V1C7

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“Okay, got it. But if you get experience from defeating level-five monsters, doesn’t that mean you can raise your level with a bit of effort?” Osshan replies, seemingly unable to let go of his desire to level up.

Old Man Japan sighs. “If you truly think so, I challenge you to go outside the city and hunt a Rabbit. Like us, they’re level zero; unlike us, they’re large as a bear. They’ll welcome you with their teeth bared. I don’t know about you, but I figured it wasn’t possible for me with my one arm.”

Rabbits, of course, are usually the source of the meat you find in this city’s meat skewers. It takes two or three adventurers—people who hunt monsters for a living—to take one down.

“A bear-sized rabbit? That’s crazy. Fantasy Rabbits are supposed to be small, horned monsters! There’s no way I could take down something that large!” Osshan complains.

There he goes yet again, saying things that don’t make sense. Everybody knows that Rabbits don’t have horns.

“I thought you’d see it that way,” Old Man Japan begins. “And that’s just a level-zero monster. Defeating a level-five creature would be impossible for any regular person. It normally takes twenty to thirty soldiers to even stand a chance against one.”

Osshan wilts at Old Man Japan’s words. “Right, okay. So, how the hell am I supposed to live here? Are you telling me to use my knowledge cheat to make mayonnaise or something? Is that it?”

“Ah, that would certainly be a mistake. I’ll teach you all about that—but over time, since there is quite a lot.

“The surest thing you can do is be like Marron and hunt Shooting Beans or collect Slimes. Do that every day, and little by little your savings will grow. Once you have enough, you can buy a Skill Fruit, which you can use to learn a skill that will be useful for you. At least, that’s how I’ve made it this long. By learning and training the appropriate skills, I’ve been able to make my way in this world even with this body.”

“Hoh, a Skill Fruit? Alright, alright. Now that sounds like something a fantasy world should have! So, tell me about them.”

“When you defeat a plant-type monster, they drop Skill Fruits. That part is, admittedly, very much like a game. If you eat one, you acquire its skill.” He looks toward me. “Marron, you’ve been hunting Shooting Beans, so I imagine you have some Skill Fruits on you?”

I’m not thrilled about it, but I pull them out and line them up on the table. Like he said, they drop when a plant-type monster is defeated, so I have quite a few I picked up from the Shooting Beans I gathered today. There are two red ones, an orange one, and a yellow one, all different shapes.

Osshan looks them over. “I see… apricot, cherry tomato, crabapple, and kumquat? When did you take out four different types of monster?”

“What do you mean? These all dropped from the Shooting Beans,” I reply.

“No way! In what world do different fruits grow from the same plant?!”

In what world? How about this one—the world where the proof is literally in front of you?

“Huh? You seem to be confused. These don’t grow into Shooting Beans. Shooting Beans grow from those beans you got hit by earlier. Didn’t you hear Old Man Japan? Plant-type monsters drop these when they’re defeated—they just appear on the ground.”

Okay, I think I see his mistake this time: he thinks that these grow on the monsters, but they don’t. They just sort of appear on the ground where the monster was when you killed it. A single type of monster can drop a bunch of different and not necessarily related types of Skill Fruit. In that way, they really are a wonder.

However, the even greater wonder is that eating them gives you a skill, and, if you keep eating them, you can improve those skills. Nobody knows why, apparently. It’s very mysterious.

Osshan interrupts my train of thought, pulling my attention away from the fruits on the table. “Nice! This finally feels like a real isekai! So these are Skill Fruits, huh? They do look pretty tasty. Let’s see…” he says before reaching out, nicking one, and bringing it to his mouth.

“No, don’t!” I yell.

“Stop!” Old Man Japan shouts at the same time, but even our voices together aren’t enough.

“Come on guys, it’s not a big deal. It’s just one fruit. Don’t be so stingy! I mean, look, I haven’t had anything to eat since this morning, so I’m real hungry.” Osshan ignores our attempts to save him and takes a bite. Immediately, his face contorts. “Ugh!! This is horrible—it’s so bitter. God, what the hell. Water! Give me some water!”

If you’d given me a moment, I could have told you that all of these Skill Fruits are actually gross, despite their tasty appearance. Not that that’s what we were trying to save you from.

Old Man Japan runs his fingers through his hair. “Boy, did your mother never teach you to listen all the way to the end when people are trying to explain things to you? I’m sure at least your teacher must have… at least once.” He grabs the pitcher in the center of the table and pours a glass of water. “Here, drink this.”