My Protect skill can take my life but it can also help me flirt and make love with cold beauties!
Chapter 16: First Victory! Level Up!

After all, my body must have been tired, as I fell asleep quickly after getting out of the bath. I slept straight through until El woke me up the next morning.

Thanks to that, I woke up feeling refreshed. Even if I had almost died the day before, there was still work waiting for me today. I have also gained some muscle, so I no longer collapse onto the bed after just working in the morning.

It’s about time to start thinking about how to spend my afternoon. I have been cutting down on food expenses, but I am still making a little bit of a loss every day. The money I had initially brought with me had dwindled down to just 10 copper coins.

"Hmm, there doesn't seem to be any jobs available that Kazuya-san can do and no jobs are opened for afternoon today”

"Oh dear."

After finishing my cargo work, I asked Seira-san cheerfully but the response I got was a sad one. The guild bulletin board was filled with various papers, most of which were job postings.

I could somehow read the letters written in the other world's language. There were so many jobs available, yet I couldn't find one that I could do... If the duo was here, they would have probably got something to laugh about.

"I'm sorry," Seira-san apologized, but it isn’t her fault. It’s all because of my incompetence as a Level 0.

This situation is unacceptable. So, I decided to make good use of my free time in the afternoon and headed towards the grasslands where I was called on the first day.

According to El, if I defeat monsters, I will gain experience points. With experience points, my level will go up. As my level increases, more jobs will become available.

With more jobs, I can earn more money. In other words, if I want to earn money as an adventurer, I have to become stronger no matter what. In front of me is that orange creature, my arch-nemesis. The opponent who had beaten me up on the first day.

I didn't know if it’s the same individual as before, but it is definitely my enemy. I drew my short sword from my waist. It was the first time I had used it since the first day. I tightly gripped the short sword and raised it high.

I took a deep breath and swung it down forcefully. It didn't bounce back like before. The blade penetrated the gelatinous body. Liquid oozed out of the cut.

"Ugh!"

I quickly pulled out the short sword, and even more liquid spurted out from the wound.

"There's no need to panic. It's not harmful to humans," El said, but monster bodily fluids were still unpleasant.

I brushed off the sticky liquid on my hand, and the orange gelatin started to tremble. The cut closed up, and the flow of liquid stopped. Its entire body rippled, and its head swelled. I remembered this.

"Buhii!"

Tentacles extended like whips and smacked me in the face. It hurts, but compared to last time, it isn’t unbearable. Is it because my ability level has gone up, or because I have taken a harder hit from the ogre?

Either way, the opponent was still moving. I gripped my short sword tightly and attacked again. The jelly blocked my attack with its tentacles while simultaneously sealing its wounds.

I pressed on relentlessly, attacking four times until the jelly spewed out a massive amount of slime from its wounds and collapsed, unable to seal them. Its tentacles didn't strike back.

"D-did I win?" I gasped while holding my swollen face.

"Congratulations! It's hero-sama's victory!"

The orange

jelly dissolved into the ground like melting wax. I watched it disappear and then raised my fists in triumph. Ever since I arrived in this world, I have been losing. This is finally my first victory.

The swelling in my face subsided, and the pain gradually faded away.

"Ah! Hero-sama, this!" El pointed at a small orange sphere the size of a fist on the ground where the gelatin had melted.

"What is this?" I picked it up and felt its soft, squishy texture.

"This is a Gelatin core," El explained.

"A Gelatin core?"

"Yes, when you defeat a gelatin species, it sometimes drops. It can be used as a material for medicine and can be sold at shops."

I see. So, it's like a drop item or a material item in a game. If I can level up while earning money, it's a win-win situation. Plus, thanks to my healing ability, even if I get hurt, I'll recover quickly. I could safely ignore the damage from the gelatin.

"All right! Let's hunt down more!" I exclaimed.

"That's the spirit!" El encouraged me, and we searched for the next orange Gelatin.

But...

"There aren't many orange gelatins around here."

"They usually appear in large numbers during the rainy season... But there aren't many right now."

It was a vast grassland with many rocks, making it somewhat confusing, but if we looked closely, we could spot them moving. We searched while climbing on rocks, but it wasn't the kind of situation where monsters kept popping up like in a game.

After all, even if there were lots of adventurers, they wouldn't be enough if the monsters kept spawning like in a game. We ran across the grassland, searching for the gelatin.

When we defeated the third gelatin monster, I felt something strange in my body.

"Huh? What is it!?"

It was a momentary feeling, but it wasn't unpleasant. It was difficult to explain, but my energy seemed to be surging, and my head felt clear, as if I had been purified.

I wondered if it was a side effect of defeating the gelatin. However, the feeling quickly disappeared, and I couldn't help but wonder what it was.

"That’s because hero-sama has leveled up!"

"Really?"

I see. So this is what leveling up is like. It would be easier to understand if there was a fanfare notification playing.

I swing my short sword back and forth to test it out, but I don't feel like I've become that much stronger.

"Can you check my stats for me?"

"Of course."

This is my current strength as a Level 1.

Level: 1

Strength: 8 (Attack Strength, arms)

Agility: 7 (Leg Strength)

Stamina: 7 (Overall Strength, vitality)

Magic: 3

Dexterity: 7

As expected from leveling up, all my stats have gone up. It's much faster to raise my level by one than to work for two weeks straight.

"However, since hero-sama's original level was 0, leveling up was quick." El showed me her realist side, popping my bubble of excitement.

"Eventually, even defeating 100 Orange gelatins won't do anything for you."

Is there no such thing as leveling up to 99 by just defeating Gelatins? Nevertheless, I am still at a stage where I can become stronger by defeating them.

I'll take it slow and steady, just like I talked with Raul yesterday. I regained my composure and continued my search for Gelatins. By nightfall, I was able to hunt down two Gelatins and obtain another core.