I climbed the stone steps and stepped inside the temple.
The interior was striking—the floor, ceiling, and walls were all crafted from a translucent blue stone. Peculiarly shaped, glowing spherical crystals lined the walls at regular intervals. In the center of the room stood a massive cylindrical pedestal inscribed with a magic circle, and beside it rested something resembling a black stone slab.
"Incredible..."
The ruins were far too beautiful to have been crafted by human hands.
Approaching the central pedestal and slab, I began to inspect them closely.
The surface of the black slab bore the carved outline of a handprint. Did it want me to place my right palm over it?
Swallowing hard, I pressed my right hand against the stone—and then...
"Access from a God-rank or higher Gift confirmed. Attempting Player registration for Kai Heinemann............ Registration complete.
Welcome to the Gods' Ordeal. We sincerely wish the Player the best of luck in your endeavors."
A translucent window suddenly materialized before my eyes. Startled, I reflexively pulled my hand away from the slab, and the display vanished into thin air.
What was that just now? Text appeared, but... Let me try touching it one more time.
I pressed my right palm against the slab again, but it didn't react at all.
"What's this, then?"
Noticing a small, bar-like icon blinking at the edge of my peripheral vision, I reached out and tapped it. A translucent window instantly expanded across my field of view, bearing the following words:
—Rule 1: You cannot leave this place unless you clear this game.
—Rule 2: Those registered as Players will not age here, and time in the outside world is frozen.
—Rule 3: The Player is granted the skills Item Box and Special Appraisal, as well as the items Escape Boots and Unbreakable Stick.
—Rule 4: The maximum amount of elixir that can be stored in the Item Box is twenty cups.
By "game," it meant these ruins. In other words, I wouldn't be allowed to leave until I conquered them? Wait a minute! Conquering a ruin was something top-tier hunters tackled in full parties. And it expected me to clear it all by myself? That was impossible! Besides, if time inside and outside was frozen, the second I cleared it and stepped back out, I'd run straight into those monstrous beasts again. It wouldn't even buy me any time!
"Then what's the point of any of this?!"
No, calm down! What good was losing my head now? I needed to sort things out and think it through step by step.
Unless I cleared this "game," I couldn't leave the ruins. Time both inside and out would remain stopped until I left, but there was no time limit. On top of that, I had been granted five assets:
First, the Item Box. I still aspired to be a hunter, so I was thoroughly familiar with abilities of this nature. The Item Box was a skill typically acquired by Merchant-type Gift holders, granting the ability to store a designated volume of items.
Second, the Appraisal component of Special Appraisal was an ability that deciphered the properties of various objects—a skill usually exclusive to those with Gifts like Appraiser.
Third were the Escape Boots, an escape-oriented item; and fourth was the Unbreakable Stick, which, true to its name, was likely just an absurdly durable rod.
Finally, the elixir was an all-purpose panacea said to heal any wound in a heartbeat. That was something straight out of a fairy tale.
Skills like these were supposed to be locked behind specific Gifts. Mine was Most Incompetent in the World. By all accounts, obtaining them should have been impossible. Regardless, there was no harm in testing it.
"Item Box—whoa?!"
The moment the words left my mouth, a translucent window labeled "List" popped up right in front of me.
Tapping it with my finger brought up two entries: Escape Boots and Unbreakable Stick.
"Is this really an Item Box?"
Touching the Escape Boots entry with a trembling finger, a pair of black boots materialized on the floor before me. Fighting down the surge of excitement in my chest, I touched the boots and willed them to be stored.
"I-It disappeared..."
When I tapped the list interface again, the entry for Escape Boots was back.
"Amazing! This is unbelievable!"
The Item Box was considered exceptionally rare to begin with. After all, it was impossible to obtain without a Merchant-type Gift. And if I had truly acquired an Item Box skill, could I really use Appraisal, too?
Pulling the Escape Boots back out, I touched them and spoke aloud.
"Appraisal!"
A translucent window instantly expanded across my vision.
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★ [Escape Boots]: Boots that grant a high probability of successfully fleeing from enemies when retreat is chosen. However, if the wearer initiates combat of their own volition, the boots' escape properties will be negated for that battle.
Item Rank: Supreme Grade
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"Incredible..."
Unconsciously, I clenched both fists tight.
I had never even heard of footwear that made escaping from enemies easier. It was truly an item on par with a national treasure. With these Escape Boots, my chances of slipping away from those beasts outside after clearing this "game" would skyrocket.
Checking the Unbreakable Stick revealed that it, too, was a Supreme Grade item. The Appraisal read: "A stick that will never degrade or break." It was another artifact far beyond the realm of human craftsmanship.
Regardless, with the two rare skills of Appraisal and Item Box in hand, even someone with my trash Gift could make a living as a hunter. That was practically the fulfillment of my lifelong dream.
Now I had a plan for after clearing the game. With that settled, I could focus entirely on beating it.
Wait. If I had Appraisal, could I use it to analyze myself?
Targeting myself, I called out, "Appraisal!" A status display floated up before me.
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★ Status
[Name] Kai Heinemann
[Age] 15 (Aging Suspended)
[Gift] Most Incompetent in the World (God-rank)
[HP] 5
[MP] 3
[Strength] 0.1
[Endurance] 0.1
[Agility] 0.1
[Magic Power] 0.1
[Magic Resistance] 0.1
[Luck] 0.1
★ Possessed Skills: [Item Box], [Special Appraisal]
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Yes! An Appraiser's Appraisal typically included the function to evaluate an individual's personal parameters.
Was this status readout the exact same numerical evaluation system officially used by the Hunter Guild? I had heard that with the cooperation of individuals possessing self-appraisal abilities, the Hunter Guild had developed and deployed magic tools capable of evaluating personal combat parameters for practical field use.
I didn't know the Guild's baseline standards for actual hunters, but my stats averaged a flat 0.1... I had to be unimaginably weak. No doubt another consequence of my Gift, Most Incompetent in the World.
That aside, the entry for my Gift was currently blinking. Curious, I gave it a tap.
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○ Gift: Most Incompetent in the World
Description: A Gift borne by the least talented individual in the world. While relative talent affinity and growth rates are the lowest among all sentient lifeforms, the bearer's absolute incompetence means they possess no limits across all disciplines.
Gift Rank: God-rank
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No limits across all disciplines, huh? The phrasing was too vague to fully grasp, but did it mean hard work would always yield results? If so, was this actually an incredible Gift in disguise? No, at the end of the day, it was still my Gift. I shouldn't get my hopes up. The truth would reveal itself soon enough anyway.
Now, for the final item: the elixir.
In myths and folklore, elixir was a miraculous panacea that could heal any ailment in an instant. Frankly, it was hard to believe, but a supposedly incompetent guy like me had already gained Appraisal and Item Box. There was always a chance. It seemed wisest to appraise everything around me.
"No way..."
The Appraisal result for the lake near the tree line was nothing short of astonishing.
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○ Spring of Elixir: A spring that infinitely produces the panacea known as elixir.
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What kind of ridiculous spring produced a limitless supply of elixir?!
To test it, I drew the knife at my waist, made a small nick on the tip of my right index finger, and dipped it into the water.
"It healed..."
Stunned by the surreal sight, I stood there gaping like a fish. A heartbeat later, an overwhelming surge of pure euphoria welled up from the depths of my soul, and a roar tore from my throat with enough force to shred my vocal cords.
—Looking back, I was laughably naive.
After all, branded as the most incompetent person in the world, I had suddenly acquired rare skills like Item Box and Appraisal, alongside the discovery of the century: a spring bubbling with infinite elixir. Not even a first-rate hunter could claim such a feat. If I reported this to the Hunter Guild, my future would be paved with gold.
I foolishly convinced myself that I could finally become a first-rate hunter, just like my mother. But I hadn't understood. I had forgotten the simplest, harshest truth of all: if something sounds too good to be true, there's always a catch—and every miracle demands a steep price in suffering!