vol-01 Ch 2 – Benefits of Level-Up

PART-01

I'd accumulated a lot of mental fatigue over the course of the day, so I fell asleep quickly when it was bedtime, but I woke up again from a sudden discomfort.

"Hmm? Why am I so…?"

My body felt very hot, as if I had a high fever. When I tried to move my neck, intense pain shot through my entire body. It was so extreme, I immediately started screaming. The pain wasn't localized to just the part of me that moved; absolutely everything hurt.

My body started making weird sounds all over it, like my bones, muscles, and nerves were shifting and changing… No, it was more like being transformed at a genetic level while I was awake. The pain continued for quite a while because of that.

It sounds crazy when I say it like that, but my instincts insisted that my impression of what was happening was correct.

Unusual groans and growls came out from my mouth. I couldn't even speak properly. With one final whimper, I blacked out from the pain.

＊＊＊

"Mmm… huh?"

It was morning. When I woke up, the pain in my body was completely gone, making the pain from last night seem like a bad dream. My body actually felt extraordinarily light.

"What even happened last night…"

I didn't have a clue why I went through that much pain. I only moved my neck, after all. I was hungry, though, so I got up to make breakfast.

"…Hmm?"

As soon as I stood up, my pants and underwear slipped right off. Moreover, when I looked down I saw an incredible set of six-pack abs, and my privates were rather… majestic.

H-huge…

When I touched the abs involuntarily, it certainly felt like I was touching my own stomach, so it was definitely my body.

There was a long pause before I finally shouted in amazement. What the hell was this!? Was this really my body!? I ran my hands over my stomach over and over again, but it really was me, and the other parts… When I touched my face and head, my acne, ulcers and the like had vanished without a trace, and even my hair now had a healthy volume to it.

I was dumbfounded by my body suddenly changing so much, but my stomach growled, so I decided to just go ahead and make breakfast. When I went into the kitchen, I realized my height had changed, and I almost stopped again, but I managed to keep going and start cooking.

However, when breakfast was done, I sat in a daze, eating without thinking. If you asked me how it tasted, I wouldn't be able to tell you. After finishing, I took a break to think some more about the changes I just went through.

No matter what perspective I took, I could only conclude that yesterday's level-up must have been the cause.

I remembered that my level had increased, and that thought calmed me down, so I immediately thought that it was the cause. Other than that, there's no other reason for this to happen.

As of yesterday, there was no change aside from leveling up, and what happened while I slept last night was some kind of growth process, wasn't it? It was a dramatic change.

"I wish I had a mirror ― oh, right…"

I was trying to find a mirror to see how I looked now, but right when I said it, I remembered I broke it yesterday. It was only now that I realized there was no other mirror in the entire house.

However, even if I couldn't see how my appearance had changed, there was no problem so far. My appearance was terrible in the first place, but I didn't care how it changed anymore, and I didn't know what to do about it, either.

Right now, I had more important things to worry about. Specifically…

"I don't have any clothes…"

Yeah, the only clothes I had didn't fit my new size. I could still wear my big jacket for my top clothes, if I wanted to, but I had no idea what to do about my pants and underwear. They were too big, and no matter how hard I tried, they would slip down.

I never needed a belt before, so I didn't have a way to fix it to my waist. Well, as a last resort, I might be able to manage it with string or something, but… Either way, I don't want this situation to continue. It's very troublesome.

I can't go shopping for clothes that fit, nor can I go shopping for food. I can't even wear my uniform, it doesn't fit me anymore either. Oddly enough, high school uniforms were the same design as junior high school uniforms; you distinguished them by the color of the name tags distributed every year. So even my junior high school uniforms wouldn't possibly be the right size for me.

"Seriously, what am I supposed to do now…"

I really started to worry, but then I remembered something.

"Oh yeah, now that I think about it, there were some clothes in that other house's closet, right…?"

The house in the other world had a closet, in which there were some clothes and underwear that were too small to wear at the time.

"I guess I'll just wear that, then…"

Since I had no other choice, I immediately went through the otherworld door into the other house, and opened the closet. Some clothes and underwear were still inside, including a white shirt and black pants. They were simple clothes, but somewhat modern-looking.

"I'm saved… I can just wear these for now, right?"

It doesn't mean anything, but for some reason I thought to appraise them.

[Royal Silk Shirt] :: A very soft shirt made of the highest quality royal silk. Automatically adjusts size according to the body shape of the wearer. Maintains a comfortable temperature for the wearer. Immune to dirt. Contains an auto-repair function. Contractor: Tenjou Yuuya.

[Royal Silk Pants] :: Very soft pants made of the highest quality royal silk. Automatically adjusts size according to the body shape of the wearer. Maintains a comfortable temperature for the wearer. Immune to dirt. Contains an auto-repair function. Contractor: Tenjou Yuuya.

"You're kidding, right?"

What kind of broken ability is this? Clothes shouldn't be this incredible. When I first found this, I was still fat, but with that function, if I wanted to wear it, I still could have. Whether it's cold or hot, I'll be perfectly comfortable if I wear it, huh? That makes no sense. And it says it won't even get dirty? That would bring a huge amount of joy to the housewives of the world if that was typical.

By the way, I didn't specifically pick these clothes because of the explanation, I just felt that they had a strangely elegant atmosphere. I really just felt it. I don't have an eye for aesthetics, normally.

Now what about even the clothes treating me as their contractors? Is this normal in this world? It can't be, right? I'm sure it can't. If the clothes have this ability, how about the underwear? I thought about it, and used appraisal on the underwear, but it was just an ordinary pair of comfortable underwear, with no special effects on it. However, as usual, I had become its contractor as well. By the way, the underwear consisted of black boxers and other black underclothes.

"It really is perfectly useful, huh…"

No, I don't think that Mr. Wise Man used it practically like this, but it was a big help to me. In addition, when I looked in the closet again, there were even shoes and socks. The socks were comfortable, and its effect was that it wouldn't get stuffy. There was a golden spot on the back of it, so it was really cool. Again, I became its contractor.

But the shoes were even more amazing.

[Dragon God's Leather Shoes] :: Shoes made from the skin of a dragon god, the pinnacle of the dragon species. It ignores environmental effects or features. No matter how much the wearer walks or runs, they won't get tired, and the shoes won't be damaged. The size changes to fit the wearer. Immune to dirt. Contractor: Tenjou Yuuya.

I finally found equipment made from a godlike material. So, what should I even do when I find something like this? As a matter of course, I'm still its contractor, so really, I'm very grateful, but still… Isn't it just too much? This goes far beyond the scope of ordinary shoes, right?

However, these shoes are also glossy bluish-black, and they're very cool. I really want to wear them. Actually my foot size had also changed, so I had to wear it anyway. I got clothes, shoes, and so on, so with that, I could go out for now.

------

PART-02

"Now that I think about it, what's growing in that field?"

After I got clothes, a moment of curiosity inspired me, so I decided to examine the property again. I'd finished my spring break homework anyway. Furthermore, I'd acquired by chance an amount of money that would normally take me years to earn.

That's why I had so much free time. Importantly, I'd be busy again when spring break was over. I left the house and went to check the field.

"Oh… I'm not sure what kind of herbs or vegetables were planted here?"

There were a lot of herbs there likely to be mistaken for weeds, as well as tomato-like and radish-like vegetables. Since the herbs grew in a neat line, I could tell they weren't weeds.

"Hmm? O-oh, so this was for watering it, huh?"

A silver watering can was placed to the right, near the field. It already had water inside of it.

"…is it possible that this watering can is also something special?"

I appraised it at once…

[Infinite Watering Can] :: Watering Can which contains an infinite spring of water. The water inside is Holy Water, and even a dead or dying plant will quickly become healthy with this water. The water is always perfectly pure and drinkable, and upon imbibing, will not only recover fatigue throughout the body, but also increase magical power. Contractor: Tenjou Yuuya.

"Turns out I'm already used to this kind of thing."

Yeah, I predicted it. I completely predicted it would be something like this. I had already internalized how amazing this place's original landlord was. The Wise Man's capabilities were far beyond my imagination. I felt doubtful that such a person had really died.

"So? What's this crop?"

I went ahead and started appraising herbs.

[Complete Recovery Herb] :: Consuming this herb can cure all kinds of wounds and diseases, even if you are missing limbs or blinded. In addition, the herb can also function to restore magical power. When picked, it leaves seeds behind to quickly regrow. This herb exceeds any legendary-class herb.

"Nope, I actually still haven't gotten used to it."

I never thought the effect would be so incredible! This plant alone would put doctors completely out of business. At any rate, it was good to know that it was so easy to raise.

"Well then, what else?"

Still feeling a little nervous, I tried to appraise all the crops that were planted.

[Super Power Tomato] :: A tomato that can increase attack power when eaten. In addition, it will also increase physical strength and energy, and reduce fatigue. When picked, it leaves seeds behind to quickly regrow.

[Invincible Pumpkin] :: A pumpkin that can increase defenses when eaten. In addition, it also has the effect of improving mental stability, and makes one more resistant to mental attacks and debuffs. When picked, it leaves seeds behind to quickly regrow.

[Winter Radish of Wisdom] :: A winter radish that can increase intelligence when eaten. In addition, it makes you better able to cope with special mind enhancements such as parallel thinking and high-speed thinking. When picked, it leaves seeds behind to quickly regrow.

[Godspeed Potato] :: A potato that can increase agility when eaten. In addition, it also enhances visual acuity and perception. When picked, it leaves seeds behind to quickly regrow.

All right, there's a lot of things I want to say. These are definitely stat-boosting items! Just how high was the wise man aiming? And I don't know what it means for a plant to leave its seeds behind! Is it like picking the vines off a potato plant, or something different?

These fantastical vegetables… wait, they just look like the vegetables I know.

"Well, they're edible, and above all, my stats will increase, so… should I eat them?"

In the first place, if I can eat them, my food costs can be reduced, so I'd be grateful for that. Just as long as it doesn't have some kind of strange medicinal effects, that is.

"What am I supposed to do… it's only morning and I'm already tired."

It wasn't even noon yet, but my mental fatigue was already building up. Well, it can't be helped, I thought.

Immediately, I felt an intimidating pressure, like when I met the Bloody Ogre yesterday. As soon as I turned my eyes in that direction, I saw a pitch black slime-like object.

"What's that?"

I appraised it instinctively:

[Hell Slime]

Level: 200

Magic: 5000

Attack: 1000

Defense: 5000

Agility: 100

Intelligence: 100

Luck: 100

"Are you serious…"

Yesterday was a Bloody Ogre, now it's a Hell Slime, huh? Well, no matter how I thought about it, this forest was definitely not a place for beginners, right? I mean, it makes sense, I don't think the Wise Man would have lived in some kind of beginner's paradise.

However, I was strangely calm, even though it was supposedly the same pressure as the Bloody Ogre I met yesterday, if you count only its magic and defensive power. I certainly felt intimidated, but for some reason it wasn't as scary as yesterday. I'm still scared, actually, but it's not enough to turn my legs to jelly like last time.

It's not because my level is higher than yesterday, or because this hell slime is a lower level than the Bloody Ogre. I think it's because my mental structure has changed since yesterday.

I'm actually quite scared if I'm being perfectly honest, but I'm grateful to be able to think calmly now. As I focused on observing the Hell Slime, it was struggling to get inside this land like the Bloody Ogre did yesterday.

"No, seriously, creatures in this world are too scary…"

Am I being too forgiving? If it finds a person, it might attack them with all its might, right? Am I just like that because Earth is too peaceful? [TLN: It seems he forgot that he constantly getting bullied xD.]

"Well, whatever. I don't want to leave this land too much, but I'd like to at least check the area around the house. So I wonder if fighting is really inevitable like in the current situation…"

Thinking that way, I took out the [Absolute Spear] from [Item Box].

"Huh? I can just hold it normally…"

What's this? I can hold the [Absolute Spear] with just one hand! Yes, I know it was actually normal, but still, it was amazing for me. I didn't think I could hold the spear with one hand, so I involuntarily swung the spear around on the spot. Then, although I only casually swung it around, somehow its weight was quite manageable.

"Good grief, the benefit from leveling is incredible. If I knew about this, I wouldn't have bothered with muscle training like before…"

I felt like I was just flailing around since I didn't know how to use the spear properly. I wonder what would happen if I looked up how to use a spear in some book and learned from that?

It wouldn't be easy, and yet, that's the way for me to use this spear properly. Most of all, as a man, it's a very attractive prospect… Yup, I want to become stronger, little by little. [ED: It's a bit late for "little by little" my dude…]

"For that, I have to deal with this first."

I grabbed the spear again, and decided to throw it like yesterday, though last time couldn't even be called a throw.

I completely dispelled my hesitation, brandish the spear and threw it with one hand.

"No way!?

Immediately, the spear flew at a faster speed than I could have imagined, and there was a hole in the body of the Hell Slime before I knew it.

My power seemed to have been even greater than I thought, and I never would have expected it to fly even faster than the person who threw it could see. As a matter of course, I was dumbfounded when the spear came back.

The Hell Slime's body quivered a little, like when the Bloody Ogre was defeated, and then it disappeared into particles of light. Once again, various objects appeared scattered where the creature was.

"…Let's pick those up."

It was still an unrealistic and bizarre situation, but I was curious about what dropped, so I immediately headed to the entrance. Wary of the surroundings, I quickly collected the dropped objects and appraised them.

[Hell Slime Core] :: The heart of the Hell Slime. It's filled with a huge amount of magical power, and can be used in the process of creating armor.

[Hell Slime Jelly] :: A coffee-flavored jelly. Consuming it can increase magical power and defence.

[Magic Stone: Rank C] :: A special ore that can be obtained from magical beasts.

"Coffee jelly!?

Really, I didn't think anything was close to coffee jelly among the things that I'd already gotten. On the contrary, it was a stat-boosting item, just like the crops of the field! There was also a magic stone this time, too. … Is this another item that can be converted for a high price?

It would be a lie to say I didn't expect it. My life was tough, so I wanted money if I could get it. I didn't know how to use the Hell Slime Core, so I wanted to cash it in if I could. I'll just bring back the Hell Slime Jelly.

When I was appraising the items that dropped, I noticed I missed one.

"Oh, there was one more thing."

It was a silver necklace, holding a fashionable crescent moon embedded with something like a black jewel.

"No way, it's an accessory!?"

I don't know, since I'm not familiar with games, but is it normal for these accessories to drop? Or was that Hell Slime wearing it? If so, it must have been a fashionable slime. When I thought about it, the Bloody Ogre also dropped armor and stuff. I was too stunned to think about it at the time, but it seems normal to not only get materials, but equipment as well.

For now, since it looked nothing like the other items I got from the Hell Slime, I appraised it.

[Black Moon Necklace] :: Rare drop from Hell Slimes. It can increase various stats if worn at night. It also collects sunlight and converts it into magic power, and constantly restores the wearer's magic power. Contractor: Tenjou Yuuya.

It was a rare drop. Well, it didn't say anything about the slime being fashionable. Kind of disappointing. But the effect seems quite good. Even if it's only at night, it can increase stats, and can also restore magic power. Though I don't know how to use magic power anyway. Since it was the first time I got a rare drop, and I'd never worn a necklace before, I decided to try equipping it.

"Does it look good on me?"

I wasn't asking anyone in particular, but only said it involuntarily. It wouldn't have been very suitable for me a couple days ago, but now that I'd lost a bit of weight, I wanted to believe it looked good on me.

A message appeared while I was distracted with that.

Level Up

You have acquired the skill [Presence Detection]

"Huh."

No, wait a minute. Do I have to taste that severe pain again!? It's true that the opponent's level was higher, and I can understand my level going up, but even if I recognize that, should I just accept it? I don't wanna!

I still wanted to escape from reality, even if temporarily, so I checked the skill.

[Presence Detection] :: Makes it possible for you to detect presences.

It was a very simple explanation. In other words, in a manga it would be something like, "I know you're there!" I'm just happy that this one was normal. Like I said before, when I collect items, I have to leave this protected land, so this could reduce my risk during that window of time. Satisfied with the new skill, I finally moved on to checking my status.

[Tenjou Yuuya]

Occupation: None

Level: 150

Magic: 2000

Attack: 3500

Defense: 3500

Agility: 3500

Intelligence: 2000

Luck: 4500

BP: 5000

Skills: [Appraisal] [Endurance] [Item Box] [Language Comprehension] [True Martial Arts: 1] [Presence Detection]

Title: [Master of The Door] [Master of The House] [Otherworlder] [Person Who Visited A Different World For The First Time]

It went up quite a bit.

Or rather, isn't everything just too good? Is that a thing? Well, whatever. It's fine, since it's easy to think about.

"Okay. So, time to allocate BP."

After thinking about it for a moment, I started spending BP. This was the result.

[Tenjou Yuuya]

Occupation: None

Level: 150

Magic: 2000

Attack: 4500

Defense: 4500

Agility: 4500

Intelligence: 2000

Luck: 6500

BP: 0

Skills: [Appraisal] [Endurance] [Item Box] [Language Comprehension] [True Martial Arts: 1] [Presence Detection]

Title: [Master of The Door] [Master of The House] [Otherworlder] [Person Who Visited A Different World For The First Time]

Unlike last time, I didn't allocate BP into magic or intelligence. Instead, I allocated about 2000 to luck because there I'd gotten something like a rare drop item just now.

It's pure speculation, but if my luck stat is high, I might get more of those rare drop items like before. And it kind of makes me happy to be lucky. Those were the morning's events, and by now it was noon, so I went back to my house at once.

＊＊＊

Once I got into the house, a message displayed asking whether to cash in the items again or not, and I decided to cash in [Magic Stone: Rank C] and [Hell Slime's Core].

And then…

[Hell Slime's Core] cashed in for 500,000 Yen. [Magic stone: Rank C] cashed in for 500,000 Yen.

So, I ended up getting a large sum of money again, a total of 1 million yen. It was almost bewildering to think that I got 2.5 million yen in just two days, but I managed to get back home to have lunch. In addition, I immediately tried using the ingredients I got from the field that morning.

The menu this time was "Super Power Tomato salad", "Invincible Pumpkin and Winter Radish of Wisdom boiled in soy sauce", and "Meat and Godspeed Potato stew". All these dishes were made with Holy Water from the [Infinite Watering Can].

The idea for cooking these wasn't particularly different from tomatoes or potatoes from Earth, I was only nervous about the taste. However, that ended up being needless anxiety.

"D-delicious!"

It was surprisingly delicious. My cooking skills were average, so this flavor could only be coming from the quality of the ingredients themselves. After finishing the meal, I checked my status, and there were various changes.

[Tenjou Yuuya]

Occupation: None

Level: 150

Magic: 2500

Attack: 5000

Defense: 5000

Agility: 5000

Intelligence: 2500

Luck: 7000

BP: 0

Skills: [Appraisal] [Endurance] [Item Box] [Language Comprehension] [True Martial Arts: 1] [Presence Detection] [Cooking: 1]

Title: [Master of The Door] [Master of The House] [Otherworlder] [Person Who Visited A Different World For The First Time]

"It really went up!?"

My stat values had risen by 500. In addition, [Cooking] had been added to the skill list. The reason for my stats increasing and for me to gain skills was all because I ate the ingredients from different worlds. Somehow, the food ingredients of the other world are a cheat. It's so enviable. No wait, I'm the one who got the benefit of it just now.

＊＊＊

I thought about what happened before, and the fact I'd gained the strength to handle those weapons. I decided to go to a nearby secondhand bookstore to find something about martial arts.

I didn't want to go to the library because there were a lot of people, and every time I went there, I only got an unpleasant gazes from the people there. Since the secondhand bookstore I was going to now was small, it was perfect for me, because there wouldn't be any people.

I finished preparing and left home immediately, going straight to the secondhand bookstore. There was no sign of people along the way, and even when I arrived at the bookstore, I was the only customer.

Hmm, where was the martial arts section again…

"Whoa, amazing…"

I eventually found the shelf I was looking for, with a huge amount of books on martial arts and the martial way. [1] On top of that, there were a wide variety of books, not only about standard swordsmanship, but also about the spearmanship and pole arts I wanted, and even sickle and chain arts and assassination techniques.

Where am I supposed to use assassination techniques!? That's scary!

I didn't know if the library had these kinds of books, but at this rate, I was sure there were a lot of old books there. As I thought, I didn't have the confidence to buy or read everything, so when I was looking at the shelves, my eyes naturally stopped on some books.

These books were all about those scattered weapons and schools, and weren't consolidated, but somehow my instinct seems to whisper to choose them. Was that the influence of the [True Martial Arts] skill? I wasn't sure, but it would be easy to buy a few books and go back, so I bought them without thinking too much about it and went home.

After that, I immediately read one of the books until I took a break for dinner, read it some more after dinner, and before I knew it, I got a new skill called [Fast Reading], and read the whole rest of the book. However, it was already late at night, so the actual battle would be tomorrow. After taking a bath, I prepared a futon and went to sleep.

── And then I experienced that terrible pain again, and blacked out.