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26. Skill Points (2)

As we gathered some random materials while walking, we resumed the conversation we had in the morning.

「Now, as for why Shizuku was able to learn [Duration Enhancement], it’s only natural given the mechanism of skill acquisition.」

「The mechanism?」

「The skill mechanism is simple. If you have [1000] skill points, you can use it. If you don’t have it, you can’t use it. That’s all.」

「I know that too.」

If you want to learn skills normally, all you have to do is study and train steadily until you reach the first [1000]. That’s how I learned the skills to lend to Altora and the others.

Once you have mastered it, you can use the skill to accumulate more points and strengthen it further. There are skills that evolve when a certain threshold is exceeded, and most of the skills I have have already evolved.

「My [Skill Lender] allows me to exchange skill points. Strictly speaking, it is a skill that “lends skill points” rather than “lends skills”. I can set a period of 10 days or more and loan out as many skill points as I like.」

However, each skill can only be lent to one person. I could come up with a way to lend a resistance skill to someone with [Range Enhancement] so that it would have an effect on the entire party, but ultimately only me and one other person I choose can have it as a skill. If I lend only [1000] points from a skill with [100 million] points, I have no choice but to use the remaining [99,999,000] myself.

「It would be amazing if you could lend [1 million] points to 100 people each. You could have an army of skills.」Shizuku said.

She is a smart kid who can come up with ideas like that. For example, if there was a skill to create familiars that could reflect the caster’s skills, then that might be possible. A familiar like a golem or something.

「And the interest on the skill points I lend is 10% every ten days. If you borrow [1000], you have to pay back [1100]. You have to increase your points by [100] to pay the interest.」

「But what if I can’t increase it?」

「It will be [-100]. A minus skill point.」

「I didn’t know there was a minus in skill points…」

If I were to accidentally lend [1,000,000], the other party would have to earn [100,000] in 10 days. Considering that Eria’s [High Speed Chant] was only [1,212,000] after using it for six years, it is almost impossible. The debt is fixed at the time of lending.

Furthermore, there seems to be a lower limit to the negative value, and once it hits the bottom, there is a risk that my skill will start absorbing points from other skills.

「I’ve never heard of skill points having a negative range either. It’s still an unknown area, so I won’t touch on it carelessly.」

That’s why I only use [Skill Lender] to the bare minimum. That’s why I don’t lend Shizuku too much that she can’t repay, and I’ve set the deadline to be at the lowest, 10 days.

「Well, now that I’ve explained this much, you can guess why you were able to keep [Duration Enhancement] in even after repayment, right?」

After a few seconds of thinking.

「Ah…」

「Let me take a guess. You used [Garou] even when not in battle whenever you had free time, right?」

「I thought if I used it all the time and accumulated points, I would be able to use it for a longer time… So I accumulated [2342] points for [Duration Enhancement], and when I returned it, [1242] remained?」

「Correct answer.」

It sounds simple, but to actually attain it you would have to keep using it continuously to the point that you almost forget about eating and sleeping. That’s why I kept quiet because if I told her, she would definitely force herself to attain it.

But I never thought she would be able to attain it on her own. It seems that I have underestimated the strength of Shizuku’s feelings for [Garou].

「Is that so? Then, can I borrow the other skills as well…?」

「Shizuku-san. I hear that borrowing money because of greed is the typical mindset of people who are ruined by debt.」

Koe-san said coldly with a smile on her face.

「I-I know…」

「Are there any other skills you want?」

Some of my skills are powerful, but from Shizuku’s point of view, [Garou] is the best of them all. As I was thinking that, Shizuku pointed to the mandibles of the army ant in my hand.

「The storage thing.」

「This?」

I made an armful of mandibles disappear from my hands. This is what I call the storage skill.

「It certainly is convenient.」

We were walking around while picking up materials, but the amount of fangs and claws we gathered from hundreds of monsters was quite large. I can’t imagine what would happen if I carried it all in a backpack.

「What kind of skill is that?」

「It’s not like I have that kind of skill. I’m combining three skills and using them in a storage-like way.」

If there was a skill where you can store your luggage somewhere just by shouting “Storage!”, it would bring about a revolution in global distribution. Even if it is a unique skill, many researchers will try to reproduce it, and it will probably be mass-produced. Humans can’t be underestimated when money is involved.

「First, I learned the Dark Ice Magic Cocytus with [Song of the Age of Gods]. It is a magic that creates ice that will not melt for a thousand years unless the caster dissolves it. Then, use [Space Jump] together with [Universal Palm] to expand its range.」

I use this combination to store countless items. Let’s take this opportunity to let Shizuku think about it. But I wonder if she understands.