Having heard my story, Amanda-san seemed at a loss for how to respond.
"...It's a wonder you grew into such a good kid coming from a household like that, Erik."
After pondering for a moment, she offered those words.
"On the contrary, it might be precisely because of that environment. If I'd grown up in a normal family, I probably would've just turned out like any ordinary kid."
"That may well be true. Still, Erik... I'm really glad you survived."
"Yes. Right now, every day is fun. I want to experience all sorts of things from here on out, so I plan to keep on living."
When I said that, Amanda-san's face softened into a smile.
After finishing my chores for the morning and eating breakfast, I equipped my gear as usual and set out from the inn.
"Erik-kun, could you come over here for a second?"
Upon arriving at the Adventurer's Guild, I moved toward the reception counter.
Reina-san wasn't at her station, however; she called out as she approached from a different direction instead.
"When I told the Guildmaster about that matter, he asked me to bring you straight to the training grounds the moment you arrived."
"Is that so? Understood."
Nodding in agreement, I accompanied Reina-san to the training grounds.
"Hey, kid. I heard from Reina—did you really acquire the skill?"
When we stepped into the training area, Ryan-san was already waiting.
In response to his question, I activated [Physical Enhancement] on the spot.
"Can you tell?"
"...Haha, now that's incredible! I've never seen or heard of anyone picking up a skill in just two days!"
"Erik-kun, you really are amazing."
After confirming that I could use the skill, both Ryan-san and Reina-san showered me with praise.
"Still, you got the hang of it way faster than you did with [Swordsmanship]. Was there any difference?"
"I don't fully understand my special skill yet, either. But I think conscious intent and knowledge are two crucial factors."
"Conscious intent and knowledge? You mean the desire to gain the skill, and having the knowledge of how it works?"
"Exactly. In this case, Ryan-san recommended [Physical Enhancement] to me, and I set out to learn it. That fulfilled the conscious intent part. As for the knowledge, Ryan-san gave me thorough instruction, which cleared that requirement as well."
I laid out the two essential elements to Ryan-san and Reina-san.
"How was it with [Swordsmanship], then? Did things really change that much before and after you gained that knowledge?"
"The difference was night and day. When I was training with my own self-taught methods, it took an immense amount of time just to earn any experience points at all. But after Ryan-san taught me, gaining experience points became far easier."
"I see... So having proper knowledge really is that critical..."
Once our report and verification were complete, we moved on to discussing future plans.
"For now, as promised, I'll introduce you to a magic instructor. That said, even if I reach out to them right away, they probably won't be able to come immediately, so you'll have to wait a little while."
"Understood. In the meantime, I'll just go about my daily routine."
"Yeah, that'll do. Or, if there are any other skills you want to try picking up, I could lend a hand with that too."
"Huh, are you sure? Aren't you busy, Ryan-san...?"
When I asked, Ryan-san broke into a wide grin.
"Someone as fascinating as you doesn't come along every day! I want to watch from up close to see how you turn out!"
"Guildmaster. That's certainly wonderful for Erik-kun, but please don't neglect your duties, all right? Headquarters will chew you out again."
"I'll handle my work properly! Getting scolded by that guy just pisses me off!"
And so, it was decided that Ryan-san would continue to mentor me whenever he had free time.
For the time being, however, I decided to hold off on acquiring new skills.
Since I had the precious opportunity to learn directly from Ryan-san, I wanted to dedicate my time to raising the skill levels of both [Swordsmanship] and [Physical Enhancement].
"Skill levels are certainly important, after all."
"Are you sure about that, though? Is there really no other skill you want right now?"
"...If pressed, I suppose [Appraisal]. I did manage to gain one experience point in it before, but the fatigue was so severe that I've put it aside for now."
"A-Appraisal, you say?! Can that skill of yours even acquire [Appraisal]?!"
When I mentioned [Appraisal], Ryan-san's eyes went wide with shock.
Beside him, Reina-san froze with an equally stunned expression.
"...Is it really that surprising?"
"Of course it is! When it comes to [Appraisal], just having it guarantees you'll never struggle to find work—it's that high-value of a skill! You're telling me you can learn something like that, too...?"
Acquiring [Appraisal], however, would require an immense amount of time.
Earning experience points toward it was exceptionally difficult.
"It comes down to a lack of magical power, which means either leveling up or raising your stat values through training, but training takes a lot of time too... Wait, huh?"
"...Erik-kun, by any chance, does the experience point effect apply to your stat values as well?"
Ryan-san caught on to the implication, and Reina-san quickly followed up with the question.
"Experience points are displayed for my stat values too, so it's possible to raise them through training."
"...You've got to be kidding me."
"...That truly is an extraordinary special skill."
Ryan-san wore a completely dumbfounded look, while Reina-san had been shocked so many times already that she was beyond reacting anymore.