonas rubbed the dried blood from his knuckles as he spoke, his voice hoarse from the fight.

When the last student finished, the area went quiet again.

Michael’s brain immediately put the information together to form a plan.

Rashid would be at the front line. With Sarah finding weak points, Jonas cracking the armor, Lukas messing with the enemies' weight, and David controlling their position, their fighting options had grown immensely. They also had battle experience now and were no longer a group of terrified civilians.

"Good," Michael said in a dull voice, leaving his fifteen free stat points safely untouched for now. "We know what everyone can do now. You can try to familiarize yourself with your talents as long as we have some time left to rest."

Something else was bothering Michael. He looked down at the pile of thirty-three dead hound-foxes. From all his years of playing RPGs, he knew that killed monsters were supposed to leave loot behind. Items, weapons, gold—anything. But so far, the System had dropped absolutely nothing. The monsters just died and left corpses.

Michael's eyes narrowed. If the loot didn't magically appear outside, it meant it had to be inside them. There had to be something hidden within their bodies.

He knelt down beside the nearest carcass, ignoring the thick blood staining his jeans. He brought his spear tip down toward the monster's chest. He needed to cut them open and find out what was inside.

"Rashid, Maximilian, keep watch on the corridor," Michael ordered, his voice flat as he prepared to slit the creature's flesh. "I'm going to see what these things are hiding."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!