“So that’s the reason. I want to sell you all my skills and then buy some combat-related ones.”

I received both a purchase and a selling request at the same time, and I honestly didn’t know how to react.

The last time I was this shaken up was when a wealthy lady had pressed me, saying, “I want a rejuvenation skill!”

The elderly man before me, with his splendid white hair, is someone known as a wise sage, having accumulated vast knowledge, nurtured talented students as a teacher, and earned the respect of many.

Even the residence I was summoned to is an impressive mansion, complete with maids and butlers as if it were perfectly natural.

“Um, are you really going to sell all of them? You do know what skills you have, correct?”

“Of course. ‘Instant Memory’, ‘Speed Reading’, ‘Calculation’, ‘Comprehension’, ‘Extensive Knowledge’, ‘Appraisal’, ‘Education’, and ‘Memory’, was it? Oh, could you let me keep just ‘Memory’? The rest I’ve already absorbed into my mind as knowledge. I have no further use for them.”

The sheer number and contents were surprising enough, but even more shocking was the fact that every single one was at level 20.

These are skills worthy of someone called a sage. There must be countless people who’d want even just one of them.

Yet, he’s attempting to sell almost all of them without hesitation.

“They seem to be quite high in value as well.”

“Naturally. I’ve spent my life seeking all kinds of knowledge and putting those skills to use. I’ve memorized every book in the town’s library. I’ve devoured every piece of literature I could find, collected people’s rumors, and as a result... I came to learn of your existence, the so-called Skill Collector.”

Incredible. He’s speaking in such a calm, matter-of-fact way, not even bragging.

If I had been blessed with this level of skill, I’d have lived a comfortable life with no effort. And yet, he never stopped pursuing knowledge.

“It’s an honor that my name reached someone like you, Sage.”

“Flattery is unnecessary. All I want to hear is whether it’s possible or not.”

“It is possible. However, all of them are extremely high-value skills. With seven in total, the buyout price will be astronomical. I’m not sure if I even have enough on hand.”

These are skills in high demand among merchants and officials. And on top of that, all are beyond level 20—it would require a massive amount of money.

“That’s fine. Just give me a flat hundred thousand for the whole lot.”

The sage said something outrageous with no concern at all, making my eyes widen in surprise.

He’s not someone who doesn’t understand the value of skills. This decision was clearly made with full awareness.

It’s an extremely sweet deal for me—but precisely because of that, I’m increasingly suspicious.

“I’m sorry. This is honestly such a one-sided gain for me that I don’t know how to respond.”

“Hmm, I suppose that’s fair. Then, perhaps I should explain. For many years, I sought knowledge and read countless books, thinking that was the natural thing to do. I never even questioned it. But as I aged, I began to wonder if this was really the right path. As you can see, I’m quite old. Even if I live long, I might only have ten more years. So, I decided to cast aside everything I’ve been and live a new life—as an adventurer.”

A wish to be reborn. That’s not such a rare desire.

“I want to be lucky.”

“Sell me the ‘Charm’ skill—I want to be popular.”

“Do you have ‘Strength’? I want to fix my frail body.”

I’ve heard many such requests before. But this... this is unexpected.

Still, if he keeps just ‘Memory’, then it’s true that the other skills are no longer necessary. His mind already holds vast knowledge, and thanks to the skill’s effect, he’ll never forget it.

Having satisfied his thirst for knowledge, he now wants to walk a new path. A second life, in a way... That’s not a bad idea for old age.

“The skills I want are: ‘Swordsmanship’, ‘Stamina’, ‘Super Strength’, ‘Recovery’, ‘Stealth’, and ‘Tail’... would those be possible?”

“Well, I do have those.”

“They don’t need to be high-level. Level 5 will do. Just enough to support this old body.”

He just casually mentioned skill levels. If your ‘Appraisal’ skill is high enough, you can see the level of someone’s skills. But with the sage’s appraisal level, that shouldn’t be possible.

“Hmm, you seem surprised. If ‘Appraisal’ is high-level, you can see it, yes? I can’t, but I read about that in some book.”

“You truly are knowledgeable.”

“Thanks to the ‘Extensive Knowledge’ skill, yes.”

He stroked his splendid white beard with a sly grin. A wily old man indeed.

“You don’t really need an explanation, Sage, but I’ll say this just in case. Skills are not all-powerful. For instance, someone born with level 10 ‘Swordsmanship’ but no combat experience would lose to a true master who has no skill but has trained relentlessly.”

“I understand. It’s not something that can be judged purely by numbers. But if I were to quantify it... someone with zero base ability would only reach ten by adding level 10 ‘Swordsmanship’. A master whose base ability equals a level 20 skill would easily win, even without the skill. Of course, that’s not all. Instinct and combat experience matter greatly as well.”

He really is a sage. My explanation was unnecessary.

Skills are abilities that add on top of one’s base potential. A well-trained body is strong even without skills. But if two people are close in ability, the one with skills usually has the advantage.

“Forgive me, I didn’t mean to lecture. Since none of the skills you seek are very high-level, the difference will still leave you with plenty of change from the purchase amount.”

“Hmm, then could I ask for a little more value in the skills I receive? Let’s see... could you sell me ‘Stealth’ and ‘Tail’ at slightly higher levels?”

“In that case, consider it done. Thank you very much.”

Even so, I was making a fortune here. But I’ll gratefully accept his generosity.

I didn’t explain it, assuming he understood, but buying skills requires empty skill slots. People are born with a limited number of skills they can possess. In the sage’s case, all his slots had been filled—but now that he sold seven, he had room again.

Once the new skills are installed into the empty slots, the transaction is complete. Just having money doesn’t mean you can get any skill you want.

As I reached out for a handshake to finalize the deal, the door to the sage’s room opened with a clack.

“Grandpa, are you done talking?”

Peeking in through the gap in the door was a young girl who looked to be in her mid-teens. Judging by her manner, she must be the sage’s granddaughter.

Her short-cropped hair made her look like a boy, but it suited her well.

“We’ve just finished. Is something wrong?”

Despite speaking to his grandchild, he wore a stern expression. He didn’t seem like the type to be unconditionally doting. As expected, he must be a strict man.

“I’m going on my first adventure tomorrow, so I thought I should let you know.”

“I see. You do understand that being an adventurer is a dangerous job, don’t you?”

“I do! I’ve told you that so many times. You really are such a worrier, Grandpa.”

The girl, who appeared to be his granddaughter, didn’t shrink from the stern sage and responded to him with a bright smile.

Was it that the girl had a strong heart, or that the old sage was actually kind despite appearances? Having only met them today, I couldn't tell.

If I relied on Psychology, I could see through it easily, but using it in a casual setting like this would just be tactless.

“The reason I wanted to become an adventurer in the first place was because Grandpa used to tell me all kinds of exciting adventure stories before bed.”

“And I regret that now. I told you before—I was against it, yet you went and chose to be an adventurer anyway. You are never to return to this house again.”

“I know. I also know that tomorrow will be the last day I see you, Grandpa. …Sorry for bothering you, mister. Grandpa may be like this, but he’s actually a kind person. So, don’t be scared, okay?”

“There’s no need for unnecessary chatter. If you’ve said what you needed to say, then leave.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

She’s a cheerful, friendly girl. From the conversation, it sounds like tomorrow is her adventurer debut.

I apologize for doing so without permission, but I used Appraisal to check her skills. She had Archery, Super Strength, Health, Presence Detection, Agility, and Hawk Eye—a very well-balanced and fortunate skill set for an adventurer.

“Collector. I see you checked her skills. What did you think?”

“You noticed, huh? Sorry, it’s a bit of a professional habit.”

“That doesn’t matter. Can my granddaughter succeed as an adventurer with those skills?”

It seems the girl wasn’t lying. I could feel from his demeanor that he was genuinely concerned for his granddaughter. His expression didn’t change, though.

“Yes. She’s quite talented. If she gains experience steadily, I believe she could make a name for herself as an adventurer.”

“I see… I just hope she doesn’t grow complacent with her skills.”

Despite what he says, he looks pleased. Just slightly, his cheeks are relaxed.

In terms of talent alone, she’s more than sufficient. But no one knows what may happen on an adventure. The old sage’s worry is well-founded. His words carry weight because he’s someone with deep knowledge and experience.

With our business concluded, I stood and was just about to exit through the door when I suddenly froze.

“I hope she doesn’t do anything reckless…”

A faint voice I would’ve missed without the Eavesdrop skill. Moved by the old sage’s true feelings for his granddaughter, I decided to offer him a little service.

The next day, I sat on a bench in a square with a good view of the Adventurers' Guild, observing the area.

If today was the old man’s granddaughter’s debut, she should be heading to the guild.

Adventurers handle requests like monster extermination, escort missions, odd jobs… In short, they’re generalists, though that might sound a bit crude. Since many tasks involve combat, the danger is self-evident.

The Adventurers’ Guild is the organization that oversees such adventurers.

Since the granddaughter had seen my face, I used Disguise, Concealment, and Presence Control to erase my presence while watching people come and go.

“Ah, looks like the young lady’s party has arrived.”

They were a bit far away, so I activated Clairvoyance to zoom in and observe closely.

She wore light armor, carried a short sword and a high-quality bow. There were three members total in the party, with a decent skill balance. It would be better if they had one more member, but even so, this looked promising.

As thanks for the profitable deal yesterday, I decided to watch over the old man’s granddaughter for the day.

It was partly a gesture of goodwill, but also to confirm something that had been bothering me for a while.

Keeping a good distance from the group as they left town, I began tailing them. Although I’d sold the Tail skill to the old man, lowering my level a bit, I was still high-level enough that it wouldn’t matter.

What’s interesting about this Trade system is that if you sell, say, 3 levels of a skill that’s level 10, the skill doesn’t disappear—it just drops to level 7. High-level skills don’t suffer much even if you sell part of them.

So even with the slight downgrade, there aren’t many who could detect my tailing.