If I hadn't been sitting on the couch, I might've fallen to my knees.
All strength left my body the moment I focused on my [Available Skills] and saw that there wasn't a single one available for purchase.
Even though I could still acquire skills through training, combat, and other means, this was still something I couldn't understand.
In this world, it was fairly accepted that the [Available] skills one had were tailor-made for them and their Gift.
They were a companion piece that could be used to synergize with a Gift's strength or cover its weakness.
Most people planned their future around the skills they could acquire.
They were also seen as the materialization of a lifetime...
The [Available Skills] should reflect every skill a person has honed.
As well as every skill suited to them.
For nothing to appear was probably a first in the world.
Even though I could use the Gacha to acquire skills, not having the luxury of planning ahead and relying on luck was bound to be a huge problem.
The only thing that kept me from being distraught was the hope that the skills displayed would change with time.
It wasn't uncommon for more skills to appear, depending on the path a person followed.
Things like challenges, training... Even reading and discovering new things could reward a person with a new [Available Skill] for purchase.
This knowledge made this reality not so bad.
And yet, worse.
To me, there was something wrong.
Maybe with my Gift, but more likely, with me.
This was just a blank canvas.
One I had called life.
Eighteen years, that I thought had meant something...
Amounted to nothing of value.
Not a single thing I could be recognized for.
At least, not enough to manifest a skill.
"High Potential".
What a joke.
...My pride was speaking a little loudly.
Still, I wanted to believe that there was something wrong, and this was a mistake of some kind.
After all, while I did not own the stage, I was in the background.
It was more comfortable there, and I had no desire to steal the spotlight anyway.
Sure, it wasn't eventful or unique.
But wouldn't that be the case for most people?
I just thought something like this was normal.
I expected the minimum, but never that it could go as low as nothing.
While those feelings stung, not having any idea of where to go next still bothered me the most.
Whatever...
I couldn't do anything about this, so I decided to look on the bright side.
At least I wouldn't have anything to use "Level-up Points" other than my stats.
Fewer choices made things simpler, I suppose.
And also, I had yet to see the [Mana Gacha] and the [Kingdom].
Maybe they made up for this.
So, with these thoughts in mind, I checked the [Mana Gacha] first.
This time, the surprise wasn't as bad as the one I got from the [Available Skills].
Like the previous gacha, there was a huge list of banners I could roll on.
However, it definitely had less variety.
Maybe I could check every banner in a week, which was still faster than the eternity it would take to go through every banner of the [Ticket Gacha].
Surprisingly, that didn't make me mad.
I was level 1, my mana was super limited, and the description explicitly said I'd unlock more once I had more available mana.
If anything, with fewer options, I felt like I could have something to compare the two gachas, and just like that, I noticed that the [Companions Banner] wasn't available in the [Mana Gacha].
Maybe it was meant as a lesson about how friends were more valuable than the measly single point of mana I had.
Beautiful, really.
However, I took it another way.
Absent banners probably had a high value, so I should probably consider them better after testing both gachas.
Although I also discovered that the [Skills Banner] wasn't present in the [Mana Gacha].
This was actually good news, straight up.
The only banner interesting to me in the [Gacha Banners], of the three I had searched so far, was the [Weapons Banner].
With the two gachas, I could get weapons through mana and skills through tickets.
The best of both worlds, without losing anything.
It kinda made me proud of my earlier move, since if I had gone with weapons, I'd be stuck with two now.
Not the worst thing to happen, but definitely a worse scenario.
Still, I decided to roll later, since using all my mana at once was something I wanted to avoid until I had checked everything I had available.
Naturally, having already checked the gachas, I tested the [Kingdom].
The description made it sound interesting.
But what awaited me was way more strange and outlandish than I expected.
It was fairly obvious, a small plot of land that barely stretched before me.
A thick fog covered the entire grass field, the sun illuminated it from above, and a warm breeze reached me, seemingly coming from nowhere.
Immediately, I knew not to approach the fog, the same way it didn't dare to cross the borders into this so-called "Kingdom".
I mean, it only needed a sign saying "free candy" to make it more obvious.
Its darkness was almost comical.
The kind that would make me scream, "Why are they approaching that thing?" in a movie.
Well, besides the evil, ominous fog, the land was nice.
The grass was tall, but there were no insects.
I took off my shoes, felt the ground beneath my feet.
It was humid, not too sandy.
A surprisingly relaxing place, if I could get rid of the fog.
Although there was another strange thing.
A lone hut.
It stood right in the middle of the field, and from the mini-map I had, I could tell it was one of the [Buildings] I had access to.
So, a freebie, maybe.
Honestly, I didn't know what to make of it.
I already had a home, so, the best I could think of was abusing the [Access] function as a get out of jail free card.
Dangerous situation? I'll be in my Kingdom, thanks.
The only problems I could see with this were if the Dungeon somehow blocked this aspect, since sometimes, teleportation abilities don't work there.
Maybe I could also be afflicted with a debuff that wouldn't allow me to enter and leave anymore.
These interactions were often strange, and I could only know after trying.
The Kingdom wasn't anything special, but it was nice to have nonetheless.
And I could expand it with [Kingdom Points] too, so it was probably going to get better soon.
Though at the time, I could only claim 1 [Kingdom Point].
The prices in the [Kingdom Store] were out of reach for the most part, with that meager amount, and aside from testing, nothing seemed worth it to me.
I decided to save the points for the time being, at least until I had a better reason to test them.
And then, having checked the [kingdom], I returned to my home on Earth and looked at my Status.
They were the same as everyone else's at my level, from intelligence to strength, from mana to magic, defense, and luck, just 1's across the board, which I was glad about.
The only one with a difference was speed, thanks to the skill I received, increasing it to "2".
Not being surprised was sometimes a good thing, as proven by the abysmal [Available Skills] and inversely by the lackluster but potentially useful [Kingdom].
The [Status] was the last thing I had to check, and since I had a combat skill, after so many years, I could finally enter and explore the Dungeons, level up, and experience tales of my own.
I was so excited about it, I almost forgot I couldn't today.
The [Mana Banners] consumed at least 1 mana point, exactly how much I had.
Using it would mean suffering from "Mana Depletion", a condition that would tremendously tire both body and mind, making it difficult to move and concentrate, even on simple tasks.
Hardly something I'd desire when exploring a Dungeon.
Thankfully, the recovery method only involved sleeping through the night, so after cooking dinner and cleaning up for tomorrow, I tried the [Mana Banners].
I wasn't sure what to expect, considering I had only one point to spend.
Still, I believed that maybe I could get lucky with a critical roll or something like that.
Unfortunately, I had already been lucky once today, and gachas aren't famous for their generosity.
Just like last time, my mind was wrapped in a blank veil, and in the next second, after my consciousness returned, I was back home, to my usual self.
Once again, incredibly sudden and ridiculously quick.
Almost impossible to notice, if not for the uncomfortable feeling of this out-of-body experience.
This time, however, there was a physical result to my roll.
A small bladed weapon, a dagger, appeared before me.
There were no ornaments to it. No gems, no special material for the handle.
Not even a signature that I could find.
Nothing that screamed about power, but at least it wasn't rusty.
For something that only cost me 1 mana point, it wasn't bad.
Being mundane was a plus side, even.
It wouldn't draw undesired attention, nor would it cause me to grow arrogant or dependent.
If it got stolen in a fight, it would be scary, but still manageable.
Pretty appropriate for someone starting out.
Already feeling the effects of "Mana Depletion" growing, I headed to my room.
The strong headache that felt like it could shatter my skull in two, my fading strength...
Even standing up felt like a chore, and every next step became more hellish.
I thought walking from one room to the other wouldn't be a problem, but I definitely underestimated these effects.
Still, I reached my room safely, put the dagger inside a drawer using all the strength I had, and finally, had a damn good night's sleep.