Chapter 120.1

120 Part 1

Let’s be an Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board~ 120

Let’s Check The Tiny Bird’s Skills!

Karen suddenly spoke on the way to the dungeon, right after passing through the ticket gate.

“So, Karaboshi… Have you given that little bird a name yet?”

“Ah…”

That’s right.

Haruki had yet to name his new little friend.

“Alright, let’s give you a name!”

“Pii!”

The tiny bird chirped in a remarkably high-pitched tone in response to Haruki’s voice.

Haruki walked through the gate, thinking of many names.

“Where are you going, Karaboshi?”

“Hmm? To the 15th floor… Ah.”

The tiny bird hadn’t gotten clearance to go to the 15th floor yet.

Haruki scratched his head as he glossed over that fact.

He had been distracted thinking about names for the tiny bird and forgot that they wouldn’t be able to use the gates, since the bird didn’t have clearance.

However…

“Wait… It works?”

Haruki stood still on the spot.

The tiny bird had gone through the gate once, while it was still in her egg.

Haruki thought that maybe the gate had already registered the bird at that point.

To confirm Haruki’s theory, the gate started up.

The ground below them slowly started to descend.

“Ah, I knew it.”

“Huh? What!?”

As a complete opposite to Haruki’s prediction, Karen was taken by surprise by the gate’s sudden activation.

“But why is the gate working?”

“I think maybe the fact that she already passed through it while she was inside her egg counts somehow?”

“Ah, I see… Then it’s different from Chep.”

“Ah, that reminds me… She’s here as well, isn’t she?”

“What do you mean ‘that reminds me’?”

Chep yelled from inside Karen’s pocket.

— What do you want me to say, that I forgot about you because you’re worthless in battle?

Being stared at with such eyes, Chep disgustedly disappeared back into the pocket.

“Ah, Karen… Shouldn’t we have gotten another tag for Chep?”

“That’s alright. I can put her away if something happens.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Of course, since Chep could get into Karen’s bracelet, she could be recalled in the unlikely event she was in danger.

That was, of course, as long as she was willing to get back into the bracelet.

“So you can put her away?”

“If I try real hard.”

“Can you put her away for good?”

“Ummm–”

“Please don’t put me away!!”

Chep hurriedly broke into the conversation between Haruki and Karen.

However…

“I’ll do my best in order to seal her.”

“Awahh!?”

“Ah, I’m looking forward to it!”

“Awawahh…”

Haruki and Karen casually ignored her.

Chep started to shiver inside the pocket.

If they kept on threatening her like that, she wouldn’t be able to do as she pleased… that much.

“Alright then, let’s give you a name already!”

Haruki had decided to name the little bird by the time the gate reached the 15th floor.

The little bird did look like a bird, so names that were usually given to birds would work.

Haruki would normally use a simple name, but this time, a particular name came to mind.

As he closely thought about that name, Haruki came to the conclusion that there was no better name for his new little friend.

— Alright.

— This name is good.

“Your name will be Maat, after the Egyptian Goddess of the same name.”

“Pii!!”

The tiny bird bowed fluffily in Haruki’s hand.

She seemed to like the name.

Maat was an ancient Egyptian god who governs truth, law, and justice.

Her body had large feathers, and it is said she was adept at using the dead’s past in order to pass judgment on them.

She was often depicted as a feathered woman, similar to a harpy.

— Maybe it’s too simple to choose a name like that only because her body is feathered too?

Haruki had been worried that it might have been a poor choice for a name, but Maat stuffed her legs inside her body and flapped her fluffy wings while bowing her head as usual.

— So you like it, huh?

Since neither Karen, Rhea, or Esta said anything against it, the tiny bird’s name was settled to be Maat.

After reaching the 15th floor, Haruki took out his Skill Board.

He swiped through it to check if Maat had a skill tree.

After about four swipes, Maat’s tree showed up on the screen.

However…

“Bwoooh!?”

Haruki spurted out his breath after seeing such a strange tree.

Maat (??)　Gender: Female

Skill Points: 17

Class: Healing Spirit Empress

Safeguard: Trial One <??????>

－Vitality ＜－＞

├ Stamina 3

└ Natural Recovery 2

－Strength ＜－＞

└ Strength 1

└ Damage Reduction 2

－Magic Power ＜－＞

├ Magic Power 7

├ Magic Compatibility 5

└ Magic Manipulation 8

└ Change <Healing> 4

－Agility ＜－＞

├ Quickness 3

└ Dexterity 4

－Technique ＜－＞

└  Equipment Mastery

└ Feathers 3

－Intuition ＜－＞

└ Detection 6

－Special

├ Safeguard 1

└ Scales　NONE

“What on earth…?”

Maat’s skills levels were too high. Those weren’t the stats of a beginner adventurer.

They were high enough to be comparable to those of an intermediate adventurer.

Even Esta, whose skill levels were high from the beginning, weren’t this high.

Not only did she have some high skill levels, she also had some skills Haruki had never seen before.

The first one was “Change <Healing>”.

Haruki didn’t need to open the skill’s details page to tell that it would be some sort of healing skill.

Seeing that skill, Haruki froze solid.

— This could be a very dangerous skill.

Even Karen’s magic was considered a desperate measure that would cause quite the uproar if revealed to other adventurers.

How bad would things get if not only magic was revealed to the public, but also that there was “healing magic” as well…?

Depending on how effective that “healing magic” was, it could be even worse than letting others know about Haruki’s Skill Board.

By itself, healing magic was a very convenient skill for adventurers.

However, Haruki was more afraid of the risks the skill had than he was pleased with its capabilities.

Equipment Mastery was just what it looked like. And Maat’s Feathers skill increased its defense as if it was armor.

Maat also had the Safeguard skill.

Haruki was wondering what kind of god would be offering its safeguard to Maat, but…

“Scales?”

He was more intrigued by the “Scales” skill.

Haruki tapped on it to see its description.

[Grants the ability to tilt the scales]

“I don’t get it at all…”

He wasn’t expecting much, but the description wasn’t really explaining anything.

Maat couldn’t speak as a human like Chep could. It seemed that confirming this mysterious skill’s effects would have to wait until later.

“What’s wrong, Karaboshi?”