The researcher's tired voice echoed in the cold room where skills were checked. Yuuto kept staring at the words on the monitor, unable to look away.
Strange skill names sat there in a row, and none of them were in the small pool of knowledge he had. They were not Fireball, not Sword Master, not Heal, and not Shield. There was nothing that even sounded like a fight.
"What... are these skills?" Yuuto asked in a small voice.
The researcher in the white coat hit the keys as if it was a bother. He seemed to search a database.
"Give me a moment. They're rare skills, so there isn't much data," he said.
The word "rare" made Yuuto's heart jump. Rare could mean a unique skill. Maybe he had hit the jackpot. Maybe this could change his life.
"First, about 'Sort'," the researcher began, reading the screen.
"It makes information clear, helps place things in the best spot, and gives a bit of space sense. It does not help a fight. People with it often work as guild library staff or in large storehouses."
A "storehouse worker"... Yuuto felt his small hope break.
The next explanation pushed him closer to despair.
"The second one, 'Keep', can hold an item's state for a short time. It is good for fresh food and things like that. Almost no reports of use in battle."
So it was just a fridge. He could not even laugh at himself now.
He put all his hope on the last skill.
"Last is 'Break'. It can break things down to their base parts and pull out material. It helps blacksmiths and people who take things apart. They can take monster parts in a clean way," the researcher said.
Yuuto asked, "...Can it help in a fight?"
"No. It takes time to use, and it is weak on targets that resist. It may work on a dead body, but not on a living monster," the researcher said as if it had nothing to do with him. His eyes were cold, like after checking junk.
Storehouse worker. Fridge. Junk cutter. That was the truth of the power Yuuto got. He had lost his job at a company, and this was the last hope he had held.
So he was just an "odd jobs guy" again.
Skills only worked well in places full of magic element, like dungeons or near monsters. In normal life, where magic element was thin, his skills would feel like "good at tidying" or "good memory"—nothing special.
So, when he worked as a system engineer, he never noticed his power, and it never helped at work.
It was the same at that time too. He never led big projects. He only did support work and fixed bugs. People said he helped the team, but it was still odd jobs anyone could do. And those people were cut first.
"Well, these skills exist too. Don't feel down," the researcher said, offering words that helped nothing.
"You can't fight, but maybe in a support team at the back... no, that is also hard. Maybe you could carry items," he added.
The words stabbed Yuuto's heart.
"...Thank you," Yuuto said, and left the room on weak legs.
Just before the door closed, he heard the researcher speak to someone else.
"Today's checks are all bad. That guy? Pure odd-jobs skills."
There was no hate in the voice. That made it hurt more.
Back in the waiting room, the young people still there looked at him with curious eyes. Their hopeful faces were too bright and painful for him now.
A blond youth passed him and hit his shoulder in a friendly way.
"How was it? Did you get something crazy?" he asked.
"Well, um..." Yuuto began.
The youth gave a sharp grin.
"I can tell. With that face, it's easy to guess, ssu," he said.
He walked past Yuuto with high energy and went into the check room. From behind the door, Yuuto heard him shout, "Maybe I'll get 'Thunder Spear' or something!"
Soft laughs rose around him. No one said a bad word to his face, yet the mix of pity and scorn in their eyes spoke more than any insult.
At the front desk, the woman from before had already seen his results. Her face was even colder now.
"You are Tajima Yuuto, yes? I will finish your registration," she said in a flat voice. She tapped on a tablet and handed him a plastic card from a machine.
"This is your explorer card. Your rank is 'E'."
"...E rank," Yuuto repeated.
She continued as if reading a manual. "This rank is given when a person's skill fit and first stats show very low battle ability or show they are not suited for battle."
She went on, without change in tone. "E-rank explorers should not enter a dungeon alone. The death rate is very high. If you work, you must stay at the back or join a party with higher-rank explorers."
Yuuto took the card with a shaking hand. His photo and name were printed there, and beside them, the clear words: RANK: E.
This was his new place in life, after being pushed out of society. A new mark burned into him.
"That ends the process. Thank you," she said, already turning to the next person. Yuuto was forgotten in a moment.
He stepped out through the guild's automatic doors and stood again in the busy Shibuya street. People rushed past. A huge screen showed top-rank explorers doing great work. It all felt far away, like it had nothing to do with him.
How had things turned out like this?
The card in his chest pocket felt heavy like lead. The truth of being fired. The "failed" skills. The looks full of pity and mockery.
He almost wanted to stop everything. Should he bow his head to his parents and go back to the countryside? No, his pride would not let him.
Should he use his last savings and look for day jobs? That money would not last long.
Even if he ran, he would still need food. Real life would never let him go. Rent, bills, food, tax—living cost money.
He did have skills. They were useless in battle and felt like junk, but they were not zero. Better than nothing.
Yuuto thought back to his past work.
'Sort'. In his SE days, he often put messy code in order and made the spec sheets clear.
'Keep'. He backed up important data and kept it ready to restore.
'Break'. He split big systems into parts and found the problem spots.
Was it a coincidence?
The skills he got were like a short summary of his work life.
Skills only worked well in places full of magic element, like near monsters or in dungeons. In normal life, his skills were just "good at tidying" or "good memory"—nothing special, so he stayed unseen and never praised. But still, that was the work he had done.
If he used them well... maybe he could manage. No—he had to manage. There was no other road.
A cold wind blew past, and he shivered. But now, a small flame had started inside him.
Let them laugh. Let them look down on him.
Watch me, he thought.
He would live in this world with his odd-jobs skills.
Yuuto squeezed the E-rank card in his pocket. The cheap plastic was his only weapon and his hope.
He looked back once at the tall guild building. Then he turned and walked off, without doubt this time.
First, he needed the most basic gear. Then he would go test his skills.
He would start where every explorer began: the beginner dungeon called "Goblin Cave.