Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells Vol. 1

by Kaoru Shinozaki

  If I don’t, you’re going to kill me.

  I need more power. If I had the power to destroy everything…

  Kill them.

  Something inside me is calling out for revenge.

  I’m going to kill them.

  I’m going to freakin’ kill them.

  ***

  Was that when I learned how to kill?

  “I guess that’s one thing to be grateful to them for. If I ever make it back home, maybe I’ll look them up and give them a proper thank you.”

  I grimaced. My foster parents had shown me nothing but warmth and kindness. They taught me how to live by their example. If I was going to thank anybody, it’d be them.

  “Kindness, huh?” I looked down at the monsters. The first to die were the lizard mounts. I watched each one breathe its last.

  Level up!

  There was nothing exciting or satisfying about it. This was hell—a hell that I’d created. I’d done something terrible. This was the absolute opposite of kindness.

  Tears welled up inside me.

  “What am I doing…?”

  The hideous reality of what I was doing hit me all at once, and…

  “There’s nothing.”

  I felt…empty. Emotionless. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I just stood there, totally numb.

  Why am I crying?

  Did somebody poison me?

  Has my conscience been put to sleep?

  Is my good judgement paralyzed?

  I couldn’t think. That scared me more than anything. I wiped my face on my sleeve.

  My breathing grew shallow and the tears dried up.

  “I don’t have a choice.”

  I’m fighting for my survival down here.

  I have to accept it…accept who I’ve had to become.

  The new me—Too-ka Mimori.

  You try to kill me, I try to kill you.

  It’s simple. I already have this murderous side of me, deep inside. It’s only a matter of letting it run loose.

  I’ll annihilate everything in my path.

  I looked inside myself, and stared deep into the darkness I saw there.

  “Hey.”

  I’m not afraid of you anymore.

  The darkness I used to fear was now my best friend.

  With a chorus of cries, the lizardmen died. A little while later, the zombie dragons followed. It was a brutal, disgusting thing to witness. As I prepared to move on to the next area, I remembered.

  Level up!

  My lips creased into a smile.

  Level up!

  Level 549 → Level 665

  I was pretty sure the lizardmen had come out of the acid swamp I’d found earlier—their clothes were soaked in familiar liquid. I knew there was no way I could swim through that stuff, so I wouldn’t be able to pay them a visit.

  The hole that the two zombie dragons had blasted just led to more swamp. I threw the bones that the lizardmen had been playing with into the hole with all the others. The ground was too hard to give them a proper burial, so that was the best I could manage. I weighed down the acid-burned clothes with rocks and sank them into the swamp.

  If I leave them, the monsters will just keep playing with them.

  Finished with my cleanup, I resumed my mindless trudge up the spiral slope. My legs ached with fatigue, but my stat modifiers seemed to be doing their work—I could tell I was stronger and healthier than I’d ever been in my old world.

  I climbed until the slope finally leveled out. At the top, a pair of double-faced leopard people stood guard—they reminded me of the Caper Tigers from Dragon Quest, but over two meters tall, with the same black skin, orange veins, and dripping acid as the other monsters I’d faced.

  Weird, mishapen faces too. Not like any leopard I’ve seen before…

  The leopardmen seemed unsurprised to see me—did they hear me coming? As usual, they clearly wanted to kill me. I raised my arm, and the leopardmen narrowed their eyes in what looked like contempt.

  The one on the right stamped down hard against the rock. Before it could do anything else, I acted.

  That’s what these ruins had given me—reflexes.

  “Paralyze.”

  It froze in place. The other looked confused—like it hadn’t yet figured out what I’d done. Then its face contorted in disbelief as it tried to move and couldn’t.

  “Poison.”

  At the same time, they bubbled up purple, and their expressions looked sick. I wondered again whether I would still get experience points if they died while I was far away, but again, this was my first time dealing with these particular monsters and I didn’t want to miss out if they gave a ton of EXP.

  Eventually the leopardmen died, almost in unison.

  Level up!

  Level 665 → Level 692

  Okay, their EXP isn’t bad, but it’s not amazing either.

  I walked past the two dead monsters up into the next area—which was, surprise, yet another cave.

  More of them.

  There were six more leopardmen sitting in a circle. They all turned to look at me, confusion written all over their faces. But a moment later those expressions turned to murderous joy—a new toy for them to play with had fallen right into their laps.

  One of them took something out from under its arm—a rope with a human skull tied at either end, like a grisly pair of nunchucks. It started swinging them around.

  “Guaaah, Guaaah Ga-gaah! ♪”

  One of them sang a taunting little song and pointed at the nunchucks. Its expression was cruel, and I immediately knew what it was trying to say.

  “Look! This is one of your friends, isn’t it? You scared, human?”

  I raised my arm.

  “Paralyze.”

  “Guh?!”

  “Poison.”

  Six leopardman corpses lay motionless on the ground before me.

  I’d finally had the chance to test whether I still got experience if I didn’t stay in the area. After poisoning them, I walked back to the original two and waited—at least 500 meters away.

  I didn’t level up. So that answered that—you don’t get EXP if you’re too far away when they die.

  Two leopardmen took me from level 665 to level 692, so if I killed six of them…ugh, I wish I’d gotten even one level.

  It was a shame to waste the EXP, but I was happy to test my theory.

  I picked up the skull nunchucks from where the leopardman had dropped them, took the bones off the rope, and walked slowly back the way I’d come until I reached the zombie dragon’s lair.

  I placed the two skulls alongside the other bones and clasped my hands together in prayer. I wasn’t creeped out by the skulls any more—instead, I felt a sense of kinship with them. They were discarded heroes, just like me. They did well to make it this far.

  “…”

  I kept walking. I traced a bumpy, winding path through the bare rock of the caves. The scenery never changed, but the path was definitely sloping upwards. I had to be getting closer to the surface, I reminded myself, pushing down any feelings of futility.

  “Hm?”

  My leather pouch’s light went out.

  Last time, I poured in as much mana as I could…but I guess even that’s run out.

  “Huh? The crystal… Its color changed back?”

  The crystal wasn’t grey anymore—it was back to its original lime green. My heart started to race—I was down to my last piece of jerky, and there was maybe one mouthful of cola left in the bottle. I started pouring mana into the pouch, praying that it would work again.

  The purple gauge on the crystal began to fill.

  Does it give food and water every time…? I don’t need nails or something right now, got it? C’mon, please…

  I reached in and pulled out a boiled egg rice ball and a 500 ml bottle of green tea.

  “All right!”

  Food and water.

  I wanted to scream. I couldn’t be positive yet, but it seemed like it provid
ed food and water every time.

  Even better…

  “It has a cooldown. It works more than once.”

  I’d seen boiled egg rice balls in convenience stores, but never eaten one before. I tore through the packaging.

  It’s so good… Is that soy sauce?

  The gooey yellow center stuck to my tongue. The salt of the soy sauce mixed with the creamy mayonnaise in a heavenly combination, and the seaweed just brought out those flavors more.

  I can’t remember the last time I ate rice.

  The rice was colored soft brown like it had been cooked in stock, and the strong seasoning attacked my tongue with waves of ecstasy. The taste overwhelmed my senses as I finished the rice ball in a few bites. I opened the green tea and took a swig, washing away the soy sauce taste—this was a different flavor combination from the jerky and cola, but just as satisfying in its own way. I chugged half the bottle, then capped the rest to save.

  “Ahhh…” Eating was incredible.

  I shoved the bottle and the wrapper from my rice ball back into my pouch—the leather bag was bigger than it looked, and there was still plenty of space inside.

  Is that because it’s magic? The leather’s tough, too.

  My hunger and thirst satisfied, I soldiered on, always climbing upwards.

  As I travelled, I encountered more and more monsters. This place wasn’t like the cliché dungeon you’d expect—instead of getting stronger the deeper you went, the tougher monsters were closer to the surface. I could tell because my level kept going up—the pace had slowed, probably because the amount of experience needed to reach the next level increased each time. If I was still down there killing minotaurs and bird-heads, it would’ve probably plateaued a long time ago.

  “Neeeeih!”

  A half-horse, half-carnivorous plant appeared out of the darkness, charging at me with a strange, high-pitched battle cry. It looked ridiculous from a distance, and even more unsettling as it got closer. It spewed acid from its mouth, and even its stupid appearance couldn’t hide that it wanted to kill me.

  “Paralyze.”

  It’s coming to kill me.

  “Poison.”

  I left a mountain of monster corpses in my wake.

  “Sleep.”

  Kill. Kill. Kill.

  I kept an eye on the crystal set into my leather pouch. As soon as the color changed, I poured in my mana, and finally my third gift arrived—yakisoba bread and a box of vegetable juice, vitamins my body was longing for. I didn’t know who to thank, but I thanked them all the same.

  Dinner’s over. Get up. Keep walking.

  Walk. Walk. Walk.

  My mind grew dull and my body itched all over.

  Should I use some of the green tea to wash…? No, it’s too valuable to waste.

  I found a hole in the wall and slept. I took out the bone fragments I’d stored in my pouch and laid them around the area. The biggest danger was being attacked or ambushed in my sleep, but luckily, I only had one close call and my alarm system did its job and woke me up. I killed the monsters, leveled up, and continued on my way.

  Find monsters. Kill them. Check the pouch. Same pattern, day in and day out. It’s all so simple.

  Don’t think.

  Don’t rationalize.

  Your thoughts…

  Your feelings…

  Paralyze them.

  I raised my head.

  “…”

  “What is this place…?”

  This area looked different. The Ruins of Disposal…I’d been wondering when I’d see some ruins instead of unending natural caves. Now, a collection of earthy, ivy-covered buildings stood before me.

  I guess people used to live down here.

  “Finally…actual ruins.” The change in scenery reinvigorated my sluggish mind.

  “I wonder if the ivy’s edible…huh?”

  Something’s coming.

  The monster that floated into view was a single, unblinking eye with a few humanlike limbs sprouting from it. The black pupil was surrounded by a deep gold iris, and it frantically twitched in all directions.

  Of course, acid spurted from its pores.

  Huh, guess I haven’t left the monsters behind.

  The eyeball let out a high-pitched howl…why was it making that noise? It convulsed, and magic circles appeared around its wrists like bracelets that didn’t fit. They looked like the ones that the foul Goddess used to stop Oyamada and Yasu from fighting.

  “Paralyze.”

  I struck first.

  “Poison.”

  A strong electric shock shook the monster—the magic circles must’ve backfired, just like that lizardman’s attack. The monster stopped moving, smoke rising from its fallen body.

  I waited for it to die. The Paralyze gauge began to run low.

  “Sleep.”

  The monster closed its giant, heavy-lidded eye, and died minutes later.

  Level up!

  Level 957 → Level 961

  Still going up. Is the limit 999 or can I go over a thousand?

  I looked around.

  “I should take a look around.” I searched through the nearby area, keeping a close eye out for more monsters.

  Who knows how much further it is to the surface. It’d be nice to find somewhere to spend the night…

  I found some doors in the ruins, but they were all closed tight. They didn’t budge no matter how hard I pushed and pulled.

  “Hm? This crystal…”

  There was a crystal on the door that looked a bit like the one on my pouch.

  “So I’m supposed to pour mana into this thing?”

  The gauge began to fill.

  Oh, I should check my mana.

  “Status open.”

  MP: +31345 / 31713

  Now I can see how much I’m using.

  I watched the number tick slowly down. After I’d used 1500 MP, the door slid open with a quiet rumble. I cautiously stepped inside.

  “Huh, it’s pretty spacious in here.” There was a stone chair and dining table, a few other pieces of furniture, and a ragged blanket in the corner.

  Did someone live down here? Not anymore, I guess.

  I sat in the stone chair.

  “Hmm… This is nice.” It’d been a long time since I’d sat in a chair.

  I really miss civilization.

  “Okay.” I stood back up and went over to the door—the crystal was deactivated. I stepped out, poured another 1500 MP into the crystal, and the door rumbled shut.

  “Guess you need to use mana every time you open and close this thing.”

  I decided to check the other rooms. The next one was empty other than a few pieces of the same makeshift stone furniture. I searched through seven nearly-identical rooms before I came across anything noteworthy.

  “I guess other people have made it this far, too.”

  Two skeletons were slumped over in a sitting position. Judging by their clothes and rusted armor, they were a boy and a girl. They were still holding hands, and looked like they’d been leaning together when they died.

  When did the Goddess dispose of them? They must’ve run here, barely escaped with their lives, and were trapped here by the monsters outside. With no food or water, they chose to end it here, together.

  There were no signs of a struggle—they’d accepted their fates.

  “You two should be proud of how far you got,” I said to the skeletons, then started going through their belongings.

  This was no time to be sentimental. If they had something I could use, I had to take it from them. I couldn’t leave them in peace—not unless I wanted to end up like they did. There was a rusted sword leaning against the wall, and a bent staff with a broken crystal.

  “Nothing…”

  I was used to running around in my uniform and black overcoat, so I was all set for clothes. The two dead heroes’ clothes were just as beat up as mine, anyway—not much cleaner, either.

  “Hm?”

  One of t
hem had a small pouch in their pocket. I fished it out—it was heavy in my hand.

  “Jewels…?”

  It was filled to the brim with sparkling blue gemstones and silver pieces.

  If I ever make it to the surface, maybe I can use these. I hope they’re still worth something…after all, money makes the world go ’round. Even other worlds.

  “Sorry, but I have to take this,” I apologized to the two skeletons as I tucked the pouch into my back pocket.

  This proves one thing—if I close the door, the monsters can’t get in. It’s a safe zone. Maybe the monsters around here can’t pour mana into objects like I can? Or they’re just not smart enough to know that doors open, I guess.

  In any case, I’d found a safe place to sleep. My leather pouch promised a safe supply of food and water.

  “I could use this place as a base and level here for a while…”

  I considered my options as I explored the rest of the area. I ran into another eyeball monster that hadn’t noticed me yet, so I ambushed it with a Paralyze from the cover of the ruins.

  Next up, Poison. Once the paralysis gauge gets low, Sleep.

  The monster died after two cycles.

  Level up!

  All right, that means my mana’s maxed out again. The monsters I’m fighting still make my level shoot up when I kill them. I should bring my level up as high as possible before I reach the surface.

  On the other hand, my skill levels hadn’t risen at all.

  I guess my skills are amazing already—can’t expect them to grow that fast. I wonder if that’s on purpose…maybe skill increases are super rare because a whole new feature gets added at every new level?

  I kept exploring the ruins. There were 24 rooms total, laid out in a logical pattern. I chose an empty one as my base of operations and rested for a while.

  “I’d better get back to it.”

  I started leveling. There were a lot of those eyeball monsters around, so I started hunting down stragglers that had wandered off on their own. After hunting for what I guessed was about a day, they seemed to have scattered. I went back to base to check on my pouch’s crystal—still grey.

  I decided to descend one level on the spiral staircase—I finished monsters with my usual combo until I cleared out that area, too. I headed back to base, saw that the crystal was lime green again, and poured in mana until a pack of cereal bars and a bottle of oolong tea popped out.