In the Kingdom of Analeit, there lived a boy named Schlain Zagan Analeit.
As his name suggested, he was a member of the royal family.
He was the child of a concubine of the king and lived as the fourth prince.
But this boy possessed memories of a previous life.
In that life, his name had been Shunsuke Yamada.
I’ll be honest: The boy is me.
My last memory from my previous life was of sitting in Classical Japanese class.
At the time, I noticed a crack in the air above the classroom, and that’s where everything went black.
Rifts in space weren’t a normal occurrence back on Earth.
So whatever happened then is most likely why I died.
Then, inexplicably, I was reborn with memories of my previous life.
Which was how I came to live in this gamelike world where skills and levels are real.
✦ ✦ ✦
In this world, you actually have a “status.”
How can this exist in reality outside of a game? I did wonder about that for a while, but I eventually gave up trying to figure it out.
Instead, I realized it would be more fun to focus on the positives of living in this kind of world. Training would improve my abilities, and it was pretty fun to hone my strength like that.
However, this world has its inconveniences, too.
You can’t see anyone’s status. The concept exists, yet you have to clear extremely strict conditions if you want to perceive it.
See, there’s a skill called Appraisal.
With Appraisal, you can see statuses, but few people possess that skill.
In order to acquire it, just like becoming a judge or an appraiser on Earth, you need a thorough education on how to judge the values of things, powers of observation to figure out the composition of substances, and other such high-level skills. No amateur would be able to manage that.
And even if you could get the Appraisal skill, it’s extremely difficult to raise its level, so very few people have it in the first place.
Really, all it actually takes to acquire Appraisal is paying the right amount of skill points.
But even though that’s technically possible, you can’t get any further once you have it.
Raising the skill level of Appraisal only requires using it.
Every time you use Appraisal, your proficiency rises, and if you reach a certain level of proficiency, the level goes up as well.
However, it’s using the skill that’s the real problem.
On the one hand, it doesn’t require any magical power or energy.
I know what you’re thinking: “Couldn’t you just use it whenever you want, then?” It’s not that simple.
The catch is this: Whenever Appraisal is used, the user gets hit with a headache and a drunken feeling.
The degree seems to vary depending on the individual, but in the worst cases, some people will faint after using it only once, and even more talented users can’t Appraise more than two things at once.
Since each use is so rough, using the skill over and over to increase your proficiency would be incredibly punishing.
As a bonus, the Appraisal skill is worthless until it reaches a very high level.
And so, very few people bother acquiring it.
In fact, there are a handful of families that make a living serving as Appraisers, passing the skill down through generations.
So if you’re wondering how anyone checks their status, the answer is with Appraisal Stones.
An Appraisal Stone is a magic tool made through a special process, which allows the holder to temporarily use the skill.
The level of the skill allowed by one of these stones depends on its quality. The number of stones in the world that grant level 10, like the one belonging to the royal family, can be counted on one hand.
Naturally, you need special permission to use it, so basically only big nobles close to the royal family have any chance. Since I’m royalty myself, I can technically use it, but it’s not like I can do that whenever I want. I pester Anna the maid about it repeatedly, but it can only be used once you reach a certain age.
In fact, it turns out that your first time having your status Appraised is considered a special occasion, so nobility and the like always hold a big, formal ceremony for it.
And I had to go through that ceremony, too.
In addition to the Appraisal, this ceremony serves as the child’s debut to greater society.
Your Appraisal results are revealed to everyone present, and all the adults start judging your value right then and there.
I had more skills than the average person my age, so I knew it probably wouldn’t be a problem for me. But apparently, if your stats are super-low, your family might reject you, so that’s a frightening prospect.
Anyway, me and my younger sister, Sue, a child of the king’s wife born around the same time as me, were about to undergo our public debut.
Sue and I had to change into the ceremonial children’s clothes for the occasion and hear about the schedule over and over again.
The current king—in other words, our father—was also attending.
Aside from that, there would be a who’s who of other important people present, so making a mistake and embarrassing myself was not an option.
Despite being a kid, I was still a member of the royal family.
I was about to play a leading role in the ceremony, so I needed to carry the dignity of the royal family on my shoulders.
That was a heavy load for a former lower-middle-class commoner.
However, when I saw how majestically my sister was carrying herself next to me, I felt a determination to do things properly that bordered on impatience.
“Are you ready?”
I nodded silently in response to Anna’s final check.
“Then please proceed.”
Anna pushed us forward, and Sue and I walked side by side through the door to the ceremony hall.
As soon as we passed through the entrance, the ceremonial space loomed large before my eyes.
A red carpet extended from the door in a straight line toward a pedestal, behind which a man stood waiting.
A huge crowd of people lining the wall watched us in silence.
Everyone here was a high-ranking noble.
Sue and I walked across the carpet without a word.
Our steps were measured and dignified, the way we’d been taught to walk in anticipation of this very day.
I could feel the gazes of the assorted nobles piercing me, but I did my best to ignore them.
Eventually, we reached the front of the pedestal. Sue and I halted and knelt down.
Standing at the ready behind the pedestal was the king, our father, Meiges Derra Analeit.
“The Appraisal Ceremony will now begin.” The king’s majestic voice boomed throughout the ceremony hall.
Although he was my father, I’d only met this person a handful of times. He felt more like a high-ranking relative than a parent.
This only made my nervousness worse.
The king was still speaking, but I couldn’t quite process what he was saying.
“Now, Schlain Zagan Analeit. You may rise.”
“Yes, sir.”
I stood up.
“Let the Appraisal begin.”
I advanced onto the stepping stool in front of the pedestal.
Without the boost, I wouldn’t be tall enough at my current height.
A black stone was fitted in the pedestal.
This was the Appraisal Stone. Smaller than I’d expected. If I were an adult, it would fit in the palm of my hand easily.
Masking my surprise, I placed my hands on the Appraisal Stone.
Just as I’d been taught, I thought: [Appraise].
My status displayed with unexpected ease.