I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 49: The Right to Choose (I)

「Reward: Any two Common Spells of your choice」

"Heheheheh..."

All the guilt I had been feeling... all the frustration... all the quiet disappointment at wasting my stat points— immediately vanished.

And slowly...

my expression twisted— until it turned into what you could only call a huge, stupidly happy grin.

The kind of shit that when you pull for something in a gacha game and unexpectedly get it in One Try.

"Oh, shit..." I whispered, eyes widening slightly. "I forgot..."

Then—

dramatically, like a performer who loved attention far too much— the window I both loved and absolutely hated appeared right in front of me.

「(⁠~⁠￣⁠³⁠￣⁠)⁠~ ) Si Hon, now pick which type of Common Skill List you would like to view.

1, Physical Common Skills

2, COMBAT COMMON SKILLS

3, SURVIVAL COMMON SKILLS

4, MENTAL / UTILITY COMMON SKILLS

5, MAGIC-RELATED COMMON SKILL

ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ There is one more category, but you probably wouldn’t want to see it anyway.

Now choose.」

"I wouldn’t?" I murmured, lifting a hand to my chin while staring suspiciously at the floating text.

"Why wouldn’t I...?"

My eyes narrowed slightly.

That definitely made me want to see it more.

But after a second, I exhaled and shrugged.

"Oh well... whatever."

I waved my hand lazily.

"Let me see the magic-related ones first."

For a brief moment— the system went completely silent.

Like it was preparing something unnecessarily dramatic on purpose.

Then—

FLASH.

One window appeared.

Then another.

And another.

And another.

Dozens of translucent blue panels burst into existence, stacking in front of me, spreading outward until my entire view was filled with floating text and glowing symbols.

It was like standing in the middle of a library made of light.

My eyes widened.

"...Whoa."

More windows kept appearing— layer after layer— until it felt less like a skill list and more like I had just opened the entire beginner archive of magic itself.

「Common Magic related Skills — Full List

Mana Sense — Detects mana within 1 meter.

Mana Control I — Slightly improves control over released mana.

Spark Generation — Produces a tiny harmless spark.

Warmth Touch — Emits faint heat from the palm.

Cool Breeze Touch — Emits faint cold from the palm.

Light Orb — Creates a dim floating light.

Flicker Light — Brief flash that lasts less than a second.

Sound Dampening — Lowers sound to whisper level in a tiny area.

Mana Thread — Forms a weak string of mana for binding very light objects.

Detect Active Spell — Senses nearby active magic within short range.

Magic Fatigue Reduction I — Slightly reduces casting exhaustion.

Slow Mana Regeneration Boost — Very small passive mana recovery.

Stabilize Flame — Prevents small flames from going out.

Minor Spell Guidance — Slightly improves spell direction accuracy.

Prevent Minor Backfire — Small chance to stop weak spell recoil.

Mana Pulse — Releases a faint non-damaging mana wave.」

"Fuuuck, that’s a lot— wait!!" I shouted, and this time, I meant really shouting.

"Wait!!!!!"

But... instead of stopping,

more.

And more.

And more windows kept appearing.

「Arcane Awareness — Briefly notices unnatural energy changes.

Tiny Barrier Flicker — Fragile shield lasting less than a second.

Residual Mana Sight — Sees fading traces of recent magic.

Spell Memory I — Slightly improves remembering simple spells.

Mana Whisper — Allows silent casting of extremely weak spells.

Glow Mark — Leaves a faint glowing mark on a surface.

Cleanse Dust — Removes dirt from a very small object.

Dry Object — Dries a wet item slowly.

Chill Drink — Slightly cools liquid.

Warm Food — Slightly heats food.

Mana Pebble — Fills a pebble with faint light.

.Air Push — Produces a very weak push of air.

Feather Fall I — Slightly slows falling speed.」

"Oh... fuck this shit— oh, woah... Feather Fall looks good."

Then— LOTS.

AND LOTS.

OF WINDOWS appeared again.

「Grip Assist — Lightly enhances hand grip using mana.

Night Tint Vision — Very slight improvement in darkness.

Emotion Ripple Sense — Feels strong emotions within arm’s reach.

Mana Tap — Transfers a tiny bit of mana to another person.

Stabilize Body Heat — Reduces feeling of cold slightly.

Focus Breath — Calms mind to steady mana flow.

Weak Illusion Dot — Creates a tiny unmoving illusion.

Color Shift — Slightly changes color of a small object.

Trace Rune — Draws a faint temporary magic symbol.

Spell Delay I — Holds a weak spell for one extra second.

Mana Leak Sense — Notices uncontrolled mana nearby.

Soft Landing — Reduces impact from short drops.

Minor Purify — Cleans very weak poison or bacteria.

Water Ripple Control — Makes tiny ripples on water surface.

Ash Scatter — Gently disperses ash or dust.

Dismantle Cut — Cut thin using mana edge.

Page Turn — Flips a book page remotely.

Whisper Send — Sends a one-word whisper a few meters.

Candle Shield — Protects a candle flame from wind.

Tiny Static Shock — Harmless electric tickle.

Bug Repel — Slightly discourages small insects.」

I blinked.

I could only stare at the floating window in complete silence, my brain refusing to process the sheer amount of glowing text packed inside it.

So many skills.

So many useless-looking names.

So many things that absolutely did not include the normal, obvious stuff like fire, wind, earth, or water skills, spells.

A tiny blue message popped beside the list.

「┐(￣ヘ￣)┌ So now what? Pick.」

"...Fuck," I whispered under my breath, eyes still wide.

"That’s... a lot... What the hell is this...? There’s not even a single fire, wind, earth, or water skill in there!?!"

My voice rose without me noticing, echoing softly across the quiet Safe Zone.

A sudden rustle came from behind me.

I flinched and turned quickly— Only to see Nivalis lying on the ground, Boreas curled beside her, and Sixxy squeezed comfortably between them, the three of them sleeping in an oddly peaceful pile of fur and exhaustion.

"Damn... That startled me..." I muttered, placing a hand over my chest.

Then my eyes snapped back to the window.

"But what the hell do you mean pick?! And... wait nah... you’re telling me there are... what... four more lists I still have to go through?!"

Another small blue response appeared instantly, as if it had been waiting for me to complain.

「Yes. Exactly. Since you have already reviewed the Magic-Related Common Skills, the remaining beginner classifications are as follows:

「1 — Physical Common Skills」

「2 — Combat Common Skills」

「3 — Survival Common Skills」

「4 — Mental / Utility Common Skills」

「Pick.」

"...Fuck..."

There were too many choices.

Too many unknowns SHITS! And absolutely zero guidance.

My fingers twitched at my sides.

My head hurt. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"...J-just..." I exhaled weakly, rubbing my face in defeat. "...Just show me everything."

「Physical Common Skills:

Minor Strength Boost

Minor Agility Boost

Minor Endurance Boost

Minor Stamina Recovery

Short Sprint Burst (1 second speed boost)

Balance Stabilization

Pain Resistance (Very Low)

Quick Get-Up (stand faster after falling)

Steady Breathing

Grip Strength I

Footing Stability on Snow

Reduced Slipping Chance

Jump Height +5%

Light Fall Reduction

Crawl Speed Slightly Increased

Can still run with one injured leg

Can walk slowly with one broken foot

Reduced cramp chance

Faster heartbeat recovery

Carry Weight +3 kg」

"Oh... wow. I didn’t expect this... it’s... small. Wow..." I muttered as the next list appeared beside it.

「SURVIVAL COMMON SKILLS:

Basic Cold Resistance

Basic Heat Resistance

Hunger Delay I

Thirst Delay I

Sleep Efficiency I

Basic Fire Starting

Smoke Resistance (Very Weak)

Night Vision (Extremely Dim)

Direction Sense (Weak)

Detect Nearby Water (10 m)

Detect Rotten Food

Minor Poison Resistance

Basic First Aid Memory

Stop Bleeding Faster

Shiver Control

Endure Light Frostbite

Recognize Animal Tracks (Common beasts only)

Sense Rain Before It Falls

Slightly Better Hearing at Night」

"I see... There are a lot of useful skills here now."

Then another list appeared beside it.

「Combat Common Skills:

Basic Punch Reinforcement

Basic Kick Reinforcement

Weak Weapon Familiarity

Dagger Handling I

Stick Fighting I

Throwing Accuracy (Short Range)

Guard Reflex I

Flinch Resistance

Faster Weapon Pickup

Weak Critical Chance (+1%)

Intimidating Glare (very weak)

Battle Instinct Flicker (0.5 sec warning)

Quick Retreat Step

Minor Adrenaline Burst

Can fight while lightly wounded

Reduced fear against small monsters

Shout Amplification.」

"Oh, wow... half of these are useful, and half are just ass."

Another list appeared beside it.

「Mental / Utility Common Skills:

Focus I

Memory Recall (recent events only)

Basic Calculation Speed

Calm Mind (slight panic reduction)

Lie Detection (very unreliable)

Reading Speed +10%

Writing Speed +10%

Map Understanding I

Simple Trap Awareness

Pattern Recognition (weak)

Minor Luck Stabilization

Coin Flip Sense (still 50/50)

Ignore Small Distractions

Faster Decision Making in Danger

Resist Simple Illusions (very weak)」

"...Three are at least useful... but the rest are just ass..."

But this time... at least I could finally choose what skill I wanted from the five floating lists in front of me.

"And the one I want to choose is..." I muttered, leaning closer to the floating window—

Hands suddenly landed on my shoulders.

"ACK!?!" I yelped, instantly losing balance and crashing onto the ground.

I looked up.

The mysterious woman stood there katana now on her hips, staring at me like I was the weird being weird.

"What the fuck?" I groaned.

"...What?" she replied, tilting her head slightly. "I just patted your shoulder. Why are you overreacting...?"

She yawned lazily, then walked over and sat beside me as if nothing had happened.

Her eyes drifted toward the floating windows hovering in front of us.

"Oh... wow... I miss this thing... and damn..." she murmured, a small giggle slipping out.

"Yeah... this is fun..."

She glanced sideways at me.

"You think all of these are trash, right?"

"Yeah," I answered flatly. "Some of these are obviously ass."

She slowly shook her head, raising one finger and waving it like a teacher correcting a dumb student.

"No, no, no. At least... ninety percent of these are useful."

"Oh please," I scoffed. "You’re just trying to trick me. Let me choose."

I lifted my finger again, hovering just above one of the skills—

almost tapping it—

But her hand suddenly shot forward and grabbed my wrist, stopping me.

"Trust me," she said quietly. "I... I g## a S##### too."

"What?" I frowned.

"Oh... woah... this is new. What even are yours—" she muttered.

"What do you mean?"

She ignored my question, still holding my arm while studying the window closely.

"...Huh," she murmured. "I just noticed... the color of this window is slightly off..."

Right then—

The air froze.

The woman’s fingers were still wrapped around my wrist.

And for the first time—

the system’s tone...

didn’t feel playful anymore.

A familiar blueish transparent window snapped into existence beside me.

「BITCH ಠ益ಠ Hey! Get your hands off my host. Let him choose!」