We are setting out in the morning to do an investigation on the recent War Monkey disturbance. I'm worried enough that I would like to do it now, but it isn't wise to set off into the woods with almost no magic power remaining.

Of course, I've done that before. But this time we’ll be gone for a few days, and I'd rather not be caught unprepared. With that, there’s a few things I want to satisfy my curiosity about before I leave. First, I tentatively begin speaking the the spirits again.

Spirits… is it possible for me to evolve into a High Orc?

I only want to know if I can do it manually by requesting the spirits. I'm careful with my phrasing so that they don't immediately make me evolve if it’s possible. I'm still not sure what kind of evolution would be best for me.

[[Information is accessible. Evolution will occur automatically when conditions are met.]]

So it can't be forced.

Spirits, what are the conditions for becoming a High Orc?

[[Information is not accessible. The information the user requested has been banned by the W system.]]

Wow, that message is new. Did I stumble onto something important? Let’s try asking more strange questions like that.

Spirits, how are we communicating?

[[Information is accessible. We are communicating using the W system as a medium.]]

Do you have personality and feeling, spirits?

[[Information is not accessible. Personal questions are not allowed by the W system.]]

Hm. Alright, I had a few other questions anyway.

Spirits, what is the history of this forest?

[[Information is not accessible. Historical questions are not allowed by the W system.]]

Spirits, what is the effect of ?

[[Information is accessible. allows the user to control the spread of heat energy from one substance or area to the next. It is listed as a second level resistance: dual state.]]

Wah! I found one that works! A good one! Does it work for skills I don't have?

Spirits, what is the effect of ?

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[[Information is accessible. allows the user to visually perceive magic power and allows quick identification of spell patterns. It is listed as a first level skill: passive state.]]

It really works as long as I know the name of the skill?! Awesome! Wait, is this another example of me being the last to learn something?

“Hey, Fiara,” I need to verify whether this is common knowledge or something amazing. “Did you know you can ask the spirits to explain the effect of skills, as long as you know the skill name?”

“What? Is that true?!”

Ah, this time it really is something amazing, huh?

I ended up staying in Fiara’s hut until late in the night, transcribing the details of every skill we could think of onto clay tablets, then organizing lists of the different levels of spells, skills, and resistances we’d discovered.

I firmly believe that if we gather enough information like this, we’ll be able to infer where a few more branches of skill trees might appear.

Incidentally, these three shocked Fiara when she saw them:

allows the user to create and control mechanical waves. It is listed as a unique skill: active state.

allows the user to negate physical pain while preserving sensation, ignore 70% of incoming damage, and recover any kind of physical damage including loss of limbs and natural degeneration with high efficiency. User has a 50% chance to resist instant death situations. A current copy of user’s physical data is kept in the soul shell as reference for restoring the body in extreme cases. It is listed as a rare skill: passive state.

allows user to visually perceive magic power and interpret skill lists and spell patterns. It is listed as a rare skill: active state.

“You have three skills that are beyond the level system?! Moreover, this is ridiculous!”

“Ah, I got that one when I unified these three.” I passed Fiara the descriptions for , , and .

“Just how did you get three of these skills…”

“What? I met the conditions… Is there something strange about it?”

“Well, depending on the person, some skills will be easier to obtain than others. But for most people, a single one of these skills would be enough. Once you're satisfied with a skill’s performance, it becomes more difficult to obtain similar skills. That’s one of the things that makes training as a Magic caster difficult. There are people who will have trouble learning different fire spells once they've found one they are confident in. Plenty of people can't unify the next level skills because they haven't been able to obtain all the lower level skills they would need in order to do so.”

“You… just how much do you hate injury that you're able to learn skills like this as quickly as language?”

Ouch, that last comment hurt, Fiara. I already died once. Is it bad that I'm a little jumpy about it now?

“Can you not look at me like that? My previous life ended with me being crushed at high speeds by heavy and sharp pieces of metal, then left there painfully until all my blood drained out. It can't be helped that I have a strong desire for skills like these.”

The look in Fiara’s eyes changed from an extremely judgmental glare to simple pity.

“That kind of death… Forgive me.”

“Don't worry about it. Let’s get to sleep before it gets too late.”

“Yes. Good night, chief. Thank you for teaching me something wonderful.”

***

Morning came. Because they already know how to work well together, I chose the usual crowd for the Sunday hunt to join Fiara and I as the investigation unit. We’re going to head to the Southwest edge of the mountain. While I'm away, Durghan is in charge of the village, but command has been mostly handed over to momma while he leads the hunting group. They've been given orders to kill on sight if they find any War Monkeys, except in the case where they would get annihilated.

I'm getting excited. Just what is going on over there, I wonder?