Vol. 3 - Chapter 134 - Katariona Once Again Attends Orientation
This year's orientation for new students will be held in the exact place where the dungeon was that appeared during our orientation as freshmen.
And for some unknown reason, I was among the upperclassmen who would be helping assist. Chris and Leon were in the group, too.
On top of that, the teacher in charge of the team we were assigned to was Tojurou-san.
Today is the day of our team meeting.
Just like the orientation two years ago, will we go head-on without a plan?
"This time around," he said, "it's a magical battle from the first to the sixth level. Don't worry. The monsters are relatively weak. We'll just have to beat them."
Ahh~. I knew it.
"Sensei! That is dangerous for new students who have little to no dungeon experience. I think it's better to divide the vanguard and the rear guard."
Ryan was the one who raised his hand and objected. As expected of the younger brother of the assistant prime minister, Marcus Wright.
"I understand. I'll take the vanguard. As for the rear guard, I'll leave it to Yurie. Those who are good at attacking, follow me. Those who are good at magic, put them under Yurie."
How careless of him. I slumped down.
"Hahaha! Typical of Tojurou to do that."
Chris laughed hysterically when I told her.
"Chris is lucky," I remarked, "You're with my big brother. And the teacher in charge is Kikuno-sama, right?"
A teacher with brains and a senior who is skilled in the offensive.
"We have Tojurou-sensei, who is the headstrong type of teacher. But we also have Ryan, so I guess we can manage."
"Ryan. He's very smart, and he's very powerful, so how did he end up with an "A"?"
I had wondered about this myself and asked Ryan about it. He said, "I like the role of being a general advisor."
"I see. I guess he wants to be an assistant to my brother, who will become prime minister in the future then."
The dungeon for the orientation is up to fifty levels, but they have already mapped it out because we have already been through it.
Ron-sama and Sylphy-sama were the ones who conquered the dungeon.
The team that Chris and my brother belonged to got caught up in the dungeon's emergence and fell to the forty-ninth level.
At that time, the adventurers who came to their rescue were Ron-sama and Sylphy-sama.
I heard that the day after Chris and her team were rescued, they had already conquered the 50th level, the lowest level.
The last boss is said to be a twin-headed dragon with a red and white head.
"It is impossible for a human to beat, so do not touch the master of the lowest level," the map warns.
But despite the warning, adventurers are always tempted to take up the challenge.
Adventurers were given a transfer stone at the entrance to the dungeon.
As soon as adventurers see the boss at the lowest level, they usually use the transfer stone to escape back to the dungeon. ......
"But there are still some fools who go to the dungeon without the transfer stone. They are nothing but dungeon fodder."
At the moment, I am being taught Transfer Magic by Ron-sama.
Today we are practicing connecting points from the 50th level of the dungeon to the surface.
The twin-headed dragon, the last boss, was hiding behind a rock, watching us.
It was afraid of Ron-sama, a member of the Dragon God tribe.
"By the way, what does he drop when you defeat him?"
Leon is with us. He was not willing to leave me alone with Ron-sama, so he accompanied me to the training.
"Was it a magic sword? I don't remember."
I looked at the twin-headed dragon and saw him trembling and shaking his head.
The red and white heads work together, so the heads don't collide with each other.
Evidently, it is asking me not to defeat it.
It seems to be highly intelligent and can understand our words.
"It's not often you see a dragon like him. It's done, Ron-sama."
"Come again? Well done. Let's try transferring now."
Just before entering the transfer magic circle, I saw the twin-headed dragon patting its chest in relief.
"We did it! We are above ground!"
"...... ground, but not the forest in front of the dungeon. Where is this?"
If I look closely, I can see the Rose Garden that I first created with Creation Magic.
"These are the woods behind the lord's mansion."
"Hmmm. So this is where Yurie envisioned the forest."
He said that transfer magic is the process of envisioning a map in one's mind and imagining the connection of points.
I've memorized the map of this world, so I should have connected the points in the dungeon and the forest outside.
But the word "forest" inevitably reminded me of the forest where Leon and I first met.
"Well, we made it out of the dungeon, so I guess that's alright," he added, "Let's go back."
"Ah, yes."
The day of the orientation--.
For precaution, I put my short sword under my robe.
"Heh. So that's the sword that Tojurou-sensei gave you. How nice. Do you think I could be his apprentice, too?"
Ryan's eyes lit up when he saw the short sword.
"He is a demon when it comes to swordsmanship. He has no mercy, so you'd better be prepared for that."
"As I thought, how about I pass on this? I want to be a civilian, not a swordsman."
"Will you follow the same path as assistant Marcus Wright, Ryan?"
"I'd love it if that happened. But I'm not as good as my brother. Anywhere in the inner government would be fine with me."
I think he is good enough, but he doesn't seem to be aware of it.
The first three levels were relatively weak monsters, so I was able to proceed without difficulty, but from the fourth level onward, I had a bit of trouble.
At last, we arrived at the rest area, where we distributed potions.
"Is there anyone who is injured or would like to recover their strength?"
"These potions taste like strawberries! Was this made by Big Sister Katariona?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Big sister? Lately, the underclassmen have been calling me big sister, why?
"Yes. That's correct. We also have melon and banana flavors."
I put flavoring in this potion. It is something I researched to make a tasty drink out of a potion that tastes like nothing.
"Can I have a potion for myself? I want melon-flavored."
After a while, my brother and Chris' group came into the rest area.
"Yes, you may. Go ahead."
I passed the melon-flavored potion to Chris.
"Oh! You guys made it this far, too?"
"We can't lose to Hikoshiro's group."
Kikuno-sama, the teacher in charge of the team that Chris and my brother are on, said, smiling at Tojurou-san.
"Chris, are you hurt?"
"No, I am not. I just chopped the leader of the layer's head off with a small dagger."
"Hoh. Amazing. That's my disciple."
Chris and Tojurou-san, you two are quite close. I see this kind of scene often these days. Before, they used to argue and fight all the time.
"Have they made any progress in Hinoshima?"
"Hohou!"
I smirked.
"Your expression looks scary, Rio."
"Big brother. Do you need potions?"
"I'm fine. You can share with the other students."
While chatting with my brother, a person suddenly appeared in front of me.
"It's a messenger! Something terrible has happened! A student of the academy got trapped in a three-level trap and was transferred to a lower level!"
The person who suddenly appeared was clad in a magical robe. He was an employee of the Institute of Magic, which manages the dungeon. The person who responded was Tojurou-san.
"What the heck! What level did you say they transferred to?"
"The 20th level!"
—--- TL: To put this into more perspective, the dungeon descends underground. So the farther down you go the harder. So this kiddo basically went to the very middle or ‘heart’ of the dungeon. I’m not sure what level Rio and their team are on, but I’m guessing at most they’re on level 5-10 because they can’t simply speed run this and their reaction was quite big. What’ll happen to the kid~ will Rio and their team be forced to showcase their true ability, hm? Anyways, hope you enjoyed and happy reading!