Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 189

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TL: ALT

Chapter 189 – Welcome Party

Seiji Tozaki’s status was hidden by the system.

I left the western exit traffic circle, trying not to show my excitement.

Fortunately, it didn’t look like anyone had noticed me…

“What’s wrong, Yuto? You look pale.”

“I-is that so?”

“Are you still nervous?”

“Huh? Oh no, that’s not it.”

There is a skill I acquired under special conditions called Disguise.

This is a skill that displays a fake status that you set in advance in response to someone else’s evaluation.

However, I have no idea what the skill that hides the status is called.

Another thing that’s bothering me is the relationship with Fathom.

I’ve acquired a skill called Fathom.

This Fathom seems to be a more powerful version of Appraisal in that it can see through hidden stats.

In fact, when I used it on Clovis, I was able to see his true status, which was hidden by his disguise.

However, it seems that even Fathom’s effect cannot penetrate the system’s disguise.

The message that appeared when I tried to check the status was

‘This explorer’s status is being concealed by the system.’

If it’s a skill-based ‘disguise,’ it can be seen through a skill-based ‘detection.’

However, the Voice of Heaven explained that this concealment is done by the system.

This means that a skill-based ‘detection’ can’t reveal information that the system hides.

If this concealment is not due to skill, then the question of who did it and how also arises.

I know it’s a long shot, but… does this mean that Seiji Tozaki knows how to directly interfere with the system of this world?

If I use the Your Own World that Splefnir created, I can also fool the eyes of this world’s system.

But it is impossible to make the system of this world hide information.

The result is that one mystery has led to another, but one thing is clear.

Whatever the method, it is certain that the status is being hidden, so it is certain that Seiji Tozaki has a status.

Even the Voice of Heaven unintentionally reveals that the target of the appraisal is the explorer by saying, “The status of this explorer is…”

That makes me even more curious about the contents of the status… but it looks like there’s no way to break through the system’s concealment with the skills and techniques I have at hand.

The only clue I have is the term “concealment” used by the Voice of Heaven.

I have received “revelations of hidden information” from the Voice of Heaven on several occasions in the past.

For example, something like this.

‘Confirmed that the conditions for disclosure of hidden information have been met.’

Secret──────────────────

The requirements for revealing the secret information for Thief’s Gauntlets are to Possess the skill to steal or rob equipment and items.

Reward: Reveal additional details about Thief’s Gauntlets. The following information will be revealed.

────────────────────

Info──────────────────

Thief’s Gauntlets

When worn, these gauntlets increase the success rate of skills that steal or rob equipment and items, such as Steal and Plunder, by 5%.

────────────────────

This information was revealed when I stole the Thief’s Gauntlet from a Treasure Hobbit in the Black Swan Forest Water Park dungeon.

It seems that this secret information is only revealed if you have the Thief’s Gauntlet and stealing-based skills.

So why is there such a system?

I have a theory that I think is plausible.

What if this secret condition didn’t exist, and this information was included in the description of the Thief’s Gauntlet from the beginning?

Explorers who get the Thief’s Gauntlets would get more information than just the item description, like “Oh, so you have the skill to steal and plunder items!”

I don’t think the Voice of Heaven is worried about spoilers, but I think they don’t like the fact that the item description gives hints about other items.

The item description should only explain the effects of the item.

However, I don’t think that the secrecy of Seiji Tozaki’s status is based on the same intention as preventing spoilers for the Thief’s Gauntlets.

It is more reasonable to think that this secrecy was set up by Seiji Tozaki himself or someone around him to hide Seiji Tozaki’s status.

It’s probably a skill I don’t know about―considering its power, it’s probably a unique skill.

It’s completely speculative, but I think someone used a skill to set a hidden state and then used the “key” of that state to hide Seiji Tozaki’s status.

I don’t know if it was Seiji Tozaki himself or if it was someone else’s skill.

If he hid it directly using a skill, there is a possibility that Fathom would have been effective.

However, by following the steps of “setting the hiding conditions using an unknown skill” → “hiding it using the system,” it became impossible to break through using Fathom.

This is because you can use a skill to counter another skill, but you cannot use a skill to counter the system.

As I was silently lost in thought,

“Come on. Yuto is the star of the day, right? Everyone’s here now, so let’s go.”

“Ah, yes. You’re right.”

Serika’s outfit for the welcome party was her usual Holy Knight style.

Both she and I had gone to the shower room at the Association headquarters to wash off the dust from the dungeon before the welcome party.

I followed Serika, lured by the scent of shampoo in the air.

The venue for the welcome party is a large meeting room rented by the guild.

It’s a bit cramped in the guild room we usually use.

The tables in the meeting room have been rearranged, with food on the tables gathered in the center and drinks on the tables pushed to the sides.

There are handmade decorations on the walls like you’d see at a school cultural festival, as well as welcome banners.

There are about 50 people in the meeting room, and at a glance, there are about 30 explorers gathered there.

The male-to-female ratio was probably about 3:7. Most of the people seemed to be in their twenties or thirties, but there were a few people who looked older and younger.

I watched from my assigned spot by the wall as Serika walked up to the specially prepared podium.

Next to me at the same wall were two other women who had arrived earlier.

Serika had told me that there were two other girls who had joined the Paladin Knights at the same time I had.

One was a woman with black hair who looked about the same age as me and Serika, and the other was a glamorous blonde-haired Westerner.

The black-haired woman was short and had a reserved demeanor, while the Westerner was tall and had a very good figure.

The black-haired woman wore a robe that looked like a magician’s, while the Westerner wore a daring dress that looked like something one would wear to a party.

“Nice to meet you.”

I said to them, and

“No, it’s not the first time we’ve met.”

The woman with the black hair said.

“Me too. Don’t you remember?”

The Western woman asked the same.

“…I’m sorry, where have I seen you before?”

“In that situation, it might not have been possible to remember. Louise and I were saved by you when the dungeon collapsed.”

“Human Objectification… it’s a terrible skill. You freed us from the clutches of the vile elf king.”

“Ah, that time.”

They were the survivors of the explorers who had been turned into cubes by Clovis’s Human Objectification skill.

“Thank you for saving us back then.”

“Let me thank you too. I shudder to think what would have happened if you hadn’t saved us… Thank you very much.”

I feel embarrassed when two women bow to me.

It seems like people are bowing to me a lot lately, including my neighbor.

Whether it’s to say thank you or to apologize, it’s embarrassing when people bow to you.

“No, I just happened to help you. I’m glad you’re okay.”

When I say this, the two of them look gloomy.

“…Two people from my party were killed, and four people were turned into objects. Of those who were turned into objects, only one other person and I survived.”

“Everyone in my party was wiped out except me…”

“Is that so?”

I should have guessed.

Clovis must have sacrificed the people who were turned into objects when he caused the dungeon flood in the city.

“The other person who survived was also suffering from the psychological trauma of being turned into an object and was in no condition to do any kind of exploration. I was in trouble because I couldn’t do anything, and then Serika-san saved me.”

“The same thing happened to me. I was going to be deported back to my home country when my exploration visa expired.”

It seems that they both have their own circumstances.

“――Now, let’s introduce the new members who will be joining us in Paladin Knights! Yu… Kurashiki-san, Fuzuki-san, and Louise-san, please come up on stage.”

I was called up and went on stage with the two women.

“I’m Yumeno Fuzuki. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Louise Northstein. It’s nice to meet you.”

The two women’s introductions were met with applause.

“Well, I’m Yuto Kurashiki. I mainly work solo, so I may not be able to spend much time with you, but I hope we can work together to make the Guild more successful.”

“What kind of relationship do you have with the master?”

A woman in fancy clothes with a flushed face asks.

Serika’s cheeks are also a little red as she looks over here.

She’s shy but also looks at me with a look that seems to ask for something.

Oh, come on.

“We’re lovers. Is that so bad?”

Someone in the audience whistles at my words.

“Wow, they’re so in love!”

“How did you two meet?”

“Uh, no, we’ve known each other since we were kids.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. What kind of winning combination is it to be a lover and a childhood friend of Serika-san?”

…Well, I think so too.

“Hey, Kise! Didn’t you say that you wanted to test whether or not he had the ability to be with the representative?”

“I-I didn’t mean to… I think there’s no doubt that he’s the right person if Serika-san chooses him…”

“Since you have the chance, go for it! As Serika-san’s sympathizer, you’re supposed to keep bad bugs away, right?”

“T-That’s…”

The young man named Kise is probably around the age of a high school graduate.

He’s the type to be easily intimidated, but you can tell that he’s a big fan of Serika.

He’s encouraged by the others, and it looks like he’s about to challenge me.

…Didn’t Serika say that there would be no developments like “I’m going to test your abilities!”

When I looked at Serika from the side, she looked away and made a face like she was about to whistle.

“――You should probably stop.”

It was Haitani-san who stopped him.

“What’s this, there’s no chance of winning with ‘compare measurements’?”

“There’s no need to use ‘compare measurements.’ If Kurashiki-san and Serika-san were to have a mock battle, the win rate would be over 93%.”

“Seriously? You’re saying that he can win 7% of the time against our representative in a mock battle?”

“No, it’s the opposite. It’s a comparison between Kurashiki-san and Serika-san, so Kurashiki-san wins 93% of the time.”

Everyone in the room was stunned by Haitani-san’s words.

Well, to be precise, it was only me, Fuzuki-san, and Louise-san who were left speechless.

The other person who reacted differently was…

“Oh, I can win against Yuto 7% of the time. That’s good. I think I can protect the Guild Master’s honor somehow.”

Serika said nonchalantly.

“Hey, what’s ‘comparie measurement’?”

“It’s a skill that is unique to Hisui-chan. It’s the ability to quantify and compare all kinds of phenomena.”

“That sounds like an amazing skill.”

“In this case, I guess she was measuring the winning rate for each of us if we were to have a mock battle.”

“And that would be 93%?

Is that a fair comparison between my current status and Serika’s?

No, if I didn’t choose my methods carefully, I think she would be able to completely eliminate me.

“It’s not a real fight. If it were a battle without rules, I wouldn’t want to fight with Yuto right now, to be honest.”

“So that’s how it is…”

The man who egged on Kise-kun retreats.

“W-well, strength aside, I’m still a newcomer who doesn’t know right from left, so if anything happens, I’m counting on you.”

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