"Excuse me~, do you have a moment to spare~?"
"Gugya? Gugyaaaaaaaaah!!"
"I apologize for being so forward~, but would it be alright if I took your Experience Points~?"
"Gugyaruaaaaaaaaah!!!"
"—Shut up!! Just hurry up and hand over those Experience Points already!! Take that! Ora ora oraah!! Experience Points, oraahhhhhh!!"
It had been an hour since I arrived at the Shinjuku Dungeon. My exploration was progressing smoothly, and I was consistently taking down monsters.
Over the past hour, I’d defeated three Goblins and two Slimes. And just now, I’d successfully added another Goblin to the tally.
That brought my total to six monsters in one hour.
If this were a game, my efficiency would be abysmal. In an RPG, you should easily be able to slaughter over a hundred early-game mobs in an hour.
However, this was reality. In actual combat, you consume physical stamina, and even defeating a single Goblin takes a significant amount of time when you're at an ultra-low level. Above all else, you don't just encounter a monster every few seconds by walking around a map.
Even in the unpopular Shinjuku Dungeon, you still have to put in the miles to find monsters.
In fact, apparently it’s common for people in overcrowded dungeons to walk around for over an hour without being able to kill so much as a single Slime.
Well, at any rate, compared to the average pace of a rookie Explorer, I’d made a very successful start.
And then—just as I finished off the sixth monster of the day and reached out to pick up the dropped Magic Stone, it happened.
"—Hm? Oh? Ah!?"
Suddenly, power welled up from the depths of my soul. A sense of total awakening surged through my consciousness and my body, which had begun to feel the weight of fatigue. I could feel energy overflowing through my entire being.
It was here. It was finally happening!
Immediately after, as if to confirm my intuition, an inorganic female voice echoed inside my mind to announce the news.
—Your level has increased.
In that instant.
It was almost like a conditioned reflex.
Or rather, compared to the usual "thing," an even more intense pleasure coursed through my brain.
"—HNNNNNG, IT FEEEEEELS SO GOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!"
It felt like my brain was melting; neurochemicals were overflowing and wouldn't stop...!
I arched my back like a shrimp right there on the spot, my body twitching and spasming. I surrendered my entire being to the absolute ecstasy washing over me.
Is this... is this what a level up in reality is like!?
Obviously, this feels incomparably better than in a game...!
This, this... I’m going to lose my mind!
"...!...!!"
For a while, I basked in the afterglow of the pleasure, eyes rolling back into my head as drool leaked from the corner of my mouth, my body shivering and shaking—but,
"—Eek."
"...Huh?"
I thought I heard someone's voice nearby and snapped back to my senses.
When I looked, I saw a stranger, a young male Explorer, standing at the corner of the corridor a short distance away. Floating silently near him was a flying drone camera.
That was a drone developed about a year ago by combining existing technology with the levitation magic used in Magic Items found in dungeons; they were currently becoming popular at a rapid rate.
Since they can film the user without occupying their hands, they are the must-have item for DungeonTubers—Explorers who broadcast their dungeon dives.
Unfortunately, they were so expensive that I couldn't have afforded one even if I’d spent every cent from the part-time jobs I'd dedicated my youth to.
I locked eyes with that bourgeois guy and his high-end drone.
In that instant,
"Hie, hieeeeeee!!"
"......"
As soon as our eyes met, the guy turned on his heel and sprinted away.
...Did he see me?
How embarrassing. He saw me in such a disgraceful state.
Next time, I'll be careful when people are around—no, never mind. It would be a waste to hold back the pleasure of leveling up!! I'm going to keep chasing that high with everything I’ve got!!
"Phew... now then. (Sage Time)"
The pleasure of the level up was more intense than I had ever imagined. Once the afterglow had faded, I stowed the Goblin's Magic Stone in my backpack and moved on to the important work.
"Status."
When I muttered the word, a holographic display appeared instantly in my field of vision, floating in mid-air.
The Status screen, familiar to everyone.
By the way, in this state, only I can see it. However, by saying "Status Open" or by thinking it in my mind, it becomes visible to others.
The version of the Status that only I can see can also be viewed above ground, but the "Status Open" function is restricted so that it cannot be activated on the surface. It seems the function to display your Status to others is exclusive to dungeons.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand.
At any rate, let me show you my Status now that my level has increased.
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【Name】 Takeo Samejima
【Level】 "1" Experience to next level "95"
《HP》 25 / 25 《MP》 18 / 18 《Strength》 13 《Constitution》 12 《Intelligence》 6 《Spirit》 12 《Agility》 11 《Dexterity》 10
【STP】 "5" 【SP】 "1"
【Skill】 None 【Title】 None
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I'll give a brief explanation of each item on the Status here. Though, for anyone who plays games even a little, it’s probably unnecessary.
My level is currently "1," but my level definitely went up. This is because the starting level right after acquiring your Status is "0."
Strength is exactly what it sounds like. Constitution refers to the sturdiness of the body. Intelligence relates to thinking speed and the power of magic-type skills, while Spirit is resistance against magic-type skills. Agility affects movement speed and perception, and Dexterity is the ability score related to the precise control of the body and magical energy (MP).
MP needs no explanation. Call it Magic Points or Mana Points, whichever you prefer.
However, HP is a bit special; it doesn't refer to what we usually call physical stamina. Like MP, it's a mysterious energy, and it’s best described as something that occasionally acts as a shield.
Specifically, the sum of Strength and Constitution becomes your HP, and the sum of Intelligence and Spirit becomes your MP.
It is said that for a Level 0 adult, the average for each ability score excluding HP and MP is roughly "10." Since I had trained quite a bit during high school to become an Explorer, I'm slightly higher than the average.
Huh? Intelligence? Hah???
...That's strange. The Status might be bugged. I should contact management and have them fix it.
Anyway, getting back to the topic... it seems that for the top end of humanity—pro athletes, Olympic competitors, soldiers, and the like—some people reach "20" in their highest ability score at Level 0.
It's said that a value around there is likely the limit for a natural human being.
Next—STP stands for Status Points. Ability scores do not increase on their own through leveling up. You strengthen them by allocating the Status Points you earn upon leveling up to each ability score, excluding HP and MP.
SP stands for Skill Points. The skills you can acquire differ based on your natural aptitudes and the experiences you have accumulated. You can use Skill Points to acquire skills or allocate points to acquired skills to raise their Skill Level up to a maximum of level 5.
However, unlike STP, which increases in amount every 10 levels, you only earn "1" point of SP per level up, regardless of your level. On top of that, there is only one exception to the rule that skills can only be leveled up by spending Skill Points. Basically, they only level up by spending points.
It doesn't seem to be the common system where you level up a skill by using it repeatedly.
Because of that, it's basically impossible to acquire all available skills and raise them to their maximum level, so you have to be very careful about how you spend your points.
Finally, regarding Title, well, I can leave that explanation for later.
Unlike the streamer-type Explorers who post videos to DungeonTube or Yo!Tube, I doubt I'll ever earn any kind of Title.
More importantly—
"Should I start by acquiring a skill?"
I tapped the Skill column on the Status screen.
When I did, a "List of Acquirable Skills" appeared in a separate window. By choosing from this list and allocating Skill Points, I could activate the skill.
The following were the skills I could currently acquire.
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【List of Acquirable Skills】
《Water Breathing》 《Water Resistance Adjustment》 《Seeker》 《Herculean Strength》 《Fleet-footed》 《Endurance》 《Increased Damage with Blunt Weapons》 《Increased Damage with Bladed Weapons》 《Taunt》
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...Well, I guess this is about right for a start. Apparently, some geniuses have magic-type skills in their acquirable list at this point, but such people are a tiny minority.
On the other hand, my acquirable skills are all common ones. It feels "perfectly average."
—No, even so, I did swimming, practiced with a wooden sword, and was serious about running and weight training, so my number of acquirable skills might be higher than average.
As a side note regarding skills, technical-type skills like "Swordsmanship" or "Spearmanship" that are common in fiction do not exist. According to the popular site Modern Dungeon Strategy Wiki, techniques that can be mastered through training do not manifest as skills.
Basically, skills only seem to consist of supernatural abilities (magic-type skills, Water Breathing, and other abilities impossible for humans), auxiliary abilities for those, or things that increase statuses or damage.
In other words, you have to master the techniques yourself.
"Hmm, which skill should I take... though I've already decided."
I muttered while scanning the List of Acquirable Skills.