I level up in another world, I'll be the strongest in the real world

A dungeon accessible from Earth. A place where monsters dwell, and within it were students aspiring to become adventurers those who hunt monsters. As magma bubbled nearby, many of the students were falling on their backsides. Amidst this, a single male student was overwhelming the monsters, a sword in one hand. At first glance, he was a black-haired boy who could be found anywhere. "What the hell is that strength?!" "Until recently, he was a dropout...!" "How did you grow so fast?!" Many students were astounded by the strength of him—Soma Kamiyo. "The secret to my strength?" Soma turned around after calmly defeating a powerful monster. "It's sleeping. Isn't that what they've always said? 'Sleeping children grow well.'" --- ◇ The story goes far back— The students of Soma's adventurer school were in a dungeon for a class. It was a forest teeming with Level 1 small-fry monsters. As part of the lesson, they had formed makeshift parties and come to hunt. "Kamiyo-kun, an attack from the slime on your right!" A female student said. "Huh? Oh, got it—whoa!" "Puny!" Soma easily took a hit from the slime's liquid attack. Even though it was a Level 1 attack, it was potent, and the skin where it hit began to fester. "Gaaah!" Soma writhed in pain. "Get out of the way, you loser!" Another boy in the same party shoved Soma aside and pierced the slime with his spear. "You've got no sense if you can't even dodge a slime's attack." "I warned you properly, though..." The female student looked exasperated as she cast a healing spell to treat Soma's wound. Not just these two, but the other girl in the party also looked displeased. "Sorry..." Soma could only apologize. (I'm trying my best...! But I'm just holding everyone back...!) He was putting in the effort, but the results just weren't following. Soma was frustrated by his own uselessness. --- ◇ Tokyo Fourth Adventurer School— This school, which Soma attended, was a public school specializing in training adventurers. In the school system classification, it fell under higher education, the same category as university. The exterior of the school building resembled a typical university, but the interior was different. Since adventurer schools don't have homeroom classes, each floor of the building had a spacious area that could hold hundreds of students. Returning from the dungeon, Soma was on the first-year floor. Around him were about 500 students, also wearing crimson blazers. There were also about twenty teachers in charge. "Party leaders, please report your results," said one of the teachers. In response, the leader of each party gathered around their respective teacher. "Kamiyo, make sure you report that you held us back, alright? Don't make it our fault," said the boy from Soma's party. The two girls in the party nodded at his words. "I know." Soma hung his head and walked towards his assigned male teacher, Saito. "Kamiyo, huh..." Saito frowned the moment he saw Soma's face. "Our party defeated three slimes and two goblins." "That's all you managed to take down?" "I held everyone back..." "I'm sure you did." Saito affirmed without hesitation. Then he continued. "Kamiyo, you work hard in earnest. I and the other teachers understand that. But you have no talent. You realize that yourself, don't you?" "Yes..." Soma reflected on his actions so far. The three months since entering adventurer school until today. He hadn't been slacking off. On the contrary, he had been working harder than most, trying to become stronger. He had swung his sword until his hands blistered more than once or twice. Yet, he hadn't improved at all. "The formation ceremony is coming up soon. But nobody will want to team up with you." Saito spoke cold, realistic words. "Being an adventurer isn't everything in life. There's a rule that allows you to transfer unconditionally to a regular university before the formation ceremony. When you make up your mind, come to the staff room. I'll handle the paperwork." "...I'll think about it." Soma bowed and trudged away. "Mr. Saito, the poor results this time were because Kamiyo held us back!" "We did absolutely nothing wrong, so please don't give us a negative evaluation!" The students who had been in Soma's party rushed over to Saito as Soma left. --- ◇ After leaving school, Soma went straight home. His house was an old, single-story building characterized by a rusty tin roof. It was easily over fifty years old. "Welcome home, Soma. Good work at school today." His mother, Namie, greeted him. "I'm home." "How was school? Are you pushing yourself too hard?" Namie spoke to him gently. "I'm fine." Soma couldn't say anything else. Namie understood how he felt. (So he really can't keep up with the others.) But she pretended not to notice. "Dinner tonight is curry!" "Thanks. I'm going to do some muscle training in my room." Soma moved from the kitchen to the living room and slid open the shoji screen at the back. That was his room. It was also Namie's room. (Adventurers make good money. If I become an adventurer, I can say goodbye to this poor life!) Soma folded up the futon that was left out and started doing push-ups. Instead of counting out loud, he looked at a photo of his late father on the wall. (I'll pay back Dad's debts and make things easier for Mom! To do that, I have no choice but to become an adventurer...!) He continued push-ups by the dozens, then hundreds. Sweat poured from his whole body, soaking his shirt. (Did this make me grow even a little?) Soma sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. He quietly thought, "Status." --- [Job] Swordsman [Level] 1 [Overall Power] 211 --- Soma's status appeared in his mind. (I think my Overall Power before the muscle training was 210. So even after all that, it only went up by 1?...) Soma was despairing. An adventurer's strength was***. (perfectly clear) by looking at their status. Level increases by defeating monsters, and Overall Power increases through daily training. There was a clear formula: Level × Overall Power = final strength. In Soma's case, the problem was his low Overall Power. (Does this mean bodyweight training has its limits? No, but training at the school's gym didn't make much difference either.) Thinking about Overall Power, he eventually arrived at a single answer. (It just means I have no talent, I guess.) --- ◇ After dinner and a bath, Soma got into his futon. Right next to him, Namie was also in her futon. In the darkness after the lights were turned off, Soma said, "Mom, I have work after school tomorrow, so I'll be late." "Okay. Don't overdo it." "I'll be fine. You don't overdo it either, Mom. Good night." Soma thought as he closed his eyes. (It's been a few months since I entered adventurer school. I've been desperately trying hard, but the gap between me and everyone else is only widening. Mr. Saito even suggested I drop out... Maybe this is really my limit.) He imagined himself doing hard physical labor at construction sites. (Dad's debts are too big. Any job other than an adventurer would be like throwing a cup of water on a wildfire.) Soma turned his back to Namie and clenched his jaw. (Don't get weak-kneed. Struggle until the very end. Adventurer school is free to attend, but even regular public universities cost money. I don't have any option other than adventurer school, do I!) Soma exhaled deeply and stopped thinking. Then fatigue welled up, and the next moment, he had fallen asleep. --- ――――... --- "Hn...?" The smell of greenery woke Soma up. He sat up, then was astonished. "Where the hell is this...!" A vast grassland stretched out around him. And beyond it was a medieval European-style walled city.