Nickbacca brushed the dust off his body and laughed proudly.
"Nikukukukukukuku! Did you all see that!?
That was the advanced technique called 'Floating Body'! You lighten your body the instant you take a hit to minimize damage!
Celebrity-kun thought he did something impressive without even knowing that. How hilarious!"
The surrounding students breathed a sigh of relief.
"So that's what it was..."
"I thought it was weird. A one-punch KO is impossible."
"Yeah, even Monsoon from Class 1-20 might manage it, but there's no way a jobless garbage could!"
Come to think of it, I did not see Monsoon anywhere. Actually, none of the Class 1-20 students seemed to be participating in this PE class.
Putting that aside, I asked Nickbacca,
"But weren't you unconscious?"
His face turned as red as a boiling kettle.
"Th-That was...! That was the ultra-advanced technique called 'Playing Dead'!
More importantly, playtime is over! From now on I'll get serious, celebrity-kun!"
"Eh? We're still going?"
"Meat! Of course! I can't let myself get hit and do nothing... I mean, I haven't shown you the example yet!
I let you land one punch, so now it's my turn to hit you once!"
It was a completely childish argument.
Nickbacca raised his log-like arm and stomped toward me.
"Eh, wait, Teacher?"
"No questions! Now, fly awaaaaay!!!"
While panicking, I activated the Versatile Body skill.
I hurriedly shifted the points I had put into Strength over to Toughness.
--------------------------------------------------
**Leopin**
**Occupation:** Martial Artist
**LV:** 8
**HP:** 10
**MP:** 10
**Status**
**Vitality:** 1
**Endurance:** 1
**Toughness:** 1 → 2501
**Spirit:** 1
**Resistance:** 1
**Agility:** 1
**Focus:** 1
**Strength:** 2501 → 1
**Magic Power:** 1
**Divine Power:** 1
**Intelligence:** 1
**Education:** 1
**Five Senses:** 1
**Sixth Sense:** 1
**Charm:** 1
**Luck:** 2
**Dexterity:** 200
--------------------------------------------------
His roaring heavy arm came flying at my face.
The moment of impact, Monaka, who had returned to the spectators, covered her face with both hands and let out a "Kyaa!?"
...GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!
A sound like punching a stone wall echoed across the entire schoolyard.
I did not get sent flying at all. I remained standing exactly where I was.
"It doesn't hurt at all...?" I muttered without thinking.
I barely kept a calm face, but inside I was filled with surprise.
For just an instant, my body had hardened like rock and become as steady as a mountain.
I had not used any magic. Why?
The higher the Toughness stat, the better you could withstand physical attacks.
But no matter how much you raised it, your body did not actually become harder or heavier.
While I kept a cool expression, Nickbacca's face and fist both swelled up bright red at the same time.
Then he collapsed backward as if he had taken a powerful counterpunch.
"Ugyaaaaaaaah!? My bones!? My boooooones!!!"
Nickbacca thrashed around on the ground like a beached whale.
The male students surrounding me now looked at me in genuine terror.
"Th-This can't be real...!
He took that punch without a scratch and even counterattacked without doing anything...!"
"M-Maybe this is also one of Teacher Nickbacca's advanced techniques...!?"
"No way! Look at garbage guy's... I mean, Leopin-kun's face!
It's completely fine, like he only felt a gentle breeze!"
More than that, I thought they should be worried about Nickbacca.
Then a voice called out, "A-Are you all right!?"
Once again, Monaka rushed out from among the female students.
This time I thought she would surely go to the teacher, but Monaka came straight toward me again.
She ran at full speed like a starving cat and started touching me all over to check if I was okay.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
Nickbacca's broken bones could not be healed by the apprentice Saintesses, so he was carried off to the infirmary on a stretcher.
PE class ended right on time, and it became after school.
The students headed back to the school building to change out of their gym clothes.
Since I was still in my uniform, I left the academy grounds alone.
On the way back to my house in the forest, I switched to the Woodcutter job.
I redistributed the stats I had skewed during PE back into a balanced spread.
--------------------------------------------------
**Leopin**
**Occupation:** Martial Artist → Woodcutter
**LV:** 8
**HP:** 10 → 1810
**MP:** 10 → 1810
**Status**
**Vitality:** 1 → 181
**Endurance:** 1 → 181
**Toughness:** 1 → 181
**Spirit:** 1 → 181
**Resistance:** 1 → 181
**Agility:** 1 → 181
**Focus:** 1 → 181
**Strength:** 1 → 181
**Magic Power:** 1 → 181
**Divine Power:** 1 → 181
**Intelligence:** 1 → 181
**Education:** 1 → 181
**Five Senses:** 1 → 181
**Sixth Sense:** 1 → 181
**Charm:** 1
**Luck:** 2
**Dexterity:** 2700 → 180
--------------------------------------------------
"All right, time to get some work done when I get back."
Once I returned to the forest, I used a stone axe and cut down trees with single-minded focus.
While working, I kept thinking about what Nickbacca had said.
"Right now, powerful protective magic has been cast around the academy!
However, its effect will gradually weaken starting tomorrow!
Do you understand what that means!? It means monsters will start entering the residential area where you live starting tomorrow!"
If those words were true, it meant there was now a chance of encountering monsters starting tomorrow.
The residential area where the other students lived had many people, so monsters would find it hard to attack.
If they took turns keeping watch at night, they probably would not suffer surprise attacks either.
But I was alone.
Moreover, since I lived deep in the forest, there was probably no easier target for monsters than me.
That was why I decided to focus on self-defense.
"This much lumber should be enough."
--------------------------------------------------
**Large Gisu Lumber**
**Quantity:** 80
**Quality Level:** 12 (Material Level 2 + Dexterity Bonus 1 + Job Bonus 9)
Soft, lightweight wood that is easy to process.
Thanks to various bonuses, it can also be used as building material.
--------------------------------------------------
I then switched to the Carpenter job.
Using the lumber I had gathered—enough to build a house—I constructed a wall and gate around my home.
--------------------------------------------------
**Gisu Wall**
**Quantity:** 1
**Quality Level:** 22 (Material Level 12 + Dexterity Bonus 1 + Job Bonus 9)
A wooden wall made from high-quality Gisu lumber.
Thanks to various bonuses, it is sturdier than a stone wall and resistant to earthquakes, fire, and rot.
**Gisu Gate**
**Quantity:** 1
**Quality Level:** 22 (Material Level 12 + Dexterity Bonus 1 + Job Bonus 9)
A wooden gate made from high-quality Gisu lumber.
Thanks to various bonuses, it is sturdier than a stone gate and resistant to earthquakes, fire, and rot.
--------------------------------------------------
The wall that now surrounded my house had a very reassuring appearance.
Then something unexpected happened.
The moment the house, gate, and wall were all complete, they began to glow as if they had become one.
Could this be a level-up...?
As I thought that, a window appeared before my eyes.
"Your home has evolved into a base!"