Chapter 21: Level 1
When I reached the forest, I drew my sword from its sheath.
Until yesterday, I’d moved around without drawing it until I found a monster.
When I told Ryan that, he was shocked.
“I knew the forest was dangerous, but if I’d run into something like a wolf with a good nose, there was a high chance I would’ve died.”
Ryan had told me that there were times when you explored cautiously without holding your weapon.
However, he’d pointed out that it wasn’t something you should do in a forest with poor visibility.
Normally, only low-level monsters lived in this forest.
However, on rare occasions, other monsters could wander into it.
He told me that walking through a place like that without even holding my weapon was practically suicide.
“There’s my first one already. All right, I’ll do exactly as I was taught.”
After walking through the forest for about five minutes, I spotted a lone slime ahead of me.
The moment it entered my field of vision, I moved my body as I’d been taught.
I readied my sword, took a deep breath, and put strength into my legs.
Scrape!
My foot struck the ground, and the slime moved for an instant.
However, my sword had already reached the space above its head.
Without putting too much strength into my arms, I used my waist properly and added power to the blow.
Clang!
The sword struck the ground with tremendous force.
“Oh no, the slime was so soft that I misjudged the force. Is the sword all right?”
My first concern was the borrowed sword, so I inspected its blade.
I was relieved when I saw that it hadn’t chipped or suffered any other damage.
â—‡
Monster defeated.
1 EXP acquired.
EXP until next level: 96/100.
â—‡
â—‡
[Swordsmanship] training completed.
1 EXP acquired.
EXP until skill acquisition: 56/100.
â—‡
When I looked at the screens resembling my Status, I saw that I’d gained EXP toward both my level and my skill.
Even I felt that I’d handled the sword well just now.
“Maybe accuracy matters more than time when it comes to skill EXP.”
I considered that as I collected the slime’s materials.
I needed only four more EXP to reach the next level.
For now, I decided that would be today’s goal and continued through the forest.
â—‡
Monster defeated.
1 EXP acquired.
EXP until next level: 99/100.
â—‡
â—‡
[Swordsmanship] training completed.
1 EXP acquired.
EXP until skill acquisition: 57/100.
â—‡
After that, I explored the forest for about an hour and defeated three slimes.
I’d properly gained three EXP toward my level, but the skill EXP had increased by only one.
However, I had a general idea of why.
“I only managed to handle the sword as well as I did on that first strike once… Accuracy really must be important for skills. Knowledge too.”
Thinking back over every moment when I’d acquired EXP, I reached that conclusion.
I set the matter of skills aside for the time being.
There was now a slime within sight ahead of me.
Defeating it would bring me to one hundred.
I approached it carefully and watched my surroundings.
I couldn’t sense any other monsters nearby, and my grip on my sword tightened slightly.
“Hah!”
I put a little too much strength into my step, and the sword came down with tremendous force.
I won’t get any [Swordsmanship] EXP from that.
With that thought, I looked at the familiar screen.
â—‡
Monster defeated.
1 EXP acquired.
EXP until next level: 100/100.
â—‡
â—‡
Level increased.
EXP until next level: 0/100.
â—‡
That was what the screen said, so I checked my Status.
✤
Name: Erik
Age: 10
Level: 2
Strength: 11
Magic: 11
Stamina: 11
Agility: 11
Dexterity: 11
Skills
——
Special Skill
[Fixed EXP]
Blessings
——
✤
It had risen.
Not only had my level increased, but every single one of my attributes had risen by one.
“Ha ha…”
A smile naturally escaped me as I looked at the Status screen.
The screen didn’t merely show the EXP needed for my next level. Even the amount required was fixed.
“What this means is that I’ll have an easier time growing stronger than other people.”
At low levels, people could level up easily by defeating anywhere from a few to a few dozen monsters.
That meant anyone else who’d defeated one hundred monsters like I had would already be a higher level than me.
However, that was only true at the beginning. The higher a person’s level became, the harder it was to raise.
A time would eventually come when their level wouldn’t rise no matter how many monsters they defeated.
How to overcome that period of stagnation troubled many people.
Now and then, someone managed to level up by defeating an incredibly powerful monster.
However, monsters that powerful didn’t appear one after another, so that stagnation always came.
“But I won’t have that… I was already happy just being able to see the numbers. I never imagined the required EXP itself would be fixed too.”
Still, I didn’t yet know whether my skill was truly all-powerful.
The day would probably come when my level had risen enough that I could defeat a slime with my little finger.
I had no idea whether I’d still gain EXP from one even then.
“If I do, I’ll be able to keep getting stronger forever. I’m also glad that every one of my attributes rose by one.”
The way attributes increased differed from person to person.
Frontline fighters tended to gain Strength, Stamina, and Agility more easily.
Those who fought from the rear tended to gain Magic and Dexterity more easily.
Yet in my case, every attribute rose by one.
“Even if other people gain three or four points at once, my EXP requirement is fixed, so I’ll be able to keep leveling up.”
After that, I continued hunting monsters until the bell rang so I could see how my body felt after leveling up.
There hadn’t been a dramatic change in my body.
Even so, I was steadily growing stronger.