Chapter 29

Previous Summary ------------------------------------------------------

Equipped and ready, I leave the town.

To bring Dindles to Natsuki and the others, I head out to gather them.

On the way back, I find a classmate, Wakabayashi, lying on the ground.

"You see, it might sound like an excuse, but I didn't have any combat skills, so there wasn't much I could do...

Ah, no, that's not it. Well, at first, we were three, camping and exploring the forest for a few days. We were lucky and didn't get attacked by anything, and thanks to [Appraisal], we knew what we could eat, so we managed to avoid starving."

After coming here for about half a month, I wondered how he had survived without going to town. So, that's how it was.

The taste aside, with [Appraisal], you can at least tell if something is edible.

Setting up a base in the forest and expanding the exploration area isn't a bad method.

"Then, on the fourth day, we reached the road and found a carriage being attacked.

First, Tanaka ran off saying, 'Here comes the template!' Then, Takahashi followed, saying, 'Hmm. I'll use them as my magic test subjects.'

As I mentioned earlier, I didn't have any combat skills and didn't even have a weapon, so I hid in the forest and watched...

"

—Oh.

In a way, Tanaka's words were exactly the 'template.'

"Did Tanaka have a weapon?"

"Just a branch he picked up in the forest."

"...He was even more of an idiot than I thought."

Haruka shrugged her shoulders in exasperation and sighed.

Yeah. Her words were harsh, but honestly, I agree.

"So, what happened?"

"Tanaka charged in with the branch and knocked out one of the bandits from behind.

That was good, but then he was immediately surrounded by three bandits and stabbed...

Takahashi, who followed, panicked and the magic he was trying to use exploded, affecting himself, Tanaka, the bandits, and the carriage...

At that point, I got scared and ran away, so I don't know what happened after that..."

"Yeah. No doubt, he was an idiot."

"I-I'm sorry!"

At Haruka's blunt statement, Wakabayashi reflexively apologized.

"Ah, no, I wasn't talking about you, Wakabayashi, but about Takahashi and the others. What do you think?"

"The situation was 'template,' but the result wasn't 'template,' it was realistic!"

"No, not that. About the two of them."

"Probably, Tanaka took [Heroic Potential]. 'Template' situations don't happen so conveniently, right? And Takahashi, who caused the magic to explode, probably took [Max Magic Power]?"

This road is relatively safe, with a low risk of being attacked by bandits or monsters.

Yet, the timing of Tanaka and the others coming out of the forest and encountering an attack is highly unlikely.

"Probably. Trying to fight right away was naive."

That's true. Even with skills, you can't just suddenly fight.

Whether they were lucky to avoid being attacked by goblins or beasts until then is questionable...

Tanaka's sudden action of charging into a group of people might have been because he thought he was a hero.

Or did he think that because a 'template' situation occurred, the result would also be 'template,' and he would successfully defeat the bandits (if they were bandits) and be thanked by the people in the carriage?

"What do you mean?"

We, who know about the skill landmines, understood from the conversation, but Wakabayashi, who doesn't know, looks confused.

Well, without [Help], you wouldn't think that supposedly advantageous skills could lead to a crisis.

"That—"

"Wait a moment."

As I was about to explain, Haruka raised her hand to stop me and looked at Wakabayashi.

"Before that, can you tell me about your skill setup? If you don't want to, I won't insist, but..."

"No, it's fine. There's nothing to hide from you guys."

Wakabayashi, who was a bit taken aback by the sudden question, readily answered when he saw Haruka's serious face.

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[Smithing Talent] [Smithing Lv.3] [Toughness Lv.3] [Strength Enhancement Lv.2]

[Iron Wall Lv.2] [Appraisal Lv.2] [Python]

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This setup seems standard for production skills?

However, since this isn't a game, not having attack skills is a disadvantage.

Smithing is at a high level, but without a forge to use, it might become a dead skill, like Toya's.

"Like a dwarf blacksmith, I guess. Well, it's not a landmine, so it's fine. Oh, but I remember [Python] was bad, right?"

"Yeah, that's right..."

This was supposed to be an additional skill.

Well, since its effect isn't significant, the disadvantage isn't that severe.

"What's bad about it? And what do you mean by landmine...?"

Hearing our conversation, Wakabayashi looked confused and worried.

"Well, [Python] does make you less likely to get drunk, but it doesn't make you immune to alcohol. If you drink too much, you can still get alcohol poisoning and damage your liver."

"Really!? That's not what I expected from the dwarf image! And it wasn't written anywhere, was it?"

This reaction suggests that Wakabayashi might have chosen this skill.

"Yeah. That's a landmine. There was a skill called [Help], right? If you take it, you can read additional information, and it's written there."

"Wow! Typical evil god! What a terrible scam!"

Wakabayashi clutched his head and denounced the evil god.

"Yeah, I get it. But except for skills added later, it's mostly fine. However, the later-added overpowered skills are completely landmines. [Python] is relatively normal."

"Besides, Ale wasn't that good—no, it was actually bad. I wouldn't drink it even for free."

Toya's comment made Haruka and me nod in agreement. It was terrible.

Seeing this, Wakabayashi sighed and slumped.

"---So, that's it. I took it based on the image, but there's no guarantee that the alcohol will be good..."

If we didn't know the original world's alcohol, we might have been satisfied with the Ale, but we do.

Of course, as minors, we've only tasted it a little, but we can tell that the Ale is bad.

"Then, about Tanaka and Takahashi?"

"Right. Simply put, [Heroic Potential] attracts trouble, and [Max Magic Power] increases magic power but makes it uncontrollable."

Both could be advantageous if used well, but it would require more caution than Haruka.

Would someone in that situation with such skills be capable of that caution?

Probably not.

"Then, why did you ask about my skills?"

"Because if you had landmine skills, we'd need to consider our relationship."

"…What kind of skills would be bad?"

Haruka, who bluntly hinted at 'abandoning' him, made Wakabayashi a bit nervous as he asked.

"First, [Skill Theft]. I don't want to get involved since you'll die soon."

"Die!?"

"Yeah. Using [Skill Theft] reduces your lifespan. If you use it on us, you'll almost certainly die instantly. There have already been a few similar deaths in town."

It's hard to confirm, but it's highly likely that the deaths that occurred around the time we arrived were due to this.

"Then, [Charm]. I don't know if it would affect us, but it only brings trouble, so I don't want to get close. For the same reason, [Heroic/Heroine Potential] as well."

Hearing this, Wakabayashi nodded in understanding.

"I see. Indeed, considering safety, I wouldn't want to get close. If I had followed those two, I would have definitely died. But, are the others okay? There were other overpowered skills like [Skill Copy] and [Double Experience], right?"

"Yeah, those just severely limit your growth, so there's no real harm. I wouldn't want to be in the same party, though."

"Right. Unless they take a hostile stance, we can still get along normally."

Ah, who was it...?

Umm... Umezono, someone like him.

I'm not really interested, so I've forgotten.

"Is that so? [Double Experience] would make you grow faster, right?"

"You'd think so, but many people took it. However, it doubles your experience points but requires ten times the experience to level up."

"---What?"

Not understanding, Wakabayashi tilted his head and raised his voice.

...Yeah, if he still looked like his original self, it wouldn't be strange, but with that beard, it doesn't fit at all.

I hope he improves soon.

"In other words, taking it with points makes your growth one-fifth."

"Too harsh..."

"[Skill Copy] depends on how you use it. The copied skill starts at level 1 and is sealed, so you can't use it until the person you copied from teaches you.

If you become close and get their permission, it can be convenient, but if you copy from someone you don't know, you can't use the skill, which is a significant drawback."

"Is that different from just learning it normally?"

"Well, you have the skill at level 1, so it might be easier to learn, but whether it's worth 100 points is debatable. The evil god said there were no overpowered skills, after all."

"Hmm, it's like the story of the tongue-cut sparrow. Those who ignore the god's advice suffer, right?"

"Those who choose the larger basket suffer. But even if you have zero points, you still have your body and language skills, so a few landmines might balance out to zero. After all, coming back to life is a significant plus, right?"

Well, if the average points are 100, [10x Experience Gain] is 100. In that case, it balances out to zero.

With 2x or 4x, you can take other skills, so there are advantages. Even if growth is slower, starting at a high level gives you a significant advantage over those without skills.

[Skill Copy] can be advantageous if not used recklessly.

---No, if you have many trusted companions, you can acquire many skills, making it quite convenient. It would be tough if you were alone.

I see. If you think about it that way, it's not as unfair.

We are indeed benefiting from it.

"Changing the topic, Wakabayashi, you did well to survive. You were alone in this forest for over a week, right?"

"Well, I had [Appraisal], so I managed to eat... well, grass-like things, to stave off hunger. But I couldn't find a water source, so I collected dew and drank it... Time was vague, but I think I was in a daze from yesterday..."

Remembering the situation, he lowered his head and began to cry.

When he was with the other two, they seemed to have found more edible things by luck.

"Hmm, maybe [Heroic Potential] just attracts trouble?"

"There might be other skill influences, but either way, we don't need it. Even if it's boring, surviving is more important, right?"

"I prefer a peaceful life," Haruka muttered.

"Well, ordinary modern people can't survive in the wild. But you recovered well from that state, didn't you?"

Wakabayashi, who looks a bit rough but can speak without difficulty, seems to have recovered from dehydration.

If he was dehydrated, maybe he just needed water?

"I don't know, but if it's not a disease, maybe he just needed water and nutrients, and recovery magic helped?"

Healing magic doesn't work well on diseases but can restore physical strength.

Given the situation, it seems he recovered by drinking water and eating food, which restored his strength.

"Can you walk, Wakabayashi?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Then, let's go. We're almost at the road."

As we stood up and started walking, Wakabayashi followed, though not with a strong step.

Since we were already near the edge of the forest, it only took a few minutes to reach the road.

When we arrived, Haruka turned to Wakabayashi and said,

"Then, Wakabayashi, this is goodbye."

"Huh?"

Ignoring Wakabayashi's surprised expression, Haruka continued.

"Go straight down this road, and you'll reach a town called Raphan. Pay