arc01 · 001-ep1
Episode 1: It's Straight-Up Trash
Plunder.
The classic representative skill, one that made its name as a cheat skill across countless stories.
Usually, this type of skill comes with some how-does-that-even-work performance—like letting you steal someone else's skill and make it your own. The names may differ, but I've seen plenty of near-identical cheat skills over the years: 【Absorption】, 【Copy】, and so on.
I mean, when you can turn someone else's skill into your own, of course it's gonna be strong.
But here's the thing.
In this world, 【Plunder】—a skill you could call the very poster child of cheat skills—is recognized as a garbage skill.
Now, if this were some world populated entirely by certified dimwits—nothing but idiots too dumb to recognize its usefulness—then sure, I'd get it. But the place I reincarnated into is modern Japan. Yeah, there are dungeons and whatnot, so things have gotten a bit more fantastical, but day to day it feels basically identical to the Japan I lived in back in my past life. In other words, it earned that garbage-skill certification through proper, thorough testing.
Huh? Are you serious right now?
That was my reaction, so I did a little digging. And once I started poking through dungeon-related wikis and skill threads, the hits just kept pouring in.
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Plunder: A skill that steals the target's weapon or skill and makes it your own. It can be activated by recognizing the target's weapon or skill and then touching the target with a bare hand.
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Going by the skill description alone, it doesn't look weak at all. The bare-hand-only requirement is inconvenient, but even so, it seems plenty strong. Then I read the commentary that followed, and I have to say—I completely understood why it gets treated as garbage.
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・However, skill stealing will not activate unless you have an open skill slot.
・Very few monsters carry weapons.
・Against opponents 3 or more levels above you, the success rate is nearly 0%.
・Because of one shameless jerk who hit level 10, gained an open slot, and promptly plundered a strong skill from his own party, anyone holding 【Plunder】 is regarded with extreme wariness by fellow adventurers.
Overall: To put it mildly, this skill is garbage. You only gain one skill slot for every 10 levels, so spending one of those precious slots and your SP on 【Plunder】 is not recommended. If your starting skill is 【Plunder】, do yourself a favor and give up on the adventurer path.
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……Seriously, it's straight-up trash. It's hopelessly incompatible with this world's status system.
The starting skill and stats you're granted the first time you enter a dungeon—every single human being receives them, no exceptions. The skill granted is random, and stat values average around 10, with individual variation.
Officially it's random, but there's also a theory that how you lived your life before entering the dungeon plays a role in which skill you're granted. Like, people who love making things get production skills, and people who do kendo get swordsmanship skills. For the record, I don't buy that theory. I mean, it's not like I've ever stolen anything from anyone.
I took another look at my own stats, and a sad reality stared back at me.
【Name】 Kobayakawa Takeru
【Level】 1
【Status】
・HP: 100 / 100
・MP: 20 / 20
・STR (Strength): 14
・VIT (Vitality): 13
・AGI (Agility): 16
・DEX (Dexterity): 11
・INT (Intelligence): 12
・LUK (Luck): 4
【Skills】
・Plunder
【SP】 0
Goddammit…!
Fifteen years since I reincarnated. I worked my ass off this whole time for the sake of this very day, and this is the treatment I get? Isn't that just plain cruel?!
Ever since I learned dungeons existed, I dreamed of one thing and one thing only—absolutely dominating them—and I put in the effort on all kinds of things to make that happen. All through grade school and middle school, I threw away every last bit of a normal kid's youth and devoted myself to my own brand of training, all to prepare for the day I'd become an adventurer.
And now all of that is supposed to get crushed by one measly skill? Yeah, right—like hell I'll let it!
My skill's trash? Can't even get a party? Fine—bring it on!
After all, it's overcoming adversity that makes you the strongest, most invincible adventurer, right?!