Hey, Why Are My Skills so Weird!?

“Karime, how are you?”

“I’m alright. Congratulations on being discharged, by the way. I was worried that you could be suffering from aftereffects of the dungeon.”

“Don’t worry, nothing is wrong with me.”

“Yeah, I can see.” She said slightly awkwardly. “Well, I’m going out with some friends, so… see you later.”

“… See you later,” I replied as Karime turned around and left.

Once she was gone, I realized that the four people behind me were looking at me with strange expressions.

Andrew seemed like he wanted to laugh, Mrs. Kim was shaking her head with a sigh, Jessica was looking between me and her sister with a worried look, and my little sister, Ley, was gnashing her teeth while glaring at Karime.

“Sigh, youth.” Mrs. Kim sighed softly and looked at me with a complicated expression before taking the initiative to enter the house.

Most likely, she wanted to avoid the awkward topic of my break-up with her daughter.

Little Jessica looked at me with a concerned expression before chasing after her mother; then, Ley snorted and mumbled “Hateful bitch…” under her breath before going inside the house as well.

Finally, only Andrew and I remained outside.

Andrew put his arm over my shoulder and chuckled.

“Woah, what a drama.”

I sighed. “It was just a break-up. Don’t worry, everybody will calm down after a few days.”

“You are right.” Andrew nodded. “However, I was surprised when I learned about that. I mean, Karime and you were always very close. I even thought that the two of you would get married eventually.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Married? Man, you are taking things too far.”

“But I’m serious! I mean, the two of you were like glue since we were children! Karime was always saying that she would only marry you and all.”

I did not know whether to laugh or to cry.

In the end, I only chuckled and shook my head.

“Let’s stop talking about that, okay? That topic is still a bit painful to me.”

Andrew patted my shoulder with an expression of sympathy.

“Don’t worry, man. A nail drives out another nail. That nail could be the girl that visited you in the hospital, right? Was her name Sylvia? Is she beautiful? What is her age? Did you already kiss her?”

I rolled my eyes with an exasperated expression.

Come on, man. I just met her a few days ago.

Plus, I have only seen her twice!

However, I knew that this was Andrew’s way to console me for my breakup with Karime, so I replied to his banter with a joking punch.

When Andrew and I entered the house, the lights were out.

I was briefly startled. But then–

 “““Surprise!”””

Following Ley, Jessica, and Mrs. Kim’s shout, the lights were turned on, revealing a beautifully decorated house.

Looking at the cake, the colorful balloons, and the birthday decorations all around the house, I was speechless.

“… I don’t think today is my birthday, though.”

My sister giggled and rushed towards me grabbing my hand.

“We are celebrating your recovery and your Awakening, brother.”

“Yeah, Jane. We know how much you wanted to Awaken, so we decided to celebrate it with you.” Mrs. Kim said.

I heaved an exasperated sigh, however, my lips curved up in a smile.

“… Thank you, I guess?”

“Well, let’s start!” Mrs. Kim clapped her hands excitedly and rushed towards the kitchen. “You will love today’s food!”

Yeah, I’m sure I will.

The party was nothing fancy. With only five people, soft music, nice food, and a few laughs here and there.

Our house cat, Miss Scarlet, also joined the party. She rubbed her reddish fur against my leg as though she was happy of seeing me again.

I smiled softly and rubbed her head, making her purr happily.

I felt a bit bad that my mother was not here, but I knew she was working so I understood it. Plus, my sister, Mrs. Kim, and my friends were with me, and that was more than enough.

‘Although usually, Karime would have been here too…’

I could not help but smile bitterly in my mind.

Sigh, it’s my first breakup, so I’m finding it a bit hard to deal with it.

Just when I was lost in my thoughts and trying to enjoy the small party, a voice sounded in my mind.

[You have some interesting friends, boy.] The demon said.

I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

What do you mean, demon?

[Starting from your girlfriend, who seems suitable to wield ice, several of your acquaintances and pretty talented. The little girl, Jessica, seems like someone with a bit of talent in fire. Your sister, Ley, is even more amazing. It’s really rare to see someone with such talent for souls. Even that friend of yours, he is… special.]

I was startled.

Fire? Souls?

I still could understand that, but what about Andrew?

He is special? What does that is supposed to mean?

[… Well, I still need to confirm my guess, however, he should be pretty talented too. Perhaps the most talented of the group.]

I fell silent.

Indeed, Andrew is really talented. He is the most talented person I know besides Sylvia, although, he rarely brags about it.

Most likely, he is being considered towards me.

By the way–

‘What about Mrs. Kim?’ I asked in my mind.

[Ah, her? She is a normal human. Completely average. Very unusual considering that the talent of her two daughters is a bit outstanding.]

… So she is normal, huh.

For some reason, I sighed in relief.

It would have been a shock if I learn that my mother-in-law was some kind of reclusive expert of something like that.

[… However, I guess I now understand why you were so obsessed with Awakening, boy. When you are surrounded by this kind of people, it’s unavoidable to feel inferior.]

I fell silent without replying.

Although I don’t want to admit it, now that I think about it, perhaps a big part of the reason I wanted to awaken was that I was feeling inferior.

I sighed and shook my head.

Anyway, I managed to awaken, so there is no need to dwell in that.

[I concur. Instead, you should start to worry about the future.]

The future? I was confused.

What does that mean?

[Mmm… I guess now is a good time to tell you about that. Boy, being my host is a great opportunity for you, but it also carries several risks.]

I was stunned.

For some reason, I was getting a really bad feeling about this.

But without caring for my thoughts, the demon spoke up with a grave tone.

[Right now, you have less than one month left of life.]

... Sigh, this again?