Chapter 3 – Awakening

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I tapped on the smartphone’s notification telling me that I had leveled up. In response, I was automatically directed to the Stats entry which had already drawn my interest back when I had opened Dungeon Seekers before.

“Huh…..? For real?”

The information written there was jaw-dropping.

Player: Kurase Hirotatsu

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Height: 174 cm

Weight: 62.3 kg

Level: 3

Acquired Skills: None

SP: 30 pt.

“Why is all my personal information recorded here…? That’s weird as fuck, isn’t it…?”

I don’t recall having told the game my real name or age. Also, I don’t really have an accurate grasp on my weight and height, but it does sound strangely close to what would make sense.

The Stats display doesn’t show any RPG-like entries like Strength or Agility, but it does have a row for level and acquired skills.

There’s too much stuff I don’t understand here. But━━━━

Further down the dim corridor I could hear the characteristic footsteps of a goblin once again. Moreover, this time it was several of them. And in addition, loud footsteps I couldn’t identify.

If there’s several enemies at once, I can’t believe that I’ll be able to dispatch them as easily as the single goblin earlier.

“Oh shit, shit, shiiiit…!”

Just like I had beaten the previous goblin to a pulp, I could end up being beaten many times over by their clubs. I stared at the darkish bloodstains on the club near me. The imagination terrified me.

I placed a torch on the ground for later throwing and grabbed my smartphone with both hands. Shakily operating it with my trembling thumbs.

Acquired Skills. If they say this is a game, I have no chance but to make my bet on this.

In a trance I navigated through Dungeon Seekers, opening the Skill menu by tapping the Acquired Skills field. In the distance I could hear how the footsteps were slowly but steadily coming closer.

I swiped several times through the list, checking the huge choice. All kinds of skills were available. Many of them were known from RPGs like swordsmanship, shield arts, fire magic, etc.

Magic means you use MP or something like that?

No clue. Anyway, the enemy is drawing closer, so I must decide quickly.

Previously I somehow managed to win by chance, but I’m a normal high school student living in modern society. I don’t know the first thing about how to fight.

I frantically swiped through the list, searching for the skill that would be best in this situation.

Isn’t this list kinda stupidly long…? Some skills got silly names. And they’re becoming increasingly game-like, too.

“…! This one will do!”

I discovered the perfect skill for someone who doesn’t know how to fight.

Passive Skill

『Understanding of Hand-to-Hand Combat』

Cost: 30 SP

You grasp the basics of hand-to-hand combat and close combat with weapons. Increase in experience points gained through hand-to-hand combat.

My index finger immediately moved to that entry as if being drawn to it and pressed the button to buy the skill. Just as it happened when I leveled up after killing the goblin, my heart thumped violently and a sensation as if something had been completed raced through my body.

In the next moment I understood, whether I liked it or not. I can…use it. Moreover, like a veteran warrior.

I strained my eyes at the path ahead of me. It probably bends at some point. Torchlight caused the enemy’s shadows to dance on the wall and floor, thus allowing me to grasp their numbers.

There were three of them. Two seemed to be goblins while the last one was something with a big frame.

I picked up the bloody club from the ground. And now I felt no uncertainty as I held it tightly in my hand.

One step. I stepped in powerfully, charging towards the corner in the corridor.

The dumb mug of a goblin appeared from that corner, and without waiting, I drove the club with all my might into its skull. Its eyeballs popped out and its head got crushed into a bloody pulp.

First one down.

I immediately backed off.

“Bumoooooooohh!!!!”

The new monster had realized the presence of an “enemy” and rushed out from beyond the corner. I leaped back once, and readied the club at the height of my chest in order to cope with that thing.

It had a conspicuously bulging belly. In its hand it held a club much thicker and longer than the one I had stolen from the goblin. You could hear grunting from the nose attached to its pig face.

This time it’s an orc, huh?

But, he’s not the only one.

The second goblin, which had hidden itself behind the big orc, jumped out and swooped down on me. I swung my club to the right, easily crushing it. Its body struck the wall and turned into embers, just to vanish like the first one.

The last one left was the orc in front of me. My body, feeling hot from all the fighting, taught me how to defeat that thing.

I’m going to butcher it in one go.

Without any hesitation, I picked up the torch on the ground and threw it at the orc with all my strength. The torch rotated horizontally while scattering embers all over, before directly hitting the orc’s eyes without even the slightest deviation from where I had targeted. For me to be able to throw it with such a high level of control must stem from the skill.

After the torch bounced back, having lost its momentum, it slowly sailed through the air.

“Bumoooooooohh!!!”

Overwhelmed by the pain, the orc dropped its club and rubbed its eyes with both hands. Now that it had lost its eyesight, it was full of openings. I jumped and swung my club through like a right-handed batter would do━━━━!

The club squarely struck its head, resulting in its bones breaking with audible cracks.

After a short while, the orc turned into embers just like the goblins. Those billowing remains engulfed me.

At the same moment, my smartphone beeped inside my pocket. After taking it out, I saw that, 『Congratulations! Your level has gone up!』, was written on the screen once again.

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