Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Level Up
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Today's meal was eggplant, strawberries, and mugwort.
I'd gotten some new items, but since I couldn't feel any immediate difference, I dragged myself back home completely exhausted.
Even so, my body might have been drained, but my spirits weren't.
[Do you wish to hide your equipment's appearance?]
The new equipment item I'd picked up, the amulet, looked nice even just hanging there, but honestly, it was a hindrance in combat.
This game world had a feature to hide equipment appearances.
'Sure.'
Once that message popped up and I confirmed, poof—the amulet around my neck vanished into thin air.
But it didn't just disappear for good.
Since it was stored in the equipment window, its effects still applied fully.
I usually hid my wooden sword that way too.
Armor and accessories worked their magic without being equipped, but weapons had to be drawn to perform at full capacity, or so it said.
Where?
Right next to the equipment window.
This was actually a convenience feature Yoon Young had added for players.
Plain World had a weight system—if your equipped gear exceeded a certain weight, your speed, attack power, and accuracy all tanked.
And what determined the weight? The equipment's appearance.
So, to make things easier for players, they'd added the option to remove appearances.
They'd even encouraged dressing up avatars nicely for screenshots while at it.
Weapons used to be hideable too originally, but here they weren't, so there must be some difference.
"Phew."
Before I knew it, I'd arrived back at the village.
My stomach was growling, so I decided to prepare a meal.
I laid out all the food I'd gathered today.
'Looking at this lineup of ingredients just makes me want to cry.'
Eggplant, strawberries, mugwort.
Staring at them made what little energy I had left drain away completely.
Come to think of it, ever since arriving here, all I'd eaten was vegetables and fruit.
Forced veganism of doom!
Anyone hearing this would think I was some vegan activist.
'Can I really survive like this?'
A wave of worry hit me out of nowhere.
Health was the real issue, above all else.
How long could I last without protein or salt?
I could count some beans for protein, but salt? Not even a glimpse.
Soon enough, electrolyte imbalances would wreck my body.
I was already sweating buckets every day from hunting.
'Hmm, vegans live just fine, though. I can hold out for a bit.'
It'd been six days in this godforsaken world.
Since I was still fine, maybe the veggies dropped by monsters had all the nutrients humans needed.
It wasn't an impossible idea.
This world was arbitrary enough for it.
'Enough thinking. Time to eat.'
There was no way to get meat or salt right now anyway.
Village NPCs didn't have a single food storage spot—who knows what they even did all day—and venturing far out triggered [Complete the prerequisite quest first!] bullshit that blocked me.
That's why I tried talking to every NPC whenever I had a chance, but none reacted at all.
My personal guess? It was because I was level 1.
Leveling up would change something.
It had to.
Splash!
As always, I dumped all the ingredients in and boiled them into a stew.
Ah, minus the strawberries, of course.
I didn't grill them because I was worried about screwing up the fire control and charring precious food.
Anyone hearing that might call me a coward, but if you've ever burned your meal and starved because of it, you wouldn't think twice.
Slurp—
'This eggplant tastes like absolute shit...'
I chewed it with the mugwort to mask the flavor, but it made no difference.
'Every meal just leaves me feeling miserable. Sigh, eating should be enjoyable.'
At least the strawberries were sweet.
And so ended another unsatisfying meal.
"Is there something you need at our house?"
By this time, Ria was almost always home.
With my appetite unsatisfied, other urges surged right up.
Today, as usual, mindless sex with the unresisting NPC right after eating.
It felt just like post-meal dessert.
"Hoo..."
"Ah... Do you need something from me?"
Was this addiction?
After indulging, regret always followed.
The classic post-nut clarity had arrived.
'Sex just drains my stamina in the end.'
There's that saying, right?
Even beasts won't breed unless their backs are warm and bellies full.
I knew saving that stamina to hunt one more monster or practice swinging my weapon would be smarter.
But it felt so damn good, and with Ria right there, shaking off the urge was tough.
If she were a real person, I might hold back, but knowing she was just a doll reacting the same every time made restraint impossible.
'For stress relief, maybe it's better to just do it?'
Yoon Young started rationalizing.
'Yeah, who doesn't know cramming hard gets you into S University? When everything goes your way, you pull all-nighters earning cash 24/7. Humans aren't machines. Stress management matters.'
To avoid sore muscles tomorrow, I should stretch, I thought.
After lounging around idly, I stepped outside and saw the sun setting.
The sunset glow shattering over the treetops was pretty.
'Please let tomorrow be different.'
I prayed to the sky, even though no shooting star streaked by.
2.
Whoosh, splat!
"Ow!"
A purple blob hurtled through the air—splat!—right into Yoon Young's face.
Not a light impact!
Yoon Young instinctively covered his face.
Whoosh, whoosh, splat, splat!
"Guh!"
Whether by smarts or bad luck, this one nailed him square in the solar plexus.
The pain felt like a fist to the gut—his breath caught instantly.
'Sh-shit...!'
This was a mess.
Hunting around, he'd spotted plump grapes and joyfully charged in.
But the moment he got close, the crazy fruit glared with its eyes and started firing off its dangling berries—whoosh!
Catching Yoon Young off guard with this first ranged attack, he couldn't get his bearings.
"Keeek!"
Whoosh, whoosh-whoosh!
Whoosh-splat! Splat! Whoosh!
"Aaaah, fuck! Stop it!"
It felt like getting hit with water balloons filled with firm jelly.
In the midst of the insane grape scent, his hit spots throbbed, leaving him dazed and confused.
'This hurts too much—should I bail? Or pretend I'm crazy and charge?'
Bailing felt like such a waste.
Grapes were Yoon Young's favorite fruit, after all.
But charging meant taking the rocky grape barrage head-on.
A brief dilemma.
'Fuck it! Running from grapes? What a disgrace!'
Yoon Young steeled himself and glared ahead.
But the grape's state was off.
"Keeeng..."
Bare stem, no berries left.
Tattered purple peels clung, proclaiming it once brimmed with juicy flesh.
Its eyes atop the stem brimmed with distress, oozing clear sap.
"Keeeng!"
The grape turned tail and fled.
Bouncing away—thump thump—left Yoon Young's mind blank.
"Huh? Huh?!"
Finally snapping to, he gave chase.
"Hey, you fucker, stop right there!"
"Keeeng!"
No matter how fast the grape was, it couldn't match human endurance.
Grab!
Chase successful—he gripped the bunch's top firmly.
"Got you, you little shit!"
Normally he'd never touch a monster barehanded, but rage fueled 100% confidence; he tossed the wooden sword aside.
Gripping the stem tight with both hands, he hoisted it high and slammed it into the ground.
"Where do you get off—"
Splat!
"Kreeeeng!"
"You grape bitch—"
Splat!
"Kreeeeng!"
"Firing your berries, huh?!"
Splat! Splat! Splat!
"Kreeeeeng!"
After about ten smacks, he grabbed both ends of the bare stem and unleashed a full-power knee strike to the thin center.
Crack!
"Kreeck...!"
It split clean in half.
Unable to withstand being halved, the grape monster faded away.
Dead.
First time beating a monster with bare fists instead of the sword.
A strange sense of pride swelled.
'Wait, no—it's more than pride?'
The moment he killed the grape, pain and fatigue vanished; power surged through his body.
"Huh?"
And sure enough, the message appeared.
For a split second he thought he'd misread, but no—it was real.
His level had gone up.
He opened the status window to confirm properly, and the level number had changed from 1 to 2.
Yoon Young had proudly slain a monster and grown stronger.
'Jesus Christ...'
How many monsters had he killed since arriving? Eleven? Twelve?
Recounting, it was thirteen.
A full week today, so about two per day on average—seemed right.
'Over ten kills should be enough for level 1 to 2.'
Yoon Young patted his solar plexus in relief.
The days of doubt and anxiety about whether levels even rose melted into calm assurance.
Levels go up, I can get stronger, life can improve!
Fresh hope bubbled up.
'Time to allocate that stat point.'
He checked the stat window with glee.
Ability points: +1.
'Where to put it.'
The status window tracked four basic stats.
Destructive Power, Agility, Stamina, Magic Power.
'Destructive Power seems key for smashing monsters, but for daily life or defense, maybe invest more in Stamina...'
He was curious about Agility too.
And if he could be a mage, he'd go mage all the way, so Magic Power tempted him.
'Problem is, all this is just my guesswork.'
Yoon Young didn't know the exact effects of stats.
Even assuming Stamina boosted defense or stamina was pure speculation.
'Fine, let's go with the obvious one.'
The obvious choice: Destructive Power.
Destructive Power—the power to destroy!
Level it up, get stronger—straightforward, right?
Level ups would come again.
Target level 3 by smashing monsters more easily.
'Feels so satisfying and solid.'
For reference, the rest were all level 1.
He'd finally taken one step forward.
3.
Two bunches of grapes, three oranges.
Today's haul: a tangy fruit party.
With two stats leveled, smashing oranges felt noticeably easier—like proper hunting.
'But why are the hunting grounds crawling with veggies and fruits?'
Picking at details endlessly was pointless, but the question lingered.
Wasn't it ridiculously out of place?
Oranges in an orange orchard? Fine. But here, in a grassy plain with sparse trees and weeds, oranges rolled around with eyes and mouths.
And it wasn't just oranges.
Apples, strawberries, grapes, sweet potatoes, peas, eggplants... Famous fruits and veggies scattered willy-nilly.
'At least I can eat them without starving to death... but honestly, it's pretty absurd, right?'
Even calling it a game, the polish felt low-tier.
Back in Rubean Village, Yoon Young headed to Ria's house.
"It's not bad living here in Rubean—it's just boring."
Sip, whoo.
Standing before Ria, he took a small breath.
Now, time to talk.
'Until now, only the "Talk" keyword was available because I was level 1. Now at 2, maybe unlocking keywords will get someone to give a quest.'
If not?
Nothing for it.
Keep living normally, level up more.
Yoon Young stared straight at Ria and thought:
'Open keywords.'
[Talk]
[Quest]
"!"
First keyword check: jackpot.
The "Quest" keyword.