Chapter 1

The concept of levels exists in this world.

All of the living beings started from level 1; it's possible for them to raise their levels by obtaining experience values.

The experience values can be obtained by defeating monsters who dominate this world. However, not everyone is capable of defeating them because they are very dangerous.

Only the people who have strong attack skills are capable of defeating them.

Sometimes we already have skills after we are born, special powers gifted from God. Everyone has one or more and they live by using them. Therefore, people who have more than one skill are usually called the God's chosen ones.

I learned that from my deceased Father.

And so, the skill that I received is . It's troublesome skill that that makes me constantly feel hungry. In the village that I was raised in, I was called a good-for-nothing and often got bullied.

I'm an unnecessary man in this world, I have nothing.

Thanks to this useless skill, after my father, who was my only relative, died because of sickness, I was driven out from the village. I went to Royal Capital Seyfat. In the big city like that, there should be something that I can do, was the my high expectation in my chest.

However, I was unable to find a decent job and ended up in the castleguard as a daily labourer.

Whether the day is raining, windy, or snowy, it's a job where I cannot move from the front of gate. Moreover, the wage is very low too.

Normally, it's not a job for commoner like me, but the Holy Knight who serve the castle.

However, because of the thing called 3K (It's severe), (it's dirty), (it's dangerous), the higher-ups employed the daily labourer like me as their substitutes.

[Oi, have you been guarding well as our substitute?]

The voice came from the young Holy Knight-sama who covered his body with dazzling armor. He is my employer, one of the three siblings from Burix Family, one of five noble family on this kingdom.

The one who is arrogantly talking to me is the eldest son, Rafal. The man on his right side is the second son Hado. Their youngest sister on their back is Memir.

They are three siblings with the same frozen blue hair color. And also, all of them are excellent Holy Knights.

What is the Holy Knight? They are people who have outstanding ability in Holy Attribute among the warriors. It's an honorary title given for those who have been acknowledged by the Kingdom.

In this world, by leveling-up the strong skills, we can increase our status. Therefore, for those who have Holy attribute skills, the Holy Knights who can raise their level by fighting against the monsters, they are people from a different dimension compared to a person like me.

If I made them angry, I don't know what will happen to me.

[Yes, Rafal Burix-sama]

I kneel and bow my head down to them. Even though these fellows are irritating.

[Here, your daily wage]

Rafal throws several copper coins to my feet. The other two behind him smile scornfully at me.

[Now, pick it up. Your wage today will decrease if you didn't quickly pick-it up]

Even if he didn't say that, it's important money for me to live. I pick the coins up quickly.

And, when I was about to pick-up the last piece, my hand was stepped on by Rafal.

[Oops sorry. I didn't know there was a hand in place like this. It was so dirty that it didn't catch my eyes]

He laughed hard while stepping on my hand. Obviously he did that on purpose.

[Do not forget, we are willing to hire trashes like you. We can find your replacement as many as we want. Do you understand that? Is that difficult for low intelligence person like you?]

[Yeah, you seem to be slacking off lately. You are doing an honorable job in exchange of us. Usually a job like this doesn't need to be paid, so you should appreciate being given money by our mercy. Do you not feel worthless picking it up?]

[It is as my older brothers have said. If you make a mistake, it will inconvenience us. I'll feel bad executing you~]

This is an educational guidance from Rafal's group to me. They try to firmly remind me where my place is. They told me that I'm a low level being, who does anything to keep staying alive, is what they drive to my core.

If I don't nod obediently, they won't allow me to pick-up the last piece. If I oppose them, they will fire me from this gatekeeper job. Furthermore, they will likely consider this as rebellion and then kill me.

Dammit. It has been five years, and yet their attitude of looking down at me like a slave hasn't changed. If, I were resign from this guard job, I'm sure Rafal will rage and accuse me of some false charges.

The irritation that matured and built up over five years welled up inside me. Anger as to why I have to obey them, and resentment towards my own weakness that made me only able to do so. And, only during these times does the skill awaken and make my stomach roar out in hunger.

Rafal thinks that I cannot eat well; he starts scolding me with severe expression.

[What a pathetic guy. You seem to not be doing your task as the gatekeeper well. We are feeding you food! Don't embarrass the Brenix Family!].

He kicked me in my stomach. Even though he didn't do it seriously, the status between Holy Knight and commoner like me is like heaven and earth.

The impact of the kick was like my internal organs jumped all the way out of my mouth. While repeatedly vomiting, I could not breathe and hit the ground.

[What is that, like a maggot. It's stinky and filthy]

Although my consciousness is faint, I heard the girl's voice who is likely Memir thorugh my ears.

[Oi, get up. If you're not standing guard as gatekeeper, we will get criticized by the other Holy Knights]

Rafal tramples my face while I am still lying on the ground.

[Get up quickly!]

There is no way I can get up. As long as he doesn't move his leg aside, I cannot get up because of the differences in our strengths.

Of course, Rafal knows about it. He seems enjoyed watching me struggle under his foot.

When he puts more power into his foot, an acute pain runs in my head.

That time when I thought I might gonna die, I was saved by a dignified voice.

[Rafal, stop it. He will die. He is one of people that we need to defend so you should not do that, that's an act unworthy of a Holy Knight]

[Tsk… Today is Roxy Heart's shift, huh?]

The one who saved me was Roxy Heart, a Holy Knight that held a strange ideology among her peers; to crush the strong and save the weak. Roxy Heart’s golden hair flutters in the wind, a perfect complement to her brave nature.

Heart Family is also one of five Noble Families- on this kingdom. It's a good Family that honors Justice.

Therefore they are adored by people, of course I am her fan too.

After being glared at by Roxy, Rafal's group ran away while cursing her. At that time, Rafal looks at Roxy and laughs fearlessly.

I know that face. Rafal is tenacious after all. He thought Roxy disgraced him so he is most likely thinking to take revenge on her.

She ignored that and went forward, took my hand and raised me up. She wiped off blood flowing from my forehead with a handkerchief.

[Are you alright?]

[Yes, it's just like usual. Thank you very much for your help, Roxy-sama]

[It's alright, we are gatekeeper comrades so it's natural. Then, let's change the shift]

I bow deeply and passed the spear embroidered with the flag of Royal Family emblem to Roxy.

This spear is a proof as gatekeeper. She is different from the other Holy Knights because she properly does the job of gatekeeper by herself.

That Roxy look worried to me as I released her hand.

[If they try to do something like that to you again, then leave it to-]

[No, I don't want to cause trouble for Roxis-sama. I'm already alright, so I'll get going now]

Roxy seems want to say something, but I hurried ran away from that place.

More than this, I might gonna cause her trouble with the Burix Family. Based from their characters, I don't know what kind of dirty tricks they will use.

If, she would act like that only for me, I won't feel any more despair. I just want Roxis keep walking on her way without hesitation. It will definitely bring happiness for the people of the kingdom.

To distract myself, I decided to go toward my regular drinking bar. The moon had risen high up in the sky when I entered the bar.

During the midnight like now, there are merchants, prostitutes, travelers, etc siting on the seats. Their faces were reddened because of the alcohol.

When I sat at the counter which was like my reserved seat, even if I didn't say anything, a glass of red wine was served.

It's the cheapest wine in this shop. It's not delicious and the taste is very sour since this is only for me to get drunk.

[Master, bread and soup]

[Gotcha]

It's burned hard bread which being baked a long time ago. The soup is tasteless because it was boiled vegetable from the other dishes. This is my dinner. I haven't eaten meat for 5 years. The last meat I ate was small piece of dried meat.

Well, I have forgotten the taste anyway.

Since I’m always hungry because of the skill, but I don't have enough money to satisfy it. So, I have to eat the meal in front of me slowly and distract myself from being hungry by even a little.

While I ate and drink the wine little by little, the bar owner talked to me.

[How is it, the work as gatekeeper?]

[It's severe]

[Is that so… I hope you won't ended up like your predecessor]

I didn't answer him back. The predecessor who had been employed by Burix Family, I heard he died because of overworking.

To have obsessive bullying and severe working hours, the status of the predecessor was as same as me. He gradually become thinner, suddenly fell down and died.

After that the bar owner witnessed the master of the Burix Family stepping on the body of my predecessor who died during patrol and as such was no longer of any use to the house. He says that even now the scene is still burned bright into his eyes, with him, never able to forget it.

...*****...

Chapter 2

After drank my wine, I decided to go see Roxy's situation before going back to my run-down house. Because of the matter with Rafal's group, I was worried about her.

No matter how sly Rafal is, I do not think he will start to harass her immediately. However, of that fearless smile of his that he showed when he left, I cannot get it out of my mind.

Even if something happens, I may not be able to become her power, but at least I should be able to become a meat wall for her.

With the moonlight outside, I could see the location of where the castle gate was. She was doing her guard work properly.

I was relieved, with this I can have peace of mind, it seemed that my worries were unfounded. To the girl who did her work properly, [Roxy-sama, please do your best], I will be rooting for her in my heart.

And then, when I was about to take my leave back home, I noticed that there was a shadow that climbed the wall on the east side.

It was a blind spot from Roxy and the other guards, but I could see it clearly from the place I was standing.

I'm sure that's a thief. That thief seems to be climbing up the wall and wanting to sneak into the castle in the middle of the night. In a hurry, I run to Roxy who standing by as guard.

[Roxy-sama, it's urgent!]

[What's happened? You have not returned back home yet…?]

[While I was strolling to get some fresh air, I saw a suspicious person sneaking into the castle. That person climbed over from the east wall on the other side.]

[Is that true!?]

[There is no mistake. I saw it with my own eyes]

I feel uneasy because I'm suddenly asking for her to believe me. However, after Roxy looked into my eyes,

[I believe you. I'll go toward that place, can you stay guard here in the meanwhile?]

[Yes, I will]

I received the spear with the crest of Kingdom from Roxy.

[May the fortune of war be with you, Roxy-sama]

[Please leave it to me. I have my weapon with me]

She pulled out a silver-white sword and ran toward the direction that had pointed to. So fast… As expected from a Holy Knight.

Her figure disappeared into the dark with surprising swiftness.

Soon, I heard the scream of a man. I can easily imagine Roxis defeating the thieves one after another.

From the number of the men's screams, there are a considerable number of thieves. Two, no, I am certain there are three people.

But, Roxy is a Holy Knight. She won't lose against thieves. Sure enough, the clamor turns quiet.

While I was relieved thinking it was already over, there is an adult man runs-up to my direction from the darkness.

I'm sure he is a thief that Roxy missed killing. As he approaches, his appearance gradually comes into view clearly because of the moon's shine.

This is… I hold my breath.

His right arm is chopped off and he is desperately trying to stop the bleeding with his left hand, he runs to the exit where I am standing at right now.

His complexion is pale, it's surely caused by extreme anemia due to the huge amount of lost blood.

I readied my spear. I cannot let him go. Frankly speaking, even if that man will die soon, he is still a thief that needs to be defeated.

I replaced Roxy as the gatekeeper, if I let this man go, I'll cause trouble for her. I definitely need to kill him.

My opponent is wounded. I should be able to knock him down even if I have no power. I focus myself, and ****** the spear with all of my might toward the thief.

Fortunately, the spear stabs through the thief's heart.

The thief grabbed my spear while furiously staring at me; a large amount of blood spouts from his chest and then he falls on his back.

For awhile, his hands and feet convulse, and then stop moving. The thief surely has died.

[I did it, I knocked him down…. Eh!?]

Suddenly, I feel something flowing into my body. After that, I hear a voice in my head.

Added to status? Added to skills? What is this voice? What is happening?

And then there is a sense of fullness for the first time. Even satiating the hunger that could not be satisfied even if I ate a lot. Right now, I have the best, most satisfied feeling.

While I was still soaked in the mysterious euphoria, Roxy ran to me in a panic.

[Are you alright? Are you not injured?]

While she asked so, she took my hand and then checked me for injuries.

(I am worried… Somehow I went pale… Aaa, I was worried)

What? I can heard Roxy's voice directly in my head. She is not talking, but why I can heard her voice?.

[What is it?]

[…. No, it's nothing. I didn't receive any injuries at all]

(It's true! I'm glad… I'm really glad)

I heard the voice again saying that she was very relieved for my safety.

Is this, the voice of Roxy's mind? And then, when she takes back her hand, I don't hear it anymore.

This is strange indeed. Perhaps it was because of tension from battle; I heard one could be affected by auditory hallucinations. Since the other person is a Holy Knight, I can't touch her again to confirm it.

There were 10 thieves in total trying to sneak into the castle. Even if Roxy guards by herself, she is strong enough to handle them. I killed one person that escaped from her. That was possible because she wounded him to a dying state.

Therefore, all of the credit should belong to Roxis.

[Roxy-sama, please take all of the credit for yourself]

[That won't do. Didn't you defeat one of them?]

I have a certain circumstance. It's my employer Rafal.

If they heard about this, they will be enraged because I received a help from one of the other Holy Knights, I don't know what would they do to me later. In addition, Rafal does not think of Roxis well, so he will reprimand me even more.

[If Rafal-sama heard about this, my situation would be bad…]

[Ah… Indeed. I understand. We will handle this case as you say.]

[Thank you very much]

[The one who should say thank you is me. If you hadn't told me, it would've became my blunder]

Even though she is a Holy Knight who has the best of lives, the competition among them seems to be severe. I do not know the hardship because I am at the bottom.

[Therefore, please let me give you a reward]

[No it's alright, for a Holy Knight to tell me like this…]

Since it didn’t seem like I, who was always submitting to others, was pleased by her gesture, she puffed up her cheeks and pouted. I was surprised since she would never normally make that kind of face. I felt that she was acting a bit more familiar with me.

[Let's see… Oh yeah]

Somehow, Roxy struck both of her hands together and made a specific gesture.

Although I'll receive a reward, I wonder what would I get? I'm waiting in expectation.

And then, an outrageous comment came out from her mouth.

[Do you want to work for Heart Family? I'll ask this matter to my father, I'm sure he will agree with it]

[Eh!? But, I don't have any skill at all… It's beyond my ability]

[There is no such thing as that! Just now, didn't you defeat one thief?]

I was just lucky earlier, even if I were told to do the same thing again, I think it would be impossible.

[After all…for me….]

Frustrated with my half-vague response, she lost her temper and gave me a bold statement.

[About the Burix Family, you don't need to worry about them. Or, would you rather work under the Burix Family for the rest of your life?]

[Uuh]

It seems she has seen through my anxiety because of the harassment from the Burix Family. She went this far to say she wants to hire me. I feel like shedding tears.

That Rafal and his group are the worst, they will overwork me in the future until I die.

On the other hand, my life will be rose-colored working under Roxy who is gentle and elegant.

To be honest, from the start, I was a Roxy fan.

Isn't my wish basically being fulfilled?

[By all means, thank you very much. Roxy-sama!]

[It's all good. Since it's already too late today, please come to Heart Family residence at noon tomorrow. I'll be waiting]

I feel delighted, like I want to jump up and down. I bow down to Roxy many times, and then I leave the place.

After the gate of the castle is out of sight, I jumped up and made the guts pose.

Finally, luck is rolling my way. Somehow, my body feels lighter than ever, it's good thing I guess?

Let’s hurry and return to my run-down home in preparation for tomorrow.

...*****...

Chapter 3

I returned home, where I wet the rags with the water that I drew from well and then wiped my body down.

I will go to the residence where Roxy lives tomorrow. I wonder if my appearance is a little better with this? I light the candle and look into the broken mirror.

It didn't change much? Worn-out clothes with several patches, there is no use to worrying about my appearance now.

I gave up and then lie down on the bed made from straw. I look up at the ceiling which has been stained with the traces of the rain leaks, and recall what happened today. .

I received cruel violence from Rafal's group in the morning. However, after knocking down the thieves with Roxy at midnight, I'm invited to work for the Heart Family. It's a dream-like story.

Suddenly, I remembered about the inorganic voice that I heard after I killed the thief.

If I'm not mistaken, it said that my status had been added to.

Skill Appraisal and Mind Reading were added… and what else was there? I forgot. Even so, Appraisal is an unusual skill, I can look up any information on things that exist in this world.

With this skill, my life might have turned for the better.

I pray silently in my mind . And then,

• Fate Graphite • Level 1

Endurance: 121

Strength: 151

Magic: 101

Mind: 101

Agility: 131

Skills: Gluttony, Appraisal, Mind Reading, Concealment, One-handed sword mastery

My status and skills appeared in my head.

[Eee! What is this about!]

Calm down, me.

First of all, I just saw my status. Originally, my status should be very close to 1.

There are three digits now. With this strength, I should be able to fight against low-class monsters.

Next are the skills. I should only have Gluttony. But, right now there are Appraisal, Mind Reading, Concealment, and One-handed sword mastery. I can't believe this…

However, since I can see my status and skills, it's proof that I have the Appraisal skill.

Oi oi, if I have this skill, I can switch jobs from gatekeeper to appraiser. Not just anyone can become an appraiser so the pay is good. Oh, what the hell is going on?

Calm down, me.

I used Appraisal and checked the other skills.

Mind Reading: Reveal and read the mind of the subject that comes in contact with you.

Concealment: Conceal possessed skills from the Appraisal skill.

One-handed Sword mastery: The offensive power of the one-handed sword is increased. arts can be used.

I was aware of my Mind Reading skill. When Roxis grabbed my hand, her voice could be heard because this skill was activated.

From considering various things, I have reached a conclusion at last. Or rather, when I killed the thief, the inorganic voice gave me the answer. The answer to when the Gluttony skill is activated.

The cause of this phenomenon, Gluttony was a skill that I had thought I would not be able to use at all.

I used Appraisal and examined the Gluttony skill again.

Gluttony: Become hungry.

Yeah, I get it now. This is the same description that the Appraiser who visited in my hometown village saw. In other words, this skill has a hidden power that cannot be seen by Appraisal.

The power to devour the souls of those the user has killed, and take the victim’s skills as the user’s own. As a side-effect, it fills the user’s stomach..

This is a skill that can strengthen me quickly depending on how much I use it. However, I cannot become a murderer. Then, what should I do?

The answer is easy. There are many monsters in the outskirts of the Royal Capital Seyfar. I just need to defeat them and then absorb their powers.

Someday, after I get even stronger than the Holy Knight, I'll take my revenge at Rafal's group and Burix Family.

While I was thinking about it, I was driven with feelings of wanting to go to hunt monsters now.

However, it's still dark. Went hunting right now is dangerous. I need to sleep properly and go to hunting tomorrow morning.

Actually, I need to work as gatekeeper as substitutes for Rafal group, but let's ignore it. I don't need to obey their instruction anymore.

I have Roxy-sama as my new employer. Since I have an interview with her father at tomorrow noon, I need to return to the Royal Capital at that time.

Then, good night! When I close my eyes, my consciousness fades away in a blink of an eye.

\=\=\=\=\=

I woke up because chirping voice and the birds singing voice, I mended my bed hair with broken mirror, brush my teeth with the branches of the tree, and then dressing up.

I took out a small leather bag hidden in the cracked wall gap. These two silver coins are all of my wealth that I saved with five years. 100 coppers are worth the same as a silver coin. By the way, one gold coin that I have never gotten can be exchanged with 100 silver coins.

The others would be laughed if they know about my two silver coins, however I have been struggling to bleed the blood to save this much. This money was originally saved as an escape fund for the time when I was about to be killed by Rafal group.

For the time being, let's not worry about it anymore. With this, I can bought equipment to be used to fight monsters.

Now then, I grasp two silver coins and the dashes out from my run-down home.

The Royal Capital Seyfar consists of four divisions. Each district is drawn in the east, west, north and south, centering on the castle.

Holy Knight district (East): This is where the upper-class person and Holy Knight of this country lives.

House district (West): Where the commoners like me lives.

Commercial district (South): Many shops such as Armor, general store, restaurant, etc, opened their business.

Military district (North): Holy Knght's training area, where the special armor being developed.

From this kind of division, we would understood how much preferential treatment that being given to the Holy Knight.

The place that I will go right now, is the most crowded place in the Royal Capital, the commercial district.

After passing through the residential district and dividing the crowd, I entered a commercial district where the red brick buildings structure line-up.

And, to the back street. Over there, the stalls were lined up to the other side of the street, the vigorous voice was hailed to the passerby.

This is normal in the commercial district.

Why did I come to this place? My war funds are two silver coins. With this, I can only buy a worn-out weapon.

And, with my current appearance, I won't be able to enter the high-class armor stores.

Therefore, I came to the flea market which gathered various unnecessary items.

I searched for the second-hand weapon in this open air market. Then, a middle-aged man gently called me. He shown amiable smiling face.

[Dear customer, do you looking for weapon?]

[You seems understand it well]

[It's because I did this business for years, you came from the other side to checking only weapon and didn't looked for the other things]

This man is sharp. Is he a merchant?

I was surprised a little.

[How is it? Do you want to checking them?]

There are many armors being displayed. It's my first time looking so many of them being arranged like this.

There might be a weapon that suitable for me. I nods silently to the storekeeper word.

[Then, may I know how much is your budget?]

And then, after the storekeeper heard the amount of money on my hand, his attitude suddenly changed immediately.

There is no gentle look in the storekeeper anymore. It's like Rafal, the eyes that looked down on the people.

[Tsk, as I expected, a poor person. My hospitality was wasted. Hora, since you're only have two silver coins, you can only get the garbage weapon on the corner over there. It might suit you well]

It was obvious that I didn’t have enough money to buy a decent weapon. Even if I were to get irritated at dealing with this stall and head off to another, the same thing would just occur again. In that case, since there are still a variety of rubbish weapons here, it would be more beneficial to buy a weapon from this stall where I have more to choose from.

By using skill, I checked the old weapon with my hand. Most of them, have reached the limit of endurance, they seems gonna broken after I used it several times.

And then, when I obtained an old black sword, A voice flows into my head.

(Buy me. I'll never make you lost)

What I have heard is a faint voice of a man.

...*****...