Chapter 9 (1/2)

A Dream About Hazuki

The reward for the delivery of the letter to Kelbeck was 200 gilans. It would only take thirty minutes to get there and back, so the amount was appropriate.

Inefficient.

That was Hikaru's conclusion. Even in RPGs, it was normal for delivery quests to have mediocre rewards. It seemed that was also the case in a different world. You could earn money efficiently by taking recurring and Boss Kill quests.

…Now what would I do when I earn more…

Hikaru flopped down on the floor. He was in the same inn he stayed in last night. He could've forked out more and stay in a better inn, but he decided to do that after he thought about plans for his future here.

First, I need to save enough so I can live my life in satisfaction. Second, look for ways to return to my world. Third, immerse myself in a hobby. But I don't really have one…

Hikaru loved reading books. He played video games as well and liked studying. But sports were something he couldn't bring himself to enjoy. Try as he might, he didn't have the ability to become the best. So he thought it was inefficient to bust his chops for clubs that required some level of tenacity.

The world is inefficient. Be that as it may, there's really nothing else I can do… That's it. I just have to find something I want to do. I should see what they have here in this world.

First I'll go see the world. Then I'll think about what I must do.

Abruptly, he got up on his feet.

And for that, I need money! Funds! It's all about efficiency!

Standing and feeling confident, Hikaru fell over just as quickly as well. Even with the ruckus, the others didn't notice him with his Stealth on. He didn't think it was wise to use the Skill out on the streets. It would only cause trouble if people found out about it. His experiments had concluded with his infiltration into Kelbeck's room.

He was nervous back then, but the experiment was a huge success. He didn't notice the watchers, though. But that made him realize that while he could hide himself, he couldn't actually detect others.

Detection Skill, huh… There was something like a Perception on the first window of my Soul Board.

He summoned his Soul Board.

【Vitality】

..【Natural Recovery】0

..【Stamina】0

..【Immunity】

..【Perception】

Hikaru surmised that perhaps things like ”Smell” or ”Hearing” would show up. Although, just one point on Imperceptibility applied to all the senses.

Well, there are lots of uses for improving my sense of smell than just detecting people. I can understand why just one point in Imperceptibility applied to all senses. Its only use is to not get detected by others, after all.

Hikaru a.s.sumed that every point was equal all across the board.

Therefore, improving my Perception would be inefficient.

He had four points available. It felt like such a waste to use them right away, but he was already aware of the incredible power the Soul Board held. So it was better to use them.

He'd examined the Soul Board before. Next was to check each item. The unlockable fields ”Immunity” and ”Perception”'s descriptions read like this:

【Immunity】Unlock Skills related to Immunity.

【Perception】Unlock Skills related to Perception.

That was all. So first, he checked every item with the number 0 - Skills he could already allocate points on.

【Vitality】

..【Natural Recovery】Enhance ability to heal external wounds. Max: 20.

..【Stamina】Enhance ability to sustain prolonged physical effort and recover from fatigue. Max: 20.

【Magical Power】

..【Mana】Increases total mana - the resource one uses when activating a spell. Max: 30.

【Physical Strength】

..【Strength】Increase strength. Max: 30.

【Agility】

..【Instantaneous Power Burst】 Enhance ability to exert strength in an instant. Max: 15.

..【Flexibility】Make the body, especially the joints, more flexible. Max: 10

..【Balance】Improve sensation of the torso. Max: 20.

What surprised Hikaru was the maximum points allowed. Skills under Stealth required five points max. a.s.sa.s.sination and Snipe only required three. But the ones he checked now required ten or thirty points to get maxed.

So what, they're divided into fundamentals and the actual applications?

The ones that didn't need to be unlocked further required more points to max. They all had something to do with the basic attributes of a living being.

What would happen if I allocated 30 points to Strength? Maybe I can crush a boulder with my bare hands or lift a whole house. Yeah, right…

Hikaru paused.

It's certainly possible.

He already witnessed the effects of his Stealth. What kind of power would he get if he poured in thirty whole points to an attribute?

Let's forget that for now. There are three boards left unlocked.

The pentagon, hexagon, and the unlabelled one. So far, he had unlocked Vitality, Magical Power, Physical Strength, and Agility…

If we go by game mechanics, I guess next would be Willpower, Faith, Charisma, and Dexterity? If I want to be efficient, first I have to know. I can't achieve efficiency without information.

Hikaru got up.

But if I unlocked all three, I'd be left with one point. It's inefficient to have only one point to allocate. If I have to unlock only one first…

He chose the unlabelled board.

I really wanna know what's in this unlabelled board! My curiosity is killing me!

【Unlock Soul Board? 1 point required.】

「Yes.」

What emerged on the screen was…

【Intuition】

..【Instinct】0

..【Insight】

..【Intelligence】