Chapter 143: Inspire

“For such a massive fact to be revealed already…? Is this really okay?? Isn’t this content that should appear in the latter half of the work??? Just putting a filter on the skill unlock conditions isn’t everything, you know????”

“Mwe-ang? Mya-ang??”

Perhaps surprised by the way I held my head while staring at the skill window and shouting question marks, Yor circled around me in confusion.

Did the baby Dragon become anxious because I was overly agitated?

Thinking that made me feel apologetic, and I felt the need to pull myself together.

‘I shouldn’t be like this. Let’s stay calm, calm…’

What I need most at this moment is my cute and lovely baby Dragon.

When I called out, “Yor,” and lightly tapped my lap, the baby Dragon stopped his spinning and quickly flew over to settle on my lap.

As I stroked the baby Dragon, I felt my heart beginning to steady.

“……So. I’ve concluded that the attribute of this Sky-Blue Aether is ‘Divine Power,’ but is my guess correct?”

After organizing my thoughts and conveying them to Yor, I ended with a question.

Judging by Yor’s reactions so far.

This baby Dragon must have known what kind of attribute the Sky-Blue Aether possessed.

“Meow~!”

Judging by the refreshing answer, it seems I am right.

“Did you happen to know that I had the [Writing] skill as well?”

“Meow-nyan. Nya-nyan, Me-ow, Myo-oo, Meow-meow Myang-myang.”

“……?”

I couldn’t understand at all what Yor was meowing about.

As I just blinked my eyes blankly, he finally pulled a Whitenboard out of his Yeouiju and wrote down some letters.

「 Known X / Guessed 」

“You didn’t know for sure, but you roughly guessed that I would obtain such a skill?”

“Meow-meow~”

“The reason you didn’t write it down to explain when I asked about the Sky-Blue Aether ability… was it because it was a fact I’d find out soon enough anyway, and you thought it would be easier to accept if I realized it myself?”

“Meow, Mya-ow~!”

Yor meowed while nodding his head repeatedly.

I had felt a bit of resentment inwardly since he clearly knew something but wouldn’t explain, but that feeling melted away as I finally understood Yor’s attitude.

“Then, shall we finish checking the skill descriptions?”

“Meow~!”

Even if I stare at the description window of a skill I can’t use right now for a long time, the word [Locked] isn’t going to suddenly disappear.

Therefore, after closing the [Writing] skill’s description window, I touched the words [Weather Change].

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[Weather Change] – (S)

: Controls and governs phenomena occurring in the atmosphere.

: Additional abilities unlocked according to proficiency level.

Step 1. Cloud Formatio

Step 2. Airflow Manipulation [Locked]

==========

“The lock symbol appeared again…”

Just in case, I opened Yor’s [Weather Change] skill description window as well, and the content was identical, down to the last syllable.

After notifying Yor of that fact, I read the description of the [Weather Change] skill aloud.

“Ah, right. Yor. Come to think of it, didn’t you say that later on, it would be possible to make it snow, hail, or even generate lightning?”

“Meow!”

“In that case, would Step 3 abilities be viewable only after raising the skill rank?”

“Meow-meow~”

To raise a skill rank, it is first necessary to pull the proficiency level of the current rank to its limit.

Concluding that I should think about crossing the rank wall later and aim for unlocking Step 2 for now.

This time, I opened the description window for the [Crustal Movement] skill.

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[Crustal Movement] – (S) [Locked]

: Can be unlocked when the following conditions are met.

Condition. Unlock the Step 4 ability of the [Weather Change] skill.

==========

It means it can only be unlocked after raising the rank of the [Weather Change] skill and then pulling up the proficiency.

It’s a long way to go.

But even so, the reason I don’t feel it’s an impossible task is likely because I checked the unlock conditions for the 【Writing】 skill first.

The fact that there was only one condition and no filters were applied made it seem like something quite worth trying.

That’s why I felt at ease as I read the skill description aloud and moved on to the next.

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[Character Analysis] – (S)

: A skill derived as a reflection of {Tendency: Author}.

: An author should naturally know how to describe hidden psychology through a character’s tone, facial expressions, and actions, or how to devise the next move.

: Grants Mental Acceleration effect while analyzing a character.

==========

Since I already knew well about the Mental Acceleration effect, there was nothing particularly noteworthy to look at.

‘My concentration was scattered so it kept cutting out, but this skill did activate earlier when I faced the Boss Monster, right?’

It seems that, quite generously, monsters are also counted as ‘characters.’

Since more utility is always better, it’s a good thing for me.

“Then, is it time to check the Purple Aether skills?”

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【Goyang】 (S)

Amplify abilities by raising a sense of exaltation. As the amplitude of the sound waves increases, the stat increment rises; in this case, the target must be able to hear the sound.

: Effect – All stats except Aether * n.nn

Maximum coefficient increase by sound waves – [1.23]

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【Encourage】 (B)

: A skill derived as a reflection of {Tendency: Possessiveness}.

: Strengthens abilities by awakening the will of a being belonging to oneself. Can only be applied to targets who have been granted a in the form of ‘My OOO’.

: Effect – All stats except Aether increase by [3] per keyword.

Keywords registered to date

: Jormungand – ‘My Familiar’, ‘My Happiness’, ‘My Comfort’, ‘My Understanding’

: Karbaldr – ‘My Possessed Body’

==========

【Inspire】 (S)

: A skill derived as a reflection of {Tendency: Author}.

: Narratives flow and characters advance through the author’s sentences. Let us open an opportunity for them to be active by temporarily drawing out the target’s potential.

: Effect – Aether Attribute skills strengthened by [1.10] times.

This Buff effect does not apply to this specific skill.

==========

For reference, the numbers inside the ‘[]’ are values that change according to proficiency.

Thus, if the value no longer increases and stagnates no matter how much one trains, it can be seen as being blocked by a rank wall……

That isn’t what’s important right now.

“It strengthens Aether Attribute skills…?!”

“Meow…?!”

After reading the description for [Inspire], I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.

Because even the ‘Saint’ of the Holy Theocracy, a character specialized in healing and Buffs who appeared in the latest chapter of the Original Work.

Couldn’t cast a Buff that strengthens Aether Attribute skills.

One only needs to think for a moment to realize how great of an ability it is to strengthen a skill.

When blocked by a rank wall, if this Buff effect is applied, one might be able to experience abilities beyond the wall.

In other words, it provides a hint to break the wall.

‘The fact that it says the Buff doesn’t apply to the skill itself means I can use [Inspire] on myself too, right?’

If I use [Inspire] on myself, the stats increased by [Goyang] and [Encourage] would likely increase further.

After informing Yor of this fact along with the description of the [Inspire] skill, I spoke the following hypothesis.

“Though the skill multiplier is only 1.10 times right now because the proficiency is low… Still, if I had used [Goyang] strengthened by 【Inspire】 on Liolikin, and even strengthened [Protective Armor]… Might Liolikin have been able to hold out a bit longer against the Boss Monster?”

“Meow-meow… Nyat—!”

“If that were the case, the target Reysir Daudabina hugged would have changed to Liolikin….”

“Meow-meow…, Gya-oh?”

What use is it to regret what has already passed?

Moreover, if I had checked the skill window back then, I might have handled things poorly instead because of the panic caused by discovering the G-rank skill, 【Writing】.

So, I decided to set aside the regret and finish checking the skills.

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[Whip Technique] – (D)

[Dagger Arts] – (E)

[Martial Arts] – (F)

==========

The above are my general skill lists.

I even received one-on-one tutoring from Vigdis for Swordsmanship, but it wasn’t even registered as a skill.

Even considering that she lacks talent in teaching, at this point, it had to be seen that this body’s talent for Swordsmanship was simply at a disastrous level.

Ah.

‘In the future, I should ask her to just spar during those tutoring sessions. That would probably be more efficient.’

Since the skills listed above were ‘what you see is what you get,’ describing a scene of opening and reading their windows would just be a waste of word count.

Therefore, I’ll skip them and look at Yor’s general skill list.

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[Miniaturization] – (S) [Applied]

[Dragon Fear] – (SC)

[Mental Interference Immunity] – (SS)

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[Dragon Fear] – (SC)

: Overpowers the opponent’s mind with dignity by revealing the presence of a great Dragon.

Currently, the skill rank is downgraded due to the user’s appearance.

==========

“Right. Yor is a Dragon and this world is a fantasy novel, so it’s only natural that you’d be able to use [Dragon Fear]. Since you’re still a baby and have a small, cute, tiny, and adorable appearance, the dignity isn’t coming through, so it seems the rank dropped. Anyway, it was because of this skill that Liolikin and the Boss Monster cowered when they saw your eyes, right?”

“Meow-meow!”

“But what does it mean that the 【Miniaturization】 skill is being applied…?”

While common Familiars are born with a [Giantification] skill, I can accept that Yor has a [Miniaturization] skill.

Lya.

Presumably, it’s because of the specificity of the ‘Dragon’ race.

However, I couldn’t just pass over the fact that this skill was currently being applied.

This meant that Yor’s true body was larger than what I was seeing now.

「 Me = Growth Phase 」

“So… you grew? And that’s why you’re reducing your size with the [Miniaturization] skill?”

“Meow~”

“Then how big do you get if you deactivate the [Miniaturization] skill…?”

“Mya-ow Mya!!”

In response to my question, Yor answered majestically and spun his body once in the air.

Then, as a sky-blue mist enveloped Yor’s body and disappeared—

The baby dragon became very slightly longer. Roughly about 5 centimeters?

“……Yor, could you come here for a moment?”

“Nyan-nyan~!”

When I hugged him, it felt like his body circumference had increased a bit too.

This, too, was very slight. To the point it could be dismissed as an illusion.

Naturally, a change of this degree couldn’t affect the [Dragon Fear] skill rank.

As a result of looking at Yor’s status window, no changes in stats could be observed either.

I almost let out a hollow laugh because it was so ridiculous.

But how could I lightly dismiss the growth of my lovely Familiar as if it were nothing—

“You’ve been growing steadily~?! I wonder if you’ll suddenly become huge and turn into a majestic adult Dragon soon??”

“Meow-meow nyan-hahat~!”

“Is the reason you’re keeping [Miniaturization] active because it would be inconvenient in daily life if you got too big?”

“Meow~!”

“But you know? I want to see the process of our Yor growing too. So, won’t you occasionally undo [Miniaturization] and show me your true form?”

“Mat…! Meow, Mya-aaaaang~~!”

Yor was extremely delighted by my words, and with his body that was about 5 centimeters longer than usual, he coiled around me and rubbed his cheek against mine.

Due to Yor’s actions, I also felt overwhelming joy and happiness.

“Should we just relax and play with Yor today instead of studying or training until dinner?”

“LF LF LF LF LF_!!”

Yor showed a more enthusiastic reaction than ever before and vigorously shook his Yeouiju.

Then, the Yeouiju spat out some items……

“You want to play with these…?”

“Meow-meow nya~!!”

To think I’d see the items I had prepared back in episode 31 again like this.

The words “You’re a Dragon and these are toys for cats” rose up to my throat.

But facing those sky-blue eyes shining brightly with anticipation, I couldn’t bring myself to nitpick.

I busily waved the stick with feathers attached so that Yor could enjoy a hunting game.

Fortunately, since my Agility stat was higher than Yor’s, the baby Dragon didn’t find it boring and had a lot of fun.

Until now, Yor had often shown a mature side, and since he’s a Dragon, I thought he wouldn’t be interested in this kind of play.

I felt that I should make time to play with toys more often in the future.