1.2

My first day was spent sorting through all the skills that had been shoved into my mind. It was critical that I had not only a deep understanding of the skills themselves but also of the world I was going to be reborn into. The total number of skills was absurd. To be exact, there were 123,851. In the world of swords and magic, people were assigned skills randomly at birth. There were many skills that didn't seem to have any practical uses: Animal Cry, Dishwashing, Speedy Dressing, and Cross-dressing, to name a few. Skills were divided into five ranks: S, A, B, C, and D, and I could choose only one from each. S: 1/100,000,000 chance A: 1/1,000,000 chance B: 1/10,000 chance C: 1/100 chance D: 1/1 chance The likelihood of being given a skill differed depending on the rank. Theoretically, it was possible to be born with a skill from every rank. But the odds of getting an S-Rank skill alone were one in one hundred million. That meant the probability of being born with a skill from all five ranks was… …one in one hundred quintillion. Considering that, I felt extremely fortunate to be given the privilege of choosing my skills. Most people were born with only a single D-Rank skill. I decided that the best way to choose my skills would be to select a skill from the most powerful category, S Rank, and then select subsequent skills that would best complement it. "As one would expect given such low odds, each of the S-Rank skills is a force to be reckoned with," I muttered. Merely possessing an S-Rank skill was enough to put someone among the strongest people in the world. Magic Blade Summon: Allows the user to summon and wield a magic blade that adjusts to the user's strength. This one seemed a little plain at first, but the magic blade was outrageously powerful. You could cleave a mountain in half with this skill. Holy Vigor: Envelops the user in a shining golden aura that substantially increases strength, defense, and agility. The word substantially was a bit vague, but I was willing to bet that even an infant could take down a tank with their bare hands using this skill. It had great versatility. If I was unsure of what skill to pick, this one seemed like a solid choice. Seal of Subordination: Enables the user to control their opponent by placing a mark on the target's forehead. With this skill, you could create your own personal army of people under your complete control. There was a catch, however. When the mark is made, the target has the chance to resist its influence by using their mana. Simply put, the user's mana needs to be greater than the target's. Monster Creation: Allows the user to create monsters using a great variety of materials, and command them in battle. This skill would allow you to create the monster army of your dreams. It seemed monsters were primarily made using corpses and magical stones. I could think of countless uses for this one. These were just a few of the S-Rank skills available to me. When choosing my skill, the first thing I needed to confirm was that I would have enough firepower. The hero far surpassed all standards of human strength, so even if I found him in a defenseless situation, I'd no doubt lack the necessary strength to even put a scratch on him. This meant I'd need to make sure I had the ability to kill him with a single strike to some vital point. My chosen skill was also going to need a great deal of versatility. Any number of unexpected developments could occur during my attempt to assassinate the hero. Flexibility would be required if I was to recover from unforeseen circumstances and carry out my mission. Taking all of that into consideration, there was no better choice for my SRank skill than Rapid Recovery. Rapid Recovery: Increases the recovery rate of stamina, mana, healing, etc. Recovery rate is increased by a factor of one hundred. This multiplier can be further increased with training. At first glance, this ability didn't seem all that impressive, but he who can run the farthest will always survive. Being able to easily replenish your mana, which seemed to be the closest equivalent in that world to reloading a gun, was also attractive. Plus, it could be used to recover quickly from illness or injury. I'd also be able to function on very little sleep, and my stamina recovery rate would allow me to train for extended periods of time. After considering the rules of my new world, an accelerated rate of recovery seemed best. If the goddess hadn't given me a rundown of the world I was headed to, I doubt I would've chosen this skill. "This is easily the best choice for my A-Rank skill," I said. Spell Weaver: Grants the ability to create new spells. In the world of swords and magic, spells were magical abilities bestowed upon people by the gods. There were only about one hundred standard god-given skills that could be used. However, Spell Weaver allowed me to make my own spells, allowing for infinite possibilities. Figuring that I'd be able to use my world's superior knowledge of science, I reasoned that I'd make great use of this skill. "After choosing Rapid Recovery, this one's a no-brainer for my B-rank skill." Limitless Growth: Enables one to break through natural limitations. While this skill sounded really strong, it was pointless on its own. Normally, removing growth limits would be meaningless. Limits are often so high that most people don't reach them even if they spend their entire lives training. However, it formed an excellent combination with the inexhaustible supply of stamina afforded by Rapid Recovery. For my C-Rank skill, I prioritized versatility and chose Martial Arts. Martial Arts: Grants superb hand-to-hand combat capability and heightened reflexes. This skill had inferior strength compared to weapon-specific skills such as Sword Arts or Spear Arts. But as an assassin, I already knew how to handle just about any type of weapon, so martial arts seemed like the best choice for me. I had no reason to choose a skill that limited myself to a particular weapon. "I'm not sure the gods are aware this D-Rank skill even exists." For my D Rank, I decided to go with a rather amusing skill. It wasn't particularly strong, but its effectiveness could vary greatly depending on how I used it. While all outward appearances pointed to it being boring, I was confident it would become my trump card. In addition to skills, I also needed to choose my elemental affinity, which determined what kind of magic I could cast. In the world of swords and magic, people were born with one elemental affinity; on rare occasions, a person could be born with two. There were four basic elemental affinities: earth, fire, wind, and water. These were joined by a pair of rarer elemental affinities: light and dark. Spells were awarded by the gods after repeated use of your elemental affinity. The elemental affinity I went with was Total Affinity. Total Affinity allowed you to use all four of the basic elemental affinities, but neither of the rarer ones. This wasn't without a drawback, however. As a trade-off for being able to use so many kinds of magic, the improvement rate for each of them was halved. "If my improvement rate is cut in half, then I'll just train twice as hard. That shouldn't be a problem, since my recovery rate is increased a hundredfold." I decided the merit of being able to use four elements outweighed the demerit of a slower growth rate. After only two days into my allotted time, I'd chosen all my skills and my elemental affinity, but I decided not to tell the goddess yet. It was better to spend any time I had left considering my choices and looking over all the skills to see if there was a better combination. After spending my final day thinking through my options, I decided to stick with what I'd chosen the previous day. I'd use Rapid Recovery and Limitless Growth to improve my fundamental abilities. Martial Arts would sharpen my movements. Spell Weaver and Total Affinity would greatly increase the tools at my disposal, and my D-Rank skill would be my ace in the hole. "You seem to have found a combination that you are satisfied with," the goddess declared, appearing before me. "Yep, this is the best I could come up with." "Huh, you chose Rapid Recovery for your S-Rank skill. A bit dull, isn't it? Same goes for your A Rank. I'd forgotten that D-Rank skill even exists… Humans truly are fascinating creatures." "Are you making fun of me?" "Far from it. I'm praising you. If you'd simply chosen the strongest skills without much thought, you would've had no chance of defeating the hero. He's got more than thirty skills after all." On top of abnormal physical strength and mana, a hero was also born with thirty skills from the S and A Ranks. Of those thirty, a minimum of five were S Rank. Given the ridiculous strength of those skills, I could certainly see why defeating the hero in battle was borderline impossible. With enough training and careful preparation, however, assassination seemed doable. I chose my skills specifically for the purpose of killing the hero, whose many abilities had granted him monstrous strength from birth. "Okay, time for your reincarnation. Full disclosure: It's going to be awkward for a while. You're going to have to live as a baby while retaining your current knowledge and personality. Just try to bear it, okay? I'm sure being born into the Tuatha Dé clan of assassins will be anything but boring. Your mother is beautiful, you know. And thank goodness for that! I can only imagine how uncomfortable it would have been if you made a repulsed face every time you had to breastfeed! That'd be a pretty nasty shock for any parent. Oh, one more warning. I recommend you change your manner of speech. It'll be off-putting to hear a child speak the way you do now." Without waiting for my reply, the goddess snapped her fingers. My body transformed into particles of light. I was about to begin a new life. Hopefully, the Tuatha Dé clan of assassins would provide me with everything I needed to prepare.