I took a deep breath to calm down, sitting cross-legged on the stone floor. I folded my arms to think things through.
First off, that guy’s speed is the biggest threat. I can’t keep up with him at all with my current eyesight and reflexes. On top of that, his high level and toughness make winning a sword fight totally impossible. Plus, he’s got all those skills. Only an idiot would charge in head-on.
”Wait… is this actually unbeatable?” I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck.
I thought about it for a bit, and I came to a depressing conclusion. Even if I grind my skill levels little by little from now on, beating him would take way too many days. It’s just insane and not realistic at all.
Suddenly, my eyes landed on the Deep Blue Magic Sword resting on my knees.
”Ah, right. I never used ‘Appraisal’ on ‘Abyss’,” I let out a light groan.
I completely forgot. Checking your weapon’s stats is the most basic thing in RPGs, so failing to do that is just embarrassing for a gamer. Since this is my first time playing this game, I need to properly organize my strategy and information, or things are going to get really bad. Well, I already died once, so I guess things already got bad.
Feeling disappointed in myself for charging in without a plan, I cast ‘Appraisal’ on the magic sword in my hand.
[Status Window]
- Name: First Magic Sword…’Abyss’
- Owner: Kageyama Manato
- Description: One of the ten magic swords summoned by the Degim Gladius Master. A water-attribute magic sword imbued with the power of the deep sea.
- Abilities: Generates water infinitely and controls it freely. Generated water can be compressed or reshaped.
- Skills: ‘Water Generation’ | ‘Water Blade’ | ‘Liquid Manipulation’ | ‘Liquid Alteration’
”Man, I really should have checked this earlier! I was such an idiot for charging in without using ‘Appraisal’,” I grumbled, slapping my forehead. “From now on, I need to make a habit of appraising everything first.”
I couldn’t help but call myself out.
”Still, this is pretty strong, isn’t it? Four skills… that’s more than I have myself.”
As expected of my unique skill.
I wonder what makes the Goblin Swordmaster’s skills different from mine, though. I still have no idea how you learn new skills here. Maybe it’s the usual RPG pattern where you learn them when you level up, or maybe you need to use some special item.
Looking at the design and description, this weapon seems to be themed around water and the ocean. Maybe this holds the key to getting past that monster.
[Skill Details]
- ‘Water Generation’: Generates water infinitely, and the user controls the amount.
- ‘Water Blade’: Compresses water at high pressure to form a sharp blade that can also be launched at long range.
- ‘Liquid Manipulation’: Freely controls generated liquid and surrounding liquids.
- ‘Liquid Alteration’: Freely changes the properties of liquids, including temperature, viscosity, and hardness.
I checked the skill list in detail on the status screen. Once something has been appraised, I can view it on the screen anytime.
”I see, so the skills are all focused on controlling water..,” I tapped my chin, staring at the screen. “Wait, if I combine these right, couldn’t I trap and kill even stronger enemies?”
From what I can see, all of these are active skills that I can trigger whenever I want. I guess I just need to will it. Being able to use them infinitely with no cost seems pretty strong.
”For starters, the first idea that comes to mind is using ‘Water Generation’ to create a huge water ball around the guy’s face,” I mused, pacing back and forth. “Then I hold it there with ‘Liquid Manipulation’. No matter how thick his armor is, if he breathes, he’ll definitely drown.”
I put my limited brainpower to full use, piecing together a path to victory.
”Anyway, I need to test these skills out first.”
…So, I decided to practice. I’ve learned the hard way that you always need to test things beforehand-that’s one loss down.
”This is one of the ways this world is different from actual games,” I muttered, flexing my fingers.
In regular RPGs, you don’t usually practice to use skills or techniques. In action games, sometimes you test things out beforehand to see how they feel, but in standard RPGs, you just look at the screen and know whether a skill works or not. This isn’t a game where you press a button and the move comes out automatically, though. Because this is a real-action RPG where you actually move your body, I need to get the feel of these skills ingrained into my system.
”Well, that’s what makes this game fun,” I grinned, leaning back against the wall. “I’ve never played a game this immersive before, and honestly, it’s super exciting…!”
Even though I’d already been killed once, my excitement was through the roof. First, I tried to activate the most basic skill, ‘Water Generation’.
”……’Water Generation’……!”
The blade gave off a faint blue glow, and a clear water sphere slowly formed at the tip. It was about the size of a soccer ball. I found I could make it bigger or smaller just by focusing.
”Ohh..,”
I let out a quiet gasp, but then the sphere immediately fell to the ground with a splash, obeying gravity and turning into a puddle. The water stayed on the dungeon floor, forming a small circle. This could actually be useful.
”Hmm, I see. Okay, next I’ll try combining it with ‘Liquid Manipulation’.”
I readjusted my grip on ‘Abyss’ and pointed the sword toward the empty air.
”……’Water Generation’, ‘Liquid Manipulation’……!”
Just like before, a soccer-ball-sized water sphere appeared. But this time, the sphere stopped in midair before it could fall. It floated there, defying gravity while keeping its round shape.
”Nice, it worked!” I pumped my fist.
I think I might have gotten the hang of using skills on the first try. I moved my fingertip experimentally, and the water sphere followed my will, circling right around me.
”Whoa, I might actually have a knack for ‘Liquid Manipulation’. It moves exactly how I want it to.”
I’m patting myself on the back, but I’ve always been confident in my gaming skills. No matter how unfair a game is, I never give up until I clear it on the hardest difficulty. I’ve also played a wide variety of genres, so I’d say I’m pretty decent as an all-rounder. Not giving up midway and not getting discouraged by a single failure-that’s the real trick to beating games.
”Can I drink this, too?” I wondered aloud.
I brought the water sphere in front of my face and touched it with my left hand, the one not holding ‘Abyss’.
”It’s cold!” I flinched slightly at the temperature.
I scooped some up with one hand and gave it a little taste. No weird taste or numbness. It was just cold, good water, so it looks like I can use it for drinking. With this, I won’t have to worry about water even during long dungeon explorations. Securing a safe water source is survival basics, after all.
”Come to think of it, I’m not really that hungry.”
Maybe my body data got reset when I died, since I still didn’t feel hungry or thirsty. Eventually, I’ll probably need to eat something to keep going, though. For now, there’s the bento that Manami made for me in my backpack, but I felt like eating it would be a bit of a waste. I have no idea when I’ll get to eat Manami’s delicious cooking again, so I’ll worry about food later.
What’s left to test are ‘Water Blade’ and ‘Liquid Alteration’…
I went ahead and tried out each one. ‘Water Blade’ worked just like the description said-it was an enchantment skill that wrapped the blade in water to add an elemental effect. On top of that, I could also fire long-range slashes like high-pressure water cutters.
I tried shooting one at the wall, but it only left a shallow scratch on the hard stone, making it hard to gauge the power.
I put more force into it and tried again.
……SWISH!
This time, with a loud noise, the stone wall crumbled and fell apart from the impact. That’s definitely enough power to easily kill a person, but I still couldn’t picture beating the Goblin Swordmaster with just this. If he kills me before I even finish my attack animation, it’s over. Plus, I don’t think this can break through his thick metal armor. I’ll probably have to stick with my original plan-the drowning combo.
The last skill, ‘Liquid Alteration’, doesn’t do anything on its own. When combined with ‘Water Generation’, it let me freely change the water’s temperature and properties. I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, so I don’t really get the whole “changing viscosity and hardness” thing, but basically, I can make it hot, cold, turn it into solid ice, or make it sticky like mud. That seems to have a lot of potential uses.
”Alright, I’ve got a good handle on how all the skills work,” I said, stretching my arms above my head. “I’ll take a short break, then go for another attempt.”
After finishing my testing, I prepared for the next fight. I casually glanced at my status screen and noticed that the proficiency for ‘Degim Gladius Master’ had jumped up to [13/100]. Apparently, using skills consecutively gave me a big proficiency boost.
During my break, I pulled out a notebook and pen from my backpack.
”I’ve got time, so I’ll write some notes,” I murmured, scribbling on the blank paper. “Might help with dungeon exploration… In a death game, organizing information is everything…”
About an hour passed like that. As I wrote down notes on the enemy’s movements and skill details, my MP fully recovered.
”Oh, right. Let me save again, just in case.”
I closed the notebook, put it back in my bag, and placed my hand on the blue stone monument to overwrite the save with my latest status.
”Time to go…”
I walked through the eerily quiet cave, lit by some unknown source. I could hear metallic sounds nearby, meaning he was right there, pacing around like he was following a patrol route.
I crouched down, set my backpack in a corner, and covered it with my school jacket. I’m about to move a lot, so I want to be as light as possible. Unburdened, I advanced deeper into the cave with my magic sword in hand.
”Just as I thought, it’s the same one in the same spot,” I whispered, peering around the corner. “There’s no way forward unless I beat him, so I’ve got no choice.”
My plan is to drown him using ‘Water Generation’ and ‘Liquid Manipulation’, which should work on any living thing that needs to breathe.
I carefully activated my skills on the spot: “Accelerated Evolution,” “Water Generation,” and “Liquid Manipulation,” If I made any noise here, my plan would be exposed.
Now, “Accelerated Evolution” goes into a one-hour cooldown, but it stays active for five minutes. I have to finish this within that time, or my physical buffs will wear off, and I’ll end up like before.
(Calm down… me. It’s okay. I can do this.)
I waited for an opening to show itself. The enemy turned its back, completely exposed.
…Now!
I launched a water sphere with all my force, covering the “Goblin Swordmaster” completely. Caught off guard by the sudden attack, it thrashed around wildly. Every time it struggled, I used “Liquid Manipulation” to shift the water sphere’s position, focusing my mind to the absolute limit.
”No way I’m letting you escape,” I growled through gritted teeth. “You’re going down right here.”
Just as I thought, this is really effective against monsters that need to breathe. It’s drowning, flailing around in obvious pain. I checked its HP with “Appraisal”-it was dropping steadily from damage over time.
”With your skill set, you’ve got no way out of this water torture!”
Several minutes passed in this drowning combo, bringing its HP down to half.
At this rate, I can take it down. Just when I thought that, it charged at me with a desperate look on its face. Even with water covering it and slowing it down, it would catch up and kill me at this speed.
…But I saw this coming, too. There’s no way I didn’t prepare for it.
”…’Water Generation’ ‘Water Generation’ ‘Water Generation’ ‘Water Generation’ ‘Water Generation’…!”
While keeping “Liquid Manipulation” active, I scattered huge amounts of water at its feet. A giant puddle formed between me and the monster.
I slammed my hands on the ground for the finishing touch.
”…’Liquid Alteration’…!”
I turned the massive puddle covering the area into a slippery, lotion-like fluid.
…THUD!
The “Goblin Swordmaster” slipped on the ground and fell flat on its rear. Normally, it could dodge a puddle this size, but right now its whole body was covered in water, so there was no way it could think clearly. The goblin panicked on the floor.
”Haha, I outsmarted you, you goblin bastard,” I laughed, wiping a speck of dirt off my cheek. “Who said I’d fight on your turf? I’m a gaming nerd. Going head-on with a sword was never even on my radar.”
I declared victory toward the goblin as it struggled inside the giant water sphere. A few seconds later, I finally managed to deplete all of its HP. It burst into particles of light, leaving behind its drops before vanishing entirely.
[Notifications]
- Level up!
- Confirmed defeat of high-rank monster. Acquired skill: ‘Hyper Growth’
- Confirmed defeat of variant species. Acquired skill: ‘Inventory’
- Confirmed first monster defeat. Acquired skill: ‘Mapping’
A loud flood of log messages rushed through my head. Looks like skills are obtained as rewards for achievements.
”Yesss! I win-!” I shouted up at the ceiling before collapsing onto the floor. “You see that, God? Don’t underestimate a gamer!”
I was so tense that I couldn’t even think about moving. It was probably my creative thinking-just like a real-action RPG-that won me this fight. I’m happy it went according to plan, because I haven’t gotten this hyped in a while. Lately I’ve been playing so many games that I lost that thrill, but this really got me excited again.
I lay down on my back right there. The stone floor was hard and uncomfortable, but I couldn’t complain.
I opened my status screen to check the results.
[Status Window]
- Player Name: Kageyama Manato
- Gender: Male | Age: 17 | Race: Human
- Level: 159 [Exp to next level: 8700/15900]
- HP: 16800/16800
- Unique Skills: ‘Degim Gladius Master’ | ‘Appraisal’ | ‘Accelerated Evolution’
- Skills: ‘Hyper Growth’ | ‘Inventory’ | ‘Mapping’
”Whoa, my level shot way up!” I gasped, staring at the numbers in disbelief.
My level jumped all the way to 159, and my HP went up accordingly. I can’t really feel the difference yet, but my durability must have increased.
Then I checked each of the skills I got as battle rewards. ‘Hyper Growth’ is a passive skill that gives an experience bonus. Apparently, just by defeating monsters, I automatically get thirty times the experience. Maybe that’s why my level jumped so much all at once. I haven’t tested it properly, so I can’t say for sure, though.
The ‘Inventory’ skill lets me store and take out items. It’s super useful, but the description says it can’t be used on living things. I’ll go back for the backpack I left in the hallway later and try storing it.
When I activated ‘Mapping,’ a mini-map appeared in the corner of my vision, just like the status screen. A mini-map is a basic RPG feature, and right now, it’s showing the map for just this floor. If I hadn’t gotten this, I would’ve had to map everything out manually with a notebook and pen, so I’m honestly grateful.
It even has marker and search functions, with a UI that looks a lot like Google Maps. Plus, it shows trap locations and treasure chest positions. The red dots scattered all over are probably enemy locations, while my location is the blue dot.
Once the tiredness left my body, I headed back to get my backpack. Then I used ‘Inventory’ to store the bag and my uniform.
[Inventory]
- Backpack × 1
- Uniform Top (Blazer) × 1
When I want to take something out of the backpack, I touch the ‘Backpack’ icon, and a separate window opens showing its contents. Looks like everything inside the bag is fully recognized, too. To take something out, I just think about it or touch the pop-up inventory window.
”This really is a convenient skill,” I said, nodding in approval. “I should grab the drops too… even though I have no idea what I’ll use them for yet.”
The loot was all in the form of trading cards, scattered on the ground where the goblin fell. I picked up the cards labeled ‘Goblin Sword Greatsword,’ ‘Magic Stone (Medium),’ and ‘Goblin Fang.’ Each card had the name written on top with an illustration inside a frame, followed by a short description below.
- Goblin Sword Greatsword: A legendary greatsword said to be wielded by goblin heroes. Extremely sturdy. Not very sharp. It’s goblin-made, after all.
- Magic Stone (Medium): Monster material used as crafting material for various weapons and tools.
- Goblin Fang: Monster material used as crafting material for various weapons and tools.
Judging from the descriptions, there must be some facility or skill somewhere that lets you craft weapons and items. Among the loot, there were also cards like ‘Mixed Sandwich × 10’ and ‘Barley Tea 2L × 10.’ If these can be materialized, it seems like the food problem might be solved. If so, I’d like to go around actively defeating monsters, since I have no idea how long this game from God will last.
”Still, how do I actually make these real?” I wondered, flipping a card over.
As I stared at it, I noticed small text on the back explaining how to materialize the items.
”Could you make this a little more obvious? People are going to miss it in a spot like this,” I grumbled, shaking my head. “Seriously, this game isn’t very user-friendly.”
Apparently, I need to hold the card up to a save point-the blue stone monument-to summon the item. I went back to the monument and held up ‘Barley Tea 2L × 10.’ The wall right next to it popped open and spat out a plastic bottle.
”What kind of mechanism is this…?” I muttered, picking up the bottle.
It definitely looked like tea. I unscrewed the cap and smelled it, catching a nice tea-leaf aroma. Cautiously, I took a sip. Yep, it’s barley tea. It tasted just like the kind I’m used to-delicious and full of minerals.
I materialized the remaining monster materials and sandwiches, storing them straight into my inventory. I put quite a lot in, but it seems like there’s no capacity limit. When stored, items stay in whatever state they were put in, meaning bento boxes and sandwiches won’t go bad.
After taking a good rest, I decided it was time to move further into the dungeon.
Trivia:
- Kageyama’s willingness to experiment with his skills and annotate enemy movements shows a methodical gamer mindset, contrasting with his earlier reckless charge.
- The mention of Manami’s bento and the hesitation to eat it subtly hints at an emotional attachment, emphasizing the loss of normal life more than the survival mechanics.
- The water sphere that falls to the ground stays there, which confirms that the dungeon does not absorb water, making the drowning strategy environmentally viable.
- The protagonist’s unique skill name “Wielder of the Ten Holy Demon Swords” carries the katakana reading “Degim Gladius Master” — suggesting this world may have a Latin-based magical naming system underneath its Japanese interface.
- His level jumped from what was likely a much lower number to 159 in a single battle, implying the “Hyper Growth” skill’s 30x multiplier combined with the Goblin Swordmaster’s high-rank status created an exponential experience gain.
- The inventory system’s ability to preserve food freshness and the blue monument’s item-materialization function hint that the dungeon is designed for extended solo exploration rather than quick in-and-out raids.