Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 95

TN: Please read my translations only on my website since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi and Patreon to read several chapters ahead!

Sponsored chapter by Patreon. Enjoy~

Chapter 95 – Groping For an Answer

As the number of skills I have increases, it becomes harder and harder to tell what I’ve gained and what levels I’ve improved.

So I just blurted out my selfish wish on the status screen, hoping that if I gained something new, it would be marked as ‘New.’

I didn’t think it was possible, and I didn’t think Acorn would do it.

But in fact, in my field of vision,

Stick Art Lv. 5 ‘New’

It is displayed like this.

The specifications I had joked about a few days ago had been applied as is.

“(Why was this added…?)”

My first reaction when I saw this was more of a question than a feeling of joy.

It’s hard to believe that Acorn, which was so reluctant to give me so many skills, would just grant my wish.

But in reality, that wish was reflected.

And I have no idea what caused it.

“(What is it…? Did I fulfill some kind of condition…?)”

What Acorn gave me on the surface was “rejuvenation” and “the ability to see the status screen.”

But aside from that, he also gave me something hidden, which is, “You can gain experience points for skills you have by killing monsters.”

Of course, Acorn must have had some kind of purpose in giving me this mysterious skill, but I don’t know what it is…

There are things that become clear when I think about it calmly, even to me, who has only been lucky so far and has not paid much attention to this phenomenon that is limited to transmigrants.

“(If I can gain experience points for my skills by killing monsters, then of course someone like me would enjoy killing monsters. In fact, that’s what I’m doing right now. Does this mean that Acorn wants me to kill a lot of monsters? If I assume that, then it seems that being able to see the status screen is related to being able to immediately see the results of my efforts. In other words, because I defeated a large number of monsters, he granted my wish with a reward…?)”

Even though I was the one who came up with the idea, I still find myself tilting my head and thinking, “Really?”

The image of the stingy Acorn I first met was so strong that it interfered with my preconceived notion that he wouldn’t do anything that would benefit me.

Hmm…

I opened my status screen again and checked my skills.

Stick Art, Night Vision, Sticky Thread, Bite, Rush.

In addition to the skills that automatically increase in level when hunting with the appropriate rulebook, there are also skills like Dagger Technique, Increase Automatic Magic Recovery, and Increase Maximum Magic.

Since there are ‘New’ marks next to several skills I’ve already acquired, I can see that the skill level will be displayed next to them as it increases.

Then, I acquired skills like Cooking, Superhuman Strength, and Steel Heart.

I only noticed Cooking when it was announced, but I didn’t notice the others because I was in the middle of a fight.

However, the fact that it says ‘New’ next to the skill name indicates that it was recently acquired.

…Yes, but that’s all there is to it.

It’s just that it’s now easier to tell which skills have been newly acquired or upgraded by the ‘New’ label, but I still have to make an effort to add the ‘New’ label myself, just as I did in the past.

However, just because of this additional element, it doesn’t mean that I have completely changed.

Then, I can somehow understand why Acorn added this new feature.

“(Then what are the criteria for this… should I try it?)”

I thought to myself and muttered to myself.

“I want my money to be displayed.”

This is a feature you can almost always find in games.

And it’s just a convenient feature that has nothing to do with strength.

Even if I only have 0 beeke in my possession right now, if it shows 0, it means there has been progress.

Even Acorn should be able to understand that.

But…

“(Nothing has changed.)”

I closed and reopened the status screen several times, but there was no sign of any change on the screen.

I wasn’t too disappointed because I didn’t really expect it to work, but I still didn’t understand what criteria I had met.

“(I wanted to kill a lot of monsters, and I did, so was this a reward? Or rather, isn’t that a skill?)”

I couldn’t help but check the displayed skills one by one.

“(Yes, yes… I knew it. So far, none of the displayed skills or monster skills have appeared without a skill level. All of them have a skill level of up to 10… what does that mean? And has the level increased?)”

That seems to be the most accurate.

I don’t know when the level of the “skill to see the status screen” increased.

It’s possible that I didn’t notice it while in combat, but considering how other skills increase, I think it’s natural to assume that experience points are accumulated as I perform actions related to the skill, and eventually, the level will increase.

So, it would be more natural to think that experience points would be accumulated when I’m looking at the status screen or when I’m doing some kind of operation.

And even now, this skill is still shown as ‘blank.’

In other words, even if the level of an invisible skill increases, there will be no announcement, or even if there is an announcement, I won’t be able to see it, and there is a high possibility that I won’t even know when my skill level has increased.

It’s probably a long way off before I can test this theory…

If my money is displayed at some point, it means that the level of the ‘ability to see the status screen’ has increased. Even if the money display is impossible, if I mutter various wishes at irregular intervals, there is a possibility that it will suddenly be reflected.

And if nothing is added, no matter how long it takes.

At that point, I’ll just have to think that Acorn added this ‘New’ feature on a whim.

In other words, it could be said that Acorn is watching over me, or to put it more bluntly, monitoring me, though I don’t know how often.

Having finished the hypothesis so far and taking a deep breath――

blank

――I got a shiver down my spine and couldn’t help but stop breathing.

The problem is…

This is just a convenience function, so whether there’s a skill level or not doesn’t make a difference; it’s just a matter of whether it’s convenient or inconvenient.

But the other empty skill would be Rejuvenation, right?

“Hey, Loki-kun!”

What would happen if there were skill levels here, as hypothesized?

Of course, I wouldn’t go back to being an infant, but if I think about it normally, wouldn’t it mean that the higher the skill level, the slower my own physical growth would be?

And where would that lead?

Could it be that I’ll end up becoming immortal like the goddesses?

“Hey!”

I found myself standing next to the goddesses, imagining what it would be like to be immortal.

I know there are people who want it, but for me, having eternal youth with feelings was really hell.

Even if it were not in the divine realm, in this mortal world, it would not be much different.

If that were to happen… aaahhhhh…

But how can I use a skill like Rejuvenation?

This is a type of skill that is always active, right?

What does that mean?

Could it be…?

Oh no!

“Hey!”

“What!?”

“””””…..”””””

“I-it’s inevitable.”

“Why is it bubbling when I put the stone in?”

I just turned around because I was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder.

I don’t think it’s my fault.

If you’re going to be angry, be angry with May-chan for asking such a stupid question.

Bang!

“Hubbohhh!?”

As expected from a hunter…

I was staring at her for one reason or another when I got slapped by Royce-san, and even though it didn’t hurt, the impact still knocked me off my feet, and I slid down to the river.

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

“Well, everyone, thank you for your hard work!”

As everyone expressed their gratitude, I greeted the people who came today even though I had handprints on my face like autumn leaves.

I wonder what kind of divine punishment I’m going to inflict on Mizuru-san, who is smiling and holding his nose while looking at me.

“Loki, are you sure you don’t mind if we use this bath in the future?”

“It’s fine, since it was made for temporary stays. However…”

“It’s our own responsibility, right?”

“Yes. I can’t thin out the monsters or act as a bodyguard, so if you come as a group like this time, or if you continue to use this place as a new hunting ground, please discuss it among yourselves. I have already explained how to make the plug, which seems to be a consumable item.”

In the end, the bathing event, which I thought would only last one day, had a bigger response than I expected, and I received a flood of requests to let people use it when it was free in the future.

So I explained how to heat the water and how to make a plug that would definitely break eventually, saying that they could do whatever they wanted as long as they took responsibility for their own actions.

After all, if it’s made of stone, the bathtub itself won’t break any time soon.

If they use this place as a new hunting ground, I think they’ll be able to enjoy other options besides fishing in the river.

I think it would be pretty hard to get to the bath if you left it for a long time.

“You will be back in Bezert soon, right? Call me when you get back!”

“See you later!”

“See you!”

I watch as everyone leaves, including Zink-kun and the others.

Back to Bezart, huh?

That’s right, but when I get back, I’ll have to move my base.

There will be no more suitable hunting grounds in this area.

There’s nothing I can do about it because I’m always looking for strength.

In other words, this means that I’m saying goodbye to Zink-kun and others, as well as the people from the Hunters’ Guild with whom I’ve had many conversations.

“(Well… it’s not like it’s a permanent goodbye…)”

If I want to see their faces again, I can always come back.

That’s all there is to it.

Besides, I have teleportation skill.

I’m sure of it from my conversations with the goddesses.

At one point, Rigal-sama said that super long-distance teleportation is not possible for humans.

In other words, it’s not super long distance; it’s a normal teleportation skill or magic.

Besides, the rich reincarnator living in the eastern country that Yagov-san mentioned must definitely have this teleportation skill.

He’s making a fortune by transporting large amounts of goods from the East to the West in one go.

I don’t know the exact method, but if it’s possible to teleport things, it’s probably possible to teleport people as well.

So, what I should think about now is the rejuvenation skill that was stopped by the punch.

What if its level has increased?

“(Well, there’s no point in thinking about it.)”

If the level increases by itself, there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

But there’s still a lot of time before it reaches the maximum level.

After all, if my hypothesis is correct, it will go up to level 10.

Even if 10 is the maximum for the rejuvenation skill and I’m immortalized, it would still take decades for the skill to reach level 10 through natural progression.

And there’s also the advantage that I might be able to maintain a young body until then.

If I can find a way to break the deadlock in the meantime, that would be good, and if I think about it carefully, immortality does not mean eternal life.

There is no link between immortality and rejuvenation.

Even if I become immortal, I can always choose to take my own life if I get tired of living too long.

There’s also the possibility that I fundamentally misunderstood the rejuvenation skill because I suddenly became young again, so there’s no point in thinking about it now.

Then… yes, as usual.

I’ll just keep working towards my immediate goals.

The range of things I can do and the actions I can take will expand as a result, so for now, my immediate goal is to

Let’s work hard to get to level 17.

I said to myself and looked back.

“Well… I should probably wash it first.”

I couldn’t help but mutter to myself as I looked at the bathtub, which had become full of signs of use.

If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read several chapters ahead!