A Middle-Aged Man Becomes the Strongest in Another World: The Physical Specialized Awakener - Chapter 3

Sleep when the sun sets, wake up with the sunrise. That’s just how things are in this world, where nighttime lighting is limited. Not that I mind, it reminds me of camping trips I did back in my “previous life,” if you can call it that.

After grabbing breakfast first thing in the morning, I decided to head out to one of the “dungeons” I looked into yesterday. There are three dungeons near the town of Tolson. Two of them are rated F-class, and one is D-class.

Dungeon classes match up with adventurer ranks. In other words, F-rank adventurers are encouraged to stick with F-class dungeons. But here’s something important, “Recommended for F-rank adventurers” actually means “recommended for parties of F-rank adventurers.”

A typical party has 3 to 5 members. So the true meaning is, “You should only enter an F-class dungeon with at least three F-rank adventurers.” That’s why I wasn’t planning to go inside today. Honestly, I don’t even know how to properly swing this mace, let alone fight monsters.

I left town and followed the signs for about an hour. Eventually, I spotted a massive boulder sitting in the middle of a grassy plain. It had a large hole in it. This, apparently, was the dungeon entrance. There were already a few adventurer parties gathered nearby, checking their gear.

Looking closer, I even recognized the young man from the inn’s dining hall yesterday. His party should be E-rank, so I wondered why they were entering an F-class dungeon. Maybe they had a reason. I considered going over to ask, but they were about to go into battle. They might be tense or on edge, and I didn’t want to interrupt.

While I watched from a distance, all the parties gradually made their way into the dungeon.

“…Guess I’ll take a quick peek.”

I planned to practice swinging my mace after this anyway. It would help to know what the battlefield looks like first.

I walked closer to the boulder and peeked through the three-meter-wide opening. Inside was a cave made of solid rock, sloping gently downward, clearly heading underground. Strangely, the interior was faintly lit all the way down. Apparently, that’s just one of the mysterious properties of dungeons. Thanks to that, adventurers don’t need torches, which is one less thing to worry about.

“Hey, if you’re not going in, move aside.”

Oops, looks like the next party has arrived. I quickly apologized to the burly guy who spoke to me and stepped aside. With the scouting trip done, I headed off to find a quiet spot to train.

I made my way back toward town, then veered off the road into a small forest. This was where I planned to practice swinging my mace. I remembered how, years ago, I’d been roped into a company baseball game and found I couldn’t even swing a bat properly. Even pro players spend hours practicing swings, so it made sense, but as someone who’d never trained seriously, it was a wake-up call.

That’s why jumping straight into a real fight was out of the question. At the very least, I needed to get used to handling my weapon.

I dropped my bag and picked up the mace. It was a metal rod with several thick, angular plates attached to the head. I gave it a few swings. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel all that heavy. In fact, my body moved more smoothly than ever before.

Each swing of the mace came down with a loud whoosh, and I could feel the force behind it. Even this alone could probably deal some serious damage.

I kept swinging, again and again, totally focused.

Even though I was supposed to be out of shape, I felt great. Maybe this was another effect of the so-called Awakening. I must’ve done hundreds of swings when I suddenly felt something strange.

Up until now, I’d been forcing my body to move. But all of a sudden, I could swing the mace naturally, like my muscles just knew what to do. It wasn’t a gradual improvement. It felt like I’d suddenly leveled up, like my stats had jumped in a video game.

“…So this is what it means to gain a skill.”

Actually, this exact thing was mentioned in the Adventurer’s Guide from the guild.

When an Awakened person repeatedly performs certain actions, they can develop “skills,” special abilities that go beyond normal training. They’re described as “powers granted by the gods,” not something humans can learn by effort alone.

In game terms, I’d just earned “Mace Lv.1.”

“Still… this is amazing.”

I kept swinging the mace, this time imagining an opponent, attacking from different angles, aiming at different parts of their body. Even though I’d never done these movements before, my body responded like I’d been training for years.

Even more impressive, despite swinging a heavy weapon hundreds of times, I still wasn’t tired. Never in my life had I felt this strong, this full of stamina. It was exhilarating. I ended up practicing for another hour without even realizing it.

And just as I thought it might be time to stop… I leveled up again.

Let’s call that “Mace Lv.2.” Apparently, there’s a way to check your skills, but it’s not available in Tolson.

“Well then, let’s try working on some other skills too.”

I confirmed that my mace swings had become sharper, then moved on to the next part of my training.

I kept at it until sunset, trying out all kinds of techniques. By the time I returned to the inn and finished dinner, my entire body was sore. But it was the good kind of tired, the kind that comes from a day well spent.

Here’s a list of the skills I gained as a result:

Combat Skills

• Mace Lv.2

• Dagger Lv.1

Defense Skills

• Buckler Lv.1

Physical Skills

• Stamina Lv.2

• Strength Lv.2

• Speed Lv.2

• Agility Lv.2

• Reflexes Lv.2

Sensory Skills

• Vision Lv.1

• Hearing Lv.1

• Smell Lv.1

• Touch Lv.1

• Dynamic Vision Lv.1

• Presence Detection Lv.2

Most of these are self-explanatory. For reference, a buckler is a small round shield. I earned that skill by practicing blocking and bracing for incoming attacks.

Presence Detection lets you sense the presence of nearby animals or monsters. I got it while wandering through the woods, trying to spot creatures and insects. According to the guide, this skill is crucial for avoiding ambushes, so I was really hoping to get it.

All in all, I think I made great progress today.

Not just because I gained so many skills, but because I realized something important. ‘If you train with a specific skill in mind, you learn faster.’

It sounds obvious, anyone raised in modern Japan would agree, but it wasn’t mentioned in the Adventurer’s Guide. Maybe it’s considered common sense here, or maybe I’ve stumbled onto a ‘Columbus’s egg’ kind of discovery.

Well, no point overthinking it. I’m still just a rookie on Day 2 in a new world. I’ll spend one more day training, then the day after, I’ll try entering the dungeon.

I probably should team up with others… But I’m hesitant to jump into relationships with people from a completely different culture. If life has taught me anything, it’s that human relationships are the riskiest part of any social situation.

Actually, I chatted again with that young guy from the inn during dinner. He said the shallow parts of the dungeon aren’t that dangerous, even if you’re solo.

When I told him about my weapon skills, he said if I had even one weapon skill at level 1, I’d be fine. So after one more day of skill training, I should be ready. He also warned me, “Make sure to bring potions.” Seems like he’s actually a decent guy.

While I was thinking about all that… I drifted off to sleep.