Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 12
1-12. Mari-nee and the Mentor’s Advice
Invited by Zela-san, we moved to a bench in the shade of the buildings in the plaza, away from the crowd.
“Here, there’s no worry about being overheard. Now, Maria. From what I can tell from your appearance, you’re a jester, and you use threads as weapons, correct?”
“Yes.”
I took out the stuffed animal Nero and set it in motion using the Puppeteer skill.
Understanding the intention, Nero greeted Zela-san’s dog by lightly tapping its head.
“Well, this is an excellent vessel.”
“A vessel?”
“A vessel is what you control with a puppet. The quality of the vessel improves when the creator’s skill and the material used to shape it align. Mine is of C-rank in terms of quality, but yours has reached B-rank. Around here, it’s not something you see every day.”
Nero is quite impressive, as expected of Roulette-san.
I wonder if she’ll be happy if I tell her that a professional in the field has recognized it?
“Before we discuss your skill in moving the vessel, may I ask you to tell me your remembered skill level? I swear not to disclose it.”
“I don’t mind at all.”
I thought there was nothing to keep secret, but it might be better to remain silent about Capture, considering the promise with Roulette.
After being satisfied with only knowing the Job Skills, Zela-san seemed to have somewhere between acceptance and understanding on his face.
“I see… without Manipulation Arts and derived from Thread Manipulation to Puppeteer.”
“Is something strange?”
“Not strange, but… let’s put it a little more indirectly and explain about Job Skills.”
With a pause, Zela-san turned his entire body towards me.
Seeing his serious expression, I instinctively straightened my back while remaining seated.
“In any job, the first Job Skill you learn is basically the same. That is Manipulation Arts. After handling a weapon and raising the level of Manipulation Arts, in other words, getting used to the weapon, you can then learn specialized Job Skills related to that weapon. For warriors, it could be Swordsmanship, Spear Techniques, or Axe Techniques, while for priests and mages, it’s something like Staff Techniques.”
“Huh, I don’t remember learning Manipulation Arts at all.”
“That’s because it’s considered basic for everyone. When acquiring Job Skills, the experience up to that point is taken into account, and individual differences arise. If the initial level of Manipulation Arts is deemed different, then it starts from a higher level, meaning from a specialized Job Skill. Just like you learned Thread Manipulation instead of Manipulation Arts.”
Does that previous experience refer to when I used to entertain my younger siblings with a cat’s cradle or performed with self-made thread puppets when we didn’t have much money?
It’s surprising that such things would have an impact here.
“I had no idea… Wait, earlier you mentioned that <Puppeteer> is derived from <Thread Manipulation>, is that correct?”
“Exactly as you imagined. Skills derived from specialized Job Skills can vary among individuals.”
“So, is <Puppeteer> actually rare?”
“As far as I know, there shouldn’t be many adventurers who have learned it.”
I never thought that such a rare skill would be possible to achieve.
I only thought of it as a skill to realize my dream since childhood.
Oh, but rare skills don’t necessarily mean they’re useful.
“By the way, what is your level?”
“Um, it’s exactly 10.”
“10!?”
Zela-san widened his eyes, looking astonished.
Huh? Did I do something again!?
“Specialized Job Skills generally increase slowly, requiring ingenuity. When raised in battle, the level is typically about two to three times that of the Job Skill. Converting your <Thread Manipulation> skill level to your own level, it would be equivalent to level 20 to 30. It seems you’ve mastered <Thread Manipulation> and fought with it quite a bit. I still can’t believe your level is only 10.”
Ah, so that’s why I could fight in the <Trial Forest> from the beginning.
I was surprised when Estelle-san later told me that the suitable level for the <Trial Forest> was around 10. At that time, even though I was level 1, my [Thread Manipulation] skill level was 4.
According to Zela-san’s conversion method, just looking at the skill level, it falls within the suitable range.
I also had my stats checked, and I was recommended to continue as is.
Using <Thread Manipulation> for DEX specialization seems to be a good match, and apart from increasing MID, which significantly boosts MP, there was a strict warning not to raise any other stats.
In particular, there was a strong emphasis on not raising STR.
Well, I won’t be able to carry heavy things by myself anymore… Goodbye.
“By the way, depending on the chosen weapon, the growth of stats when leveling up varies. The reason DEX is growing well is due to the nature of the weapon, threads. And speaking of weapons, threads have differences in ‘power,’ ‘durability,’ ‘range,’ and ‘MP consumption.’ It’s about time you start using a proper thread.”
“Understood.”
I’ll ask Roulette-san, who is good at sewing, about this.
Since I vaguely asked for a favor before, there might be something good.
“I have two more pieces of advice. The first one is about the role of a jester.”
“Role?”
“Especially when fighting with others, that is. For example, a warrior’s main role is to defeat enemies, a knight’s role is to defend against enemy attacks, and a cleric’s role is to heal wounds. So, what is the role of a jester?”
“A jester originally entertains people and makes them laugh, right? It wouldn’t make sense for a jester to make allies laugh in battle… There’s no specific role, is there?”
“In the true sense, you might not understand, but well, that’s correct. As you say, there’s no clear role for a jester. However, the essence of a jester lies in adaptability, being able to play other roles as needed, and I consider that to be the role.”
“What does it mean to play a role?”
“For example, if a jester uses cards as a weapon and learns skills, there are those that attract enemy attention, induce status abnormalities, or enhance ally abilities. At first glance, these might overlap with the roles of a spellcaster or a minstrel, and the effectiveness of the skills might be inferior. However, jesters can handle both, and unlike spellcasters who need incantations or minstrels who require performance, jesters can activate their skills simply by throwing cards. This makes them suitable for situations where speed is essential. Additionally, using cards as a weapon tends to increase AGI. It’s unexpectedly important to have a means to defend against attacks from enemies that support job roles struggle with.”
“How about when the weapon is threads?”
“When threads are used as a weapon, the roles a jester can play expand even more. Examples include setting traps to immobilize enemies like a thief, using threads to protect allies by drawing enemy attention like a knight, and defeating enemies like a warrior. How to achieve these roles greatly depends on the derived skills within the jester’s arsenal, so you’ll have to experiment and figure it out yourself.”
So, in the end, am I a jack of all trades?
Well, more like a versatile but penniless person.
Oh, by the way, versatile and penniless are perfect words to describe my past self.
Although I was good at various things, I worked multiple part-time jobs because my family was poor.
“Jesters don’t have a clear role, but they do have roles. If someone understands this, you can consider them quite competent.”
When I replace it with my experience, competent people are the full-time employees, and jesters are like veteran part-timers.
At that time, the veteran part-timers, who were actively working under the guidance of the full-time employees to efficiently run the store, were indeed competent.
The full-time employees, who understood the role of the veteran part-timers, were truly competent, and one of them even got promoted to a high position when transferred to the head office.
By the way, the veteran part-timers were hired as full-time employees thanks to the recommendation of the full-time employees.
And we, who worked together, improved the atmosphere at work thanks to the full-time employees and the veteran part-timers, and as a result, the store’s sales increased. We were selected as an outstanding store, and everyone received a bonus.
On that day, I made slightly larger hamburgers than usual, and Masato and Maki were delighted.
“Here’s the last piece of advice, or rather, assistance. I’ll teach you a new Job Skill. It’s called <Crown>, which attracts enemies. It doesn’t have as much hostility as a knight’s <Provoke>, and its effective range is narrow, but it’s a skill a jester should have.”
? <Clown> Job Skill is now available. ?
<Clown>
Gathers enemy hostility. The effective range depends on the skill level, and the activation target depends on the weapon.
“Is that okay?”
“I don’t mind. Especially for someone like you, who has already acquired more advanced Job Skills.”
“In that case, I appreciate it.”
? Acquired [Clown]. ?
Rather than gaining insights, I received detailed and polite explanations, and even got a new skill.
It feels like I’ve received too much.
“I’m sorry for receiving so much, and on top of that, even a new job skill.”
“No need to worry. You can think of it as a reward for seeing through me.”
“Even so… Oh, right, if you don’t mind, please have this.”
I took out the black wolf stew and black bread that Estelle-san had prepared.
Possibly due to the properties of the item box, they seemed freshly made, as steam rose from the stew.
“Oh, this looks delicious. Did you make it?”
“Well, sort of. The vegetable preparation was done with Estelle-san’s help, and all the bread was made by Estelle-san.”
“I see, so you know Estelle-chan. I’ll gladly accept this.”
Saying that, Zela-san took the food and stood up from the bench.
“As a thank you for the meal, here’s one last piece of advice. You should try letting that puppet of yours fight once. It will surely be useful to you.”
“Huh?”
Leaving me surprised, Zela-san waved his hand and walked away.
How do you even make Nero, who is small and cute, fight? My mind was full of questions, but since Zela-san suggested it, I decided to give it a try.
As I stroked Nero’s head, it rubbed its body against my leg.
Its gesture was adorable, and with a smile, I left the square with Nero and headed to a place where we could fight.