Chapter 8
"Status Open."
I don't actually need to say it out loud.
It's the thought that counts. The thought.
Status for when you're tired. Status for every occasion.
A big shot of fight!
Kudou Kazuto
Level 2
HP: 15/15→18/18
MP: 1/1→2/2
Strength: 13→15
Endurance: 12→13
Agility: 19→22
Dexterity: 19→22
Magic: 0
Magic Resistance: 0
SP: 2→22
JP: 0→10
Job
Spy Lv. 4
Unique Skill
Early Bloomer
Skills
Sneak Lv. 2, Observation Lv. 2, Keen Ears Lv. 2, Stealth Lv. 2
Body Enhancement Lv. 2, Stress Resistance Lv. 1, Fear Resistance Lv. 1, Hostility Detection Lv. 1, Danger Sense Lv. 1, Item Box Lv. 1
My stats have gone up across the board.
It must be a benefit of leveling up.
Maybe it's because of my Job; Agility and Dexterity got a slightly bigger boost.
For each level-up, I gain 20 SP and 10 JP.
That's quite a lot.
What should I do?
It'd be dangerous to stay here right now.
There was no reaction from 'Hostility Detection.'
But other goblins might gather after noticing this goblin has died.
First, I should move.
I store the washing machine and pick up the blue pebble lying there.
"As I thought, when you defeat a monster, its corpse disappears and it drops a pebble."
The first dog dropped a purple pebble.
Goblins seem to drop blue pebbles.
The goblin's pebble seems a little smaller, if anything.
"Store."
For now, I'll put the pebble I picked up in the Item Box.
All right, let's move.
For now, I've made it back to my room.
It's okay. There are no monsters here.
I repeatedly checked whether any monsters were following me or hiding along the way, so I should be okay.
"Man, that was scary."
That was just one goblin.
If I ever run into an orc like the one striding down the road, how scared am I going to be?
About that fight just now.
To be honest, I could've just crushed it with the washing machine and stabbed whatever was sticking out with a kitchen knife.
But when it came time to actually stab it, it was pretty tough.
Yeah. Stabbing a living thing is more psychologically intense than I expected.
You might think that's a strange thing to say after the world has become like this, but I mean it.
Even a goblin takes a hell of a lot of courage to stab.
Call me a coward or a pampered weakling and laugh all you want.
This is seriously hard, and scary.
Though bludgeoning it to death with a washing machine was pretty extreme, too. But that's a separate matter.
But there's no guarantee things will go that smoothly next time.
Next time, I'll somehow have to work up the 'resolve' to do it.
"Still, the usefulness of the Item Box is incredible..."
A no-questions-asked physical attack.
I can only bring things out in front of me, though.
Even so, its destructive power is incredible.
I take out the washing machine from earlier.
"Ugh... There's goblin blood smeared near the bottom..."
Apparently, goblin blood is blue. Gross.
"Oh? Come to think of it, the goblin's body disappeared, so why is the blood on the washing machine still there?"
When a monster dies, its body disappears and leaves behind a pebble.
I'm pretty sure that's how it works.
But the blood, a part of the body, remains smeared on it.
How does this work?
"Well, no point worrying about it."
More importantly, I need to deal with the situation at hand.
"First, I'll sort out my status, then head to the second floor."
Then the first floor.
And after that, the convenience store nearby.
It's probably already been picked clean, but I want to secure at least some food.
And I might run into other people, too.
But first, I should sort out my status.
First up are the ten Job Points I got.
I'll spend them on Spy.
≪Spend 5 JP to raise Spy's Level?≫
Of course, I select Yes.
≪You spent JP. Spy has reached Level 5.≫
≪Your Job Level has reached a certain threshold.≫
≪You acquired the Skill 'Hostility Detection Lv. 1'.≫
≪Because the Skill is duplicated, it will be merged with your existing 'Hostility Detection Lv. 1'.≫
≪Hostility Detection Lv. 1 has reached Level 2.≫
Huh?
I acquired Hostility Detection again?
Maybe raising a Job's Level can sometimes grant a new Skill.
And if I already have that Skill, it gets merged with the existing one.
Oh... You should've said so from the start!
I shot back mentally, but naturally, there was no reply.
Next up is SP.
I have 22 points left.
How should I distribute them...?
I think back to the goblin's attack just now.
Despite using 'Stealth', the goblin noticed me.
Even though 'Hostility Detection' was active, I couldn't react until the last moment.
Judging from this, Skills aren't all-powerful.
I should assume that their effects differ depending on their Level.
"The reason they noticed me despite 'Stealth' was probably that I made a sound right beforehand..."
I was knocking, too.
So if I do something that gives me away, 'Stealth' suddenly becomes much less effective.
But what if I raise its Level?
≪Spend 3 SP to raise Stealth's Level?≫
Yes.
As before, I spend SP to raise Stealth to Level 4.
That leaves me with 15.
Next, I'll raise 'Danger Sense' to Level 3 and 'Body Enhancement' to Level 3.
And I'll raise Item Box to Level 3, too.
The Item Box is just so convenient.
An Item Box for every household.
"Status Open."
Kudou Kazuto
Level 2
HP: 18/18
MP: 2/2
Strength: 15→20
Endurance: 13→18
Agility: 22→30
Dexterity: 22→30
Magic: 0
Magic Resistance: 0
SP: 2
JP: 5
Job
Spy Lv. 5
Unique Skill
Early Bloomer
Skills
Sneak Lv. 2, Observation Lv. 2, Keen Ears Lv. 2, Stealth Lv. 4
Body Enhancement Lv. 3, Stress Resistance Lv. 1, Fear Resistance Lv. 1, Hostility Detection Lv. 2, Danger Sense Lv. 3, Item Box Lv. 3
All right, that'll do.
Though I don't know whether it's actually any good.
Still, compared to the very beginning, I've improved quite a bit.
Well, time to go outside again.
Oh, right.
While I'm exploring, I should shove anything that looks edible into the Item Box.
What? Theft? Isn't that a crime?
With the world in this apocalyptic state, why worry about that now?