My First Skill (2)
“Pip?”
“I-I told you not to climb over my head.”
I was shaking off my gloom and thinking things through. In any case, I was going to have to choose a skill eventually.
Sure, their attack method was a little cute, but it seemed these things could attack after all. Probably something like a body slam? Maybe.
Whether it was because of the Dungeon Doll Affinity skill or not, to me they still felt like nothing more than tufts of cotton. What mattered was that their attacks actually worked.
Then let’s make a few guesses.
“Nyum.”
I peeled open one of the candies from the mailbox and popped it into my mouth. The sweet flavor spread through my mouth, and a smile came over me without meaning to. I almost felt like my thoughts were moving a little faster, too.
As for the most straightforward one, Sturdy Finger... well, there was nothing more to consider. It was probably exactly what it sounded like—a finger with just that one function.
If it evolved somehow, it might develop into something like a minor sorcery hand or the like.
“I can’t use that right now.”
There was nowhere to use it immediately. Even back when I’d just made the doll a moment ago... hmm.
Come to think of it.
How had I made that doll again?
I had no memory of it. It was as if the entire moment of concentration had been cut cleanly out of my mind. I didn’t have any cuts on my hand, so I must have done a decent job.
“That’s... not important, right?”
Let’s move on.
I had a feeling I should.
Anyway, Dollhouse and Pretty Decorations seemed likely to be enhancement-type skills of some sort.
If they helped things perform better, then they were probably field-type support tools. And if they made things prettier... well, that would just be support equipment.
...Could you really tack something that grand onto a body slam? I wondered.
Still, there was something I needed to check first.
“...What is this.”
Something.
Something... had changed.
I couldn’t explain it, but that was the feeling I got. If I had to put it into words, I’d say the whole atmosphere had been torn out and replaced.
Fortunately, there was someone leaving normal replies, so I was able to clear up my confusion.
In that case, the skill I needed to choose right now was obvious.
Bonus Dollhouse provided!
Something sparkled into existence with a flash of effect.
At the same time, the scenery before my eyes began to look a little...
awkward.
“You must have had a really hard time...”
“Pip!”
It wasn’t a good space.
I could feel that instinctively. Just like when I’d made the dolls, some unknown knowledge flowed into me.
“There’s somewhere to get food. But there’s no place to rest, and no place to hide.”
And yet, for some reason, I could use it exactly where it was needed.
As if I’d known it before, but had forgotten for a while.
“As for materials, there’s a nice one right here. If I convert it into Ether■Shin and A■rosan, that should work.”
I took out the Mother Slime’s body. I could make something grander, but at my current level this was the best I could do.
As if possessed, I kept working. This time, it was a little different from when I made the doll.
I twisted and wove the doll-making tools into a new form. So the rabbits could live well, so they could feel comfort and ease.
Crack.
I chewed the candy in my mouth and swallowed it, though I wasn’t sure whether the sound I’d just heard was the candy breaking or something else entirely.
Maybe because I was concentrating too hard.
Or because it was a sound that I wasn’t supposed to hear.
***
“Hya.”
It was a familiar sensation. The same sort of state I’d gotten into while focusing on making dolls.
“Eek. Eugh. It’s sticky.”
This time, my hands were sticky. Unable to stand the disgusting feeling, I released the fairies that had been sitting in the gift box.
Shrrk—
With a sound like light scattering, the fairies fluttered into motion and soon sprinkled me with glittering dust. My hands were clean again.
“Phew. So refreshing. But why did I get sticky?”
I could remember using the Dollhouse skill.
After that... hmm. I couldn’t remember again.
I’d never been great at pulling myself back out once I got focused, but this felt unusually bad. I couldn’t even remember what I’d done or how I’d done it.
Still, it looked like I’d succeeded. The surroundings had changed quite a bit.
“Oh, this is actually pretty nice.”
The field that had been basking in the sun until just a moment ago had changed into a cozy, circular rest area.
Was this the Dollhouse? If so, where were the rabbits?
“Heave-ho.”
I hopped down from the bed. So this must be my house, and they’d been installed outside it?
Creaaak—
“...Huh.”
Carelessly opening the door with that thought in mind, I was immediately overwhelmed by the view beyond it.
Trees stretched up toward the sky like skyscrapers. Sunlight, which had been striking straight down, shattered brilliantly against their leaves and lit up the forest in scattered patches.
Small thickets grew beneath the enormous trees. Almost as if they were one living thing, the thickets swayed whenever the trees whispered in the wind.
“Th-this is... a house?”
“Pip!”
Beneath that fairytale scene, two cute little rabbits were playing.
The forest was their hideout, and sometimes the thickets their bed.
“This was way more amazing than I expected. Ah, then maybe...”
Just as I did when opening the status window, I focused my will on checking the forest and the rabbits. As expected, a window rose up before me.
🏛 Type: Dungeon room
⚔ Difficulty: Normal
📍 Floor: 1 / 1
💀 Boss: Unknown
Oh.
Come to think of it, I couldn’t check the monsters’ status windows. So this was where I could see them?
But what was an AN grade? Anti? Animal?
I couldn’t grasp it intuitively. More precisely, it felt like it was right there at the edge of my mind, but wouldn’t come out, as though something were blocking it on purpose.
Hmm. No clue. I should post another question. Might as well show off this beautiful scenery, too.
“Hmph~.”
I attached a few photos and posted them with my question.
...?
The reaction was weird again.
Hmm, looks like there’s a connection issue on the gallery here too. Well, it’s a fantasy world, not everything can be perfect.
So then.
What was an AN grade, anyway?
“Is this it?”
In front of a hole that shimmered faintly, a man came to a stop.
He had wounds all over his body and a solid, muscular build. The axe slung over his shoulder had clearly not been maintained properly, and some blood still clung to it.
“Yes, sir. This is the place your younger brother said he entered.”
“It’s only an F-rank dungeon. Frank died in a place like this? Did those bastards named Max and Erich betray him or something?”
“I’ve already been to both their houses. They said he never came home. I used a little force, but they gave the same answer.”
David. Frank’s older brother, and a Silver Class adventurer of the Alderich Empire.
He led a small mercenary band in his own right, and in this region at least, he ranked among the top three strongest men around.
“Then what? Did the three of them just die together? In an F-rank dungeon, not even D-rank?”
“That’s the most likely possibility, sir. I asked a hunter who lives around here, and he said he never saw them come out.”
“Hah. Shit. What a mess.”
The disappearance of his younger brother was a fairly serious issue.
Not because of some tired, sentimental thing like family love, but because of his reputation.
Pathetic. How did he end up dying in such a trash-tier dungeon?
He had to be the absolute ruler of this town, at the very least. Only then could he move toward a higher place.
But if his family died and he failed to respond properly, that would stain his name considerably.
“Tch. I should’ve broken his arms and legs the moment he started acting up.”
Especially his pride.
David looked around. Four Bronze Class adventurers. Solid enough men from the mercenary band he led.
They were not the sort of people sent to conquer an F-rank dungeon. With this many, they could at least handle a D+ dungeon, maybe even something a step above that.
Since one step in dungeon rank made a huge difference, that meant they were competent in their own way.
“You brought everything you needed, right? Then let’s go. Hah. Tch. I don’t have time to rot away in a place like this.”
“Understood. But why do we need tinder? This won’t even take a few hours if it’s F-rank.”
“What are you asking me for?”
Thud—!
David’s axe slammed into the ground. Its sheer weight, carrying his fury with it, gouged a hollow in the dirt.
“Obviously it’s for the demon bastard inside. We can’t let him die neatly, can we?”
But he was smiling. As someone born of the same blood, his temperament wasn’t much different from Frank’s.
He, too, was one who enjoyed such things—the conquest of dungeons, the slaughter of demons.
“We should start by burning off the skin first. Don’t you think?”
“Heh-heh. Understood. Then let’s go in.”
Nothing would be different this time, either.
After all, demons were beings born to be hunted. Humans, blessed by the gods, were the ones with the right to trample them.
The right to ravage and kill belonged to humans alone.
That, to David, was simply natural.
Wooooong—
Yes.
“...Huh?”
It had been natural.
“W-what the hell. W-what... is this?”