002 The Nameless Bonus Uncle!
Four years have passed, and I’ve finally made up for the experience point loss from not appreciating the world’s wonders when I was three.
Now that I’m over ten and have evolved from a wooden sword to a blunted practice sword, my leveling has taken another leap. By the way, my level is now 23.
So, today, like any other day, I’m ditching my studies and exercise to focus on leveling. My parents, having been worn down by my countless leveling presentations, have recently reduced their counseling sessions. I’d say we’ve managed to build a reasonably good relationship.
“Oh, hey, kid. Still at it, huh?”
“Ah! That voice! It’s Bonus Uncle!”
“Can’t you come up with a better name?”
Remembering his name doesn’t give me experience points… well, jokes aside.
After four years of leveling, it seems I’ve attracted a few curious acquaintances, and Bonus Uncle, who just called out to me, is one of them. I encounter this guy with a random probability once a month. Bonus Uncle, who carries a rather old-looking sword at his waist, seems to be a swordsmanship practitioner. He corrects my swings, increasing my experience point efficiency, and occasionally asks, “Can you do this?” teaching me various skills. He’s a wonderful person.
In this game, there are three main ways to learn skills.
First, automatic acquisition through leveling up. These are often general skills that boost the character’s basic abilities.
Second, learning through the use of items like skill books or secret manuals. These are often skills related to weapon types, such as sword skills or axe skills.
And finally, acquisition through “learning” from NPC characters via oral transmission or inheritance events. The skills you can get are diverse, and even when learning from the same character, the skills you acquire can change depending on your relationship and the event’s content.
Normally, the third method of acquisition through events doesn’t occur unless your required stats and weapon proficiency exceed a certain level, and you’ve deepened your relationship with the target character. Moreover, the conditions for these events are usually secret.
Furthermore, the skills range from powerful ones to those like “hot spring appraisal,” which you have no idea where you’d even use it. When playing this game, it’s essential to remember who teaches what skills under what conditions.
However, here’s the thing.
While the encounter rate with this Bonus Uncle is random, making it impossible to actively seek him out, he teaches me some kind of skill with a high probability when we do meet.
“So… is there anything you want to learn today?”
“Something that increases experience point efficiency or something that gives a bonus to stat increases when leveling up.”
“I’ve told you every time, but I don’t understand you young’uns’ talk about experience points and levels. Well, I guess I can teach you a footwork technique. You should be able to do it.”
The flaw of Bonus Uncle… or rather, the people of this world, is that they can’t see experience points in their field of vision.
Despite being residents of a game world, it seems like none of them have done the tutorial or read the manual. They hardly understand any game terms. It’s truly hopeless.
But I’m not angry about it. After all, this Bonus Uncle is so beneficial that he more than makes up for that flaw.
When I first started swinging, I was only getting “+1” experience point, but now, after his guidance, I get “+25” experience points per swing.
That’s 25 times, 25 times! Not even online game cash shop items have such outrageous multipliers.
And on top of that, he teaches me skills. His cheat-like power is unmatched. I’m half-expecting him to be removed from the game or nerfed by the world, but there’s no sign of that happening. The admin (world), do your job… no, wait, please don’t, just let me encounter him every day.
I really want to call him Cheat Uncle, but the word “cheat” has a negative connotation, so let’s all call him Bonus Uncle with affection.
Without Bonus Uncle’s help, I wouldn’t have been able to fill the absurdly increasing experience point requirements every time I level up.
“(Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing this guy in the original game… If he was there, it would break the game balance, so maybe he was removed?)”
Such thoughts cross my mind, but if I’m receiving benefits, I have no intention of complaining. In fact, anything that helps with leveling is fine by me.
“Bonus Uncle, time is precious, so let’s get to it! Bonus Uncle! Let’s go!!”
“Alright, alright, don’t rush me. You’re full of energy, aren’t you?”
Bonus Uncle, whose real name is Sanuki Shoichiro, had encountered Sakurai Toru by chance.
As someone who had his own ideas about swordsmanship, he immediately noticed that Sakurai’s swings were awkward and self-taught.
What particularly caught his eye was how much Sakurai seemed to enjoy swinging his wooden sword.
Humans can only live inside the walls, and the reason people take up weapons is often “to survive.”
When monsters had once breached the walls during a massive outbreak, Shoichiro’s parents, who were adventurers, had stood against them as shields for the people and lost their lives. Having lost his family, Shoichiro was taken to a facility and took up the sword to secure his future.
“He looks like he’s having fun…”
Looking at Sakurai, Shoichiro wondered if he had ever found joy in the act of swinging a sword itself.
He considered it while watching Sakurai swing with a smile, and concluded that he had never had such feelings.
Shoichiro’s sword was a means of survival, a “tool” to enrich his life. He was sure that the adventurers he had met so far would come to the same conclusion.
That’s why… perhaps?
Sakurai, who swung his sword with glee and a joyful smile with each swing, seemed to possess a “passion” that Shoichiro had never been able to grasp.
People are drawn to what they lack, and Shoichiro felt that Sakurai’s figure was something very precious.
“That’s not right, kid.”
“Huh? Who are you?”
“Just a passing adventurer. Your swordsmanship is self-taught, right? If you keep swinging like that, you’ll develop bad habits.”
Before he knew it, Shoichiro was talking to Sakurai.
Sakurai listened to his advice, which flowed out so smoothly that even Shoichiro was surprised, with utmost seriousness and interest.
That was the encounter between Shoichiro and Sakurai.
And on his occasional days off once a month, Shoichiro began to head to the riverbank.
As their relationship deepened, Shoichiro decided to teach him his techniques.
He had refused many requests to teach, but he decided to “teach” Sakurai because he was moved by the boy’s passion and wanted to leave something of himself in his sword. He was embarrassed but aware of this.
Sakurai was clumsy, but he had been steadily building up his basics.
He quickly mastered the techniques Shoichiro taught him, and within a month, he had become proficient enough to use them in practice. Shoichiro was always amazed at his speed of assimilation.
However, he also noticed that Sakurai’s growth would suddenly slow down after a certain point, realizing his limitations.
“(It pains me to say it, but he’s average. I don’t think he has the potential to achieve greatness…)”
Even so, Shoichiro had decided to pass on his techniques to this boy he had met by chance.
Watching him wield the techniques he had acquired “to survive” for the sake of “enjoyment” was the joy that the “Sword Saint” Sanuki Shoichiro had finally found.