I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 50: The Right to Choose (II)
A familiar blueish transparent window snapped into existence beside me.
「BITCH ಠ益ಠ Hey! Get your hands off my host. Let him choose!」
The woman slowly let go of my wrist and stared at the floating window hovering in front of us.
"Oh wow..." she snickered softly. "It... even talks. That’s amazing."
Then she casually wrapped an arm around my shoulder and leaned closer to my ear.
"Well, let me tell you something," she whispered. "Ask it to increase your reward. Since you can do it... remember, your quest was Extreme. I saw it earlier when I was above the tower."
"Trust me. And ask me anything."
She stepped back, clapping her hands once. "Alright! Go ahead."
The text inside the window suddenly shifted.
「ಠ益ಠ Okay. Now, Si Hon... choose your reward.」
...Oh. Now that I think about it...
Why are my rewards so low for an Extreme-difficulty quest?
Well... I guess I was fine with it anyway.
I cleared my throat.
"So... now that I think about it..."
I slowly stood up and side-eyed the window.
"What’s the difficulty of my quest again?"
「ಠಿ_ಠ Why... are you asking...? It’s... EXTREME. Why?」
"Cough. Two."
Another cough. "Two common sk—" cough! "Skills. C-commo—" cough!
「ಠ,_ ಠ What are you trying to say?」
"You said... Extreme, right?" I muttered, covering my mouth.
"So why is my reward just two common skills, some EXP, and... those two useless ’unexpected event’ and ’information’ things?"
"Cough! Cough!! If only..." I trailed off.
The window trembled slightly.
「ಠಗಠ...No way... aghhh!!!」
"Exactly," I said calmly. "Increase my reward. And the experience too."
A long silence followed.
Then—
「눈‸눈 Fine... alright... but I can’t increase the experience since you already got it. Instead... I’ll increase the number of skills you can choose from.
And... ಠ‿ಠ of course... we need to ask for our audi—」
"Thats fine by me."
Another transparent window appeared in front of me.
「Poll has started.
Vote YES or NO on whether Si Hon should receive increased rewards.
The final reward increase will depend on the vote difference.
Example:
YES – 29
NO – 27
Result: +2 additional skills.
Now... begin voting.」
...This again.
Then the five separate skill windows suddenly merged together, forming a single massive screen that filled my entire vision.
Cold blue light spilled across the ruined ground.
The air grew strangely quiet— somehow... like the world Is holding its breath.
Then—
「POLL HAS STARTED:
Does Si Hon deserve better increased rewards?」
「AGREE: 0
DISAGREE: 0」
Tak.
A sharp clicking sound echoed through the air— dry and mechanical, like a clock snapping forward.
"Yeah... yeah, I already know this."
Tak.
Tak.
Tak.
「AGREE: 4
DISAGREE: 0」
"Woah..." I muttered, staring at the massive poll window.
Then—
Tak.
「AGREE: 4
DISAGREE: 1」
Oh... crap.
Tak.
「AGREE: 4
DISAGREE: 2」
I still have a chance.
Tak.
「AGREE: 4
DISAGREE: 3」
...
Tak.
「AGREE: 4
DISAGREE: 4」
...oh lawd.
Tak.
「AGREE: 4
DISAGREE: 5」
!!!
The sound continued, over and over, like time itself was being reset.
The mysterious woman and I could only watch in silence as the poll unfolded before our eyes.
Seconds passed.
Maybe minutes.
Then the numbers suddenly stopped moving.
Everything went still.
And then— dramatically—
Tak.
「AGREE: 39
DISAGREE: 31」
"That’s it? So... wait... does that mean—"
"YESSS!!!"
Another window immediately popped into view.
「Clap clap ಠ︵ಠ
Amazing... wow... e-eight extra skills... man...
I expected the audience to at least disagree more.」
...Oh, wow it’s not censored anymore?
Then the floating poll slowly dissolved into particles of light and vanished.
In its place, then a translucent party popper appeared, shimmering faintly in the cold air.
A new window unfolded beneath it.
「Congratulations.
Reward has been increased:
2 Common Skill Choices → 10 Common Skill Choices.」
「You now have a decision.
Trade the 10 Common Skill Choices for 2 Uncommon Skill Choices... or keep the 10 Common Skill Choices.」
"Woah... woah..." I muttered, my grin widening without me noticing.
My heart started beating faster.
"So... two uncommon skills..."
Uncommon.
That word alone sounded powerful... rare... tempting.
「Hehe... ಠ, _｣ಠ I... ahem... suggest choosing the two Uncommon Skills.
From the Uncommon list, you may obtain abilities such as
Fireball, Water Spear, and many more... Si Hon.」
I swallowed.
Fireball.
Water Spear.
Etc.
Actual combat magic.
Not just... survival tricks, useless magic related things...
I cleared my throat, staring at the floating text as my decision slowly formed.
"Say les—"
Suddenly—
A presence appeared behind my back.
Before I could even finish, a hand shot forward and covered my mouth.
"!?"
F-fast...?!
Was that teleportation?
"Agh! Why are you already making a choice?"
Her voice hissed right beside my ear.
"You should ask me first."
She removed her hand from my mouth.
Cold air rushed back into my lungs.
"What the heck?!" I gasped, turning toward her.
"Mmmmm, my bad." She shrugged casually.
"So... what is it?" she said.
Her eyes shifted to the floating window, calm... focused... calculating.
"Hmm..."
Silence happened for a moment.
"Two Uncommon skills is a scam," she said flatly.
"Pick the ten Common Skills instead."
She rested a hand under her chin, still staring at the text as if dissecting it piece by piece.
"And..."
Her gaze slowly slid toward me.
A faint, dangerous smile formed.
"Didn’t I tell you to ask me what to do first?"
She raised her hand.
For a split second, I thought she was going to punch or slap me.
Then—
Bonk.
Her knuckle struck the top of my head.
"ಠ_ಠOw?!" I said, grabbing my head.
It wasn’t hard enough to injure... but hard enough to hurt my pride.
She clicked her tongue softly.
"Idiot. Think carefully."
Her eyes returned to the floating choice window, voice lowering into something more serious.
"Rarity isn’t everything."
"Two flashy Uncommon skills might look strong now... but ten Common skills..."
She paused dramatically then clutched her arm.
"...can become something far more terrifying."
"PFFFT—" I burst out laughing. "You’re... you’re seriously telling me that Candle Shield, the one that protects a candle flame from the wind, is useful?"
I wiped the corner of my eye and cleared my throat, still grinning.
"And— hahahaha— Dismantle Cut, the one that can only cut thin things, is useful too???"
She nodded calmly.
"Yes. Those two are far better than a single Uncommon skill. Common skills are actually rarer than rare skills, you know."
"ಠ_ಠ ...How is that even possible...?" I muttered, staring at her.
"Then what about Tiny Barrier Flicker? A fragile shield that lasts less than a second— that’s useful too?"
She nodded again, completely serious.
"Yes. That one is difficult to obtain. In combat, even a shield that exists for one second can decide life or death.
You can use it to parry."
That... suddenly made sense.
"Wait... yeah. You’re... right?"
My eyes widened as realization hit me one after another.
"Then Minor Purify— the one that cleans weak poison or bacteria— wait... shit... yeah... you’re right?!"
She grinned slightly.
"Exactly, Si Hon."
Si Hon: "ಠ_ಠ ...Wait. How do you know my name?"
Woman: "ಠ_ಠ ...Uh... your system keeps calling you Si Hon. I just assumed that was your name."
Systemy: 「ಠ_ಠ I’ve been waiting here this whole time...
and I did not expect Common skills to sound more useful than fireball...」
Both of us slowly turned toward the floating system window.
"ಠ_ಠ ...Aren’t you a system? Shouldn’t you know everything?"
「...ಠ_ʖಠ Just... just pick already.」
The woman placed a firm hand on my shoulder.
"Remember," she said quietly.
"Choose the ten Common skills."
I looked at the glowing window in front of me.
Ten Common Skills... or two Uncommon ones.
For a brief moment, the world felt completely silent.
Then I nodded.
"...I would like to choose—"
I took a slow breath.
"Ten Common skills."
「ꈍᴗꈍ finally...」
Then— dramatically— the five lists of skill choices appeared in front of me, one after another, glowing softly in the cold air.
Physical Common Skills.
Combat Common Skills.
Survival Common Skills.
Mental / Utility Common Skills.
...and most of all... the massive
MAGIC-RELATED COMMON SKILL list, towering above the others like it was proud of itself.
A small message blinked at the corner of my vision.
「ಠ_ಠ ...I wouldn’t usually say this, but now I’m curious too. Remember— there is still one more category.
Do you... want to take a look at it?」
The woman beside me suddenly tightened her grip on my shoulder.
"Shit... there’s another category?!" she gasped.
"That’s new... that’s really new..."
Before I could react, she yanked me closer, our faces nearly crashing into each other.
Her breathing was quick— eyes wide— like a child about to open a forbidden gift.
"Please... let’s see it," she whispered, barely containing her excitement.
"In all my life... this is the first time I’ve heard of another category..."
Then she started shaking me back and forth.
"Say yes! SAY YES!!"
"Agh!" I grabbed her wrists, trying to pry her off.
"Okay! Okay! Fine! Just— let me... go!!!!!!!"
The moment I agreed, she released me instantly.
Which— unfortunately... meant I dropped straight onto the black soil with a dull thud.
"...Oh my god," I groaned, staring blankly at the dark sky.
A calm, patient message appeared above me.
「So... would you like to see it, Si Hon?」
I exhaled slowly...
then pushed myself up on one elbow.
"...Yeah," I muttered.
My eyes narrowed at the glowing text.
"Yes. I want to see it."
For a brief moment— nothing happened.
No light.
No sound.
No dramatic system music trying too hard to be cool.
Just silence.
Then—
the air tightened.
A faint ripple spread across the space in front of me, like reality itself had just been touched by something it shouldn’t recognize.
The blue glow of the system windows flickered— once... twice... and suddenly—
「(⌐■-■) I still don’t know why they made this... but here you go.
WEIRD / USELESS / FUNNY COMMON SKILLS.
Perfectly fold blankets in one try
Always find the cold side of the pillow
Never drop soap while bathing
Can open snack bags quietly
Slightly faster nose-wipe reaction speed
Can sense when rice is almost cooked
Trip less often on flat ground
Can balance spoon on nose for 3 seconds
Automatically hum dramatic music when alone
Finger guns look 12% cooler
Can clap perfectly in rhythm
Sneezes are quieter than normal
Can tell when phone battery is below 10% without looking
Can peel oranges in one spiral
Chopsticks accuracy slightly increased
Can sit comfortably in awkward positions
Detect when someone almost calls your name
Can stare at ceiling for long time without boredom
Yawns are 20% more contagious
Can perfectly toss small trash into nearby bin (short range)
Always choose the least broken chair in a room 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
Can remember faces but not names
Sense when conversation is about to get awkward
Can stop hiccups after three tries
Knows approximate time without clock (±10 minutes)
Can hear own stomach growl before others do
Can pretend to understand instructions convincingly
Detect weak lies told casually
Can stay awake during boring lectures 5% longer
Slight resistance to embarrassment damage
Can keep secrets slightly better than average
Awkward silence tolerance +10 seconds」
And... the weird list just goes on.
