The Freak Show Foreman

Even though I didn’t like his attitude of bossing me around under the pretext of helping, I decided to go along with it. The garden was already in ruins, and there were a few things I wanted to experiment with using the new skills I acquired.

He continued giving orders while occasionally pointing out what I was lacking. Hours passed like this, and suddenly it was lunchtime. Despite feeling it was enough, the old man didn’t stop assigning tasks.

He tried hard to maintain an annoyed expression, but the sagging of his cheeks betrayed his satisfaction. Probably happy to earn money while I worked under him. It seemed like he had no shame, subtly suggesting how nice it would be if I continued working under him.

Fortunately, the hotel manager intervened at the right moment. He informed me that Ella was looking for me. As I left, I noticed the old man exchanging words with the manager, sending a regretful look my way.

Such an audacious old man. I resisted the urge to say something back.

My understanding of the newly acquired item, the ’Skill Book,’ deepened. The Skill Book was a reward obtained when the average favorability of the members reached 10. Its appearance resembled what I knew from games – an old book with a bright earth-colored leather cover.

The main trio of Tril Trilo could use the Skill Book to unlock new skills or enhance existing ones. However, mastering all skills in one game was impossible. The number of Skill Books available in the game was clearly limited compared to the potential number of skills.

Each Skill Book had to be strategically used, shaping the playstyle significantly. Common and typical compositions included a warrior focusing on sword and shield skills, a rogue specializing in ranged skills, and a defense mage primarily increasing the level and intensity of summoned entities.

Still, there were unconventional ways to play, such as a warrior combining push and stun skills to create an infinite stun effect, a rogue using triple jumps and evasive skills to avoid all attacks, or a mage flying across the map using telekinesis (essential for speed running!).

Additionally, there were tank warriors who enhanced resistance training, Armor, and a thorn cloak to deal damage through contact, rogue negotiators who maximized the use of conversation skills to skip battles, and Lego mages who utilized a combination of polymorphic skills and engineering techniques.

Thanks to this variety, starting a new game felt like experiencing a completely different game by trying different playstyles. Considering the six supporter character combinations, even players who had seen multiple endings often finished the game without experiencing half of the available playstyles.

The efficiency of the Skill Books I obtained was similar to those in the game, and they could also be developed or enhanced. However, unlike in the game, there were no restrictions here – all skills could be applied universally.

From horse riding to archery, it went without saying, and even skills like pencil spinning or pouring coffee were possible.

I unfolded the skill book.

Skill Book:

­1. [Gardening］

­2. [To unlock this skill slot, 100 Debulroot is required. ］

­3. [To unlock this skill slot, 200 Debulroot is required. ］

­4. [To unlock this skill slot, 300 Debulroot is required. ］

­5. [To unlock this skill slot, 500 Debulroot is required. ］

­[Massage］ [Cooking］

There was currently only one skill equipped in the available slot. To unlock the remaining slots, Debulroot was needed, with a maximum of five skills that could be equipped at once.

Over the past few days, I experimented with several skills.

Massage: Debulroot x35

Cooking: Debulroot x70

Gardening: Debulroot x45

When I equipped these skills in the skill book slots, I reached a level of mastery beyond that of experts in those fields.

The first skill I experimented with was massage.

The moment I equipped the massage skill, I gained a level of hand technique surpassing even the renowned masseurs in the metropolis. With a unique body structure, I could instinctively feel where to manipulate Yurakne’s muscles and joints.

­" Ah, Master!"

My massage skills were perfect. Yurakne, who had never experienced 100% satisfaction before, finally felt the sensation others praised as "melting body" yesterday.

She draped herself in a sleeveless shirt and lay down to receive my touch.

­" Third shoulder, how does it feel?"

­" Uh, go-good!"

­" Fourth shoulder, how about here?"

­" Ah! Ugh!"

­" Fifth shoulder? This area…"

­" Um, M-Master? Can you go lower, please?"

Her face turned crimson as she made the request.

Instead of continuing to knead her two arms around the waist, I chuckled and realized that my ’skill’ was sending signals. Yurakne was not asking for a massage point.

­" Huh? Do you want me to massage there?"

­" Ah…no, I, you misunderstood! No…"

The massage was successful, but not every skill yielded the same results. Areas with strong aesthetic influence couldn’t be satisfied with skills alone. Even in the realm of artisan skills I experimented with just now, there were flaws.

General skills, aesthetic skills, artisan skills.

Through three experiments, I felt the utility and limitations of the skill book.

Name: Frank Wonderstein

Age: 27

Occupation: Biomancer

­Debulroots: (67/200）

­Muscle Strength: 4.0 (3 sets of 1000）

­Tissue Resilience: 4.0 (Plate Armor）

­Cell Regeneration: 4.0 (Cheetah）

Traits: [Smiling Man］

In the past few weeks, I used accumulated Debulroots to enhance the three basic abilities to 4.0. Now, I could exert strength similar to the ’knights’ of this era.

However, I postponed further enhancement. It required 20 Debulroot for each category to increase from 3.0 to 4.0. From 4.0 to 5.0, it needed 30 for each, and from 5.0 to 6.0, it demanded 50 for each. As with any increasing ability, the resource requirements grew.

Climbing the hotel stairs, I changed into my usual attire.

A light flick of the fingers in the air was enough.

[Changed to ’Wonderstein’s Casual Wear. ］

[’Hotel Attendant’ attire has been restored. 1 Debulroot will be charged for laundry and repairs. ］

’Laundry and mending expenses, huh? This ability doesn’t come cheap either.’

They demanded a rental fee when I first got it. The ’[Dressing Room]’ was an additional feature added to the ’[Member Management]’ as a reward for achieving a circus troupe reputation of 50.

I could remember and retrieve clothing I had seen or touched whenever I wanted. The amazing thing was that the clothes provided fit the wearer’s body perfectly. This feature applied not only to me but to all members. In other words, with just a snap of my fingers, I could dress all members in the same suit as mine, or change them into hotel staff uniforms, just like before.

I closed the dressing room function by flicking my finger again. Although I could manipulate the status window with just my willpower, there was a reason to manually control the dressing room function.

It was because of the mistake I made yesterday.

That was…

"Oops, Master!"

As I was about to speak, I came face to face with Yurakne.

She was coming down the stairs, her purple hair tied up with a hairpin. When she saw me, she was surprised and turned her face away. A blush rose on her brown skin.

She seemed unsure of what to do, fidgeting with her six arms.

"Hello."

I smiled calmly at her, unlike her bewildered expression.

Of course, internally, I was just as embarrassed as she was.

It was because of the mistake I made yesterday.

Due to that…

"Uh, good morning, or, uh, afternoon. Well, you know, the weather… ahaha."

Yurakne awkwardly greeted me.

Since the incident during our teatime yesterday, we had not met until now.

But there was no time to dwell on that.

Behind her, the deputy leader and the skeleton jester came down the stairs.

"Why are you all acting like that?"

Ella raised an eyebrow.

While Yurakne and I were trying to avoid the embarrassment, Sven, the skeleton, cheerfully shouted while dodging Yurakne’s attacks.

"I saw it! Haha! A woman soaked in sweat going in and coming out in different clothes…!"

"Shut up, Sven!"

Yurakne’s face turned even redder as she waved her six arms in embarrassment.

The skeleton skillfully avoided her attacks.

Meanwhile, he grinned and made eye contact with me, showing a relaxed attitude.

After the incident at the opening ceremony was widely reported, the favorability of the members gradually increased. Some even awkwardly greeted me when we met.

But this skeleton guy took it to another level.

Since then, he had started playing pranks or making jokes near me.

I sighed inwardly.

This was the nature of these ’jesters.’

They didn’t know how to hold back even in life-threatening situations.

When they faced the emperor, they threw sarcastic remarks about the political situation of the empire, resulting in them getting torn apart, or when they threw jokes about a flirtatious duchess in front of the duke himself, I heard stories of them losing their heads.

Of course, those who had the courage to act on it were just a handful, but the jesters fantasized about dying like that in their lifetime.

Sven, who had been somewhat cautious and restrained until now, couldn’t hold back anymore and started venting his jester temperament as the atmosphere loosened.

Moreover, I had no intention of getting angry.

Ella scolded them as she passed by.

"That’s enough playing around. Let’s go quickly."

Yurakne and Sven stopped the playful scuffle, and I took the lead. The two followed me.

As Ella hurriedly ran ahead, she signaled from the carriage.

Today was the day to announce the assignment for the test held at the Rose Windmill Cabaret.