Chapter 9: Level Up
By the time I was old enough to have memories, I was living with my mother who worked as a nurse.
I don't remember my father, and since my mother would get angry if I asked about him, I learned as a child not to bring it up.
My mother worked a lot of night shifts and when she was home, she would usually be sleeping or not cooking, and would only bring home convenience store meals when she was in a good mood. So, by the time I was in the last year of kindergarten, I had learned how to do all the housework.
It was easy - just put rice and water in the rice cooker, plug it in, and rice would be ready.
Looking back now, we were quite poor and my upbringing was definitely neglected, but I didn't think it was difficult back then since I didn't know any different.
My mother had a laptop which she bought but soon after threw it away. I used that to research anything I wanted to know. When my mother was working nights, I would play games all night, and when that wasn't enough, I started programming my own games when I was in third or fourth grade.
There were twin sisters two years older than me in the neighborhood who would play with me and give me snacks when I was hungry. They also invited me to join the local Little League baseball team.
The sisters were the star players on the team.
Looking back now, that may have been the happiest time of my life.
Things started to go wrong in upper elementary school.
My mother started bringing men home more often, and one of them started to stay over like he lived there. He would burn me with his cigarette and hit me when he was drunk.
What was even worse was that my mother also started abusing me more and neglecting me even more than before. I started going to school in dirty clothes and became a target of bullying, eventually leading to me refusing to go to school half the time.
In my second year of middle school, the worst thing happened.
The only people who were on my side, the twin sisters, died.
After that, when the man was out gambling or playing pachinko, I would stay home and mess around with my computer in the closet.
But when I was found out for taking the entrance exam for the local prefectural high school without permission and was beaten up badly, I finally lost my temper and fought back.
When I came to my senses, the man had blood all over his face and had left the house.
After that, my mother brought men home less often, but still slept all the time when she was home and repeatedly told me to leave her alone when she was awake.
"I can't catch a good man because of you, you've taken away my time and money, so pay me back with interest."
In addition, whether it was because she was a nurse or had a strong "faith in doctors," her catchphrase was "you have to become a doctor to succeed in that world."
Because of that, when I told her I wanted to go to university, she said I could go if I passed the local public medical school. "If it's a national school, the tuition fee is the same even for the medical department."
Although I was good at science subjects, it was still an unreasonable demand.
I failed the entrance exam and was in despair, thinking it was all over for me.
However, somehow or other, my mother suggested that I could take another year to prepare for the exam.
Of course, it was under the assumption that I would do all the housework.
If I thought about it calmly, my mother couldn't afford to send me to a private school as a last resort, so it was either make me work as a high school graduate or have me aim for a high return by taking the exam for one more year. Maybe she just didn't want to lose an unpaid live-in housekeeper, or it was just a coincidence that it was a time when there were no men around...well, it doesn't matter.
However, after going through all that trouble to take an extra year to prepare, this is where I ended up...
Without going to school, without a girlfriend, unable to do anything, I disappeared from this world without becoming anything. All that remained was this delusional thought in my head.
Was there ever any meaning to my existence for 18 years and 11 months?
Biologically speaking, all I did was waste food and energy, and emit carbon dioxide and garbage. My existence was like multiplying garbage.
I didn't drink to the point of getting drunk.
However, I don't remember when it started exactly, but I began to be suddenly overwhelmed by this dark emotion from time to time, and without any resistance, I was swallowed up and fell asleep.
***
Before I knew it, I was standing in a place where only light shone in the darkness, like the place where I met the self-proclaimed god.
The goddess was not there.
However, along with music like a hymn, a large stone tablet floated in front of me, and a status screen-like display was engraved on it.
The letters "Adventurer (LV1)" blinked and changed as I watched like a ticking clock, to LV2, LV3, and so on.
The display stopped at "Adventurer (LV4)."
Then the music intensified and played a poignant melody to completion.
Once again, the surroundings and my consciousness were enveloped in darkness.
---
The morning sun was shining through a small window.
I went down for dinner early in the evening and listened to various things from those men. I didn't drink much, but I must have been exhausted. I don't know what time I fell asleep, but it was probably around 8 or 9 o'clock at the latest.
As a night owl, it wasn't a usual time for me to sleep. However, when I looked at my watch, it was 6 in the morning, so I had slept for almost 10 hours.
Was it all a dream? I sat up in bed.
It didn't seem like it.
The room didn't seem like a modern Japanese business hotel, and my own clothing was still the peasant-like outfit from medieval Europe that I obtained from the old lady at the inn yesterday.
And then, there was the old sword that was wiped with cloth but still had some dirt on it leaning against the bed.
And that dream... yes, the level up? That thing I saw while sleeping.
I looked at the palm of my left hand. The status screen appeared with a faint light.
"Job: Adventurer (LV4)"
It had changed just like in the dream.
Certainly, if it were an RPG, defeating an enemy much higher level than oneself without forming a party should give a considerable amount of experience points.
Three level ups at once. Even so, it might be modest since I defeated the level 6 orc leader.
Why did my level go up while I was sleeping and not immediately after the battle?
I see, there were games like that too.
In classical American-made dungeon RPGs, the mechanism was that the level increased only after returning from the dungeon and resting at an inn, after earning experience points. This rule was much tougher.
This world seems to have that kind of system.
When you say Level 4, is it like that creepy wizard from before?
They might have also leveled up from yesterday's battle, but still, I defeated higher-level opponents in solo play, so my increase in level should be greater.
However, when you level up all at once, I don't really understand the necessary experience points for each level.
Is it a certain amount of points? Does the required amount double each time? There are many games where the rate of increase is different in between levels, so there must be some sort of rule. It's bothering me.
And what I want to know more about is how much abilities and skills increase with each level up.
When I concentrate my consciousness on my left hand, information on my skills appears under my adventurer level.
"Doll Play (LV3)
Clay Play (LV4)
Identification (Beginner)
Sword Technique (LV1)
Throwing (LV1)
HP Increase (Small)
Sensing
Party Formation"
It's increasing.
It's increasing quite a lot.
Did I acquire the "Sword Technique" and "Throwing" skills by using a sword or throwing clay balls when fighting against orcs?
Regardless of throwing, sword technique will probably be an essential skill if there are future battles. I'm honestly happy about it.
I have no recollection of "HP Increase", "Sensing", or "Party Formation."
Maybe it's related to my adventurer level going up? Somehow, they all seem to be related to adventuring.
Thinking that, I touched the display of "Adventurer (LV4)" and as expected, the following appeared:
"Novice job, acquisition conditions: depart from birthplace, unique skills: identification (novice), HP increase (small), perception, party formation."
The specific effects of the skills are not displayed.
"Why is 'Doll Play' LV3 and 'Clay Play' LV4? Why are they leveling up differently?"
It seems that job level and skill level do not necessarily correspond to each other. Skill levels accumulate independently of job levels based on usage frequency and other factors.
It doesn't seem possible to freely allocate skill points. This may be a rule setting that emphasizes realism and high difficulty.
Come to think of it, HP and MP are not displayed concretely. "HP increase (small)" exists, and MP consumption was written when producing clay, so both exist as data.
In addition, there may be "strength" or "STR", or "intelligence" or "INT" like typical RPG character stats, but I don't remember seeing them at this point.
There may be a way to find out, but it's a task for the future.
I remembered that MP is consumed when producing clay. When Doll Play and Clay Play level up, will their abilities change?
When I touched "Doll Play (LV3)" with my right hand, the display expanded. In addition to being able to talk to dolls, I can now "change their clothes" and "move them"...
That goddess seems to want to turn me into a pervert who enjoys dressing up dolls despite my age.
As for "Clay Play (LV4)"...
"I can produce clay (MP consumption)", "I can clean up", "Clay anywhere", and "Can form anything".
...I was foolish to expect more. Do I have to become the popular kid in kindergarten after all?
I decided to go back to sleep.