C3— The Strongest Old Man in the Parallel World ~ I Only Got Physical Skills So I Had to Form a Party but It Turned into a Harem~

Chapter 3: Transferred, and Then Became an Adventurer – 03

When the sun sets, you sleep. When the sun rises, you start your day.

That kind of lifestyle seemed to be the norm in this world, where artificial lighting was scarce during the night.

Well, I’d done some camping when I was alive (?), so I didn’t have a problem with it.

After having breakfast first thing in the morning, I decided to head to the "dungeon" I had researched yesterday.

Around this town of Toruson, there were three dungeons: two of them were F-class, and one was D-class.

Dungeon classes corresponded to adventurer ranks, and F-ranked adventurers were recommended to enter F-class dungeons.

However, one important caveat here was that the recommendation for "F-ranked adventurers" usually meant "a party of F-ranked adventurers."

Parties were typically assumed to consist of three to five members. In other words, "F-class dungeons are meant for parties of three or more F-ranked adventurers."

So, for today, I had no intention of entering—just checking things out. After all, I didn’t even have the skills to fight monsters yet, let alone swing a mace properly.

Leaving the town and walking for about an hour while following the guideposts, I eventually saw a massive rock in the middle of a plain.

That rock had a gaping hole in it—apparently the entrance to the dungeon.

Several adventurer parties were already gathered around the entrance, checking their equipment and such.

Looking closely, I spotted the party of the young man I’d talked with at the tavern yesterday. They should be E-ranked, so I wondered why they were going into an F-class dungeon. Maybe they had a reason.

I considered asking them, but these were people about to head into combat. They might be on edge, so I decided against it.

While I was observing from a distance, all the parties present entered the dungeon one after another.

“Maybe I’ll just take a quick peek.”

I planned to practice swinging my mace afterward, but it would probably help to see the kind of place I’d be fighting in.

I approached the massive rock and peered into the roughly 3-by-3-meter opening.

Inside seemed to be a cave formed of stone, sloping gently downward—likely extending underground.

The interior was dimly lit all the way back, apparently one of the mysteries of dungeons. Thanks to that, torches weren’t necessary, which was convenient for adventurers.

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

Ah—seemed the next party had arrived. I apologized to the sturdy-looking young man who called out to me and stepped aside.

With the scouting done, I decided to find a secluded spot to start training.

I walked back in the direction of town from the dungeon and entered a small forest off the road.

Naturally, this was so I could practice swinging the mace.

I’d learned when I was forced to participate in a company baseball tournament back in the day that even swinging a bat properly was difficult for beginners. Pro baseball players practiced swinging for a reason. It had been a surprising realization for someone like me who’d never taken sports seriously.

So the idea of jumping into actual combat right away was ridiculous. At the very least, I figured I should get used to swinging the mace.

I took off my pack and picked up the mace.

It was a metal club with several angular metal plates attached at the head.

I tried swinging it a few times.

Strangely, it didn’t feel that heavy. My body moved much more smoothly than before.

The mace made a “whump” sound as it came down. Just that alone looked like it had considerable destructive power.

I kept swinging the mace with full focus for a while. Even though my body should’ve been run-down with age, I felt unusually good. Maybe this was also thanks to that “awakening” thing.

After what must have been hundreds of swings, a strange sensation suddenly enveloped my body.

The mace, which I had been forcing down with brute strength, suddenly felt natural to swing.

It wasn’t a gradual adaptation. It was like my level had suddenly gone up, and my stats had changed—a game-like sensation.

“So this is what it means to acquire a ‘skill.’”

I actually knew about this phenomenon. It was mentioned in the adventurer’s guide at the guild.

Those who have “awakened” can acquire special abilities called “skills” through repeated experience. It’s not like ordinary people improving through practice—it’s more like being granted a divine power.

In gaming terms, I suppose I just gained the skill “Mace Lv.1.”

“This is… pretty amazing.”

I kept swinging the mace, now with more precision. I imagined an opponent in my head and attacked from different angles, aiming at various body parts.

Even though I’d never done this before, my body moved as if I had practiced for years.

What surprised me even more was that, despite swinging the heavy mace hundreds of times, I hadn’t run out of stamina.

Looking back over my life, I’d never had this much muscular strength or cardiovascular ability. It felt so good that I kept going and ended up swinging for another hour.

Just as I was about to call it quits, I experienced a second level-up.

I decided to mentally label it as “Mace Lv.2.” Apparently, there were ways to check your learned skills, but those tools weren’t available in the town of Toruson.

“All right, let’s try some other skills too.”

After confirming that my mace strikes had become sharper, I moved on to my next round of training.

That day ended with me experimenting with various things until sundown.

Back at the inn, I had dinner and lay down on my bed. My whole body was understandably exhausted.

Here were the skills I believed I’d earned as compensation for that fatigue:

Weapon Skills

• Mace Lv.2

• Dagger Lv.1

Armor Skills

• Buckler Lv.1

Physical Ability 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 were just what their names suggested. “Buckler” referred to a small shield. I had earned it by holding up the shield and imagining myself blocking attacks with force.

“Presence Detection” was a skill that let me sense animals and similar beings. While exploring the forest for animals and insects, I gradually started to pick up on their presence and managed to acquire the skill. According to the guide, it was essential for avoiding ambushes from monsters, so it was one I had definitely wanted.

All in all, I spent the entire day on this, but I felt it had been very productive.

Not just because of the skills I gained—but also because I realized that consciously training for specific skills was more efficient. That was a major takeaway.

It might seem obvious for someone educated in modern Japan, but that bit of insight hadn’t been in the adventurer’s guide. It might be common sense, or maybe it was a Columbus’s egg sort of discovery.

Well, no point in overthinking it.

I was still a rookie, only on my second day in this other world. For now, I’d spend one more day training and try entering the dungeon the day after that.

It was probably better to form a party, but I was hesitant to get too involved with people from a different world and culture. I’d lived in society long enough to understand that human relationships posed the greatest risks.

Actually, during dinner, I spoke with that young man from before. According to him, the upper levels of that dungeon weren’t too dangerous for solo adventurers.

He said that even having a weapon-related skill at level one would be enough to manage. So with another day of training, I should be fine.

He did tell me, “Make sure you bring a potion,” though—so I’d definitely buy one. He seemed like a pretty decent guy.

Thinking about all that, I soon drifted off to sleep.