Chapter 131

Ch 131 — Teach Me, Fer-Sensei!

The next morning on our way to the dungeon's entrance I asked Fer about the new Skill forced on me by those Deplorable Deadbeat Deities . "You see Fer, yesterday I, uh, 'received' a new Skill from the Gods called Perfect Defence, do you know anything about it?"

"Perfect Defence, huh?" Fer thought for a moment . "That sounds like a really good Skill for you to get . It protects you completely from hostile attacks . You've got my Barrier which is the same thing, sort of, but I can't keep it in place around you all the time . "

"One of the Gods, Vulcan-sama I think? said you couldn't keep Barrier up continuously . I was surprised . "

"Idiot . " Fer said bluntly . "You've used magic yourself, you know you can't do something like that continuously . Even I can't keep Barrier up for more than five days at a time . " Five days? That was a lot longer than I expected but this was Fer, after all .

Having learned that I came to the conclusion that getting the Perfect Defence Skill was a pretty good deal for me, a "Skill that completely defends from attacks by hostile forces . " I felt better about entering the dungeon now and I thanked the Gods for giving it to me . Should I maybe give them something extra next offering time? Thinking about the Gods and Goddesses and the new Skill I had supposedly received I realised I hadn't checked my Status recently . Was this new Skill actually there?

[ Name ] Mukouda (Tsuyoshi Mukouda)

[ Age ] 27

[ Job ] A person from a different world who got caught

[ Level ] 13

[ Stamina ] 229

[ Magic Power ] 223

[ Attack Power ] 206

[ Defence Power ] 205

[ Agility ] 200

[ Skill ] Appraisal Item Box Fire Magic Earth Magic Familiar Perfect Defence

[ Contracted Monsters] Fenrir, Big Slime, Pixie Dragon

[ Unique Skill ] Net Super

[ Protection ] Wind Goddess Ninril's blessing (small) Fire Goddess Agni's blessing (small) Earth Goddess Kishar's blessing (small)

So there's my Perfect Defence Skill . If I shifted my Appraisal point of view to the words 'Perfect Defence' . . .

[ Perfect Defence . . . . . . a Skill that completely protects against physical attack and magical attack from hostile forces ]

Oh, an explanation appeared, confirming what Fer had just said . Thinking about it when I Appraised the Mithril knife and sword that Sui made for me there was an explanatory note attached too . I didn't think it strange at that time but maybe for some reason my Appraisal Skill has levelled up? This sort of thing . . . teach me, Fer-sensei!

"Fer, if I use Appraisal on something like my Perfect Defence Skill, I now see an explanation . . . "

"Nuu, that would be because your level has increased and so has the things Appraisal can tell you . " Fer-sensei said .

"Hm? How does that work?" I asked . Fer explained that as someone's level went up, it meant that they could do more with the Skills they possessed . Since Appraisal is a Skill then I could now see more detail about something or someone I Appraised . Fer didn't bother much with using Appraisal himself so the extra information wasn't important to him though .

Wait though, I'd seen this sort of explanation even before I levelled up . I had Appraised food I'd bought at Net Super, bread say and seen things like "Eating this improves magic power by 1% for 10 minutes" and the like .

"I saw explanatory notes when I first used Appraisal on something from another world, but why?"

"Nu? Is that what you saw? I also tried to use Appraisal on those other-world foods but I couldn't read what it said at all, first time ever for me . " Fer shrugged . "It's maybe because they're from the other world . "

I already knew that things I bought from the Net Super in this world were different . Eating them causes strength and magic to increase — even Sui-chan received a boost when she ate the garbage, plastic bottles, wrappings etc . so they had to be fundamentally different to similar items in this world . I gave up thinking about it since there was nothing I could do about it and until now it hadn't really been much of a hindrance, other than me having to keep my Net Super Skill a secret from everyone else .

For now, knowing I can get an explanatory note during Appraisal because my level has risen is useful information . As Fer had explained all the Skills and magic someone possesses improve as their level increases which, now I thought about it was a natural result of levelling up . Fer went on to say there were some Skills that didn't improve due to increasing levels though, things like Item Box and my new Skill, Perfect Defence . Skills provided directly by the Gods and Goddesses didn't level up, apparently, just the ones people were born with or, as in my case, had been given to me when I was summoned to this world .

So that's how it works～ . There wasn't anything I could do about them though so I asked Fer about another Skill I had .

"So what about my Familiar Skill?" I could make submission contracts as I had with Fer and Sui and Dora-chan, how would that Skill change as I levelled up?

"No idea . As I said before my submission contract with you was the first I'd ever agreed to . The crazy Elf said the way you make submission contracts is strange, anyway . " That was true, Elland-san had said that when we had discussed the contracts I had made — it wasn't a Tamer Skill as the Guild understood them but something else .

I shrugged, I assumed I wouldn't lose any Skill abilities even when my level rises so I wouldn't worry about it . I asked Fer about my Unique Skill, Net Super but he replied "There's no way I'd know anything about something like that . It's Unique to you after all . " Well that's true, being able to order up Japanese goods in this world and have them delivered was weird to start with . I just had to be careful and keep an eye on it in case it changed somehow . As my discussion with Fer ended I found we had arrived at the market area outside the dungeon .

"Right then," Fer said, staring hungrily at the dungeon's gateway, "Shouldn't you go and register at the Guild's branch office? Like, now?"

* * * * *

After registering we lined up with a row of Adventurers entering the dungeon and waited patiently until it was finally our turn to enter . I showed my Guild card to the knights standing on both sides of the entrance and we went into the dungeon . I still had some concerns though . . .

"You said I didn't need a map, but is that really true?" I had planned to buy a map of the dungeon at a street stall before we joined the queue at the entrance but Fer said we didn't need it . His sense of smell and ability to see signs would be enough to guide us and it would be more reliable than any map bought from a sketchy market dealer, he said .

"It'll be fine . Trust me . " Fer declared, his attention fixed on the dark entrance in front of us . Well I suppose if he said it's okay then it will be okay . It was just that a map was always an important thing in the sort of computer games I had played, getting hold of one and following it, that sort of-

"It seems like there are only small fry to start with . " Fer interrupted, his head moving from side to side . I remembered he had mentioned how he could detect monsters at a distance during our trip to carry out the Mithril Lizard subjugation back when we were staying in Carerina . He was apparently using this monster-detecting ability on the dungeon entrance .

"Oh, that sounds right . Most regular Adventurers only explore the first 10 to 15 levels according to Elland-san . They can find treasure chests and also collect monster drops they can bring back out and sell . The monsters further down are a lot tougher . "

"Got it . Right then, let's get going, the sooner we get to some monsters worth fighting the better . You, get on my back . " Yeah yeah . I got on Fer's back as commanded as Fer looked back at me over his shoulder .

"You're going to be fine since you've got Perfect Defence . " Fer said considerately . He was worried about me and trying to cheer me up? How- "You're a coward of course so I'll keep my Barrier up too, just to keep you happy . " Thanks Fer, you didn't have to say 'coward' like that, just say I'm 'cautious' or 'careful' . Please?

"Dora, do you want to climb on too?" Fer said to Dora-chan .

"Naah, I'd just fall off, big guy . " Dora-chan answered aggrievedly . He was hovering beside Fer, his muzzle fixed like Fer's on the darkness before us, eager to enter the dungeon . I had almost forgotten just how formidable a foe a Pixie Dragon was given how cute they looked, and this Pixie Dragon in particular seemed to be ready for the battles to come . "It's kinda insulting to all Pixie Dragons, you know, to say I should ride on your back . Our reputation is for flying the fastest and the best, after all . "

Fer nodded in apology . "Right then Dora, are you ready to go in? Oh, and you too . " Fer asked me as an afterthought .

"Let's go, let's go . " Dora-chan answered eagerly as we advanced into the dungeon .