Tensei Skill Shop Chapter 2

Tensei Skill Shop

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 2:

This world was a wide one, filled with many races that lived alongside and occasionally clashed with each other. A single trait of the world that very few knew, was that it was a crafted world, created by the wish of a child and sustained by the power of the wish-granter. As such, the entry of an outsider was noticed, but eventually ignored.

Within a palace, a woman in a royal dress and bearing a mark on her forehead paused in mid-conversation, glancing out the window into the distance.

“Mama…?” The young boy with her asked, “What’s wrong, Mama?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. Nothing’s wrong, Mewt.” She assured the child.

“Okay, Mama. Will you sleep with me tonight?” 

“Anything for you, my dear Mewt.”

The intrusion she noted was harmless, as though the one doing it had taken great care not to be disruptive. The queen decided that the culprit probably wasn’t a threat to the world, and her precious child, and thus focused instead on satisfying the needy whim of her son.

…

“[Status],” I recited, and a small window appeared in front of me, “Oh, so this really is like a game!”

There were some skills listed. Some were active, others were passive, but they all looked like pretty basic stuff. Except for that last one, ‘World System Analysis’, which had a description about ‘passively gathering information about the world in a data space within the skill’. That fits with what Sano mentioned before he sent me here. 

One of the other skills also matched with my memories of the game this world was based on, allowing me to make changes to my status. Lastly, there was one that allowed me to contact Sano, in case I wished to leave the world or to trade for some boons.

Dismissing the window, I looked at my surroundings. It was nighttime, but it was still bright enough to make out some features due to the light from the windows of the buildings around me. There weren’t any people around, but I wasn’t going to let my guard down just yet. One thing I noted was that I didn’t have any equipment on me, and that was an important thing to have in this world.

I checked my pockets, letting out a sigh of relief as I found some money in them, though it was a form of currency I didn’t recognize. There was a small note included as well, so I moved closer to one of the windows so I had enough light to read by.

‘I converted some of your cash for you. So make sure to stock up! -Sano.’ 

Nice of him to do that without me asking. Could have been bad if he didn’t. I began looking around for a place where I could spend that money. “[Observe]. [Observe]. [Observe]...”

I eventually found a white tent with a signboard on it that matched my hopes, and entered it. Sure enough, the interior was full of items, weapons and other equipment.

“Greetings! How may I help you today?” The freckled redhead behind the wooden counter greeted me.

“I need a full set of equipment, please.”

“Certainly, here are our items. Take a look!” She pulled out a few items, showing them to me one by one. “By the way, we give discounts on weapons meant for humes.”

That was convenient, if a bit racist sounding. I had enough money to pay for all the stuff I wanted, so I didn’t hesitate to grab them. Donning the outfit was easy enough, and I set out back into the night to search for my main target.

The shop staff had given me some directions to the pub, so I went there to look first. In a good stroke of luck, I spotted the person I was looking for, next to a rodent-like furry being in a green jacket. That was the form of a moogle, one of Final Fantasy’s trademark races. Or at least one of several possible forms throughout the series. But the one I was focusing on was the blond boy next to him, dressed in a blue shirt and brown pants.

“Hope this goes well…” I said to myself, gathering up my determination to approach the main character.

“So this will be the start of our Clan Nutsy!” The moogle announced proudly.

“Yeah…” The blonde noticed me first. “Montblanc?”

“Yes, kupo?”

“That guy there, he’s watching us.”

“Where, kupo?” Montblanc noticed me. “You’re right. But we’re in a town, so we’re safe. How about we go see what he wants, kupo?”

The boy agreed, and they drew closer to my location. I didn’t bother to move, since that was just what I wanted.

“What are you watching us for, kupo?” Montblanc demanded.

I chose instead to focus on the boy. “So… what brings you from St. Ivalice?”

The mention of the town’s name, instead of the country that everyone here thought it was, shook him.

“You said St. Ivalice… Are you from my world too?” He asked.

“Let’s just say I know things,” I said casually, “But how about we introduce ourselves first? I’m Rick.”

“My name’s Marche.” He responded, barely hiding his interest in finding out what else I knew.

So it’s his canon name. Not whatever player-decided title then. “Nice to meet you, Marche.”

“Wait, you know where Marche is from, kupo?” Montblanc wondered.

“Does that mean you also know how I came to this world? And how can I get back?” Marche asked hopefully.

I nodded. “I do, but let me tell you this, that information won’t come free.”

“How much do you want, kupo?” The moogle immediately asked. “Hey, this is just how clans work sometimes!” He defended himself to Marche when the boy looked at him.

“While I wouldn’t say no to money, that’s not what I want,” I rejected. “Instead, I’d like to be a part of your clan.”

“Our clan? Why?”

“Listen, Marche,” I addressed him directly, “Even though I know things, I’m only one person. The things I’m after, I need help to get them. And you are the one who’s most likely to succeed. Understand?”

“Why me?” The boy asked.

Uh… crap, I got too caught up with thinking that I could convince him easily just like that. “You don’t think you’re the only one in this world, do you?”

“What do you mean?”

I turned to Montblanc. “Say, what’s the name of the Judgemaster?”

“You mean Judgemaster Cid?”

Marche recognized that name. “Cid? Isn’t that the name of Mewt’s dad?” 

Montblanc looked at the boy next to him strangely. “Of course it is. Everyone knows Prince Mewt is the son of Judgemaster Cid.”

“Wait, Mewt is here too? That means… Doned! Doned has to be here too then!” Marche exclaimed.

“Doned?” 

“My younger brother!” Marche sobered up. “He’s… sick. Sick enough that he can’t walk. I have to find him!”

“Calm down, kupo!” The moogle said sharply, before turning to me. “If you know so much, then you should know about Marche’s brother too, right?”

“He’s… around, I’d say.” I deflected, since the game guides only mentioned when Doned showed up to interfere with Marche’s plans. “That’s all I’ll say. I haven’t heard your answer to my offer yet.”

“Is joining our clan really all you want, kupo?” Montblanc questioned me.

“No, it’s just the most efficient way to getting what I want.”

“And what is it you want?” He pressed.

“Items and skills,” I admitted. “I know certain ways of obtaining them, but like I said, I need the support of a clan.”

“Items and skills…” Montblanc considered my words. “What do you think, Marche?”

“I don’t know…” The boy admitted. “Yesterday, I went to sleep in my bed, only to wake up to find the whole world had changed. Everything is like my game, yet… not.”

Yeah, I think I made a mistake by approaching him this early. “No need to beat yourself up over it. Take your time to think about my offer first. I’ll come back later to hear your answer. Good night.”

They didn’t try to stop me as I walked away. I headed for the inn, where I paid for a single night’s stay there. After the amenities of Sano’s shop, this rustic room was a big step down, but I managed to drift off to sleep eventually.

After waking up the next day, I spent the morning familiarizing myself with the town of Cyril. The equipment shop I visited last night was named ‘Ramsen Armory’, while the pub where clans could accept jobs was named ‘The Prancing Chocobo’. I also found the Monster Bank, a place to hold monsters captured with the help of a Hunter. There were a few monsters there belonging to other clans, but I didn’t make any attempt to approach them, just admiring their strange appearance from afar.

I also got to see what the races were like. The population of humes, as humans were referred to in this world, were the most, so it made the other races stand out more. After the tiny-sized moogles, there were also the female-only bunny-eared vieras, the physically tough, lizard-like bangaa (who took offense at being called lizards), and the canine-resembling magic-inclined nu mou.

All those race-specific job classes… with their limited skills. I made a mental note to ask Sano for a skill that would allow me to gain those skills without being limited by my race. For a starter town, this place sure has a few high level job holders.

I also spotted a few fights, refereed by the judges on their chocobos. Someone made a mistake of using an item, causing the judge of that battle to penalize him and teleport him away to jail. That drove in the point that the Laws in Ivalice were not to be trifled with.

Shortly after noon, Marche and Montblanc found me in the middle of lunch at a restaurant, and joined me at my table when I invited them to sit. 

I finished chewing my food and swallowed, before speaking, “So, can I hear your answer?”

“We talked about it, and agreed to let you in,” Marche answered.

From the way Montblanc was letting him do the talking, the moogle wanted the hume boy to learn the reins of leadership. This development gave me the feeling of a main character’s plot powers at work, but I didn’t draw attention to it.

“Alright, thanks. Glad to be on board.” I took another bite of my food, and they waited for me to continue speaking. “Just to be clear, I’m not going to be telling you everything right away, just because I joined.”

“We understand, kupo,” Montblanc nodded, “But could you share some details to start with?”

“Sure.” I turned my head to look at Marche. “Firstly, you need to get stronger, because the truth is being guarded by very powerful people.”

“What do you mean?”

“For example, let’s say I tell you where the secret you’re looking for is. What would you do?”

Marche didn’t even hesitate. “I’ll go straight for it.”

“And then you’ll go up against an enemy you can’t handle, and lose. Probably get thrown into jail, the end.” I paused to let it sink in. “You see what I mean now?”

“I get it, kupo,” Montblanc broke in before Marche could reply, “We’re just a small clan, and we can’t handle big fights just yet.”

“So what should I do then?”

“Like I said, get stronger.” I finished the rest of my meal, and wiped my mouth with the napkin. “Lucky for you, the information I’m willing to share also includes ways to get stronger fast.”

Perhaps it was because the creator of this world, and Marche himself, were just young kids, but they chose to put their trust in me. Later, when I looked back on my words, I personally thought that I wouldn’t have taken that offer given how suspicious I must have appeared.

But I kept up my side of the deal, even as days passed into weeks.

Life in Ivalice was quite stable within the town. The rustic lifestyle took some getting used to, but I adapted eventually. We did missions and earned money, and occasionally got in fights against others when talking didn’t help, as long as one didn’t run afoul of the laws and got jailed by the judge. 

The start was slow, as I had to confirm just how similar my game knowledge was to the world’s rules. There were many more minor missions than there actually were in the game, but I was soon able to confirm, with help from my Status menu, that achieving the required clan skill level did help to obtain the reward item for that skill. It was as if the world itself was rewarding us for our efforts, like a supposed delivery of normal Potions turning out to be Hi-Potions when the Appraisal skill reached Level 3, or a wandering senior White Mage donating a White Robe to the clan due to hearing rumors of our Magic skill.

Marche and Montblanc became convinced when I predicted such things beforehand, and saw them actually come through.

Even so, it tested their faith in me when I drove them to hone their Negotiation skill, instead of taking on more missions that would improve their combat skills. I felt like I hardened Marche’s heart more than a little, by making him turn away those hopeful applicants to the clan, one after another. It hurt me as well, and if they saw the bruises on my knuckles when I took out my frustration by punching the wall, they didn’t say anything about it.

However, it finally paid off when one of the applicants came bearing the knife I wanted, saying it was a ‘gift’ to grease the wheels, so to speak. I was so overcome with emotion, that I instantly stamped his approval to join Clan Nutsy.

“So this is the item, kupo?” Montblanc inquired, when I met up with him later.

“This is it,” I confirmed.

The broad purple knife, shaped to resemble a hand, was the Cinquedea. Humes or moogles holding the Thief job could use it to learn the skill [Steal: Ability]. That would enable our Thieves to master job classes quickly, and gain levels in more powerful jobs. It was also the skill that I was counting on the most while I was in this world.

“Rick, does that mean…” Marche trailed off expectantly.

“Yes, Marche,” I met his gaze. “Let’s go do that mission.”

“Finally!”

The mission was to capture a wanted criminal, by the name of Diaghilev Goldeye. That criminal was an Alchemist who used his skills to counterfeit Gil, hence the bounty on him. He had been last sighted at the Giza Plains, and with that day’s Laws not forbidding the Thief’s Steal ability, Clan Nutsy moved out to capture that man. We arrived just as it turned to night, which made it harder to see.

“There he is, but he’s not alone,” Our viera archer let us know. “I count four others.”

“What are their jobs?”

“Viera Archer, hume Thief, bangaa Dragoon, bangaa Gladiator, and our target, nu mou Alchemist.”

“Okay, you know the plan,” Marche said decisively, “Clan Nutsy, let’s go!”

It went off quite well; Marche had learned the tactics of flanking and usage of buffs and debuffs, and he applied them in this fight. The purple-dressed Thief was put to sleep by Montblanc with his Animist skills, allowing me to move in close, and use the Skill granted to me by the blade I wielded. My hand reached the dozing person’s body, and grabbed something within him.

YOINK

[Steal: Weapon] stolen!

I turned and signaled to Marche, who nodded back. The rest of the enemies were quickly taken out, and I was able to snatch a [Steal: Armor] skill from the unlucky thief as well. 

Later, as Clan Nutsy celebrated a successful job, the two leaders approached me to hear the next step of the plan. Or so I’d like to say, but Marche was a smart kid, and he understood just what my objective was.

“So you’ll be taking weapons from the enemies we face, and we can use them to learn the skill we need,” He summarized.

“That’s right. Hope you’re ready, because we are going to be growing rapidly from now on.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted.”

“Alright, you two,” Montblanc interrupted, “We’re having a party here, kupo! So put on some smiles, and let’s hear some cheers for CLAN NUTSY!” 

Our small group raised their drinks to those shouted words.

Later that night, when I was finally alone in my room, I finally used the [Call Divinity] skill that I had been equipped with. Just like how I first appeared, between one moment and the next, I found myself in a blank space, facing Sano sitting behind a desk.

“Oh, that was fast,” He remarked. “How has your time in that world been?”

Fast? I’ve been there for weeks. How long were you expecting me to take before calling you? “It’s been well enough. Did I actually get pulled out of the world, or am I…?”

“It’s just your spirit that’s here,” The god reassured me, “Once we’re done, I’ll send your right back in an instant.”

“Oh good. I thought I would end up finding out that weeks had gone by while I was here,” I said in relief.

“That wouldn’t be helpful to what you’re doing.” He glanced aside as though looking at something I couldn’t see. “So, what did you call on me for?”

I launched into a report of what I had accomplished so far; making contact with the main character’s group, getting their assistance in obtaining the Cinqueda weapon, and using the skill it carried to steal more skills. Now? I could grab more weapons from the groups the clan faced, and obtain even more.

Finally, I arrived at the purpose of contacting him.

“I would like a skill that will allow me to obtain skills from other jobs, regardless of their race,” I requested.

“Oh, I see,” Sano nodded approvingly, “That certainly will help you get more skills to sell to me. Hold on a moment.”

He beckoned towards me, and I saw a small light fly out of my chest over to his hand. I guessed that was the skill he implanted in me to analyze the system behind Ivalice. 

I guess it might be similar to the Sage skill in Tensura? I mused to myself. 

“Hmm,” Sano hummed thoughtfully, “I see. I can do that. But what have you got to trade to make it worth my while?”

“I don’t have the big stuff yet, but I do have a bunch of weapons that can teach the basic skills for some jobs. They are…” I realized that since this is just spiritual communication, the items in questions weren’t with me. “Back with my body.”

“Good enough for me.” Sano did something to the skill, then sent it flying back into me. “Here, I’ve included knowledge on how to create a sending ritual. Use that to send the weapons to me, and I’ll send you the skill you asked for.”

“Alright. Also, what should I do if I want to offload some of the skills I obtained?”

“Oh, I had forgotten about that.” Sano shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, I’ve been busy trying to run the store in your absence while making more skills to replace what I sold.”

Uh huh. I didn’t know enough about how gods worked to know if that was just an excuse or if it was really true. 

“I’ll include another skill along with the first that will allow you to extract those skills from yourself so you can send them to me.”

“Okay, that works for me too.”

“Good. Glad we were able to come to an agreement. I’ll tally up your total contributions and let you know when you’re done in that world.”

“So I’ll have to wait until then to get any special skills from you?” I asked him.

“No, of course not.” Sano explained further, “I’m just saying I’ll let you know the final value at that time, but if you want to use some of what you earned first, you just have to ask me.”

“Really.”

“As long as I’m free enough.”

“Alright. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good. Well, off you go then.”

Then I was back in my room in Cyril, with the knowledge of how to create an item sending ritual in my head. I took several minutes to sort my thoughts out, before I got up to work on preparing the ritual. It only took a few minutes, since I just had to draw a circle for the thing and charge it with my mana, before expending one of my accumulated Judge Points to activate it, causing it to glow blue. The actual ritual itself took longer, since I had several pieces of equipment to send out.

Well, I hope Marche doesn’t ask too much about where they all went afterwards. I pushed the last piece, a helmet, into the circle, and saw it vanish like the rest before it. 

There was a pause.

Uh. I didn’t think about how to let him know that was all of it. Is he still going to be waiting? I realized awkwardly.

Thankfully, the circle took on a red glow, and a glowing box appeared inside of it before the light faded completely. I picked up the skill, and pressed it against my chest, where it sunk in without any resistance.

“[Status].” I brought up the window to examine the new skills granted to me.

[Skill Holding Restriction Off]
[Allows the holder of this skill to hold any skill, regardless of racial or job restrictions.]
[Held Skill Extraction]
[Allows the holder of this skill to extract any held skill in a portable form.]

Holding… not Learning? I have a feeling that choice of words matters quite a bit. I’m going to have to test this one out. 

I had a feeling that it probably meant I could steal skills from other races, but not use them, just hold them until I’m able to sell them to Sano. For now, I decided to practice with the second one, testing to see how it worked. With the Status menu to confirm its function, I was pleased to find out that the extracted skills could be returned back to me without any issue.

With that settled, I decided to turn in for the night. There was much to do ahead of me in the future.

…

“Is something the matter, Your Highness?” A man with a goatee, wearing the armor of a Judge, asked the woman he was with.

“I thought it was my imagination when it happened before, but I felt it again,” She stated, looking out the window.

“What did you feel?”

“As though something poked into our world, and took a little piece of it away.”

“What? Should I send someone to investigate then?”

The queen didn’t reply at first. “I don’t know. The last time it happened was months ago,” She admitted.

“I see… Should we inspect the crystals then? I can handle that matter myself.”

Judgemaster Cid was one of those who were aware that the world they were in was being sustained by five crystals in hidden spaces across the land, though he lacked the full understanding of the truth behind them.

The queen considered it. “No, I think they are still functioning normally. We just have to monitor things to see if any abnormalities occur due to this.”

Cid nodded. “Understood. I’ll spread the word among my men.”

There was a knock on the door of the room they were in, and a nu mou in blue robes entered.

 “Your Highness, the Prince is calling for you again,” Babus reported.

Queen Remedi stood up from her seat. “Of course, I will go to him immediately.”

“I will go with you,” Cid stood up as well.

The three of them extinguished the lights and left the room, leaving only the moonlight to illuminate the place. Though no one was around, for a moment it looked like the light was red.

Afterword: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance really engrossed me back then, and I thought that the whole skill learning idea was pretty fun to work with. Thieves actually had the ability to steal skills, though it only worked for Jobs they held. So I thought, why not break that restriction? Also, I went to research a bit for this story recently, and to my surprise, I found out it was possible to get that ability early, and grow super strong right from the start. Changes like these are fun to explore, don’t you agree?