Chapter 6: You Only Live Once, Dumb Host

’Please be real. Just please be fucking real.’

After searching for several seconds, the soldier finally stopped moving his finger.

"Found him. Zishan Walker, auxiliary field unit, eastern formation. Assigned to the third supply line before the eastern position collapsed."

Zishan felt some of the tension leave his shoulders.

The armored man glanced toward the roster. "Status?"

"Reported missing during the retreat."

Every soldier around them looked back at Zishan.

He gave them an awkward smile. "Good news. I’m not missing anymore. Hehe."

Nobody laughed.

"Tough crowd," he muttered.

The spear pointed at Zishan lowered slightly, although not enough for him to feel completely safe.

"How did you end up inside the enemy camp?" the armored man asked.

That question immediately reminded Zishan of the bastard who had pointed him in the wrong direction and sent him straight toward the enemy camp.

Zishan’s face darkened. "Someone gave me directions."

The armored man looked surprised.

"Incorrect directions," Zishan added.

One of the soldiers frowned. "Someone directed you into the enemy camp?"

Zishan paused.

Now that the man said it aloud, there was a rather obvious problem with his explanation. As far as these people knew, he was a soldier. A soldier who apparently needed someone else to tell him which side of the battlefield belonged to the enemy.

"The eastern position had already collapsed," Zishan said. "I woke up with no idea where I was. Everyone was running in different directions, and someone pointed me that way."

"And you followed what he told you?" The soldier stared at him.

Zishan sighed. "Yes. I followed him. I know. It was incredibly stupid."

The armored man studied him for another moment before asking, "Who gave you the directions?"

"I never saw his face. He was wearing a mask," Zishan replied.

’Telling them anything more probably wouldn’t help. What if the man had genuinely been trying to help and was simply terrible at giving directions? Would these people immediately decide he was a traitor or a spy? Besides, it would only complicate things and probably drag me into some investigation I wanted no part of.’

"Hmm..."

"I had just woken up surrounded by people trying to kill each other. Forgive me for not asking for his full name, hometown, and favorite food before running where he pointed," he remarked.

A few soldiers finally showed the smallest signs of amusement, although the armored man remained unmoved. The lapdog from earlier was still glaring at him too, which Zishan considered quite a nice bonus.

"So you were separated during the eastern collapse, became disoriented, entered the enemy position by mistake, and somehow escaped from their camp, correct?"

Zishan considered the summary and decided it made him sound far more competent than he had actually been. "Yes."

[The Dumb Host has deliberately omitted several humiliating details. The System suggests the Host tell them what really transpired.]

His jaw tightened. ’Nobody asked you.’

A notification appeared before he could continue the argument.

[QUEST CONDITION SATISFIED]

The greenish panel expanded immediately afterward.

[EMERGENCY QUEST COMPLETE]

[Escape This Predicament!]

[Objective completed: Allied identity verified and immediate suspicion resolved.]

Zishan’s eyes immediately brightened. Somehow, it brought out the gamer in him.

[Settlement processing...]

[SETTLEMENT CONFIRMED]

[+5 PER — PERMANENT]

[APPRAISAL — PERMANENT]

Another panel followed.

[Appraisal]

[Tier: Form]

[Perfected Glimpse: Removed]

[True Mastery: Beginner]

[Residual Insight: Retained]

Zishan stared at the panels for several seconds before a grin slowly spread across his face. ’HAHAHAHA! Who’s the NPC now?! Bitches!’

[The Dumb Host is so happy that his brain appears to have malfunctioned. The System will find a way to rewire it right.]

His grin immediately weakened. ’I was enjoying the moment, you killjoy!’

The strange perfection that had been resting over Appraisal faded almost immediately, and the difference was impossible to miss.

Zishan still knew how to use the Skill. He could focus on a target, activate Appraisal, and understand the information it returned, but the effortless certainty he had possessed only moments earlier was gone. The Perfected Glimpse had made every part of the Skill feel obvious, as though there had never been a question about how to direct his attention or interpret what he found.

Now, the same Skill felt considerably rougher.

Not gone, just very, very far from perfected.

Zishan frowned slightly as he tested the feeling in his head. ’So this is Beginner?’

[Correct.]

’That’s actually depressing if you come to think of it, but getting such a Skill for free is already broken! If I had this as a player, who would dare mock me even?!’

[The Dumb Host was permitted to experience the Skill at Perfected Mastery before earning it.]

’Exactly. You showed me how good it could be and then took it away. Nice!’ He was just joking, but he preferred having it retained with him. ’Well, life is complicated. Even the most broken thing that could happen to you has its setbacks. I’m not complaining, though.’

[The Perfected Glimpse was provisional from the beginning.]

’You sound like customer service explaining why I can’t return something after opening the box,’ he said in his thoughts, communicating with the System.

The System did not respond.

Zishan narrowed his eyes. ’That silence feels suspicious.’

What remained from the Perfected Glimpse was different from the Skill itself. He could remember how Appraisal had felt when every adjustment came naturally, and although he could no longer reproduce that level of control, the memory of it had not disappeared.

He knew there was more. Much, much more!

That alone made his mouth curl upward again. Then, the absurdity of the entire Quest finally settled in.

He had Advance Claimed the rewards, expecting that he might actually need them to survive whatever happened next. Instead, the Quest had been resolved by answering the question that had already been asked before it even appeared.

Just his first and last name did the thing.

’Zishan Walker.’

He let the silence sit for a moment. ’I want to formally complain.’

[Complaint rejected.]

’I haven’t even complained yet!’

[The System predicted the complaint. Moreover, the Dumb Host’s complaints have always been stupid and irrelevant so far.]

’Then you already know what I’m going to say! That last sentence was really unnecessary!’

[The Dumb Host believes the previous Quest required considerably more effort for a lower-Tier Skill.]

’Exactly! I almost fucking died for Rift Steps! Still not done with it, although I understand the difference between the two.’

[Correct.]

’And this time, I just said my name.’

[The Dumb Host also avoided detention and possible execution as an unidentified infiltrator. Congratulations, Dumb Host.]

’BY SAYING MY NAME!’

[Correct.]

’That does not make this better! You’re like a fucking irritating AI back from my world. Except that one feels a little kinder. Unlike you!’

Despite how unfair the reward felt compared with everything he had gone through for Rift Steps, the unfairness soon mattered less than how excited he was about Appraisal.

A Skill that could inspect people, objects, materials, equipment, and magical phenomena was exactly the sort of thing someone who knew absolutely nothing about this world needed.

Zishan’s eyes shifted toward the armored man.

’Appraisal.’

A faint green shimmer crossed his vision.

[APPRAISAL FAILED]

[Target exceeds current effective Appraisal capability.]

Zishan raised an eyebrow.

The armored man noticed immediately. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," he replied, quickly shaking his head.

"You were staring at me."

"I have eyes. And that’s because you’re quite handsome, commander."

’Oh shit, is he the commander? Oh, wait... I did remember someone shouting that he was. Moreover, he seems more dignified than the rest of the soldiers here. Most of them looked amateurish, like dogs waiting for their owner. I can even imagine that one soldier trying to kill me just because I disrespected someone! Doesn’t make sense at all. Yes, definitely a dog.’

"Mr. Walker."

"Fine... I was testing something. I just got a new Skill, and I tried using it on you because I was curious."

The man sighed in a way that suggested Zishan had somehow exhausted him despite having known him for less than five minutes.

"You can test whatever it is after we leave the battlefield. Until then, you are coming with us," the armored man said.

"Where?"

"Rear command. Anyone reported missing during the collapse has to be checked, questioned, and reassigned."

Zishan’s excitement weakened considerably at the word questioned.

"That sounds like paperwork."

"It is indeed paperwork. Why? Do you hate it?" the armored man replied, his tone filled with amusement.

"Can I go back to being chased instead?" Zishan asked, but the man did not reply and only stared at him. "What if I promise to come back afterward?"

Zishan looked at the man’s face and realized there was probably no version of the conversation that ended with him being allowed to wander away. "You’re very unreasonable."

"I have been called worse." The armored man paused and gazed into his eyes. "Also, a bit of advice. Don’t use probing Skills on people or other races you don’t know. Not everyone will take it as well as I did."

Then, he motioned for two soldiers to follow toward the rear command himself. With that, the remaining soldiers finally lowered their weapons.

Zishan followed them reluctantly while experimenting with Appraisal.

Unlike Rift Steps, which depended on his body reproducing movements and Mana control that he was still struggling to handle, Appraisal felt more like another way of directing his attention. Whenever he focused on something, he could sense the Skill waiting for him to use it.

His gaze drifted toward the sword carried by the soldier walking beside him.

’Appraisal.’

[IRON SWORD]

[Tier: None]

[Condition: Worn]

[Notable Properties: None]

Zishan’s mood improved instantly. ’Noice! Noice!’

Then, his attention moved toward the soldier’s armor.

’Appraisal.’

[FIELD INFANTRY ARMOR]

[Tier: None]

[Condition: Damaged]

[Notable Properties: None]

Then, the man’s boots.

’Appraisal.’

[LEATHER BOOTS]

[Condition: Poor]

Zishan almost laughed.

The soldier noticed. "What?"

"Your boots are in terrible condition."

The man stopped walking, staring at him. "How do you know that?"

Zishan stopped as well. "...Lucky guess?"

’Even without appraisal, I can also tell... this dumbass.’

[A Friendly Reminder: The Host is also a dumbass.]

’What do you mean a friendly reminder?!’

The soldier stared at him suspiciously before eventually continuing. Zishan waited until the man was looking away before turning his attention toward the metal plate strapped to the man’s forearm.

[APPRAISAL INCOMPLETE]

[Object contains an unrecognized magical inscription.]

[Required Skill Mastery insufficient.]

Now, that was interesting.

His curiosity, already dangerous under normal circumstances, began growing considerably faster than his common sense could contain. Weapons surrounded him, along with unfamiliar magical equipment, strange armor, banners, horses, supply crates, and probably hundreds of objects that could reveal something about the world if Appraisal worked on them.

The System apparently noticed where his attention was wandering.

[The Dumb Host is advised not to Appraise everything in sight.]

’Why not?’

[Because the Dumb Host might attract unnecessary attention. Unless, of course, the Dumb Host wishes to die sooner. Fair warning: the Dumb Host cannot respawn. As your previous world liked to put it—YOLO. You Only Live Once.]

Zishan folded his arms across his chest and thought, ’I call it research.’

[The Dumb Host attempted to Appraise the man questioning him less than a minute after permanently acquiring the Skill.]

’Exactly. Efficient research.’

[That is not what efficient means, Dumb Host. Efficient research produces useful information while minimizing wasted effort, unnecessary risk, and avoidable consequences. Attempting to probe an unknown armored man who was already deciding whether the Dumb Host should be detained does not satisfy any of those conditions.]

’You got information out of it, didn’t you?’

[The information obtained was that the Dumb Host makes poor decisions quickly.]

[The System has observed the Dumb Host for a very short period and has already determined that worrying is appropriate.]

His grin disappeared. ’Roast me more then! I’m getting tired of it!’

[This is noted, Dumb Host.]

’Fuck you!’

Zishan glanced toward the nearest soldier’s pouch, wondering what might be inside it, before forcing himself to look away.

He had barely arrived in this world and already possessed a Bloodline born from war, a movement Skill he had learned while being hunted through an enemy camp, and now a Form-Tier Appraisal Skill that he had somehow earned by telling someone his name.

None of it had happened the way he would have expected progression in a fantasy world to work. Then again, he had also died trying to save a cupcake and awakened in the middle of a battlefield.

Perhaps expecting anything about his new life to make sense was already a mistake.

His attention drifted toward another passing soldier’s weapon. ’Maybe just one more Appraisal...’

[No.]

Zishan’s eyebrow twitched. ’I didn’t even do anything!’

[Yet.]

✦ ═〔 PRECEDENCE 〕═ ✦

[STATUS] (Updated)

Name: Zishan Walker

Race: Human

Level: 1

Ascent: Unascended

Experience: 0 / 100

Mana: 18 / 60

[BASIC STATS]

STR: 11

VIT: 21

AGI: 22

<anno data-annotation-id="dfc07898-6a94-addb-ee88-4b3e90afaeac" data-title="PER: 18">PER: 18¹</anno>

INT: 12

WIL: 10

[MAGIC]

Mana Affinity(ies): Unresolved

Magic Profession(s): None

[BLOODLINES]

Main Bloodline: Unidentified

Grade: Unreadable

State: Dormant (Partially Active)

Other Bloodline(s):

(1) Ashen Banner Bloodline

Grade: Vestige

State: Active

Status: Permanent

Description: A Bloodline born from the accumulated Mana, will, fear, rage...

[PHYSIQUE]

Main Physique: Unknown

Grade: Unreadable

Measurement: Failed

Other Physique(s): None.

[SKILLS]

Trace-Tier Skill(s):

(1) Rift Steps

Mastery: Beginner

Status: Permanent

Form-Tier Skill(s):

(1) Appraisal

Mastery: Beginner

Status: Permanent

<annotations style="display: none;">Stat bonuses from an Advance Claim are shown separately while they remain provisional. For example, Zishan’s Perception would appear as PER: 13 (+5), with the (+5) representing the provisional increase. Once Settlement confirms the reward as permanent, those five points are absorbed into the base Stat, changing the display to PER: 18 and removing the parentheses.</annotations>