The forest was quiet, only the chirping of the birds and insects accompanied with the rustling of the leaves can be heard. Along with the subtle scent of the greenery and the fresh gentle breeze, it is the perfect place for meditation.
But along this perfect scenery, there is "something" sticking out like a sore thumb. And what might that "something" be? That was me. Me, who was still in awe from the scene laid out before my eyes.
「I really wanna find out how I look. I hope I don't look like something weird, but then again, this is another world so something weird for me might be normal here.」Takeru
Well then, let's look for something where I can see my reflection.
I then searched my surroundings for something of the sort and found a conveniently placed puddle just a few meters away from me. Actually, it was too convenient, as if it was planned by God.
It's no use thinking too much into it, let's just see how my reflection looks like.
Slowly, I approached the puddle, still nervous about how I will look like. With all my courage, I braced myself to face reality and when I did, what I saw was something beyond my expectations.
Who is this!? This bishounen!! Is this me!? Nooooo!!! I'm too dazzling!
I would be lying if I said I didn't dream of having this face but! but!ーwait! Complaining before a blessing given by god is bad manners. Yeah, I should be thankful instead of complaining.
「God, thank you very much～!!!!」Takeru
Now that I have said my thanks, let's head to the special dungeon. God said it would be near where I reincarnate. I guess I'll check it out for the time being.
「Yosh! Let's head to the dungeon!」Takeru
Without wasting any time, I started my journey towards the dungeon, I say journey but it's more like a quick walk.
Funnily enough, I already knew where it was without having any recollection of being there. God must have imprinted it in my 『Memory』. This ability really is amazing.
Oh, speaking of abilities I haven't used my 『Appraisal』yet. This might be the right time to test iーoh! A bird!
Woah～ what a beautiful creature. I wonder what it's called..... Wait! Bird-san, please be my test subject for 『Appraisal』.
I doubt that something will go wrong but just in case something does go wrong, let's test it with something first.
I feel bad for the innocent bird, but this is for the sake of scienーno, magic!
「『Appraisal』!」Takeru
The moment I said those words, a semi-transparent status screen with a bunch of characters appeared out of thin air.
-----------------------------------
[〔Animal〕]
[Species]Haltean Peachbird
[Sex]Female
[Age]1 year
[Status]Healthy
[Mana Capacity]8
[Combat Power]1
[Threat Level]H
[Description]
A species of Peachbird endemic to the central part of the Haltea Great Forest.
-----------------------------------
Owohhhh!!! It worked! 『Appraisal』really worked!!
After that, due to my overflowing excitement, I ended up appraising things here and there like a child who just got their new toy.
And from that, I learnt some things about appraisal.
Firstly, everything you appraise falls under certain categories, in the case of all the things I appraised, they're either 〔Animal〕,〔Plant〕,〔Mineral〕,〔Environment〕, or 〔Item〕.
Next, depending on the category, they have different things displayed on their status screen. For example, plants and animals have [Species]in their status while minerals use [Name]instead.
Lastly, I can use appraisal on multiple targets at once. This was proven when I tried to appraise a flock of Haltean Peachbirds.
It goes without saying that everything I appraised got recorded straight into my 『Memory』. Hahh... What a useful ability. I wish I had this in my finals exam.
But now that that's all over, it's time for the finale!
「『Appraisal』!」Takeru
-----------------------------------
[〔Anthronoid〕]
[Name]Grey Silverdrake
[Race]Human
[Sex]Male
[Age]13
[Status]Healthy
[Mana Capacity]144 [Mana Quality]H
[Combat Power]10 [Threat Level]H
[Attribute]Wind [Spell Proficiency]0%
[Class]Brawler [Art Proficiency]0%
[Physical Enhancement]10%
[Ability]『Memory』『Appraisal』『Storage』
-----------------------------------
Yatta!! I can see my status!! It's finally feeling more like an isekai now.
Wow～ there sure are a lot of stuff in there... Huh? Anthronoid? What's that?
-----------------------------------
〔Anthronoid〕
A classification for all the descendants of the Anthrosians, an ancient race which is the ancestor of Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Beastfolk, and Merfolk.
-----------------------------------
Oohhh～ so I can appraise texts as well.
Anthronoids, huh? It also mentions five races in this category. Since the status displays it as a "race" and not a "species", I wonder if interbreeding is possible.
Wait, why am I thinking of that kind of stuff, I should be learning more about appraisal! Alright, let's do this!
After appraising each of the complex terms, everything in the status screen made more sense.
Firstly, [Mana Capacity]is basically your mana pool, [Mana Quality]is the quality and efficiency of mana calculated from [Spell Proficiency],[Art Proficiency], and [Physical Enhancement].
Next,[Combat Power]is the exponential value calculated [Mana Capacity]and [Mana Quality], this also shows how strong you are. While [Threat Level]on the other hand is the category where your [Combat Power]falls, something like if you have 100 then you're F-rank and E-rank if you have 200. It is also worth noting that apparently, every time you rank-up, your soul and aura is strengthened.
[Attribute],[Class], and [Ability]are basically what they really mean so it's not worth dwelling too much about it.
Then there's [Spell Proficiency]which shows the mastery of your attribute and how efficiently mana flows out of the body and into the environment. [ Art Proficiency]shows the mastery of your class and how efficiently mana flows out of the body and into a medium. And lastly there's [Physical Enhancement]which shows how much of your mana can be converted into physical strength, it also shows how efficient is the mana flow inside your body. And since these three affect how mana flows, it directly affects the quality of mana.
Umu, that should be all. But something's been bothering me all this time... What's up with that flashy name!? Grey Silverdrake!? Normal name my ass! This is just as conspicuous as my previous name!
From what is imprinted in my memory, this fantasy world should be something on a medieval setting like how mangas and novels portrays it. And from what I know, surnames are something only nobles have! Damned god, give me back all the respect and gratitude I gave you!
Haaahh... Well, what's done is done. Since he's a god, he might have considered nobles and commoners of the same standing. I should apologize for lashing outーwait, can he even hear me.
While I was pondering about something completely pointless, I unknowingly arrived at the entrance of the dungeon.
But... rather than a dungeon, it feels more like a cavern to me. Maybe it's because of how mangas and novels describe dungeons as something where you can feel an eerie feeling when you are near it, but I feel no such thing here, It just feels like a normal cavern.
Well whatever, it's not like those mangakas and novel authors had been to dungeons themselves, so I really can't blame them.
First of all, let's appraise this dungeon
「『Appraisal』!」Grey
-----------------------------------
[〔Dungeon〕]
[Difficulty]???
[Description]
A special dungeon created by god in order for his retainer to grow stronger.
-----------------------------------
Yup, it really is a dungeon. But what the heck is that description? So I'm his retainer now? I don't remember agreeing to that.
But the difficulty is troubling me. According to the knowledge imprinted by God, all dungeons should have a difficulty rating from H to S. And what determines the difficulty is the size of the dungeon and the type of monsters that spawns inside it.
"???", huh? Maybe it's because it adjusts itself based on my strength.
I really wanna dive straight into it but let's check our equipment first, I don't want my second life to end shortly because of carelessness after all.
Now let's see what kind of things God sent me.
「『Storage』.」Grey
After activating the ability, a catalog of items flashed inside my mind.
-----------------------------------
[Rations]×42,[Armament Rings]×11,[Enchanted Water Jug]×3,[Divine Armor]×3,[Void Crystal]×10,[Divine Potion]×10,[Futon]×3,[Tent] x3,[Cooking Pot]×3,[Cooking Utensil Set]×3,[All-Around Tools]×3,[Clothing Set]×3,[Sewing Kit]×3,["Tips to surviving in the wild" Book Set]×1
-----------------------------------
Ohhh～ he really sent everything I need to survive in the wild, he even sent me some spares and even contains a book set about surviving in the wild.
I also have rations enough for 2 weeks. Hmmm... then that means I'll have to forage or hunt for food after that. I guess it also counts as training.
Now, how can I get these items out of the storage.
Hmmm... I'm too lazy to think it out, so I'll just do this!
「『Appraisal』.」Grey
-----------------------------------
[〔Ability〕]
[Name]Storage
[Grade]S
[Description]
Stores an infinite amount of items inside an isolated subspace where the concept of time is non-existent. In order to store an item, the user must think of storing the item they want to store and in order to retrieve an item, the user must think of retrieving the item they want to get.
-----------------------------------
So I just need to think of the item I want.
Then, I want to retrieve an [Armament Ring]!
The moment those thoughts appeared on my mind, a cloud of nothingness appeared before me and took the form of the item I was thinking of.
And just to confirm...
「『Appraisal』.」Grey
-----------------------------------
[〔Magic Tool〕]
[Name]Armament Ring
[Grade]S
[Description]
An item which can transform into any weapon the user desires and turn back to rings. It is worth noting that once the weapon category has been chosen, it will not be able to change into a weapon from a different category.
-----------------------------------
A weapon I want, huh? But why are there 11 of them?
Hmmm... it must be because I said I wanted to master all classes and attributes. After all, Merusia have a total of 8 classes and 3 of those classes are the dual wielding type. That must be why there are 11 of them.
Anyways, since I'm a brawler, I'll need two of these. I hastily grabbed another Armament Ring and imagined a pair of gauntlets.
Soft golden light slowly blanketed the surroundings and when the light perished, a pair of platinum-colored gauntlets appeared. The said gauntlets have intricate marks and designs imbued on it, as if it was made delicately by a master artisan. These are something you can only see either in a museum or a rich person's collection.
I wonder how much this would cost back on Earth. I think they'll fetch quite a hefty sum. It looks like an exquisite masterpiece, after all.
As usual, let's appraise it first.
「『Appraisal』.」Grey
----------------------------------
[〔Equipment〕]
[Name]Divine Gauntlet
[Type]Weapon [Category]Fist Weapon
[Power Value]100,000 [Grade]Divine
[Ability]『Demolition』『Divine Trial』
-----------------------------------
Another one,『Appraisal』!
-----------------------------------
[〔Attribute〕]
[Name]Power Value
[Description]
The maximum amount of combat power an equipment can endure before sustaining damage. Having a high power value doesn't mean that the wielder will receive the same level of strength, it simply means that the equipment will help unleash the user's full potential.
-----------------------------------
And another one,『Appraisal』!
-----------------------------------
[〔Attribute〕]
[Name]Grade
[Description]
The category in which the equipment's[Power Value]belongs to. It works the same way as[Threat Level], where having a higher grade means that the equipment can easily destroy equipments of lower grades.
-----------------------------------
And one more,『Appraisal』!
-----------------------------------
[〔Ability〕]
[Name]Demolition
[Description]
Inflicts increased damage to everything in attack range, the damage is based on the user's combat power. The left gauntlet targets everything in a certain radius from the user, while the right gauntlet targets everything in a fixed direction.
-----------------------------------
And the last one, 『Appraisal』!
-----------------------------------
[〔Ability〕]
[Name]Divine Trial
[Description]
While inside a labyrinth, the rate at which the user's mana increases will be amplified, but at the same time the rate at which the user's mana is depleting will also be amplified.
-----------------------------------
The description is nice and all but... I can't cheat my way through at all!
Everything in this world is cheat-proof! Even obtaining a powerful weapon is useless if you have a low combat power!
There's also this 『Divine Trial』ability, but even if it does increase my training speed, it also increases the rate at which my mana depletes. On top of that, I'm not training in a labyrinth, but in a dungeon!
Just what kind of system did he create in this world!? This isn't your typical fantasy world at all! I've been scammed!!!
I wanna punch myself back then when I was proudly thinking that it is important that I learn everything I can in negotiations. I haven't learned anything important at all!
Ughh... I really wanna go back to the past and punch myself in the face. I really wanna go back to the past and punch myself in the face. I'm so pissed that I said it twice.
Ughh, whatever, there's nothing I can do about it anymore. It's also partly my fault anyways.
It's no use dwelling in the past now. What I need to focus on is what's in front of me...
「It really doesn't look like one at all.」Grey
...this DUNGEON!!
CHAPTER 2 END