Chapter 36: Actually, I Have a Rough Idea of the Activation Condition for Kazu’s Replication

One of the increased skills was the mysterious skill with unreadable characters that Ebony had mentioned, and the other skill was an ultra-rare skill whose name Kazui had only just learned.

"Yuri, your native skill that turns you into a woman is called Leonization, right?"

"That’s right, but what about it?"

"The same one... Leonization is on my skill list."

The three of them showed surprised expressions at Kazui’s words.

However, Ivory and Ebony seemed to have already predicted it, so the degree of their surprise was smaller than Yuri’s.

"So it really is that, after all..."

After muttering that, Ivory asked Kazui:

"Will you... show us your skill list?"

Next, Ebony declared to Kazui:

"Show it to me too!"

"Sure."

Kazui gave the two of them permission to look at his skill list.

If the adventurer themselves granted permission, anyone who possessed high-level appraisal skills could peek at a skill list.

Incidentally, there was also a method of using the Orb to show a skill list to others.

That method was normally used with people who did not possess high-level appraisal skills.

Ivory and Ebony’s eyes began to glow.

They were using appraisal-type skills in order to confirm Kazui’s skill list.

"It’s Leonization..."

Following the surprised Ivory, Ebony opened her mouth while widening her large eyes.

"It’s true... you have Leonization."

Incidentally, Leonization was a special skill that could hide its own existence if set so that it would not be displayed on a normal skill list.

It would still appear on a separate hidden skill list that was not shown to others.

Yuri had set Leonization so that it would not be displayed on his skill list.

He only allowed it to appear on the hidden skill list.

However, by default, Leonization was set to be displayed on the normal skill list.

Therefore, on Kazui’s skill list, which remained at the default setting, Leonization was displayed.

That was why, if Ebony and Ivory used appraisal skills after obtaining Kazui’s permission, they could confirm that Leonization was listed on his skill list.

"Why do I have the same Leonization as Yuri?"

Kazui was surprised that he had somehow acquired the ultra-rare skill Leonization even though he had no memory of obtaining it.

He immediately arrived at the reason.

"Did I copy it from Yuri?! No, but... my Replication still has unknown activation conditions and shouldn’t be usable yet, right?"

"I already knew that Kazu had not yet found the activation conditions for Replication from how few skills he had, but..."

Ivory continued.

"...Actually, I have a rough idea of the activation condition for Kazu’s Replication."

Hearing Ivory’s words, Kazui’s eyes widened in surprise.

She had already seen through the activation condition of Replication that even he himself did not know.

"Please tell me! What is the activation condition for my Replication?"

Looking awkward and reluctant, Ivory gave her answer.

"Well... probably, it’s sexual acts."

"S-Sexual acts?"

Not only Kazui but even Yuri raised their voices in excessive surprise.

Ebony did not show surprise because she had already heard from Ivory beforehand about the possibility that sexual acts were the activation condition.

"That skill of Kazu’s written in unreadable characters... it’s probably a skill he copied from the succubus who attacked him."

"Copied from the succubus?"

Ivory nodded at Kazui’s question.

"High-level monsters sometimes possess a type of rare skill called Appraisal Interference."

Ivory briefly explained Appraisal Interference.

"When Appraisal Interference is used, it causes a type of abnormal status in which various information such as skills is replaced with strange characters like the ones on Kazu’s unreadable skill, making it so that even appraisal-type skills cannot see through them."

Ebony added to the explanation.

"The one who used Appraisal Interference can still read it normally, though."

In other words, Appraisal Interference was deliberately causing an abnormal status in order to hide information such as skills.

However, since the user themselves could still read it normally, it did not become a problem for them.

There were also human adventurers who possessed skills that enabled Appraisal Interference as rare skills.

However, the Appraisal Interference-type skills used by human adventurers tended to be more sophisticated in the way they interfered and were harder to notice as Appraisal Interference itself.

Therefore, judging from looking at Kazui’s skill list, Ivory analyzed that the type of Appraisal Interference being used was the kind employed by high-level monsters.

If a skill currently in use was appraised and seen through by an adventurer, it would become easier to counter, so Appraisal Interference was used to avoid that.

"If Kazu, who possesses Replication, has a skill whose information is hidden by the type of Appraisal Interference used by high-level monsters, then the only possibility is that he copied it from that succubus, right?"

At Ivory’s question, Kazui nodded.

"In other words, the fact that Kazu did something with the succubus makes it highly likely that that something is the activation condition for Replication."

"When you say what I did with the succubus..."

"Kazu did... that sexual act with the succubus, so as of yesterday I could already speculate that sexual acts might be a candidate for the activation condition."

Ivory continued her explanation.

"There were other candidates for the activation condition as well, such as nearly being killed or being attacked, so I couldn’t be certain it was sexual acts."

"Are you certain now?"

At Kazui’s question, Ivory nodded and then asked Yuri:

"I’m sorry for asking such a rude question, but the person you had sexual relations... sex with in order to return from being a Leona to a man was Kazu, right?"

Yuri had used Leonization, which most men were reluctant to use, in order to save Kazui.

Given such a close relationship, Ivory had speculated that the person Yuri had sexual relations with in order to return to being a man was Kazui.

"Eh? Ah... yes."

Even though it was embarrassing because the question came from his benefactor, Yuri answered honestly.

"The only thing Kazu did with both the succubus and Yuri is sexual acts, so that’s how I became certain that the activation condition for Replication is sexual acts."

Ivory’s speculation was logical, and Kazui found it persuasive.