Two weeks have now passed since the full lockdown of the dungeon.
During this time, the testers, whose main job of dungeon exploration has been halted, have limited work they can do.
Their options generally boil down to self-training to raise their stats, writing reports to earn more money, or maintaining their weapons, which are their trade tools.
As an exceptional example, there are those who use this free time to acquire new skills or attempt to craft weapons themselves. However, new skills aren’t easily acquired, and weapon crafting often leads beginners to apprentice with blacksmiths, only to be turned away by the giant craftsmen.
Those who try to challenge themselves independently are often frustrated by the lack of facilities, tools, and skills.
Regardless of what anyone tries to do, there’s a common sense of being bored.
However, setting aside jobs like report writing, the fact that they receive pay simply for training to hone their bodies is quite an exceptional treatment in modern Japanese society.
But, from the company’s perspective, it’s also true that this is not a welcome situation.
Even so, with the demon sword incident unresolved and a shortage of personnel, there’s little they can do.
In light of this, the company has proposed emergency joint training as a last resort.
Essentially, they intend to use this period of idleness to gather willing testers in one place, strengthen horizontal connections through tester interaction, and improve the stagnant quality of testers through guidance from skilled individuals provided by the Demon Lord’s Army.
Participation is not mandatory, but still, many testers with free time have eagerly joined.
Naturally, as I have a tournament approaching, I also participated to hone my skills…
“Why am I on the instructor’s side?”
“Sorry, Jiro-san. Due to personnel being dispatched for the dungeon search related to that incident, we had fewer staff available than expected.”
“So I was chosen?”
“Yes. Also, Evia-sama instructed that only you, Jiro-san, can guide Himik, who is currently idle.”
“I thought as much… so that’s the supervisor’s real intention.”
I had to grudgingly accept it with a wry smile at Suella, who looked apologetic in her slightly bulging suit.
Honestly, among the testers, I have the highest stats as a frontliner.
Moreover, although it was a forced situation, I’ve defeated everyone here single-handedly before.
There’s no way my stats will change if I undergo the same training in the same environment.
If you put it nicely, it’s like a warm-up, or poorly put, it’s lukewarm training.
I could see the supervisor’s intent in having me participate as an instructor rather than let me idle in such an environment.
On a side note.
“Naturally, Himik is more popular.”
“She can handle various ranges, you know.”
Currently, I’m not performing any duties as an instructor at all.
My somewhat awkward relationship with the other testers is something I’ve grown accustomed to, and I expected this outcome.
But more than that, Himik, with her unusual Fallen Angel race, beauty, traditional apron, and slightly airheaded personality, has captured the hearts of not only male testers but also female testers, making her an in-demand instructor.
Furthermore, although she struggles with holding back, she competently handles close, mid, and long-range combat.
Therefore, she can offer advice that meets a certain standard for any profession.
This development is likely within the supervisor’s predictions as well.
Well, I did consider just cutting down all the men who were clearly eyeing her with my Ore Tree.
“My purpose here is just to keep Himik occupied, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“No, at least deny it.”
“I can’t help it. It’s the truth.”
Perhaps sensing my childish, fleeting jealousy over Himik being taken, Suella teased me with a giggle. I told her to give me a break as I stared at the training scene.
Even without the tense atmosphere of the dungeon, everyone was diligently engaged in training.
Some were divided by profession, training under instructors suited to their roles.
Others consulted among friends, observing and learning from the techniques of other testers.
Magic flew as they strived to improve efficiency and power, while bows and arrows were shot at floating targets to enhance accuracy and rapid-fire capability. There were also lecture-style sessions on how to improve the purity of healing magic.
On a personal note, Kaido, jealous of Himusumi’s popularity with the female testers, challenged him to a duel on the grounds of being fellow frontliners, also as part of his recovery from injury.
Kaido and Himusumi clashed in a pure battle with no magic allowed.
In the adjacent area, Kitamiya and Minami were exploring the kinds of magic that should be used in the dungeon.
Initially, it seemed to be going smoothly as they exchanged ideas, but at some trigger, their opinions diverged. After glaring at each other, it escalated into a practical verification, and now they are engaged in a full-blown battle.
Kitamiya has superior firepower, but he’s struggling against Minami, who is a bundle of surprises.
Seeing this, Katsu and Amelia exchanged amused glances and smiled fondly.
“Suella, are there any testers absent from this gathering?”
“…There are a few testers who couldn’t come due to various reasons.”
Seeing such scenes, I would have liked to immerse myself in training as well, but…
The lack of opponents I can fight at full strength and the other intentions behind this training make it difficult for me to focus.
“Including those, have all testers been accounted for?”
“Yes, everyone should be here. I confirmed it on the paperwork just in case. However…”
“It’s about how far the influence of the magic sword has spread, isn’t it… Frankly, I don’t remember all the faces of everyone here.”
“That’s right.”
Behind the scenes of this training, the search for the magic sword continues within the dungeon and the company.
The unknown magic sword user.
With only the effect and shape of the magic sword as clues, it’s a rather reckless search to find physical evidence with no leads.
In addition, this joint training seems to have gathered the testers who are the most suspicious suspects in the magic sword incident.
I’ve been feeling glances from people other than the testers since a while ago.
Perhaps it’s because I know I haven’t done anything, but I’m getting tired of these gazes more than necessary, and I’m thinking about what I should do for my own training.
“Ah, did I get noticed?”
I feel a surprisingly soft presence.
In response to the sudden presence, I turned towards the source of the feeling, which seemed to be protecting Suella, and there stood a gentle-looking man with a kindly smile.
At first glance, he appears to be an ordinary man.
The characteristics of the Demon Lord’s Army tend to manifest strongly in their species.
Oni have horns, Undead have skeletal forms, Dark Elves have pointed ears and specific skin tones, and Dragon-related species have scales.
However, at a glance, the man before me has none of these.
In that case…
“A Vampire?”
“Correct! You figured it out quickly. I didn’t show my fangs, and although my skin is white, I think it’s pretty close to human coloring.”
“Too much magic is concentrated in your eyes. You can’t hide your magic eyes.”
“Ah, that’s it. Don’t people tell you you’re quite sharp? I’ve already reduced my magic considerably.”
“If I can’t do this much, I’ll die in training. That instructor uses magic with even more hidden power than you.”
“…Oh, as expected of the secret prodigy of the Oni King and the Undead King. Your quick movements are also quite impressive… Hmm, it’s natural to be able to do this much. I must admit my estimation was too low.”
Without stating his purpose or name, the gentle man nodded and continued.
He seems to know me, but who is he?
Judging by his appearance alone, he looks European, perhaps Italian?
As he swayed his honey-brown wavy hair, he captivated the female testers who noticed him with his smile, just as he heard my voice.
His gestures occasionally betray a certain flippancy.
It’s clearly a demeanor designed to attract women, yet deep in his eyes, there’s an unsettling darkness of unknown thoughts.
A suspicious man who keeps me on guard.
That’s the impression I got of the man before me during this brief exchange.
As I heard excited squeals from behind me directed at such a man, I suppressed the urge to sigh and glanced behind me.
“Is he an acquaintance?”
“No, he’s likely not an acquaintance of Memoria either.”
“Ah, his features also don’t resemble Gray-san’s. I don’t think he’s related.”
The only Vampire I know is Memoria, so I wondered if he was a relative, but his demeanor and features were completely unlike hers.
So, I asked Suella for confirmation, but she also didn’t know him.
In that case, he’s either an unknown Vampire, or he isn’t on the company’s list of expected visitors…
“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet.”
“Will you?”
“Of course! …is what I’d like to say, but yes. Indeed, as you suspect, it would be no fun to introduce myself honestly here.”
“No, please do. Don’t look for fun in self-introductions.”
With the additional information that he’s a hedonist, the gentle man before me becomes even more suspicious.
My suspicion turns into caution, and I gently push Suella behind me to shelter her. She seemed to resist slightly, but, perhaps due to her pregnancy, she stepped back after I warned her to be careful. I signaled Himik, who was about to fly forward, to stand guard over the testers.
I can’t deny feeling like I’ve been maneuvered into a one-on-one situation, but this is probably the best course of action for now.
“Is that so? I believe enjoying oneself is an indispensable element of life. And you seem quite eager, so how about this? Shall we introduce ourselves with swords?”
“What a battle junkie. I’ve never heard of such an introduction, and by any chance, I’m Japanese and a pacifist. I decline such troublesome matters.”
“How cold, are you really the secret prodigy of those Oni Kings? Even though I’m inviting you so much, you don’t even show a flicker of fighting spirit.”
With a casual gesture, the gentle man before me drew his sword from its sheath.
It was a slender blade, different from the swords I usually see, a rapier, a weapon primarily for thrusting.
As he swayed it, the man increasingly exuded fighting spirit, conveying his intention to fight by any means necessary.
“Don’t say strange things, you’ll be misunderstood.”
Demonic energy began to flow into the gentle man’s sword.
I knew he wouldn’t back down no matter what I said.
“I don’t want you to misunderstand.”
The gentle man spoke in a slow, soft tone, as if trying to woo a woman.
“I am”
His poised stance, the effortless power he exuded, his seemingly passive gestures.
“Serious!”
Everything about him conveyed that he was already in a complete combat readiness.
“Tch!”
“Haha! You’ve drawn your sword!!”
“You mean you made me draw it!!”
It was a close call.
His initial lunge was so natural that my reaction was delayed for a moment.
If I had reacted even a moment later, there would have been a hole in my throat.
It was clearly aimed for a direct hit.
It was a blow with no hint of holding back whatsoever.
To deflect it, I drew my Ore Tree as quickly as I could from behind me.
Reacting with my spine rather than my head, I brought my weight to bear. Despite swinging down from directly above, I could only manage to divert his blade to the side and bring us to a grappling match.
Even though my reaction wasn’t perfect due to the delayed response, and there should have been differences in weight and the power of the strike, he couldn’t blow me away and remained stationary.
The moment our weapons collided, I knew.
The momentum of his attack had been completely nullified.
“Still, that was an amazing strike. If the timing had been off by a little, my sword would have broken.”
“You say that after completely nullifying my attack.”
“I had to, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to handle the situation!”
“What kind of situation is that!!”
My power, his skill. The gap in our skill likely wasn’t fatal, but he stopped my thought process, which had already decided I needed to go all out. I distanced myself, judging this range to be dangerous.
I thought it was bad to be approached by the opponent, so I momentarily released my strength, brought him closer, and then unleashed my full force.
“Whoa there, that’s a lot of strength. My body can’t exert that much.”
“You’re lying, are you trying to make me complacent like that? Earlier, if your momentum had been a little weaker, you would have intended to slash my neck, wouldn’t you?”
“You can tell that?”
“You’re saying that after pinpointing your killing intent so blatantly.”
“Was it too obvious?”
Luckily, my caution paid off when I pushed him back with less force than I expected.
A chilling killing intent assaulted my neck, and thanks to my quick decision to channel magic, my neck remained intact.
“…”
Strong.
No, not overwhelmingly strong like the instructors, but I could honestly say he was strong.
Even if neither of us is going all out, I know the opponent is strong.
I continued to observe the gentle man, reducing my unnecessary chatter, while the man simply smiled more and more joyfully.
His gesture seemed to be an invitation for me to attack.
Annoying, but there’s no point in just waiting and seeing.
I shouldered the Ore Tree, adjusted my stance, and balanced my center of gravity.
Even with just that stance, I felt as if something were colliding head-on.
No, it was probably happening.
My magic and the gentle man’s magic were clashing, creating a tug-of-war, pushing and pulling as if in a territorial battle. This contest alone made it clear that he wouldn’t be easily dealt with.
Thus, I slowly tilted my center of gravity forward and…
“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
With a monkey’s roar, I became a whirlwind and swung my Ore Tree at the gentle man before me.
Today’s word:
Whether there are unexpected events or not, the schedule progresses, and plans must be carried out.
That’s all for today.
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