Konbini Ossan Volume 2 Chapter 24 — The Growth Potential of Skills
“I have a hypothesis about that.”
I immediately countered after Arisa rejected my earlier claim.
“I believe you simply haven’t fully mastered the «Calculator» skill yet.”
“Huh. Master it? I mean, I don’t really get it...”
Arisa responded, pouting slightly. She probably felt like I was denying her capability or effort by saying she wasn't using the skill properly.
“I’m not doubting your ability, Arisa. It’s just that, well, that’s how skills work sometimes.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Some skills improve the more you use them, becoming more effective over time.
…
And I assume you haven’t used «Calculator» all that much yet. That’s why, for now, it hasn’t shown its full potential.”
“Ah, I see. That makes sense.”
Arisa nodded, seeming convinced by my explanation.
“As expected from you, Otogin. So some skills really do grow stronger over time, huh?”
“Yes. I read about it while devouring books back at the royal palace.”
That information was crucial to me. After all, even so-called "discarded" skills might become useful if they could grow. Of course I memorized it.
That said, not many skills are known to have growth potential.
For example, the «Light Absorption» skill works on fixed rules: a certain amount of light is converted into a specific amount of magic power.
No matter how often the skill is used, the conversion rate remains constant.
The same applies to the «Illumination» skill.
While you can adjust the magic consumption under certain conditions, the amount of light emitted for the same magic cost will always remain unchanged.
In other words, most skills operate on unchanging rules.
However, a select few break this rule. Some skills change in performance and effectiveness the more they are used.
As a result of pouring through many documents, I discovered that I possess several of these rare, evolving skills myself. Though I haven't noticed any actual changes yet.
Still, it's a confirmed phenomenon that some skills grow more powerful with use, and can even evolve into entirely different skills with new names.
And while it's unconfirmed whether «Calculator» is one of them, it's more natural to assume it has growth potential.
After all, it’s a cheat skill granted by the goddess. There's no way it would just be a silly ability that does basic arithmetic and nothing else.
In other words, I started from the premise that a cheat skill from a goddess couldn't possibly be weak, and then worked backwards to form my hypothesis about «Calculator»'s growth and its eventual capabilities.
And at this point, this idea is no longer just a hypothesis.
“Actually, part of the reason I had Arisa help out at the shop was for the sake of the «Calculator» skill.
…
By continuously doing simple calculations at the register, we’ve been encouraging the skill’s growth.”
“Oh? So, what were the results?”
Shuri-kun asked with keen interest.
“I believe it’s growing. In the beginning, Arisa took quite some time to mentally calculate even simple sums.
…
But now, she can instantly total up even a mixed set of magic lightstones with varying prices. She’s faster and more accurate than I am now.
…
That’s probably proof that «Calculator» has grown. Well, there’s also the possibility she just had a natural talent for mental math that only recently bloomed.”
“Hmm, that’s true. We can’t be 100% certain, but there’s a strong chance the skill is growing.”
Shuri-kun agreed with my theory.
“So, after going through all this effort to strengthen «Calculator», what do you plan to do with it, Otogin?”
“That’s still undecided. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say: with that kind of potential, the possibilities are limitless.”
I began to explain the future I envisioned, assuming Calculator performed as I hoped.
“If «Calculator» becomes a skill that always delivers the correct answer — something like a supercomputer from my world, or even better — then nearly every kind of technology I can imagine would become achievable.
…
At that point, there would be no need to make concrete plans. I’d just go down the list, turning each useful and effective idea into reality one by one.”
Shuri-kun rested his chin on his hand and evaluated my assumptions.
“I see. Well, it’s a bit of a rose-tinted outlook built on stacked hypotheses. But not impossible.
…
And yeah, the key to your future depends on just how far «Calculator» can evolve.
…
Since its growth potential is still unclear, there’s no clear path to follow. If anything, maybe you should prioritize which fields of technology to apply it to first — figure out where it could help solve unsolved problems.”
“Exactly. That’s roughly what I have in mind, too.”
With that, it seemed my plan was understood.
Shuri-kun nodded with a satisfied smile. Well, Marceline and Arisa didn’t seem to follow all the details of our discussion, but that’s fine.
For now, it was most important that Shuri-kun understood. The others didn’t need to grasp everything just yet.
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E/N:
I feel bad for Arisa, the author made her into a dumbo. Well, we just have to look forward to a character growth arc from Arisa or not? Stay tuned!
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