Lee Si-won, having been led by Nakamura Shun, had ended up in an environment he could clearly tell was some sort of lounge area—warm air, soft chatter, the faint smell of roasted beans. It felt akin to a small café.
"Who's that?" a voice spoke as the two walked in. In one direction—unknown to Lee Si-won—they were heading toward a table.
"Ah, a friend I made. He's in a bit of a sticky situation," Shun laughed, guiding Lee Si-won to sit down.
"You know you can't just drag a random person with you, right? It's practically kidnapping," the voice scolded. "Ahh, sorry for this buffoon's rashness. My name's Kobayashi Ren."
"Yes, it's quite alright. Hello, it's nice to meet you. My name's Lee Si-won."
As he spoke, he bowed his head a little in gratitude.
"An otherworlder? Well isn't that funny," Kobayashi Ren chuckled.
"Otherworlder? Erm… is—no, are otherworlders common here?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah, I mean you could probally tell by our names we're also otherworlders. Though otherworlders are rare, they do occasionally end up here—either through summoning or just mysterious circumstances pulling them into this world."
"Ah I see… so you two are from Earth as well? That's a relief. I was so confused considering that I became blind after ending up here," Lee Si-won spoke leisurely.
"That's odd—you weren't blind before? Oh right, it might be a side effect of one of your skills, I guess. I should explain what skills are as well, right? Otherworlders, when being transported here, end up basically being filled with mana—though more precisely with magicules. But just so it's easier to understand I'll use like game terms and such, if that's okay?"
"Yeah sure. So you mean I'm blind 'cause of my skills? I do recall hearing a voice, and it said something about skills. It's a bit hazy to recall tho," Lee Si-won replied.
"Well, as I said, when coming to this world we usually get a unique skill or some skills depending on certain factors. And the voice you heard is called the Voice of the World—its job is giving us skills. Skills and magic exist in this world so we aren't the only ones. Skills can range from intrinsic, common, extra, and unique. Intrinsic is based on your species and such—most monsters tend to have intrinsic skills. Common are, well, common. Extras are stronger than common but have a wide range in their effects. And uniques are unique to a person with specific effects. Take my skill 'Top Student': it allows me to learn any form of knowledge at an expedited rate alongside accidentally giving me access to certain info not commonly known if certain conditions are met."
Nodding, Lee Si-won asked, "ok okk… how do i know what my unique skill is?"
"Well usually—unless you got a skill like mine that can help interpret other skills—you don't know and have to experiment and slowly understand them. Or sometimes, most of the time, you're given an instinctual understanding of your skill. But there also exist certain items to help visualise your skills if you allow. In fact the last option is something new—no one knows but me. I'm the one who made such an item. It's still a prototype so I haven't released it into the market. It's meant to be like a status window from a game," Ren said, his voice full of glee, clearly happy to flaunt his creation.
Before Lee Si-won could speak, he felt a hand over his. Something was placed into his palm—its shape cold, metallic.
Circular and cool. A simple metal ring.
Carefully grabbing it, Lee Si-won wore it.
As he did, he saw something—yes, saw. In the darkness, a parchment floated in front of his eyes, or in a sense, inside his mind.
{would you like to see your character sheet? yes/no}
Thinking for a moment, he mentally spoke an affirmative.
{name: not given
Unique skill: stagnation, regressor
Extra skill: soul gazer, sinner
Common skill: peculiar mind
Intrinsic skill: n/a}
"Wow, I can see a status window. It's just like a game—you're so amazing, Mr Kobayashi."
"Haha come on, it's not that impressive. And you don't need to be so formal—we're the same game after all. Before you ask—it's due to my skill's analysis function. It basically shows a more defined version of a status window, but I do require permission before viewing any skills. Oh, also—if you want to see the details of your skills just focus on the one you wanna see and it'll expand into another window."
Following the instruction, Lee Si-won focused on his unique skill stagnation.
[regressor is kind of obvious just by the name but dam it's op if it's what i think it is… but infinite regressions going to be such a pain man]
{stagnation: your soul wish to do nothing, to be nothing, stay as is. therefore you are stagnant in yourself. no forwards nor backwards. all effort to improve will be negated. all effort to mentally affect you will be negated. you are as you are}
[that's so buns… i am stuck as i am? i cant grow stronger? well i mean i guess i wasn't goanna go fight much anyway… ill just leave a normal life i guess ]
{regressor: your soul longs for better times. upon death your mind and soul travel back in the stream of time, turning the clock hand in reverse, once more living the past as present – effective usage 3/3}
[ok at lest i don't have to face the horrors of infinite regressions… i read enough web novels to know the target with such a skill]
{soul gazer: value of life is known in death. any and all you kill will stay with you. you are their hell, their salvation, their life. it may be of help or of a disadvantage. it is up to the dead and their willingness to aid you}
{sinner: you are not human. you are scum. your indulgence in sin or overcoming them may help you grow or not. you are quite slothful and stagnant}