My Level Was 1

My level was 1. 'Should I just quit?' That thought crossed my mind again today, without fail. That single word was something I had repeated nearly a thousand times in the six months since joining this party. Since I muttered it dozens of times a day, a thousand times was probably about right.

Quitting seemed like a pretty good idea. At least then I wouldn't have to deal with this kind of shitty work anymore.

Slice. Slice.

Inside a rest area deep within the dungeon, I was busy dismantling monster corpses. Naturally, monster corpses were quite valuable. The bodies of creatures that could block steel blades with nothing but their bare flesh were essentially premium materials. From weapons and furniture to high-end cooking ingredients and even cosmetic ingredients, a well-handled monster corpse was practically a walking pile of money.

Money ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was important to a hero's party too, which was why I was working so diligently at the task. The easier it was to carry, the better. Of course, the physiological disgust that came with dismantling monsters was something I had to endure entirely on my own.

"...Goddamn it, this isn't cutting at all."

Monster corpses were full of impurities. Everything from the various bodily fluids they leaked, to eyeballs, organs, and even the clumps of shit piled up in their intestines. Most of it was useless and simply revolting. In my heart, I wanted to split the work with my party members... but that was probably never going to happen. Dismantling required a certain level of expertise, and besides, doing this kind of dirty work was the only way I could avoid earning even more of their scorn.

At that moment, a woman's voice came from behind me.

"Hero, are you still not done?"

It was the knight in charge of the vanguard among our party members. I could see her deep blue hair, damp with sweat and clinging to her cheeks, along with her cold and stern expression. Here I was sweating my ass off under the blazing heat, and she was resting comfortably while asking me in that authoritative tone. It pissed me off to no end... but I didn't let it show. Instead, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and answered appropriately.

"There's still a bit left. The poison frog tendons are tougher than I expected."

"Tsk... useless fool. At that pace, will you even finish before sunset?"

Then why don't you come help, you bitch. The words rose up automatically, but I swallowed them. Getting angry would only hurt both sides' feelings. I already knew from experience that it wouldn't improve the situation at all.

"Haha..."

So I just smiled awkwardly and wrapped things up. More importantly, I needed to finish the dismantling quickly. The mucus from these creatures had a mild toxin, and even now my hands were starting to go numb.

Still, there wasn't much left. Just a little more and I'd be done...

That was what I was thinking when—

Splat!

A whole pile of frog corpses came tumbling down from above. The bodies that had finally been cleared away were now stacked up like a mountain again. The work that had nearly been finished was back to square one. The corpses were all clumped together without any organization, bones and flesh and mucus tangled in a grotesque mess that triggered an instinctive wave of nausea.

Just peeling them apart was going to be a pain.

"......"

I hid the resentment boiling inside me and glanced upward. There stood a dark elf with dark skin. She was our team's scout and mid-line fighter, a thief. In her golden eyes, I caught a fleeting glimpse of contempt and disgust.

Yeah, same as always.

I wasn't sure if that disgust was aimed at the pile of corpses or at me. Maybe both.

"......"

She glared at me for a moment before turning and walking away. What remained were the newly replenished poison frog corpses and my body, drenched in blood. I let out a small sigh.

"Haa..."

Should I really just quit?

"—Whew, finally done."

The work only ended when evening was well underway. Since we'd finished the battle right as the sun began to set, I'd spent almost two to three hours just on dismantling. As a result, my entire body was now covered in frozen frog blood and mucus. A sticky, uncomfortable, stinging sensation covered me from head to toe.

I gave a bitter smile.

"Even washing this off is going to be a chore."

The nearby stream was a bit too far... I should ask the saintess to cast a purification spell. There was the Clean spell that mages used, but only purification could properly remove the accumulated toxins from my body. Honestly, I didn't think she'd agree, but it was worth asking once.

With that in mind, I began searching for where the saintess might be. I'd seen the elf and knight enter their tent earlier... and since the saintess hadn't, she was probably still outside. While wandering around, I happened to run into the mage who was meditating.

"Ugh, how filthy... Hey, can't you at least wash before walking around?"

"......"

I quickly retreated after getting scolded, but at least I'd seen her. "I'm going to wash now, damn it..." I muttered as I continued wandering. Fortunately, I soon found the saintess. She was kneeling in prayer to the gods, as if making some earnest plea. Her golden hair waved like gentle waves, and her face looked as kind and benevolent as if it had been sculpted for that very purpose.

"O God... why did you choose such a wicked person as the hero..."

What came out of her mouth was slander directed at me, but she still looked undeniably benevolent. And in truth, she was kind—to everyone except me.

I watched her for a moment before clearing my throat to announce my presence.

"Ahem, um, Saintess?"

"Ah, yes? What is it?"

"I'm quite dirty right now... Would you mind casting a blessing on me?"

I held out my hand as I made the request. "...Hmm." Thankfully, she didn't frown at the sight of me covered in mucus. Her face still wore that same gentle smile. At least, the version of her I knew wasn't the type to openly show her emotions. She simply had a somewhat insidious side.

Soon, she smiled as if truly regretful and spoke.

"Oh dear, what a shame. I'd love to help you, but my holy power happens to be completely depleted right now."

Of course... that was a lie. The fight against the poison frogs had been annoying, but hardly intense. There was no way her vast, ocean-like holy power could have run dry. She could easily cast something as simple as purification, not even an advanced blessing. The only reason she would lie like this was clearly to mess with me. We both knew it. We both knew that the other knew.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped then."

I decided to back off. I hadn't really expected anything anyway. And because I hadn't expected anything, I wasn't disappointed either.

"Yes, then."

After that, she left with a benevolent smile. It was obvious she was just trying to get away from me. Watching her go, I let out a bitter sigh. I wasn't disappointed, but I couldn't hide the bitterness.

This had been my life for the past six months. Constantly getting scolded, constantly being dumped with all the dirty chores. Even though I had been granted the title of hero by the gods themselves, this was what it had come to. A sigh was inevitable.

"Haa..."

How on earth had things turned out like this?

Surprisingly, they hadn't always been like this. On the contrary, they had been more devoted and courageous than anyone. I could say that with certainty, having seen them hundreds of times on my monitor screen. And that probably hadn't changed even now. The only person they treated this way was me. That was why it made me sigh even more.

"Huu..."

How had it come to this?

...No, even as I said ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that, I already knew the cause. It wasn't them. The problem was probably with my own body. Depending on the choices I had made, they had changed like this. So what choice had I made that caused this? What had I done to make them treat me so coldly?

To understand that, I needed to go back to what happened six months ago. I began thinking to myself. Let's see... where should I start explaining? How should I begin so that my story comes across as vividly as possible...?

...Yeah. I think the first sentence should be this.

When I first fell into this world, my level was 1.

Thud!

"Ugh!"

The moment I pressed the YES button, an incredibly hard floor greeted me. Since I'd fallen headfirst, a sharp pain slammed into my skull.

"Krrgh...! What the hell?"

I was incredibly confused at the time. Despite the burning pain in my head, my mind was firing off questions at a furious pace. What was going on? I was definitely just sitting in the corner of my room playing a game. I'd just started my 1000th attempt, discovered a new route, and was feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Yet the next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground. Wondering if I'd fallen off my chair from the sudden burst of light, I looked around. And then I had no choice but to panic.

"Huh?"

What filled my eyes wasn't the dark basement room I'd been in, but the inside of some shabby tavern. Walls covered in old wooden planks. Orange lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The bitter smell of alcohol spreading everywhere. And beneath it all, people staring at me with mocking smiles.

"Heh heh, look at that guy. Can't even hold himself up properly."

"How much did he drink to end up like that? Tsk tsk, young man these days..."

Instantly embarrassed, I quickly stood up and sat down at a table. From their perspective, it must have looked like I'd gotten drunk and collapsed onto the floor. The table was packed with snacks and large beer mugs. Suddenly, I felt a strange sense of dissonance. It was unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar. The tavern in the game I was playing, Demon King and the Hero's Party, had pretty much this exact atmosphere. It was the tavern we always stopped at to rest after expeditions. The vibe here was almost identical. Not just that—the people's clothing, the vivid sensation against my skin...

'Am I inside the game?'

Thanks to that, I was able to reach this conclusion quite easily. It was an absurd thought, but nothing else could explain the current situation.

That was when I heard it.

"Still, don't be too hard on him. Seeing him drink that much, something bad must have happened. Maybe he lost family to the demon king's army or something."

"...Tsk, that could be. The demon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠king's forces have been running rampant lately. It's a real problem."

From the table next to mine, I could hear two middle-aged men talking. They were gulping down their beer while chatting about gloomy topics.

Demon king's army.

Hearing that word solidified my hypothesis. It was a familiar term. Like many other games, Demon King and the Hero's Party began with the demon king's army gaining power. The world fell into chaos, a hero was chosen, and the prologue involved gathering party members. And since I'd just hit my 1000th attempt and fallen here, I was probably the chosen hero.

Even in the midst of this chaotic situation, my mind continued piecing things together like flowing water. Meanwhile, the middle-aged men's conversation continued.

"Still, don't worry too much. It seems they're already searching for the hero. Lady Enen has given an oracle saying a new hero may appear soon."

So they haven't chosen the hero yet. Good. Now I just need to gather the scattered hero party members across the nations—

"Ah, about that. I heard the party members have already been assembled?"

...Huh?

'Wait, what did he just say?'

The hero's party was already fully assembled?

"Yeah. The demon king's army has been causing so much trouble that the empire is apparently preparing for a departure ceremony soon."

They were already preparing the departure ceremony?

'What the hell is this bullshit?'

I frowned. Normally, the hero was chosen first, then the party members were gathered. They would slowly raise their levels, assemble all four members, and only then prepare for the departure ceremony. But... the party members were already all together, and they just needed to pick the hero?

Even though this was a roguelike game where the story changed slightly with each playthrough, I'd never encountered a situation like this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before. The very beginning was completely wrong.

At that moment, a blue window appeared before my eyes.

'Fucking hell.'

I cursed inwardly. A hero's party without a hero? What kind of insane nonsense was that?

Even as I reeled, the middle-aged men's chatter continued.

"I see. So when is the departure ceremony?"

"Not long now. It's in two weeks."

"......"

I was at a loss for words.

When I first fell into this world, my level was 1. And I had to reach level 70 within two weeks.

The quest window hovered before my confused eyes for a long time.