A few hours had passed since our fierce battle with Undine.
Now, in front of us, lay the materials gathered from the many monsters we hunted.
The cyclops’ single eye, the hobgoblin’s ear, decorated spears and knives, the head of a giant ant, Undine’s core, a harpy’s wings, etc…
“W-wow… This is a lot…”
“Yeah, Kotori-chan. This alone would probably be enough to live in the imperial capital for half a year.”
“The more I think about it, the more twisted this exam seems. It’s designed to exploit human psychology—the more you get, the more you want. Wizards sure have nasty personalities.”
“Aki, you seem well-suited for this.”
“Snow, is this a hint that I should change careers?”
Haha, our group gets along well, and that’s what matters most. After all, the worst thing that could happen during an exam like this is tension between teammates.
“Well then, normally this is where the problem of how to bring back all these materials comes in. For teams like ours that have reached the second layer, it’s even more of a concern.”
“Indeed. Not only is there the issue of how to carry the quantity, but we also have to be wary of monster attacks during transport.”
“…So, Kasuya, can you really do it—”
“It’s not a technique—it’s a gift activation! The King’s—not that, land preservation!! Storage!”
Shu-pop!
Like dust being sucked into a vacuum cleaner, the materials compressed with the ground and were stored in a pocket dimension.
With a satisfying pop, they became as small as a super ball!
“Done! Yes! Aki-kun, did you say something?”
“…No, nothing. Really… Why didn’t you stand out before? Maybe I just never noticed…”
“Hehe, Aki—no, Kasuya-kun is amazing!”
Snow-san puffed up with pride.
Yeah, I think I’m starting to settle in as Friend Character #8.
I want to get even closer like this. The closer I get, the more I can broaden the “Snow-san Protagonist Plan.”
Betraying her outright is one option, but my current trend is to cast a shadow.
I want to die right in front of Snow-san, to trigger her awakening event…
Well, that’s probably not going to happen anytime soon. I should consider a technique to put myself in a near-death state.
“Kasuya-kun, are we really the only ones who know about this ability?”
“Huh?”
It was Ayukawa-nee-san who suddenly asked me this.
What’s up?
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“…I see, I see. Can I ask one more thing? Is this really all your ability can do?”
“…Huh?”
“Nah, never mind, don’t worry! Haha, I was just curious since it’s such a convenient ability~. My Hero Summoning also involves calling warrior spirits from another dimension, so I thought maybe there’s a connection.”
Oh, I thought she might have figured it out for a second.
I see, I see. I understand the curiosity about your own ability. I get it, Ayukawa-nee-san. We might get along well!
“…Yeah, this is really all it is.”
If that’s the case, that’s fine! Alright!
Now then, how tired is everyone?
Wizards tend to get sloppy with their magic control when they’re fatigued.
It’s also possible to sense their condition through the magic leaking from their bodies when they’re near death.
Hmm…
Aki-kun is impressive, at 89% compared to his full health. Snow-san is at a solid 81%, Ayukawa-nee-san is at 76%, and Ayukawa-otouto is at 69%… These two still have plenty of strength left.
And then—.
“Huff, huff… I have to keep going… so I’m not a burden…”
Kotori-san, 48%.
Ah, that’s not good.
She should rest for a bit, but…
“Well, let’s push through for one more effort, okay?”
“I’m just getting warmed up.”
“Okay, let’s go, Natsu.”
“I-I got it, Haru…”
These geniuses… Kotori-san is a promising wizard, but compared to these top-tier talents, there’s a clear difference in their base abilities.
Kotori-san probably wouldn’t say she wants to rest, so I should—
“U-uwahhhhh…!!”
“Huh, what happened, Kasuya-san!?”
“A-actually, I’m already exhausted… I can’t move anymore… Can we take a break here?”
“Oh, a break… I-I forgot about that.”
“The dungeon enhances the magic power of wizards, right? I think I’m a bit too hyped up too.”
Alright, I caught two of the good-natured ones, Snow-san and Aki-kun! How easy!
It’s starting to look like we’re going to take a break.
Yes, the art of being considerate without making Kotori-san feel guilty.
After all, social skills—social skills are what rule the world.
“…Th-thank you, Kasuya-san.”
“Huh?”
Kotori-san whispered softly to me.
Huh, she smells nice too.
It’s kind of like the pleasant scent of a rural altar.
Why do girls always smell so nice? Even the White group has this fruity scent.
It’s not fair.
“Y-you noticed I was struggling… Ah! Sorry if I’m wrong, that’s so cringe, right? Just being self-conscious! Oh no, I sound so lame saying this myself! I’m sorry, I’ll just bury myself in the ground—”
“Kotori-san, you smell nice.”
“Eh—”
Ah, I messed up. I said that out loud.
“…”
What is it?
Snow-san is staring at me without saying anything?
Is she finding Kotori-san’s frozen expression amusing?
Aki-kun is holding his face, trembling…
The Ayukawa siblings are wide-eyed.
Oh well.
Now, I need to find a safe place for the break.
I was about to call out to everyone when…
“Oh my, well if it isn’t the reincarnated heroes—taking your time to have a little chat in a place like this. You must be feeling quite confident.”
“Of course, for someone like Snow von Lichte, even if your grades aren’t great at this magic academy, you’d still become the first prince’s mistress, right?”
Someone’s here. Ah, it’s those noble mages from before. Looks like there are about five of them, and they’re bothering Snow.
“…Sorry, but I don’t have time to chat with you right now.”
Aki immediately steps in to guard her. As expected of the main knight—strong as always.
“Shut up, you lowly knight. Don’t get cocky with your title as a chief knight of a mere frontier marquis family.”
Oh, a clash of nobles…! If a brawl breaks out, maybe I can join in quietly.
“Hey! Can’t we stop this kind of thing?”
“Hm?”
That voice wasn’t from our group.
The team standing there, composed of a beautiful girl and a handsome guy…
Ah, it’s Harusaki. Looks like the top-tier team has joined in too.
“Harusaki—no, Sevens?”
“…Snow, I’m sorry. We heard the argument… but I don’t think this is the time for this.”
“Huh? Are you one of the reincarnated heroes too? We’re just addressing a complaint to this frontier marquis here, so stay out of it.”
“…I thought I already responded to that earlier.”
“This isn’t the place to discuss matters of nobility.”
Wow, impressive. Three handsome guys are starting to argue… So, basically, they’re all in love with Snow, huh? As expected.
But, well, Aki is solid as always, yet the nobles and Harusaki are leaking way too much magic power. Plus, a crowd is forming around them.
…Now that I think about it, why did a Hobgoblin appear on the first floor in the end?
Hmm, come to think of it… Professor Nohohon mentioned something, didn’t they?
Why is the number of mages on a team limited to six?
…If that story was meant to convey some risk—a warning about what happens when more than six mages operate in a dungeon together—what if…?
Right now, aren’t there more than six mages gathered here?
Hmm… Even when the Hobgoblins gathered on the first floor, there were multiple mage teams grouped closely together in that area…
“Inspection.”
“Huh?”
Thwack.
Oh, someone’s arm just got chopped off.
The blood hasn’t started spurting yet. What incredible skill. From the look of the wound, it’ll take…
—Three.
Three.
—Two.
Two.
—One.
“One.”
“Huh?”
The one who lost their arm was a member of the noble team. Oh, they’re grabbing their arm now—looks like the pain is just starting to hit.
—Zero.
Whoooosh!!
Blood starts to spray everywhere.
“Ahhh—AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!?”
A scream echoes out.
—Ah, what a satisfying sound.
How noisy. All this fuss over a single arm. And there was a lag of over three seconds before the blood started spurting—if they’d just used magic reinforcement to numb the pain quickly, they’d have been fine.
Oh well. More importantly, what’s that…?
“What… is that…?”
“Uh, w-what is that?”
“Ah… ah…”
In Snow’s and the others’ line of sight, the one who cut off the noble mage’s arm appeared.
A samurai in armor?
A black-armored warrior, draped in tattered cloth.
Its armor is a dull blue—maybe it used to be light blue, but it’s now stained with blood.
Its sleeves bear a distinctive mountain-shaped pattern.
And on its back, it carries a banner.
“Wh… what is that?”
Kotori seems to have noticed the writing on the banner as well.
Despite the faded text, the large character is still recognizable.
A single character, written clearly:
【誠】 (Sincerity)
《Warning, player. Enemy level: 800…! It exceeds your level!》
“Conducting an inspection.”
《Enemy analysis complete—an S-rank monster… No, it’s a former G-rank Gifted!! The ‘Man-Slaying Cleaver’!! It’s coming!!》
“Prepare yourselves, you insolent rogues.”
