Awakening to a Special-Grade Explorer

Chapter 97

Tenji was looking for a different climbing route from George and Pyne. A few hundred meters to the right of the starting point in the forest area, there was a bald mountain area with good visibility. Though it's called "bald," it's not completely barren; trees are planted at reasonable intervals. It's easier to imagine a moderately logged forest.

[Well, this area might be good with clear visibility. I can easily see if someone is approaching, and I don't think I'd lose to anyone in the class with the hiding techniques Chigo taught.] Tenji thought.

He decided to follow this route to aim for the summit. Choosing a route with a lower chance of being ambushed is one of the most important decisions for dungeon exploration activities.

Fortunately, this is not a regular route, so there would be less worry about bumping into other students.

[Monsters are less likely to gather in open spaces in the forest area. It's a route with fewer monsters and fewer students aiming for points. There's no better path for me right now.]

This is a characteristic of dungeon areas called forest areas, where dense greenery continues like a forest. In such areas, there are statistically more monsters that excel in ambushes, lurking deep in the woods to prey on larger creatures. Conversely, monsters that appear in open areas like this are not good at ambushing, making them easier to fight one-on-one.

[If I proceed at a moderate pace, it'll take about an hour, I guess?]

He estimated it would take that long, even considering the pathless mountain trail. Tenji immediately started climbing the slope in front of him. Although it's a slope, it's not so steep that he needs to brace his legs; it's a bit gentler.

That's when it happened.

[Ah... it's Jintawo.]

He spotted a four-legged, heavily armored monster called Jintawo. It seemed to be eating, sticking its mouth into a crack in a tree and licking the tree sap. The creature wasn't very large, about the size of a big turtle, and resembled an anteater, slowly walking around and sucking up tree sap.

However, when it catches sight of an explorer, it reportedly becomes as ferocious as a wild beast.

Its eyes were purple, a characteristic of a fifth-grade monster.

[Well, it might be just right. As a swordsman, I'll defeat only fifth-grade monsters and reach the goal... Isn't that the perfect scenario?] Tenji thought.

To lure the Jintawo, he struck a nearby tree with his iron sword still in its sheath, making a dull sound. As the sound echoed around, their gazes suddenly met.

"Giohh!?"

It seemed a little surprised.

The astonished Jintawo, with its eyes wide open, quickly caught sight of Tenji holding his iron sword at the ready. The moment it saw him, the Jintawo's eyes became bloodshot, and a faint red aura emanated from its entire body.

"Ah, is that what it is? When it's said to become as ferocious as a wild beast, it means it gets angry without any change of notice?," Tenji thought, slightly impressed by the new discovery.

The monster's characteristics and habits are written in textbooks, but when you actually face them, there are often new discoveries like this.

On the other hand, it could also be said that foreign explorers who create textbooks are doing it arbitrarily. But it can't be helped, as their main job is to be explorers, not to create textbooks. This school has a good and bad side when it comes to practical skills, and classroom learning is not as emphasized as hands-on experience.

"Gioooooo!"

The Jintawo roared and scraped the ground with its front legs in an intimidating manner. In response, Tenji drew his iron sword from its sheath. He held the sheath in his left hand so it wouldn't get in the way and kept it ready to use for defense at any time.

His sword stance, as taught by Chigo, had the tip pointing forward and held slightly below the waist.

[For short, four-legged monsters, a basic low stance. I really met a great teacher.]

In his heart, he thanked Chigo, who was probably having a second nap at home.

She is usually very sloppy and only interested in food, games, or sleeping. Even so, her talent as an explorer is genuine, and everything is formed by her own unique style. Although all of them overwrite the orthodox explorer techniques, Tenji finds Chigo's fighting styles and teaching suits him well.

Of course, there must be many compatibility issues between an explorer and their teacher. Meeting a compatible teacher and receiving one-on-one instruction is a great privilege, and through this exam, Tenji began to re-recognize that.

"Gioooooo!"

Jintawo charged fiercely, snorting rough breaths.

The monster is known for having a body as hard as rock, except for its belly, but it's also a monster with no other distinguishing features. The countermeasure is quite simple.

"Alright."

Just before the collision, Tenji dodged Jintawo's attack as if jumping over a vaulting box.

Unable to stop its momentum, Jintawo crashed straight into a nearby tree. No, it was Tenji who had positioned himself to lead Jintawo there.

"Gio..."

Just a brief moment of stillness would do.

Tenji ran up to Jintawo's side, found a grip on its hard shell-like skin, and grabbed it firmly.

The iron sword was not in his hand but stabbed into the ground nearby.

With a strong push, Tenji lifted Jintawo's heavy body and forcefully flipped it onto its back on the ground.

At this point, Jintawo was unable to return to its original position on its own. It had a characteristic similar to that of a turtle, so in Japan, it was sometimes called "Urashima Kame Taro" in a derogatory sense.

Tenji looked down at Jintawo, now lying helplessly with its belly exposed.

"If it didn't get angry, it would probably be loved as a pet."

Only a very small part of the population has such a taste.

Apparently, there are enthusiasts in the world who adore gentle and cute monsters like pets.

These people pay a high price to have explorers capture the monsters unharmed and kindly protect them.

Tenji thought that if this Jintawo didn't get angry and looked cute like a turtle, it would probably be sold for a high price.

"But this time, you'll help me earn points."

Picking up the iron sword stuck in the ground, Tenji ruthlessly plunged its tip into Jintawo's belly.

The iron sword was not a particularly fine weapon, so the sensation of cutting the flesh directly through the blade was transmitted to his hand.

This drawback is why the iron sword is unpopular. However, it is famous as the cheapest dungeon-produced weapon, so many explorers still use it.

"Jio... o... o..."

Jintawo writhed and struggled several times before finally stopping all movement. Then, its body began to turn into magic ore.

Exhaling a tired breath, Tenji decided to wait for the transformation to complete in the shade of a nearby tree.

He propped his sword against the tree and sat down on the ground, leaning his back against the rough bark.

A slightly chilly breeze blew through his hair, accompanied by the pleasant rustling sound of leaves rubbing together.

The cool sound of a flowing stream could be heard in the distance, and looking up at the sky revealed a comfortable sun. Of course, this sun was fake, created by the MP atoms filling the dungeon, but since Tenji felt as if it was real while being here, it might as well be considered genuine.

"It feels good... though a bit cold."

Tenji began to regret not bringing an extra layer of clothing.

After waiting about two minutes, Jintawo's body transformed into a fist-sized piece of magic ore. Tenji placed it in the provided belt pouch and stretched while sitting.

"Alright."

Regaining his focus, Tenji gripped the handle of the iron sword he had propped up.

At that moment, he faintly heard the conversation of some people in the distance.

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah, that's what it said. If we follow this map to a certain location and retrieve something, we'll apparently get a significant bonus on our score."

"Heh, that's completely different from my role. My role is the 'Caring Village Girl,' so it might be just right for me. Should we do that retrieval job together?"

"Really? Yay! If I'm with Chaewon, I can feel at ease fulfilling my role as a 'Carrier.'"

Hearing the distinctive voices of the two close friends, Tenji let out a sigh of relief.

They were from Korea who had come to study abroad together, and they were two of the five people who seemed to ignore Tenji's presence.

Tenji himself had no bitter memories with the two and normally thought of them as "cute." Perhaps it was because they shared the commonality of being from neighboring countries.

[Still, "Caring Village Girl" and "Carrier," huh? The roles Illonka-san mentioned might be more diverse than I thought.]

Tenji assumed there would be at most 14 roles.

He had now discovered three of them: "Commoner," "Caring Daughter," and "Carrier," and felt quite satisfied.

[But, I still don't know who has been assigned the role of a Black Explorer, which is a bit scary. What if I'm targeted..?]

From Fuyuki and Pyne's preliminary information, Tenji deduced that there should be some radical roles as well, not just peaceful ones.

One of those roles should be a Black Explorer.

If, just if, Tenji was targeted by a student with that role, he shouldn't lose under normal circumstances.

However, because Tenji was known as a fifth-grade swordsman, he didn't know how to deal with such a situation if it occurred.

"No, there's no way Principal Limeyi would set up an exam specifically to target me. Maybe I'm overthinking it."

Reflecting on his overthinking, Tenji exhaled a sigh.

Then, he heard the conversation between the two girls -- the beautiful Song Chaewon, who looked like a Korean idol, and the innocent and lovely Yu Mina -- once again.

"But I wonder what we're supposed to carry."

"I don't know. Let's just go to the place on the map, see what it is, and think about it from there."

"Yeah, let's do that."

With that, the two left the area without even acknowledging Tenji's presence.