Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Julius Caesar (2)
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First things first, stay calm.
Let's take stock of the skills I have.
One. D-rank, Cyclops' Handicraft.
It was handy for grinding out living expenses back in the slog days, but now it's just making typing less tiring.
Two. C-rank, Hermes' Persuasion.
Pretty useful when Roselin reconsidered and came back, and in everyday negotiations here and there more than I'd expected.
Three. C-rank, Heracles' Staff Technique.
Haven't used it since that time with the thugs who nearly shook me down, but it proved a solid combat skill back then.
And finally, the B-rank Hector's Courage I just acquired.
According to the description... it lets me keep a cool head in any situation, especially when facing someone one-on-one, where I can exceed my normal limits.
And then there's the skill synthesis system.
Just like in your standard RPG...
Straightforward as hell.
Combine two low-rank skills, and you have a chance at something higher.
Obviously, failure means both vanish, and you get some mystery points instead.
Ceiling... system? Or something.
Never gotten points before, so no details on that yet.
"Isn't the risk a bit high?"
I'm no skill hoarder with dozens stacked up.
I'm barely out of the crib here—do I really need to roll the dice this early?
And besides, since I can swap them out, like setting presets in an RPG—writing loadout, daily life kit, combat setup—shouldn't I prioritize the basics first—
『Stand and fight. Are you a coward?』
"......"
Hey, when did you add ghost stories to your training data?
But.
She wasn't wrong.
There's that saying, right?
To quote an Eastern parable: Victory makes you a king, defeat makes you a bandit.
And that demagogue on par with national power said, "We will go down in history as the greatest politician ever. Or as history's most vicious criminal."
...Of course, that particular demagogue hightailed it to hell alongside his art school reject buddy.
Anyway.
Before the scaredy-cat in my head chickens out, let's give it a shot.
"Assuming I combine two skills, which ones would be the best pick?"
『The most intriguing and strategic combo worth trying is as follows. First case, to build a stable foundation...』
Historie's take lined up with mine.
The one B-rank is too valuable to touch.
Eloquence is handy for survival in all sorts of ways.
Leaves just two candidates.
Cyclops' Handicraft and Heracles' Staff Technique.
What combat am I really gonna see as a shut-in writer?
Nobody's asking me to play hero.
"Haha."
Lame joke, even by my standards.
Target 1: [D-rank] Cyclops' Handicraft
Target 2: [C-rank] Heracles' Staff Technique
[A-rank appearance: 2% / B-rank: 8% / C-rank: 20% / D-rank: 30% / Failure: 40%]
"......"
Probability-wise.
It was overwhelmingly against me.
For investing two skills, these odds are brutal, aren't they?
10% profit, 20% break even, 70% trash.
Irrational.
Blatantly... irrational.
"Gozuuaaaah!"
You gamble irrationally by definition...!
A weird sensation hit me, like the soul of a hand marine and the aura of a 99-reforged water elm club were drifting out of my body.
And before my eyes, colors flashed and sparkled.
"No gacha animation even? What the...?"
B-rank, C-rank, D-rank, failure—the words spun like a roulette wheel, whirling around.
Too fast to read properly, but skill names whipped by next to the ranks.
Once "failure" started dominating my vision...
I got cold feet.
Real bad...!
Time for the courage chant.
"Prime chance time!"
Pe■nywise!
Grant me strength!
Clutching a mental bouquet of balloons, I focused on the wildly spinning roulette, waiting to float up.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding—
The speed slowed.
Possible skills became visible.
[Failure - 5 points]
[B-rank] Calliope's Eloquence
[Failure – 3 points]
[Failure - 10 points]
[C-rank] Atalanta's Archery
[Failure - 5 points]
[D-rank] Britomartis' Fishing Rod
[C-rank] Cadmus' Spartoi
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding—
And...
Pam-paka-pam!
With a sound effect hallucination.
Fate was sealed.
"Haha, hahaha...!"
I couldn't hold back the laugh the second I saw the result.
Losing my mind over a bad outcome?
As if.
"Time to rise...!"
Penny■wise investing is godly and invincible!
Savoring the dopamine flood from beating 2% odds for an A-rank...
This first A-rank skill granted near-divine power to bestow life, but...
"...So, what the hell do I use it on?"
I had to ask the obvious.
"Not thrilled with this chapter's pacing... Next one should be fine, right?"
The great gold dragon lineage.
Noble one, golden flash, showered in accolades.
Esthea sat in her study today too, tail flicking as she devoured the week's human newspapers.
In a world of advanced magitech, sending servants made fetching them a snap.
She could snag any paper daily with dragon tongue, but...
"Novels are best binged."
The most worthwhile thing pathetic humans produced.
Esthea tended to over-immerse, so stacking them up like this felt right.
Of course, she had impeccable taste as a dragon.
"How could a dragon fall for some lowly human? Impossible."
She voiced sharp critiques on lore fails while licking through novels.
And she didn't stop at words.
Scribble, swish, swish—
Hey author, where you at? No way a great and noble dragon's doing creepy stuff with human trash, right?
She never forgot to send legit reader feedback.
Sure, sometimes delivery glitches meant her wisdom didn't post, but.
Healthy feedback as a reader, enlightening primitives as a great dragon—it was vital.
"Hmm, what's next?!"
Even if she trashed it, it was fun while reading.
Esthea's tail thrashed vigorously.
And what she picked up next was.
"Mm..."
Truth Newspaper.
No standout serials from them lately, so she hesitated to shelve it—but.
Twitch—
The word "new serial" made her ears perk instantly.
"The Fallen Noble Excels at Politics..?"
What kind of title is that even?
Titles should be like.
Flowers wilt beneath the moon.
Sunset glory after the fall.
Something poetic, right?
"A title this blatant..."
But.
21st-century webnovel naming vibes scratched her itch for stimulation deep down.
She shoved her other reads aside and dove into the fresh meat.
Hot off the press, just 5 chapters out.
And.
– I will not divorce my wife.
"Here he... refuses divorce? Why?"
– Time to change strategies.
"Assets seized, title stripped, and... some new plan?"
– The female priests. I'll use them.
"Why would priests side with a fallen noble? Why?!"
Devilish talent.
Cliffhanger mastery fit for a daily serial.
Esthea's brain fell to dopamine.
And.
– Title revoked? Doesn't matter. It's good for me. In that case, I...
"No! What do you mean good?! Next chapter! NEXT ONE!"
Emotions fully hijacked.
"Hey!"
"You called, noble one?"
"Truth Newspaper! Bring it every day from tomorrow!"
"Understood, noble one."
Bam, bam, bam!
Her thrashing tail pounded the floor nonstop.
Her slitted pupils narrowed further.
"Just kidnap him?"
Resentment brewed toward humanity's one-chapter-a-day rag.
Why only one daily? Three would be win-win for authors and readers.
Arrogant dragon logic, blind to human creativity limits.
But she wagged her tail, seriously pondering it as a solid idea.
Her gaze lingered on.
The Fallen Noble Excels at Politics
Author: Ulysses
The pen name Ulysses lingered long in her mind.