My Reincarnation Skills Are “Playing With Dolls” and “Playing With Clay”, but What Am I Supposed to

Chapter 10: New Skill

Unable to sleep deeply at this late hour, I decided to find out what I could do with my new skill before the inn's breakfast was prepared.

I brought up the status in my left hand and reconfirmed what had increased.

First, there was the skill I obtained from leveling up as an adventurer, "HP Increase (Small)." It must mean that my HP has slightly increased, quite literally.

However, the specific value of HP itself is not visible at the moment, and the definition of HP also varies slightly depending on the game. It could mean something like stamina, or it could be the remaining vitality that decreases only when receiving damage from an attack.

Well, for now, there isn't much point in testing it, so I can leave it for later.

I don't feel like doing push-ups to the limit as soon as I wake up.

Next is "Detection." I don't know how to test it, but for the time being, I chanted "Detection."

...Nothing happened.

Good, I'm alone. It would have been quite embarrassing if someone had seen me. After all, it's not a magic spell. But when I'm conscious of the Detection skill, I feel like my senses have become sharper.

It might be the placebo effect where you feel like a medicine works when someone tells you it's effective.

However, when I concentrate, I can feel the presence of the people in the other guest rooms on this floor. I didn't properly check how many rooms there are, but right now, there seems to be only one person on the second floor. There might be someone sleeping as well, but I couldn't tell.

And downstairs... there are two people. The middle-aged man and the middle-aged woman seem to have already woken up and are starting to do something.

I was surprised by how naturally I understood it.

If this skill allows me to notice when monsters or enemies are approaching, it could be quite useful. The problem is that it's an active skill, which means it's ineffective if I'm not consciously focusing. I think detection-type skills are more useful as passive skills.

Also, judging from the fact that I probably can't detect sleeping people, I might not be able to sense someone who is being cautious.

I shouldn't rely too much on it.

In a different room on the second floor, separate from where I sensed someone's presence a while ago, it seems like someone is tossing and turning. They're still not awake.

And downstairs, I sense another presence. That girl seems to have woken up.

The old lady's presence moved away. She went outside through the back door, I wonder why. Maybe she went to fetch water or get firewood, something like that.

I found it interesting to explore various presences.

When I concentrate, the range of "perception" and the information obtained increase. If I try hard, I can even determine the approximate number of people walking on the main street.

However, even at a similar distance, I can only sense that there are people inside the neighboring buildings to about the extent that they are not vacant. Perhaps the walls make it difficult for sound to travel or something like that also affects it.

The only skill remaining from being an adventurer is "party formation."

"Party formation."

As I said it, an image of being prompted for some kind of input came to mind, but nothing happened.

According to common sense in RPGs, I think it means that multiple players can form a party. However, I don't know why it has become a skill.

Maybe if there are no adventurer jobs and only warriors or mages, even if there are multiple people, they can't form a party and each of them is treated as solo play?

Apart from imagining what would be different when each person is treated as solo, it might be the difference whether experience points are obtained individually or evenly distributed within the party.

For priests or scouts, who are unlikely to defeat enemies directly, it's difficult to level up in solo play. If party formation is possible, you can also help the companions with such jobs to grow.

In any case, since there's only me now, there's no way to confirm it.

Next is "doll play (LV3)."

"Can change clothes" and "can move," what's with that?

"Lina, are you awake?"

I called out.

I heard some rustling from the backpack.

I got scared. For a moment, I thought it was a monster.

Lina stuck her head out of the backpack, and I was even more surprised. So that's what it means by "can move," literally.

<Since I'm a doll, I don't sleep, you know>

Whether it was low blood pressure or just being unsociable, it was always the case, not just in the morning.

"You can change clothes, but it's not like I wear pajamas when I sleep."

<If Shiro wants to change, it'll change>

Suddenly, the dress disappeared, leaving her momentarily naked, then immediately transforming into a teddy bear-patterned pajamas.

It happened so quickly that I couldn't really tell.

"Well, it's not Chanel No. 5, but isn't that a negligee?"

...I tried to say calmly.

The pajamas disappeared, and then it turned into a pink negligee.

Oh, she's wearing a negligee, but it's see-through.

Since she's a doll, there are no essential features even though there may be contours. It's like a mannequin.

<There's a pervert here. A severe pervert who reveals their preferences to a middle schooler, and a doll at that>

For some reason, it sounded monotone.

You're so noisy. Where did you learn such expressions?

"It's not like there's only one kind of negligee. I didn't tell you to make it so transparent..."

<You're making excuses~ You're trash, not manly, what a shame~>

You can say whatever you want.

Not only did she regain the ability to move, but I feel like she also gained variations in her tone of voice. Her way of insulting has leveled up.

"S-Sorry. It's a misunderstanding! On what basis are you even assuming all this..."

<Lina can change her clothes based on the specific outfits you have in mind>

Taking advantage of the ability to change facial expressions, she first showed a mischievous smile, then suddenly turned to a scornful look.

<So, the outfits Lina changes into are the ones you desire>

There was not even a sound of applause.

I decided to go with the flow.

"I have to explore the limits of what I can do with this skill. It'll be troublesome if I don't know when the time comes. What other outfits can I change into?"

<I already told you, if Shiro can imagine specific outfits, then it's possible>

After that, I tried everything I could imagine for female outfits.

From sailor uniforms to bloomers and gym clothes, gyaru fashion, various sports uniforms, and of course, I didn't forget swimsuits. The bikini still doesn't suit her body shape, but I have to admit, damn, this one has long legs and a great figure.

I'm not very familiar with the details of Juunihitoe and such, so I ended up in a pseudo-Japanese outfit. However, the archery uniform and miko (shrine maiden) attire looked quite appropriate.

For some reason, except when she was dressed as a cheerleader or a tennis player, she always wore white panties underneath. Is this the default setting? It definitely can't be my fault...

Even her hairstyle and hair color somehow changed according to the clothes she wore. When dressed as a miko, her Western-style facial features remained the same, but her hair turned black.

I was able to recreate yesterday's armed appearances of Cecily and Karina as well.

Not only Cecily's chainmail coat, but the spear she was holding also appeared alongside her.

It could be considered part of the outfit, including the equipment, but when I touched them, the weapons and armor felt like the same soft vinyl as the figure of Lina, just for show... because it's all just pretend play.

Lina's body is also made of soft vinyl and feels squishy, like it's hollow inside, but despite that, it seems to possess the appropriate strength for its size. She can walk and jump normally, so her physical abilities seem quite high.

I touched her all over because I wanted to understand her muscles and physical specifications, not because I'm a pervert... yeah.

After thoroughly enjoying—or rather, confirming my skills—I decided to check out "Clay Play (Level 4)." That one is at level 4.

Yesterday, I made so much clay that I had a headache, probably accumulating more skill experience than with doll play. That's my current theory.

If that's the case, after playing with Lina so much today, my doll play skill level might increase significantly tonight.

The new abilities gained from clay play are "Tidying Up," "Clay Anywhere," and "Shape Manipulation."

With "Tidying Up," I can make all the clay I've created disappear with just a thought.

Hmm, this might be the most useful skill for Mama. It would be great to instantly tidy up toys left lying around or even things other than clay.

With "Clay Anywhere," I can now create clay not only within a range of about 2-3 meters from myself but also in faraway places like the corners of the room or the ceiling. I can even make it stick to the ceiling; it's quite a funny trick.

Although it falls down immediately, though.

When trying various things, it seems that consuming the same amount of MP will be higher if it is used at a greater distance.

Also, when I tidy up, I feel like a portion of the consumed MP when creating it comes back, although it's probably only a part.

This is just a subjective feeling, but since I felt a little better and my mood improved because my headache from MP shortage eased, I think that the MP embedded in the clay is somehow being reabsorbed at a certain rate.

The skill "Shaping at Will" now allows me to create clay that can take the form of a dice or a haniwa from the beginning, instead of just a simple lump.

I also discovered that I can manipulate the clay without touching it with my hands.

However, it consumes quite a lot of MP and it's difficult to create intricate shapes. Maybe with more practice, it will get easier. I'm tired though.

While testing the clay skill, I wasn't just playing around. I sensed the presence of people downstairs increasing.

It seems that other guests have started coming down for breakfast.

No, it's not because of some skill or anything. I can tell because of the good smell.

It's like refueling after working since morning.

For breakfast, there was hard and slightly salty bread, similar to French bread, and a soup made from some root vegetables and beans. The taste of the soup is not bad, but it's a bit lacking in meatiness, which is a little disappointing.

Well, I can't complain since breakfast is included in the accommodation fee. Besides, yesterday's meat had a strange smell and if it was monster meat, I'd rather avoid eating it until I know if it's safe to continue.