While I'm taking the bandits' heads, let me talk about myself for a bit.
I had no talent for studying since childhood.
Setting aside geniuses born to study, I'd forget what I just memorized the moment I turned around.
My comprehension wasn't great either. If you taught me ten things, I'd barely grasp one.
'Not the genes for success through studying.'
But I studied anyway. Because adults told me to study. They just kept repeating it was because of my lack of effort. All for your own good, they said.
I had no other options or future.
'So I didn't know.'
I realized late that I was pretty good at fighting. Normal students don't have reasons to fight. Even if they did, people around them would stop it right away.
What was the catalyst?
Virtual reality games that started becoming commercialized.
Not the old exercise equipment where you hung devices all over your limbs, but true VR games where you moved your avatar with just thoughts and will!
'Those were the golden years of my life...'
The talent hidden behind my untrained body thrived like a fish in water. That's why I even entered tournaments at a late age.
Goal: prize money!
But I couldn't beat the teenagers running in their prime. We were in different leagues.
"Gwak?!"
"Kyaa?!"
"Aagh?!"
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But right now I feel incredibly strong.
'Everything's relative.'
The bandits are just so weak they make me look strong.
The reason I entered that tournament was also because I got cocky beating amateurs who enjoyed games as a hobby. Back then I really thought I was something. Until I faced a pro gamer in the preliminaries.
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──────────────
Achievement: Triple Kill (30 seconds)
Reward: Attack Power 40%
Description: You took down three in succession.
Rating: None.
──────────────
"Damn! I shouldn't be doing this..."
But I'm getting cocky again like old times. It's because the opponents are too weak. It's not my fault.
'This is weird.'
It's natural for game tutorials to be easy.
'Something's weird.'
But this sense of elation couldn't be explained with just one word: easy. It's an emotion I didn't feel even in easier games. I didn't get it.
'This is weird. This shouldn't be possible.'
There's another weird thing.
My memory and comprehension have been terrible since childhood. Got worse as I aged.
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But right now I'd been remembering the bandits' faces and levels for quite a while.
I was also quickly learning the game's systems that the unfriendly tutorial didn't teach. Again, didn't get it.
'Does it really matter...?'
Not that I'm complaining. I actually like it. Feels like I'm young again.
My level was going up smoothly too.
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My shield was precarious, but dodging every attack by a hair's breadth is in the realm of pro gamers.
Pretty good for an amateur classified as elderly.
"His level went up again?!"
"What the hell is this guy?!"
"Is that even possible?!"
I understood the screaming bandits' feelings. I'd been surviving without dying. Far from dying, I was growing by trampling over them.
'Of course.'
I'm this game's protagonist. Protagonist buffs are kicking in somewhere I don't know.
The creator, the game company, is with me 24/7!
"W-wait! I have an elderly father at home—!"
"I'm that father!"
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The fight I thought I'd lose quickly could be sustained by utilizing the surrounding structures.
Between the cars parked in the garage, I couldn't get surrounded. Just had to watch front and back.
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My shield was steadily recovering too, making it even more sustainable.
'...Wait. I think I could leave the space between the cars now?'
My level had gotten higher than the surrounding bandits.
It's not just that shield defense improves proportionally with level.
All stats increase!
My avatar's movements were gradually heading toward fantasy.
"Here I come...!"
I stopped the defensive tactics of fighting while using terrain.
From now on it's attack, attack, and more attack!
"Aah?!"
"Kyaa?!"
"Great, he's coming out!"
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Combat got easier as I leveled up.
Thanks to the shield's defense increasing. Attacks from low-level bandits tickled.
"Did you come to die too?"
"No way! His level is already...!"
"Already level 9?!"
Meanwhile my attacks easily tore through their shields. Even grazing them was fatal.
Thanks to attack power increasing like defense.
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"Don't get close, use the machine guns!"
"Bro! His level's too high!"
"I know! But shoot anyway!"
Countless bullets drummed against my body like rain but were all blocked by the shield.
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The shield was fine too. The damage was so minor it regenerated while getting hit.
"Haha! So this is how it feels?"
I think I understand the hearts of the bandits who mocked my revolver instead of being scared.
Because firearms don't get stronger as you level up.
'This buff too.'
──────────────
Achievement: Quadra Kill (40 seconds)
Reward: Attack Power 70%
Description: You took down four in succession.
Rating: None.
──────────────
Attack power.
Only the attack power of melee weapons with shields applied went up.
Ranged weapons weren't included. Because fired bullets and arrows don't have shields.
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As combat got easier, levels didn't go up as well. Because the bandits' levels got lower than mine.
"Come here!"
"D-don't come!"
The bandits who ran away just from making eye contact were also a problem. Time wasted chasing kept getting longer.
"What the hell are you?!"
"The protagonist."
"What—?"
"The youngest son of this household!"
In the name of the protagonist, I won't forgive any experience points!
***
Level 1 is the privilege only of people who've never killed a person even once.
So bandits don't have level 1.
Robin, the bandit boss with no qualms about murder, screamed internally.
'Nobody said there'd be a monster like this?!'
The employer he met at a dingy bar said there was nobody at Baron Marcus's mansion.
Those words weren't far wrong.
When they arrived, the only ones who hadn't run away yet were maids and servants stealing their master's belongings.
Up to that point it was good.
"Boss Robin! We gotta run!"
"Bro! Bro! The monster saw me!"
"Let's give up on revenge! We'll all die at this rate!"
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He saw subordinates who'd become corpses.
Their status windows gradually faded and completely disappeared a few seconds later.
That monster, the boy with the pink irises characteristic of the Baron Marcus family, did this.
'We can't fight him!'
Bandits who've killed many people have high levels. They have skills befitting those levels. But those skills didn't work at all on that monster.
If eyes met, he'd immediately chase and kill.
'He's only targeting high-level guys!'
Not in his right mind.
Common sense is to safely level up by killing weaker opponents, lower-level opponents. Since you could get the tables turned on you.
Just now, he made eye contact with the monster.
"...Wait. I'll request help from that person. Just hold him off until then."
"Boss!"
"Bro!"
Robin abandoned his subordinates and lover and ran.
He'd just been pretending to be composed for the boss's dignity until now. But even that had reached its limit.
'This is weird! Why is he targeting me?!'
The monster looked at his status window and smiled brightly. Like a child who'd found lost parents.
Too scary.
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His level was Robin's pride and love. But right now he wanted to hide his level. Because if he dies, level doesn't matter...
"Where are you running?"
"Are you insane?!"
He's actually chasing me?!
The subordinates who should've been buying him time to escape were also busy running.
'I messed up...'
When the monster's level was still low, he shouldn't have passed it to his subordinates.
Even if slightly dangerous, he should've handled it with coordinated attacks. If he had—
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"Gotcha!"
"Why me?!"
"High-level guys give more experience. That's common sense, right?"
"You're crazy!"
It's true. It is true, but people don't usually live that way!
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Now he had to fight. If he didn't fight, he'd get taken out.
"That sword, I want it. I'll put it to good use."
"Don't mess with me!"
Robin decided to fight. But his body felt very heavy.
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'When did I get hit...'
Overwhelming. So overwhelming it wasn't even unfair.
Just, regretful.
That he should never have come here.
──────────────
Achievement: Pentakill (50 seconds)
Reward: Attack Power 100%
Description: You took down five in succession!
Rating: Oh my!
──────────────
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Robin became good experience and a buff.
***
Fear spread like an epidemic in an instant.
The bandits started dropping their weapons and running.
"Stop! I'll make it less painful. If I stab the carotid artery you'll lose consciousness..."
"Am I crazy?!"
Chasing and catching them all was realistically impossible. Even though I regretted the lost experience, I had to give up.
I glanced down at my clothes.
'Won't need to wash these.'
The tracksuit the helper gave me was clean.
Considering the number of bandits I'd killed so far, it wouldn't be strange to be stained bright red from head to toe with blood...
The reason was obvious.
'This game's shields have great versatility.'
The shield even blocked fine dust.
Not just the protagonist. The bandits also repelled everything that wasn't their own blood.
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I sat on a car roof and took a break. Nothing to do since all the bandits ran away.
'When will Elise come?'
I waited for the cocky helper who looked down on gamers to return.
"...Should I look for weapons?"
Since the depleted shield recovers even while moving. Sitting still was boring.
Not that my current weapon is bad.
'Katana. Good sword.'
Katana.
A curved sword sharp enough to cut falling leaves.
While excellent for precise control, the very thin curved blade specialized for slashing lacks versatility.
'...Never mind.'
I decided to just keep using the katana.
The reason I chose the katana during combat is because my proficiency is high.
Katanas appear in almost every game that uses swords like they're mandatory. If gaming is your hobby, it's harder to not know how to use one.
And it's cool.
"Hm?"
Right then, a girl was walking from the direction the bandits had fled.
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Navy blue blazer and miniskirt, white blouse, black pantyhose...
She looked like an idol advertising school uniforms. The skirt seemed very short not just because her legs were long.
Thud—
The level 10 girl who stopped at a slight distance from me spoke first.
"Excuse me. Are you Ronan Marcus?"
"What if I am?"
"Thank you for confirming. I've been ordered to eliminate you."
"You're gonna eliminate me?"
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The girl who'd come alone to stop me seemed utterly laughable.
Can't she see the bandits' corpses scattered around and my status window?
"That's right."
Swords materialized in her hands, one in each as she extended her arms left and right.
Dual wielding.
Looks cool on the surface, but rarely used in actual combat.
It's very hard to move both hands independently, and power doesn't properly transfer to the weapons.
Even pro gamers with monster-like two heads don't use dual wielding unless it's a friendly match.
'Is this kid in her right mind?'
Dual wielding in a duel where your one and only life is on the line is insane.
"Can I ask one question?"
"Yes."
"You're not like a spoiled princess who ran away because she didn't want an arranged marriage, right?"
I asked because she was too pretty. She might be an important character in the game.
"I don't understand the question's intent, but I can definitively say no."
"Thanks."
Then no problem killing her.
"Are you done with questions?"
"Uh... whoa!"
The moment I answered, the girl had already arrived in front of me.
'Shit! Why's she so fast?!'
Something was wrong with this tutorial.