Let's talk about skills.
Skills are what people call "God's Fragments," believing they exist because the gods grant skills to those worthy of them… but that understanding actually misses the real point.
Skills are something people learn through their own efforts and talents. If you lack either, then you can't gain that specific skill. They're completely unrelated to gods and such!
For example, Appraisal. It requires one to have talent in mana manipulation and the capacity for deep analysis.
Of course, I had those talents, so I gained Appraisal without much difficulty when I was a baby.
Secondly, you gain "derived" skills after reaching the max level in one. Something that only you can have.
A Unique Skill!
For example, since my Appraisal reached max level, I unlocked a unique skill: Akashic Records.
Technically, aside from the heavy mana cost, it works the same as Appraisal. The main difference, however, lies in the depth of information.
Using Akashic Records, you can see all information about something or someone. And of course, this was what I used to understand what skills were, what talents were, and so on.
And… it was also the source of my despair once.
Through Akashic Records, I learned that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't handle offensive magic. I lack the talent for it… No, it would be more accurate to say my talent for attack magic is in the negatives. It's almost like I'm cursed.
To be specific, here are the talents I have:
[
- High Intellect
- Deep Analysis
- Prodigy of Mana
- Mana Release Incompatibility
]
Those four.
And of course, the last talent is what ruined my dreams of destroying swarms of monsters with a wave of my hand. Mana Release Incompatibility. Whenever I try to emit mana externally, it dissipates instantly. As a result, all forms of offensive magic fail to activate for me.
Well, I still have defensive and self-targeted support magic, so it's not that bad… really.
Sniff!
No! I'm definitely not crying!
Anyway, why was I talking about this?
It's because, for the plan to mine the mountain, I have a specific role assigned to me: searching for "good" workers.
More specifically, my task is to appraise Father's people and see if any of them have hidden talents. Mining or digging talents, to be exact.
But well… not everyone has multiple talents. Most people only have one.
At worst, some don't even have any talents at all.
Thus, until now, we've only discovered three such individuals among the entire 1,500 people in the territory. Appraising all of them using Akashic Records, including recovery time for mana, took me two months.
"This can't go on," I said to Father. "With just three actual miners, the success rate of finding a mithril vein is too low. We need more."
"True…" Father nodded in agreement.
"However, there's nothing we can do about it. Our territory has a limited population, and poaching people from other territories could bite us back later."
Of course, his concerns were valid. However…
"Don't worry, Father. There's a surefire way to find talents without inviting trouble!"
"Hoo? And that is…?"
I showed a confident smile and gave my answer. "Slaves!"
Right.
In this world, slaves exist.
No, that's an understatement. They don't just exist, they thrive!
In fact, in our home, the Grendel Viscounty's residence, about half of the maids are work-slaves. They labor for a set period until they earn enough to buy back their freedom.
Of course, the reason the maids don't look like slaves is because they've already been released from slavery after working for several years, even before I came to this world.
Although they're free, they still chose to stay with the Viscounty… or rather, with Father.
Damn his bewitching, handsome face!
"Slaves, huh… That's an angle I hadn't considered."
Father voiced his surprise.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought of using slaves as cheap labor, for sure.
Rather, it was because most slaves are considered talentless. The idea that a "master" could be hiding among slaves wasn't even worth considering to him.
However, I'm different.
I know that everyone is born equal and thus has the same chance of possessing talent, even if it's largely random.
"Alright," Father nodded after some thought. "Then let's go to the slave trader tomorrow. Let's see if there are any slaves worth investing in."
"Yes!"
Yes! My plan worked!
Of course, I wasn't just planning to look for miners.
Like in other novels I've read, I planned to choose a slave for myself! And maybe, if I got lucky, even build a slave harem!
Though my funds are limited, so I can probably only buy two or three at most…
Fuck.
I should've demanded a bigger cut from Father's many ventures, which were originally my ideas!
---
"It's the Lord! The Lord, Viscount Claus, is visiting town!"
"Young Master Rex, please look over here~! Kyaah~!"
"Ahh! God bless Lord Claus! God bless Young Master Rex!"
The next day, in town.
Just walking down the road drew greetings from everyone around us.
It was tiring, returning all those greetings. Still, the attention and affection didn't feel bad at all. If anything, it was quite addictive.
If I weren't afraid of getting kidnapped or something, I'd be walking through town every day just to enjoy this pampering atmosphere.
Of course, the people of Grendel Territory are kind, but that doesn't mean there are no travelers or adventurers around. Those people are always a risk, since verifying identities with this world's level of technology is nearly impossible.
Even with Akashic Records, it's not like I can use it constantly.
The mana cost is simply too high.
On the other hand, with its low mana cost, I keep Appraisal active 24/7, checking everything and everyone within my line of sight. This little trick is what allowed Appraisal to reach max level in five years instead of taking over twenty.
Anyway, after being delayed by the excited townsfolk, we finally arrived at our destination.
A building that stood out clearly. Two stories tall, dwarfing all other buildings around.
The Slave Trader!