2. Game-like Status

I reached for the Pandora Gifts, desperate for a cheat item—but somehow, I caught myself and pulled back.

No, no, no. This was the exact mindset of a degenerate gambler on a downward spiral. It wasn’t like I was doomed to die yet; I needed to keep a cool head.

I took a deep breath and surveyed the room—or rather, the hut.

After my former master purchased me, I had been loaded into a carriage and brought to this solitary shack in the middle of the forest. I wasn't sure what its original purpose was, but since he’d brought me here specifically to avoid prying eyes, I assumed it was a place where people rarely ventured. That meant I could probably settle in here for a while without any issues.

The only problem was securing food. I was in the middle of a forest, so there was bound to be something edible if I looked, but I didn't have the knowledge to tell the difference between a snack and a poison.

As I sat there wondering what to do, something shiny caught the corner of my eye. I looked closer and found the Appraisal Loupe my former master had been using.

Now then.

Stealing is wrong. However, I told myself that "borrowing" it temporarily was perfectly acceptable. Besides, I doubted my former master would find it easy to return to the scene where he’d been forcing an illegal slave to open Pandora Gifts. If I left it here, the loupe would just go to waste. It would be much better for me to look after it; that way, I could return it to him if we ever crossed paths again. Yes, that was definitely the right way to look at it.

And so, I decided the Appraisal Loupe was officially under my care. Tools were meant to be used, so I intended to make the most of it while I had it.

With this, finding food in the forest should be much easier. It should at least be able to tell me if something was edible.

The only issue was that I didn't actually know how to use it. I wondered if I just had to look through the glass.

I decided to test it on my own arm. As I peered through the loupe, information I shouldn't have known began to surface in my mind.

Name: Tort Race: Commoner Age: 12 Level: 1

Vitality: 15/15 Mana: 13/13

Strength: 6 Endurance: 7 Agility: 8 Dexterity: 12 Magic: 12 Spirit: 10 Luck: 100

Skills: 【Destiny God's Smile】

Traits: 【Cooking Talent Lv1】【Great Luck】【Dexterous Fingertips Lv1】

Whoa, it’s just like a game!

This kind of thing really got my blood pumping. I didn't have a frame of reference to know how high my stats actually were, but one thing was obvious: my Luck was absurdly high. This was likely the combined result of the 【Destiny God's Smile】 skill I’d gained from the scroll and my 【Great Luck】 trait.

Based on my stats, I seemed to be a Thief-type. With Luck like this, I could probably handle lockpicking and disarming traps without breaking a sweat. Then again, in some games, Thieves were considered a useless class. In the Wizardry-style games I’d loved in my past life, Thief Skills were a must-have for any party, but I wondered how they were perceived in this world. Since dungeons existed here, they probably weren't total dead weight.

Ah, but I noticed there was no "Class" column. I wondered if that was because I hadn't picked one yet, or if this world simply didn't have a game-like class system. The adventurers who had used me as bait had distinct roles like "Warrior" or "Archer," but I didn't know if those were actual job titles or just descriptions of what they did.

Well, whatever. I was free now. It wasn't like I’d committed to becoming an adventurer, so I could just worry about that if the need ever arose.

More importantly, I wondered if I could see the details of my skills and traits. I particularly didn't understand the mechanics of 【Destiny God's Smile】. Since even my former master didn't know what it did, I figured I might be out of luck.

Despite my doubts, I focused on my desire to know more—and as if answering my wish, additional information surged into my mind. Talk about convenient.

To put it in game terms, 【Destiny God's Smile】 was a permanent passive skill. Its effects were "Positive Luck Correction" and "Once per day, evade a fatal fate and convert it into a favorable event."

Wait, wasn’t that second effect incredibly powerful? As a countermeasure for the risks of Pandora Gifts, it was practically perfect. I wasn't sure exactly what qualified as a "fatal fate," but it basically meant I could cheat death once a day. Not only that, but the bad luck would turn into something good.

Come to think of it, the fact that the Elixir Soma appeared on my second try... could that have been the skill triggering?

That was close... I couldn't be certain, but the probability felt high. Good job, Master, for making me use that scroll! And good job to me for pulling the scroll in the first place.

Which meant...

If 【Destiny God's Smile】 really worked like that, there was no reason not to open the remaining Pandora Gifts. If I only opened one a day, I could keep the risk to an absolute minimum. I’d stay my hand for today, but starting tomorrow, I’d open them one by one.

Finally, I checked my traits. It seemed 【Cooking Talent】 gave a bonus to the growth of cooking-related skills and improved the quality of whatever I made. There were three levels: Lv1 was "Talented," Lv2 was "Genius," and Lv3 was "Peerless Genius."

In my case, I had the talent, but it was currently dormant. I hadn't exactly had the chance to do any proper cooking since being reincarnated as Tort, so that made sense.

Actually, did I really have no skills other than 【Destiny God's Smile】? How was that even possible?

...Actually, I could see why.

I’d helped my parents with farm work, but it was mostly just menial chores. I didn't have any real hobbies, and until my memories returned, I had been a pretty vacant, listless child. I’d never truly dedicated myself to a single craft, so it made sense that no skills had manifested yet.

Well, I was only twelve. My life was just beginning.

【Great Luck】 seemed to be a lower-tier version of 【Destiny God's Smile】. It simply provided a positive boost to Luck. Since the two were likely stacking, that explained why my Luck stat was through the roof.

【Dexterous Fingertips】 was a trait similar to 【Cooking Talent】, but it applied to all skills influenced by manual dexterity. That would probably benefit my cooking as well.

Considering my traits, I’d probably be a huge success if I ever decided to open a restaurant.