Appraisal-sama is absolutely insane.
The displayed list showed all the skills I could acquire along with the required point costs.
My current points: 200.
The minimum cost was 100, so I could acquire two 100-point skills or one 200-point skill.
Well, that's all well and good.
The important thing here is that unacquired skills showed up in the Appraisal results.
Once they're displayed, I can perform a double Appraisal.
Which means I can examine the effects of unacquired skills through Appraisal without actually spending any points to obtain them!
Fantastic!
With this function, I can hunt down useful skills and won't have to nervously acquire them like before, worrying about whether they'd actually be any good.
On top of that, without having to spend Skill Points at all, I might be able to find skills that could be learned purely through raising Proficiency.
The range of unacquired skills had just expanded dramatically.
So with that said, why don't I go ahead and Appraise every skill on that list one by one?
《Proficiency has reached a certain threshold. Skill "Overeating LV5" has become "Overeating LV6"》 I kept Appraising while continuing to eat, and the Overeating skill level went up again.
There were still plenty of monkeys left, and my stomach was nowhere near its limit.
My stomach is incredible.
Is there maybe a title called "Interdimensional Stomach"?
Phew.
Amazing, truly.
With just the skills currently displayed, I could almost put together a whole skill compendium.
Will there be even more once I save up to 300 points?
Probably, yeah.
But grinding levels to get there is such a drag.
This time I leveled up like crazy from that death match with the monkeys, but normally you don't gain that many levels all at once.
But if I spend points, the currently displayed skills would stop showing up.
That's a problem.
But there are skills I really want to get.
What a dilemma.
What should I do? Spend my Skill Points on skills, or save them and hoard the points?
Ugh, I can't decide.
I'd already finished Appraising all the currently displayed skills.
Among them, there were a few that caught my eye.
"Magic Power Perception: Enables the perception of magic power."
"Magic Power Operation: Enables the manipulation of magic power."
These two — could they possibly be required for casting magic?
They sure look the part, and I find it suspicious that they appear side by side on the list.
They're probably the type of skills that work as a set.
At 200 points, I could acquire both.
But there's a major problem.
The thing is, I already have Magic Power Perception.
It's part of Detection.
That's right — the Detection skill includes Magic Power Perception within it.
Which means that even if I acquire Magic Power Perception as a standalone skill, it could get merged into Detection.
That won't do.
Or rather, if that happens, I might never be able to use magic for the rest of my life.
I wouldn't be able to activate Detection, and without that, I couldn't activate Magic Power Perception either.
If my suspicion is correct — that these two skills are both required to cast magic — then I'd be completely screwed.
Wait, what kind of malicious bug is this?
No, no, no.
It's not a done deal yet.
I'm sure I'll be able to use magic someday.
Right, so I'll put this matter on hold for now.
There are skills that might let me use Detection as well.
But whether those would actually work is really uncertain, and I don't want to throw precious Skill Points at something that might end up being another waste.
What I really need here are skills with clear, immediate effects that I can put to use right away.
The Poison Claw I'd previously considered acquiring with Skill Points? I already have the superior Poison Attack, so I don't need it.
SP Cost Reduction — there's no downside to having it, but with Overeating in my arsenal, it's not exactly top priority.
Actually, I acquired HP Auto Recovery naturally through Proficiency, so SP Cost Reduction might come along the same way eventually.
So anyway, while I'm pretending to deliberate, the truth is I've already made up my mind about which skill to take.
All that's left is to make the choice: acquire it, or save the points.
That skill stood head and shoulders above the rest.
In every possible way.
"Pride (100): A fraction of n% of the power that reaches toward the divine. The Experience Points and Proficiency gained increase dramatically, and each growth stat is boosted. Furthermore, it transcends the W System and grants the right to interfere with the MA Domain."
I don't understand a word of it.
Neither the meaning of the description nor why such a skill could be acquired for a mere 100 points.
n%, W, MA Domain — I tried Appraising all these unintelligible terms, but every single result came back as "Unable to Appraise."
From the description alone, all I can barely grasp is that this skill boosts Experience Points and Proficiency, and that it apparently applies some kind of growth modifier.
Even that alone would be a bargain.
Honestly, I'm torn.
A skill with this many unknowns is way too dangerous.
There's no telling what kind of drawbacks it carries.
But even weighing all that, the benefits are enormous.
I can't find any other skill that boosts Experience Points and Proficiency like this.
As for the growth modifier — I have no idea how significant the effect is, but having it versus not having it is a world of difference.
What on earth should I do?