part1 · 039-ep39
Episode 39: The Power He Could Now See
Since obtaining 《Appraisal》, Ren had been checking the things he needed, little by little.
Spear. Stones. Plants. And the fangs and pelt he'd gotten from the Grandwolf.
Appraise something, and he knew its basic information — name, type, status. For Ren, whose means of survival were limited, it was a handy power.
But—
after using Appraisal several times, Ren noticed something wrong with his body.
"...Huh?"
His body felt a little heavy. His head, faintly foggy.
"...Am I tired?"
He hadn't fought. Hadn't hauled anything heavy, either. And yet it felt like something had drained out of his body.
Ren sat down and rested for a while. As time passed, the heaviness faded, little by little.
"...What was that?"
Standing up, Ren looked at a stone lying nearby. To make sure, he used it just once more.
"...Appraisal."
《Name: Stone》
《Type: Material》
《Status: Normal》
The moment the information appeared—
he felt the same heaviness as before in his body.
"...Just as I thought."
Ren stopped using Appraisal at once.
"So using Appraisal... consumes something?"
What it was consuming, he didn't know yet. Only that using it in a row put a strain on his body.
"So right now, there's a limit to how many times I can use it..."
He couldn't grasp the exact mechanics. Even so, he understood at least this: he shouldn't use it carelessly.
◇
From then on, Ren stopped using 《Appraisal》 recklessly. If he used it, only on things he truly wanted to know.
So he decided.
First, he decided to examine the Grandwolf fang he'd appraised before, in detail this time.
《Name: Grandwolf Fang》
《Type: Material》
《Status: Poor》
What it displayed was the same information as before.
"This alone won't tell me the details..."
Ren took the fang in hand. Traced its surface with a finger. Hard. And very sharp.
He tried it as a spearhead in practice. Thrust it into a nearby tree.
—Stab!
"...It really is hard."
In an ordinary tree, it sank in quite deep. Ren gazed at the fang he'd pulled out.
Knowing only the name told him nothing. Touch it, use it, test it. Only then did he begin to understand what a material really was.
Next he examined the pelt. Touched it. Tried wrapping it around his arm.
"...It's warm."
The thick fur wrapped his body snugly. Ren checked the pelt's thickness and feel.
And—
he appraised it once more.
《Name: Grandwolf Pelt》
《Type: Material》
《Status: Poor》
《Trait: High heat retention》
"...There's more."
Information that hadn't been there before was now displayed. Ren narrowed his eyes.
"So it's not just about appraising..."
Examine it for real. Touch it. Use it. Understand it.
Maybe that was connected to 《Appraisal》's growth.
That instant—
《Understanding of target has deepened.》
《Skill 《Appraisal》 has grown.》
《《Appraisal Lv.1》→《Appraisal Lv.2》》
"...!"
Ren stared at the display.
"The level... went up."
Was it because he'd used it so many times? Or because he'd deepened his understanding of things? He still wasn't sure.
But one thing he did understand.
《Appraisal》 didn't grow just from being used. Knowing the target. Understanding it.
That was what mattered.
◇
Ren turned his awareness to himself once more.
"...Appraisal."
And—
different information appeared than before.
《Name: Kurose Ren》
《Age: 16》
《Race: Human》
《HP: 100/100》
《MP: 38/50》
《Skills》
《《Infinite Growth》》
《《Survival Adaptation》》
《《Appraisal Lv.2》》
"...?"
Ren stared at the numbers displayed.
"HP... MP..."
Entries he'd never seen. They hadn't shown at Lv.1. Apparently, raising Appraisal's level had made them visible.
"MP... thirty-eight?"
Ren turned his awareness to his own body. There it was — the mysterious flow of power he'd felt for a long time.
"Is this... MP?"
Ren thought. And he remembered what had just happened.
The heaviness he'd felt after using Appraisal again and again.
"...Maybe..."
Maybe this thing called MP had been dropping every time he used Appraisal.
"That's why, when I kept using it... my body got heavy."
Still no certainty. But he felt like everything he'd sensed until now had connected into one.
"...MP."
Ren murmured the word quietly. The power he'd never been able to catch as anything but a feeling. For the first time, he'd seen it as a number.
Ren checked his own status once more. Then he looked at the two skills besides 《Appraisal》.
《Infinite Growth》. 《Survival Adaptation》.
He knew their names. But not yet their true effects.
Ren thought.
"...If Appraisal's level goes up, maybe I'll understand more."
The MP he'd just learned of. His skills, still unknown. And 《Appraisal》, growing.
Inside Ren, a new goal had been born.