「Wait, you all knew about the Substitute Bracelets!?」
Apparently, I was the only one who hadn’t realized we could revive after dying.
「Well, yeah. It was written in the school guide. Why didn’t you see it, Touka-chan?」
…Because I didn’t read it.
「I knew about it, but I still didn’t want to die.」
「I tried to resist, but I couldn’t win. If that had been a real battle, I’d be dead for good.」
Sumire-san sighed, while Kyou-san sounded genuinely frustrated at herself.
As someone who had only managed to run away—and still ended up dead—I could only admire Kyou-san for at least choosing to fight.
-0-
After putting on another Substitute Bracelet, we entered the first floor of the dungeon with Kurenai-sensei.
Unlike the previous ones, these new bracelets only reduce pain rather than eliminating it entirely, and while they still suppress trauma, they allow just enough fear and stress to remain for survival instincts to kick in.
With that, we moved into the first floor of the dungeon.
I’d heard that normal dungeons were always crowded with people, but since Dungeon Academy was exclusive to us students, we were the only ones inside.
「Alright, everyone, take out your collapsible batons.」
「Ano, sensei… you’re not gonna, like, ambush us again, right?」
「I won’t, so don’t worry.」
Yukarin asked with a wary look, and Kurenai-sensei answered with a sheepish smile.
Still… I wasn’t letting my guard down.
「As I was saying, take out your collapsible batons. Dungeon-approved weapons have certain restrictions. Any weapons obtained from dungeons or crafted using blacksmithing skills can be brought in. However, modern firearms, explosives, and even commercially available crossbows are restricted. There are special dungeon-use crossbows, but they’re incredibly expensive. You can check them out at the school store later. As for the collapsible batons you have now, they’re made with a special treatment process using only stone and wood—no metal at all. That’s why they’re allowed inside dungeons.」
With that, I extended my baton.
It grew to nearly three times its original length—about the same size as a kendo shinai.
I was just marveling at how something could extend that much when…
Something appeared.
A group of jiggly, semi-transparent creatures—each about the size of a small puppy—emerged before us.
「Slime! Sensei, that’s a slime, right? Can I touch it?」
「Yes, they’re slimes. But Akechi-san, don’t get too close. Even if they look harmless, they’re still monsters. They will never become pets.」
「Ehh…? But sensei, why were you keeping a Minotaur as a pet then? I wanna take a slime home too!」
「That Minotaur was tamed using a Capture Ball, a rare magical tool. However, tamed monsters cannot be taken outside of dungeons. Even for untamed monsters, removing them from a dungeon requires government approval, which is only granted for research purposes.」
「Ugh… Slime…」
Yukarin seemed to really love slimes.
Slimes in games are cute, but are these ones actually that adorable?
They don’t have eyes or mouths—they just look like featureless blobs.
「Alright, everyone, let’s defeat the slimes! Just whack them with your batons, and they’ll go down easily.」
「Ehh, we have to kill them!? Sensei, that’s just cruel!」
「You won’t get stronger unless you defeat monsters. Look, Kagurazaka-san is already making progress.」
As sensei pointed out, Kyou-san was swiftly taking down slimes with her collapsible baton.
「I’ll fight too!」
Sumire-chan rushed forward.
I couldn’t afford to lag behind either.
「Come on, Yukarin, let’s do our best!」
「Ugh… I-I’ll try…」
-0-
As we fought, a sudden scream echoed from the next room.
At first, I was startled, but I quickly realized what had happened.
It must have been the Production Department students getting killed for their initiation.
Oh—one of the slimes I defeated just dropped a black stone.
「Yamamoto-san, that’s a magic stone. Black magic stones are currently worth 400 yen. If you take them to the exchange office in the academy, you’ll receive D-Points, which can be used for purchases at the school store. So make sure to collect them.」
400 yen, huh.
My first-ever loot.
Yukarin, despite her hesitation, finally managed to defeat a slime.
Before any of us could level up to 2, the dungeon door opened.
In walked a woman who looked to be in her forties, followed by two girls.
They must be from the Production Department.
One had golden drill hairstyle—something I’d never see back in Yoshino.
So ojousamas really do have those hairstyles, huh…
The other was a short-haired, ordinary-looking girl.
「Alright, everyone, gather up.」
Kurenai-sensei called for our attention.
「I am Kurenai Matsuru, the homeroom teacher for Class 1-1.」
「Miknose Misa. I’m in charge of Class 1-2.」
「Now then, let’s begin with self-introductions from the Exploration Department students.」
At Kurenai-sensei’s instruction, the four of us introduced ourselves.
Then, the Production Department students took their turns.
「I am Honjou Kizuna desu wa! The one and only daughter of the president of Toyohatsu Explorations desu wa!」
「Question. What company is Toyohatsu Explorations?」
I asked.
Yukarin had mentioned it before, but I had never heard of it.
「My, you don’t know? Toyohatsu Explorations is an EPO corporation established by Japan’s leading automobile manufacturers for dungeon resource development! Its contributions are among the highest in the nation desu wa!」
「E…P…O corporation?」
「That’s enough. You’ll learn about EPO corporations properly in class later. Now, next—Kurumizato-san, please introduce yourself.」
「I’m Kurumizato Karen! Unlike Honjou-san, I’m just an ordinary girl from a normal background, so I hope we can get along!」
Honjou-san and Karen-chan, huh.
With only six students in our entire year, I really hoped we could all become friends.
-0-
After finishing our slime extermination, we headed to the school auditorium.
Inside, the air conditioning was running, keeping the space comfortably cool.
It felt almost extravagant—such a large hall just for six students.
「This is like having a private movie theater. Makes me wanna eat some popcorn.」
「I’d go for caramel flavor! Sumire, you’d pick caramel too, right?」
「Yeah. What about you, Kyou-san?」
「I prefer salted.」
「Same here! What about you, Honjou-san?」
「I have never been to a movie theater, nor have I ever eaten such commoner’s snacks as popcorn.」
「Whoa, really? Then let’s all go see a movie together sometime! There are tons of theaters in Osaka, right?」
「W-Well, I suppose I can make time for you all!」
Honjou-san turned her face away—but still agreed to go with us.
As we chatted about movies, I noticed that Kyou-san didn’t seem very interested.
And then—
「Areh?」
I suddenly realized—someone was standing on the stage.
Or rather… something?
It was about the size of a small dog.
A massive lump of Daranisuke?
Following my gaze, everyone turned to look at the large black mass.
And then—it moved.
At first, I thought it was a black slime.
But it had eyes and a mouth.
Could it be—
「Alright, it took you all three minutes to settle down. Are we good now?」
We silently nodded.
Then, the black blob spoke.
「Well then, congratulations on your enrollment, everyone. I am this academy’s principal—Danpol. A mysterious lifeform from another world, here to provide you with trials and education. Looking forward to working with you!」
…Wait. Did he just call himself a mysterious lifeform?
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