“Now then, we will proceed to the moment you have all been eagerly awaiting—the ultimate wish of every student at the Magic Academy, and their greatest challenge: the Dungeon Conquest Training!”
It was none other than the familiar Ansuberna-sensei, with his signature six-eyed helmet.
Standing tall on either side of the massive gate were giant statues of knights. For some reason, the statues, holding swords, were facing towards the gate.
“Strange, isn’t it? Usually, statues like these face outward, towards the exit of the gate. But those are directed towards the entrance, into the gate.”
“Do you think there’s some sort of reason behind it?”
“Hmm, I can’t imagine there’s no reason at all… but we don’t have enough information to speculate.”
I nodded along absentmindedly to Snow-san’s words.
Snow-san and I both wore matching small pendants.
This was proof that we were in the same dungeon conquest team.
A lot happened this past week.
When it came time to decide the teams, there was fierce competition over S-ranked Gifted like Snow-san and Aki-kun, and battles for the remaining D-ranked and below Gifted.
Then, there were plenty of events, like shopping for dungeon exploration gear.
“A-Ah… It’s r-really happening, the day is finally here…”
Next to me stood a tall female classmate, Kotori Tyler, full of enthusiasm.
From what I heard from Snow-san, she apparently has memories of her past life too.
Interesting. She’s quite intriguing herself.
Though her Gift rank is low at D-class, she has the ability to “create salt.”
It seems like a skill that could be useful with the right training, though she doesn’t seem to realize it.
A mentor character who guides and refines unpolished talents could be quite appealing, no?
So, naturally, I’ve factored her into my villainous plot scenario.
“U-Um… Kasuya-kun, do you, um, need something from me?”
“Oh, sorry, I just got lost in thought.”
“Lost in thought!? L-Lost in thought… Oh no…”
She’s definitely shy.
But she’s a good person.
Even on the school trip, she brought together those who were left out, leading them like a modern-day Joan of Arc.
“Don’t worry, Kotori-san. You’ve got this; it’s just a dungeon.”
“Wh-What makes you say that…? Oh, Kasuya-kun, maybe you’re not as reliable as I thought~”
“How rude. There’s no one more reliable than me.”
We’ve gotten to the point where we can have these cheerful conversations.
It’s a bit terrifying—my own social skills are…
“Kastani-kun, Kotori-san, Ansuberna-sensei hasn’t finished speaking yet, you know. My, you two have become close, haven’t you, Kotori?”
“Eek!? K-Kasuya-kun! Let’s focus on the lecture, please!”
“Oh, right.”
Yeah, yeah, Snow-san and Kotori-san have become good friends…
It’s a good thing to see fellow loners getting along with others.
I refocused my attention on the teacher’s lecture.
About the Dungeon Conquest Training.
- It takes place in “Pandora,” the largest dungeon on the continent.
- The objectives are several: defeating monsters, gathering resources from the dungeon, and if possible, reaching the second floor.
- The scores are based on performance in these three categories.
“Monster kills will be monitored by the academy’s teachers through their familiars, and judged based on the quantity of monster materials you bring back.”
I see… so that means…
We just have to defeat everything, bring everything back, and aim for the deepest part.
Well, that sounds simple enough.
The other students around us seemed to sigh in relief, murmuring that it didn’t seem too hard.
Heh, my classmates are pretty confident, huh.
“…Hmm, sounds like a pretty brutal training, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, it looks like the academy wants to separate the wheat from the chaff here.”
“…It’s a difficult exercise, isn’t it?”
“Waaah, i-it’s definitely not easy at all!”
Huh?
Why does it feel like only our team is reacting differently…?
Why is that?
