Chapter-09 · EP-138
Episode 138: Kyoya Murasakimura (Part 7) – The Final Exploration
The day after I lied about feeling unwell and took a day off.
I realized staying home was pointless, so I came to school, but I couldn't focus on the lessons at all. I opened my textbook, but the words didn't sink in. It was as if my soul had left my body and gone somewhere else.
The worried glances of my classmates turned into self-deprecating thoughts within me, a feeling that I couldn't live up to their expectations.
During break, as I endured this discomfort, my best friend, Mamoru Sendo, quietly called out to me.
"Kyoya, can we talk for a bit?"
I slowly looked up.
"Mamoru…"
Led by Mamoru, we moved to a quiet corner of the hallway.
Outside the window, it was raining.
The continuous sound of the rain seemed like the noise of my own tangled heart.
Staring blankly out the window, my true feelings slipped out.
"Mamoru, I might be hopeless."
"Kyoya…"
"No matter how hard I try, I don't level up. Maybe I have a body that can't level up."
Mamoru listened silently.
The sound of the heavy rain continued to fall, as if watching over us.
"I asked Professor Jonouchi. The margin of error for leveling up is plus or minus 10 percent. In other words, apparently, everyone should level up by the time their score reaches 110."
I clenched my fist.
"But my score is already over 120. And still, my level hasn't gone up. Which means… maybe I have a body that just can't level up."
"That's…"
To Mamoru, who listened silently, I finally voiced my weakness. But this was how I truly felt.
Mamoru was speechless. He probably didn't know what to say.
I continued quietly.
"In middle school, I never lost to anyone, in studies or sports. So I thought that someday, I could really become Japan's greatest dungeon explorer, become famous, then become a politician, and abolish the Japanese nobility system."
I thought back to my time at the academy.
"I even passed the entrance exam as the top student. But there were people I couldn't beat: Kujo-san in academics, Ichinose-kun in athletics. Still, I thought I could catch up if I kept trying. And someday, even surpass the student council president, the strongest noble at the academy."
I laughed self-mockingly.
"But I wasn't the kind of person who could aim for such a grandiose goal. The studying and club activities up to middle school are completely different from dungeon exploration. I was a dropout as an explorer."
"Kyoya, that's not…"
"Mamoru."
I looked straight into Mamoru's eyes.
"I think I'm going to leave the academy."
"What are you saying!"
Mamoru raised his voice involuntarily.
"Your motto was that hard work doesn't lie!"
"…That hard work has betrayed me."
Saying that fact aloud was incredibly painful.
Mamoru, looking at my face, wore a very sad expression. It pained me to see my best friend, who had always been with me, look like that, and I couldn't forgive myself.
Then, as if something had snapped in Mamoru, his expression changed completely, and he spoke.
"Kyoya, you've come this far. You should level up soon."
"Mamoru…"
"One more time. Come explore with me one last time. I'm sure you'll level up then!"
My heart was already broken, but Mamoru's wasn't.
"W-what are you saying, Mamoru…"
"Just come on! Today, after school, we're definitely going exploring together!"
Pressed by Mamoru's enthusiasm, I slowly nodded.
Maybe a final exploration with my best friend wouldn't be bad.
And after school, the two of us headed to the dungeon.
Fortunately, Dokujima and his gang were nowhere to be seen today. Maybe they'd gotten bored of following me around since I was absent yesterday.
The two hours of after-school exploration, my final exploration, began.
Mamoru desperately searched for slimes. He used his "Presence Detection" skill to its fullest, searching nonstop for the next slime, and the next.
"Mamoru, you don't have to rush so much…"
"No, I'm going to get you to level 2 today!"
Pressed by Mamoru's spirit, I fought desperately as well.
Running, slashing, running again.
The two of us, drenched in sweat, raced through the dungeon.
Two hours later.
We came out of the dungeon, out of breath.
Our bodies were soaked with sweat, our breathing ragged. But there was a sense of accomplishment.
"Haa… haa…"
"Mamoru, that was amazing."
Feeling a pleasant fatigue, I smiled with an exhausted face.
"It reminds me of when we both ran for student council in middle school and campaigned together until late at night."
"Yeah, that was tough too."
"Mamoru, thank you for always fighting alongside me…"
Words of gratitude slipped out. At my words, Mamoru shook his head.
"Why are you talking like it's the end? You should have leveled up today!"
Mamoru said, slapping my shoulder.
"Our story has only just begun!"
At those words, I felt a glimmer of hope.
Maybe, this time. Surely, today, I might have reached Level 2.
We stood in front of the Skill Board.
I took a deep breath and held out my hand.
Kyoya Murasakimura: LV1
Skill: Lightning Magic LV1
Party Members: Mamoru Sendo
Displayed there were the same letters as always: "LV1."
Reality was cruel.
"Still no good, huh…"
I accepted the fact quietly. I wasn't even surprised anymore. Just a quiet feeling of resignation filled my heart.
Mamoru, in contrast, was stunned by the number.
"That's… unbelievable. After all that effort. After all that running around. Why? Why is it only Kyoya…"
"Mamoru."
I spoke quietly to the dejected Mamoru.
"Thank you for everything. I'm going to –"
"Why?!"
Mamoru's sudden scream echoed at the dungeon entrance.
"Why does Kyoya have to suffer like this?!"
Large tears spilled from Mamoru's eyes.
They wouldn't stop. He couldn't stop them.
Even though my best friend was suffering so much, I could do nothing.
"Mamoru…"
Seeing Mamoru cry, my heart just felt squeezed.
"I'm sorry…"
I'd dragged him into my dreams, only to part like this.
I'd made my best friend feel this way.
"I'm truly sorry…"
To my best friend, who was clenching his teeth, trembling, and continuing to cry, I couldn't find any more words.
As we stood speechless in front of the Skill Board, at that moment, a figure entered from the dungeon entrance.