Slash!
Pyar!
(Your level has increased!)
(Basic Swordsmanship has been acquired!)
At last, I obtained a new skill for the first time since my awakening.
(Basic Swordsmanship covers the fundamentals of sword usage. At this level, it is only slightly better than fighting without any skill.)
From the description of Basic Swordsmanship, I knew this skill wasn't particularly powerful.
Even so, since it was the first skill I had obtained after awakening, I felt so happy that tears welled up in my eyes.
"Ah, I got a new skill," Yae said.
My awareness immediately returned, and I looked at Yae with curiosity.
"Yae, what skill did you get?"
Yae showed me her status.
(Name: Yae
Level: 4 (%)
Unique Skill: –
Normal Skills:
Shadow Step (1/10)
Attack: 10
Strength: 9
Agility: 10
Endurance: 10
Magic: 20
Luck: 60)
(Shadow Step: Move like a shadow. Consumes a great amount of stamina, so use it wisely.)
'Shadow Step… isn't this better than Basic Swordsmanship?'
"Akio, what do you think? Is this skill good?"
"Um, yeah. It's even better than mine."
"Really?"
Yae's eyes widened as she looked at me with excitement.
"Then show me yours so we can compare them."
With that, I showed my status to Yae.
Normally, behavior like this was strictly forbidden. After all, a character's status was essentially the core of an adventurer's life.
"Wow! You're stronger than me!"
"Look at the skills, not the stats!"
"Hehehe."
Yae laughed shyly, then lowered her gaze to read the description of Basic Swordsmanship.
After a while, she finally understood what I meant.
"Still, Basic Swordsmanship is more useful since it provides more efficient sword-fighting techniques."
"You're right about that. Compared to Shadow Step, which consumes a lot of stamina, Basic Swordsmanship is clearly better."
Yae nodded in agreement, then looked at me with teary eyes.
"Akio, how about you try it?"
"…Alright. I'm curious about how effective Basic Swordsmanship really is too."
Yae smiled brightly. She looked even cuter, making it hard to look away.
With that, we searched for the nearest slime to test the effectiveness of Basic Swordsmanship.
Punyu.
Punyu.
After searching for a while, we found two slimes interacting with each other.
The moment they noticed us, both slimes lunged at us at high speed.
"Basic Swordsmanship!"
Slash!
Pyar! Pyar!
Normally, it would take two attacks to defeat them, but now a single swing of my sword wiped out both slimes at the same time.
"This really is more efficient than before."
"That was amazing! Basic Swordsmanship is way stronger than what the description says!"
"I agree. I feel lucky to have obtained this skill."
Yae nodded, then carefully examined her own body.
"I want to try Shadow Step."
She spoke as if asking for my permission.
"…Alright. It's better to test it first before using it in real combat."
Hearing my answer, Yae smiled happily and became full of energy.
"I'm starting—Shadow Step!"
Wosh!
Yae instantly moved from one point to another.
"Amazing! It feels like teleportation!"
Yae was incredibly excited, even though her face was covered in fragrant sweat.
"Have you ever teleported before?"
"Ugh, no."
Yae scratched the back of her head with an awkward smile on her face.
I smiled at her cute reaction.
"Do you still have stamina left?"
Yae thought for a moment, then nodded.
"I can't use my skill anymore, but I can still fight slimes."
"Good. In that case, let's keep going."
"Yeah!"
And so, we continued hunting slimes in the beginner dungeon.
Our initial goal was to reach level ten as soon as possible so we could move on to a real dungeon to adventure and earn money.
As you know, slimes don't drop magic crystals or items when defeated. In other words, we had no income while exploring the beginner dungeon.
If we didn't have enough savings to support this exploration, we wouldn't have been able to spend this much time here.
Our parents were also very supportive. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be able to explore a beginner dungeon that yields no profit this often.
(Your level has increased!)
(Basic Swordsmanship has leveled up!)
"Finally level eight. My skill leveled up smoothly too. If things keep going like this, we can head to a real dungeon tomorrow or the day after."
Yae nodded in response.
"I'm jealous. My skill hasn't leveled up at all."
Yae looked extremely frustrated.
"It can't be helped. The only way to level up a skill is to use it. Since you've only used yours once, don't expect it to level up."
"…In that case, I wish I had a skill like yours. That way, I could keep using it and level it up."
"It can't be helped. Skills aren't something we can choose as we like."
Yae smiled bitterly.
"Anyway, let's head home. Mom probably made something delicious today."
"Um, Akio, please do the usual."
"Huh?"
I froze for a moment, then sighed and smiled as I gently patted Yae's head.
After that, Yae looked much better than before.
I mean, she was no longer frustrated, and her face looked brighter than it had earlier.
By the way, on our way home, the beginner adventurers who saw us looked extremely envious.
I think their reaction was understandable, because to outsiders, we looked like a couple returning from a dungeon date.
You might think dating in a dungeon is unusual, but in reality, it has become a common habit for couples who want to spend time in a different kind of atmosphere.
'I wonder what will happen if Yae finds out the truth about our step-sibling relationship.'
"Akio?"
Yae called out to me hesitantly.
"Ah, sorry. Let's keep walking."
"Okay!"
Yae nodded with a bright smile on her face.
We walked side by side, while the beginner adventurers around us made way for us.
…..
(Your level has increased!)
"Finally level ten! Now we can go to a level-one dungeon!"
Yae was so happy that tears welled up in her eyes.
"Congratulations! We'll start exploring the level-one dungeon the day after tomorrow."
Yae tilted her head as soon as she heard that.
"Why the day after tomorrow? It's still daytime now. We still have time to go to a level-one dungeon."
I smiled and gently patted Yae's head.
She blushed but didn't resist my touch.
"Well, level-one dungeons are different from beginner dungeons. If we want to defeat monsters there, we need real weapons, not what we're using now."
"I see. But magic weapons are really expensive. We can't afford them."
"Magic weapons are expensive, which is why we'll buy normal weapons instead."
"Normal weapons?"
"With our stats, there's nothing to fear when using normal weapons. As long as I have a real sword and you have a real dagger, we can defeat plenty of goblins with our strength!"
Yae thought over my words, then nodded enthusiastically.
"But is it really okay for us to enter a level-one dungeon? Our licenses will be checked, and they'll definitely notice how fast we leveled up."
"Yeah, that's a problem, but we'll have to go through with it anyway."
Yae nodded, then seemed to be thinking about something.
"Akio, I know a friend who might be able to help us. Do you want to talk to her?"
"A friend? Who? Do I know her?"
Yae firmly shook her head.
"You don't know her personally, but you definitely know her name."
"Oh? Who is it?"
"Her name is Mio—the young adventurer known as the Ice Queen, and also the strongest young adventurer in Central Java Province."
… .. .
To be continued…