Chapter 4

With his "Perception" skill, he could tell that the shape of the opponent was clearly different from a human.

Tōu stood on guard without relaxing.

In the depths of the cave, something huge crawled out from where the light did not reach.

"Is it a caterpillar? But it's way too big..."

It looked like a caterpillar, but it was dozens of times larger.

Anyone with a phobia of insects would surely faint at the sight.

"Surely not all the insects in this world are this huge... right?"

A world where giant spiders and centipedes roamed would make even Wonderland pale in comparison.

Tōu couldn't help but wish that this wasn't such a world.

The caterpillar, which had been wriggling, reacted to the pool of blood on the ground.

It was the blood that Tōu (or rather, the original owner) had spilled.

It sniffed the blood with its mouth and then looked at Tōu.

"――!?"

A chill ran down his spine.

Without going against his instincts, Tōu took a step back.

The caterpillar's mouth passed by just in front of his nose.

The caterpillar's mouth split into three parts, like a ripe chestnut.

Inside, there were countless fangs.

If Tōu had stood there, he would have ended his second life in an instant.

Of course, Tōu had no power to dodge an attack spontaneously.

He managed to avoid the deadly situation thanks to his "Perception" and "Thought" skills.

"Good thing I allocated my skills properly!"

If he had met this creature before allocating his skills... The thought made Tōu's spine shiver.

The caterpillar resumed its attack stance.

Before it could attack Tōu,

"Come forth, [Magic Sword]!"

Tōu summoned it.

The [Magic Sword] that appeared was about 70 centimeters long, with a width of 5 to 10 centimeters, and a light curve. The blade was black, with red patterns in some places.

Holding up the pitch-black blade, which seemed to absorb light, a silent sound echoed through the cave.

The vibration spread to the caterpillar, and its body tensed as it prepared to attack.

"――!"

Tōu didn't miss this opportunity.

His body moved as the "Swordsmanship" skill desired.

Despite never having held a sword before, Tōu's movements were graceful.

He slashed the caterpillar and moved behind it.

In a single moment, he had cut the caterpillar three times.

Tōu stopped his feet.

With a slight sound, the caterpillar's body split into four pieces.

The wet sound of the caterpillar's body hitting the ground finally made Tōu relax his tension.

Turning around, he saw the caterpillar in three pieces.

"Whoa..."

Accidentally looking directly at the grotesque corpse, Tōu quickly averted his gaze.

"This [Magic Sword] is amazing... I couldn't even feel the resistance."

Of course, the "Swordsmanship" skill also helped. Despite being a complete novice with swords, he moved without any sense of discomfort.

Without the skill, Tōu would have either used the sword as a blunt weapon or missed it entirely.

Tōu clenched and opened his hand, testing his senses.

Having just taken over someone else's body, he couldn't quite grasp the feeling of "this is me." It felt like he was in a dream.

"If this were a dream, it would be nice..."

Actually, he hadn't fallen into a hole. Tōu had collapsed from overwork and fallen asleep on the street. When he woke up, he was in Tokyo, and he had been chased by work he was supposed to finish the next day...

He would probably be taking the last train again tomorrow, and if he wasn't careful, he would end up sleeping at the office.

His boss would gloat, and he would work like a slave, wearing down his body and mind, and the salary he earned would mostly go to living expenses...

"――I'm glad this is reality!"

Recalling the hellish scenes from Japan, Tōu flipped his palm 180 degrees.

Tōu had no lover, wife, or children. The only thing that tied him to Earth was his job.

Once he stepped away from his job, he realized it wasn't a place he wanted to return to.

"......Yeah."

Clenching his fist, Tōu nodded firmly.

There was no going back.

He would live here.

With that decision made, the first step was to get used to his new body.

Just then, more caterpillars appeared from the depths of the cave, this time in a group.

Tōu swung his [Magic Sword] and smiled crookedly.

"Then, would you mind being my opponent for a bit?"

Muttering, Tōu charged at the swarm of caterpillars, a full smile on his face.

○

How many caterpillars were there?

Tōu sat down on the ground, which was not yet soaked with caterpillar fluids, trying to calm his heavy breathing.

He had stopped counting after the number of caterpillars he had killed exceeded ten.

An extraordinary number of caterpillars had emerged from the depths of the cave.

If Tōu were still in Earth, he would have run out of breath and been crushed by the swarm.

But perhaps because this body was young, or because his body felt lighter each time he cut a caterpillar, he was able to easily fend off the swarm.

"Ha... ha... I think I'm starting to move properly, a little?"

He was gradually getting used to the body, which was not originally his.

However, there were still small discrepancies in his perception.

Although his height was about the same, he was still not used to the differences in weight and limb length.

In a small room, he would easily bump his pinky finger on the corner of a dresser.

"By the way, there was a level in the status, right?"

Recalling this, Tōu called up the skill board.

It showed:

○ Status

Tōru Minasaki

Level: 1 → 8

Race: Human, Class: Swordsman, Subclass: Mage

Rank: I, Skill Points: 0 → 70

His level had increased by 7. This might be the reason his body felt lighter.

Thanks to the level-up, he also gained more skill points.

"Skill points increase by 10 points per level."

This meant he could now secure new skills.

However, raising the [Magic Sword] to level 2 was extremely difficult. It required 10 points per level, so to reach 1000 points, he would need to level up to 100 without using any points.

He had already raised his level by 7 by killing a large number of caterpillars. At this rate, he would need to kill 14 times as many caterpillars to reach level 100.

However, the amount of experience needed to level up gradually increases, so it would be difficult to earn points easily.

"Level 100 is a bit much, isn't it?"

In a game, level 100 is often the peak.

Aiming for the peak without allocating any points to other skills seemed unrealistic to Tōu.

If the average level in this world was 100 and the peak was even higher, that would be a different story.

If so, Tōu would curse the god who dropped him into such a harsh world.

"Is there another way to earn points?"

He couldn't rule it out.

Currently, Tōu knew nothing about this world or the skill board.

"Alright."

Once his breathing had steadied, Tōu stood up and looked up at the cliff.

It would be embarrassing to die of starvation after coming this far.

He needed to leave the cave before he became too weak from hunger.

The nearest exit was at the top of the cliff.

However, the cliff was about 10 meters high, or about the height of five to six Tōus.

If he didn't use the cliff, there might be another exit deeper in the cave.

Exploration always excited boys.

However, Tōu had no desire to explore the cave.

If he went deeper, the caterpillars would likely block his path, and he felt an unpleasant atmosphere.

Perhaps because his senses had become sharper with the level-up, he could sense this presence.

Tōu lacked the courage to ignore the nearby exit and venture deeper into the cave with an unpleasant feeling.

He faced the cliff.

The cliff face was smooth, with very few footholds. It was a cliff that a normal human could not climb.

If he cut into the cliff with the [Magic Sword], he might be able to climb it like rock climbing.

However, Tōu deliberately chose not to use this method.

"Su... yo!"

He took a short run-up, kicked the ground, and jumped.

He almost lost momentum mid-air but kicked the cliff face downward to gain speed.

He reached out and grabbed the edge of the cliff, then pulled himself up.

"Yokkoi sho!"

With a slightly old-fashioned cheer, Tōu successfully climbed the cliff.

"I just had a feeling I could do it, so I tried it, but I didn't expect to actually make it..."

The physical ability he displayed was something he could never have done on Earth.

The benefits of leveling up were even greater than Tōu had imagined.

"But this might be the norm in this world. The caterpillars were manageable, but if I encounter a creature with monstrous physical abilities, it could be dangerous. I need to stay on my guard!"

Standing at the entrance of the cave, Tōu's back shivered.

It was a feeling like when he was a child, pretending a folded umbrella was a sword and swinging it around, or when he wore a jacket as a cape and draped it over his shoulders...

Like when he posed to match the heroic lines he saw on TV, a burning passion ran through his body.

――Beyond this point, a world unknown to him lay ahead.

What was there? What could he do?

What kind of future awaited him?

Just thinking about it made him restless.

Unable to contain himself, Tōu broke into a wide smile.

"Alright, let's do our best!!"

With various expectations and a small hope in his heart, Tōu took a step out of the cave and into the outside world.