“Ishiguro-san, why were you dressed like a suspicious person?”
Yofune-san approached me as I practiced swinging my naginata in the dungeon.
She, too, had been practicing with her personal sword just moments ago.
“Nomura-sensei doesn’t like it when students explore dungeons, right? That’s why I dress this way to avoid being recognized.”
Nomura-sensei is my homeroom teacher. Whenever history lessons touch on dungeons, he never misses the chance to emphasize the dangers.
Thanks to him, I’ve actually learned quite a bit about dungeons.
“That’s true. Nomura-sensei is part of the Alpha Generation, so it makes sense he’d have a strong aversion to dungeons. I’ve heard that generation had a particularly rough time dealing with them.”
The Alpha Generation refers to those who were students when dungeons first appeared. When that happened, the world descended into chaos.
Japan wasn’t spared, and areas overrun by dungeon clusters were abandoned, leaving lawless zones that persist even today.
For the record, we belong to the Beta Generation.
“Our parents’ generation barely made it into the Alpha Generation too, right?”
“For the most part, yes. But people in their twenties or younger don’t seem to harbor such negative feelings toward dungeons anymore.”
Our conversation turned into a casual review of our history lessons.
“That’s because of the creation of the Academy Autonomous Regions, isn’t it?”
“Yes. The areas abandoned as lawless zones due to dungeon clusters were later revived as Academy Autonomous Regions. Television played a role in giving them a glamorous image.”
“Nomura-sensei always says TV only shows the good parts of dungeons, but in reality, they’re like hell on earth.”
He really is the epitome of dungeon aversion.
“Ishiguro-san, your weapon isn’t store-bought, is it?”
Yofune-san suddenly changed the subject.
“Nope. I told you, didn’t I? My skill is ‘Weapon Creation’.”
Despite my reply, her expression remained stern. Why, though?
“Even with ‘Weapon Creation,’ crafting a weapon with internal mechanisms is highly unusual.”
Earlier, I showed her how my naginata contained a hidden slime spear, and she initially seemed to think such things were now available commercially. But now, she appeared to realize something wasn’t adding up.
“Well, it works, so it’s fine. By the way, can I take a look at your sword?”
“Sure.”
She handed over her sword without hesitation.
I slid the blade out of its sheath.
The exposed white blade bore intricate black patterns that looked like ink stains.
“This is… an engraving. It must have been expensive.”
The black patterns were engravings, making this a magical weapon, also called a dungeon weapon.
Such weapons are designed solely for dungeon use: durable enough to withstand mercenary battles and powerful enough to cleave through monstrous creatures. Outside of dungeons, they’re often considered overkill.
“The sword was a gift from my grandfather, but I did the engravings myself. So technically, it cost me nothing.”
Her grandfather? She’s not just a yakuza’s daughter—she’s the granddaughter of a clan boss.
“I figured as much. So you’re diving into dungeons to become an enchanter?”
“Well, something like that.”
An enchanter is someone who engraves weapons. Unlike mercenaries, they typically work for corporations.
The rarity of enchanters makes them highly paid, so it’s a desirable career.
However, becoming an enchanter isn’t easy. You need to purchase the prohibitively expensive “Enchanting” skill, master numerous engraving patterns, and be able to carve them with flawless precision.
There are two main paths to becoming an enchanter:
- Training Facilities: Practice enchanting in facilities called pseudo-dungeons, where the mana levels are comparable to real dungeons.
- Practical Route: The approach Yofune-san chose—learning enchanting by gaining practical experience in actual dungeons, fighting monsters along the way.
The practical route has a relatively high mortality rate, which makes it less popular. But since training facilities are expensive, some opt for the more dangerous path.
“Ishiguro-san, shall we get moving soon?”
About ten minutes had passed since we began our warm-up. Yofune-san urged me to start.
The warm-up was a reflection of my near-death experience in the previous dungeon, where I had struggled to wield my weapon effectively.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
I decided I had practiced enough.
After all, there are things you can only learn by fighting real enemies.
For now, it was time to move forward.
