"Here should be fine, Aries."
"Yes, understood."
Without a moment's delay, Aries responded to Noir's voice. She closed her eyes and quietly whispered,
"…Summon."
As she spoke, a glowing magic circle appeared before her. At its center, something light blue and jelly-like, resembling a squishy plastic bag, began to form.
"What is that?"
"It's a slime!"
Noir answered proudly, puffing out her chest. Seeing it, Yakumo couldn't help but be impressed. That creature, so familiar from countless games, was the classic weak monster often encountered at the very start.
"Now then, before we begin training, we need to understand your abilities. Without knowing what you can do, there's no way to decide how to train you or what goal to aim for. Normally, people can't see each other's status. But since we're contracted, I can see yours."
"Can I see your abilities as well?"
"If your level becomes higher than mine, then yes. But… that's probably impossible."
"I see… So how do I check my own abilities?"
Yakumo thought about the kind of status screen you'd see in a game.
"Try focusing in your mind and wish for your abilities to appear. Once you get used to it, you'll be able to see them easily."
"Alright, I'll give it a shot."
Yakumo focused, wishing to see his own abilities. Something hazy and clouded started to form in his mind, but no matter how hard he tried to focus, it didn't show up clearly.
In a situation where he could almost see it, but not quite, Yakumo gradually began to feel irritated, until he suddenly shouted out:
"Status!!"
In that instant, what had seemed hazy in his mind cleared up, and a clear display of his abilities appeared in his thoughts.
[Status]
Name: Yakumo Kuzuryu
Age: 18
Level: 1
Class: Transferred One
HP: 30/30
MP: 20/20
Stamina: 20/20
Attack: 30/30
Defense: 20/20
Intelligence: 10
Dexterity: 10
Speed: 10
Physical Resistance: 10
Magic Resistance: 10
[Blessings of the Supreme Beings]
- Growth: Increases experience gain
- Recovery: Accelerates healing when HP is low
- Creation: Ability to craft materials
[Blessing of the Black Supreme Dragon]
- Position Awareness: Can sense his own location and the dragon's location
- Subjugation: Can command the dragon's subordinates
[Learned Magic]
(none yet)
[Learned Skills]
- Appraisal Eye
- Language Deciphering
"How should I take this…?"
Yakumo tilted his head as he stared at his own status, but before he could say more, his sudden shout had already shocked everyone around, including Noir, Aries, Leo, and Libra.
"What was that outburst all of a sudden!?"
"Ah, sorry. I couldn't see my abilities at first, but when I tried using the word for status from my own world, it showed up. By the way, Noir, no one else can see my status besides you, right?"
Though still a bit annoyed, Noir calmed down and began to analyze Yakumo's status carefully.
"Honestly, your abilities are about the same as any normal Level 1 human."
Yakumo thought the same thing. Even when he looked at it himself, nothing stood out as particularly strong.
"But these divine blessings, mine and the others, are quite different from the norm. Instead of giving you overwhelming power, it feels like the intention is for you to grow while making use of the blessings. In other words, it seems the Supreme Beings who summoned you doesn't plan to spoil you."
Yakumo already had a feeling that he'd been thrown into something by some unknown Supreme Being. Hearing Noir's words reminded him of the slow, grind-heavy RPGs back in his world. If that's the case, he thought, then I'll grind for experience and rise up step by step.
"Alright then, guess I'd better focus on gaining experience. Should I start by defeating that slime? Ah, but I don't have a weapon."
"Hmm... Let's see... Here. Use this."
Before Yakumo realized, Noir had pulled out a stick and handed it to him.
"Huh? This? It looks like a regular stick… What is it?"
He took the stick in his right hand and scratched his chin with his left, puzzled.
"It's a cypress stick."
"Seriously?! A real cypress stick... This is..."
With a weird sense of emotion over this legendary beginner weapon, Yakumo stared at it in awe.
"So… I'm really going to fight a slime with this?"
"Yes! It's a traditional anti-slime weapon!"
"I-I see… Right. Tradition, importance, absolute truth."
With that, Yakumo switched gears and charged toward the slime, gripping the cypress stick tightly.
"Uoooooh!!"
The slime's jelly-like body shimmered as Yakumo swung with all his strength.
"Ah…"
At the same time Noir let out a sound, the stick landed squarely on the slime, causing it to burst apart and spray its bodily fluids everywhere.
As some of the liquid splashed onto Yakumo's hand, white steam rose from the spot, and a burning pain surged through his skin.
"Gaaahh!! Hot!? It hurts!! What the hell is this?! Acid!? Is this acid!?"
Seeing the back of his hand start to burn, Yakumo fell into a panic.
"Oh, I forgot to mention, slime fluids are highly acidic. You need to be careful when defeating them or you'll get melted."
"That's hella important! You should've said that first!!"
"Well, you charged in without thinking and asking. It's a good lesson, no matter who the opponent is, if you take them lightly, you'll get hurt."
"Guh!"
Yakumo had nothing to say, Noir was completely right. But for now, healing his hand took priority.
"I need to heal this first, damn… this hurts a lot!"
"No worries. Look at your status again."
As Noir instructed, Yakumo focused again and immediately the status screen appeared before his mind.
[Status]
Name: Yakumo Kuzuryu
Age: 18
Level: 2
Class: Transferred One
HP: 25/33
MP: 22/22
Stamina: 22/22
Attack: 33/33
Defense: 22/22
Intelligence: 15
Dexterity: 15
Speed: 15
Physical Resistance: 15
Magic Resistance: 15
[Blessings of the Gods]
- Growth: Increases experience gain
- Recovery: Accelerates healing when HP is low
- Creation: Ability to craft materials
[Blessing of the Black Divine Dragon]
- Position Awareness
- Subjugation
[Learned Magic]
(none yet)
[Learned Skills]
- Appraisal Eye
- Language Deciphering
- Acid Resistance
"See? 'Recovery' is active. Take a look at your hand."
Yakumo looked at his hand and saw the burned skin slowly returning to normal.
"Whoa…"
Before long, his hand had completely healed, and his HP was fully restored.
He also noticed something else, he had gained the new skill "Acid Resistance."
"But still… leveling up to 2 after just one slime…?"
"Is that not normal?"
Having just arrived in this world, Yakumo had no idea how long it normally took to level up.
"There may be differences between people, but I've never seen someone reach Level 2 from a single slime. You really are interesting, Yakumo! As expected from my heir!"
With a proud grin, Noir praised him. Yakumo, meanwhile, was slowly realizing that he truly belonged to this world now, and that if he didn't become stronger, he would have no future here.
"Alright. This time, I'll be more careful. Can you summon the next opponent?"
Aries nodded silently and began preparing the magic circle for the next slime.
And so, one after another, slimes appeared, and Yakumo, without saying a word, defeated them quietly and steadily, making sure he wasn't splashed by acid again.