LV3!

"Cough, cough, I just wanted to do what I could..."

Faced with Hidechiyo's strange look, Gu Mo explained himself like that. He was indeed a little embarrassed. There was nothing wrong with muddling along, but comparisons were the worst. The big shot casually made the BOSS's Health Bar vanish in an instant, then turned around to find him still fighting wits and courage against minor monsters, taking ages even in a one-on-one fight...

Of course, that was an exaggeration. It had not taken him half a day to fight a Lesser Hungry Ghost. It had taken less than a minute altogether.

Although there had been a small deviation along the way and the battle had not gone in the direction he had ideally envisioned, he had the confidence now. Once he made up his mind, he would no longer hold back. A flurry of utterly unstructured punches had brutally smashed the enemy apart—

He truly had no combat awareness, no experience or techniques to speak of. He had relied solely on striking first with speed and ruthlessness, without sparing his stamina in the slightest. But at least it ensured that nothing major had gone wrong in his first battle, and he had secured his first kill relatively smoothly.

The only unexpected thing was that, even though his movements had actually been quite nimble and he had not wasted much time, Hidechiyo had still seen that embarrassing scene... Tugging at the corner of his mouth, Gu Mo could not help looking toward the Ox-Head Demon's mountain-sized corpse.

Beating a BOSS faster than he could beat minor monsters was truly absurd. And that ox fellow too—he should have pulled himself together. Setting aside how he had been utterly helpless in his normal state, even his desperate final counterattack had been utterly helpless...

The black-haired girl looked at the Lesser Hungry Ghost's corpse on the ground. Whether she believed Gu Mo's explanation or simply did not care about such a trivial matter, she nodded calmly.

She had grown accustomed to silence, after all, she could not speak—perhaps it was a psychological issue left over from childhood. When she had still been very young, she had watched her mother get killed before her eyes while protecting her. That had never been something easy to endure or face.

Although afterward, she had faithfully followed her mother's dying wish to "live on strongly"... yet having lived alone from childhood and gone years without speaking to anyone, she had gradually stopped talking altogether, though she no longer knew when that had begun.

Maybe she had forgotten how.

For a moment, the air seemed a little too quiet. Gu Mo blinked, unsure what he should say now. A single sentence was enough for an explanation. The more he tried to say, the more guilty he would seem instead.

Come to think of it, had some notification sounded in his mind just now? At the time, though, he had been going through his first battle. He had also strictly upheld the principle that even when a lion hunted a rabbit, it used its full strength. Facing enemies like Lesser Hungry Ghosts for the first time, he had devoted all his attention and focus to the fight, leaving no room to slack off.

Thinking back now, he only had a vague impression that while he had been intensely focused on the battle before him, a familiar fragmented notification had sounded... Of course, it was only an impression. He could not be certain for the moment.

He looked again at the Lesser Hungry Ghost's corpse on the ground. No Item Light Spot or anything similar had appeared on it. He did not know whether such a mechanism did not exist, or whether he had simply been unlucky and it had not dropped anything.

—There were still many mechanics he needed to test and verify one by one.

For example, he still did not know how he was supposed to level up, where that previous level increase had come from, whether killing monsters could really build up the progress bar, and so on. He had barely fought any monsters in the previous two Dungeons, yet he had indeed leveled up once. Maybe he had accidentally teamed up with Brother Fu and the others, and monster-killing experience was shared or something.

Another thing worth noting was that the gatekeeper uncle he had seen before had also been Life Level 1 and Profession Level 2. Did that mean one could slowly level up without killing monsters too, only that for ordinary people, the progress bar accumulated incredibly, incredibly slowly...

Or perhaps for normal people, the highest total level they could reach in a lifetime was only level four or five?

All sorts of thoughts passed through his mind, but Gu Mo did not show them on his face. After clearing his throat, he said, "Well, let's continue... Let's go."

There was no mirror around right now, so he would wait for a chance to look into the river while crossing a bridge. As long as he could open the Status Panel and see whether his Experience Bar had changed, he would have a rough understanding of the current situation.

Hidechiyo nodded lightly without objection, then turned and walked ahead.

Gu Mo hurried after her. In Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village, on this night when yokai and demons roamed freely, only following the girl gave him enough of a sense of security.

Before leaving, he instinctively glanced once more toward the graveyard, only to discover that the Ox-Head Demon's massive corpse was fading. Its once-solid outline had begun to turn slightly translucent, while its edges were gradually blurring...

Strands of strange, visible energy rose from the Ox-Head Demon and its gigantic weapon. Like dry ice evaporating away, they would probably vanish from this world completely before long, leaving no trace behind.

Unable to resist looking back again, he saw that the Lesser Hungry Ghost's corpse had somehow already melted away by half, like snowflakes and ice crystals exposed to fierce sunlight. Even the bloodstains on his feet had long since vanished completely, as if the sensations and stench from before had been an illusion.

Because they had originally been things of Tokoyo, after they were slain, this was what happened? Even their remnants would be expelled from the human world?

Such a guess instinctively flashed through Gu Mo's mind, but this was not a good time to stop and ask. Besides, even if he asked, there was nothing he could do. The girl could not answer him.

Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village was not large. It had been built on high ground around the river and a key transportation route, and its roads ran straight without too many twists and turns.

There was no way a place clearly right nearby would require taking a huge detour to reach, or that a broken wooden door bolted shut from behind would force a protagonist with fantasy-level combat power to go around to the other side just to open it... Thus, clearing the place went especially quickly.

Before long, they had reached the area around the back mountain of Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village, nearing the village's Ancestral Hall.

This was even with Gu Mo asking the girl to let him "get some practice." He personally took up a weapon and steadily chopped at the most common monsters, such as Lesser Hungry Ghosts. Only when they encountered stronger yokai or demons did he have Hidechiyo cut them down with a single strike.

It truly wasted some time, and the girl was somewhat helpless about it. Still, considering there were no living people left in the village and there was no rush to exorcise the demons, she did not object.

Hidechiyo patiently followed this strange client, watching him fight wits and courage against Lesser Hungry Ghosts ahead of her. To be safe, he sometimes went out of his way to lure them out one at a time, then cornered and beat them to death after they were isolated.

Whenever stronger or more numerous yokai and demons appeared, however—or when a stronger enemy hid in Tokoyo using Yokai Energy, and she worried that he had not noticed—she would immediately step forward decisively, shielding Gu Mo behind her while cleanly killing the enemy ahead with one slash.

It really made one feel safe.

It was just that no matter how one thought about it, the roles the two of them were playing seemed wrong. They felt a little reversed.

—The delicate, slender girl was the big shot carrying the whole team...

—While the grown man was the burden being protected...

Gu Mo himself knew this perfectly well, which was why his shame only spurred him onward... He put even more effort into chopping Lesser Hungry Ghosts. He knew what he needed to do right now, so there was nothing he could not let go of. He brazenly seized every opportunity he could.

Otherwise, he would not have swallowed his pride and made that request of Hidechiyo, asking the girl to escort him so he could fight monsters and level up in peace.

She had already seen him just now, so what was there left that he could not let go of? Everything else was meaningless. Firmly seizing every chance to grow and making himself develop as quickly as possible—that was what he should be doing most... Big shots like Axiu, who were easygoing and would not object to such troublesome proposals, were few and far between.

"Phew... phew..."

Panting heavily, Gu Mo tossed aside the chipped woodcutter's knife in his hand. Looking at the Lesser Hungry Ghost corpse he had hacked into eight pieces, he reached out and took another weapon from the black-haired girl, who handed it over with a calm expression. It was an Uchigatana, though it was still a piece of blank equipment with no specific attributes.

By the time they had fought their way here, he had picked up quite a few weapons in total, but not a single one had a grade.

Moreover, due to the generally poor smelting and craftsmanship of this era and country, when fighting inhuman creatures that either had bodies of bronze and iron or thick hide and tough flesh, the weapons were not only inefficient, but wore down far too quickly. By the time he had cut his way here, he had already changed weapons twice.

It was too realistic. It made him uncomfortable...

"Up there should be the Ancestral Hall on the back mountain..." He raised his head and looked at the road leading uphill. He found that the path suddenly became much better, with neat stone steps climbing along the mountain road, as well as archways and pillars similar to torii gates.

No other place in the village received such treatment. The only place the villagers would be willing to spend so much on seemed to be the ancestral shrine, one of the most important places in ancient times. Matching it roughly with the impression in his mind, Gu Mo made his judgment and said:

"As long as we clear that place out, there probably won't be any more monsters in this village."

"Mm."

The black-haired girl nodded lightly at that, making a sound of agreement. This was one of the few times she could directly express her opinion with her voice.

"Should we prepare before going up?"

Glancing around, Gu Mo asked. This was near the village's back mountain, and the river curved around here as well. In his memories, there was supposed to be a shrine here where characters could rest and recover... though there definitely was not one now.

It was like how, in the game, aside from yokai and demons, there were also fearless bandits and robbers in this village. Yokai and demons occupied one area, while bandits occupied another, each holding their territory and leaving the other alone... But after fighting all the way here, he had not seen a single humanoid monster. Every enemy he had encountered had been a yokai or demon.

But that was what made sense.

Hidechiyo shook her head. She did not need to rest or recover.

"Then I may need to rest for a bit. Sorry, I'm really tired..." Gu Mo gave a dry laugh. Under the girl's helpless gaze, he walked over to the riverbank and squatted down. He reached out to wash the blood from his hands, the sound of water carrying through the quiet night.

Before this, he would not have wanted to get close to the water.

But along the way, he had discovered not only that he could still see the Health Bars of yokai and demons that normal people could not see, hidden within Tokoyo, but also that Hidechiyo always assumed he could not see them. Whenever hidden yokai or demons appeared nearby, she would always step in front of him at once.

Using washing his hands as cover, he stared at the faint reflection on the water's surface and found the options lined up to the right of his mirrored image.

Opening the "Level Up" page, he saw that his Life Level was already displayed as LV3... He had really leveled up? And by two levels in a row? He was overjoyed, only to abruptly notice that the current progress bar was nearly full as well. It seemed he could level up again very soon.

Was the leveling system the classic kind, where the early levels were especially easy and it became harder the further one went? Or was there truly a party experience mechanic? Axiu was currently his teammate, so perhaps he could gain experience from the Ox-Head Demon she killed and the stronger yokai and demons afterward?

He thought rapidly as he focused on the plus sign after the Constitution attribute, making the tiny icon flash twice before it disappeared. His Constitution rose from 10 points to 12.

During the fighting along the way, Gu Mo had discovered that his current stamina was his greatest weakness. His Strength and Agility were enough when bullying low-level Lesser Hungry Ghosts, and the gap between him and ordinary yokai was not as great as he had imagined. Perhaps the advantage was not even as great as having a good, handy weapon.

Since Agility was sufficient for now, and adding Strength would not make the killing power of his fists and feet surpass a blade's edge, adding Constitution was a good choice. It would strengthen his vitality and improve his resistance to damage...

Even aside from increasing his margin for error, it could improve his endurance, so he would not need to stop and rest for ages after fighting only a few Lesser Hungry Ghosts.

The instant he pressed confirm, Gu Mo narrowed his eyes slightly. He felt a warm current surge through his body, his limbs and bones seeming to soak in a hot spring. It was indescribably comfortable. After two or three brief seconds, as the warmth faded, an inexpressible sensation followed.

He was full of energy, as though he had endless strength. The fatigue that had accumulated from chopping his way here seemed to have vanished in an instant.

He did not know whether leveling up had restored him to full condition, but he felt incredibly energized all at once, like he could punch a cow to death.

Hm?

Holding the torch, the black-haired girl looked around idly. Then she frowned slightly and looked toward the strange young man squatting by the riverbank.

Was it her imagination? Why did it feel as though his presence had suddenly become much stronger?