ch141-ch160 · 144-ch144

Chapter 144: The Aptitude Test

"It's dangerous, so I will finish it off myself. Natsukawa-san—remember, do not pick a job."

For surprises, safety comes first.

That's Kasumi-san's creed.

"Let's move in closer too... Soushi, don't get ahead of me."

"O-Okay."

I want Soushi getting the EXP, so closer is better.

We trail after Kasumi-san on foot as she advances on the Minotaur.

Kasumi-san lets the Minotaur take the initiative, then leaps well back to evade its swing.

The instant its great axe bites into the ground, she steps in and takes its head.

"Hyah!"

A short yelp escapes Soushi.

He's seen this in videos, surely.

But watching a living thing die in the flesh just pulls the sound right out of you...

Shiraishi-san says she desperately fought down the urge to throw up, and Kasumi-san's cohort-mate, the 【Saint】 herself, apparently actually did throw up...

Soushi's not quite at that level...

From here, whether he can kill a goblin with his own hands—and how it feels when he does—will decide whether he can make it as an adventurer.

(Well, he can take his time getting used to it...)

Kasumi-san draws the knife at her hip and extracts the magic stone from the Minotaur's chest.

Normally she'd work it loose with a spear twist, but she's showing Soushi the textbook method.

Then she takes a towel from her pouch, wipes the stone down carefully, and brings it over.

"This is a Minotaur magic stone."

"Whoaa, amazing. How much does one of these go for?"

"At the Association counter these days, the buyback price is 5,000 yen."

Unchanged from two months ago.

Magic stones are in stable supply, so there won't be any more big swings.

Occasionally, apparently, there are requests wanting a particular monster's magic stones, or ones asking you to gather a set number of the same monster species on the same floor for experiments.

In Chiba's case those go up to headquarters, so I've never actually seen one...

"Awesome! Five thousand yen in five minutes! Adventurers are insane!"

"Getting down here takes over an hour, you know."

"Which is where Haruki-san's special skill 【Gate】 comes in, right?"

Here, no one can overhear us.

I sprang the surprise and hauled Soushi up here specifically to have this conversation.

Eh? The surprise was the main event? Is that so?

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"Haruki... your skill is really THAT dangerous, huh..."

"Yours is plenty dangerous too."

If Hayashi-san ever hears about that skill, he will never leave Chiba.

You haven't told her, right?

"Got it, got it. Keep it secret, right? And keep a low profile? Leave it to me."

He'll keep the secret, so it should be fine?

Soushi's special skill is the one real problem...

The mere fact it's the same as Ao-san's makes it tabloid gold.

"And your 'Number One Skill in Japan' stays secret too, yeah? Oh, right—what about jobs?"

"Ah, the status screen's been showing just that this whole time. Four of them: 【Warrior】【Scout】【Mage】【Water Mage】."

"The basic three plus 【Water Mage】... which makes Soushi's innate job the 【Water Mage】, huh..."

A magic job, huh...

A genre I know absolutely nothing about.

But four, huh... didn't even need the paper...

"That only four appeared is fascinating in itself. So if you do nothing, only four appear... How I would like to publish these results, but..."

An aptitude test performed with 【Gate】... publishing that is impossible.

The kind of thing Dr. Amamiya would pounce on, though...

Even in the Association's hiring exam, they apparently bring people down to Floor 10 within the day—but they make you fight some along the way and land the finishing blows to level you up.

Kasumi-san has mentioned 【Naginata User】 appearing for her on her very first dungeon visit.

"That 'job you have from the start' thing? So 【Water Mage】 is what suits me? Huh? I kind of want to fight with a weapon like a normal person, though?"

【Water Mage】 is a money-making job.

Water is perpetually in short supply on dungeon Floor 1.

With this job, they say, you'll never want for money even if you stay Single-Rank.

Alongside 【Healer】, it's also a job the Adventurer's Association will hire on the spot.

In combat, though... meh.

【Cooking】 and 【Water Mage】.

"Leave the soupy stuff to us"—that's the combo, huh?

"It is merely an aptitude. And there is no doubt it is an aptitude anyone would envy. Besides, it is not all bad news: even without taking 【Water Mage】, it is confirmed that at Floor 30 a 【Water Mage】-related high-rank job can appear. Other magic-hybrid jobs should show up as well—【Magic Swordsman】 and 【Magic Spearman】, for instance. And if you acquire the 【Knight】 job, 【Holy Knight】 should come that much more easily."

"【Magic Swordsman】 and 【Holy Knight】!? Seriously?"

"Well, you don't have to take 【Water Mage】. Neither Kasumi-san nor I picked our 'jobs from the start,' and in your case you can challenge Floor 10 as many times as you like, so take your time choosing. Obviously not today, though. Come on, let's head back?"

Mine was 【Fighter】 and Kasumi-san's was 【Heavy Armored Warrior】, if I remember right—neither of us took them.

We went 【Charge Spearman】 and 【Naginata User】 instead.

"Yeah, fair. I was planning to grind it out until a good job showed up anyway, and with you around, Haruki, we can come right back. Counting on you, partner!"

Ever the chipper one.

"Yeah—and with Kasumi-san here, today's method could have you grabbing a high-rank job in no time. Keep at those levels!"

"High-rank job? Triple-Rank... as in Floor 30? Huh? Wait—Haruki, don't tell me..."

"I'm already Level 31 with a high-rank job. Like I said, though—my skills stay secret, so I never filed for Triple-Rank."

"WHAAAAAAT??"

"As expected of you, Haruki-san—superb surprise technique!"

Sasa-Haru—

An accidental surprise.