Lucien handed all the drops he got from the soilwyrms to Sebas, calling him over with a short command.
He gave a quick rundown on how to use the items and told him to get the help of the subjects. Without another word, Sebas turned and left to carry out the order.
Now alone, Lucien's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"System, show me the notifications again." He said, almost breathless with excitement.
A cascade of notifications began to appear before him and Lucien grinned like a child in a candy store.
...
[Ting!]
[You killed a person. You gained all his assets: 50 gold.]
...
[Ting!]
[A Skill Card has dropped]
[CONDITIONS MET]
[SKILLPEDIA (incomplete) is now unlocked]
[Launching system interface...]
< STATUS >
< INVENTORY >
< SKILLPEDIA (incomplete) (inherited) > (NEW)
< ??? (inherited) > (Conditions not met)
< ??? > (Conditions not met)
< ??? > (Conditions not met)
[Skill Cards will be stored in the SKILLPEDIA]
...
[Ting!]
Earn more gold from drops than your current net worth.
Reward: Title: Side Hustle Hero (+100% more coins from future drops)
...
Lucien's jaw dropped. There was so much to process.
He had leveled up for the first time. He realized that leveling up increased his inventory slots or maybe there were other ways too.
And a skill had dropped? He hadn't even known that was possible.
The achievement title made him cringe but the bonus effect eased the sting. Double gold from future drops? That, he could live with.
What truly grabbed his attention though was the SKILLPEDIA. It intrigued him more than anything else.
The word "inherited" still raised a dozen questions on Lucien. What did it mean? What had he inherited? From who?
As usual, the system offered no explanation. It wasn't known for being user-friendly.
In an instant, a book materialized out of thin air floating in front of him. It hovered weightlessly.
"Woah… how cool is that?" Lucien's eyes sparkled. He reached out and ran his fingers along the engraved patterns on the leather cover.
After a moment of marveling, he opened the book.
The moment Lucien caught a glimpse of the first page, a wave of goosebumps prickled down his arms.
"This…" he whispered while his eyes scanned the text.
It was exactly what it sounded like. Skillpedia, short for Skill Encyclopedia. As the name suggested, it contained an overview of skills.
But as he flipped through, he quickly noticed something strange. The book only listed the names of skills he had either learned or seen through SCAN.
Only a handful of entries had full descriptions. Most pages were filled with nothing but question marks.
He figured the lack of information must be because the SKILLPEDIA was still in its incomplete state.
As he flipped through the pages, something odd caught his attention. The number of pages didn't seem to decrease. No matter how many times he turned them, the book just kept going.
Curious, he spent a few minutes trying to find the end, but it was like chasing a horizon. The pages went on and on. Eventually, he tried flipping it from the back… and found the same result.
'Could this thing store an unlimited number of skills?' he wondered.
Returning to the first page, he began searching for the skill card he had received from the drop.
***
Skill (Passive): ★
Illustration: A man in a suit, confidently delivering a speech.
Name: DECEPTION
Description: Higher chance that your words are believable.
***
"F*ck, why didn't his other skill drop?" Lucien muttered in disappointment. He had been hoping for the flashier active skill like Preemptive Strike.
Still, Deception wasn't bad. In fact, now that he thought about it, it explained a lot. It must've been the reason people trusted Dreggor so easily.
"Well… maybe it's not a useless skill after all," he admitted with a sigh.
But even that thought was quickly overshadowed by something far more important.
The SKILLPEDIA held a much bigger secret.
"Damn... this is huge. If anyone finds out, I'm dead."
He wasn't being dramatic. The secret hidden in these pages was something scholars, nobles and warriors had argued about for generations.
Because this book didn't just describe skills...
It showed how to obtain them.
Fortunately, the character in the book was miraculously written in English. It's a language no one else in this world could understand. He had no idea where the book came from or why it was written in English but there was no use dwelling on questions without answers.
Lucien exhaled slowly with his heart pounding. Then with a mix of curiosity and dread, he tapped on one of the entries in the Skillpedia.
***
Skill (Active): ★★
Illustration: A man striking down a surprised foe.
Name: PREEMPTIVE STRIKE
Description: A sure-hit attack that stuns the enemy before impact.
How to Obtain:
• Must have proficiency with sharp weapons
• Kill 100 targets in one hit by landing hits on their vital points
***
Lucien let out another sigh. Preemptive Strike was supposed to guarantee a hit, but it had failed. Sebas was simply too powerful compared to Dreggor.
That realization only fueled his curiosity. 'Just what kind of skills does Sebas have…?'
***
Skill (Active): ★★★
Illustration: A butler holding a tray, a hidden blade gleaming inside.
Name: BLADE IN A TRAY
Description: You won't even realize you're dead.
How to Obtain:
• Must have proficiency with hidden weapons
• Train in assassination techniques non-stop for 10 years
• Kill 100 targets without them noticing their death
***
***
Skill (Passive): ★★★
Illustration: A faint footprint.
Name: SILENT STEP
Description: Sound is your enemy.
How to Obtain:
• Deep understanding of sound
• Do not make a sound for one full year
***
"Damn that Sebas!" Lucien growled. "He was hiding these insane skills all this time! F*cking maniac."
Now that he knew how to acquire them, it only made things worse.
"I mean, I could train for them... but why go through all that when I can just get skills from drops?"
He shook his head, still in disbelief.
He then looked up his skill: SCAN…
To his surprise, it had a rarity rating of ★★★ (RARE).
'No wonder the strain was so intense,' Lucien thought. He guessed that the higher a skill's rarity, the harsher its side effects.
Next, he searched for another one of his skills: Drop Rate: MAX.
"Strange… why isn't it listed?" he muttered. "Maybe the system doesn't register cheat-type skills haha…"
He then sighed, deciding not to dwell on it. The system rarely gave him clear answers anyway.
Still, the SKILLPEDIA had truly caught him off guard. It was far more powerful than he initially realized.
But he also knows that there were different ways to gain skills that are not listed in the SKILLPEDIA.
He could earn them through drops. Others were born with them... or inherited them through bloodlines or mysterious circumstances.
Then there were the rare ones. Skills that couldn't be learned or taught unless you had a natural affinity, like the elusive Item Box.
Lucien was deep in thought, already considering the possibilities.
The SKILLPEDIA showed the exact conditions needed to learn a skill but those conditions were brutal.
He glanced at the entry for SCAN again and noticed that the way he had acquired it perfectly matched the listed conditions.
That made him wonder.
How many people out there had unknowingly met a skill's conditions and awakened it by pure chance?
'Hard work matters,' he mused, 'but without knowing the conditions, you're just stabbing in the dark.'
Then an idea suddenly sparked. It was wild and ambitious but thrilling.
"What if… I trained an army?" he muttered, eyes lighting up. "Yeah. Give each soldier a set of useful skills. Imagine an entire squad trained in Silent Step…"
A wicked grin spread across his face.
"I could assassinate that damned king. And that Coalheart bastard too. Ha! Nice, nice! This is great!"
He leaned back with his mind racing with strategies, already planning the future.
He then flipped back to the DECEPTION skill card and hesitated.
"How do I use it?"
[Ting!]
[Skill Cards can be activated by touching them to your forehead.]
Without a second thought, Lucien pressed the card to his forehead. It glowed and dissolved into his skin.
"STATUS."
***
Name: Lucien Lootwell ♂
Age: 12 years old
Race: Human (Reincarnated)
Job: Drop Out
Level: 3
Title/s:
• Young Lord of Lootwell
• Menace to Society
• Side Hustle Hero
Skill:
• Drop Rate: MAX
• Scan
• Deception
Charisma: 20
***
Lucien smiled in satisfaction as he reviewed his status. Now, all he wanted was to dive back into the dungeon to level up and, of course, to score more drops.
But beyond that, he knew he had to start planning how to improve his territory.
When Vivian returned, he wanted her to see the results of his hard work through a better home and a brighter future.
Lost in those thoughts, a sharp knock at the door pulled him back to reality. It was Sebas.
"Young lord, this is Sebas."
Lucien felt a flicker of irritation at Sebas's Silent Step. The sudden knock had nearly startled him.
He took a deep breath and steadied himself. "Enter."
"Young Lord… The merchant is here," Sebas announced quietly.
"What? That damned merchant?" Lucien snapped and his frustration bubbled up. "He's too late! Get him here now!"
Deep down, Lucien knew his anger was unfair. The merchant's delay wasn't truly his fault.
But as a human, it was all too easy and all too helpless to lash out at someone else. Even Lucien found that thought bitter.
He closed his eyes briefly, steadying his mind. His parents were gone. There was no one left to blame but his own helpless self back then.
Moments later, Sebas returned escorting a man behind him.