Chapter 2. Awakening

Today marks the official transition into adulthood for Myne, and he soon finds himself approaching a temple-like structure where the awakening ceremony is scheduled to commence.

Those on the cusp of adulthood must undergo the awakening ceremony, a pivotal event that presents an opportunity to unlock up to three abilities referred to as Skills. The quantity and calibre of these Skills are contingent upon the genetic makeup flowing through their veins and, to some extent, luck; nothing is predetermined.

The efficacy of the Skills varies, influencing one's ability to combat monsters that pose a threat to ordinary individuals. Those endowed with potent Skills garner respect, wealth, romantic interests, noble standing, and, in certain instances, even princesses as spouses. Conversely, many are left with mundane and ineffective Skills.

Thus, children born to parents possessing formidable Skills inherently enjoy a greater likelihood of awakening powerful abilities. There was a time when the fusion of certain Skills resulted in the creation of extraordinary, almost outrageous, capabilities.

Such extraordinary Skills are celebrated as the heroic tales of the past, as individuals achieved remarkable success through the amalgamation of their Skills.

Consider the King, for instance, who was bestowed with two Skills: a fusion of 'One-Handed Blade ( Large )' and 'Physical Strength Enhancement ( Large ) '.

The One-Handed Blade Skill is a combat-oriented ability with varying degrees of strength, Physical Strength Enhancement ( Large ) on the other hand a skill augmenting physical prowess, categorized into four levels: Small, Medium, Large, and Top. In the case of the King, he attained the second strongest variation, One-Handed Blade and Physical Strength Enhancement.

Through the adept combination of these two Skills, the King acquired unparalleled strength. His accomplishments were myriad, including triumphs over adversaries and the old king's sons, ultimately securing his position as the reigning monarch of the Augusta Kingdom.

The temple host emphasized that the more potent the Skill, the rarer its bestowal, creating a low probability for individuals to receive an ideal combination of powerful and high-battle-power Skills.

Though not truly infinite, the vast array of available Skills is seemingly boundless. Among this multitude, only a select few exhibit godly effects, further amplifying the rarity of such extraordinary abilities.

As the children approached the brink of adulthood, accompanied by their families, they made their way to the temple, carrying immense hopes in their hearts. Each harboured the desire to obtain potent skills akin to the King's, envisioning a life where their dreams could be realized. Yet, if all goes as expected, they may soon confront the harsh reality.

Upon arriving at the awakening temple, Myne sought out a quiet corner and stood alone. Over time, a growing number of people entered the temple, prompting gratitude that the temple enforced a rule allowing only those awakening their skills to enter on this sacred day. This rule spared the temple from becoming an overcrowded sea of faces, leaving ample space to move freely.

Having observed over fifty children, Myne couldn't help but feel a lingering awkwardness. Most of the life he had been dedicated to training and hunting, resulting in a physique that betrayed his actual age of fifteen. His well-built muscles, devoid of excess fat, and a height of an unusually tall 1.85 meters might lead someone meeting him for the first time to mistake him for an eighteen or nineteen-year-old.

After a while, half of the children, or should I say newly become adults, awakened their skills. Some appeared elated, while others wore expressions of melancholy. A few even broke into tears as if they had just lost their parents. One adult, however, reacted in a way that left everyone speechless. Faced with the disappointment of not acquiring any useful skills, he clung to the awakening ceremony host's legs like a desperate spider, tearfully expressing his disdain and disgust for his useless skill and desperately asking the host to give him a better one, which was obviously unrealistic. Yet, instead of showing sympathy or encouragement, the host, displaying no tolerance for such behaviour, kicked him in the face and ordered the guards to throw that piece of shit out from the awakening temple.

Finally few minutes later, a mysterious mix of anticipation, unease, nervousness, and fear enveloped Myne as it was now his turn.

When the host caught sight of him, he initially thought Myne was a new guard or something, and approached him to report something. However, as Myne indicated that it was now his turn, the host glanced at him as if he was seeing a unique animal but he soon came back to his senses and instructed with a stoic expression, "Enter that circle and pray to God for good luck, expressing gratitude for becoming an adult."

Being told that, Myne entered the circle filled with weird symbols and offered prayers to God. These were just normal formalities that every awakening candidate had to go through, even though most children didn't even pray correctly; they simply opened and closed their mouths, and that was it.

After the formation circle activated, Myne's body shone faintly for a few seconds, and three pieces of information appeared in his mind out of thin air.

"Hmm, it seems like you safely received your skills. Please place your hands on this orb," the Host spoke calmly, holding out a blue transparent orb, and Myne placed my hands on it without any hesitation.

As he did that, the three skills information that had previously appeared in his mind were displayed inside the orb: namely, 'Appraisal・Complete', 'Cut & Paste', and 'Inventory'.

After seeing Myne's skills, the Host didn't react much and started to explain their use causally.

"The skill named Appraisal can examine the details of everything. It is quite a rare skill. The ones that we frequently hear about are 'Appraisal・Age', 'Appraisal・Identity', 'Appraisal・Animal', 'Appraisal・Gender', etc. It is a rare skill, but there is a catch. You can examine the attribute at the end of 'Appraisal' means what kind of information it will provide you. For example, 'Appraisal・Gender' for most of time it was a completely usless skill, as we can see other gender with our eyes anyway. You can say that it's a failure, even though it is also Appraisal, after all what can 'Complete' represent? Don't tell me now we couldn't even see if anything is complete or broken, anyway," the Host said with a little regret while shaking his head.

I don't know why he looks sadder than me after seeing my first skill because with the 'Appraisal' that I was bestowed, there was a "Complete" at the back, Myne thought confuesdly while staring at the host with a weird expression.

This is probably the top attribute even within Appraisal because what the Host knows about Appraisal is what he heard or read in books, but Myne had received all detailed information about his skills with awakening directly in his mind. So he know their actual value.

His 'Appraisal' has 'complete' on its back because it can examine anything without limits. Although the Host said that it's a good skill even though it's a failure in his eyes, Myne know that this is a godly skill. After all, with this skill, he can know about anything as long as it is in front of him; nothing can hide from him after today, and this is perfect for him, who does most of his work in the wilderness.

"I've never heard of a Skill called 'Cut & Paste', but I have heard of the Skills called 'Cut' and 'Paste'," the Host said after thinking for a while.

"The 'Cut' is a Skill to 'cut down' everything before you. For example, if you use it while pulling out weeds, all the weeds within your sight are immediately cut. Disposing of weeds with this method undoubtedly yields the best outcome. With such an example, I believe it is a wonderful skill. However, this skill is best employed on fundamentally inanimate objects that don't contain life. It does not work on living things."

"If it were effective even on living things, it would be the perfect and extremely advantageous skill to bring to a battle against monsters. Naturally, after dealing with monsters, it would be quite convenient during dismantling, or so I've heard," The host said with a low voice, expressing a desire to become a hero as well, but the harsh reality definaly had show him his place.

Myne nodded in agreement each time the host completed a sentence, he will show reaction, letting him know he was attentively listening his nonsense.

Dismantling takes a lot of work, inevitably consuming some time. Since time is a factor, there is always the possibility that the blood and stench of the monster during dismantling will attract other monsters.

Adventurers would die to invite me in their team with wide open arms because of this skill, as it substantially reduces a lot dismantling time, Myne thought with a slight smirk on his face.

"As for'Paste', it is a skill that 'sticks' anything visible to any place. It can be used like glue, so to speak. However, it differs from regular glue. Once you stick something, the attached object can never be torn apart. A mistake in pasting can lead to a disastrous outcome."

"If you use 'Cut', you can somewhat detach Paste skill effect, It isn't exactly tearing it off; rather, cutting it off, so better be careful. For example, if a person is bestowed with both Cut and Paste simultaneously, which is rare, you can say that it is an extremely inconvenient combination."

"Although among producers, called craftsmen, the skill is unparalleled in its utilization. I've heard that they can produce unbelievably sturdy tools and furniture, among other things. Depending on your proficiency level, it can be a beneficial skill."

"Last is your 'Inventory' skill. This is a storage-type skill with a maximum capacity of 10 to 100 cubic meters maybe," The host said hurriedly, with a hint of jealousy clearly visible on his face.

He probably thinks that having three skills at once is too rare to see, especially since all my skills are supportive and complement each other. In one way or another, those skills are too good for a low-level person like me. I hope I don't attract unnecessary attention, Myne thought while wiping sweet from his forehead.

"Hmm, it seems like you are bestowed with wonderful skills. 'Appraisal・Complete', 'Inventory', and 'Cut & Paste' also seem useful depending on how you use them," The Host said, staring at Myne like a pervert while giving him a forced smile, and continued, "That's it for today. May God bless your life."

Expressing his fake gratitude to the Host as well, who definitely had ulterior thoughts about his skills but could do nothing about it, Myne set off toward home in extremely happy mood.