"It is a skill related to agriculture," the Holy Sister said, her voice neutral.
"You can cultivate multiple types of fruits simultaneously and significantly accelerate their growth."
She paused, then added flatly,
"There exists no skill less suited for combat than this."
A beat of silence followed.
Then—
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Light suddenly burst out laughing and threw his arms around Drake in a tight hug.
"If you hadn't stolen that fruit from me, I wouldn't have been able to become an adventurer at all!"
Drake stiffened, barely holding back his smile.
You wouldn't be thanking me if you knew what you just handed over, he thought, amused.
He shoved Light away with visible disgust.
"Don't touch me," Drake said coolly. "You're not worthy."
The Holy Sister sighed, rubbing her temple.
Light scowled and stepped forward again.
"Hey! You get a trash skill and you're still acting superior?"
Drake grinned.
"Of course I am."
He turned toward the villagers, spreading his arms dramatically.
"In a few years, you'll all boast about having lived in the same village as the Agriculture God!"
The entire church froze.
This guy's insane.
Light grabbed Drake by the collar, veins bulging.
"Agriculture God?! Just watch! I'll become the Adventurer God!"
Drake looked him up and down, unimpressed.
"With that face? A god?"
He smirked.
"You're not even qualified to be my lackey."
Light trembled with rage.
Then Drake turned toward Lena.
He gently lifted her chin with a finger.
Lena's face instantly turned crimson.
"You, on the other hand…" Drake said lazily, eyes gleaming.
"…are worthy of becoming this god's wife."
The church collectively stopped breathing.
"HEY—!" Light roared, lunging forward—
Drake glanced at him.
"Did a lackey just raise his voice at me?"
That did it.
Light stomped to the altar, snatched a fruit, and bit down hard.
Crunch.
Light flared with power.
The Holy Sister gasped.
"—Fire Fist."
Flames erupted around Light's hands, heat rippling through the air.
"Your fists generate extreme flames," she said, visibly shaken.
"This is a rare combat skill. Only one other person in the world possesses something similar."
Fire Fist… Drake noted internally, smiling.
A great skill you've got.
Still not as good as mine.
Light rushed to Lena, grinning ear to ear.
"Lena! We'll become adventurers together!"
"I'm happy for you, Light," Lena said warmly.
Then Light turned back to Drake, smirk wide.
"So? Who's the lackey now, Agriculture God?"
Drake chuckled.
"I'll admit—it's a good skill."
He nodded approvingly.
"You've earned a promotion."
"…To Head Lackey."
"You—!" Light snarled, flames bursting from his fists.
"Take this!"
"Light, no!" Lena cried.
"Stop at once!" the Holy Sister shouted.
"Fighting is prohibited in the Lord's—"
CRASH!
Light was hurled across the church like a ragdoll, slamming into the stone wall.
Silence.
Sorry, Light, Drake thought as he lowered his arm.
You forced my hand. This act is exhausting.
Everyone stared in disbelief.
Someone with Fire Fist…
Defeated by someone with Fruit Master?
Drake turned his back and began walking toward the exit.
"Wait—stop him!" the Holy Sister cried, signaling the clerks—
Then she froze.
Her appraisal skill was still active.
And what she saw made her blood run cold.
Skills…?
No—too many.
Far too many.
Drake stepped outside.
At the doorway, he turned back, smiled faintly—
And vanished.
...
Drake walked along a narrow forest path, boots crunching softly against dirt and fallen leaves.
This road would lead him to the nearest city—the very same city where Light Underwood had begun his adventurer journey in the anime.
The city of Aurelia.
Tall walls rose in the distance, banners fluttering above stone towers. Compared to Ortana from the Grimgar world, this place was on a completely different scale.
"System," Drake said calmly, "show me my new skill."
A translucent panel appeared before his eyes.
[Active Skill]
[Fruit Master]
[Lv.1 (EXP 0/100)]
[You are the master of fruits. You can greatly accelerate the growth of fruits and are immune to all fruit-based poisons.]
Drake smiled slowly.
"Yeah…" he murmured. "This is the one."
His goal was simple: acquire Skill Fruit seeds. As many as possible. He needed to stack skills relentlessly.
...
Aurelia was lively.
Merchants shouted their wares, adventurers passed by with weapons slung over their shoulders, and the streets buzzed with energy. Drake walked through the city calmly, eyes scanning stalls and shops.
Most vendors sold weapons, armor, or potions.
Then he spotted it.
An agriculture shop.
Drake stepped inside.
"Greetings—"
The man behind the counter, well-dressed and neatly groomed, began politely.
Then his eyes dropped to Drake's tattered clothes.
"…Are you a farmer?"
Drake nodded casually, glancing around the shop.
After a moment, he asked plainly,
"Do you sell Skill Fruit seeds?"
The man blinked. "Yes, of course, but—"
"I'm not here to waste your time," Drake interrupted firmly.
The man stiffened.
"I've just awakened the skill Fruit Master," Drake continued evenly.
"My ability to cultivate fruits is far beyond normal human limits."
The man's eyes widened—just slightly.
"I propose a partnership," Drake said.
"You give me Skill Fruit seeds for free. I grow them. I sell the finished Skill Fruits exclusively to you at a very low price."
He turned toward the door.
"But judging from your reaction, I'm not welcome here, so—"
"No, wait!"
The man nearly leapt over the counter.
We're on the brink of bankruptcy! he screamed internally. We can't turn down any chance like this!
"I—I deeply apologize, sir!" the man bowed sharply.
"I spoke out of turn!"
I don't even know if he's telling the truth…
But we need every bit of money that we can get!
Drake smiled faintly.
...
By sunset, Drake was walking back toward the village, a wooden box tucked under his arm.
Inside it—Skill Fruit seeds.
It had worked.
He could've stolen them. His thief skills made it easy.
But Drake still had morals.
He preferred deals over theft—unless absolutely necessary.
Besides, he didn't have a single coin from this world's currency.
As he neared the village, his gaze drifted upward toward a narrow mountain path branching off the road.
At the top—
A house.
Old. Isolated.
Perfect.
"Don't think about it."
An elderly villager passing by shook his head.
"You're not of this village, right? I haven't seen you around. That house is haunted—"
Drake stopped.
"Haunted?" he asked.
The old man nodded gravely.
"That house up there… everyone who's lived there died strange deaths."
Drake raised an eyebrow.
"One slipped on a banana peel and cracked his head open," the man continued.
"Another—his son—fell out of bed and hit the bedside table."
Drake smiled.
A cursed house…
Perfect.
"And the land around it?" Drake asked. "Is it fertile?"
The old man paused, confused.
"Well… yes. The man who died first was the best farmer in the village. He chose that land carefully. But why—"
Drake was already walking up the mountain path.
"Thanks, old man!" he called back cheerfully.
"W-Wait! Where are you going?!"
The old man sighed as Drake disappeared uphill.
"…These youngsters."
To be continued...
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The name of the city, Aurelia, is a name I've came up on my own, I couldn't find the city's real name.