Chereads / Trial of the Bored God / Chapter 4 - Personnel Appraisal

Chapter 4 - Personnel Appraisal

You know, there's been a recent upsurge in reincarnation light novels, as well as game-based light novels. Summoned heroes and overpowered protagonists abound. Some are just hard working average people, others are stuck in an impossible situation. Others are travel stories.

I'm woefully aware, my story follows those tropes in the first few chapters. A gamer gets transported to another world, with game-like criteria. I won't pretend I'm going to do that aspect better than others. My writing is, at most, average. However, the character I aim to create is not going to be the love-oblivious, shogun-like protector that I've seen so many times. I want someone who can't even protect themselves. There is no cheat that makes the character impossible to kill, and he will find situations he can't solve. The struggle isn't meant to be some pointless plot device - every event is connected.

So please, enjoy my content at your leisure. I should mention I am also looking for a decent editor, who's willing to point out my errors or suggest improvements. Sometimes the best idea you have only sounds good because you're stuck in an echo chamber...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dahlia's mother fussed over me with a cloth and dabbed at the places that I'd been hit. I had a single cut on my arm from a knife, and my foot ached from the heavy mug that had fallen on it. The food had spilled everywhere, but it seemed to have been forgotten in an effort to take care of me. Dahlia was sent off to get healing herbs, and she rushed out of the dining area still pale in the face.

Honestly, I felt a little too well cared for. Is customer service this big of a focus here? I was barely hurt, and I was honestly more worried about the food that had met the floor. My stomach rumbled, but Dahlia's mother didn't even mention it as she clicked her tongue.

"I'm fine, honestly," I told her, trying my best to smile nonchallantly. She simply looked slightly above my head and shook her head, still worried. Is there something on my forehead I should be worried about? Every time someone looked there, I felt like they were seeing something I couldn't.

I smiled again, and this time it seemed to have an effect. I suddenly felt a little tired, but the woman checking my injuries relaxed a bit and smiled, blushing. "Sorry for all the trouble," she said, mopping up the remains of the food from my hair. "Honestly, I keep telling that girl, if she doesn't watch where she's going she'll end up killing someone some day."

I chuckled, shrugging. "It's no big deal, I don't even feel that hurt. I appreciate your concern. I'm Barro, by the way," I added, figuring now was good as any to introduce myself.

"Ailia. Nice to meet you, Mister Barro," the petite woman stated, sighing. "I'll have my husband grab you a nice meal, on the house. And if my poor daughter shows up with those herbs, I'll ask you to take a bit for my own worries. You can act as tough as you'd like, but I have [Personnel Appraisal]. Your level and status are pretty plain for me to see. I do apologize for the disservice of appraising you, though." Ailia waved her hand to her husband and he nodded wordlessly, dipping into the kitchen for a moment.

I tilted my head to the side as I heard something interesting. "[Personnel Appraisal]?"

"Indeed. You seem confused. Is it possible you're such a shut in that you've never heard of it?" Ailia asked, her head also tilting to the side.

"You could say that... for now, could I bother you to explain it as if to someone for the first time?" I asked, hoping the question didn't stand out too much.

The innkeeper woman shook her head, as if she'd just heard something impossible. She also muttered something under her breath, but I couldn't quite make out all the words. I thought I made out "purity cult" but nothing else. Finally, she nodded and looked me in the eyes. "[Personnel Appraisal] is a skill that allows you to see the level and status of others. Higher levels of the skill allow you to see people's skills and stats, but at my level it's pretty basic. However, it's considered rude to appraise people without their consent. My daughter has the skill too, and she tends to use it without asking. So when she saw your low level, as well as your health points, she panicked. It was a close call, really."

I nodded at her explanation. In a videogame, it would be a skill for identifying the weaknesses of enemies and others. But why would an innkeeper have it? I guess that meant my level was only at level one. Makes sense, since I had just started out. Not that I could explain that bit to her, of course. I wonder how much a person had to do to level up, anyway?

"How does a person use the [Personnel Appraisal] skill, just out of curiosity?"

Ailia smirked as if she had heard something funny, "Low level users have to look into people's eyes with the intention to reveal their information. It's a bit difficult, and takes a bit of practice. Usually it's best to practice it with someone you know well already. It helps to raise the rate of success."

Another issue with practice. How many times did a person have to do an appraisal until the skill went up in scale? Ignoring her advice, I looked into Ailia's eyes for a moment and tried to see her stats. As expected, nothing happened, but her smirk deepened as she sensed my intentions.

A sharp pain shot through my eyes, and I let out a startled yelp. Rubbing them with my hands, my vision blurred for a moment before clearing. What had just occurred?

When I looked back at Ailia, I noticed her expression had become concerned again. I suppose that wasn't an ordinary response to trying to use [Personnel Appraisal]. But even as I looked at her eyes again, I noticed a bland white information screen located above her.

{Ailia Dupardone}

Level: 28

HP: 269/280

MP: -Not Active-

Stamina: 202/420

Str: 18

Int: 25

Dex: 42 (+9)

Top Skills:

[Innkeeping]: 7

[Alcohol Tolerance]: 6

[Accounting]: 6

[Cooking]: 5

[Personnel Appraisal]: 5

Hidden Skills:

[Drunken Fighting]: 8

[Intimidation]: 6

[Assassination]: 6

[Daggers]: 5

[Bondage]: 2

...

I'd be a liar if I said I was calm and collected. What was this? I thought [Personnel Appraisal] only showed basic health and level stats?! And what were those hidden skills? They seemed to hold everything from assassin abilities to fetish items! I mean, I had confirmation that I could appraise people, but this skill was too much! If everyone had this, there would be no more secrets! This type of skill would cause scandals nonstop!

Seeing my incredulous face, Ailia tilted her head to the side. "Were you able to see something?"

Realizing I had lost my composure, I scrambled to recollect myself. "Well, erm, yeah, just for a second. Don't worry about it - ah, there's Dahlia!"

Indeed, the girl had returned just in time. She had a similar information screen above her, but I didn't look at it. I suddenly realized why it was considered rude looking at this information without consent. In Dahlia's hands were a plate of green tubes that resembled grass I had seen in herbiculture books, and a bowl of thick brown stew, which looked fairly appetizing. I saw chunks of what looked like white meat.

Ailia mixed some of the herbs with the soup, and wouldn't leave until I wolfed it all down. I was certainly a lot more full afterwards, though the bits of herb made it taste bitter. I was told to come down for dinner later, or Dahlia would be sent up to drag me down. I quickly excused myself and went back up to the room I had woken up in.

Back in the room, the pale white walls seemed to have taken on an otherworldly color as my head swirled with possibilities. I was really in a game world, huh?

The black suitcase that stood out against all the white caught my eye, and I pulled it onto the wooden table in the room. If this was in my room, it was mine, right?

The outside of the suitcase was made of leather, and the surface didn't reflect any light. It gave off an ominous feel, and I couldn't help but feel like I was rooting around in someone else's luggage. The metal clasp that kept the case closed was a simple one, and I undid it in an instant. Inside were three cloth bags, as well as a letter with my name written intricately on it. I checked the back and found a wax seal, which appeared to be a symbol made by several intersecting circles. Slowly, I opened the letter, unfolded the paper inside, and started reading:

"Dear Challenger,

Thank you for taking my request. The items you won have been acquired, and the material ones are now in my care. The immaterial ones have been appropriately added to your hidden skills. Upon completion of my request, the material items will be returned to you, as promised. Steps have been taken that anything spoilable has been properly frozen in time and will keep until your return.

Enclosed in this suitcase you will find three packages. They should assist you in your quest. The first two items are a gift from me. The third is an amount of gold coins repaid as a general estimation for one "Infinite Supply of Ice Cream." Upon investigation, the won item in question turned out to be 300 gallons of plain vanilla ice cream kept in unsuitable conditions in an alternate dimension. For what its worth, the ice cream was delicious. The being who made this promise has been punished accordingly.

Please take care. This world may be hard and unforgiving at first, but you will find that everything is quite tame, given the right approach. Since this request has more emphasis on surpassing levels with skill, there is no restriction on what skills you obtain. Additionally, the skill you obtained through the challenges, [Jack of All Trades], will ensure you maximize any standard skill upon acquisition. Below, I have included a guide my secretary wrote on my behalf.

Please remember, there is no time limit to this request. You will find I am a very patient being. Enjoy yourself!

Sincerely,

The Bored God"

Underneath was a typed, sterile-looking font, which outlined the various stats of the people in this world, as well as other functions (Note: See first chapter). I decided to put the note down for the moment, as my head was starting to ache from all the information.

I've been given a challenge to overcome levels with skills. The person who gave me the challenge worded certain parts of this letter very strangely. For one, the material items I had gained were "frozen in time." In addition to that, the ice cream I had won was being kept "In another dimension." I apparently had a skill called [Jack of All Trades]. This skill maximized any skill I obtained immediately. That explained why I could see Ailia's stats without issue - the skill had been cranked to maximum the moment I acquired it. That's probably what made my eyes hurt. But even then, what skills were out there? What skills had I already obtained? And why was I only level 1?

[You seem to be overwhelmed. Would you like to request assistance?]

"Well... yes?" I said aloud, my head hurting even worse.

After a moment or two, a soft knock sounded at my room's door.