Chapter 44

"Meow, meow..."

Upon hearing my words, Tarte gasped.

In this world, it is not possible to acquire skills at will. Once skill points reach 5, the skill is automatically obtained. In other words, you can only stock up to 4 skill points. Furthermore, once a skill is obtained, you cannot acquire other skills until the skill level reaches its maximum.

--It's incredibly inconvenient!

Therefore, luck plays a significant role for adventurers in this world. If you get a trash skill, you can cry about it.

"I seem to have 4 skill points, nya."

"You can allocate these to the skills you like, but before that, you need to do something—reset your skills."

Here, it becomes very important what kind of alchemist Tarte will become. Combat-focused, potion-making focused, balanced—now, you can choose anything. It's good to think about what you want to do, but I do have a recommendation, though it's a bit extreme.

"I asked you before, Tarte. Have you thought about what kind of alchemist you want to be?"

"I... when I was bedridden due to illness, I wanted to become an alchemist like grandma, nya. But... I also want to see the world's scenery with Master, nya. So, I want to become a combat-capable alchemist, nya!"

"It's very reassuring to have you travel with me to see the scenery."

Tarte gripped my hand tightly, her eyes filled with determination. She must have thought a lot about it during her journey from Kaitra to here.

Since Tarte said she wants to fight, I mention another option.

"It's quite challenging, but there's a way to fight as a rear guard with a potion-making focus."

"Rear guard, nya?"

"Yes. Alchemists have skills to create and throw potions like Fire Bottles and Tear Gas Bottles to attack enemies in combat."

However, to use these skills, you need to create items like Fire Bottles through potion-making. In the game era, players could buy them, but in this world, they are hard to come by.

"With that, I can remain an alchemist like grandma and not be a burden to Master, nya!"

Tarte smiled brightly.

Of course, there are disadvantages. Unlike combat-focused alchemists, your physical abilities are lower. Your attack and defense power will inevitably be low, making combat more dangerous. Additionally—

"It's incredibly expensive."

"Meow!?"

Perhaps because I said it with a serious face, Tarte's voice trembled as she said, "My allowance won't be enough, nya," and hung her head. I made my enthusiastic disciple feel down.

"It's okay, we can earn money!"

"Meow!?"

"You can make potions through potion-making or earn money in dungeons. We are adventurers, after all."

"Ah, I see, nya..."

While her eyes were still wide, Tarte muttered, "Can you really earn money that easily, nya?"

Tarte's equipment was prepared by Frey and others, so it's of good quality. I think it will be fine for now, so we don't need money for equipment... oh, we do need money for weapons.

"Anyway, Master is much, much more amazing than I thought, nya."

"Hehe... Now that we've decided on a direction, let's move on to the next step."

I took out the Skill Reset Potion I had prepared earlier and handed it to Tarte. Drinking this will reset the acquired skills, allowing you to obtain new ones.

"Such an amazing potion exists, nya!?"

"But don't expect it to taste good. Once you drink this, you can choose any skills you like... In your case, you'll have 17 points, including the 4 you already have."

Since Tarte will become a combat-capable potion-maker, the skills to acquire are Potion-Making Level 10 and Potion Throwing Level 5, both of which must be maxed out. With 2 skill points left, I think it would be good to allocate them to Herb Knowledge. Herb Knowledge improves the quality of potions made from herbs, makes it easier to discover herbs in the field, and improves the quality of herbs when harvested.

After explaining my thoughts, Tarte seemed to be thinking and considering on her own.

"Is there any skill you want to acquire?"

You don't have to follow my advice. It's important to respect each person's play style.

"Originally, I thought I just needed the Potion-Making skill, nya. So, being able to choose myself is amazing, nya."

"That's right. It's natural to be indecisive, so taking your time to decide is also an option. There's no rush to get the necessary skills."

Tarte decided to take Potion-Making and Potion Throwing.

"Here I go, nya! --!?"

"Try to drink it in one go! It will be much worse if you drink it in two sips..."

"Meow..."

The Skill Reset Potion is incredibly bitter. It's so bitter that you might say you never want to drink it again. I actually had to work quite hard to drink it twice.

Tarte, with tears in her eyes, managed to drink it all.

"Master~"

With a strange, slurred tone, Tarte clung to my waist, looking quite ill. "I never want to drink it again, nya."

"Ah, sorry, it was bitter, wasn't it? Here, have something to freshen your mouth."

"Thank you, nya."

After giving her a candy I had, Tarte's smile returned, looking a bit better.

"Since your skills have been reset, let's take Potion-Making and Potion Throwing, nya."

"Yes, nya!"

Tarte successfully acquired the skills.