4. “Humanity’s Greatest Invention”
「Give me back the skills I lent you.」
「Huh?」
「If I die, the skills I lent you will be invalidated anyway. Give me back the skills before that happens. It would be better for you guys if I am able to damage the boss even a little than to have me instantly killed, right?」
「That’s impossible. Even if you get your skills back, you won’t be able to hurt the boss! Don’t dream!」
Altora laughed heartily.
「Fine. Let’s see how far you can go. So how do we do it?」
「You just have to reply『Return』once I activate my skill. Activate [Skill Lender].」
I said the keyword while my skill was active.
「【Return everything】.」
「I’ll return it.」
「Return it.」
「Return.」
「I shall return it.」
In response to their expressions of intent, I heard a “voice” in my head. This voice, which only I can hear, is like an auxiliary function of [Skill Lender], and assists in processes such as lending and recollection. The voice quality is similar to that of a young adult woman.
【Repayment processing has been approved. Processing will begin.】
The voice stopped there. It seems like it will take some time since there are a lot of skills. During this time, I shall tell them what I have to say.
「With this, the skills I lent you will be returned to me. But… are you aware of the interest rate? It’s 10% every 10 days.」
「Huh? Yeah, I guess you said that a long time ago.」
Altora had an absent look on his face. At first, he paid back diligently, but as he continued to borrow more and more, he must have stopped thinking about the interest.
「Eria remembers it. But there’s no problem.」
Eria stepped forward in place of Altora, who was not getting the point. Her eyes that shone deep blue, unique to those with the Wisdom skill, stared intently at me.
「The oldest skill Eria borrowed was six years ago. Starting with the principal skill points [1,000], 10%, or [100], is added every 10 days. That’s 219 times in six years. Including the principal, I will need to repay [22,900] skill points. It is not a small number, however…」
Eria then raised her index finger.
「For example, the skill points for Eria’s [High Speed Chanting] is [1,212,000]. Even after paying the debt, [1,189,100] skill points will remain. Enough to continue the battle. Some skills may disappear, but they are skills that are not used often. It can be assumed to be of low urgency.」
Following Eria, Gordon and Tina also stepped forward.
「Marge, we had already calculated that when we decided to kick you out. Perhaps you were planning on getting revenge at the end, but… too bad, you won’t even be able to land a scratch on us.」
「I understand that you are disappointed, but please die peacefully…」
These guys are so full of themselves. But that doesn’t matter.
They are making a big miscalculation.
「Eria.」
「What?」
「My skill calculates interest using compound interest, not simple interest.」
「Simple, compound…?」
None of them looked like they understood what I was saying. All four of them are lacking in study…
「Simple interest is the calculation Eria did earlier. 10% of the principal is added every ten days.」
「Question. Is compound interest different?」
「With compound interest, the increased interest is added to the principal. If the original is [1000], it will become [1100] in ten days. Up to this point, it is the same as simple interest, but after the next ten days, it will apply 10% to [1100] and become [1210].」
When I explained that, Altora let out a snort of laughter.
「It’s only a [10] difference. Quit saying boring shit and go face the boss. Don’t forget to leave the luggage behind.」
「Put it down quickly. We know you’re just trying to buy time.」
「O’ God, please grant peace to the soul of this man who was not blessed with talent…」
Gordon tore off my equipment and the luggage I was carrying. Tina, beside him, was offering a formal prayer, and Eria was muttering softly.
「[32,421] in one year…[1,051,153] in two years…!?」
Eria’s composed face turned pale little by little. As expected of a genius mage with [Ancient Wisdom], calculations seem to be quick once she understood the mechanism.
Her mutters, however, did not reach Altora’s ears. The expert swordsman, who has been touted as a child prodigy since he was eight years old, grinned and came around behind me, kicking me in the back as hard as he could and pushing me through the door.
「Go!」
The stone door opened to welcome the challenger, and I tumbled inside. I saw Eria’s mouth moving, saying, “Wait,” but the cold stone door started closing mercilessly.
Just as the door was about to close, I mouthed this much to the peerless genius mage.
「It’s too late.」
【Processing completed. Skill name: [Hawk Eye] Debtor: Altora】
【We will start collecting at a real skill rate of 116,144,339,796%】
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Skill Lender Get Back His Pride
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 90 hours
Thanks! Ooh! Compound interest! (I sucked at learning compound vs simple interest).
At least someone understood (even if it wouldn’t help).