1699 Skill Ownership
"Hmm. My current wealth should be enough to get the Skills I want."
Eren concluded as he looked at the number of Menaka's Runes on his Spectral Screen. He then sighed at the fact that he had been working hard to earn something he couldn't even touch with his own hands.
"This virtual wealth feels like one huge scam to me," he mumbled to himself. He became kinda homesick as he remembered how wealthy he had been in Anfang.
His homeworld had tangible wealth. For all the benefits the Mesh provided to him, this was something Labh Salem couldn't give him. Not really.
Labh Salem liberated his actions. But he felt like this world had trapped his mind somewhere, forcing him to run after something he could only see as digits on a Spectral Screen.
"When in Rome do as the Romans do, huh? Instead of fighting it, I better find ways to exploit this system and make it work in my favor. That fat bird surely had some weirdly wise things to say."
Eren smiled as he remembered something Argo used to tell him. He wondered if he would get to meet him ever again in a different form.
"Maybe the concept of money itself is made up, a fabric of one's imagination. It feels real because we give it value. And as long as we keep on doing that, it is as real as the elements of the world. And that's what matters in the end."
Eren started hunting demons one after the other in the past five months, which allowed him to learn more in every aspect. It made him understand the necessary changes he needed to make in his battle style to make him more used to employing the Skills in his possession.
Initially, Eren was a bit downcast to learn the fact that he could not obtain the demons' Skills after devouring them. His targets bought the Skills through Menaka's Market. They were not the owner of the Skills themselves.
As such, Eren could not claim the targets' Skills after their deaths. The Mesh just severed the connection with the targets when they died.
Basically, the Skills were the Mesh's property that was lent to all living beings who had been blessed with the Menaka's Blessing. The Mesh would reclaim the Skills it had lent to the patrons in the case of their deaths.
There was no way for Eren to change the rules of the agreement that took place between Goddess Menaka and those who accepted her Blessing. Not unless he messed with someone's soul using his divine powers.
'Naah. I should drop that idea. I already have too many gods as my enemies. I don't want to add more to the list. Especially someone like Menaka.
Plus, I don't know to what extent she could keep tabs on those who she has blessed. Unless I can go off the Mesh and become invisible, I should not think about breaking the Mesh.'
Eren didn't want to mess with the Mesh or the goddess who supported it at this point. No matter how greedy he was for the acquisition of new Skills, he didn't want to offend a goddess by experimenting with someone's soul in order to bypass the restrictions on one's soul.
This chapter's initial release occurred on the N0v3l-B1n site.