In the end, Al had to make do as someone who did not belong to any faction or group. He has only the same amount of mana as an ordinary person and a subtle characterisation as an oafish little guy from the south.
(Yeah. …… I should have thought a bit more about my characterisation. Hah …… I don’t have a problem with being a loner, though. The Only problem is the way the teachers at the academy look at me. [I’m Pain] I just don’t like a bit of that. Yeah, yeah. I also feel like the level of surveillance or vigilance of Lord Yoel and his team has been overtly raised. ….Give me a break.
Oh well. Now for the tutorial. There have been many differences between this world and the game, but I didn’t realize that the tutorial here …… is the same as in the game.
On the one hand, there are some aspects that are strangely unique to this world, but at the same time, there are dungeons that are set up just like in a game. Even if there is a tutorial, I thought the dungeon would be like a normal cave, like hunting demons in the vicinity of the royal capital)
After the powerful aristocrats had been drawn off, the teachers in charge of the frontier group for this term were greeted and introduced, and in the same vein, “dungeons” were suddenly explained.
Dungeon.
A mysterious space with a gate that is the entrance to the academy grounds.
The demons in the dungeon disappear when they are defeated, leaving behind a residue of mana. No corpse of the demon is left behind. And sometimes, after the corpse of the demon disappears, useful weapons or magical tools may appear for some reason. These are so-called drop items.
It is exactly like the “dungeon” in the game setting.
In the game that existed in Al’s previous life, the dungeon itself does not play a major role in the storyline, as it is a challenging element after the game is completed.
Sometimes there are accidents and rescues in the dungeon, or the dungeon is used as a meeting place by those in the dark.
In the game, the existence of the dungeon itself was not explained in detail, and it was just used as a kind of training facility for the academy.
(Go up to the fifth level, defeat the hierarchical boss, and activate the stone tablets, which are magical tools for shortcuts that are said to exist at each of the five levels. Then you come back to the academy and that’s it. …… is a messed up game! What the heck with a shortcut grimoire! Obviously, this dungeon is the only one in the world! For what it’s worth, it was a real world based on a game setting! Don’t suddenly make me feel like I’m in a video game! Then have status and levels available from the beginning! I didn’t even realize this was a world based on a video game setting until last year! Had I known about this dungeon, I would have remembered it sooner!)
Anger, which he could not share with anyone, left Al’s heart. Well, it’s ……, so what the hell.
(So. Enough. I don’t remember any tutorials on the game side, but it’s about as much as the level-one protagonists can do. You don’t have to be so uptight about it..)
Essentially, the frontier group’s initial dungeon dive is treated as a thing to unite factions and groups and to understand each other’s abilities, and after that it is treated as a practical training facility against demons.
This dungeon is also the main combat subject for the capital’s aristocratic groups, but they dive in a little later. After a certain amount of training. However, it has also been determined that it is not so dangerous for mages.
In other words, it is said that for frontier groups that have already been through a real battle, it would be safe to be thrown in suddenly …… and that is the level of danger.
However, as for Al, he is a non-factional loner and will dive in alone.
Is this a bad idea? …… so the teachers thought for a moment. After confirming that Al was a member of the Falconer family, they were pleasantly surprised: ‘You go alone. Rather, don’t join the others’ …….
As a result, Al is now alone in the dungeon.
****
“Lord Yoel. I know it’s none of my business, but …… is that Albert guy going to be okay on his own? How about letting him joining up with us …… since there is plenty of room here?”
Cecily. Female protagonist.
Her dignified voice can be heard echoing slightly in the dungeon.
”Lady Cecily. You do not need to worry about him. In fact, you should not be concerned about him. I know it is bad manners to talk about a family name in its absence, but …… he is a member of the famed Falconer family, one of the Five Families of the South.”
“Whattt! A clan of mad warriors……! Is he? Really?”
Cecily, the female protagonist. Daryl, the male protagonist. Both are related to noble families on the eastern frontier. Although neither …… is related by blood to the family.
The East is relatively similar to the South in terms of demonic tendencies. Their effective fighting methods naturally include melee combat. Of course, they are not as unbalanced as the Falconer family, which is almost exclusively close combat. However, they do recognize its usefulness. As such, she knew the Falconer family for better or worse.
“Excuse me, It’s not that I don’t believe what Lord Yoel said. I was just a little surprised.”
“No, that’s fine. As I recall, the two of you suggested bringing him in? I couldn’t say it right then and there, but the reason we didn’t try to pull him out was not because of his mana volume or because he was from the South. He is simply a skillful imitator, and he is quite capable of doing so. But at the same time, it stirs some uneasiness. I am sorry, but we refused to bring him in because we judged his insecurity to be stronger than his ability.”
Yoel explains to Cecily and Daryl. It is polite, but in the end it is only for the fluffy reason of ‘I’m kind of worried.
He also said that because of his duties as a shadow of the royal family, he could not work with him, but there was no way he could tell that to the two “divine children of the oracle” as it was.
“No wonder the two squires to Lord Yoel were looking at him so sternly. …… Well, he is a warrior of the Falconer family. That amount of mana and presence …… I couldn’t see through it at all.”
‘…… Don’t be discouraged, Daryl. I’m the same way. I was distracted by the attitude and other things that were on display. No, that’s an excuse.”
They both lamented that they could not see through Al, but it was inevitable. To that extent, the Falconer family’s mana control is just natural.
(They’re also protective of the weak and compassionate toward others and have enough spirit as a person associated with the nobility. It’s great for a frontier noble family, but …… these two will eventually get more meddling from the capital noble family.
I hope they don’t get taken advantage of. ……No, I am actually myself taking advantage of them… I have no rights to speak)
Joel found their temperaments agreeable, but he also knew that those of the capital’s aristocracy would not see it that way. They will try to take advantage of them.
Protecting them is also his role as the shadow of the royal family. It is only natural to eliminate uncertainties.
“Shall we go to ……? I heard there are many goblins in this dungeon. Have you two fought in the East before?”
“Yes, I’ve seen more than my parents’ faces, and that’s not an exaggeration. ……”
“I am the same way. In the East, goblins and orcs are my main opponents. ……”
****
“Yeah! Depressing!”
Al moves through the dungeon alone.
Naturally, the dungeon demons attack him, but they are weak.
Avoiding being witnessed by mages, he fights only with physical reinforcement without using “bullets”, but even so, the demons …… goblins that come out are not enough to prepare him for the fight. But there are so many of them.
“I was a little scared when I first saw them, but …… they are weak, goblins. I hear that there are many subhumanoids such as goblins and orcs in the eastern canyons .. but not this level. Probably there are individual differences, There should be some upper class guys and mutants. The guys in this dungeon are strangely boorish and uniform, so there must be some kind of manipulation or balancing act going on. ……”
The other students are far away, and Al is completely alone, talking to himself instead of his usual silent contemplation.
While mumbling, he continues the bizarre task of turning the attacking goblins into corpses in an instant.
He has already reached the fourth level, but the goblins have yet to stop his progress.
The number of goblins is not enough to call it violence in numbers. Sadly, perhaps it is a dungeon rule, but at most seven goblins appear at a time.
“The strength of a single …… is the same, but the difficulty level is adjusted by the number of appearances and coordination. That’s messy. The passageway is huge, so why don’t they push more with the numbers? …… No, why am I worried about the dungeon side?”
The first time he hit the goblin with all his might, the goblin exploded, so now he is cutting back. …… Even so, Al returns the goblin to mana with a simple blow after blow: a fist, a hand blade, and a kick.
The academy also has a time difference if there are a large number of factions, as the quintessential challenge is about five people at a time. Because of the large number of people, many of them are on different schedules.
However, no matter how much time difference there is between the two groups when they enter, it is all the same when they meet up inside. After all, the institute does not take the effort to go to the dungeon to monitor them.
After all, it is just like an orientation. If a person is seriously injured or dies in the fifth level of the dungeon, that’s the end of it for that person.
If you are a student of the noble class in the capital, you will receive more generous support from the academy, but the treatment of the noble class on the frontier is nothing like this.
Many of the teachers at the academy are also affiliated with the noble families of the capital, and they have a large presence at the academy. And many of the noble families in the capital have a deep-rooted tendency to look down on the noble families of the frontier as barbaric countrymen.
Those who do not face demons on a daily basis do not pay attention to the fact that without the frontier aristocrats, much of the country would be swallowed up by demons.
[If we were serious, we could easily exterminate demons. The reason we don’t do that is to give jobs to the country nobles.]
There are not a few metropolitan nobles who really think like that.
Because of such influences, for those noble families on the frontier, for better or worse, the Radford Royal Academy of Magical Arts is a self-responsible, laissez-faire approach.
The academy is also aware of the fact that irregular individuals sometimes occur in the “dungeon. And the approximate timing of the occurrence of such individuals.
Such information is manipulated by some teachers and used to harass the children of country aristocrats in a childish …… way, in case they get upset. Even such things are a daily occurrence.
Just like this time.
****
“Damn it! What the hell is this these goblins?”
“Protect Lady Claudia!”
A crony acting as a guard steps in front of Claudia and holds up a large shield, but he is struck by a sword blow from a goblin that is only lightly …… wielded, and the shield is blown away without a moment’s thought.
Goblins.
Goblins are also known as evil nymphs, but they are real creatures and demons.
In this world, they are subhuman and therefore highly threatening. They use weapons and tools to build society.
They are as intelligent as beasts, and the church believes them to be unclean, but in the East, they are recognized as a type of demon tribe. In other words, they are recognized as having the same intelligence and social skills as humans.
Individual differences are great, and sometimes they even surpass the 'skills” inherited from the human race and use magic at the level of the heads of aristocratic families.
Disaster individuals.
Although the absolute number is small, it is said that it is difficult to escape …… death if you encounter such individuals.
****
(Hey, come on. Another sticky event? That goblin is normally strong. He’s different from the mooks, and is he an abnormal individual? Isn’t it weak enough to be called a disaster unit? Hmmm. I can’t tell the grade of goblin.
But then, they are also a shambles, those vertically-rolled lady rolls. I hear that the west is mainly large scale magic at long range, so I guess they are not good at close combat, but …… escort should do their job properly. You should at least buy time for the young lady to prepare her strong magic. Don’t allow her to get this close in the first place.)”
Al sensed the presence of a powerful individual, and when he came to check on him, he found that Claudia and her family of western nobles were being treated well by a single goblin.
Although there is not much difference in their appearance, there is no way that they are just individuals in terms of mana and skill level.
The goblins stand slack-jawed with large, single-edged Western swords. However, there is no gap in its standing posture.
Besides, he is even aware of the presence of Al, who has been hiding his mana. Rather than the people in front of him, he has stopped moving, wary of the lurking Al.
(…Even though I vaguely remember it, I’m pretty sure I didn’t see this guy in the tutorial of the game setting. …Hmm, am I supposed to do something about it? The main characters are still far away and …… that vertically rolled Lady Claudia …… is probably a very important character. The regular route didn’t have a character with such a goofy villainous visual character, so does it affect the majority of the …… storyline? Or is she a tragic character bound to die out here? No, no, if you come to the academy and die early, by the fifth level of the dungeon, you’ll just end up an embarrassment in the eyes of the aristocratic society of this world )
While Al is struggling with his worries, Claudia and her friends are breaking in despair. ……