"—Ngh?"
The moment I opened my eyes, I felt a jarring sense of displacement.
I forced my heavy eyelids open, fighting off the lingering fog of sleep, only to find myself in an entirely unfamiliar room. This wasn't my apartment. It was an elegant space, sparsely decorated but tastefully arranged with chic furniture.
I was lying on the bed in the center of the room.
"……Where am I?"
I sat up and muttered to the empty air, looking around. I didn't recognize a single thing.
The room was dim, but it didn't feel like early morning, dusk, or night. A sliver of light filtered through a gap in the curtains, illuminating the interior just enough for me to make out my surroundings.
I slid out of bed, walked to the window, and pulled the curtains open with a sharp snap.
Outside, a dense cluster of skyscrapers stretched toward the horizon. I was in the heart of Tokyo. This was a high-rise building—likely a luxury condominium.
Identifying the location didn't help me understand why I was here, though.
"Hmm…… Let's see…… Hah!? That's right!!"
I searched my memory, and the events leading up to my blackout came rushing back with vivid clarity.
I had been grinding the Monster Room when a group of punks or a quasi-gang—I wasn't sure which—burst in and tried to do something indecent to Hinata-san.
Since they were planning to kill me as an afterthought, I’d resolved to go down fighting and threw myself at them with everything I had.
But then, after taking one of them down, I’d apparently gained a bizarre Title and Skill. An overwhelming, savage urge to kill had surged through me, and I’d completely lost my sanity.
After I’d somehow slaughtered the entire group, I’d even turned my blade on Hinata-san. That was when Headshot Yakuza appeared out of thin air and stopped me. His Yakuza Kick had shattered my bones and liquefied my organs, and everything had gone black.
And yet, I was still breathing.
My body, which had been the very definition of "near-death," didn't have a single scratch on it now. There wasn't even any lingering pain.
Someone must have treated me.
More importantly, that horrific bloodlust was nowhere to be found.
I needed to figure out if it had vanished because the Status functions don't work on the Surface, or if that murderous impulse would return the second I stepped back into a Dungeon.
I mentally called out "Status," and the translucent screen appeared, visible only to me.
――――――――――――――――
【Name】 Takeo Samejima
【Level】 20
Experience Points to next Level: 213,480
《HP》 91/91
《MP》 18/18
《Strength》 51
《Constitution》 40
《Intelligence》 6
《Spirit》 12
《Agility》 45
《Dexterity》 45
【STP】 25
【SP】 4
【Skills】 《Increased Damage with Bladed Weapons Lv.Max》《Berserk Lv.1》《Goblin Slayer Lv.1》《Fighting Spirit Lv.Max》《Blood Vengeance Lv.1》《Sword Aura Lv.1》《Taunt Lv.1》《■■■■■■■ Lv.1》
【Titles】 《Battle Junkie》《Goblin Slayer》《■■■■■》
――――――――――――――――
My Level had reached 20. I’d gained two Levels during the fight with those men.
Even seeing it now, the Experience Points I’d harvested from them were staggering. It takes 300,000 points just to jump from Level 19 to 20. That meant the total haul from those men was well over 400,000.
What’s more, I’d been in a Party with Hinata-san at the time, which meant the Experience Points should have been split down the middle.
Did that mean Hinata-san had gained 400,000 points and leveled up like crazy, too? She should be Level 20, just like me.
Wait, no—halfway through the fight, my "Lust Murder" skill had kicked in, granting me a 2.4x multiplier. Hinata-san’s share was likely under 200,000. Probably around 180,000 or so?
Still, that was a massive amount.
Man…… even if there were eleven of them, the amount of Experience Points a human holds is just in a different league……
…………
Wait, no! I’m not actually going to start killing people to level up!
Anyway.
The most pressing issue wasn't the pile of unallocated Status Points and Skill Points I’d saved up……
"These blacked-out Skills and Titles…… They have to be those, don't they?"
The Pleasure Killer Title and the Lust Murder Skill were both obscured by black boxes.
I’d never seen or even heard of a phenomenon like this. Using my gamer's intuition, I could make an educated guess, but I couldn't be certain. What kind of state was this even supposed to be?
If that killing intent came back, I’d be in serious trouble. Leveling would be the last thing on my mind.
As I sat there brooding, I heard the click of the door opening.
"—Takeo-kun?"
I turned around to find Hinata-san standing in the doorway.
"Thank goodness…… You're awake……"
She spoke softly, walking into the room with slightly stiff, hesitant movements.
I decided to start with a standard morning greeting.
"Good morning, Hinata-san."
"Ah, yes. Good morning, Takeo-kun."
I began to walk toward her.
Hinata-san trembled slightly, crossing her arms as if to shield herself while looking down.
Hmm……
First things first. I knew exactly what I needed to do. I……
"—I AM TERRIBLY SORRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
"—Eh?"
I dropped into a full dogeza right there in front of her, apologizing with every fiber of my being.
Her reaction made it clear: she was terrified of me. And why wouldn't she be? Regardless of whether I’d been in my right mind, I had genuinely tried to kill her.
To her, I was a monster.
"You might not believe me, but my head was just…… messed up back then! I lost my sanity! I never truly wanted to attack you, Hinata-san! Please, just believe that! And I am so, so sorry for scaring you like that!"
"A-Ah, wait, wait, Takeo-kun! It’s okay! I understand, so please, lift your head!"
"Huh?"
Confused by her frantic reassurance, I raised my head while remaining on the floor.
I tilted my head, wondering what she meant by "understanding," so she began to explain.
"I know the reason why you became like that, Takeo-kun."
"Wait, really? Even I don't fully get why it happened……"
I had my theories, but no hard facts.
However, Hinata-san seemed to know the actual truth rather than just guessing.
"Yes. Um…… someone I know explained it to me. They said you ended up like that because of a Title you obtained. And that the reason you got it was because you killed those people to save me…… So, really, I’m the one who should be apologizing to you."
"Hinata-san……"
Personally, I didn't think she had a single thing to apologize for.
"So, come on, stand up! Please!"
"Right."
She grabbed my arm to pull me up, so I followed her lead and stood.
"And, like I said, I have something I need to apologize to you for, Takeo-kun……"
"Oh?"
"Um…… it’s kind of a long story. Do you want to sit down and talk?"
"Understood."
I sat on the edge of the bed next to her, ready to hear what she had to say.