Chapter 9

"Conditions have been met."

"Occupation [Unlock] will level up."

"New status permissions will be granted."

After being harassed by a senior adventurer...

I came to the outskirts of Voss to complete my first quest.

"Lord Hira, why did you choose such a beginner quest as herb gathering? I don't think it's a job for someone as noble and chosen as you!"

Muse said, fuming with anger.

"Muse, it's not good to look down on something you've never done before."

"But...!"

"Hmm, then let me ask you a question."

I plucked two blades of grass nearby and showed them to Muse.

"Can you tell which one is the herb?"

"Umm..."

"You can't, right? That's because it's hard to distinguish herbs from regular grass. That's why it's a job that's commissioned. If you look down on it before you even start, you'll trip yourself up."

"...! You're right! As expected of Lord Hira. Even though you are a noble being, your attitude of not looking down on any job and approaching it sincerely is admirable!"

Hmm... Well, I'm not a noble being anymore, though.

"So, which one is the herb and which one is the grass?"

"The correct answer is that both are herbs."

"It was a trick question!"

"More or less. It's just that it's that hard to distinguish them."

I put both into my item box.

"But... how can you tell the difference between herbs and regular grass so well?"

"I have an appraisal skill."

With this, I can instantly tell if a plant is an herb or a weed.

"Amazing, Lord Hira. With you, even the difficult task of herb gathering becomes easy!"

"Hmm... I'd be in trouble if you were surprised by this."

"What do you mean?"

I used the appraisal skill on the herb.

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Herb (E)

[Status]

Quality (Normal)

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"Next, I'll use Unlock."

Unlock. A skill that consumes SP to interfere with someone else's status.

I tapped on the Quality in the status.

"What would you like to do with the herb's quality? Please choose from the following:"

"Improve Quality → Intermediate Herb (C) (SP 5 consumption)"

"Improve Quality + → Advanced Herb (B) (SP 10 consumption)"

"Improve Quality ++ → Supreme Herb (A) (SP 20 consumption)"

I consumed 20 SP to improve the quality to Supreme Herb.

"Wh-What? The herb is shining brightly! Is this...?"

"A Supreme Herb."

"!? But it was just a normal herb, right?"

"I used Unlock to tweak the herb's quality."

"You mean you evolved the herb!?! That's amazing... I've never heard of such a thing!"

Hmm, indeed, I've never heard of it either.

Being able to turn herbs into rare items with SP is quite something.

"Lord Hira, everything you do is unprecedented! You're truly amazing!"

By the way, my SP is now:

- SP 600 → 580

It became.

"I'm so happy to serve such a wonderful master!"

- SP 580 → 600

It seems that being with Muse regularly increases my SP.

Hmm... It must be the effect of gratitude, but I don't know when I'm making her happy...

"But even if you can easily distinguish herbs with the appraisal skill, gathering them is still very troublesome, right?"

"That's not a problem either."

I placed my hand on the ground.

"What are you doing, putting your hand on the ground?"

"I just leveled up, so I'm checking my status."

In front of my eyes, my status appeared.

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Outskirts of Voss Grassland

[Collection Items List]

- Herb (SP 5 consumption)

- Pebble (SP 5 consumption)

- Advanced Herb (SP 10 consumption)

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"Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh!? There's a status for the field!?"

"Yes. Since there are statuses for humans and items, I thought there might be one for the field too, so I checked. And here it is."

I consumed 5 SP and selected the herb.

With a puff, the herb appeared in my hand.

"In other words... if I consume SP, I can collect items listed in the status...?"

"That's right."

Of course, items not listed in the status (not existing in the field) cannot be collected.

Also, this is just a way to have SP do the work of collecting for you.

"In short, if the item disappears from the field, you can't collect it even if you have SP, right?"

"Exactly! It's amazing! Being able to collect items like herbs without picking them up one by one! No one can do that!"

Hmm, of course not.

Status manipulation and Unlock.

Without these two skills, such a method of collection is impossible. Only I, with the occupation [Unlock], can do this.

- SP 595 → 600

...Once again, making Muse happy triggered the gratitude effect, and my SP recovered.

Muse is always happy no matter what I do.

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing?"

"Well... I was checking the field's status... and there's another item."

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Outskirts of Voss Grassland

[Monster List]

- Goblin

- High Goblin

- Gray Wolf

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"It seems to show the monsters that exist in the outskirts."

"Already... I was trying not to be surprised after being surprised so many times. But... you're still amazing!"

"Hmm... Hmm?"

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[Monster List]

- Fenrir

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"...Fenrir"

The legendary beast, Fenrir, is nearby...?

I tried tapping it.

- Fenrir's Location (SP 5 consumption)

- Fenrir's Status (SP 5 consumption)

"Even the location and status can be known with SP."

"Such...! Already... you're too amazing!"

Muse's body trembled as she looked at me with sparkling eyes.

"Lord Hira... Could you be an omnipotent god?"

"Hmm...? Why would you think that..."

"You're doing things I've never heard of or seen before! This must be... a god!"

"That's an exaggeration."

Besides, I'm human.

I just have power.

But Fenrir... I'm curious. I've only read about it in books.

Out of curiosity, I checked Fenrir's status and location.

- Fenrir's Location → 3 kilometers southwest

- Fenrir's Status → Near death

"Muse. We'll pause the herb gathering. We're going to help Fenrir."

"!? What do you mean?"

"It seems Fenrir is near death. We must help. It's the duty of one with power."

Noblesse Oblige.

This blessed power is a favor granted by heaven.

Its mission is to save many of the weak.

If there is someone near death within my reach, I must help.

"What a noble and wonderful spirit you have! It's wonderful!"

"Enough talk, let's hurry."

- SP 620 → 600 → 650