Reluctant Heroes

An: Based on Isekai de Skill wo Kaitai shitara Cheat na Yome ga Zoushoku Shimashita: Gainen Kousa no Structure or  "Being Able to Edit Skills in Another World, I Gained OP Waifus" a manga that's a bit odd but doesn't have an idiot for a protagonist and has game elements. The idea wouldn't stop bothering me. 

Myst's attention was yanked off his book when the entire bus lurched. He glanced out the window, expecting to see a bunch of stopped cars and stared when he saw a walled courtyard with a bunch of robed figures staring at the bus. He glanced up at the large castle he could see past one of the walls then quickly ran through the mental checklist he used when he woke up from a weirdly vivid dream. 'Vivid color, everyone is talking, I can feel the seat and move my fingers which means I'm not dreaming.'

He slid a bit closer to the window and looked down, noticing the strange geometric circle with lines crisscrossing everywhere that the bus was sitting on. He glanced back at the cultists, trying not to focus on the impossibility of the situation. 'Logic, you're not dreaming, work the problem,' he told himself, doing his best not to panic like some of the people in the front of the bus.

'They look human and it's daylight which means they're probably not demons and we didn't fall through a rift or land in the middle of nowhere which means it was probably intentional on their part.' He noticed the smirk on one of the mages' faces. 'No probably about it which means they want something,' he thought as the bus driver opened the door for the two knights that wanted inside.

"Welcome travelers from another world, you've been summoned to help fight against a demon lord that can't be killed by anyone born of Liegnadar," one of the knights in plate mail announced in a voice that carried to the back of the bus and made everyone fall silent for several seconds before the questions started.

"You expect us to fight?" demanded an old lady near the front of the bus.

"How much are you paying us!" demanded an overweight teenager.

"We're going to be heroes!" cheered two guys in their early twenties that reminded Myst of stereotypical nerds.

"I'm just a bus driver, not a hero," the bus driver argued, wishing he'd called in sick.

Myst was less than impressed with the knight's lack of answers as the group of masked bus riders were 'escorted' outside where a richly dressed man was standing on a wooden platform.

"Attention people from Earth, every one of you has the potential to be great heroes, to have secret skills that no one else has," the man announced.

'Secret skills?' Myst asked himself as the noble or speaker continued talking about the glory of the Liegnadar Kingdom. 'Skills?' He stared at the translucent blue window with listed skills that appeared out of thin air in front of him.

Skills:

Create Skill Orb

Language Conversion: Lv 5

Skill Manipulation: Lv 1 [UR]

Sword: Lv 1

Teaching: Lv 2

Myst glanced over his skill list then tapped the Create Skill Orb entry and smiled when his window changed and brought up a basic description.

Create Skill Orb

Target: [Personal] [Skill]

Effect: [Creates] [Skill Orb] of target, [Erases] target.

'In other words, I can give people skills if I'm willing to lose mine,' he mused, paying a small amount of attention to the ranting noble in case he said something important. He tapped the X in the corner of the menu then touched the Skill Manipulation ability.

Skill Manipulation: Lv 1 [UR]

Target: Personal Skills

Effect: Allows swapping of Skill Traits

"Huh," Myst muttered under his breath, curious if his skill was actually as broken as it looked or if he was being overly optimistic. He closed the skill and looked at his Language Conversion skill.

Language Conversion: Lv 5

Effect: [Converts] any [Language] to [English]

'That explains why they're speaking English,' Myst mused as he checked his Sword Skill.

Sword Skill: Lv 1

Effect: Passive Increase[10%+[Skill]LvX10%] [Damage Dealt] with [Swords and Knives]

'I'm going to have to work on that,' Myst mused as he looked at his Teaching skill.

Teaching: Lv 2

Targets: [Other] [Person] and [Personal Skill]

Casting Time: [Hour]

Effect: [[Skill]LvX5%] chance to [Teach] target [Personal Skill] to target.

'Huh, at least spending a few years as a teacher's assistant helped with something,' Myst mused, pulling his attention back to the noble when he heard him mention magical contacts to get home. 'Are you fucking serious? You're not going to send us home unless we sign up to fight a demon lord and follow you to glory and victory? Yeah, fuck that.'

"Send us home!" an overweight man in a business suit demanded.

"I'm afraid the resources for such a spell are impossible to acquire while the Demon Lord is free to counter our magic, the fact that we managed to summon you at all was due to surprise and the vast amount of magical reagents we burned for the spell, now that the demon lord knows we've managed to summon heroes, he'll be watching. But don't worry, as soon as the Demon Lord is defeated, we'll return you to your previous location with a kingdom's gratitude and enough treasure to retire on," the noble assured them, plastering a reassuring smile on his face.

Myst glanced at the random collection of people that had been on the bus with him, not terribly surprised that several of them looked like they were more than happy to buy into what the guy was saying without asking important questions. 'I guess I can't blame them for wanting to be heroes but you shouldn't jump into things.'

"Just because you expended resources to summon us, doesn't mean we owe you anything," a young man in slacks complained.

"You're free to leave, we're not monsters," the noble assured him. "Feel free to wander around the city and talk to people, be sure to ask them about the Demon Lord's army and his soup pots."

"Are you saying he eats people?" one older lady asked in horror.

"That and more," the noble assured her. "I wish we didn't need heroes but the fact is the demons must be stopped and we need the help."

"I'm just an old lady, how am I supposed to stop demons?" the old lady asked.

"You're from Earth, you'll have a special and rare skill, just think about your skill page and look for anything weird."

"Skill page? Like a game? Awesome!" a ten year old boy blurted and looked at his skill list. "Cool, I can conjure magic swords!"

Myst winced when he noticed one of the guards give the boy a less than friendly look that was quickly hidden behind a smirk. 'Yeah, this can't end well. Okay, they're not just knocking everyone out and extracting our skills which probably means they can't or it takes resources they don't want to expend.'

He listened to the general muttering as everyone took a look at their skill pages, trying to figure out if there was a rhyme or reason to the number of skills everyone had. 'Summon Hydra? Summon Magic Girl, Speed of Thought,' his thoughts derailed as he heard a kid mention something that sounded like, 'Summon Goddess Armor.' He shook his head then turned to look at the short haired guy in his twenties that had asked him a question. "Sorry, what?"

"Did you get anything good?" the young man asked.

"A translation ability and a teaching ability that takes weeks to teach people basic skills. I was sort of hoping for a crafting ability or something useful," Myst admitted, seeing no reason to even hint about his Skill Manipulation ability, mostly because it seemed like the type of skill that people would kill for in a fantasy world. "You?"

"I'm pretty sure everyone got the translation ability but I have Double Jump and Call Lightning," the young man said smugly. "I can make an extra jump in the air and call down lightning on my enemies."

"Damn, you're a knock off god of thunder." Myst glanced at the guards that were paying a bit too much attention to all of the conversations for his peace of mind then glanced at the entrance, fairly sure running wouldn't be the right call. "We should form a guild."

The young man looked at Myst with a raised eyebrow. "You're just trying to ride my skill aren't you?"

"Maybe a little," Myst replied with a shrug. "I've got a skill that helps a group and you've got a skill that should let you kill monsters. A bit of teamwork and we could make a go of it without signing a magically binding contract."

"Or we help them out and they'll send us home with enough gold that we'll never have to work again," the young man replied.

"So, that's a no?" Myst asked.

The guy shook his head. "Sorry, I'd rather trust the professionals, they promised advanced training and the chance to become a legend."

"Best of luck," Myst offered as he turned his attention towards the group of six teenage girls wearing identical cheerleading outfits talking to a group of guards.

"We've been stuck on a bus for five hours, we're going to stretch our feet and talk to some people about your demon lord," one of the girls explained.

One of the guards laughed. "I can't say I blame you. Tell the guard at the gate that you need some basic equipment on the way out. It should be enough for a couple of days as long as you're careful."

"You're letting us go?" one of the other girls asked, wanting to make sure.

"You're not prisoners, you're heroes," the guard assured them as he gestured toward one of the doors in the wall. "I'm sure once you talk to people you'll understand that the demon lord has to be stopped."

Myst noticed one of the guards smirk when the girls weren't paying attention. 'So much for being paranoid, twenty says the lands outside of the capital are too dangerous if they try to leave.' He smiled as he fell into line with the girls as they headed for the exit. "Do you think the city has a library?" he asked when one of them turned to look at him.

"Library?" one of the girls asked as she looked at the man with a beard that was probably her father's age.

"I wouldn't mind learning magic before I go back," Myst replied as they headed for the door.

"Same," one of the girls agreed. "Hopefully we can get back before we're grounded for life."

One of the cheerleaders laughed. "I'm not going back."

"What?" one of her friends asked, not sure why anyone would want to stick around a fantasy land that didn't have cell service.

"This world has magic and demon lords, not to mention a game system. Maybe you've got everything planned out for the rest of the year but I'm done with staying home and dealing with a pandemic. My brother is driving me nuts and my stepfather is worse, always going on about how college is important and how I'd end up a stripper or trash-girl without a decent education."

"Did you point out that both of those jobs make more than he does?" one of the other girls asked.

"No thanks, I like having internet," the girl replied then glanced at Myst. "What's your deal?"

"I was heading back from visiting a friend of mine that had some issues and my ride fell through so I ended up on a bus and I happen to think you have the right idea about seeing what we can learn in the city before we consider signing a magical contract," Myst explained in a whisper, figuring that was safe enough even if the guards had skills to boost their hearing, it wasn't exactly a no or anything damning.

The busty redhead of the group laughed. "Yeah, my father is a lawyer, never sign anything you haven't read, that goes double for magical contracts."

"I can't say you're wrong," Myst offered, falling silent as they approached the exit. He felt slightly better as they walked out of the gate and saw three guards with a table filled with adventuring gear.

"Let me guess, you want to explore the city a bit before signing up?" one of the guards asked with a grin.

"Yes please," the redhead said cheerfully, putting forth her best smile as she looked at the gear on the table. "Can I have a cloak?"

"Of course," the guard said. "One cloak, one set of armor, one weapon, some snacks and a bag of money."

"Armor?" one of the girls asked nervously.

"It's dangerous outside of the city," the guard explained. "I suggest sticking around and doing some training before going outside but we're not going to stop you if you think you've got any legendary skills."

"I wish," the red haired girl said with a pout. "What type of special skill is Peek a Boo? I mean sure, it's a decent distraction but it breaks if I stab anything so what's the point?"

"No idea," the guard admitted, glancing at the rest of the people.

"Sorry, Spin Kick doesn't sound impressive either," one of the girls said.

"Mine is totally impressive, I'm a magic girl," one of the other girls said, "I can conjure ice."

"Oh?" one of the other guards asked with interest, happy to see someone volunteering information about their skills.

"Yep!" the girl replied, popping the P as she conjured an ice cube in her hand. "See, it's awesome, my drinks will never get cold."

The guard stared in disbelief. "Your special skill is conjuring ice cubes?"

"Yep, does that mean I can learn magic?" she asked hopefully, playing the ditz and putting on the charm while her teammates swarmed the table, looking for the best of the tossed together collection of starting gear.

Myst picked a dark green cloak that looked serviceable if a bit used and a chain shirt that might stop a glancing blow from cutting him but probably wouldn't save him from anything too dangerous. He picked up a couple swords, testing the weight before settling on a shortsword that felt decently balanced.

"I'm surprised you didn't go for a larger sword," one of the girls said.

"I haven't used a sword in years," Myst admitted as he took his coat off so he could put the chain shirt on under it. "I don't have any fancy sword skills so I'd rather go with something easier to use than an arming sword."

One of the guards laughed. "Probably a good plan."

"I'd rather use a mace, you just have to hit them with it," one of the girls said.

"I don't suppose you have any extra combat skills lying around you can share," one of the girls asked.

"Sorry, you might try the skill shop, I doubt you'll be able to afford anything too impressive with the 100 silver and three gold the king provided you but it's worth a shot, just tell the guy you're from the castle, he should give you a deal," one of the guards suggested.

'That's one way to figure out what everyone has,' Myst mused as he adjusted his gear and chain shirt, wishing they'd provided caster gear and a magic wand over basic soldier gear.

"Thanks. I don't suppose you have any magical armor?" the redhead asked as she grabbed a red cloak and tossed it over her shoulders in a move that implied that this wasn't the first time she'd worn a cloak.

"Maybe if you sign up," one of the other guards suggested as he handed out belt pouches filled with coins and food to Myst and the girls. "Magic items don't grow on trees."

"Makes sense," she agreed as she put her new belt and belt pouch on, looking less ridiculous than she probably should. "Not bad." She picked up a solid looking two handed sword. "Perfect."

One of the guards shook his head, fairly sure the skinny girl didn't have the muscle to use the sword effectively even if she was almost as tall as the man with them. "Are you sure you don't want a different weapon?"

"I'm sure," she replied with a grin as she headed down the path.

Myst laughed as he followed the girl after putting on his belt and throwing his cloak on. 'Now if I can just avoid getting mugged and figure out how to pick up new skills that doesn't involve signing a binding magical contract.' He stepped to the side of the path so the girls would have an easier time heading past, seeing no reason not to be polite.

Myst couldn't help the smile on his face as he wandered around the town/city and looked at the buildings that could have come straight out of a game or a Disney movie, everything was a bit too clean to actually be a medieval city and it certainly smelt better than he'd read was typical for that time period which was a relief. His attention was pulled off the buildings and towards the people when he noticed a short and wide man with a beard walking next to a guy with wolf ears on the top of his head. 'Yep, I'm not in Kansas anymore, then again, I never was.'

He spent the next twenty minutes wandering around watching people and listening to them talk, it quickly became apparent that no one was particularly stressed and he'd only heard mention of demons once and that was when one of the cheerleaders asked a merchant at a food cart about them.

The merchant shook his head. "Of course we don't want demons rampaging over the country but they haven't made a serious attempt to invade in years, merely fend off the king's scouts."

A man in the crowd snorted. "They're dangerous monsters that should be put down."

"When was the last time you left the capital?" the merchant asked. "We have more to worry about from goblins and bandits than we do demons. If you ask me, it's just an excuse for the king to raise taxes."

"What about the raid on Bel'mara last month?" another man demanded.

"They're well known for raiding the Demon King's lands and it was hardly a raid, they merely blew up the town's wall when the mayor refused to turn over the bandits that had raided their lands and killed some of their people."

"Alleged criminals, there's no proof they did anything wrong," the man snapped.

The merchant shrugged. "I'm just saying it's not that cut and dry."

"Next you'll be saying that beastmen and demihumans are actual people," the man snorted as he walked off, deciding to buy from a different vendor.

"Rude much?" the cheerleader asked.

The merchant laughed. "I've dealt with worse. Can I interest you in a roasted boar skewer?"

"How much?" she asked, knowing she had to conserve her money but the food smelled delicious.

"One silver," the merchant offered with a grin.

"Is there an adventuring guild in town?" Myst asked as the cheerleader fished out a silver coin and bought a skewer with roasted onions and pork.

The merchant looked at Myst's clothes then shook his head. "Nothing you'd want anything to do with, it's basically a club for nobles with too much time on their hands. Unless you want to be fighting rats in a sewer, there isn't much call for commoners. You'd have better luck in Metekal which is only a couple of days away by foot."

"Delicious!" the girl said between bites.

"Thanks for the advice." Myst grabbed a silver coin and held it out. "One skewer please."

The merchant smiled and handed him the skewer. "Enjoy."

"That's the idea. Before I go, how much are gold coins worth?" Myst asked, figuring he'd be the best person to ask as not knowing was likely to get him ripped off.

"100 silver," the merchant replied.

"Thanks." Myst replied as he turned and continued walking down the street, feeling like he was at a renaissance faire thanks to the fantasy style outfits everyone was wearing and the finger food. 'I should have asked if he had a cooking skill,' he mused as he worked on eating his lunch while he tried to figure out how he was going to get out of the mess he'd landed in.

Myst stopped walking when he noticed the shop with a picture of a collar and chain next to the Skill shop. 'Yeah, that doesn't look like a pet,' he grumbled as he looked in the window and saw a number of scantily dressed people with collars on. 'Great, not only am I stuck in a fantasy world without a decent source of income, the kingdom sells slaves.'

'On the upside, you're in a fantasy world and you might be able to learn magic,' Myst reminded himself as he headed for the skill shop. 'I doubt I'm going to be able to convince him I'm a local which means I should probably act like a clueless idiot or at least someone that doesn't know what they're doing.'

He finished eating his lunch, stuck the skewer in his sleeve and plastered a smile on his face as he walked into the skill shop. He glanced at the middle aged man behind the counter with a device that looked like a jeweler's magnifying glass over his right eye.

"Something I can help you with?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Cheap and amazing combat skills," Myst replied cheerfully.

The shopkeeper's laugh was a bit flat. "Yeah, pick one of those, cheap or amazing, I can't do both."

"I'll settle for cheap," Myst replied as he glanced over the various cases filled with translucent spheres labeled with what he was guessing was the names of the skills and their levels.

The shopkeeper gestured towards one of the cases on the left. "The skills start at 25 silver and go up from there."

Myst plastered a goofy grin on his face as he looked over the skills, glad that someone had written down the exact wording of the skill on note cards next to each skill orb. 'This would be easier if they'd included the brackets but maybe they don't see the skills the same way. Oh, Smite Lv 1, does a high amount of damage on low level monsters and it's only 25 silver. I can see where someone would pick it up and trade it for something better. Running, improves running speed by 5% per level, maybe later. Cleaning, cleans a room, requires a cleaning tool?'

"Beginner's Stealth?" Myst asked as he looked at the card for the strange skill that apparently had a high chance of failing.

"The kid that sold it to me earned a better skill," the shopkeeper explained. "I have some better stealth skills but they're more expensive."

"Understandable," Myst replied as he looked at the Basic Shield skill. "I'll take the Smite, Cleaning, Beginner's Stealth and the Basic Shield Skill. That's about all I have money for right now."

The merchant nodded. "Skills are expensive, especially leveled skills. I don't suppose you have any skills you'd be willing to sell?"

"I wish, I've got a skill for swords and a skill for running that makes me slightly faster than I should be but nothing worth your time," Myst lied as he pulled a gold coin out of his belt pouch while the man collected the Skills Orbs he wanted.

"Aren't you a bit old to be starting adventuring?" the merchant asked.

"I'm tired of listening to…" Myst trailed off as he saw a skill he wanted. 'Quick Page Copy Lv 1: Quickly make a rough copy of a document provided you have the right material. A bit pricey at 50 silver but it might let me copy maps,' he mused then started counting out silver. "And the Quick Page Copy skill, if I can't hack it as a fighter, I'll try being a scribe."

"Excellent choice," the merchant lied, knowing the skill was basically worthless for scribes as they were expected to have better skills, especially at the man's age.

Myst paid the man and accepted the skill orbs. "How do I use them?" he asked, figuring there was no point pretending he was local.

"Just push them into your skill page," the man explained, not surprised that the traveler didn't know how to use the skill orbs considering he wasn't local.

"Thanks, I'll be back for more skills eventually," Myst assured him as he headed outside.

The red haired cheerleader grinned as she saw the skill orbs Myst was holding. "Anything good?"

"A basic smite or power attack for use on weak monsters, a Cleaning skill, a basic Stealth skill I'm hoping turns into something useful, a skill for quickly making copies of pages and a skill for using shields," Myst explained as he added his new skills to his list by pushing the orbs into his skill window. "Nothing particularly impressive but it should let me get started fighting weak monsters."

"How much were they?" she asked, wondering if it was worth it.

"25 silver for the basic skills, 50 for the copying skill," Myst said as he glanced over his list of skills, hoping he hadn't just wasted a good chunk of his money.

"Could be worse, most of the inns are 10 to 15 a day," she said as she glanced up at the slave shop's sign. "Are they selling people?"

"Probably," Myst grumbled. "I'd complain but I doubt it'd help and I'd rather not end up in prison or dead for causing trouble."

"I don't blame you," she replied. "I'm Sarah by the way."

"Myst," Myst offered. "Do you have a plan?"

"I was going to check the adventuring guild but one of the townsfolk said it was mostly nobles," Sarah admitted.

"Same," Myst admitted as he brought up his smite skill.

Smite: Lv 1

Target: [Low Level Monster]

Effect: [High Damage] is [dealt] to target.

'Nothing to write home about but it might be useful if I can sneak up on something,' he mused as he brought up his cleaning skill.

Cleaning: Lv 1

Target: [Room]

Use Time: [10 seconds]

Requires: Cleaning Tool

Effect: [Cleans] target.

"Best of luck," Sarah offered.

"Thanks, I have a feeling we're going to need it," Myst said, bringing up his new stealth skill.

Beginner's Stealth: Lv 1

Target: [Self]

Effect: Activates [Stealth] [35%+[Skill]LvX5%]

"Most likely. If you end up in Metekal, I'll see you around," she said then headed into the Skill shop to look around.

'Provided we make it there,' Myst mused as he walked over to the stone bench by the large oak tree and sat down so he could look through his skills without being in the way.

Basic Shield Skill: Lv 1

Effect: [Passive] bonus to [Block][10% +[Skill]LvX5%] with [Shield]

Quick Page Copy: Lv 1

Target: [Up to Lv] [Page]s

Use Time: [5 Seconds]

Requires: [Writing Instrument] [Material]

Effect: [Creates] [Rough] [Duplicate] of target on provided material.

'Let's see if I can break the world,' Myst mused as he brought up his Skill Manipulation menu and selected his Sword skill and his Basic Shield skill. He poked the [Swords and Knives] quality and grinned when it wobbled. He grabbed the quality and swapped it for the [Shield] quality on his Basic Shield Skill. He frowned slightly as he tried to swap the percentage qualities and it beeped at him. 'I guess I can only change one thing at a time at level one.'

He pushed the Manipulation button at the button of the menu and grinned when the skills sparkled and changed.

Edged Shield: Lv 1 [R]

Effect: Passive Increase[10%+[SkillLv]X10%][Damage Dealt] with [Shield]s.

Blade Dancing: Lv 1 [R]

Effect: [Passive] bonus to [Block][10% +[SkillLv]X5%] with [Swords and Knives].

He stared at the new skills, a touch surprised that his manipulation skill had created two rare skills out of two basic skills. 'I probably should have tried something else. Oh well, I'd rather have two rare skills then two basic skills I can probably get back with 25 to 50 silver.'

Myst selected this Create Skill Orb skill and his Cleaning skill.

Create Skill Orb

Target: [Personal] [Skill]

Effect: [Creates] [Skill Orb] of Target, [Erases] target].

Cleaning: Lv 1

Target: [Room]

Use Time: [10 seconds]

Requires: Cleaning Tool

Effect: [Cleans] target.

'Nothing ventured, nothing gained,' Myst mused as he swapped the [Erases] quality with the [Cleans] quality and hit the button. He felt the world lurch and saw flashes of light as his skill created two new skills.

[Create Skill Orb]: Lv 1 [VR]

Target: [Personal] [Skill]

Effect: [Creates] [Skill Orb] of Target, [Cleans] target].

Destructive Cleaning: Lv 1 [R]

Target: [Room]

Use Time: [10 seconds]

Requires: Cleaning Tool

Effect: [Erases] target.

'It's hard to say a room isn't clean if it doesn't exist,' Myst mused as he selected his new skill creation power. He looked at the list of skills he could turn into a skill orb then selected his stealth skill and hit the button.

He laughed when a Level 1 Beginner's Stealth skill orb appeared in his hand while nothing happened to the skill on his skill list. He quickly brought his stealth skill up to check then created a copy of his Edged Shield skill. 'How to break the world in a couple of easy steps,' he thought to himself as he created a Blade Dancing skill orb. 'Take one cheat skill and just add water or mist.'

Myst swapped the [Shield] and [Swords and Knives] property back on his two skills, restoring his previous skills then used the two skill orbs to get the rare skills back. 'How far can we push things?' he mused as he created a skill orb of his Teaching Skill so he'd have a copy if he messed something up. 'Okay, mad science time!'

He brought his Beginner's Stealth and Teaching skills up with Skill Manipulation.

Beginner's Stealth: Lv 1

Target: [Self]

Effect: Activates [Stealth] [35%+[SkillLv]X5%]

Teaching: Lv 2

Targets: [Other] [Person] and [Personal Skill]

Casting Time: [Hour]

Effect: [[SkillLv]%5%] chance to [Teach] target [Personal Skill] to target.

He swapped the [35%+[SkillLv]X5%] quality with the [[SkillLv]X5%] from the Teaching skill and hit the button.

Minion Stealth: Lv 1

Target [Self]

Effect: Activates [Stealth][[SkillLv]X5%]

Gifted Teacher: Lv 2 [VR]

Targets: [Other] [Person] and [Personal Skill]

Casting Time: [Hour]

Effect: [35%+[SkillLv]X5%] chance to [Teach] target [Personal Skill] to target.

'I might as well finish the skill,' he mused as he made a copy of his Quick Page Copy skill then swapped the [5 Seconds] use time with the [Hour] from his Gifted Teaching skill with Skill Manipulation. He froze in place as the world seemed to twist around him almost seeming to scream in pain as his skill created two new skills.

Legendary Teacher: Lv 1 [UR]

Targets: [Other] [Person] and [Personal Skill]

Casting Time: [5 Seconds]

Effect: [35%+[SkillLv]X5%] chance to [Teach] target [Personal Skill] to target.

Page Copy: Lv 1

Target: [Up to Lv] [Page]s

Use Time: [Hour]

Requires: [Writing Instrument] [Material]

Effect: [Creates] [Rough] [Duplicate] of target on provided material.

Myst used his Quick Page Copy orb then made another copy of the orb.

"Did you just make a skill orb?" Sarah asked as she walked over.

"Yeah, was testing something, did you get anything interesting?" Myst asked as he stashed his orbs in his pockets and stood up.

Sarah grinned. "Meditation and a basic Firebolt spell, I want to see if I can get the mana cost down to something reasonable with enough practice."

"That sounds expensive," Myst said, glancing at the skill shop.

"Just a bit but I needed Meditation if I wanted to have enough mana to make monster hunting worth it. It boosts my regeneration by a point per second but doubles damage taken which makes it problematic for combat."

"Huh, that actually sounds pretty useful out of combat," Myst said thoughtfully, wondering if it came with special effects.

"Cool, do you want to go monster hunting with me?" Sarah asked hopefully.

Myst raised his eyebrows. "Why me?"

"My teammates aren't crazy or desperate enough to head down into the sewers to fight slimes and I'd really like to earn enough to make it to the next town without starving," she explained.

Myst shook his head. "This sounds like the start of a horror movie, a poor innocent guy follows a cheerleader into the sewers and she turns out to be a demon."

Sarah laughed. "When you put it like that, it does sound a bit suspect. Does that mean you're not going to help?"

"No, it just means I'm probably insane," Myst admitted as he started walking. "If I asked you what an Atari was, what would you say?"

"A really old gaming system," Sarah said as she followed along. "My turn. Pacman?"

"An annoying video game that eats quarters," Myst replied, answering her question.

"Doppelganger check?" she asked with amusement.

"Pretty much. The king's magic users managed to summon a bus across dimensions, that implies a certain amount of magic so I figured I'd check that you weren't replaced."

"You're assuming they can't read minds," she pointed out.

"If they could, they wouldn't have let us leave the square," Myst pointed out.

"Secret skill?" she whispered.

"Mine might be a bit better than I implied," Myst admitted in a whisper.

"Why tell me?" she asked as they headed towards the armor shop.

"You were smart enough to ditch the first chance you got and one of my skills lets me teach people skills like a video game skill trainer," Myst explained.

"Instantly or instantly for money?" she asked as they headed towards the sewer entrance that she'd walked past earlier.

"Instantly or close enough," Myst replied with a grin. "Which means working with a group I can trust is useful."

Sarah nodded. "Or at least one person that you've taught to create skill orbs."

"Basically," Myst agreed as he opened his Skill Manipulation menu and looked over his available options, bringing up his two copy skills, glad that he could see through his menu screens so he didn't run into anyone.

Page Copy: Lv 1

Target: [Up to Lv] [Page]s

Use Time: [Hour]

Requires: [Writing Instrument] [Material]

Effect: [Creates] [Rough] [Duplicate] of target on provided material.

Quick Page Copy: Lv 1

Target: [Up to Lv] [Page]s

Use Time: [5 Seconds]

Requires: [Writing Instrument] [Material]

Effect: [Creates] [Rough] [Duplicate] of target on provided material.

'Rough duplicates sort of sucks,' Myst mused as he swapped the [Up to Lv] from Page Copy for [Rough] in his Quick Page Copy skill then hit select.

Page Copy: Lv 1

Target: [Rough] [Page]

Use Time: [Hour]

Requires: [Writing Instrument] [Material]

Effect: [Creates] [Rough] [Duplicate] of target on provided material.

Quick Page Copy: Lv 1 [UN]

Target: [Up to Lv] [Page]s

Use Time: [5 Seconds]

Requires: [Writing Instrument] [Material]

Effect: [Creates] [Up to Lv] [Duplicate] of target on provided material.

'Getting closer,' Myst mused as they walked up the bored looking guard watching the entrance to the sewers.

"Do you mind if we head down and kill slimes?" Sarah asked with a bright smile.

"Knock yourself out or rather don't," the guard said as he gestured down the stone steps. "No one has been down here today so there should be some decent sized slimes, you might even find a skill orb or two but I doubt it."

"Thank you," Sarah said as she headed down into the sewers.

"How dangerous are the slimes?" Myst asked, wanting to make sure they weren't worse than he was expecting.

"Teenagers with sticks can kill most of them, it's just the larger ones that you have to worry about knocking you into the sewage, that's never pleasant even if it's funny to see some poor bastard screaming about it," the guard replied with a smirk.

"Thanks," Myst muttered as he followed Sarah into the sewer.

"Best of luck dealing with the stench," the guard called after him.