"Level inheritance is complete. With this, all inheritances are now finished."

The pain, which felt like it would last forever, finally ended. Especially that last part, the level inheritance—it hurt so badly, I thought I was going to die. I used to get beaten and kicked by the bully group, but this pain was nothing like that.

"Ugh...”

I passed out from the pain and then woke up from it repeatedly. How I didn’t lose my mind after all that suffering is beyond me. And damn that Great Mage! He lied about the pain being “slight”! I seriously thought I was going to die!

"Damn it!"

In anger, I slammed my fist down on the nearby desk.

BOOOOM.

“Huh!?”

The desk shattered into pieces, just like that.

Crash, bang.

Not only did I break the desk, but the shock caused the ground to shake, and some of the bookshelves along the walls toppled over.

"What the hell is this!?"

I lost my balance from the shaking and landed on my backside, placing my left hand on the ground to support myself.

BOOM!

This time, the spot where I hit the ground with my hand and backside sank deeply into the floor, causing the room to shake again.

What the hell is going on? My strength is absurdly high. If it stays like this, I can’t even move without destroying everything. Surely, even the Great Mage had some way of controlling this power for daily life.

"…Is it this? Suppression Skill, on!"

I nervously tapped the ground.

…Good, nothing happened. This skill seems to have been the right one. Apparently, it’s an automatic skill that adjusts my strength depending on the environment, but only for myself.

When I inherited the skills earlier, I was in so much pain that I didn’t have time to understand them, but now I can sense what each skill does. It’s like riding a bike—you don’t consciously think about it, but when you get on, you know how to ride.

“...Wait, why are my pants falling off?"

As the intense pain and absurd strength subsided and I finally calmed down enough to stand, my school uniform pants, belt and all, started slipping down.

“...Huh?”

It wasn’t just the pants. My shirt, which usually clung tightly to my body, now had plenty of room. And my arms, once plump and flabby, were now slender.

“Could it be... I became skinny?”

Ever since I started elementary school, I had never been thin. I’d tried to lose weight many times, hoping to be more attractive, but every time, I gave up quickly without seeing results.

"…And I’ve even got abs now."

Looking down, I could see my previously bulging belly had been replaced with well-defined abs. When I flexed and touched my stomach, I felt a firm, muscular sensation. What caused this transformation? Could it be the "Body Optimization" skill? Apparently, it optimizes the holder’s physique. Maybe the Great Mage had been overweight at some point too?

At this point, I have no choice but to believe this is another world. The pain I experienced earlier was definitely not a dream. There’s a slim chance this is the afterlife, but I’ll figure that out later. For now, I need to finish reading the Great Mage’s letter.

[Oh, by the way, you don’t have a choice. By reading this far, you automatically consented, and the inheritance magic has already been triggered.]

...That’s where I left off. I suppress the urge to tear the letter to shreds and continue reading.

[You might hesitate because it’s your first time experiencing something like this, but don’t worry, no need for thanks. Just use the power as you see fit.]

Forget thanks—if you were still alive, I’d punch you right now.

[It’ll take some time to get used to, but you should instinctively know what you can do. At the very least, you’re strong enough to handle any ancient dragon or demon lord. Honestly, in this world, you could probably conquer it without breaking a sweat.]

Feel free to do whatever you want. Heck, you could even destroy the world if you feel like it.]

This guy is seriously the worst! His magic might be top-tier, but his personality is garbage.

[Oh, and feel free to use this house and everything in it. A lot of the stuff I made just for fun, but most of it is national treasure-level magical tools, so you could sell them if you want. I also dabbled in blacksmithing as a hobby, so I’ve made all kinds of weapons and armor. Use whatever suits you.

Lastly, the door that connects to your world should stay open indefinitely, as long as the house stands. It pulls in magic from the surroundings to keep it active. If you’re curious, I’ve left detailed notes in a book, so feel free to read up.

I’ve written a lot, but I hope your life will be a happy one. Life only happens once, so live freely and have fun! See you around!

Hardy Urnus.]

...Okay. I get the gist of the situation. But even though I understand, my brain can’t quite process it all.

So, this is another world... what should I do next? I came here intending to die, but after all this crazy stuff, my problems with bullying seem trivial now. Besides, I’m done with risking my life for today.

Setting aside the shattered desk, the fallen bookshelves, and the dented floor, I open a door that leads to another room. Thankfully, there’s no corpse waiting for me this time, just a room filled with furniture like a table, cupboard, bed, and sink. I open the next door after that.

"...It’s a forest."

Beyond the door is a vast forest with lush green trees everywhere. In the middle of this forest stands the Great Mage’s house. It’s an old brick building, covered in vines and leaves from years of neglect.

There’s a simple fence around the house. Judging by the fact that it’s still intact, there might be some kind of magic keeping animals or creatures from getting too close.

Now that I’m outside, let’s see if I can actually use magic. I have the feeling I can use it as naturally as riding a bike, but I won’t know for sure until I try.

“Fireball!”

I extend my right hand forward and say the spell’s name. If this doesn’t work, I’ll just look like an idiot. The spell instantly forms in my mind, and without any loss in power, the fireball begins to materialize in front of me.

“Whoa!”

A ball of fire appears out of thin air and gradually grows larger. Sure, I’ve seen this kind of thing in anime and manga, but seeing it in real life is pretty amazing. Despite the fire being so close, I don’t feel any heat. I guess the law of conservation of mass doesn’t apply here.

“...Wait, it’s getting too big!”

The fireball, which started out about the size of a fist, keeps growing until it’s over a meter in diameter. In my mind, fireballs are only supposed to be the size of a basketball!

There’s no way I can casually throw something this big. I concentrate on making it smaller, and slowly, the fireball shrinks until it disappears.

“That was close! But damn, that’s some serious power—so this is the Great Mage’s magic, huh?”

Even a simple fireball spell has incredible power. If I tried using the strongest magic, I could probably flatten this entire area. I’ll have to be careful when experimenting with magic from now on.

It seems like I can use dozens of fire spells alone, and including all the other elemental magic, the total number of spells I can cast probably exceeds a thousand. I don’t know how many Great Mages there are in this world, but if there are several people capable of this kind of magic, they could easily destroy the world… Not that I plan on doing that.

I spent some time testing various spells, using the trees in the forest as targets. Even a mid-level wind spell, which I held back on, easily sliced through ten massive trees at once. Turning this whole area into a wasteland would be a piece of cake.

"...Huh? What’s this feeling?"

I sense something approaching from the other side of the house. It’s the "Presence Detection" skill at work. Whatever it is, it’ll reach the house soon.

Whether it’s a person, an animal, or a monster, I can’t stay dressed like this. Thanks to my sudden weight loss, my shirt and pants are both baggy. My pants are barely held up by the tightest notch on my belt, and even then, they’re on the verge of falling down. Without the pants, even my underwear would probably slip off.

Should I use the door to return to my world? I’ve inherited the Great Mage’s power, so maybe I should hide and observe the situation first. I’d better borrow some armor from the house and change.

“...But which one should I wear?”

I head back inside and check out the weapons and armor. I have no idea which is best. The Great Mage said he made them as a hobby, but they all look way too impressive for that—like endgame gear in an RPG.

One of the skills I inherited is "Blacksmithing," so I could probably make something myself, but now isn’t the time. I pick out the armor that looks the strongest. Normally, I wouldn’t be able to lift something this heavy, but thanks to the inherited levels, I can do it with ease.

For weapons, there are some incredibly powerful-looking swords and spears, but I have no intention of fighting in close combat. I choose a staff covered in ornate decorations instead. If things go south, I can always flee back to my world through the door.

“Invisibility Skill, on!”

Using the invisibility skill, I erase my presence and move toward the source of the disturbance while staying hidden behind the house. The skill works by making my presence nearly undetectable to others.

“No way…”

Peeking from behind the house, I spot a giant, boar-like creature—an orc. But it’s definitely not just any orc. The orcs I’ve seen in anime and manga are usually shirtless, dumb-looking monsters wielding clubs.

But this one isn’t like that at all. It stands nearly 3 meters tall, wearing armor that looks just as strong as the one I’m wearing. And it’s carrying a massive sword the same size as its body.

If that thing swings that giant sword, anything in its path would be shredded like paper. This has to be something like an "Orc King" or "Orc Emperor"—the kind of enemy that shows up right before the final boss.

The orc is slowly approaching the house. Yeah, there’s no way I can handle this. Time to give up and head back to my world. Even with the Great Mage’s power, there’s no way I can defeat that monster. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would even try.

Thud!

Just as I was about to turn and flee back into the house, I heard a loud noise behind me. I turned around to see the orc standing right in front of the fence surrounding the house. There’s no way something that massive can be stopped by a flimsy wooden fence, right?

As the orc extended its hand, it was stopped just short of the fence by what seemed to be an invisible wall. Could this be some kind of barrier protecting the Great Mage’s house? If so, maybe I can handle this!

“Ugah?”

The orc, realizing it couldn’t get through, began inspecting the invisible barrier. Please, just give up and go away!

“Ugah!”

But my hope was dashed as the orc raised its massive sword.

“Hey, you idiot, stop that!!”

The orc swung the sword down with all its might.

Giiiiing!!

“Ugah!?”

The barrier held strong, repelling the orc’s terrifying blow. But the orc wasn’t giving up. It raised its sword again and kept smashing it against the barrier, trying to break through.

Will the barrier hold? Should I flee while I still can?

“...!!”

Wait, I just realized something terrible. The door connecting this world to mine… The Great Mage mentioned that while he unlocked the door, someone from another world had to open it. What if that means creatures from this world can now use the door to enter mine? In other words, this orc might be able to break through and invade my world!

What should I do? What should I do?!

Is that monster going to come to my apartment? Should I warn the people in the building to evacuate? No, no one would believe a story this ridiculous.

I imagined the chaos if that orc somehow made it to my world. Even if the military or missiles could eventually take it down, how many people would die before that happened? Dozens? Hundreds?

"...I have to do this."

I can’t let that happen. I’ve already decided to throw my life away once. I’ve made up my mind.

Out of all the magic I’ve inherited, I need something powerful yet precise. This one should do!

It’s an advanced lightning spell called "Lightning Caliber," a magic that summons a massive lightning sword to strike a pinpoint target. If this doesn’t work, I’ll start trying the strongest spells, one by one. There might be a chance it has a weakness to a specific element.

Deep breath…

I’m terrified. If this fails, the orc might come after me next. But I have no choice!

"Lightning Caliber!"

I raise my staff and activate the spell. Unlike the beginner and intermediate spells I tested earlier, I can feel something draining from inside me. This must be what it feels like to use up magic power.

A massive lightning sword forms high in the sky above the orc. It seems to notice, but it’s too late.

"Take this!!"

CRACKLE, CRACKLE, CRACKLE!

“UGAAAAAAA!”

A brilliant golden lightning sword strikes the orc. The power is overwhelming. Could anything survive a hit like that?

I peer through the cloud of dust, hoping the orc didn’t get back up. Please, stay down!

As the dust slowly clears, I see the orc, not standing but charred to a crisp, its remains smoldering on the ground.