The wooden blade swings toward me with a force far beyond what I could physically block. After years of training, I could see and process the incoming attack, but even then, there is a limit to how well my body can execute the thoughts running through it. I had neither the strength nor the speed for a safe counter, managing only enough movement to shield my face as the blades clashed and my sword was flung into the air. With a sigh, I let my body drop to the ground, lying flat on the soft, slightly moist grass.
I looked up and stared at the sun. I have repeated this same action countless times—just as many times as I have been defeated in sword practice against Yura.
I always thought everything would be simple here. Like an RPG where numbers matter more than skills, I expected to be able to overwhelm everything with brute force, but the weight of reality quickly crushed my daydreams.
I have been swinging this sword for as long as I can remember in this world. My body has reached its limit regarding how much I can improve through training alone. Despite the fact that RPG-like levels exist here, the innate rate of growth is predefined for each individual. The higher the level of a person during their reproductive years, the higher the innate rate of growth for their offspring. People like me, who aren't descended from a family of warriors, are stuck with a life of mediocrity.
Even after all these years, I could only grow up to level 4. That is good enough to work as a guard in this remote village, but I would get completely bodied if I ever tried to engage with any beast or human outside of this safe zone. I continue to hunt weak beasts to gain EXP, but even if I spend my whole life doing it, I might not even reach level 10.
Yura looked down at me with a smile. "You did great," she said, holding out her hand to help me up.
Even with her kind words of encouragement, reality remains unchanged. Yura is only level 2, but she hails from an unusual family line that prioritizes skill over level. Despite her lower level, her strength far surpasses mine.
We walked through the field until we reached a dense forest split by a narrow path separating the towering trees. After following it for a while, we reached the village, which welcomed us with a large gate and wooden walls.
"Do you think I will ever be able to get to the big towns and become a monster hunter?"
Yura smiled brightly at me. "Of course, if you put your mind to it!"
I guess. Why do I even bother? She only has nice things to say, even when things are impossible.
"I will go with you when the day comes. We should work hard for that day."
"Sure, sure," I said dismissively, knowing it is never going to happen.
We parted ways when we reached my neighborhood. Yura cheerily waved goodbye, and I returned her gesture with the same motion, but with none of the energy she carried.
My home, like every other in the village, is made of wood and stone. It doesn't look very sturdy, but it is surprisingly resilient against heavy toil. My place is arguably more well-off than the village average, especially for someone living alone.
My parents in this world left for the big towns to advance their merchant careers once they deemed me mature enough to live by myself. I decided to stay back because I didn't see any point in accompanying them. They send me enough money through a bird-type familiar that I can live my whole life here without working. I suppose it's not so bad—spending a lifetime just laying around, growing old, and eventually passing away.
Just as I started to doze off, I was jolted awake by loud knocking on the door. Once you have heard it enough times, you can actually guess who is knocking simply by the pattern of their taps, and this pattern was completely unfamiliar to me.
I opened the door to see a man—no, a boy—about my age standing there. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, appraising me with a serious look. I am certain this guy isn't from the village, and the very idea of an outsider coming here is an anomaly.
"I am coming in," he said. Without waiting for my permission, he simply barged past me with no regard for my personal space.
"Sorry about the inconvenience," a second voice followed. It belonged to a petite girl in a maid uniform standing behind him. She carried herself in a meek and polite manner as she walked in to stand beside him.
"Why are you still stuck in the boonies, Zeth?" the impudent intruder asked, continuing to stare at me with a serious expression.
"Do I know you?"
"Of course you don't. But you do know about the divine skills of otherworlders, right?"
Of all the things, I didn't expect that to come out of his mouth. How does he know about any of that? I had always operated under the assumption that I was the only otherworlder here.
Without waiting for me to reply, he pressed on.
"I'm getting the gist of this. You're an ignorant peasant who doesn't know about the others."
Everything he does and says is deeply annoying. What does he want anyway? Before I could ask, he showed me his status plate:
Name: Kurshitch
Class: Enforcer of Justice
Level: 35
Skills:
[Savior's Ascend] Rank ???
[Sword Mastery] Rank A
[Charisma of Salvation] Rank S
This... it's a class and skill set befitting someone destined to save the world. Mine, on the other hand...
I hesitated to show him mine, but a red parchment manifested and landed in his hand anyway. It felt utterly embarrassing to reveal my stats knowing what they were.
I expected him to mock me, but he simply muttered, "I see," and let go of the parchment. As it fell, an illusory fire engulfed it, leaving nothing behind.
He seemed to have decided on his next course of action. He muttered a single word to the maid—not an ordinary command, but a magic spell used to convey a vast amount of information through a single utterance. I had seen this before. Once he was done, he simply walked by.
"I have to prepare something. Do whatever Eileen tells you. Her word is my word."
In his typical selfish fashion, he walked away without any regard for what I had to say.
"Follow me," the girl said as she headed toward the door.
"What for?"
With a stone-cold face showing absolutely no expression, she delivered an utterly outrageous statement:
"To find you a girlfriend."