Chapter 2: Trash Skills.
When I woke up, the sunlight filtered through the trees. My back was sore, as if I had been lying on the ground.
My body was half-turned because I still had my backpack on. I was still wearing my cheap down jacket and jeans from when I left home in the morning. It must have been just a dream after all.
But where am I? I've had a few drinks since becoming a ronin, but I've never been so drunk that I didn't know where I was. And I certainly didn't intend to throw my life away by drinking on the eve of the center exam.
"!"
That's right. I was supposed to be heading to the center exam venue. What time is it now?! I checked my watch.
It was already 12 o'clock?!
It's over. My life is over.
There's no way my guardian will pay for me to attend a private school, and here I am, a ronin who overslept and missed the exam for the second time. How much of a failure am I?
I lay there in a black mood, overwhelmed by my emotions for a while, but gradually, my memory returned.
"I left my house and went to Shibuya Station, and when I tried to transfer, I went out onto the subway platform.
That was certain. And then, I tried to save that mother and child, and was hit..."
It was too vivid to be just a dream. What was real and what was not?
My thoughts spiraled in a loop.
Anyway, I got up and looked around. I was on an unpaved path.
On one side of the path was a broadleaf forest, and on the other side was a gentle slope that led down to a stream that could be seen just a few dozen meters away. The path ran along the riverbank.
It was a bumpy path that was barely wide enough for a car to pass, like a deer trail with a little extra fur.
Where am I? Or is this some kind of mountain or forest road? As I thought about it, I remembered the words of the fake goddess in that dream world of swords and magic.
"Really reincarnated, there's no way that's true, right? With this outfit..."
I could feel my wallet in my pocket. To be honest, I didn't know what to believe.
Suddenly, I noticed a small shrine-like object by the side of the path where I had sat down. What is this?
Under the old tiled roof, there was a small stone statue resembling a roadside deity. As I looked closer, it seemed to bear a resemblance to that goddess, but it wasn't so finely made that I could say for sure.
In front of the statue was something like a donation box, and beside it were two out-of-place items: a brand new 20cm doll and a lump of clay. "Doll Play" and "Clay Play"...
With both a sense of disbelief and anticipation, I carefully touched both items with both hands. Suddenly, a strange sound effect emanated from somewhere, and the statue in the shrine began to glow.
When the light subsided, my left hand seemed to be emitting a faint light.
As I looked at my palm, something like a character status screen from a role-playing game appeared.
Written on it were:
"Job: Adventurer (LV1)
Skills: Doll Play (LV1)
Clay Play (LV1)
Identification (Novice)"
... Maybe it wasn't a dream after all.
I touched the screen floating above my left hand with my right hand.
When I tapped "Adventurer (LV1)" with my index finger, the words "Novice Occupation, Requirement: Leave Birthplace, Unique Skill: Identification (Novice)" appeared.
The words looked like Japanese, but I wasn't sure.
So, in addition to "Doll Play" and "Clay Play," this adventurer possesses unique skills and abilities called "Identification (Novice)." It's unclear how effective "Novice" is, though.
"The condition for acquisition, 'Leaving the birthplace,' is vague as a definition, but well, if this is another world, it's natural to be away from where one was born.
Perhaps even the residents of this world can qualify if they leave the village or town they were born in?
If that's the case, it's an easy condition, but anyone could call themselves an adventurer to begin with."
Next, touching the "Playing with dolls (LV1)" on the status screen brought up an explanation.
What's this?
"'Playing with dolls (LV1) - "Can talk to dolls"'
I was in a state of disbelief.
This is a joke, right?
What the hell is this skill that would make anyone who did it seem like a pervert, especially a soon-to-be 19-year-old man? Or rather, it's not even a skill!
"Are you a pervert?"
Suddenly, a girl's voice spoke in a language I could understand. Could it be that this doll spoke?
The doll is one of those "Ri--chan dolls."
She wears a slightly outdated pink dress and has straight hair that falls to her shoulders somewhere between blonde and brown.
Age-wise, she has the body of a preteen girl, a little older than Ri--chan.
When I was a kid, I was forced to play with it by the sisters in the neighborhood, so I only vaguely remember it, but I'm not into that sort of thing, not at all.
"Oh, did you just speak?"
"That's right. Skill Level 1 allows you to talk with dolls. Didn't it say so on the display? Don't you understand?"
It's a synthesized voice like the ones used in Vocaloid, but it answered my question correctly. It's like a conversation AI.
Whether or not it's an item God has prepared, it doesn't seem like it's just a regular doll that was thrown away by chance.
"Whether or not I understand, I mean..."
"You don't understand? Are you stupid?"
I'm being dissed.
Being able to talk with dolls means just that, right?
Well, for now, if there's someone to talk to, there's something I want to ask.
"Where is this place?"
"I don't know."
An immediate reply.
"Um, let me start with a simple question. What's your name?"
"You haven't given me a name yet. Are you someone with a really bad memory? And when you ask someone for their name, isn't it customary to introduce yourself first? How uncivilized."
She's quite sarcastic. Or is it because of her age, like some kind of rebellious phase?
It's true that when you get a pet, you give it a name like Pochi or Tama, but do you do the same with a doll?
What should I do? She does look like a Rin-chan doll, but leaving it like that seems strange.
"Then, your name is Rina. Rina. And my name is Shiro. Well, you can call me Shiro-niichan... no, forget it."
I started to say something, but then I panicked. I realized that I might seem like a creepy person for giving a girl's doll a name and calling myself her big brother. If someone saw me doing this, I'd probably want to become a shut-in again.
Suddenly, the doll spoke in a mechanical tone and faintly glowed.
When it stopped, I felt like her face had acquired an expression, maybe it was just my imagination. And her tone became much more natural.
"I'm Rina. Nice to meet you, Shiro-niichan."
It's embarrassing to be called "big brother" but her precociousness is also a bit strange.
But there's something I want to make sure of.
"Rina, is this another world? Am I dead?"
"I don't know. I can't know things that you don't know."
"Are you a doll that God prepared for me?"
"I don't know. And it's really annoying to be called over and over again by a boy I just met."
No progress was made.
And it seems like I've ruined her mood. Can't be helped, I'm socially awkward. It's not something to brag about, but I've hardly spoken to any of the girls in my class. What should I do?
And it seems that this doll can't speak anything other than what I already know.
Well, that's to be expected. Doll play is a game where one person plays two roles and speaks the lines of the doll, so normally they can only converse with what they know.
But, if that's the case, then this doll won't be of any help and really won't be useful for anything.
What a useless confirmed skill.
Taking a deep breath, I decide to try another skill.
When I touch the "Clay Play (LV1)" on the status screen, the description reads,
"Clay Play (LV1) - 'Can create clay (MP consumption).'"
There's also something written diagonally below. What use is this?
I try chanting "clay" and... I'm surprised. A handful of clay appears before me.
I touch it, and it's really just normal clay. Yeah, it's the kind of oil-based clay I played with at the nursery.
It's quite heavy, and it never dries or hardens, so you can play with it as many times as you want, but it's the kind that makes your hands a little greasy. I shape it into the shape of a banana. Let's leave it at that.
After trying various things, I found that I can make clay appear instantly just by thinking about it, without having to say anything out loud.
As long as I strongly imagine it within a range of two to three meters, I can create it on the palm of my hand or on the ground in front of me.
But I can only create simple shapes like spheres or squares and have to shape them myself.
Well, that's Clay Play for you.
Not only oil-based clay, but if I imagine it specifically, I can also create clay of various colors, like wheat-based clay that hardens when dry or paper clay.
I can also control the amount I create, but if I create too much or do it repeatedly, my head starts to get tired and I can't concentrate.
So this is what "MP consumption" means.
In front of my tired eyes, a pile of clay has appeared, enough to make a "kamakura" if it were snow. Anyway, I can only create real clay. Even if I can create a large amount of clay, it's useless if I can't create things like a steel sword or a gem.
This is no longer a skill, is it? I unintentionally shouted towards the sky.
"Where's the reset button?! God!"