Chapter-01 · EP-012

Episode 12: First Floor

The first floor of the low-level dungeon with ten floors at Dungeon Academy—commonly called the Tutorial Dungeon—was a vast, cavernous space.

The new students were probably excited to set foot inside a dungeon for the first time. The teachers warned them that dangerous dungeon exploration was not a game.

But in reality, there was almost nothing to worry about regarding the slimes that appeared on this first floor.

If you kept touching a slime's acidic body, you'd get minor burns, but to prevent that, everyone wore gear that minimized skin exposure. And they carried water bottles to immediately wash off any contact. The only way a slime could kill you was if you endured having your body slowly dissolved, which was actually quite difficult. Because it was the first floor, the teachers' warnings were relatively light, and it was a good floor to explore while getting used to the underground dungeon.

Moving a short distance, the homeroom teacher pointed toward a shadow by the rocks.

"There's one over there. Watch as I defeat it as a demonstration."

There was a pale blue puddle-like mass on the ground, slowly undulating.

Our homeroom teacher, Majima, approached the slime and lightly struck it with his wooden sword.

The next moment, the slime vanished with ease.

"It's like this. Anyone should be able to defeat one easily. Make sure to pick up the gem it leaves behind. A slime gem is only worth about 100 yen, but it also serves as proof you defeated it. If you're lucky, it might drop a potion. Make sure to check where it disappeared."

Where the slime had vanished, a black, stone-like object remained.

Majima picked it up and showed everyone.

"Now, split up by party and go hunt slimes. Today's goal is for everyone to defeat at least one. Even after everyone has defeated one, if you have time, try to defeat as many as you can."

The classmates dispersed, moving with their respective parties.

I also moved with Murasakimura and the others, looking for a place to hunt slimes.

As we walked through the cave, we couldn't find any slimes. It seemed finding them was harder than defeating them.

Unable to bear the silence while walking, I spoke to Murasakimura.

"By the way, what's your Lightning Magic skill like?"

"What do you mean?"

Murasakimura's demeanor suddenly became tense. Was this a topic I shouldn't have broached?

But since it was a unique skill, I was very curious.

"Well, during class, you were the only one whose skill we didn't get to see, so I'm just interested in what it's like."

"It's not much of a skill."

"What's with that attitude? It must be something special. It's a unique skill, right? I don't have any skill at all, so I'm just envious."

Suddenly, Murasakimura stopped and turned toward me.

"Wh-what?"

I was a bit taken aback by his angry expression.

But immediately after, perhaps intending a handshake, Murasakimura extended his right hand.

"Huh?"

Was this a reconciliation thing?

Cautiously, I took his hand.

The next moment.

"Ow!"

A jolting pain shot through my right hand, and I instinctively pulled it back.

"Was that your Lightning Magic just now?"

Murasakimura silently nodded at my words.

"Hey, it's fine to show me your skill, but don't do it by surprise! That's dangerous!"

"It's not dangerous."

"What do you mean 'not dangerous'! It's a skill! You're supposed to use it to defeat monsters!"

"My Lightning Magic can't defeat monsters."

"Huh?"

"My Lightning Magic, LV1, apparently has high voltage but only about 0.2 milliamperes of current. It has no killing power. Plus, I can only use it through direct contact. I can't even raise its skill level. My skill is a dud."

Murasakimura said this with a self-deprecating laugh.

So that's why he didn't want to show it? Because it was a dud skill?

Even so…

"If that's the case, just explain it with words! No need to zap me!"

I was angry.

Then Sendo, who was standing beside us, spoke to me with exasperation.

"Oh dear. You barged right into Kyoya's private matter that he's sensitive about, and now you're getting angry at him? Don't you realize how much your words hurt Kyoya?"

"Huh?"

I glared at Sendo, eyes wide.

"It's fine, Mamoru. I don't mind."

"Hmph, Kyoya is generous. If it were me, I might have yelled at him."

"Wait a minute!"

Why was I being made out to be the bad guy?

Ignoring my protest, the two started walking again. The other member of our party, Enoshima, watched us nervously but then followed Murasakimura and Sendo.

"Don't leave me behind!"

Still angry, I followed after them.

We had walked for about ten minutes.

The sounds of our classmates, which had been audible until recently, were gone. We must have gone quite far.

Still, we hadn't found a single slime, and even Murasakimura, the party leader, seemed a bit impatient.

"Ah, there's one over there."

I found a slime and pointed.

On the uneven ground, in a slightly lower spot, a slime was quietly sitting.

"You're right. Let's take that one. What do you want to do? Since Ichinose-kun found it, do you want to defeat it?"

"Oh, go ahead."

Since he seemed impatient about not finding any slimes, defeating this one would probably calm him down.

"Thanks, I'll go first then."

Saying that, Murasakimura stepped toward the slime.

He raised his wooden sword and struck the slime, defeating it as easily as the teacher had demonstrated. A black gem remained.

"Finding them is harder than defeating them."

Murasakimura said as he picked up the gem.

That was certainly true. I wondered if there might be a group somewhere.

"There are two more over there."

Sendo muttered, probably having used his skill to detect them. We looked where he indicated.

A short distance ahead from where Murasakimura stood, there was a kind of gully, and beyond that, on a flat area, two slimes were present.

There was a path beside the gully that seemed passable, and it looked like we could reach the slimes that way.

"Let's go."

Murasakimura said. But we would have to walk along the edge of the cliff, and if a gust of wind made us slip, there was a risk of falling.

Well, it wasn't a mountaintop, so there probably wouldn't be any gusts.

So, with no one objecting to Murasakimura's suggestion, we headed toward the two slimes.

That was when it happened.

Something fell from above onto Murasakimura, who was walking in front.

"Whoa!"

A slime!

With the slime on his head, Murasakimura was panicking.

"Kyoya!"

Sendo's worried voice rang out.

I had to help him, but if I hit it with the wooden sword, Murasakimura would get hurt.

I rushed over to Murasakimura and grabbed the slime with both hands, pulling it off him.

The slime, slammed to the ground with a wet splat, died and turned into a black gem.

I was the only one who felt relieved at that moment.

Still in a panic, Murasakimura kept his eyes shut and swung his arms around as if trying to clear something from in front of his face.

His unsteady, staggering steps were taking him toward the edge of the cliff.

"Watch out!"

I reached out and pulled Murasakimura toward me.

He fell toward me, and the reaction threw me off balance. Just then, Murasakimura's flailing arm shoved me.

"Ah!"

"Ichinose!"

I heard Sendo call my name at the same moment I fell off the cliff.