Name: Apple
Race: Giant Rat Age: 0
Job: Giant Rat Apprentice
Level: 1
Strength: 1
Magic: 1
Vitality: 1
Dexterity: 1
Agility: 2
Skills:
Giant Rat Lv1 Sword Lv1
The three of us, Laudette-san, Apple-chan, and I, continued examining Apple-chan’s appraisal results.
「For now, let’s set aside the matter of the Divine Tree-sama’s Gift.」
「Right.」
It still bothers me a little, so I’d like to ask her directly later, but we’ll leave it for now.
「Now then, what really catches the eye are the possessed skills.」
「Indeedd」
「What exactly is the ‘Giant Rat’ skill…?」
「It seems to be a skill unique to Giant Ratss」
「Yes, well…」
I mean, that’s probably obvious… but what kind of skill is it exactly? Does it just make her better at doing giant rat-like movements…?
「And because he has the ‘Giant Rat’ skill, his Job is ‘Giant Rat Apprentice’, I suppose.」
I know that when a skill is level 1, the Job gets the “Apprentice” tag, but even so… “Giant Rat Apprentice”…
He’s unquestionably a giant rat, yet he’s treated as an apprentice. I can’t help feeling a little sorry for Apple-chan.
「Also, it appears he has the ‘Sword’ skill…」
「That’s probably inherited from you, Alec-sann」
「Hm? Inherited?」
「Summoned beasts can randomly inherit one of their summoner’s skillss」
「Huh? Really? There’s a system like that…?」
So that’s why Apple-chan inherited my ‘Sword’ skill…
In that case, this is basically that――――a gift.
Following the Divine Tree-sama’s Gift, now a gift from me to Apple-chan!
…Although, ‘Sword’ skill? For a giant rat?
「Um, I wonder… can Apple-chan even hold a sword…?」
「Kii…」
Even Apple-chan looked a little unsure. Well, he is a rat…
Still, he does possess the skill, so maybe there’s some way to make use of it.
It would be a waste to let a possessed skill go unused. Maybe with some tiny little sword, we could somehow――
「Wouldn’t claws work instead?」
「Eh?」
「She probably attacks with his claws sometimes, right? Maybe the ‘Sword’ skill activates through his claws?」
「The ‘Sword’ skill… through his claws?」
It’s true that the ‘Sword’ skill is fairly broad and lenient, allowing pretty much any kind of blade. But would it really work with claws…?
「Um, is that really how it works…? What do you think, Apple-chan?」
「Kii…」
When I asked, Apple-chan thought for a moment, then stepped a little away from us――
「Kii!」
He slashed at empty space with a clawed swipe!
「Well?」
「Kii…」
Apparently, he doesn’t know.
Well, that makes sense. Since he inherited the skill from me, he’s had it from the moment he was born. Even if his claws have been activating the ‘Sword’ skill all along, he wouldn’t notice, since that’s just how it’s always been for him.
Still, that swipe just now did seem sharper than a normal wild giant rat’s attack… or maybe it just felt that way…
「For now, it seems even he isn’t sure.」
「I seee. Do you think Sergent-san would know?」
「Father?」
「Sergent-san is a Sword Saint-sama, after all. If it’s about swords, he’d be the one to ask, wouldn’t he?」
「I suppose so.」
…That said, would he really be able to tell?
It’s true that Father once watched my swordsmanship and told me I was close to reaching level 1.
But this is a giant rat. Could he really determine the state of a ‘Sword’ skill just by watching a giant rat’s claw swipe…?
「Well, let’s have him take a look and see.」
「Kii.」
Alright then, I’ll bring Apple-chan along to morning practice tomorrow. We’ll have him check him out briefly there.
If the ‘Sword’ skill is truly activating, that would be wonderful.
Considering the skills I currently possess, it would undoubtedly have been the best possible inheritance. The best gift she could have received.
My current skills are――Sword, Hammer, Bow, Fire Magic, Woodworking, Summon, and Dungeon.
If he had inherited ‘Bow’, that would have been a hopeless situation. And ‘Fire Magic’ probably wouldn’t have been much better.
‘Summon’… might have been interesting.
Maybe Apple-chan could have summoned another giant rat. That might have been amusing.
As for ‘Dungeon’… huh? ‘Dungeon’?
That one’s hard to imagine. What would even happen?
「Hmm… If he had inherited a different skill, what would it have been like?」
「Oh? Well, Apple-chan’s inheritance is already set, but you might gain more summoned beasts in the future, Alec-sann」
「That’s true.」
「Didn’t you say you wanted to form a contract with a Walking Mushroom as a summoned beast?」
I never said that. I do remember mentioning to Laudette-san that a Walking Mushroom might end up becoming a summoned beast, but I never said I wanted to form a contract with one.
「Anyway, if another skill were inherited――for example, if ‘Dungeon’ were inherited, what would happen?」
「‘Dungeon’ skill?」
「Yes. Looking back on how things happened――it felt like I became a ‘Dungeon Master’, and as a result, I obtained the ‘Dungeon’ skill…」
It wasn’t that I acquired the skill and then created a dungeon. Rather, I created the dungeon, and as a result, obtained the skill.
If that’s the case, would it mean inheriting only the skill? Is it possible to have the ‘Dungeon’ skill without actually having a dungeon…?
「Hmmm. It’s hard to say. There aren’t many people who possess the ‘Dungeon’ skill to begin with. And on top of that, the ‘Summon’ skill is rare as welll. A case where both are combined would be extremely unusual…」
「I see…」
Even Laudette-san doesn’t seem to know.
Still, hearing my rare skill combination emphasized like that makes me feel oddly pleased.
「As you said, Alec-san, it might not mean being able to construct a new dungeon or anything like thatt」
「I see. That’s a bit disappointing…」
「However, if the inherited ‘Dungeon’ skill is connected to yours, it might allow control over your current dungeon――something like that could be possible」
「Hm?」
「Yes?」
「Ah, no, I see. That’s true. Something like that might happen…」
That would mean… a situation like the one between Nana-san and me?
In that case, it wouldn’t be the worst inheritance after all. If we could manage the dungeon together, that would mean sharing the dungeon menu as well.
In other words――we could exchange D-mails!
…Well, that’s about the only benefit. Maybe it’s still a bit underwhelming.
Hmm. Thinking about it this way, a lot of my possible inheritance skills feel like duds.
In Apple-chan’s case, though, it might actually have been a jackpot…
The real question is Mikoto-san.
She should have inherited one of my skills as well, but which one could it be…?
Honestly, judging from how slightly disappointing Mikoto-san has been since descending to the surface, I can’t shake the feeling that the result here might be a little disappointing too…
next chapter: Woodworking Series No. 64: 『Playing Cards』
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