5 The Secretary of the Bored God

You know, I remember hearing about gods with servants who embodied charm and beauty. Well-endowed women with otherworldly strength. There were some videogames that I played where they ended up being priests, or beautiful winged angels. So why does reality have to differ so exponentially from that path?

The woman now standing in my room looked to be about my age, with a well-proportioned body. Her hair was a long, pale blonde, and her face would have seemed normal. The bit that stood out were the two large dark circles she had under her eyes. She looked like someone who hadn't slept in days. Even her eyes seemed red and puffy. It made the rest of hear give off an air of an overworked salary man, and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of job they had to look that way. Like my own clothing, hers was all white, though her shirt had a symbol printed over the heart that looked like the same seal stamped in the wax of my letter.

We stared at each other for a moment before, wordlessly, she flopped onto my bed. For a moment she looked like she was sleeping, but then she raised a hand and introduced herself. "I am Libra, secretary of The Bored God, and his representative in this world. How may I help you, challenger?"

"Are you... okay?" I asked, more out of courtesy than anything. The woman looked like she would pass out long before she could say anything useful.

"I'm... fine," came the reply. "My master doesn't rule this domain, so appearing here in human form is kind of... exhausting. Plus I'm already maintaining the skills system in this world - it's kind of tiring, though I'm used to it. State your questions. I'm here to assist your knowledge of this world as best I can."

So Libra would be some kind of tutorial NPC in a videogame? I guess that sounds a bit right.

"What do you mean by this place not being your master's domain?"

Libra waved a hand dismissively. "The Bored God used to control this world. His system was the system governing skills and learning. The current owner is more interested in levels and stats. When he took over, the two systems were melded together. I was left in charge of the skills. Think of me as a demi-god of sorts."

"Does that mean Bored God left you behind?"

Libra's face stiffened and her formal tone was lost for a moment. "N-no, he just knew that I was required for the peace of the world to stay on track. That's all."

An abandoned demi-god? Just how lackluster was this Bored God? Or did he just not care about his underlings? I turned my gaze to the window and shrugged. I still don't know much about him, I suppose this much was enough for now. "So I guess my first question. Is there a skill where I can see my current status? I got [Personnel Appraisal], but I still can't see my own information screen."

"The skill you're looking for is [Self Appraisal]. You can obtain it by looking at yourself and trying to think about your own status. A mirror helps to increase effectiveness, but... well, I suppose your cheat hidden skill [Jack of All Trades] will solve that for you," Libra remarked, nodding her head.

Finally some progress! I focused on my hand and did as instructed. After a moment, my eyes watered and I could feel the change come over me. A status screen hovered into my view.

{Barroco Gaia}

Level: 1

Exp: 13/999999999999999999999999...

HP: 2/10

Mana: 10/10

Stamina: 9/10

Str: 1

Int: 1

Dex: 1

Skills:

[Personnel Appraisal]: MAX

[Self Appraisal]: MAX

[Creature Appraisal]: MAX

[Mechanism Manipulation]: MAX

[Convincing Smile]: MAX

Hidden Skills:

[Jack of All Trades]

[?????]

[?????]

[?????]

[?????]

[?????]

[Otherworldly Blessing]

I could feel my gamer senses tingling. This screen had more features than someone else's appraisal screen. I could choose to move skills between hidden and non-hidden locations, could modify my name as needed, and I could even choose to hide myself from the appraisal of others. But what was that exp requirement to level up? The line of numbers was so long, it reached beyond the limits of the appraisal screen. On top of that, all my stats were at the lowest possible, and my HP was more than half depleted! What had caused that, exactly?

A scene flashed through my mind. A tray laden with food and utensils flying at my face. A panicked Dahlia. Was it possible... Could I have been down to 1 health when that happened? What would have occurred if I had hit zero?

I swallowed my fears and looked over at the exhausted demi-god. "Libra, what happens if my HP drops to zero?"

She groaned as her eyes opened, and she tilted her head at my question. "What happens when any being's life force hits zero? You'd die."

The Bored God's challenge reverberated through my head. "I just want you to prove that skills can overcome any power gap."

I was stuck at level 1. With base stats. I understood now. In this world, I might as well have the physical powers of an infant. The only power at my disposal was skills. I couldn't get physically stronger, and I couldn't level up. My HP would not increase. And with this power, I had to overcome strong opponents. I was literally here to prove skills could overcome level and power. This... was a challenge. I had done something similar in some old school RPGs, but my confidence was wavering here. This world was more real than any videogame.

"Libra... just how dangerous is this world? Are there monsters? What am I facing, exactly? And what does the Bored God stand to gain?"

Libra sighed and sat up from my bed, rubbing the bags under her eyes sleepily. "You have to prove your power by defeating the strongest beings of this world. That includes monsters. As far as what my master gains..." she shrugged, "he hasn't disclosed what he would gain from this. Maybe as the God who established skills in this world, he wants to prove his superiority to the new God ruling things."

I turned my attention back to Libra, who was yawning sleepily. "You look like you need coffee?"

Libra tilted her head again. "What's coffee?"

I sighed. Right. This was another world. Some things just wouldn't be part of this place. "It's a revitalizing drink where I'm from. It comes in many different ways, but the people of my world used it to stay awake for long periods of time. Some people called it nectar of the gods."

Libra's eyes were suddenly sparkling. "Such a drink exists? What does it taste like?"

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "It's sort of bitter, maybe a little nutty? A lot of people used milk and sugar to change the flavor. Other people preferred it without the additions. It's naturally brown or black in flavor."

Libra's eyes continued to sparkle as she imagined the drink. Maybe I shouldn't have explained it? She kept mouthing "nectar of the gods" and closing her eyes. It looked very bizarre, especially considering her demi-god status.

I turned to the three bags left in the suitcase. Each one was branded with the emblem of the Bored God, and each was sealed with an intricate ribbon. One was filled with gold, right? What did the other two have?

Sitting back down at the desk, I opened the three bags. As expected, one bag held around 100 gold coins, each one quite large and heavy. They were stamped with designs I couldn't recognize, one side featuring a surely looking dragon with unfurled wings. The second bag contained a small pouch made from the same leather as the suitcase. When I opened it, I was met with a black void that looked deceptively deep. Reaching my hand in, I could feel the bottom, though I still could not see it.

"That's a magical coin purse," Libra explained, laying back down on my bed. "It can hold a very large amount of coins, and it won't weigh you down. I suggest you keep your coins in there."

I nodded and opened the last bag, which contained... another coin? It was small and silver, with a hole in the center. Both sides had the marking of the Bored God on it, and it was warm to the touch. I held it up to Libra for her to explain.

"That's... I'm not sure," she stated after a moment. "If my master made it, I'm sure it has some purpose. I suggest you keep it safe. Maybe in the coin purse?"

I dropped the object in the small bag, but it immediately clattered out. Rejected. I guess it wasn't technically a coin? I ran my fingers along its edge and wondered what it could be used for. As if on cue, my eyes watered once more and I felt the now all-too-familiar change occur. I heard Libra make an odd sound as she lay on my bed, and when I looked back at her, her face looked slightly more red than I remembered. Checking my skills list, [Item Appraisal] had been added. Was Libra's reaction because of the sudden skill gain? I looked back at the silvery object in front of me.

[ ]

The information was... blank? Did that mean that it didn't exist in the data of this world? Or was it something too powerful to identify?

I turned back to Libra, who groaned fitfully. "I think my time's up for the day. I have to return to my post as demi-god. Let me know if you need any more information."

I nodded, suddenly feeling very tired. It might have been early still, but my mind needed time to process all of this.

"Turn around, please," Libra suddenly stated. I tilted my head. "You heard me. Returning to my post can be a bit... erm... embarrasing."

A shy demi-god, huh? I did as asked, and heard a strange whooshing sound behind me. When I returned my gaze to my bed, I found it empty. What a strange person.

Tomorrow was shaping up to be an interesting day.