“Everyone has gathered. Let’s go!”
The teacher with the dull expression is said to be Mr. Goto.
Under his guidance, all the students from the class enter the dungeon one by one.
I believe I mentioned that this school cultivates excellent dungeon explorers, but surprisingly, it has a low-ranked dungeon right on its grounds.
And since we can use this dungeon freely, we have classes like this exploration practice.
There’s no other school like this throughout Japan. This is the selling point of this school.
I certainly became interested in the on-campus dungeon when I transferred here.
It’s a low-ranked, specifically a D-rank dungeon, so it only has five floors. However, it’s a special dungeon where the boss changes randomly.
In the past, there have been instances where monsters that could appear in B or A-rank dungeons showed up.
This definitely smells like an incident… I think as I follow the others into the dungeon.
For some reason, Amagi-san enters alone after me.
“Line up two by two. Today’s break only has two people, so there shouldn’t be many,” the teacher says.
“Sensei!? I can’t possibly stand next to Amagi-san…”
Huh?
The hallway leading into the dungeon is a bit narrow, so the teacher’s instruction to enter two by two makes sense.
However, a voice of dissent comes from one of the boys at the front. Why is Amagi-san being avoided?
Could it be bullying???
“We’re just moving for now. Let’s go,” Mr. Goto replies, not engaging in the protest.
He’s quite quick.
We follow along to keep from lagging behind.
Today’s practical training seems to involve combat training against monsters on the fifth floor.
We’re supposed to be students who just enrolled a few months ago.
It feels like we’re receiving surprisingly advanced classes.
Training can be done in teams or solo, but almost all the students scatter into teams.
“Yumeno-ma, do you want to join us?”
“Uh… oh, thank you. Please… take care of me.”
Although I’m a bit flustered by the invitation, I decide to follow her.
She’s the one who gives the shout at the beginning and end of class. She’s probably the class representative or something. I’m grateful for her taking care of me.
I hear she’s aiming for the knight class.
The team consists of her and two others—a male mage and a female blacksmith.
It’s a bit rare to have a blacksmith. They usually focus on production, but many of them use their strength to fight, too. But I’ve never seen a girl do it.
Apparently, there’s supposed to be a larger male student in the role of the main damage dealer, but he’s out sick today with a cold. That’s probably why they invited me.
I’m a magic swordsman, and I can deal decent damage with buffs. I handle a few unexpectedly balanced battles, realizing the high level of this school.
“Yumeno-ma, you’re amazing, just like the teacher said.”
“Yeah, right? The instructions are precise, and even the healing…”
“I was wondering how to manage without Waniuchi-kun today, so this helps a lot.”
Hearing them praise me makes me happy.
Back in the place I used to belong, my role was solely support. Just remembering it makes me feel nauseous…
“Yumeno-ma? Are you okay?”
“Ah, yeah. I’m fine.”
No, no, I mustn’t think like that. I’m already a student here. I won’t be dragged into such reckless explorations and have my mind worn down all the time.
I want to aim to be a moderately skilled explorer while taking it easy here.
While maintaining a suitable distance from my classmates and working through the practical, suddenly…
Whoosh…
What was that?
I felt an enormous release of magical power all of a sudden.
As I stand there dumbfounded by the ominous occurrence, my phone suddenly rings.
Beep beep!!!
“It’s an emergency alert!”
“They said to gather at the earlier location. Let’s go!”
The three of them immediately check their phones and start running.
Naturally, I follow along.
Something must have happened.
At the gathering point, there were many classmates.
And a boy, bleeding, facing the teacher.
For a moment, I thought about offering to use a healing spell, but it doesn’t seem like a serious injury.
“Is that true?”
“Teacher! I saw it! A creepy monster came from the boss room on the fifth floor!”
From the boss room? Did it really come out?
“However, for a boss to leave its boss room on its own…”
After listening to the story, Mr. Goto hesitates.
Indeed, bosses usually only move in dungeons of B-rank or higher.
But that unpleasant release of magical power…
“Teacher. Please believe me! I was blasted away by the magic from the monster that came out. And the other two…”
“We’re currently reporting to the academy and waiting for instructions. Please wait.”
“If we wait, they’ll…”
Apparently, he encountered what’s believed to be the boss monster along with his party, and he seems to be the only one who made it here. That’s concerning.
This dungeon even has a rare ability to change the boss’s rank. If what he says is true, a B-rank or higher boss might have appeared.
“Teacher! I’ll go!”
“W-Wait, Amagi-san!”
And then the angel ran off.
Why?
You have nothing to do with this, do you?
I already understand. She’s somehow being excluded.
During the practical training, she must have been solo the whole time, right?
At least from what I saw when I was invited to the party, she was just standing there alone.
With a gaze that showed no hint of loneliness, as if it were completely natural…
So why is she trying to help her classmates with such a serious expression?
“Teacher! I’ll go too!”
“Huh? Wait a moment! You don’t need to worry about Amagi!”
“Yumeno-ma, wait!”
I hear voices from behind but ignore them.
If that angel were to die now, it would leave a terrible impression on me.
I dislike the idea that the one being bullied has a problem, or that she’ll be fine.
She’s a kind angel who talks to me just because we sit next to each other.
I want to explore casually and secretly, but I won’t abandon someone I want to protect.
I don’t want to be the kind of person who runs away, leaving behind those who are crying and screaming like in the nightmares I sometimes have.
“Amagi-san!”
“Huh? Yumeno-ma-kun?”
I caught up to her.
There she was, a bit surprised to see me.
And behind her… a massive, red-black monster with huge horns and wings.
What is this…?
Why is such a thing appearing in the academy’s dungeon!?
It doesn’t make sense!?
I’m overcome with the impulse to shout out.
Why?
Because the angel she was facing was, indeed, a demon.
