「Alright, let’s go.」
We opened the door and entered the dungeon.
Whoa, the place was bustling with high school students running around looking for slimes.
Well, we’re high school students too.
「Ano, are you guys from Team Messiah!?」
A nearby schoolgirl suddenly called out to us.
Busted already?
Well, of course.
After all, there’s only one loli, blonde twin-tailed ninja in all of Japan — Hime.
「Yes, that’s right.」
Hime declared confidently, and a crowd of students quickly gathered around us.
「Alpha-san! Show us your Bunshin Technique!」
「Sure thing.」
Hime summoned one bunshin, and at the sight of it, even more students swarmed us, shouting ‘It’s the real deal!’
「You’re cuter than your avatar! You’re really the same age as us?」
「What school do you go to?」
「How can we get as strong as you!?」
Questions fired at us from every direction.
「No comment on privacy, but I’m a university student. As for getting stronger, it’s a mix of effort, talent, and luck.」
「「「Luck?」」」
Everyone turned their eyes toward me.
「Beta-san, can you predict the next winning horse for us?」
「Can you play rock-paper-scissors with us!?」
Request after request piled up—
「No gambling predictions… Rock-paper-scissors, though… Just once. Ready? Rock, paper, scissors—shoot!」
I threw out rock, and about ten people threw scissors.
A total win for me.
It felt like a coordinated act, but it was pure chance.
That alone sent everyone into a frenzy.
Hime and Ayame were also swarmed with questions and requests.
「Alright, we’re heading to the deeper floors to start our stream. The stream will be archived, so when you finish exploring, be sure to check it out!」
With that, we finally started moving again.
What a drain.
「Feels like being a celebrity.」
「Given your recognition, you’re more famous than some low-tier comedians or singers. You three should come up with your own signatures.」
「Can’t I just write the Greek letter Beta?」
「That’s not going to cut it. If you’re too lazy to come up with one, you can always outsource it.」
Upon reaching the third floor, the number of people thinned out.
Still, even here, there were others.
A lone guy was fighting a Horned Rabbit. He struck it, but the creature didn’t go down in one hit, and he got countered in return.
The rabbit’s horn jabbed him square in the stomach.
「Need a hand?」
「I don’t!」
Even as he took the blow, he punched the rabbit dead.
He checked his health immediately after.
He only had 2 HP left.
In real life, he’d be critically wounded and unable to move.
「Need healing magic?」
「You can use magic? I can’t pay you, but if you’re offering…」
「Sure.」
Milk cast her Potion Water spell, restoring his health.
After healing him, she spoke up.
「At your level, isn’t the third floor a bit too much for you?」
「Thanks for the heal, but I didn’t ask for advice. I know my damage calculations.」
With that, he walked off, looking for more monsters.
With the Substitute Bracelet equipped, not only was his life never truly in danger, but he didn’t feel pain either.
Levels, stats, and skills.
The setup really was like a game.
I get the appeal of treating it like one to a degree.
But—
「It’s reckless.」
Hime narrowed her eyes.
I agreed.
That kind of reckless fighting style was bound to fail eventually.
But maybe that wasn’t a bad thing; failure could be a good lesson.
The real problem was if it didn’t fail.
「Do you think, if he fights like that for three years, he’ll reach level 100?」
「Yes. At that rate, he probably will. The efficiency is undeniable.」
A slime gives 1 experience point. A Horned Rabbit gives 12.
And if you defeat an opponent stronger than you, you gain even more experience.
If he manages to keep this up without breaking, level 100 is definitely achievable.
In a normal dungeon, safety measures mean reckless fighting isn’t an option.
People naturally adopt safer tactics, especially beyond the 21st floor.
But if a Dungeon Academy student reaches level 100 through reckless fighting and enters a regular dungeon, what happens then?
They’ll keep pushing their luck beyond the 21st floor.
Until they break.
And unlike the academy, failure in a regular dungeon doesn’t just mean inconvenience.
At best, it means serious injury.
At worst, it means death.
「Danpol always said dungeons are places where you put your life on the line. I thought this dungeon was the exact opposite of his ideal, but what he’s trying to do here might actually be—」
「Teaching the right mindset for dungeons is our job as instructors, after all.」
Shizuka-san’s words struck a chord.
Maybe the most important class in this school isn’t combat training—it’s ethics.
「Wait, Shizuka-san. Why are you casually tagging along with us?」
「Well, I am a top-ranked explorer. Just aiming for the lower floors, like you.」
She’s definitely piggybacking off us.
Even though we don’t have a map, Ayame’s Wind Post skill ensures we won’t get lost.
As I pondered this, Milk tugged on my sleeve, whispering,
「(Taira, is this okay? You said she wasn’t trustworthy.)」
「(My bad. I was wrong. She’s actually… a pretty decent teacher.)」
Ayame and Hime joined in the whisper-fest.
「(But didn’t she call Ichino-san a ‘guinea pig’?)」
「(Apparently, it wasn’t ‘test subject’ but more like ‘kitten,’ ‘baby,’ or ‘cute student.’)」
「(What? That’s way too misleading!)」
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more.
And so, Shizuka-san ended up joining us.
We were about to stream our exploration anyway, and she didn’t mind.
Turns out, she’s a dungeon streamer too, with a channel called “Teach Me, Shizuka-chan-nel.” She uploads videos explaining dungeon phenomena from a scientific perspective and has around 150,000 subscribers.
Our audiences probably couldn’t be more different, though.
Thus, our Team Messiah stream kicked off as an unexpected collaboration with Shizuka-san.
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