Chapter 72

"I have a good solution. Let's try it as an experiment in skill imitation."

With that, I said to Hana, and those with a good intuition would probably already have an idea of what I was about to do.

Yes, I thought of having her copy and use the Conceal skill.

Conceal is a skill that simply rewrites other skills.

That's why the Conceal I possess is at LV1 (MAX), and it doesn't use MP.

This situation is perfect for it.

This skill should be copyable with Hana's Skill Imitation.

After hearing my idea, Hana immediately put it into action.

"Got it, I'll try it—Skill Imitation."

As she chanted this while touching my hand, Hana's eyes widened in surprise.

"It worked! It says, 'Copied Conceal LV1,' big brother!"

"Good job. Next, you need to hide Skill Imitation from your skill list. The method is... "

After that, I taught Hana how to use Conceal, and we successfully hid Skill Imitation.

Now, the remaining issue is...

"About Body Enhancement, Magic Manipulation, and Magic Increase. Having three initial skills is common, but the problem is the levels... 3, 3, 5. They're all quite high."

"Is that so? Then, can we just set them all to level 1?"

"That would be within the normal range, I guess."

"Then let's do that!"

She made a quick decision and rewrote the remaining skills to LV1.

With that, all preparations were complete.

"Alright, let's head back to everyone. Whatever you do, don't tell anyone about using Conceal. Not even that I have it."

"Understood... Wait, but why do you have such a skill, big brother? Normally, you wouldn't get a skill like this unless you had something to hide, right?"

"......We'll talk about that another time, when things have settled down."

"Hmm, okay then..."

Hana accepted it more easily than I expected.

Relieved by her reaction, I let out a sigh of relief at that moment.

"......"

I felt an indescribable sense of unease and quickly looked around.

But there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"What's wrong, big brother?"

"......Nothing, it's nothing."

It must have been my imagination.

I decided that and stopped worrying about it.

After that, Hana and I headed back to where everyone was gathered.

It seemed that most of the students had already finished slaying their monsters, thanks to our leisurely conversation after obtaining our statuses.

Some were celebrating exaggeratedly, while others were deeply saddened.

When Hana showed her status, which had been concealed, to Kiriya, he quickly glanced at it for a few seconds and congratulated her on obtaining her status.

I wasn't worried, but the check was over in a flash.

After everyone had finished slaying their monsters, we left the dungeon.

Once outside, Kiriya addressed everyone.

"Those who have obtained their statuses will participate in the dungeon training exercise a few weeks from now. Unlike the slimes this time, you will learn how to fight against more powerful monsters and what to be cautious about in the dungeon. Until then, your adventurer qualifications will be provisional. You are not allowed to enter the dungeon alone, but you can go with an adventurer who has more than one year of experience. Thank you for your hard work today."

With that, we were dismissed.

Hana and I left the area.

"Good job, Hana. Congratulations on obtaining your status."

"Hehe, thanks. Oh, then, can I have a present as a reward?"

"Hmm? Ah, sure. How about we stop by the city center later? And, let's go to dinner too."

"Ah, what? I was only half-joking. Besides, big brother, haven't you been spending a lot of money lately? Are you sure it's okay?"

"Don't worry, I've been making a lot of money recently. Buying you what you want is no problem."

"......Okay. Then, I'll take you up on that!"

"Alright. Oh, and Hana, it seems you'll have to go into the dungeon again for the practical training, but from what I heard, you can enter the dungeon with an escort even before the training. There are limits to what you can learn in a group, so if you're okay with it, I can accompany you."

"Really? Then I'll ask you... That's it!"

She seemed to have an idea and took out her smartphone, opening a messaging app.

I quickly averted my gaze to avoid invading her privacy.

Regardless, I was glad that today turned out well for Hana.

With that in mind, Hana and I walked straight ahead.

That's why I didn't notice at the time.

Someone was watching Hana and me from a distance.