Prologue: Skill Selection

by wayney

TN Notes: I’ve taken over the translation of the LN from CClaw Translations, thank you BaToolo for the easy transition and your help with the additional resources.

I’ll link all CClaw’s translations in the TOC in parallel with mine.

I’m going to translate from the beginning to provide a sense of consanguinity between the translation from chapter to chapter. I’d rather not have a sense of abruptness from one translation to the next.

If you would like to see how the difference in perspective works between the translations, please feel free to read CClaw’s excellent version too.

Translation has been redone for accuracy 23/09/2026.

Shopping district. I am standing in line with a lottery ticket.

「Here. Participation prize. Tissues.」

One ticket from shopping. I will not win anything. I am in line anyway.

The people ahead of me took losing tissues one after another. I looked at the prize list.

・Participation Prize: Tissues
・5th Prize: 1,000 yen in gift certificates
・4th Prize: Assorted sweets
・3rd Prize: Latest-model smartphone
・2nd Prize: Hot spring trip for two
・1st Prize: ???

Ordinary list. The first prize is the interesting part.

Second prize is already a hot spring trip for two. First should be better. Overseas trip, something like that.

While I was thinking that, the line moved.

Garan-garan. Handbells.

The man one spot ahead had won something.

「Congratulations! What! First prize!」

「Ooooh! I did it!」

Guts pose.

「I will explain the prize. Please come inside.」

「Yeah!」

A staff member led him in.

The person in front was gone. My turn.

「After first prize…」

A staff member drew a big X over the first-prize spot with a marker. Gone.

「Well. Smartphones are still left. I will give it a spin.」

I handed over the ticket. The staff spun the lottery drum.

Garagaragara—Potoh.

「Ooh!」

Garan-garan-garan. Handbells.

「Wait. A win? Seriously?」

I had not expected to hit anything.

I looked at the ball. Rainbow.

I checked the list.

First prize gold. Second silver. Third copper-red. Fourth and fifth blue and yellow.

Rainbow was not written anywhere.

「What is this?」

I held the ball up to the staff.

「Congratulations! Hidden prize. The Grand Prize!」

「There is something like that.」

People around went ooh and clapped.

「I will explain. Please come inside.」

「Got it.」

They led me into the building.

I was excited. What kind of prize needs a briefing.

Inside, the man who had taken first prize was already there.

Another hand-cranked lottery drum. Same as outside.

He spun it. Two balls came out.

A staff member next to him took them.

「Tentacles.」

「So it is a skill that lets me use tentacles?」

「Yes.」

「Alright!」

「We will perform the transfer now.」

I did not know what they were saying.

I knew one thing. Something ridiculous was happening.

The staff spoke, and a light like a magic circle appeared at the man’s feet. He vanished.

「Wh—what on earth…」

「Um. You are…」

「The one who won the Grand Prize.」

「Is that so.」

The staff inside nodded.

「Congratulations again. I will explain the Grand Prize.」

「A-ah…」

「The Grand Prize is the same as first prize up to this point. The right to transfer to another world.」

「Wait. What did you just say.」

「The right to transfer to another world.」

Same line again.

「…What kind of joke is this.」

「You were watching the man before you.」

I went ugh.

Magic circle. Man gone.

That was not normal.

「That was the transfer.」

「Is that true.」

「You will believe it after you have been transferred. Whether you want to or not.」

The confidence sold it more than the words.

「Up to there, first prize and Grand Prize are the same. The difference is this drum. First prize draws one skill to take to the other world. Grand Prize, you may spin as much as you like.」

「As much as I like?」

「Yes. You can only take one with you. Keep spinning until a skill you want comes out.」

「I see…」

I still did not understand. I nodded anyway.

「You can redo it as many times as you want. Try a spin first. Ah. Half this room is the other world, so you can test-fire the skills.」

「O-oh…」

I still did not understand. I decided to go along.

I took the handle and spun.

A ball came out. The staff took it.

「Fire-breathing man… A skill that lets you breathe fire from your mouth.」

「Fire?」

「Want to try. Do not breathe it at me. Dangerous.」

Try breathing it. Even if they ask, I do not know what to do.

I turned aside and blew.

「Uwah!」

Fire actually came out of my mouth. My face stung a little.

「How was that. Will you take that ability?」

「Wait. No. Wait, wait.」

I held up a hand. Finger to my forehead.

Head a mess. One thing was clear.

「Could it be… actually real?」

That.

「I understand the doubt.」

「…Then do it over. I can do it over as many times as I want, right.」

「Yes.」

「Chance of the same thing again?」

「There is.」

「Good.」

If I can spin forever and the same result can come back, better to see a range first.

Garan-garan-garan. Potoh.

「This is… All Abilities ×10. All of your abilities, multiplied by ten. Straight.」

「Plain. Do it over.」

Garan-garan-garan. Potoh.

「Sage. A skill that holds all knowledge.」

「That is going to be a horror story. Do it over.」

Garan-garan-garan. Potoh.

「Berserker, this is—」

「Name alone is NG. Do it over.」

Garan-garan-garan. Potoh.

「All Abilities ×2, um—」

「Getting worse. Do it over.」

Garan-garan-garan. Potoh.

「Sorry. This time it is All Abilities ×3…」

「Yes. Do it over.」

Garan-garan-garan. Potoh.

I spun. I kept spinning the drum.

Just spin.

Spin. Hear the line. Do it over.

Some of them looked usable. The more I spun, the more the first All Abilities ×10 started to look like the real win.

「My hands are tired…」

「I am tired of explaining…」

Balls in every color. Every kind of ability.

I had pulled enough that I knew a loss from the color alone.

Garan-garan-garan. Potoh.

「Oh! Rainbow. First time for this one, right!」

「Eh. That should not be in here…」

「Eh? What do you mean.」

The staff took the rainbow ball. Then looked even more shocked.

「Customer. This is amazing.」

「Amazing how.」

「All Abilities ×777.」

I was shocked too.

The rainbow ball looked like it was putting out light.

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