Chapter 1
I must have been drunk out of my mind when the black winged being told me that I died and that if I allowed it, he would choose a fun modern world with magic and hot chicks to send me to.
Well, mistakes were made. I ended up in a light novel world that, as expected, I had barely kept track of after reading one too many bad crossover fanfictions involving the setting.
All I know is that this is a harem story, everyone in Japan rocks as expected from the author being Japanese, there are gods popping up every so often, if you kill one of them you become a god slayer / devil king / Campione and everyone will suck your dick.
Oh right, there's also a Campione killing super final boss that's really, really, really, really, really fucking OP.
"If I say that it's probably not my problem, that I can just keep calm and keep grinding then... there's a 100% chance I'm going to end up involved one way or another. Who am I kidding, that's how it always works in Gamer fics."
Ah well, worst comes to worst, I could just escape fights by teleporting to the lowest level dungeon I have the moment I see someone obviously overpowered within the vicinity.
No sense in becoming a statistic in their titanic clashes.
Until then, I should do what every self-respecting Gamer protagonist would do and grind everything.
Let's see… oh! There is a gameplay menu, hmm, let's make the window screens not pop up whenever I level or make a new skill in combat… subtitles sound good too…
"Status. Hmm, good, my name hasn't changed from William Gump to some edgy imaginary character I had in my teenage years like the stories… brr, those were the dark times. Level 1, typical. Physical stats around the 10 mark, as expected. Above average Int and Wis, I'm flattered. 100 Luck? Well, I got Isekai'ed, makes sense."
My innate perks weren't listed at all. On the other hand, there were two Luck based passives (presumably from reaching the 50 and 100 threshold for Luck) giving me a guaranteed minimum of two drop items upon killing an enemy and another that increases my critical hit damage the lower my HP is.
All in all, stock protagonist stuff. The drop item passive is obviously meant for getting good items from boss monsters (and gods, if I get lucky) while the second one screams 'Epic Final Attack' right in my face.
No mundane skills weren't listed, how unsurprising. In most Gamer stories the main character's skills wouldn't be listed until they do something relevant to those skills, from a literary perspective this was to keep the prologue or first chapter from being bloated up by details that no one really cares about.
No Gamer's Mind or Gamer's Body either.
To my surprise, I found myself relieved by the lack of it.
I'll just take that as a sign that I'm not going to end up a sociopathic murderhobo. I've read way too many stories where people with emotional dampening skills or immunity to mental interference end up as remorseless killers.
If I'm going to embrace the mentality of someone having [The Gamer] as a power, I'd rather do so at my own pace without being altered right off the bat. It's the principle of it all.
Now then… time to find a safe spot to start grinding.
I seem to have been left a couple of miles away from a village. I should see if whatever money I have in my wallet is valid or not. The first thing I should be stocking up at this point is HP Recovery items, aka, food and drinks.
[白川村へようこそ]
"... Nani the fuck?"
I stared at the signboard in dismay. I guess my dollars won't be any good here. I suppose I could exchange what I have for some Yen, but… hmm, wait a second…
What if I could teleport to a dungeon in another country then exit it for a free global teleport?
I'm going to have to pick a place where English is spoken and prices for consumable goods are low, after all, purchasing power varies between countries. I'm not going to be able to purchase as many products as I could have in Japan when compared to a country with a much lower cost of living.
Hmm, maybe I could try the Southeast Asian countries?
Now how do I teleport… oh! Wow! An illusionary like mini-Earth just popped up in front of me, there were tiny dots that seemed to denote dungeons, and when I focused on them I got a "recommended levels" rating attached to the selection.
Aha! How convenient! There's a Level 1-3 dungeon in one of the countries I wanted to go to.
Let's do that-!
The world swirled around me and I ended up landing on my posterior as my vision settled.
"Bruh… trippy. Hmm, *sniff*, oh god the smell…!"
Sewer levels. Wonderful.
There didn't seem to be any monsters here, yet.
Well, I better get out of here. I'm not so fool-hardy to fight monsters without a weapon.
Thankfully, there was a door right behind me with the words "Exit" in English, just after the words "Keluar" which means the same thing in the Malaysian national language.
Thailand or Indonesia would have been my other countries of choice, but I picked this country as it was familiar to me, having studied at an international school here for a couple of years when I was younger. The lack of OP local mythologies in this country would probably mean that I'm unlikely to encounter any Heretic Gods or magicians here as well.
Most importantly, I could get lunch for just over a dollar or two, depending on where I eat.
Cheap Food = Easy HP Recovery
I exited through the door and shuddered when I felt a foreign sensation wash over my body.
[Extra-Dimensional Energy Detection has been gained!]
The feeling was uncomfortable, though I can see that I would gladly go through that door again if I can level up a useful skill like that.
By the time I found a way out of the sewers I ended up gaining a [Stink Resistance] skill as well.
If I ever maxed that skill my life has probably gone to shit.
After finding a money changer (who glared at me for stinking up his place), I exchanged my money for the local currency and quickly browsed a nearby convenience store for the most valuable food items based on the HP to Cash ratio.
I ended up buying two packets of wholemeal bread and two bars of chocolate. Oh, and a bottle of water too.
Once I was out of sight, I stored it all in my Inventory, then started jogging around to get my bearings while searching for an empty space where I could train and sleep in private.
It came off as a slight surprise that I ended up travelling two decades back in time, back to the year 2000, but I took it in stride and continued in my quest to find a private training area.
Eventually, I ran outside of town following the highway (delicious + 1 VIT points), eventually going off the road and into places where no one lived. There were some telecommunications towers around where I was planning to set up camp, such areas were not allowed to be used by the public nor as farm/plantation areas according to the laws, at least that's what one of my local friends told me once.
… I wonder if he has a counterpart in this world? It's highly unlikely. Best not to go looking for him or I'll just end up missing home at some point.
Right now, I had to stave off my fears for the future and my life by training my ass off.
Twenty Minutes Later…
"Oh god… I can't… do more… push ups. Blegh…"
[+1 VIT]
"Okay, maybe just one more."
I'm the type of Gamer that loves seeing numbers go up, after all.
One Hour Later
"Dear diary, I haven't eaten lunch or dinner and I'm still not hungry. I haven't drunk anything either. Guess I'll see if I get a hunger or dehydration debuff."
I've been throwing some punches and kicks. I got the [Brawl] skill easily enough, I leveled it up a handful of times in the first few minutes, which meant that my EXP Multiplier perk works with Skill EXP too. The bottleneck was reached soon after, however, and it took intense focus on adjusting my posture and increasing my efficiency of movement in order to push it further.
Without a training partner or engaging in actual combat, it was unlikely I will level this skill up past its tenth level.
[+ 1 STR]
Maybe it's time to move on to finding a blunt weapon. I could probably get a big stick by attacking those trees over there.
Twelve Seconds Later
"OH FUCK! Ah… aaaah… my poor hand. Fuck you Will, sure let's go beat up the tree you fucking dumbass!"
[Pain Resistance skill has been gained!]
"Why is it that all Gamer powers promote masochism and self-harm?!"
8:01 PM
"Let's gather round the campfire and sing the campfire song. THE C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G SONG!"
[Singing skill has been gained!]
Yay. If only I had an actual campfire.
12:00 Midnight
"Sleeping outdoors is overrated. Fuck, mosquitoes, shoo shoo!"
Should have bought a blanket, or at least something to cover myself.
The distant noises of cars driving past the highway was one of the few things that reassured me, funnily enough. I suppose it's because they keep me grounded, it reminds me that I'm still alive, that I had a second chance at life and I'm not trapped in some sort of nightmare.
Little inconveniences, the reality of sleeping in the wilderness without preparations, modern noise pollution and such things was comforting, in a way.
One Eternity Later (not really)
Deciding to bite the bullet, I turned on my phone to check the time.
"4:02 am? Are you joking?!"
You know what, screw it, if I don't need to eat or drink then I probably don't need to sleep either.
Two Hours Later
After hearing the ping, I eagerly opened my eyes to find my new [Meditation] skill… and instead, found a [Sit Still Like a Buddha] skill.
"... Reality is often disappointing."
Figures that it won't be that easy to access my magic and shoot Mana Bolts like in the stories.
"KAMEHAMEHA! GETSUGA TENSHOUAHRH!!!
Trying to force it out didn't work either.
Thank goodness no one saw that.
One Day Later
"It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight! Risin' up to the challenge of our rival! And the last known survivor-"
I couldn't spare the rest of my phone battery to actually play the song out loud so I have to sing my own training montage song.
Typical Isekai'ed Hobo problems.
[Blunt Weapon mastery has gained a level!]
After managing to get that large wooden stick I wanted I've been training like crazy to bring my bashing skills up, it's not like I would get lucky enough to get a good sword out of the blue, best that I work on my clubbing skills since it's more easily accessible.
Two Days Later
Upon remembering that the first dungeon was rather dark I decided to head back to town to purchase a cheap flashlight with my remaining cash. I still had a bit more left and I used the rest to purchase more bread.
On the way back, I found a broken signpost and took it for my personal use.
Lucky me.
I got a [Pole Mastery] for that weapon. To my dismay, the skill did not translate to Pole Dancing.
Bummer.
Anyways, a few more notes on my abilities, I can say for sure that my HP Regen will eventually heal broken bones, bruising and replace the blood lost from my particularly stupid stunts. If I did break or dislocate anything, I would take HP damage and a status debuff on actions using the affected parts of my body.
Three Days Later
My Physical stats almost reached 30 points each, I'd like to round it up before challenging the dungeon. I should be ready by tomorrow.
Tomorrow
I underestimated how much heavy-lifting was required to get me the last two points.
I should be ready by tomorrow for sure!
Tomorrow for sure…
"You know what, I'm going to enter a life and death battle just to increase my numbers faster. Maybe I should mentally prepare myself a bit."
Eventually…
I ended up just reflecting on my life and attempting to make peace with my past actions.
With little success.
If I died now then I would never get the chance to learn magic and find a way to travel the universe, much less survive whatever future catastrophe that might find its way to me.
Such a thought put me in a sullen mood.
I'll get over it soon. Then I'll rush to the dungeon and forget all about this depressing episode.
Uhhh…
"... Maybe tomorrow."
The Next Day
I had my flashlight tied around my left arm with a piece of stray wire I 'salvaged' somewhere.
The sewer dungeon looked completely out-of-place compared to the proper sewers outside, while the lightning was shit the floors were surprisingly clean despite the smell. It's as if this was a proper video game dungeon and that this sewer was… well, the underground level of an illegal laboratory.
Not very encouraging. Not one bit.
"Haaa…"
"Niii!"
Two figures. Two small figures.
Little green men.
[Goblin Scout Lvl 1] [Goblin Guard Lvl 1]
Their ugly faces matched their wretched description. They were pretty much the same as Goblin Slayer's goblins.
Why couldn't I fight the less vicious kind? This world probably has a grudge against me.
The vicious little fuckers lunged at me, one of them jumped high and the other struck low!
I took several steps back and swung my signpost downwards.
My hands vibrated as the force of impact traveled back up my weapon. It was the first time I ever struck something with the intention to kill.
"Haa…" I took a deep breath, I could do this-
-wait!
I swung my left hand around me, I couldn't find the other Goblin with the meager light I was shining about.
I threw myself to the right, just in time for something sharp to dig into my shoulder instead of my back! The goblin fell from it's jumping attack and in a state of panic I swung my weapon at it, striking it's leg!
"GRAH!"
It's scream of pain helped me focus, keep the sharp pain in my shoulder at bay.
Again I lifted my weapon up, and struck it down.
My reward was silence.
"Ngh… ah, uhh…" It may have been unmanly of me but I really felt like crying a bit at the pain, even if it wouldn't do any good for me. My training injuries were very different from actual combat injuries.
Thankfully, I managed to keep myself mostly silent as I examined the damage.
I had leveled up, my HP and MP hadn't refilled magically, although my current HP and MP did increase together with my Max HP and MP. My HP Regen was higher than the minor bleed damage after the Goblin's dagger vanished out of my shoulder and into my Inventory.
I just had to wait here for a bit before continuing.
[You have been poisoned! -10 HP per minute! Duration: 10 minutes]
[Poison Resistance has been gained!]
On second thought, let's call it a day. While the total damage the poison would have done would be just under a third of my Max HP, I wasn't ready to take them on without a bit of practice in targeting shorter people.
I backtracked to the entrance and got out the normal way after my attempt to use my dungeon teleport skill to the entrance failed.
Thankfully, there wasn't a hidden passageway that allowed the goblins to ambush me on the way back, like what happened to the Noob Party in Goblin Slayer.
That said, I would keep my eyes peeled the next time I returned.
I didn't get any money from killing Goblins so I wasn't able to buy any HP recovery items.
It was only natural. My Loot perks only gave me the items they were carrying and items associated with the beings I've killed.
I managed to get two Iron Daggers (poisoned), two Goblin rags, one Goblin nail, two Goblin teeth and one Goblin eyeball.
The nail and teeth were useless. I cooked the eyeball over a fire and ate it, unfortunately, I didn't get night vision from eating Goblin eyes. At least I tried.
As for the daggers, I practice throwing them and using them as weapons, netting two skills related to it. I also practiced several moves to death with Goblins on the ground or in the air with my other weapons.
I put the 5 status points into AGI. My Luck status was fixed and my magic skills showed no sign of manifesting, it was better to spend it on something that would help me survive anything from weak attacks to powerful magical attacks.
Considering the general power levels out there, I probably wouldn't survive a hit unless I pumped two hundreds points into VIT all at once, so it was better to improve my movement and reaction speed instead.
"Okay, Round Two bitches."
A careful inspection showed that the layout hadn't changed at all, which was good news to me.
My attempt to sneak attack the goblins failed despite my [Sneak] skill being at Level 7. Oh right, I had the lights on and Goblin's had a strong sense of smell too.
"Hrah!"
"Niii!"
[Goblin Scout Lvl 1] [Goblin Archer Lvl 2]
Motherfucker.
The mobs are randomized.
I took an arrow to the knee in the brief moment I was taken by surprise.
"You fucking gobbo!"
A dagger appeared in my hand and I threw it at the Goblin Archer, shooting it right into his eye!
It was a lucky shot and I wasn't going to complain about that.
I couldn't dodge the attack of the other Goblin very well because of my injured knee and ended up taking another dagger to the shoulder before I killed it with my own dagger.
The Goblin Archer wasn't dead yet, as I found out when it began to cry out loudly.
I cursed as I heard the sounds of what seemed to be a mob of goblin allies coming my way.
I quickly finished the Goblin Archer off, taking my dagger back and ran (kinda limped on one leg) back to the entrance.
After escaping in the nick of time, I stayed just outside the sewers, letting the poison run its course and recover my HP.
I returned back to my camp and started practicing with the bow. I could probably hit a target 5 meters ahead of me half of the time now. Good enough, I guess.
"Okay, third time's the charm."
This time, at the same spot where I fought the two goblins, there was a group of five goblins there ready for battle.
"FUCK MY LIFE!"
I ran for the entrance. Thankfully, I was significantly faster than those goblins.
"Haa… haa…"
I knelt down at the entrance and clasped my hands together.
"RNJesus, who art in game code, hallowed be thy name. Thy drop rates stay, thy mob gen fair in practice as in theory. Give us this day our daily loot-"
After saying my prayers I entered the dungeon again. It was back to two goblins.
Praise be to the RNG Gods!
I managed to kill the two without much trouble this time, not giving them a chance to scream for help.
Upon leveling up, I placed the five points in AGI then continued with a little idea of mine.
Taking out a goblin rag, I soaked it in Goblin blood and covered myself in it, hoping that it would work to camouflage my scent.
When I encountered the next Goblin patrol I managed to surprise them somehow! I took that as a good sign and killed three goblins swiftly with my dagger, slitting their throats as easily as I carved a good birthday cake.
Now that I managed to get used to fighting a little, my combat decision making wasn't fraught with panic and I could take advantage of my superior speed to dispatch small groups of goblins in the quickest way available to me.
I slayed a group of four. Then a group of eight, then ten goblins…
I reached 50 points in AGI and threw the last remaining point from leveling up twice in DEX.
My AGI perk doubled my effective movement and attack speed, rather generic, but very useful.
Eventually, I reached the main chamber of the goblins.
[Goblin Shaman Lvl 3]
I ignored it's chant and dashed right at it, leaping to the side just as the spell left it's staff then struck while it was defenseless. After that, it was just a matter of dealing with the rabble.
Fortunately for me, there were no goblin babies to bash up, which means that I hadn't introduced monsters into the world that could actually hurt the people up above ground.
The Wooden Stave of the Goblin Shaman wasn't particularly magical, it had no spells stored in it, although it did grant a small INT and WIS increase. The Goblin Shaman Shawl also granted the same increase in magical stats, although nothing suggested it would actually allow me to use magic.
It's other drops weren't much different from the other goblins either.
In the end, a goblin was just a goblin.
I looked around the room until I found a treasure chest under a chair made of bones (probably not from a real living being considering these are dungeon generated monsters).
[Steel Sword (Stainless)]
"... Haa, guess I shouldn't complain. After all, they were just goblins."
A steel sword was still two or three steps above the traditional bronze or iron swords that a main character starts with so it wasn't too terrible.
Perhaps this reward is actually pretty good and I'm just being spoiled about it? I'm not a character from Westeros where a Steel Sword can be considered an adequate reward for a decent service. I'm an Isekai'ed normal guy with a skewed sense of what should be considered "good" loot.
Looking over the chest once more, I saw that there was some cash at the bottom, a couple of notes and coins.
"Thank you RNJesus."
Once I placed the money in my inventory, a window appeared in front of me, announcing the clearing of the dungeon!
[Goblin Dungeon, Recommended Lvl 1-3 (Cleared). Refresh in 71:59:55)
Three days refresh time huh? Fair enough.
I could teleport to the entrance of the dungeon now that it had been cleared.
Returning to my training spot took a lot less time now that I was superhuman in terms of speed. Traversing the paths less taken with a couple of flashy jumps and movements owing to my superior speed and flexibility, I gained a skill in Acrobatics and Parkour on the way there.
I was galvanized by my success and trained with my sword like I was a kid wishing to be a Knight when I grow up in order to take back the Holy Land. I mixed my weapons training up by leaping from tree to tree, striking with my weapons as I moved at high speeds, improving my capability for high speed combat on ground and in the air.
My attempts at magic with the wooden stave and the Shaman's equipment wasn't so successful. A pity, but it wasn't a deal-breaker to me.
I trained harder at the speed at which I could switch weapons, then mixed up my fighting style by using sword and dagger together, with the dagger as an off-hand weapon.
Unfortunately for me, despite my dexterity score I wasn't about to become ambidextrous overnight. I still made good progress in improving my left hand coordination, however, so it wasn't a huge waste of effort.
Once the Goblin Dungeon refreshed I challenged it with my new weapon and skills. My flashlight failed in the middle of my run, but I could still carve them all up without taking damage with just the minimum light provided.
By the time I slaughtered all the goblins as if they were nothing but younglings I gained a new skill called [Battle Instinct], I had a huge grin on my face after I got the skill.
The reward for completing the dungeon again was yet another steel sword, although this one wasn't stainless. I suppose there is a slight degradation in reward for repeat runs.
It was time to try new dungeons. My first aim was to complete all the recommended dungeons that had level ranges from Lvl 1-3, 2-4 and 3-5 in ascending order.
The next dungeon took place in a forest biome somewhere in the Philippines. It was filled with slimes and I couldn't cut them with my steel sword. I had to bash them with the flat of the blade, my signpost or my large wooden stick. I managed to clear it in the first round and only took three instances of damage, two of which were unexpected attacks from the Giant Slime boss.
How was I supposed to know it could grow in size and then squash everything in the area after leaping high into the sky? Oh wait, it worked like that for the Puni's in the Atelier games too.
I managed to dodge the main attack but was hit by the shockwaves instead.
The other unexpected attack was when the Giant Slime shot acidic slime at me. I dodged most of it but some slime caught a good amount of my shoulder.
My shoulder's flesh melted to the point where I could see a bit of the bone. At least I got a [Regeneration] and [Acid Resistance] skill out of it.
I was starting to sense a pattern here.
My dungeon clear reward was a cute [Slime Hat], it increased all my stats by 3 and provided a bit of physical and magical defense. The design was nostalgic and reminded me of the Slime Boss from Maplestory.
I may have looked silly wearing a cute Green slime hat on my head as I killed monsters but I honestly didn't care. Wearing it brings me great joy.
As for my next dungeon, the Kobold Dungeon was easy in comparison, and in fact, an enjoyable run since those dog monsters actually used swords and shields, allowing me to put my skill with the blade to the test.
I managed to level up my [Sword Mastery] skill a couple of times as I cut them down.
Only the Kobold Alpha's stats were up to the task of taking me on, even so, I made him my bitch after a dozen exchanges, disarming the monster twice in a literal fashion before I lopped it's head off.
The reward for the dungeon was a leather armor set. No complaints here, I needed some proper clothes after wearing my clothes for well over a week.
With my natural status increases and the points gained from leveling I raised my STR, VIT and DEX to 50.
The passive skills were unimaginative yet undoubtedly useful.
My effective strength was doubled, my Max HP was increased by 50% followed by a 100% increase in HP Regen per VIT point, and my Dexterity passive added half of my DEX stat to both STR and AGI each.
The Lvl 2-4 dungeons were trickier, in that the Giant Rat and Giant Bat monsters were a lot quicker and had faster reaction speeds compared with all the monsters I dealt with before.
I had to retreat once against the rats and twice against the bats until I was Ready Perfectly.
My reward for the Rat Dungeon was a medallion that reduced the noise I made with my feet. I give it a 8/10 for utility.
As for the Bat dungeon…
[Cape of the Bat (Machine-Washable)]
Description: Allows the user to fall slowly through the air and glide like a bat.
+5 to [Sneak] Skill
-60% Falling Speed
Enables Gliding at 50% of AGI
"I AM VENGEANCE! I AM THE NIGHT!"
Fuck yeah, I can live out all my Batman fantasies now.
… Actually, that's highly unlikely. Where am I going to find a hot assassin that will drug and rape me in order to get pregnant with my child? Or a cat-themed female thief? Or a bunch of kids that would like to wear colorful outfits and be my sidekick?
Well a man is entitled to dream.
The Lvl 3-5 dungeons included the monsters from the previous dungeons, just with more mob variety and abilities. There were slightly larger goblins, fire slimes, bats with bigger teeth and all sorts of funny gimmicks.
Unfortunately for those monsters I was still used to killing them and managed to dispatch them with ease. The rewards were okay, I suppose. I got slightly better armor, different types of steel weapons, a crossbow with poison tipped arrows and a face-mask that blocked airborne toxins.
I brought my AGI up to a 100 through a mix of natural growth and points, then spent the rest of the points to bring my INT and WIS up to 50 each.
As expected, the Max MP and Magic Power improvements from the INT passive were of no current use to me, the MP Regen from the WIS passive looked really nice, but again, I wasn't using any MP.
My AGI passive skill would give me another 100% to my AGI if I was dodging an attack or fleeing from an opponent. Wow, at this rate, I could pull off the Joestar Family Secret Technique!
I exited a dungeon from Thailand and ended up swimming to a resort by sea. Having purchased some toiletries, new clothes and a pair of trunks from a night market, I had all I need to complete my mission.
I swapped to my swimming trunks as I got out of the sea, then walked along the beach and into the resort's pool area as if I belonged there. I've visited many resorts with my family before during our annual vacations so I was perfectly capable of making myself look like I was a proper guest.
Once there, I went into the shower area, took out my toiletries and turned on the water.
I took my first proper shower in this world.
"Oh yeah. That's the stuff."
It's been two long weeks of the hobo lifestyle and I was finally getting some modern comfort.
Alas, I couldn't afford to linger for too long. After washing every inch of my body, I collected my stuff then teleported to a dungeon entrance placed in a clean, urban environment and exited it. Emerging from the rooftop of a bank's headquarters.
I quickly swapped my swimming trunks for my preferred equipment and glided across the night sky, landing atop a restaurant a couple of blocks away from the bank building.
Changing into my casual clothes, I hopped off the roof into the alleyway and entered the restaurant proper.
"Welcome to WacDonalds, may I have your order?"
"Quarter Pounder, I'll take the large set."
"Drinks?"
"Coke. Please."
Even though the name was different, the familiar taste of processed fast food made me think of home. Of the times when we would stop by a fast food joint to get a quick meal because we were desperate to eat something late at night… ah, those were good times.
I didn't have much money left after spending so much on new clothes, shampoo and soap.
"... Can I really keep living like this?"
It wasn't a bad life.
Part of me enjoyed the sense of pride and accomplishment I got from achieving greater heights of power. Another part of me just found being "more" than human to be fulfilling. Then the grateful part of me felt thankful that I survived without encountering any of the powerful beings of this world.
In terms of pacing I'm pretty sure that my life can be grouped together with the "Slow Life" styled Isekai stories, at least when compared to some of the Gamer stories I've read containing constant escalations.
It's safe to say that I'm free to live my life at my own pace.
But is this really okay?
I couldn't find it in myself to say "yes" to that question.
It was undoubtedly safer to just live life at this pace, avoiding civilization as much as I can and any attention from the mystical organizations of this world.
Even so… even so… it bothers me.
It really bothers me.
When did I give up on living life and accept simple survival?!
"This is going to be really stupid but at this point I really don't care anymore."
I blazed through the dungeons that I was over-leveled for immediately after my meal.
I took some damage and I didn't let that get in the way of me cutting my way through every single monster. My twin blades painted the dungeons red with blood.
Focusing my utmost attention to the flow of battle gained me [Heightened Senses], the first ability that drew on my mana, and while I was still unable to cast a spell much less expel my mana forcefully, I was nonetheless pleased with the addition to my arsenal.
[Draugr Dungeon, Recommended Lvl 21-25]
While I was an avid Skyrim player I had always been ashamed to admit that I couldn't help but be a little scared of entering the crypt-like dungeons. I was never that good at horror games and that translated to my handling of undead AI enemies in a burial-like setting.
Horror movies were easy, I could always rationalize something as 'fake' in my head and the fear would go away. Games were more difficult the more I was immersed in them.
Facing a horde of undead warriors for real? Strangely enough, I felt like I could take them.
"Taste steel undead scum!"
Their undead strength was greater than my own, however, speed was key. While their speed was comparable to my own, I excelled in utilizing it while they were mediocre at best.
Even a melee between a dozen Draugr warriors could not wipe the confident grin off my face.
I emerged from the battle with a couple of cuts, a few bites of chocolate later and I was ready to fight the boss.
[Draugr Scourge Lvl 25]
Rather than a Frost Atronach as I expected, the boss summoned some swole looking Draugr's instead, guess this dungeon was based more on the Icelandic myths rather than Skyrim.
They were swollen, blackened, hideous animated corpses.
Just my type of monsters.
Charging right into the fray I leapt high and decapitated one of the Draugr's. The two closest Draugr's were upon me and I parried both their blades with my own, before they could react I cut off both their arms then stabbed their necks. They attempted to fall on my body and crush me but I kicked off the ground, pulling my swords out whilst evading their attack and then cutting both their heads off properly once they gave me an opening.
The boss monster joined in the fray, a futile attempt to keep it's minions alive. The monsters had been granted greater strength through increased muscle mass, but their speed scarcely improved and my blades were more than enough to grant them rest.
And then it became the 1v1 duel I always wanted.
Smirking at the snarling walking corpse, I twirled both my swords in my hands with familiar ease, "Now it ends."
A combination of my heightened senses, speed, reflexes and skill kept me several steps ahead of the undead warrior. I began to plan my final moves ahead and baited it into smashing its own tomb, using the cover of dust and debris to sneak behind it.
Jumping onto it's back, I stabbed my blades into its neck and then wrenched it out. Predicting that it would try to fall on me, I kicked off it's body as it fell then quickly moved in for the kill.
"Oh yeah. Now that's the stuff."
The sweet sound of multiple level ups were music to my ears.
Now where is the chest… aha! There it is!
I hope they have a set of enchanted gloves. I could really use some arm guards.
Hmm, this chest looks a bit different from the plain wooden ones I've opened before. Could this be a rare chest? Or is it just a decorative chest because this is a higher level dungeon than the previous ones?
When I opened it there was a bright silver light shining out from within the chest, as the light dimmed down, I saw a beautiful sharp sword with a stone in it.
[Whitting (Replica)]
Description: A pale replica of the sword used by Bersi against Kormak. When in battle, the sword would scatter when its owner is at a disadvantage, and amongst its shards, a miracle would occur. As this blade is but a mere replica, the "disadvantage" part must be reenacted multiple times for the blade to accumulate enough power to perform a miracle, the owner may do this by constantly avoiding or blocking fatal attacks while this sword is wielded.
Is this sword asking me to die? This sword effectively is telling me that it works the best for opponents that can kill me in a single strike and needs me to survive an unknown number of such attacks just to have a chance to win.
This is suicidal. This is madness.
This is the perfect sword for me.