ch1-ch20 · 004-ch4

Chapter 4: Oh? It Seems Someone's Coming

By creating a second [Skill Gate], I'd figured out that my Special Skill [Gate] let me place dungeon-like gates wherever I wanted—basically, it was a teleportation ability.

"So it's movement-type... right?"

When people say "movement-type," that includes stuff like [High-Speed Movement], [Leg Strength Up], and [Jump Power Up].

There's also famous ones like [Levitation] or flight skills, but I'd never heard of anything like teleportation.

I still couldn't completely rule out that this might also be magic-type, but since it definitely helped with movement, it was definitely movement-type.

At the very least, it wasn't a "trash skill"—it was a winner, the kind you'd want to get.

Speaking of "trash skills," there are ones that just improve your eyesight or hearing, or let you measure weight or distance—those all count as trash.

Then there are skills that aren't quite trash but are useless in combat, like promoting plant growth or hardening dirt into bricks.

I still didn't know if [Gate] would be useful in combat, but it definitely wasn't a dud.

"Alright, let's keep testing. Two [Skill Gates] connected. So what happens with three?"

Time to get back to experimenting.

This time, without speaking aloud, I reached my right hand further to the right of the right [Skill Gate] and focused.

([Gate])

The right [Skill Gate] that had been in front of me vanished with a soft sound.

Then a new [Skill Gate] appeared at the end of my right hand.

So I could definitely activate the skill without speaking.

I'd heard some people need to say the skill name to use it, but apparently I wasn't one of them.

"Is two the limit?"

As I said that, I put my right hand into the newly created [Skill Gate], and my right hand emerged from the left [Skill Gate].

"They're connected. ...So what happens next?"

I pulled my hand back out and held it toward the spot where the first [Skill Gate] had been.

([Gate])

If things went as expected, the left [Skill Gate]—the second one I'd created—should disappear, and a new one should appear in front of me.

...But the result was different.

"So the right [Skill Gate] disappears. ...Why?"

The [Skill Gate] that had been on the right vanished, and a new one appeared in front of me.

The left [Skill Gate] stayed where it was.

"I thought they disappeared in the order they were created..."

The left [Skill Gate] was the second one I'd made.

Yet when I created a new one, it wasn't the second one that vanished—it was the third one, the right [Skill Gate].

This time I tried putting my left hand into the left [Skill Gate].

...My left hand came out from the front.

"They're connected. ...Huh? Left hand? Oh right, the left hand!"

I pulled my left hand back and moved a short distance from where I'd been standing.

Then I held my left hand out in front of me and focused.

([Gate])

After confirming the new [Skill Gate] had appeared, I looked back toward where I'd been standing.

"...Yeah. I think it worked."

It was a bit hard to tell because of the distance, but the [Skill Gate] that had been on the left was gone.

"So basically, my Special Skill [Gate] lets me create [Skill Gates] from my right hand and left hand separately, they're connected to each other, and even at a distance I can teleport between them like—there we go."

I tried jumping into the newly created left-hand [Skill Gate].

"Yeah. This is probably where the right-hand [Gate] was."

There was a tree in front of me.

I'd made it back to the tree's shade.

The [Skill Gate] I'd created with my right hand was right behind me.

"Of course I can go back and forth, right?"

I turned around and entered the right-hand [Skill Gate].

...Success.

I came out from the left-hand [Skill Gate].

"Looks like I can go back and forth as many times as I... ??? ...Huh?"

It wasn't quite dizzying, but something felt off.

Like my eyes were spinning even though I wasn't rotating?

"My sense of direction? Because I went back and forth continuously? ...This is..."

It was similar to when you rearrange a room and change which way the bed faces.

That weird feeling you get the next morning when you wake up...

Oh right, it's facing this way, you think.

That's what this was like.

"Once is fine, but going back and forth continuously is no good. ...Whew."

Time for some deep breaths.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

...Calm now?

"Which way did I come from again?"

I was calm, but my sense of direction hadn't returned.

As I looked around, I caught something moving at the edge of my vision.

"Oh? It seems someone's coming..."

Come to think of it, I'd stepped out from behind the tree.

Well, whoever was coming was from the opposite direction of the First Floor Gate, but still...