บท 9: Chapter 9: Exclusive Skill Scroll

(Yue)

"Yue, are you going to Vittok Town during the break?"

Laphae's eyes lit up, excitement evident on her face.

"Great! I'll be going to Vittok Town for the break too. We can go find Night together. I want to introduce you to Night. I'm sure Night will like you, and you'll like Night too."

As Laphae spoke, I also remembered that indeed, this could be the perfect opportunity for my female form and Night to meet for the first time.

Despite our simultaneous existence, our paths had rarely intersected. Yet, now unexpectedly, they seemed to be converging.

I must admit, I'm quite excited about it.

"Yeah, I'll talk to Father about it. We can go together."

This is also a chance for me to bring some money to Night.

Not just money, but I could also bring along other useful things for Night.

I need to carefully consider my options.

Thinking like this, after returning home, I went straight to the Skill Book Library.

After entering the Intermediate Academy, this place was completely open to me. My father said I could choose the skills to study on my own.

I (Yue) learned a lot of magic skills. I had initially thought of sharing them with the other me (Night), but it seemed that the other me (Night) didn't have the aptitude for learning magic. Even though our knowledge was shared, he couldn't use any magic.

On the contrary, skills related to swordsmanship and combat techniques seemed to be shared with the other me (Night).

I use the word "seemed" because without identifying myself, I couldn't know for sure if I had acquired any new skills.

Although I, Yue, had learned the "Appraisal" skill by using a skill book, this skill couldn't be shared with the other me (Night).

Therefore, while I could check my own ability values at any time now, the other me (Night) remained in the dark about his abilities.

It might be a good idea to take a 'Appraisal' skill book to teach it to Night. With this skill, I won't have to worry about money for the rest of my life still, although I'm thinking about it this way, there are no more 'Appraisal' skill books left.

Appraisal skill books were extremely precious and rare. They could only be obtained from treasure chests with a very low probability, and each book could be sold for a sky-high price.

Moreover, those who could obtain an Appraisal skill book were generally those who had already learned the skill themselves. Unless they were in dire need of money or had the Appraisal skill already, no one would want to sell it.

This was because the Appraisal skill was a special skill that anyone could learn.

Even a Duke's family having an Appraisal skill book was considered a remarkable feat. To obtain another one required extraordinary luck.

Usually, most people would go to the Adventurer's Guild to appraise their ability values using an "Appraisal Slate" – it cost 10,000 Cradles each time.

However, even though I, Night, had earned money from working as Lotte's knight, as a student, I could still get a free appraisal during the "Appraisal Day." So, there was no need to spend that money unnecessarily.

As a result, I hadn't appraised myself again, which left Night completely in the dark about his current ability values.

"So, what should I bring over?"

Firstly, I didn't need to bring over knowledge and skills that could be shared. If I learned them, the other me (Night) would naturally learn them too, and the levels and proficiency would be shared.

For now, skills related to physical combat seemed to be shareable.

So, it was best for me (Yue) to learn them; there was no need to specifically bring them over for Night to learn.

Secondly, magic skills were completely useless. Night didn't have the aptitude for learning magic. Skills requiring personal talent couldn't be learned from skill books.

Lastly, after excluding those, the options for useful skills became very few.

In fact, there seemed to be only one thing left that could be brought over to benefit Night from the Skill Book Library.

Although it was called the Skill Book Library, there were only fifty-six different skill books available.

Thinking this way, I pulled out a scroll from the bookshelf.

— "Exclusive Skill Awakening Scroll"

Exclusive skills referred to skills unique to an individual. Not everyone awakened them, and the circumstances of awakening were varied.

Some people were born with exclusive skills, like me (Yue). Some people never awakened an exclusive skill in their entire lives – that was 99% of the population. Some would automatically awaken their exclusive skills after gaining some levels; that was quite common. Some would awaken exclusive skills when facing death's brink; that was also a frequent occurrence. Apart from these scenarios, there was another way – by using an "Exclusive Skill Awakening Scroll."

Unlike the "Appraisal Skill Book" that could only be obtained from treasure chests, the "Exclusive Skill Awakening Scroll" could be obtained from treasure chests or made manually.

Although those capable of making them were exceedingly rare, and the process was by no means easy – it usually took a year to craft one scroll – this country happened to have a person capable of making them. Moreover, as a duke's father, he had the privilege of snatching up a scroll at a sky-high price.

However, unfortunately – or perhaps it was uncertain whether to be unfortunate or not – both Xue'er and I were born with exclusive skills. I had no use for this scroll, so it was left to gather dust in the Skill Book Library.

My father's perspective was that this item could be useful someday, so there was no need to feel regretful. Rather, if I had the opportunity, I should continue to seize a few more scrolls, as they could become a part of the family's legacy.

Hmm, someday it could be useful.

"Now is the time to use it."

Holding the scroll, I nodded seriously.

"Don't worry, Father, I will make the most of it."