My Talent's Name Is Generator Chapter 776 Go Big

We landed along the island's outer perimeter. No protective barriers activated, no warning spells illuminated the heavens, no sentries rushed out to challenge our arrival. Only a band of light-colored sand stretched before us, with gentle waves caressing the beach, and farther inland lay a village that appeared intentionally ordinary.

The island pulsed with vitality.

Timber pathways linked modest buildings crafted from wood, their sloped roofs strengthened by bones and plumes. Hanging from poles and overhangs were wind bells, more functional than ornamental, designed to alter tones with shifting breezes. This was a village, far from a bustling metropolis.

Bird-like inhabitants navigated the lanes in casual flows. Some strode on two legs with wings tucked against their bodies, while others kept wings partially extended, plumage shimmering in the sunlight as they bore containers, weapons, and implements. Their attire followed tribal styles, with overlapping cloths and hide bindings. Weapons dangled loosely in their grips, neither brandished nor sheathed. Prepared, yet not aggressive.

As our group of four disembarked from the vessel and ventured deeper, chatter hushed around us. Faces pivoted our way. Inquisitive looks trailed us along the central route. Nobody obstructed our progress.

Steve inclined toward me a bit. "They're observing us."

"I know," I murmured in response.

North's gaze swept over the village. Knight trailed a step behind.

I extended my senses to envelop the whole island.

Master-level auras scattered throughout the village, calm and controlled. Four Grandmaster presences emerged right away, placed not like sentinels but as stabilizers, distributed across the area in a formation ready for swift action minus alarm. And even further in, toward the core, one aura shone more intensely than the others.

A Transcendent.

My awareness traced that aura deeper inside.

A temple rose at the village's center.

It towered over nearby edifices, erected on an elevated stone base that obviously outlasted the surrounding wooden settlement. Sculpted columns upheld an expansive pavilion, inside which loomed a figure of a bird deity, wings unfurled broadly, gaze angled skyward. Yet my senses pierced beyond the exterior.

Under the idol hid a room, concealed and fortified. Right in the middle of that space, twisted into a tight dimensional twist, sat a gateway.

I kept my pace steady.

As we neared the temple, the village altered subtly. Bird folk rerouted their movements. Several edged toward entrances. The Grandmasters' focus intensified. The Transcendent aura awakened.

Then the cleric emerged.

He stood tall for his species, with plumage edged in white, wings tucked orderly under ritual garments. He grinned like he was welcoming visitors who'd shown up off-schedule but were still guests.

"You hail from distant lands," he stated, tone gentle and inviting. "How can this modest spot assist you?"

I mirrored his grin. "We're from the capital. Dispatched by one of yours. Rudy."

The mention dropped without effect.

The cleric showed no flinch. No strain. His expression stayed unchanged.

"Rudy," he echoed, pondering. "And what reason would he have for directing you here?"

"Nothing major," I answered casually. "I simply wish to connect with… them."

A hesitation appeared for the first time.

"Them?" the cleric inquired. "You'll need to specify. This island honors just the ancient traditions."

I advanced and rested a hand on his arm.

"Allow me to demonstrate," I offered.

Space warped.

No burst of light, no harsh ripple. Merely a smooth, total shift. The temple disappeared, swapped for rune-carved stone barriers that vibrated softly with latent power. The hidden room unfolded ahead, just as my senses had revealed. In its midst, the gateway waited.

The cleric stumbled, eyes bulging, breath hitching.

"You—"

I guided him around softly and indicated.

"This," I stated steadily, "is precisely what I intended."

His lips parted, silent. Dread shattered his poise at last. He attempted to pivot, to call upon Essence.

I pressed his forehead lightly.

His form slackened right away, awareness extinguished painlessly. He collapsed ahead, seized by Knight prior to striking the floor.

I eyed the gateway, then my companions, permitting the quiet to linger enough to seem intentional, not hesitant.

"Well," I concluded, tone balanced, "now that we're inside… what's your take on the next move?"

Steve cocked his head, a subtle grin pulling at his mouth. "I figured you had it all sorted already."

I denied with a single shake. "Not on this occasion. I'm advancing and discovering whatever the flow brings."

North crossed her arms casually, gaze returning to the gateway, examining how reality bent inward at its borders. "Haven't you stepped through something similar in the past?" she questioned. "One of their hideouts."

"I have," I admitted, approaching nearer, near enough for the faint buzz to touch my awareness. "An orbital facility. I breached it, wrecked the place, and the System approved greatly. Even rewarded me with a mission for the effort." I halted, digits lingering shy of the distorted atmosphere. "However, replaying the identical tactic isn't invariably wise."

"So we hold off on demolishing it straightaway," Steve noted. "That's a change."

Before my reply, Knight interjected.

"Let's aim higher."

I faced him, brow arching faintly.

He lifted his shoulders, tail swishing once as though the notion was plain. "I mean it literally. Rather than razing yet another base, we exploit it. Follow the connection upstream. Discover its origin."

Knight pressed on. "The events on Goldwing island will circulate rapidly. Notoriety outpaces facts, particularly when influential figures suffer embarrassment. That could tarnish our standing if the Ferans capitalize on it well."

"And you think this is the opportunity," Steve uttered deliberately.

"Precisely," Knight affirmed. "We'll require a counterweight. Sealing breaches aids, certainly. But dismantling a disloyal faction from within?" He glanced back at the gateway. "That builds a superior kind of renown."

I grinned softly.

"Renown to offset notoriety," I remarked. "Structure versus disorder."

North dipped her head affirmatively. "Plus intel. If this truly forms a link in their web, pursuing it could reveal vastly more than obliterating it."

"Fine," I whispered. "That resonates with me. But imagine what would escalate it further?"

I directed my look to each in sequence.

"We leverage them to assault the Eternals too. And with the Hollow Star's gateways present on every world, woven into every society, we seize that framework and reshape it into our personal grid."

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