Chapter 56

7/24 This is my first post today.

"Roki? Are you okay?"

"…Ah, yeah, I'm fine."

Though he responded, he was far from calm.

What's going on?

Jink-kun's party only has Jink-kun as the attacker.

So, he should have taken down a considerable number of the Furi Mole with his last attack.

Since his [Presence Detection] is level 2, it wouldn't be strange for [Earth Magic] to be level 2 as well.

"…Didn't you check your status the other day?"

"Yeah, I confirmed all my skills."

"Was [Earth Magic] among them?"

"No, it's not. I probably don't have the aptitude for magic. I've never even tried to practice it."

"…………"

W-wait, what's going on!?

Don't you get the skill experience points of the monsters you defeat?

Isn't that the rule of this world!?

Or does it depend on individual aptitude, where some can get skill experience points and others can't?

If that's the case—

"By the way, does Jink-kun have the [Charge] skill…?"

"What's that skill? I've never heard of it."

"Oh, I see… Sorry for asking such a weird question. Haha…"

Undoubtedly, Jink-kun has been hunting the most Horn Rabbits.

Moreover, the [Charge] skill, which seems suitable for someone who has been engaged in close combat, should be within his aptitude.

However, he doesn't have it either.

Why?

He doesn't seem to be hiding anything.

It's unlikely he would reveal the level of [Presence Detection] if he were hiding something.

Then, why does he have [Presence Detection] but not [Earth Magic] or [Charge]?

Or am I fundamentally misunderstanding something?

---

No, I can't understand.

The premise of this world, which I took for granted, is crumbling…

After that, I could only give vague responses and forgot about the planned [Wind Magic] demonstration as I returned to the town of Bezart.

---

In a room at the inn after dinner.

I sat in a chair, staring blankly out the small window at the scenery outside while checking my watch on the table.

The incident with Jink-kun.

The answer to that sense of unease is something I can't figure out no matter how much I think about it.

But it's not something I can just ignore.

So, the only option is to ask the goddesses who know about my situation and are familiar with this world.

Of course, there are risks in asking the goddesses.

They are wary of 'dangerous outsiders.'

In the worst case, if one of my suspicions turns out to be true, I might become a target for elimination.

The option of not telling anyone at all hasn't disappeared.

But… I've been using [Divine Communication] almost every day unless I fall asleep.

I've had a fair amount of communication.

The goddesses seem very interested in information from Earth, and most of the content has been in the form of them asking questions and me answering, which is the opposite of what it should be.

But they wouldn't suddenly use divine punishment or such a barbaric method, right? I hope so.

So, I'll consult them.

Sorry, but—today I'm going to bombard you with questions.

---

[Divine Communication]

"Hello, this is Roki. Who is it today?"

(It's been a while, Alicia here. How have you been, Roki-kun?)

"Eh? Alicia-sama! Have you recovered?"

So far, I've been talking to the goddesses in rotation, but Alicia-sama has been out of the rotation because she was down.

I knew she was alive because I could hear her voice occasionally, even when she was near death…

But this is the first time I've had a proper conversation with her since the first day I met the goddesses.

(I'm finally able to talk a bit. It seems you've had quite a lot of interaction with everyone… I was envious. Please, tell me about Earth today.)

"No, Alicia-sama, that's not the original purpose—today, I have more pressing matters!"

(Eh?)

"Alicia-sama, it's serious. It might be an incident. This could be about the core rules of this world—please tell me about skills!"

(What, really! I was looking forward to it! …No, never mind. What do you want to know?)

"Sorry. I'll tell you what you want to know next time. I thought the rule in this world was that when you defeat a monster, you get the skill experience points of the skills the monster possesses. Does such a rule exist in this world?"

(When you defeat a monster, you get skill experience points? I believe experience points are a numerical representation of contributions to the world.)

"Ah… how should I explain… but that's the idea. For example, if you defeat a monster that has the [Fire Magic] skill, you can acquire the [Fire Magic] skill. Is that correct?"

(That's a bit difficult to say. The monsters were created by Fersa-sama, and she also decided how to grant skills to races. I'm sorry, but as lower gods, we don't have that information.)

"I see…"

The goddesses give the impression of being nearly omnipotent, but they are not omniscient.

They are more likely to know things that humans don't, so if they can't answer this question—

I might have to check with Yagov or Amanda.

But even if I do, I might only plant a sense of unease and not get a proper answer, and unlike the goddesses, my information might spread.

I'd rather avoid that method if possible.

(By the way, how many monsters do you need to defeat to acquire a skill?)

"If I have no experience with a skill and the monster has it, I can acquire it after defeating 5 monsters. Strictly speaking, the skill level of the monster also matters, so it's a maximum of 5."

(…Huh?)

—Now, I understand from this reaction.

There's probably something unexpected affecting me.

(Incidentally, what skills have you acquired by defeating monsters?)

"Well, I've definitely acquired [Charge], [Presence Detection], [Earth Magic], [Wind Magic], and [Poison Resistance]. Oh, and [Staff Mastery] as well, in the same way."

([Charge]…? What's that skill? Everyone, come in! Does anyone know the [Charge] skill?)

(I've heard. I don't know the [Charge] skill either.)

(I don't know it either. From the name, it seems like an attack skill?)

(Probably a skill that races can't use! So why does Roki-kun have it?)

(Sure enough, he's an outsider. He seems dangerous…)

"Ah!! Wait, Rea-sama! I'm normal! I'm just living a normal life!!"

I finally managed to have a bit of a conversation with the elusive Rea-sama…

As I tried to calm her down from her unsettling statement, the goddess of life, Fieril-sama, made a definitive statement.

(First of all, it's definitely a monster-only skill. It's natural that we don't have it.)

(What? I've seen it before with [Divine Eye]. I remember the monster had the [Charge] skill.)

(When you sent a [Clone] to the lower world to investigate the habitable areas for races?)

(Yes, I peeked out of curiosity.)

(That's questionable, but this is conclusive, isn't it?)

(Yes. For some reason, Roki has skills that only monsters have.)

(…………)

"Wait, wait! I don't know why I have it either! And even if I have it, I'm just living a normal life!"

---

---

---

"Ah—The [Divine Communication] is already cut off…"

Sigh…

I couldn't help but slump back in my chair, completely drained.

I had a feeling something was off, but I never expected it to be a monster-only skill…

Was it a mistake to consult them?

If I had kept it a secret, the goddesses wouldn't have found out.

But if I didn't know the answer, it would have eventually come to light.

It's better to report it myself than to have it discovered later.

That's the only way to think about it.

The rest is up to fate.

At that moment, my thoughts were interrupted.

(Roki-kun, it's Alicia. Please come to the church tomorrow. It's urgent.)

(I expected that, [Divine Oracle]…)

I know I can't refuse in this situation.

It's a major issue for both me and the goddesses.

So, I have to steel myself.

And so, feeling dejected, I rolled into bed and fell asleep.