Chapter-09 · EP-129
Chapter 9: Late Blooming Thunder
Episode 129: The Beginning of Frustration
In front of the Skill Board at the dungeon entrance, Kyoya Murasakimura stood frozen.
Displayed there were the letters "LV1."
Everyone is steadily reaching Level 2... Yet I, the class president, am still Level 1. At this rate, I'll be the one holding the class back.
Behind him, the voices of several classmates who had reached level 2 today rang out with joy. To Murasakimura, they sounded like distant noise.
Tetsuya Akaishi, his party member, didn't know what to do seeing Murasakimura like that. Then Mamoru Sendo, Murasakimura's best friend, quietly called out.
"Kyoya..."
As if he hadn't heard Sendo's voice, Murasakimura silently raised his right hand and took a small breath.
Crackle.
A pale blue spark ran across his palm for an instant.
It was like the flame of a sparkler at the end of summer. Fleeting, weak, unreliable, and quickly disappearing.
My Lightning Magic, said to be a unique skill, is also a dud skill that only numbs whoever it touches...
"What should I do... what should I do..."
Akaishi and Sendo silently watched as Murasakimura stood there, head bowed.
After today's exploration class, we returned to the classroom. Students who had reached level 2 were excitedly talking about their level-ups. For students experiencing the feeling of power surging through their bodies for the first time, it must have been a shocking event. Some were slow to notice and only realized when they saw the Skill Board display.
Today, there were especially many students who had leveled up, and the class seemed lively with that topic.
From my seat at the very back of the classroom, watching this scene, something caught my eye: no one was around Murasakimura in the front seat.
To be precise, Sendo was sitting next to him.
But at the start of the school year, I had seen several hangers-on, especially girls, gathered around Murasakimura's seat, chatting with him.
One of those former hangers-on, Shizuka Samejima, passed in front of me, so I called out.
"Hey, Samejima."
"Huh? What is it, Ichinose?"
Samejima answered in a slightly annoyed voice. What an unlikable woman.
"You haven't been around Murasakimura lately. Given up on being a hanger-on?"
"Well, Murasakimura-kun?"
Samejima answered with a wry smile.
"I thought he was handsome, but he turned out to be more pathetic than I imagined."
"Pathetic…"
I was surprised by her words, which didn't sound like those of a former hanger-on.
"Well, Murasakimura-kun tried to join the First Swordsmanship Club and got beaten up, right?"
"That's because his opponent used a weapon with an enchantment…"
That was about Haijima from former Class B. He had already been expelled.
"Then later he was harassed by that same opponent and beaten up again, right?"
"That wasn't a fight; it was one-sided assault. Murasakimura didn't fight back."
"And Murasakimura-kun is still level 1, right?"
"And you? Are you level 2 already?"
"Of course. I reached level 2 with a score of 90. Impressive, right?"
"I don't know if it's impressive, but it's fast."
"See? I might be stronger than Murasakimura-kun now."
"There's no way. Murasakimura at level 1 is still stronger than you!"
"We won't know unless we fight. Not that I'm going to. Anyway, that's beside the point. More importantly, if you know any cute guys, introduce me."
This woman… what a tough-minded girl…
"Come to think of it, do you know Okumoto-kun from Class A? I think he's pretty handsome. You're close with Class A, right? If you know him, introduce me."
"I know him, but I'm not introducing you to him! Besides, romance is forbidden during enrollment."
"You're so petty. Being at the academy is the perfect chance to get to know nobles."
Students who lean toward nobles are in Class C, and anti-noble students are in D-Class, but this one was simply placed in D-Class because of poor grades…
Leaving that, Samejima returned to her seat.
I observed Murasakimura again.
Was it my imagination, or did his back look somehow melancholic without his hangers-on?
After a while, Professor Jonouchi entered the classroom and gave a summary of today's dungeon exploration class.
"It seems more students have reached level 2. Some of you have obtained potions, but I recommend keeping them for emergencies rather than selling them. Also, once everyone reaches level 2, we'll start challenging the first-floor boss, so stay focused."
This was old news for me, who had already cleared the sixth floor in the Shinjuku Dungeon.
But most of my classmates only explored during class. They buzzed with anticipation at the teacher's words.
"Well, even Murasakimura-kun is still level 1, so it'll be a while before everyone reaches level 2."
"I'm sorry…"
Murasakimura apologized at the teacher's words.
"I'm not blaming you, Murasakimura-kun. There are individual differences in leveling up. Some kids level up exactly at a score of 100, while others are faster or a bit slower. Don't worry, there's no need to rush."
"Still, I'm supposed to lead everyone as class president, yet I'm falling behind in leveling up. I'll work hard to catch up."
"Y-you don't need to be so tense. Besides, Murasakimura-kun, your score is exactly 100 today, isn't it? You should level up soon."
Seeing Murasakimura looking so serious, Professor Jonouchi seemed flustered as she tried to comfort him.
As the teacher said, even if he didn't level up at a score of 100, it's just a minor individual difference. I didn't think he needed to be so serious about it, but perhaps as class president, he was worried about falling behind the other students.
Thinking back, aside from Samejima, there hadn't been a single good thing for Murasakimura since enrollment.
He entered as the top student in the entrance exam, but at the entrance ceremony, he picked a fight with the nobles and earned the whole academy's displeasure. In his first exploration, he was worried about causing me to fall off a cliff and get injured. He couldn't join the First Swordsmanship Club. Then he was attacked by Haijima and seriously injured. And now he was worried about being slow to level up. When I thought about it like this, his school life was pretty terrible.
Murasakimura seemed gloomy, and I was bothered by how much he seemed to overthink things.
If this continued, I felt like something bad might happen.
…Well, it wasn't my concern.
At that time, I didn't realize just how much Murasakimura was agonizing.