Doyugeon and I were playing outside, but since it got too hot, we decided to play indoors and went to his place.
When I followed him inside after he opened the door, I could feel a wave of stifling heat.
“Ugh, it’s even hotter inside.”
As Doyugeon tugged at his t-shirt and complained, I conjured up some wind with magic. But because the air was so hot, the breeze felt warm too. Perhaps the ventilation wasn’t working.
“We should ventilate the room.”
“Are you turning on the air conditioner?”
“Why not? I’ll wash my face a bit.”
I went to the bathroom, washed my face, and took the chance to wash my legs as well. Even though I was dressed lightly in just a t-shirt and dolphin shorts, I had worked up quite a sweat from the heat. Using magic would draw attention, so I only occasionally summoned a breeze, but it was truly exhausting. Perhaps I should have brought an umbrella.
When I entered the living room, Doyugeon was already pressing the air conditioner remote.
“Is it broken again?”
“It was working yesterday…”
This air conditioner here tends to break down frequently, yet I don’t understand why he insists on buying and repairing it instead of replacing it with a new one. Is it because he feels more like summer when the house is hot? Anyway, I waited a little while for the air conditioner to turn on, but it still wouldn’t work.
Ah, it’s hot again. I had just washed my face, but I’ll have to do it again.
“Let’s forget the air conditioner and just ventilate the room.”
I magically opened the front door and the balcony, and even Doyugeon’s room door. The natural breeze swept through the living room without needing to conjure wind. The temperature difference must have been significant, because the moment the doors were opened, the wind rushed in.
With the ventilation seemingly taken care of, I decided to lie down. Flying into Doyugeon’s room, I jumped onto the bed and used magic to turn on the fan, aiming it towards me. The cool wind from the fan began to blow. It feels like I can finally survive. Although I suspect the fresh air outside isn’t much better.
Maybe not? Perhaps it’s cooler without the sunlight. With the current weather not being overly humid, there’s bound to be a significant difference in temperature with or without the sun. Fortunately, the weather is hot but not stiflingly so.
Just as I thought my lying spot was getting warm and decided to turn around to another position, Doyugeon entered the room with some juice.
“I got juice instead of coffee because it’s too hot.”
“Whatever.”
Doyugeon approached and placed the juice on the back of my head. Oof, it’s cold. Must be because there’s ice in it. I used magic to take the juice and placed it nearby.
“Is your leg okay?”
“Not really.”
I replied while moving my leg.
“Should I give you a leg massage?”
At the suggestion, I suddenly had an inappropriate thought, so I looked up at his face. He seemed normal as usual. Hmm… probably not. I assumed he was trying to initiate physical contact out of personal interest. This is because of Yumina making me think weird things.
“Do as you wish.”
Doyugeon then sat on the edge of the bed near my legs and began to massage them.
After a long time spent walking outside instead of flying, my legs are aching. Additionally, the soles of my feet are irritated from rubbing against my shoes. Even though we stopped by a karaoke place mid-way because I was tired, I ended up in this state.
During the summer break, I resolved to take proper rest, so I avoided going out. All appointments were made at my house, and during family vacations, we mostly stayed at the villa. Now, it seems my physical strength has dropped. I probably should have walked instead of flying during logins. Ugh.
Although I somewhat expected my stamina to decrease, I still trusted my level…
There are two changes that occur during level-up.
One is physical adjustment. The system manipulates magic power to directly alter muscles. Whether strength actually increases or not, it’s probably fine.
The other is the level-up effect. When you level up, for some strange reason, your physical abilities increase. Literal physical abilities. Rather than something commonplace like strength being conditioned, the physical abilities themselves directly improve. It’s akin to increasing stats in a game, where you become stronger without any explanation for the plausibility.
The most unreasonable part is that while the level-up effect is a fantastical phenomenon, it cannot be identified through magic. Physical abilities just increase, without the involvement of magic power or magic.
As Doyugeon lightly brushed my leg with his finger, there was a sudden sharp pain from the muscles.
“Ouch! Hold on, don’t press so hard. It hurts.”
“Isn’t it supposed to hurt during a massage?”
“That’s only if the person doing the massage knows what they’re doing. Be gentle.”
There was no response, but it seemed he understood as the pressure from his fingers lessened. I silently received the massage for a while. It’s making me sleepy despite not being as good as at a professional shop. But the warm skin contact through the fan breeze feels nice. It’s comfortable, I like it.
I might fall asleep like this.
“Doyugeon.”
“Yeah?”
“Wake me up, say something.”
“If you’re sleepy, just sleep.”
“But I don’t want to. Hurry up.”
“Hmm… Then let me ask this: wasn’t it obvious that this would happen with your summer vacation plan to not go outside?”
“Obvious?”
I yawned.
“Why, according to the Experimental Guild’s experiments, the level-up effect is influenced by basic physical abilities, right? So, if you didn’t exercise during summer break, it was bound to happen that the level-up effect would decrease, wasn’t it? I mean, it’s clear that stamina has hit rock bottom.”
“Ah, that.”
I paused briefly to recollect the post on the explorer guild bulletin board and continued.
“That’s because you misinterpreted the experiment. In simple terms, what the Adventure Guild experiment revealed was whether you need to exercise beforehand to maximize the level-up stats.”
The goal of the experiment was entirely different from my current situation where I hadn’t exercised after leveling up. Therefore, you couldn’t say from reviewing the results that the stats would decrease from not exercising. But now, it’s known that they do.
I told him this.
“Is that so?”
“That’s so.”
He pressed harder on my thigh, as if in thought. Oof. Stop pressing so hard. Is it because you’ve reached level 7 and can’t control your strength yet?
“You predicted before summer break that your stamina could drop this low, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Good comprehension.”
If anything, the possibility that the level-up effect would decrease was viewed as higher. This was because, during leveling up, the system simultaneously adjusts the body and grants the level-up effect, indicating a strong possibility that there is a relationship between the two.
“Then why did you stay indoors during summer break?”
“Well…”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t want to go out. You’re asking something obvious.”
“You said you wanted me to talk…”
He squeezed my thigh.
“Oof.”
*
I woke up from the heat. When I realized an unfamiliar blanket had been covering me, I threw it off and sat up.
Looking to the side, Doyugeon was sitting in the dark, using his computer. What’s he doing without turning on the light, risking his eyesight? I used magic to turn on the light. Ugh, it’s too bright. I rubbed my eyes.
“Are you awake? Remember, we ordered chicken, right?”
He didn’t turn around as he asked. So, he detected me by sensing my presence?
“Yeah, we’re still going to eat.”
I looked at his monitor. It was the party member recruitment board.
Title: Isn’t it unfair that guild leaders refusing knights and only taking spearmen?
Writer: FirstSwordUnderHeaven
No matter how hard it is to defeat slimes, isn’t this disrespecting knights?
And if the need arises, would you be able to handle it responsibly?
Comments:
ChaCha: Knights, switch to spears! The era of spear users has arrived!
3.5mGreatMage: Writer’s username, nice
GuildLeader3: Show us a picture of you killing slimes with your sword, and we’ll let you into our party.
GuildLeader7: Why hasn’t this post been deleted? Are the moderators letting rules hang?
ExploreWithMe: There’s a party for you. Join us.
https://open.kakao.com/o/g7ad5sUkp
└─Writer FirstSwordUnderHeaven: I am the best. I don’t rely on anyone.
└─ExploreWithMe: ???????????????
A common post. Doyugeon must have finished reading as he typed in a comment.
OneSword: I kill slimes with my sword.
He chuckled as he posted the comment. He’s busy updating his own dark history again, as always.
The intercom rang. Sensing that it was the chicken deliveryman, I used my abilities to confirm. Doyugeon got up, said he would go get it, took the money, and left the room.
While he was gone, I thought I’d browse the wizard forum. I haven’t checked it in a while.
Title: Do wizards under 5 meters need to attend offline gatherings?
Title: A historical dilemma: Wizard vs Portable Fan
Title: How to defeat Slimes?
Title: Is this a Mage/Swordsman forum?
Title: Magic does not violate Thermodynamic Laws
Title: What is the purpose of wizards?
They’re in such a state of despair. When will the geniuses brighter than me show up? Maybe they’re all doing wall meditation.
By the way, what is this “offline gathering”? Was there an event planned?
As I clicked on the post, Doyugeon returned with the chicken.
“Where’s the chair?”
“Just wait.”
I used magic to levitate a chair from the kitchen and bring it over.
“Magic is unfair.”
“Which chair do you want to sit on?”
“You sit there.”
I moved the keyboard to the corner and made space on the desk for the chicken box. We shared chopsticks and picked up the chicken. I enjoy the tender meat.
As Doyugeon selected his chicken and glanced at the post, his eyes widened.
“An offline gathering?”
“Yeah, it seems.”
“Check the notice, quick.”
When I went to the main page of the Adventure Guild, a huge notice about the offline gathering appeared. It was titled: Adventure Guild 1st Regular Meeting.
Reading through the notice, the main purpose appeared to be sharing survival strategies for reaching level 10. They probably predict that reaching level 10 will lead to a new monster type.
Although it’s not directly mentioned in the notification, calling this the 1st meeting implies they plan to have regular meetings just before every level-up where new monsters could appear. They’re really dedicated.
“Let’s go!”
“Where?”
Doyugeon pointed at the monitor. To the offline gathering? Ah, no thanks.
I shook my head.
“What, why?”
“Doyugeon, how old are we?”
“14.”
I pointed at the monitor.
“How old are they?”
“Uh… Well?”
“Adults and above.”
Though the notice doesn’t mention an age limit or reminds against bringing alcohol, with almost all participants expected to be adults, it’s likely we’d only end up as spectacles or treated like children, which would hamper any constructive exchange. There’s no point in going to such a place.
The Adventure Guild isn’t run for profit, so if there are people who know what they’re doing, their meeting results will be summarized and posted on the site.
After explaining my thoughts, Doyugeon shrugged.
“What’s wrong with being ignored a bit? It’ll be fun if you go.”
He’s really optimistic. I envy that. Even though we’re the same age, why is my life like this? If I had the same mindset as Doyugeon, I could probably challenge unknown areas and live without regrets.
“I don’t feel like going. It doesn’t seem fun anyway.”
I ate the chicken. This fried chicken is delicious.
He thought seriously for a moment and said:
“You did say you needed to meet another wizard, right?”
“Hmm? Oh, you mean the time you hyped me up as a genius? Yeah, I did say that.”
Back when Doyugeon kept encouraging me as a magical genius, I mentioned needing to meet other wizards before declaring myself one.
“Then why not meet other wizards now?”
I shook my head.
“I want to meet wizards who are better than me. Specifically, geniuses.”
“There’s no one better than you.”
“There has to be. …Huh? What’s this?”
I sensed wide-reaching magic.
[System Update Complete]
A new job has been added to the system. If you have reached level 5, call out the job window. You can change jobs.
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=151,215 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
