In the next instant, the notification vanished and I was left blinking at the empty air.

'Huh? Has it updated?'

For a long moment, nothing else happened, just the quiet crackle of the fire.

'Hmm…'

Since I didn't get any other notification from Gamer Privileges, I sighed and began to ponder:

It just suddenly notified me, saying something about how it wants to update due to noticing major changes outside its scope of meta knowledge. Are those changes in relation to the group who attacked us in the cave at Merdini's Burial Ground?

I couldn't read their profile then. Does this update mean I would now be able to do so?

Also, what other changes would it now be aware of?

While I was still lost in my thoughts, Evelyn dropped opposite me by the fireplace and began warming her hands. I looked up from my bowl of soup to her, then back to the bowl. I was about to get lost in my thoughts again when Dion dropped onto the ground next to me, wincing. For a moment, his expression was one of someone who was aching all over, but in a few seconds it changed to that of someone lost in his thoughts.

Then, right at that moment, I heard a soft, drawn-out yawn behind me. When I turned my head around, I saw Celeste wobbling tiredly toward us. She sank down close beside Evelyn, maneuvering herself slightly closer to the fire's warmth.

For a few seconds, everyone seemed lost in their own world. Then, I felt a stare and looked up from my soup. Evelyn was gazing at me with a long, questioning look until our eyes met, and then she finally spoke.

"I've been thinking… you are really strange Cedric."

When I arched a brow in confusion, Evelyn quickly clarified. "Not you exactly, but… your abilities."

She paused for a bit, gathering her thoughts, then continued. "I know that there are all sorts of powers and abilities out there, but… you literally brought not just me, but my bond back from the dead. No matter how many times I run it through my head, that sort of feat doesn't feel like something a mortal should be able to do. Especially the part of bringing back a bond that was long dead and gone back to life."

Before I could even fully register her words, Dion blurted, "I know, right?"

He leaned forward, his voice a low, excited murmur. "Not only did he come back to life after being killed and had his head chopped off, but he can even bring back both a dominant and their bond back. He can also grant any kind of material wish as a bonded ability. But that's not all, he seems to know everything about everything. It's insane."

Evelyn narrowed her eyes in thought, then turned her gaze toward me with a slow, calculating intensity. "I think you lied to us about the nature of your abilities, Ced."

Before I could react, Dion arched a brow and leaned back slightly. "Oh?"

Evelyn looked at the fire with a deductive expression on her face.

"Think about it for a second. Cedric says he grants wishes in exchange for favors as his bonded ability. At first, I thought that the cost he needs to pay for those material wishes is the favors he gets in return." She looked to Dion. "But then, there are times he grants wishes without any favors, which leads me to believe that favors aren't really the cost. I have also seen him and the raven of decay make things disappear. After which they make them appear later on, which leads me to believe that rather than granting wishes, it is more of an ability that lets him store things."

Dion tilted his head deductively, "Kind of like a haversack?"

Evelyn snapped her fingers. "Exactly."

She then looked back to the fire. "If you ask me, I think that this ability is not his bonded ability. It's probably his exclusive skill." Her voice grew a bit more certain. "I may be wrong, but I think his true bonded ability is probably the ability that has to do with resurrection. Since its an absolutely insane power, I think its cost must be equally extreme."

Dion narrowed his eyes and after a few seconds nodded a few times as if the pieces were clicking into place. "Now that you say it like that, I kind of see it too."

Evelyn gave a satisfied smirk to Dion. "Right? …And as for how he knows stuff about almost everything, I think that's because of his attribute. I know a few rogues whose attributes give them really good insight and intuition. So I think Cedric is probably a Rogue." She turned to me. "Did I get it right?"

My jaw was dropped. 'Goddamn…'

At first, I was like, was she really trying to deduce my abilities right now?

But when she began to get almost everything right, I couldn't help but stare at her in a dawning mix of both awe and intense wariness.

Just how smart was this girl?

She kept looking at me with gleaming eyes like a child who had just solved a difficult maths problem and was now waiting for approval and praise.

Luckily, Ino's voice cut in right at that moment. "What's wrong with you guys? Don't you know it's impolite to talk on the topic of another person's abilities in this manner?"

Evelyn looked to her, her expression changing to one of genuine surprise. "Huh? Is it?"

Ino sat down beside Dion and immediately cuffed him a few times in the head, causing him to wince and mutter, "Ouch, ouch, ouch."

Then she turned to Evelyn and replied. "Yes. Everyone has their reasons for not wanting to share about their abilities. It doesn't matter if we are in the same party."

"Oh." Evelyn's smug expression softened immediately. Then she looked at me with an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Hope I didn't put you in an uncomfortable spot? I promise that was not my intention."

I looked away from her to my bowl of soup. "It's fine."

I then took a long, hasty, awkward sip from the bowl, finishing it off to break the tension.

'Thanks for the save, Maenad of the ritual madness.'

At that moment, Ino spoke again in a casual tone. "By the way, who among us knows how to build a boat?"

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