At a guess, I surmised this spell was for everyday life. Based on what I’d faced thus far, I’d been expecting a flashy spell that could fend off giant insects and beasts and the like, so I couldn’t help but feel bummed out. That said, I had just created some ice, and it would’ve been a shame to waste it, so I fetched some clothes out of my inventory, cut a part of them off, and fashioned a makeshift ice pack, which I promptly discarded once I applied it to my wound and found it led only to a dull pain. Frankly, I felt the spell called Ice had proven utterly useless.
Next, I tried out the spell named Freeze, but that ended much the same way. The effect was far from pronounced, as all it did was cause the temperature in my vicinity to drop slowly.
The last spell, Dimension, worried me a great deal. If I remembered my English right, the word meant something like “measurements” or “proportions,” or “plane of existence,” but I wasn’t confident. Judging from the ice-related spells from before, though, I could make an educated guess that the effect had to do with space in general.
Maybe it’ll generate a warp portal or something, and I can escape this dungeon, I thought. But I realized that was wishful thinking. Magic that would let me completely invalidate my current situation? Ultimately, as I couldn’t presuppose what the effect would be with any certainty, I opted to refrain from using it just to play it safe. I was afraid that if I didn’t play my cards right, I might even end up producing a black hole or something.
Hmm, might as well see what I can think of for other spells. “Healing magic... white magic... learn magic... new magic... first aid... burns... cure...”
Sadly, I didn’t get a single hit. I wanted a spell to heal myself one way or another, but it looked as though I wasn’t vested with anything like that. A menu of interest did appear amid my string of guesses, however.
【SKILL POINT ALLOCATION】
Swordplay 1.01, Ice Magic 2.00, Dimensional Magic 5.00
You currently have 0 skill points.
Apparently, I had no skill points yet. They’ll most likely increase along with my level.
【LEVEL UP】
805/100
Requirements met.
As soon as I thought about leveling up, a new display popped up. I had a bad feeling about the words “requirements met,” though. It probably meant that leveling up wasn’t automatic. In fact, there was a distinct possibility that it required some exacting process, like finding a save point.
First things first, I’ve gotta figure out how to level up, and fast.
“If you could, please level me uOWW!”
A sudden heat flared up in my right arm. I looked down to find my upper arm lacerated and bleeding.
“Where’d that come from?!”
I surveyed my surroundings and noticed something moving in the corner of my eye. It was a distortion, a floating warping of space about the size of a basketball, and it was wavering and softly buzzing. Upon closer inspection, the silhouette of that “warp in space” was almost the same as a bug’s.
“A monster?!”
My brain wasted no time switching modes, gamer mode blotting out everyday life mode. My numbed senses were becoming dedicated to a gamer’s efficiency, with a stunt that could only be pulled off here: a place outside the ordinary.
Aiming at the distortion, the midair anomaly, I sliced upward using the blade in my hand, but the anomaly dodged at the last moment. The second I realized it had evaded my swing, I broke into a run, putting some distance between us. I had decided, before going on the move, that if it dodged or withstood my first blow, I would refuse to strain myself too much. I went back down the path I had come through as opposed to an unexplored avenue.
I could hear the thing buzzing after me and calmly used the noise to gauge the distance between us. Directionally speaking, it was right behind me, which was only natural given it was pursuing me. And if that was the case, all that remained was the timing. I could counterattack using my current resources.
A strategy took shape in my mind. One could perhaps call it futile because we were dealing with game logic, but I deemed it worth a shot.
When the anomaly drew sufficiently close, I pulled the leather bag with water in it out of my inventory and dumped all of its contents behind me. There was a break in the continual buzzing, and its cries pierced the air. It appeared the plan had been a success. I’d guessed that if the creature had wings, chances were good it was weak to water. It would never have worked in a video game, but I guess not everything in this world operated on typical video game logic. Thanks to the water drops hanging on to it, I could begin to make out the creature’s contours, and it didn’t hurt that it had slowed down as well. After seeing that was the case, I fired off a spell.
“Icespell: Freeze!”
While the spell did nothing but lower the temperature, it could be that the anomaly was susceptible to such things. If I could bring it down from afar using my magic, that would be the best-case scenario.
“I won’t scream at you to freeze over, but could you at least drop down for me?”
The anomaly’s movements had grown visibly stolid. It kept trying to fly my way, but its struggling was in vain, and it couldn’t reach me. Employing my option to watch and “Analyze,” I made sure that nothing could slip my gaze. Letting my guard down before the end was a no-go.
【MONSTER】 Darkling Fly：RANK 2
Analyze prompted the menu to appear, and that was how it described the anomaly before me.
Well that ain’t good.
In all likelihood, Mr. Darkling was a monster that counted partial invisibility among its weapons. Nevertheless, my menu-sight pointed its location out to me without impediment. With this, any means by which it could attack me was now gone. The more time passed, the more sluggishly it moved. I waited until it was well and truly enfeebled to strike it down with my blade.
Having fallen to the ground, the fly monster disappeared in a flash of light, leaving only a dusky yet translucent gem in its wake. Incidentally, said gem was displayed as a 10th-Grade Magic Gem. I also registered an uptick in EXP. The meagerness of both the gem and the EXP gain meant the Darkling Fly was a low-ranking monster.