The appraisal crystal continued to show Level 8.
I had let out a cry of surprise, and since then I couldn’t help but sink into thought.
「What are you so surprised about noja?」
Yggdrasil-san tilted her head at me.
「Well, I thought I was just about to reach level 7, but…」
「It says level 8, though.」
「That’s the problem…」
At age six I had reached level 5. At age seven, level 6.
My pace had been one level per year.
So now that I was eight, I figured I’d finally reach level 7.
But instead, why level 8? My level had jumped by two, instantly catching up to my age. What on earth happened?
「Anyway, congratulationsss」
「Eh? Ah, thank you.」
「But that is strangeee. Last time, you were level 6, right? Did something happen this past week?」
「Hmm…」
Laudette-san was right. One week ago, during appraisal, I had indeed been level 6.
Which meant I somehow gained a year’s worth of experience in just one week…
But I didn’t recall doing anything unusual. I had only been training with sword and bow and woodworking as usual.
If I had to name the one thing that changed,
「The only thing different lately is… Yggdrasil-san visiting, I suppose.」
「Hm? Me?」
「Yes…. Honestly, I can’t think of anything else.」
She was still a god, after all. Just laying eyes on her divine presence might’ve given me some kind of bonus.
「I haven’t done anything to you, though…」
「Even if you didn’t, maybe just meeting you, talking to you, or even breathing the same air could raise my level, couldn’t that happen?」
「Of course not. What do you take me for?」
Well, she’s a god. That kind of thing wouldn’t be strange at all, in my opinion…
「Then maybe… playing together, or sleeping together, would that raise levels too?」
「No.」
「Sleeping togetherrr?」
「Eh? No, I mean… um… well…」
I had carelessly blurted something outrageous right in front of Laudette-san.
Right now, Yggdrasil-san looked no different from a cute little girl. Sleeping with such a girl… was that a criminal offense? Grounds for arrest?
Ah, but wait. My appearance is that of a child too. Then maybe it’s fine? From the outside, it’s just an innocent and heartwarming scene of a little boy and a little girl sleeping together, right?
…Well, in reality it’s a middle-aged man and an old hag.
「A-anyway, I’m certain this has something to do with Yggdrasil-san.」
「That does seem likelyyy」
「Hmm…」
「Other than that, the only thing I did with Yggdrasil-san was… ah, the Wood Claw!」
That’s it! Getting hit by the god’s Wood Claw must have raised my level!
「What is this Wood Claw supposed to be?」
「No mistake about it! The fact that my Vitality went up proves the Wood Claw was the cause of the level up!」
「I said, what is this Wood Claw?」
「Wow, I see. It hurt like crazy, but it was worth it in the end, the Wood Claw.」
「I am asking what it is noja!!」
「Owowowowowow!」
Yep, that’s the one!
◇
「Don’t go making up weird names.」
「Sorry…」
「Ah, I received the Wood Claw too, so maybe I leveled up as wellll?」
「I said stop calling it that…」
At any rate, I had figured out the reason for my level up. It was most likely the Wood Claw. That, and… the rye bread.
By receiving Yggdrasil-san’s Wood Claw, and also by smacking Yggdrasil-san with a loaf of rye bread, I must have earned a massive amount of experience points.
In short, I had leveled up by fighting a powerful opponent. Taking an attack from a strong foe, and landing an attack in return, though in my case it was with bread.
And since I had gained two levels, my stats had gone up six points. Strength, Vitality, and Dexterity had each increased by two.
My guess was…
「The level 7 bonus probably gave me +2 Dexterity and +1 Strength. That must be thanks to my regular training with the sword, bow, and woodworking.」
「I see.」
「Then for the level 8 bonus, receiving the Wood Claw boosted my Vitality by two, and smacking Yggdrasil-san with rye bread raised my Strength by one.」
「…………」
「Eh, but why rye bread of all things…?」
Yggdrasil-san fell into sullen silence.
Well, of course. Being told “I leveled up by smacking you in the face” wouldn’t make anyone feel good.
Laudette-san tilted her head in puzzlement.
Well, of course she would. If someone told you, “I smacked the god you serve with a loaf of rye bread”, anyone would look puzzled. Honestly, she had every right to be angry.
「Anyway, thank you very much, Yggdrasil-san. Thanks to you grabbing my face, I managed to level up.」
「Mhm…」
I had the feeling she was a little creeped out by me…
Well, can’t blame her. Saying “thank you” after being roughed up makes me sound like someone from a certain… shady industry. Of course she’d pull back.
And to make it worse, the one doing the hitting was a little girl. Saying “thank you” after being assaulted by a little girl, that’s some seriously twisted karma.
「Still, you really are amazing, Yggdrasil-san. Just from that small exchange, you managed to raise someone else’s level…」
「I wouldn’t call that small scuffle anything grand like an ‘exchange of blows’ though…」
True, aside from the Wood Claw, I had also been kicked in the stomach, and pelted with a spinning top and a kendama. But even with just that, I gained more experience points than I usually earn in an entire year.
That’s incredible. Truly incredible, this must be the ‘World Tree Style Power Leveling’.
I mean, it makes sense. After all, it’s World Tree-sama. Depending on the game, the World Tree could even be the final boss.
And then there’s me, who was only level 6 at the time. The level gap must have been absurd…
A level gap, huh… Hm, the level gap…
Come to think of it, what exactly are Yggdrasil-san’s level and stats?
「Hey, this crystal… could it also be used to appraise Yggdrasil-san?」
「…Why?」
「Well, I just thought it’d be neat to see your status, Yggdrasil-san…」
「…No.」
She shot me down without a second thought, even though I asked with my cutest puppy-dog eyes.
Cold. Very cold. Even though it was an adorable request from an eight-year-old… maybe it’s because she knows inside, I’m really a middle-aged man?
「No good, huh…? Ah, is it about the money? I understand. I’ll pay the appraisal fee.」
「That’s not it, you fool.」
「Then why…?」
「Because status isn’t something you show to others in the first place. For you to want to see it, that’s perverted, you are.」
「………Eh?」
Wait… what? That’s the logic here? That’s how it works?
….But hold on. Doesn’t that mean Laudette-san has been peeking at my status every single time?!
「Um…」
「…………」
I couldn’t help but look over at Laudette-san. She immediately averted her eyes.
Ehhh…
next chapter: First Hunt and Cheat Roulette
Leave a Reply