My Skills Can Evolve Infinitely in a Game-Like World

Chapter 22: Gifts & Player Template’s Effects

"Dad, what are you doing? Are you trying to scam people again?"

"Haven’t I told you not to embarrass me in front of my friends?"

Before Aurelius could process this information, a voice filled with annoyance echoed throughout the shop.

It was Mia.

Unknowingly, she had appeared between the two, staring at the parchments in Aurelius’ hands for a second before turning toward her father.

The latter showed an embarrassed expression.

His entire body trembled as he hurriedly waved his hands.

"No! No! I’m not trying to scam him. I’m just giving a few things as a greeting gift—"

Halfway through that sentence, unfortunately, Mia interrupted him.

"Dad, go to the back! I will apologize to Aurelius for your sake."

Homer appeared to want to say something, but in the end, he sighed regretfully and walked away.

While he was leaving, he didn’t forget to mutter a few sentences under his breath.

Most of it was inaudible, but the sentences "the daughter betrays her father for a man" and "I just wanted to ask for a few golden coins" were relatively clear.

As she heard these mutterings, Mia became even angrier.

She turned to look at Aurelius, casting a look of apology.

"I’m really sorry. My father has been having some mental issues lately."

"He has been... too bored. You’re not the first person he has tried to scam. However, I’ll make sure that you’re the last."

Mia shook her head. She puffed her cheeks while waving her fists threateningly.

Aurelius wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only swallow his words. He looked at the paper in his hands.

"This..."

"There’s no need to worry," Mia suddenly waved her hand dismissively.

"If you’re interested, you can take them with you. Consider it as my apology for everything that happened, both regarding Selene and my father."

Under normal circumstances, Aurelius would have refused such an offer, especially since he knew he was actually at fault.

However, recalling the notifications that had just flashed and the unfathomable interface hovering above Homer’s head, he nodded.

Perhaps because of the incident, Mia was no longer in the mood to accompany him.

After the two exchanged a few more words, promising to meet up for a cup of coffee in the future, Aurelius left the shop under her lead.

Soon, the rundown shop had been left behind.

Aurelius walked through the Blood Sun City’s streets, his hands tightly clutching the pieces of paper.

He didn’t know how long he had been walking.

It was only when he had returned to the Sol mansion that he snapped back to reality.

After speaking with his mother for a little while, he hurriedly returned to his room and closed the door behind him.

Only then did his tense body relax.

He didn’t rush to go through the pieces of paper, nor did he look at the system notifications.

His attention was focused on the information he had glimpsed from Mia’s father—Homer.

It was the first time Aurelius had met a person whose information he could not observe.

Based on his years of experience as a gamer, he had a faint guess about why that would be.

’There are only two options...’

’Either Mia’s father possesses some kind of treasure or ability that conceals his details, or their Level and Rank are too far above my own and invalidate this ability.’

Aurelius leaned toward the latter being the truth.

But even if it were the former, the result would be the same.

Everything pointed to the fact that Homer was extraordinary.

If Players were to learn of his existence, they would immediately regard him as a Hidden NPC. Perhaps even more so than Aurelius himself.

With that thought, Aurelius remembered the gifts Homer had given him.

With a move of his mind, the notification log emerged in his field of vision, and he turned toward the last one.

"You’ve gained the Rare Item: Alchemist’s Handbook."

...

[Alchemist’s Handbook: You can consume this item to upgrade one of your Sub-Class—Alchemist’s Talents or skills.]

...

If the investigation of Homer had not been enough to reveal his extraordinary nature, this item should have been more than enough.

A precious Class-exclusive Item!

Such objects were extremely rare. As the system’s description stated, they could be used to provide boosts and enhancements to the related Class.

Some of these enhancements came in the form of Talent upgrades, others were brand-new skills, while some directly changed the way the Class functioned.

Alchemist’s Handbook was not as heaven-defying.

Yet its function was more than enough to make Aurelius’ eyes light up.

At the same time, it also confirmed his previous suspicion.

’Mia’s father must have discovered that I’m an Awakener. Moreover, he must have seen I am an Alchemist as well.’

’I don’t believe this gift was given at random. It can’t be a coincidence.’

The mystery surrounding this formidable figure only deepened.

Aurelius felt a sense of apprehension in his heart.

But at the same time, he also felt a burst of excitement.

This item was only one of the three objects the mysterious Homer had gifted him.

Just how valuable would the other two be?

Upon that thought, Aurelius didn’t hesitate.

He didn’t rush to decide what to upgrade, but instead picked up the remaining parchments and began going through their contents.

One of them—the Alchemist’s Handbook—was set aside.

The other two resulted in two new notifications.

"You’ve gained the Skill: Alchemist’s Gun!"

"Skill—Alchemist’s Gun. Requirements: INT 20. Class: Mana-Based Class. The Player currently does not meet the requirements."

"Ding!"

"Mythical Class Arcanist has been activated. Arcanist’s Heart has taken effect! You’ve met the requirements!"

"Do you wish to learn Alchemist’s Gun?"

...

"Potion Recipe Detected!—Moonlight Potion."

[Moonlight Potion (Common): A rare Potion that can permanently increase an Awakener’s Mana Pool. It is only useful for Rank 1 Awakeners.]

"Ding!"

"Player Template has been activated! Moonlight Potion has been adjusted to the Player Template’s characteristics."

[Moonlight Potion (Player Version): ...]