We sat down in the middle of the room, and Hermes began explaining things to me.
We had this bonfire that he created using magic.
"It's convenient to have a physical body after all."
He still looked like a mess, nevertheless. He kind of started acting very natural and familiar with me after that. Not that I mind, though…
At first, he asked me to channel mana into him.
"What is… mana?"
Then he just looked flabbergasted and sighed.
"Ah, you're not from this world, but please don't be that ignorant. I know you have RPGs in your world."
I want to smack this fucker in the head.
"Hih! Joking! I know that you don't know because of your situation!"
He would occasionally try to avoid being near me.
"Sit down. I ain't telling this twice."
I just did what he said because I had no idea how this thing worked either.
"Focus on your heart. Imagine there's a flow coming out from it. Feel it."
Hmmm… As I focused, I felt a warm sensation in my chest that spread throughout my body. I felt it covering me entirely, and I felt like…
"RAHHHHH!!!!"
Woah. I did it! I was like those Saiyans from Dragon Ball!
There was this aura enveloping me.
"Ugh. You look so flashy, but you're wasting mana. Congrats, though."
This fucking dude. Why can't he be at least happy about little things like these?
"Lend me your hand."
He reached out his hand as he held out his own. Of course, it does sound weird, but he always kept being wary of making direct contact.
"...! J-just the finger will do!"
He's acting very weird.
His hand reached for my finger, and… well, he was covering his eyes and everything.
"...What are you doing?"
He didn't say anything after that either.
Now I feel like an idiot, but there should be a reason, right?
After a while, he opened his eyes, and I saw an aura forming in front of him.
"Hahahahaha!!! You're a fucking monster, you know that?"
After a while, his body glowed golden, and his wounds and bruises were gone. His tattered clothes reverted to normal—like what a Greek guy would wear—but his chains were still there.
"I just sucked a huge portion of mana from you, but you felt nothing from it?"
Uh, duh. 'Cause you just stood there.
"Thanks, though. Okay, let's get to explaining, shall we?"
What a weird dude.
Then, he burned a bonfire in the middle of the room. The flames never went out. As per his explanation, phenomena cast by magic never fade as long as the caster doesn't let go of it, or it's destroyed by magic itself—or anti-magic, which was the antithesis of all magic, but that was rare in itself.
And from there on, he began explaining things to me as I started asking questions.
Experience gain was already a topic discussed by the goddess, and Hermes himself said it was useless to bother with it since I was basically at max level.
"You're still not satisfied with Level 50,043?!? Don't you know how many people have reached your level? NONE! The highest recorded one was just 1,123, which was a demigod hero!"
He said that it was similar to experience leveling, though. In my current level, just to pass 50,044—according to my appraisal—I needed (make up impossible numbers) to reach the next level.
Yeah, I think I'll just stick with what I can handle.
Next, he ranted about how I was basically just a stat stick.
Although I knew that term since I was a gamer myself, he explained that while I had raw stats, I was basically just an unrefined gem.
"But that doesn't really exempt you from the fact that you could destroy this place with just your fists…"
Yeah, I think I can imagine that.
(A stat stick, in my perspective, basically means someone who has insane numbers on a screen but lacks actual technique. Like a level 100 character in a game who's never fought anything. Sure, my power is insane, but if I don't know how to use it properly, then I might as well be a big dumb rock that punches things really hard. Hermes is saying that right now, I'm a walking disaster waiting to happen, and honestly? He's not wrong.)
"It just means you don't have the [skills] necessary for this world!"
He explained that the system provided by the gods of this world was basically a system that simplified this world's laws into a simple, game-like interface that allowed even non-Arashians to understand and comprehend it.
The name of this world is Arasha.
In a sense, it essentially works like a normal RPG would. You level up by killing monsters, and you learn various skills using your classes and so on.
But that's just the oversimplified version.
In reality, most of the people in this world had to struggle to maintain things because the system feature was exclusive to otherworlders.
Instead, normal people here use guild cards.
"I'm curious what a guild card looks like, though?"
"Then get us out of here first, you stupid—"
Guild cards act like status screens but cannot be viewed that easily.
It will be a topic that Hermes said he would expound on in the future.
Now onto skills.
Skills are basically what Hermes describes as the crystallization of knowledge, experience, and effort, and they materialize into a [skill].
For example, [Basic Swordsmanship], which can be learned on the General Skill Tree, is basically the beginnerknowledge of how to use swords. For the people of this world, they can engrave skill points to level it up, making their understanding and abilities stronger. Or, they can simply reach an understanding through effort, and the skill will automatically level up on its own.
That's where the perk of being a hero comes in—you get more skill points than others.
But here's the thing Hermes says:
"Without a class, skill points are garbage."
He says that the amount of skills you can learn as a jobless person is limited, and access to more enhanced or better skills is locked behind skill trees tied to classes.
There are three ways of learning a skill:
Someone must teach you, and you must have a class compatible with it. For example, a warrior cannot learn how to cast Fireball, no matter how hard he trains—and vice versa.Skill books. These are common and grant access to a wide range of skills. However, proficiency and understanding are still required, especially for technical skills like alchemy, mining, or blacksmithing. Some skill books grant the skill tree, while others grant the skill itself.The easiest way—obtaining jobs. With a job, you can invest skill points directly into the skill tree.
And my current problem is…
"You cannot have a fucking job in this dungeon!"
In order to get a job, I have to go to areas where people train and hone their craft. Apparently, gods did this to give their world more freedom and depth.
Is this a game? I'm starting to think that it is…
Warriors have this stupid mountain, mages have this giant tree, and rogues have an island.
Great. We're underground, so how the hell am I supposed to get there?
And Hermes even said that the job system only grants one job at a time, which must be maxed out before unlocking higher-tier jobs. You invest skill points into a certain path, and then your job can advance. However, you can only advance your job under someone who already holds that same job.
"It's janky, I know. I think the gods got inspired by a video game or something."
So far, I get it.
And once you choose a specialization, you cannot go back.
If you do want to reset, you can {Rebirth} at a church—but that wipes everything: level, job, and skill points. Which is shitty.
'I will never do that.'
Subclasses, however, do stack in this world, but they require a lot of skill points, so most people treat them as actual jobs.
"Oh, and by the way, being a hero doesn't count as a job. That's just an attribute that gives a separate skill tree."
From that point on, Hermes gave me the go-ahead.
If I had a thousand skill points…
And I had these stupid novice skills that anyone can learn…
And this hero skill tree…
What do you think I would do?
The answer is obvious.
---
[Adventurer Skills]
[Double Slash]: Has been maxed!
[Rock Throw]: Has been maxed!
[Magic Missile]: Has been maxed!
[Unarmed Mastery]: Has been maxed!
[Survival Skills]
[EXP Gain Up]: Has been maxed!
[Drop Rate Up]: Has been maxed!
[Safe Rest]: Has been maxed!
[HP Boost]: Has been maxed!
[Fighter's High]: Has been maxed!
[Short Rest]: Has been maxed!
[MP Boost]: Has been maxed!
[Sober Analysis]: Has been maxed!
[Battle Skills]
[Magic Up]: Has been maxed!
[Concentrate]: Has been maxed!
[Attack Up]: Has been maxed!
[Whack]: Has been maxed!
[Defense Up]: Has been maxed!
[Dodge Up]: Has been maxed!
[Desperate Resist]: Has been maxed!
[Critical Up]: Has been maxed!
[Accuracy Up]: Has been maxed!
[Increased Energy]: Has been maxed!
[Intimidating Power]: Has been maxed!
[Defense Mastery]: Has been maxed!
[Spell Burst]: Has been maxed!
[Secret Chase Attack]: Has been maxed!
[Super Grip]: Has been maxed!
[Miscellaneous Skills]
[Camping]: Has been maxed!
[Foraging]: Has been maxed!
[Fishing]: Has been maxed!
[Hunting]: Has been maxed!
[Cooking]: Has been maxed!
[Climbing]: Has been maxed!
[Swimming]: Has been maxed!
[Riding]: Has been maxed!
[Sailing]: Has been maxed!
[Hero Skill Tree]
[Hero's Will] (Passive): Has been maxed!
[Regal Aura] (Passive): Has been maxed!
[Lead from the Front] (Passive): Has been maxed!
[Unbreakable Spirit] (Passive): Has been maxed!
[Divine Protection] (Passive): Has been maxed!
[Fated Guidance] (Passive): Has been maxed!
[Novice Skill Tree]
[Basic Combat Training]: Has been maxed!
[Basic Healing]: Has been maxed!
[Shield Proficiency]: Has been maxed!
[Weapon Familiarity]: Has been maxed!
[Stamina Control]: Has been maxed!
[Beginner's Luck]: Has been maxed!
[Everyday Magic Skill Tree]
[Tinder]: Has been maxed!
[Water Splash]: Has been maxed!
[Gust]: Has been maxed!
[Minor Heal]: Has been maxed!
[Light Orb]: Has been maxed!
[Stone Pebble]: Has been maxed!
[Spark]: Has been maxed!
[Magic Shield (Weak)]: Has been maxed!
[Frost Touch]: Has been maxed!
[Detect Magic]: Has been maxed!
[Mend (Minor Item Repair)]: Has been maxed!
[Whisper (Short Range Communication)]: Has been maxed!
---
"You know, most people don't waste skill points on useless skills like these."
Hermes stared at me with the kind of disappointment only a parent watching their child eat glue could muster, as I maniacally maxed out every minor skill that most sane people wouldn't dare to level.
These weren't combat skills. They were weak, barely noticeable stat boosts, useless utility skills, and magic that even a toddler could learn if they just tried.
"Level is usually the limit on these things, so most people plan out their skill distribution beforehand…" he sighed.
Yeah, well, that doesn't apply to me. With a whopping 150,128 skill points, I could afford to be a little reckless.
That being said—
"…How do I actually use these things?"
Hermes' entire body tensed up. His eyes widened, and before I could process what was happening, he slapped his hand over my mouth.
"Okay. Before you start doing anything, keep in mind that you have a status of over a million."
I nodded slowly, the realization dawning on me.
"You do understand that even a simple [Tinder] spell—which is meant to start a campfire—could…" He paused. "I'll let you use your imagination."
Right. Postponing the magic experiments for now.
Man, and I was actually kind of excited about that…
Hermes grabbed my shoulders and shook me. "For the sake of our safety, NEVER. EVER. CAST. MAGIC. OKAY?!"
"Okay, okay! I get it!"
Once he was sure I wouldn't go setting the dungeon on fire, Hermes formally explained how skills worked.
"Skills are divided into two categories: passive and active."
Passive skills give buffs, enhance perception, and improve abilities without needing to be activated. Active skills, on the other hand, require actual effort—casting speed, cooldowns, and all that. Magic, specifically, usually needs incantations.
"Okay, I think that's all I need to explain," Hermes concluded.
"…Wait, that's it?"
"For starters, you're a gamer, right? I'm not wasting my breath explaining a skill tree to someone who already knows how it works."
I glared at him. "You're the worst mascot."
"HEY! I HEARD THAT!"
Great. He can read my mind now.
"And second," he continued, puffing out his chest, "you have [Appraisal]. You can just figure everything out yourself."
Yeah. Useless.
We both sat in silence for a while.
"…How do I unsummon you?"
Hermes instantly dropped to the floor and groveled at my feet.
"PLEASE don't send me back there! They'll lock me up again!"
I stared at him, unimpressed. "Then prove yourself useful. I'm not traveling with a freeloader."
I tried shaking him off, but this guy clung to me like a desperate loan shark.
"Haha! I have a skill called [Ethereal Body]! You can't physically harm me without special moves!"
This little—
"GET OFF ME, YOU USELESS GUIDE!!!"
After an exhausting round of Get This Pest Off Me: Dungeon Edition, we returned to the bonfire.
The silence was almost comforting… except for the nagging sense that something about this place was off.
Then Hermes finally spoke. "Information."
He glanced at me. "That's what I can offer you. Things your [Appraisal] won't cover."
I raised a brow. "Like?"
He stood up and pointed at the massive gate leading upward.
"This is the Nest of the Deprived—a 100-floor dungeon that not even the heroes have fully explored or conquered."
I swallowed hard.
"And since neither of us can use [Teleport]…"
Oh no.
"…we're climbing all the way to the top."
I stared at the endless abyss above us.
What a shitty dungeon.