Chương 5: The Hidden Skill

Leaves shining with brilliant light represented completed Skills. The dim leaves were still forming. Cael stared at the Skill section in surprise. There were four Skills. The last one had been blurred until he could not see it clearly, but there was definitely something there. Was it a Skill he had been born with? The Infinite Skill Tree only displayed Skills it generated. It did not show things he naturally possessed. What kind of Skill would Lady Hestia need to blur out?

Was it something so dangerous that even a god did not want him to know?

"Lady Hestia, it looks like there is another Skill here..." Curiosity got the better of him. He looked toward Hestia, who sat cross-legged on the bed with her arms folded, her twin ponytails swaying as she rocked happily from side to side. Then he pointed at the blurred section of the Skill list.

"Oh, that?" Hestia folded her arms and looked away with exaggerated casualness. Her cheeks puffed slightly as she lowered her head and played with her fingers.

"My hand slipped just now. Having three Skills and one Magic from your first Falna is already so rare that there might not even be five people in all of Orario like that. Four Skills? I have never even heard of it."

"That makes sense," Cael said with an awkward smile. But what was that Skill? A Skill he naturally possessed. He wanted to know so badly. Why had she blurred it? Was it to keep him from standing out too much and being stolen by another Familia? But starting with three Skills was already more than enough to stand out. Besides, no one would be foolish enough to spread their own ability information around. That would only create trouble.

"Are you going to register as an adventurer next, Cael?" Hestia asked, changing the subject.

"With attributes this good, you will definitely become famous very quickly." So many rare Skills and even Magic. That flat-chested friend of hers would be jealous enough to lose her mind. When the time came, Hestia would take Cael with her and properly deflate that smug goddess's pride. The image of that unfortunate friend stomping her feet in envy appeared in Hestia's mind, and a proud little curve formed on her lips.

"Do your best." She closed one eye sweetly and gave him a thumbs-up. Then something occurred to her. Her expression shifted, and she clutched her head with both hands, shaking her twin ponytails as she wailed. Stolen novel; please report.

"Ahhh! I think I abandoned the potato puff stand!"

"Huh? Did you not say it would be fine, Lady Hestia?" Cael stared blankly at Hestia as she held her head and panicked.

"I never said that. You must have heard wrong." Hestia's reluctance was plain on her face.

"I do want to spend more time with you, Cael, but I need to hurry back. The shop owner is terrifying. She will scold even a god without hesitation." Hestia jumped down from the small wooden bed.

"Make sure you do your best, Cael. If anything happens, come find me." She turned back, gave him another thumbs-up, and then hopped out of the basement. She left in a fluster, but genuine happiness still shone on her face. Then she remembered the Skill she had blurred, and she pouted. [Status] Hidden Skill: Bond of Affinity - When forming a bond with someone of the opposite sex, both parties receive an increase to growth speed. - Grants the possibility of breaking through potential limits.

- Effects increase according to the number of bonds and the depth of each bond.

"He already has so many rare Skills. Why did he have to get a womanizer Skill on top of them?" A sour jealousy rose in Hestia's heart, the kind that came from feeling as if the treasure she had just found might be stolen away. If Cael learned about that Skill, he would definitely turn into a flirt. Maybe some girl from another Familia would tempt him, and then he would throw Hestia aside and run away from home. She absolutely could not let him know.

Otherwise, one day, some girl from another Familia would steal his heart away. Still, her first Familia member was this amazing. As his goddess, she had to work hard too.

"Whew. A god who cannot use Arcanum in this world really is no different from an ordinary person." Cael watched Hestia's blue ribbon sway out of sight around the corner and smiled quietly. She really was cute.

"Next comes my first Dungeon adventure. I arrived in Orario today, and everything has gone unusually smoothly..." Except for discovering that he had been tricked out of ten million valis for a full set of decorations.

"But I barely have any valis left. I cannot even buy a decent iron sword." Cael patted his nearly empty pocket. He had been cheated out of 9, 990, 000 valis by that dwarf. Hitching a ride with a merchant caravan from the eastern side of the continent to Orario had cost him seven thousand. Now he had only three thousand valis left. Living in Orario would cost at least one hundred valis a day, and that was if he survived on potato puffs.

"I could probably sell this to the Witch's Cottage for quite a bit." Cael looked at the mechanical watch on his wrist and muttered to himself. When he sold his phone to that merchant, the man had been stunned enough to call it a creation of the gods on the spot. The mechanical watch was less impressive, but its structure was still precise enough that someone should be interested. Selling it for a few hundred thousand valis should not be impossible.

The problem was that, aside from his casual clothes, this watch was the only thing he had left from that other world. It meant something.

"Forget it. I should stop thinking about selling things." Cael turned toward the corner where he had thrown his ornate sword.

"Good thing I had the foresight to manifest Unlimited Blade Works first. Otherwise, I would really be in trouble." He picked up the flashy longsword again.

"Trace on." Cael gripped the hilt and activated his Magic, Unlimited Blade Works. Blue magical light appeared in his palm and slowly wrapped around the sword.

"Completely different." He had manifested Unlimited Blade Works earlier, but before receiving Falna, he had not been able to move magical power or activate it properly. Back then, he had only been an ordinary person. Now, with a god's Falna, his body's potential had been fully opened. The abilities manifested by the Infinite Skill Tree were only seeds. If he did not develop them himself, he would not grow stronger.

"Basic structure, analyze." Blue lines like circuit patterns slowly spread across the entire sword.

"Material composition, analyze." The sword's structure and materials gradually unfolded before him. Sure enough, it was an ordinary iron sword. It was just prettier than most. The corner of Cael's mouth twitched.

"Basic structure, alter." The internal structure of the sword slowly changed, becoming sturdier.

"Material composition, alter." The blade's material gradually changed into tungsten carbide, one of the hardest substances Cael knew of, used to cut other metals. The blue light of magic slowly faded. A brand-new sword appeared.