Chapter 3: Selecting skills

    “Congratulations! Your level has been raised!”

    It certainly sounded like it.

    Then.

    –Choose a skill to acquire.

    –1 Sword Technique (Weak)

    –2 Martial Arts (Weak)

    –3 Hunger Resistance (Weak)

    –4 Natural Healing (Weak)

    I utter the simplest of lines that someone in the same situation would probably say.

    “What is happening…?”

    –Choose a skill to acquire.

    –1 Sword Technique (Weak)

    –2 Martial Arts …

    “No, no, no! I understand that, but! What’s with this all of a sudden!　Sword Technique (Weak)? Skill?”

    The auditory hallucination (?) continues in a flat tone, as if it were a mechanical woman on an automated telephone desk.

    —  Sword Technique (Weak) is a skill that immediately allows you to acquire skills that one would gain after about three years of training in an average Japanese Kendo dojo.

    I tapped my temple with my index finger and tried to regain my composure.

    “Then, how about… Martial Arts (Weak)?

    — Martial Arts (Weak) is a skill that immediately allows you to acquire skills that one would gain after about five years of training in an average Japanese Karate dojo.

    “ Hunger Resistance(Weak)?”

    —  Hunger Resistance (Weak) will allow you to go more than a week without eating or drinking.

    “And the last one?”

    —  Natural Healing (Weak) allows you to recover from minor injuries within a day.

    “Huh!”

    Well, I guess that’s about it.

    Wiping the bloody end of the katana with a curtain, I accepted the situation easily.

    This is what a maiden’s tolerance is all about. Maybe.

    What the hell, though.

    I thought to myself, “Was I chosen or something?”

    I don’t know what it is, but it’s a supernatural being.

    Or maybe the world has completely changed while I’ve been holed up playing games, and a similar phenomenon is happening to all the people around the world.

    Well, I guess it’s up to me how I see the situation.

    This is the world we live in. In any case, wouldn’t you like to think of yourself as the hero of your own story?

    — Choose a skill acquire…

    “Well then, please give me the Sword Technique (Weak).

    I was given this Japanese katana by my grandfather.

    This is the only thing that my evil relatives (excuse the pun) left for me and I didn’t get a penny of the rest of my inheritance, but it is a memento. I could sell it to gain a little money.

    Well, I’ve used it (in a meaningful way), so it won’t sell it anymore.

    A female swordswoman who slays zombies with her grandfather’s memento.

    What do you think?

    Don’t you long for it?

    — Affirmative. Assimilating skill effect.

    At the same time.

    From within my body, I instantly felt that I had changed.

    “Huh…!”

    An unaccustomed whistle leaked out from my mouth.

    Apart from that, nothing else change. My arms are same without any muscles. It is a typical gamer’s thin arm.

    It’s already, how can I put it… amazing.

    It’s an odd feeling.

    It’s so amazing (sudden loss of vocabulary).

    I swung the sword to test it, and the blade flashed through the air with such speed that I could not believe was my own.

    I guess this is the “three years worth” of skills.

    The girl who was holding the sword with a hefty hand is nowhere to be seen.

    And…

    With that thought, I regained my composure.

    So what am I supposed to do?

    Since I was given mysterious powers, there must be a purpose.

    At least that’s what it seemed like to me.

    “Hey, Ms. Auditory Hallucination. What should I do next?”

    That’s why I asked the question to the sky. From a distance, I may have looked like a dangerous girl.

    A moment later, nothing happened.

    I was wondering if I wouldn’t get a response because I called her a hallucination.

    I was not expecting such an answer.

    In short, it was easy to see that it was just like a video game.

    This is a common type of role-playing game.

    You can raise your level by defeating demons and completing quests.

    Hmm.

    I want to stay indoors somewhere and play games all the time.

    However, it is certain that I will be plagued by power shortages everywhere I go until this fiasco is over. In fact, there is a possibility that no new games will be released at this time. I have to avoid such a situation.

    “Well, let’s give it a try, shall we? To save the world.”