I’m Just Leveling up Efficiently, but for Some Reason, the People Around Me Seem to Be Looking at Me With Disapproval - Chapter 7

There he was.

In the central square of the village.

A clearly different Ugly Pig Tribe Orc was standing there.

He was even taller than the normal ones.

He had twisted horn-like bumps on his head.

He wore leather armor and held a huge battle axe.

Several other Ugly Pig Tribe Orcs stood around him.

They weren’t chasing the panicked villagers. Instead they stood like guards protecting the horned one in the center.

He was obviously the boss.

“Found you.”

I smiled without thinking.

My heart that had been sinking from the weak experience points suddenly shot up.

That one looked tasty.

Definitely tasty.

He was packed with experience points just by looking at him.

I really wanted an Appraisal skill right about now.

If I could see his level and stats I could move way more accurately.

But there was no point wishing for what I didn’t have.

I had to optimize with the information I had.

That was what an efficiency addict did.

“First I’ll clean up the minions.”

Basic boss fight strategy.

Leaving small fry around could cause accidents.

Check for healers or long-range attackers.

Manage hate.

Secure escape routes.

Use the terrain.

The square was wide open.

Not many things to hide behind.

It would probably turn into a straight-up fight.

My weapon was a chipped survival knife.

The opponent was a giant with a battle axe.

Normally it would be impossible.

No way I could win.

But I still had one card I hadn’t played.

My remaining status points.

The free points I had been saving until now.

I didn’t want to use them without enough testing.

Once I put them in there was a high chance I couldn’t take them back.

Still, holding onto resources during a boss fight was the worst.

It was way more efficient to use them and survive than to die without using them.

“The question is where to put them.”

Strength for more power.

Technique for better dodging and accuracy.

Stamina, endurance, or durability for lasting longer.

Magic power or reason if I wanted to try magic.

I still couldn’t use magic.

Putting points into something that might not help right away was risky.

In that case——.

“Technique and endurance, plus a bit into durability.”

I decided instantly.

Even if I dumped everything into strength, with this size difference I would probably still get overpowered.

So better not to get hit.

To actually land hits.

And to keep moving for a long time.

This was the best choice.

“Put twenty-four status points into technique. Twenty into endurance. Twenty into durability.”

Right away my body felt different.

My field of vision widened.

The soles of my feet gripped the ground better.

My fingertips understood the knife’s balance.

My breathing got deeper and heat flowed smoothly through my body.

“…I see.”

This was amazing.

It wasn’t just simple number increases.

It felt like the way I handled my body itself got corrected.

Maybe I should have used them earlier.

No, it was fine since I got to test things.

I kicked off the ground.

The first minion noticed me.

“Wha, you brat——”

Before he could finish I sliced his throat.

The second one swung his machete.

I dropped half a step, slipped under his armpit, and cut the tendon from behind.

The big body collapsed.

I stabbed the knife into his neck.

The third one took distance warily.

Smart.

But too slow.

I picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at his eye.

In the moment he flinched I got in close and hit his heart.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Good.

Even the minions gave a bit more experience than the earlier small fry.

I turned to face the last one, the horned orc.

“You’re the boss, right?”

The horned one looked down at me coldly.

“…So it’s you.”

His voice was low.

“The little white beastkin brat who’s been killing my soldiers.”

“I’m not a white beastkin. Only half.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

The horned one lifted his battle axe.

Just that movement made the air feel heavier.

No mistake.

He was on a completely different level from the other Ugly Pig Tribe Orcs.

The horned one smirked.

“I should introduce myself. I am Gald. Captain of the third squad in the Dible Empire’s advance party.”

“I see.”

I readied my knife.

“I’m Yushuu. I’m in the middle of leveling up.”

“…What?”

“You look like you’ll give a lot of experience points.”

Gald narrowed his eyes.

“You see me as food?”

“Yeah.”

I smiled.

“The best kind of food.”

The next instant Gald disappeared.

Or at least it looked like he did.

He stepped in with speed that didn’t match his huge body.

The battle axe came swinging down.

“——!”

I jumped to the side.

Right after, the ground shattered.

The shock almost lifted my body.

A piece grazed my cheek.

Fast.

Heavy.

Wide range.

If I took it straight I’d die instantly.

Even with points in durability it probably wouldn’t matter.

I’d get crushed along with my body.

“Nice.”

I smiled.

“Really nice.”

A stronger enemy.

A clearly stronger enemy.

A tight fight where I wasn’t sure if the current me could win.

This kind of opponent was the tastiest.

I stepped in.

I slipped into his guard along with the return swing of his axe.

I aimed for the back of his knee.

But Gald instantly pulled his leg back.

A knee strike came flying right after.

“Guh!?”

I couldn’t dodge and blocked with my left arm.

My bones creaked.

My body flew back and rolled across the ground.

It hurt.

It hurt a lot.

But nothing was broken.

The points in durability were working.

“Test complete. Durability is important.”

I stood up while spitting blood.

Gald moved his eyebrows slightly.

“You’re still standing?”

“I haven’t leveled up yet.”

“…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“You don’t have to.”

I steadied my breathing.

A head-on brawl was impossible.

He was faster, heavier, and more skilled than me.

He didn’t have the same openings as the minions.

So what was my path to victory?

Terrain.

Attrition.

Psychology.

And the opponent’s goal.

This guy was a commander.

He had a reason for attacking the village.

He might care about his unit’s losses, not just killing me.

Well, I had already hunted most of his unit.

Still, if he thought like a proper commander he would hate a long pointless fight.

Provoking him should work.

“Hey, Gald.”

“What?”

“Your subordinates were weak.”

The air changed.

“……”

“Is your training method bad? They’re starting to feel pretty weak as experience points too.”

“Brat.”

Gald’s voice dropped lower.

“Do not insult my soldiers any further.”

Oh.

So that got to him.

I thought he was just a raider but he actually cared about his men.

Then I could use that.

“It’s the truth though. They’re getting hunted by a kid who only just got his blessing.”

Gald stepped forward.

Fast.

Faster than before.

But his anger made his movements more straight-line.

The battle axe swept sideways.

I ducked.

Death passed over my head.

I slipped under toward his feet and stabbed the knife into his ankle.

“Nuh!”

It was shallow.

Didn’t reach the muscle.

Gald lifted his leg.

I pulled back before he could kick me.

But at that moment I smiled.

I could do this.

The wound was shallow.

But the blade got through.

It could pierce the skin.

That meant if I stacked up hits I could take him down.

“It’s a long fight now.”

I muttered.

Gald snorted.

“A long fight? You?”

“Yeah.”

“You plan to fight a war of attrition against me with that skinny body?”

“That’s exactly why I put the points there.”

“What are you talking about?”

Gald probably didn’t get it.

I didn’t know how people in this world understood status points either.

But one thing was certain.

My endurance had gone up.

My technique had gone up.

My durability had gone up.

In short, I could last longer than before.

The real boss fight had begun.