I’m Just Leveling up Efficiently, but for Some Reason, the People Around Me Seem to Be Looking at Me With Disapproval - Chapter 1

He climaxed.

The electronic sound that told him his level went up made him finish.

“Nnnnnnnnnnnn~! That feels so goooooood!”

This is it. This right here.

The pleasure from leveling up.

The rush.

The sense of accomplishment.

This addiction beats everything else.

I used to be what people call a game addict.

I dropped out of college for games.

Never got a job. Just lived as a shut-in in the game world.

Leveling was what gave my life meaning.

I’d jump on new games first and race ahead of everyone.

That was my purpose.

Finding leveling methods no one else knew about.

Raising my level faster than anyone.

I started getting real pleasure from it.

That feeling of experience points slowly stacking up.

The calm, efficient way of just hunting enemies nonstop.

Ah, nothing beats it.

Online, I was a little bit famous.

People called me stuff like “Efficiency Devil” and “The Guy Possessed by Experience Points.”

I’d do anything if it raised my level.

I’d chug energy drinks and pull all-nighters for days.

That worked fine when I was young.

But as I got older, the tiredness started building up.

I couldn’t do two all-nighters anymore.

That’s when it happened.

I found the absolute best game for leveling.

I got hooked.

Kill enemies.

Get experience points.

Kill enemies.

Get experience points.

I just kept repeating it.

“Ohooooooooooooo!!”

My level went up again.

This was the third day.

I’d stayed up three nights straight.

Still couldn’t stop.

The pleasure of leveling had me so hooked I couldn’t sleep.

I tried to lie down once.

But not leveling made me anxious.

So I got up from bed, turned on the computer anyway, and started leveling again.

I knew people die if they don’t sleep.

But I couldn’t quit.

I kept leveling right up until the very end.

In the end I passed out face-first on my desk and never woke up.

Maybe it was for the best.

My parents were already fed up with me, so they probably wouldn’t even be that sad.

I had no friends.

And besides…

I got reincarnated into the best world possible.

A world that actually has leveling.

Here I might actually be useful for once.

Most of all, I was thrilled to live in this world.

I couldn’t stop feeling excited about risking my life on leveling.

* * *

I remembered my past life when I turned thirteen.

I was born into an ordinary family in a small village.

My dad was one of the village guards.

He fought monsters and protected the villagers.

My mom was a normal woman who was pretty good at sewing and healing magic.

But my family had one small difference from the rest of the village. Mom was from the White Wolf race, so I had white ears and a white tail too.

Other than that we were regular villagers.

I had a childhood friend and lived a relaxed life in the countryside, playing in the woods with no stress at all.

Until I was thirteen.

That day was cloudy.

It felt like it might start drizzling any minute.

I was inside the house with my childhood friend Avi, listening to Mom talk about the country.

“This village is on a tiny island at the edge of the Jen Archipelago Union.”

“Jen Archipelago Union?”

Avi tilted her head.

Avi’s always the laid-back type.

Her way of talking and moving is all slow and easy.

Her eyes always look sleepy, and her face doesn’t change much.

That’s the kind of girl she is.

“The Jen Archipelago Union is a small country at the southeast tip of the Arcana Continent. It’s made up of lots of island nations.”

“Hmm.”

Avi sounded like she wasn’t interested at first.

But she was probably listening carefully.

If you looked closely, her eyes were sparkling deep down.

“When you two grow up, you should go traveling.”

“Traveling?”

When I asked, Mom nodded.

“Yeah. Your dad and I met while we were traveling.”

“But isn’t it dangerous outside the village with all the monsters?”

“It is. Especially on the continent. There’s the Dible Empire ruled by the Ugly Pig Tribe Orcs, and the Shrelian Kingdom ruled by the Dragonkin Dragonutes. Those places are pretty dangerous.”

“Then… traveling…”

“But you two should awaken your blessings soon.”

“Blessings?”

“That’s right. Around thirteen years old, people awaken their blessing and receive something called status from the gods.”

“What’s status?”

“It’s a way to see a person’s abilities. There’s this thing called levels. The higher your level goes, the more power you get that goes beyond normal humans.”

“Status sounds amazing!”

“It is. With status, you won’t lose to monsters.”

Mom puffed out her chest as she said it.

She said it.

Then suddenly, hurried footsteps came pounding toward us.

Right after, the door to the room flew open.

“Hey, you kids!”

It was Dad.

He looked panicked.

“What’s wrong?”

Mom asked.

“Demons!”

“Demons?”

“Yeah! The Ugly Pig Tribe Orcs are attacking!”

“Ugly Pig Tribe Orcs!?”

Right then, an explosion shook the ground.

“Eek!?”

Avi lost her balance and almost fell.

I quickly peeked out the window and saw…

A villager getting sliced clean in half by an Ugly Pig Tribe Orc’s machete.

“Ugh!”

Mom covered her mouth at the sight.

“You two, run right now!”

“What about Dad!?”

I asked in a panic as Dad tried to get us out the back door.

“…I’m a village guard.”

“——!?”

“I can’t run until everyone else is safe.”

Dad had a look of resolve on his face.

Mom’s face filled with despair.

“No! You can’t! Let’s go together——”

But Mom cut herself off.

She couldn’t say anything more after seeing Dad’s expression.

“…All right. We’re running, you two.”

“What about Dad!?”

Mom shook her head silently at my shout.

She grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the back door.

“Dad! If we leave Dad behind——!?”

But I couldn’t fight Mom’s strength after she got her blessing, so I got dragged out of the house even though I struggled.

Then Mom, Avi, and I ran away from the village.

We kept running even when we were out of breath and our legs hurt.

We left the village and ran through the forest.

“Hah… hah…”

“At this distance the Ugly Pig Tribe Orcs probably won’t…”

The moment Mom said that, nearby bushes rustled.

“Phew. Almost let you get away.”

An ugly pig face.

A smirking mouth.

A huge body twice our size with green skin.

It was an Ugly Pig Tribe Orc.

“——!? Ugly Pig Tribe Orc!”

Mom stepped forward to protect me and Avi.

“I won’t let you touch these two!”

“Hah! A woman acting all tough.”

The Ugly Pig Tribe Orc laughed at her.

Mom clenched her teeth.

…What do I do?

What do I do?

If this keeps up, Mom’s going to die.

Isn’t there something?

Some way?

I stepped forward without thinking.

The Ugly Pig Tribe Orc raised one eyebrow when he saw me.

“Oh?”

“Yushuu!? No!”

Mom let out a painful cry toward me.

But the Ugly Pig Tribe Orc ignored her and grinned.

“Kid. I’ll kill you first.”

“……”

“That way I get to see the women look totally hopeless.”

Mom screamed.

“Stop! If you’re going to fight, start with me——!”

“Nope. I already decided. This brat dies first.”

With that, the Ugly Pig Tribe Orc stepped forward.

Thud. A heavy footstep.

The pressure made Mom, Avi, and me freeze for a second.

“Now then… prepare yourselves.”

The Ugly Pig Tribe Orc grabbed the machete on his back and raised it high.

Ah, is this it?

Is this the end?

I thought things were going well in this life.

I thought I was living a good life this time.

…This life?

What am I even…

In that moment.

A flood of memories filled my head.

“Agh, aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!?”

My head felt like it was splitting open.

It hurt so bad!

“…What?”

The Ugly Pig Tribe Orc holding the machete frowned in confusion.

…Ah.

I get it.

That’s what this is.

I remembered.

In my past life I was a gamer.

Just a gamer who was a little too crazy about efficiency.

“Status.”

――――――――――
Level: 1
Exp: 0/1000
Stamina: 14
Magic Power: 15
Endurance: 16
Strength: 10
Technique: 13
Durability: 11
Reason: 18
Faith: 9
――――――――――

The status screen appeared.

Proof that I received the blessing.

“You!? Did you just get your blessing!?”

The Ugly Pig Tribe Orc sounded panicked.

But to me, the pig in front of me just looked like a big chunk of experience points.

“Uraaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

The pig swung his machete down hard.

I barely dodged it and grinned.

“Giant killing is the basics of efficient leveling.”