The Only Thing I Can Upgrade is Strength chapter 1

Table of Contents– Next Chapter

“Put everything in Strength!” was what I said back then. The wording… was rather poor. Now, I probably would have said “put all the available points in Strength” or maybe… Well, I don’t know how it should have been phrased. To be fair, though, I didn’t know. How could I have ever known? Well, for you to really understand me, perhaps I should go over the beginning in detail. Like how I got to this world.

—–

To say I was small and weak would be somewhat of an understatement. I’m still five-foot-nothing, if I round up slightly. Just to be clear, I was in college, and I hadn’t skipped a single year of school. As for weak, well… that’s actually completely unfair. I have Muscular Dystrophy, and that means being stuck in a wheelchair, because my legs weren’t strong enough to lift me up. There was nothing wrong with the nerves or anything. The signals get there just fine, but the muscles were so useless that I couldn’t stand. If my arms weren’t so weak as well, I could have perhaps used a walker. At least I could eat on my own. My arms moved well enough for that, mostly. Besides, my condition wasn’t going to kill me.

It might sound like a miserable existence, but I was quite happy. Good parents helped with that. We also had enough money to pay for all of my medical expenses. Overall, I would say my life was pretty good. Even with the bullying…

Though, even the bullying wasn’t that bad. Perhaps it was because I didn’t let it get that way. I stood up to the bullies, metaphorically anyway. Then, when it still continued, I told the teachers. Was that weak? Cowardly? I wouldn’t say so. That would be the people making fun of someone because they’re stuck in a wheelchair. Besides, what was I supposed to do, punch them in the face? That wouldn’t be the best solution even if I could throw a punch. At least, not in general. I would like to think they all had their own circumstances that made them act like that. Perhaps they had problems at home that made them lash out. Well, maybe some of them were just bad people, in which case I probably would want to punch them in the face. However, if I was stronger, I would have to watch to make sure I didn’t become a bully myself.

Even though my life wasn’t bad, I did wish to be strong. Though I’d generally come to terms with my condition, that didn’t mean I didn’t want it to go away. Sometimes, it was very hard to deal with. Plus, I had another reason to want to be strong.

Anyway, I wanted to be strong because… well, I’m a man, and that’s what a man should do, right? Realistically, it’s probably because of my dad. Although he isn’t a professional athlete or anything, he was the strong one in our house. I liked that he could pick me up and spin me around when I was a kid. (He still can, but it’s too embarrassing to ask him to do it now. I mean… umm… I’m more mature than that now. Yeah.) He was always really kind to everyone. Thus, I got in my mind: kind + strong = real man.

That was part of what led me to like stories with strong heroes, but I also just thought they were entertaining. I liked tales of swords and magic, heroes and villains. And, yes, beautiful female companions.

This was why I decided if I ever had the chance to go to a magical world, I’d take it. Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents, and I have some good friends here. It’s just… magic trumps that. Though I’d have liked to be able to at least say goodbye. Instead, it happened rather suddenly.

—–

Here’s how it happened. No, I wasn’t hit by the reincarnation truck. For one thing, it’s stupid for people to be “reincarnated” with their same body. It also doesn’t really count if you take over the body of someone else who died. Isn’t that possession? Then, pretending to be someone who you aren’t… it’s weird, you know? No, reincarnation is when you become a baby again. At least that’s what I, Llyr Merrick, think. What, you didn’t know that was my name? I forgot to introduce myself? Well, it’s just that my name sounds a bit weak. It’s embarrassing. Though, I heard it means “the sea” or something. It’s Welsh, but I was raised in America.

Remember where I said my condition wasn’t going to kill me? That was a lie. It turns out the heart is a muscle too. One day I was just sitting there and then… my heart stopped. I think. That’s probably it. After that… Well, there weren’t really any sounds or flashes of light. It was just that I was suddenly somewhere else. A bright white room. Is this the Hyperbolic Time Chamber? No, don’t be silly. That had a building. This is more like the loading zone in The Matrix. Or, basically what I said before. A white room. Or maybe a white world, since I didn’t see walls. However, I did see a single sign. It read:

“Greetings, summoned person. I know you’re probably confused. I know I was, when this happened to me. However, I reached sufficient power to be able to leave this explanatory message. It can’t be too long though, so I’d better get to the point. You are being summoned to a ‘fantasy world’. It isn’t for a purpose, it’s just a ‘natural phenomena’. The world is rather dangerous, with the monsters here, so be careful until you get strong enough. As for what you need to know… This world has levels, like a game. Upon gaining a level, you can distribute 10 points to your attributes. Be aware that 100 is the average value for an adult human at level 0, though you should get 100 free points to spend. Perks of being summoned against your will, perhaps. You can also raise these attributes by training to some extent. Other than that… I can’t explain skills in a short enough message, so go ask about it at the Adventurer’s Guild. They might look at you like an idiot, but it will help. Oh, and you can distribute the points you have to spend by thinking about it, or speaking it out loud if it makes you feel better. Don’t worry about language, you should be able to somehow speak the most common language in this world, to some extent. Good luck. Oh, and you might be dead in back on Earth. I know I was.”

Ah. A heart attack it was, then. Or a dream? That one would solve itself pretty quickly. With that explanation and my eagerness… Well, I unintentionally made one of the most important choices in my life… hopefully, it was the right one.

Table of Contents– Next Chapter