Eriina’s Dorm Room in the Academy (Sakura Amagi)
“Pokepokepokepoke!”
“Hey, hey, Eriina!”
“Hahaha!”
“Ugh!”
After submitting our party application form to the teacher with Yumeno-kun, Eriina waited for me, and together we returned to the dorm. As usual, I went to visit her room.
We usually spend our after-school time in one of our rooms. Normally, we’d use this time to discuss party strategies or do some personal training, but we didn’t have plans today.
Eriina recently recovered from a cold, so she was off from party activities today. Yumeno-kun and I decided to start our activities tomorrow.
When I entered Eriina’s room, she grinned and started poking me out of nowhere.
“Sorry, sorry! Don’t get mad. But hey, it’s great, right? You’ve finally formed a party.”
“Yeah.”
“Aiming for an S-rank party will be tough, though.”
“Yeah♡.”
“Oops.”
“Huh?”
When I started thinking about lunch, Eriina had this look on her face, as if to say, “This is no good.”
“Pokepokepokepoke!”
“Stop that!!!”
She started poking me again.
“We’ll have to take measures before Sakura completely falls for him.”
“What does that even mean?!”
“You’ve always been a lonely princess until now.”
It’s not like I chose to be alone…
One of my unique skills is “Mana Release.” This is what’s called a “negative skill”—it constantly releases my mana into the surroundings when I’m fighting.
Negative skills usually appear with powerful unique skills. I already have three unique skills, so I don’t know if it appeared alongside the first or second one, but it’s been the reason I’ve always been solo.
Mana is typically something explorers or monsters use in battle. When touched by someone who isn’t an explorer, it can weaken their body and, in the worst cases, be fatal. Explorers have some resistance, but even low-rank explorers can barely move in the face of mana released by high-level monsters, sometimes suffering mental or physical harm.
My “Mana Release” skill affects everyone nearby, similar to high-level monsters. Even A-rank explorers can’t stand next to me. I haven’t tested it with S-rank explorers since they’re not exactly easy to meet.
“Well, now that you’ve finally formed a party, you can take the party trials.”
“Yeah!”
This academy trains explorers, so besides regular studies, we have dungeon exploration and practical exams. Since I was solo, I could only take the solo practical exams; I couldn’t do the party-based exams.
Now I’ll be able to take those exams. I think I’ll get decent grades if I do, which should help me aim for higher-rank explorer status. With a party, I can explore dungeons that would be impossible alone.
My other unique skills are powerful enough to have a negative skill. I have both “Arcane King” and “Battle King”—both rare skills.
The ranks go: Arcane God > Arcane King > Senior Arcane Knight > Arcane Knight > Senior Mage > Mage. Arcane God is said to be unique to one person worldwide, and I also have Battle King.
I can handle offense, support magic, and even recovery magic.
However, I don’t have high resistance to status ailments, nor do I have skills that support exploration. Ideally, I’d have a partner who could handle those support roles. But because of “Mana Release,” I couldn’t find anyone to team up with.
Yumeno-kun, on the other hand, seems like an all-rounder who can handle those aspects. During our fight against the Archdemon, he used support and healing magic, along with teleportation, levitation, and appraisal.
Even if he says not to expect much, it’s hard not to get my hopes up… Right?
He even protected me from a self-destruct attack. My defense isn’t that high, and I let my guard down, thinking we’d won. If that attack had hit me, I might have been in real trouble.
The way he defended me so naturally… it was honestly impressive.
Eriina joked, “Have you fallen for him?” But honestly, I was surprised when Yumeno-kun approached me back then.
But using magic to protect me was undeniably cool.
I’ve never had anyone do something like that for me before. Well, it’s natural since I’ve always been solo.
“You look so happy…”
“Oh, sorry.”
I got caught up in my thoughts. Was I smiling?
“It’s fine! I know you’re happy. I’m happy for you too.”
“Eriina…”
“Now we just have to make sure he doesn’t slip away. Maybe we should… create a bond?”
“That’d put me on the same level as Shido-san, who Yumeno-kun dislikes!”
“True… but it’s so annoying! This perfect opportunity!”
“Hey, don’t say it like that! Call it a chance, not a catch!”
“Listen, Sakura! Boys are simple and immature, so you have to keep a firm hold on them.”
“Uh… a firm hold on what?”
“Oh, don’t make me spell it out!”
“…Geez!”
“Hahaha!”
Honestly! We’re high school students and classmates at this academy, forming a party to tackle dungeon exploration. That’s all we need to focus on!
Graduating with an S-rank, like Yumeno-kun said, is a huge goal, and I’m determined to do my best.
“The goal is to start by calling each other by our first names and building good chemistry.”
“You mean for the party, right? Is that really that important? Why would name-calling matter?”
“What are you talking about? It’s crucial! You need to be close enough to speak freely to each other!”
“Um… I see. I’ve never thought about that before…”
Unlike me, who has always been solo, Eriina has experience with good relationships in her parties, so I should learn from her.
“Yes! Otherwise, even small things can lead to ‘divorce’—or worse, someone stealing him away!”
“What are you even talking about?!”
