NOVEL NEXT Chapter 102
“Here, Sif. Take this.”
I handed the mask I had prepared in the workshop to Sif. She took it and immediately put it on her face, looking at me with a questioning expression.
“Can you make stuff like this too?”
“I can handle mithril, so making a silly mask like this is a piece of cake.”
“True.”
Sure, it makes me sound like a total edgelord, but I needed this kind of preparation to get involved in the main story. Lewis knows my face, and I’d be in trouble if it got exposed.
It’s not like I can even dig naturally.
Plus, I had to keep my identity hidden, so I needed a concept.
I shoved a shovel with a mithril cover into my backpack and pulled out a piece of wood to make a small staff, like the magic wands from a fantasy movie series that reigned long ago. This was a childhood dream of mine.
“Are you trying to mimic a wizard?”
“That would be the safest bet.”
Just in case, I had Sif bring me materials for other concepts, but I had no intention of using them unless absolutely necessary. I could stamp an image so clear that no one could suspect I was the same person, but it could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.
The concept is way too intense.
“What about me?”
“Just make sure your face isn’t shown. You can throw some knives or whatever to pretend to be an explorer.”
“Okay~”
Shall we start tailing them now?
We pressed up against the wall next to the door Lewis had passed through, peeking around the corner. It was a necessary procedure to sneakily follow him while checking his progress. It didn’t seem like it took too long for us to come down, but his speed was faster than I expected.
“I think we can pass now.”
We entered the quiet room, where only the traces of destruction remained. The room was a mess, with golem fragments scattered everywhere. We moved stealthily, worried we might get caught, making our way to the next room. As we got closer to the door, faint sounds began to reach our ears.
“Seems like it’s coming from the next room.”
“Hm, his progress is faster than I thought. It’s only been about 15 minutes since we heard the noises.”
Whether it was a reincarnation or not, the original protagonist seemed quite powerful.
I mean, it is a test dungeon and all, but pushing through that fast? If this were a game, you could say he’s well-leveled. But reality and games are different, so we shouldn’t dismiss the possibility that the party members, excluding Lewis, are stronger than anticipated.
“Sif, pull out the telescope.”
“Got it-”
We carefully brought out the telescope and entered the room. Again, it was a room of similar size. We poked our heads out from the side of the door to assess Lewis’s party’s position. They were completely focused on their battle with the monsters and didn’t notice us at all.
Oh dear.
If it were me, I would have set traps behind to prepare for surprise attacks.
“Sif. Keep your distance, and let’s observe those students with the telescope.”
“Observe? Why them? They’re just students, after all.”
Sif tilted her head and asked me.
“If we end up going through a dimensional rift, we might need to collaborate with those students. I plan to just watch, but… I need to gauge their strength in case of unexpected situations.”
“So, you’re saying the risk allowance just increased?”
“…Interpret it how you want.”
Letting out a sigh at Sif’s thought process that always leads back to money, I sat down in a suitable spot and brought the telescope to my eye.
Using the telescope, I could clearly see the original protagonist’s party fighting down to the smallest details from far away. I first checked out the party members.
Five members, it seems. First, there’s Lewis, the front-line attacker and melee dealer. Then there are the witch, Shuri, and the noble lady, Perinne. There’s a male student who looks like a priest, and a nameless female student throwing potions.
One healer and four dealers.
Their opponents seemed to be three golems made of blocky rocks, and about four goblins. It was a composition like they just threw whatever they had out there without much thought.
“Wow, that guy with the sword is impressive!”
“What if a stronger enemy comes out?”
“Hmm… But that guy with the sword is quite nimble, so he should be pretty useful, right? His distance control isn’t bad, and he’s making sure not to get his teammates’ attention. But he’s not wearing armor or a shield, so it looks a bit precarious… Oh! He got hit.”
As she said, Lewis’s face contorted in pain after taking a hit to the shoulder. It looked like his shoulder might have dislocated. Almost as if her words were a signal, a white light stuck to his shoulder like a leech. The pained expression on Lewis’s face quickly relaxed. It seems the recovery magic worked decently.
“Seems he’s quite skilled.”
“But isn’t that a lot of pressure on that sword guy? If he gets seriously hurt, the back line will…”
“Probably be fine.”
Just as I ended my sentence, a jet of water fired from the umbrella of a girl with blue hair. The water shot out like a firefighter’s hose, instantly blowing off the golem’s arm.
“Whoa, I’ve never seen water magic used like that before.”
“That girl is Perinne Neraid. She’s the heir of the Neraid family. In terms of water magic, she’s evaluated to be at a level similar to third years.”
Source: the game.
“So she’s a silver spoon?”
“Correct.”
I turned the telescope to observe the dog-eared witch who was chanting fire magic from behind. She was the heroine who had been flirting with Lewis in the market.
Was fire magic her specialty?
“That dog-eared girl is Shuri, rumored to be a top student in the magic department. While she may not be as strong as the noble lady from the Neraid family, she has the capability to pass a test like this.”
Source: also from the game. It’s obvious I have no clue about her actual strength in reality.
“But it doesn’t seem like Perinne and Shuri get along very well, huh? They’re glaring at each other whenever they get the chance.”
“Well, they’re competitive rivals, so it can’t be helped.”
“Aha.”
I’m not sure how he managed to rope them in between the duel at the market and the finals, but it seems like the protagonist cleverly picked his party members. Typically, you’d have to wait until the second semester to recruit Perinne.
Is Karina’s absence making the story go haywire?
“What about that priest?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t know?”
“I don’t know, so I don’t know.”
There’s no way I’d know about characters that didn’t appear in the game. I’m just assuming he’s a priest based on him using recovery magic.
“And that girl over there?”
“She seems to be from the alchemy department.”
It’s hard to argue against a student throwing potions not being from the alchemy department.
In summary, it’s a rather peculiar composition of one protagonist, two heroines, and two extras. The balance of the party is kinda ambiguous, but it resembles a typical “hit hard and finish” party as their firepower is fantastic.
Of course, in this dungeon, which is for a final exam, you can just blow everything away, but… it’ll definitely cause problems in a dimensional rift.
“…So he’s definitely not a reincarnator.”
If he were, he wouldn’t have gone with such a vine-tangled swordsman.
“What?”
“Nothing… Let’s start moving soon.”
I put the telescope away and stood up. At the end of my sight, I could see very small dots moving. I pulled out some jerky from my pouch and followed the protagonist’s party.
——————-
Is it finally time for the dimensional rift to open?
Having arrived near the entrance to the final boss room, we were hiding, sneaking a peek at the protagonist’s party. His party had made an impressive entrance, boldly reaching the boss room all the way down to the underground third floor.
Seeing that they picked useful members for the party was a sight to behold, and I thought my plan to lazily ride the main story might go smoothly, like a portable hot pack that warms you up.
“Is it opening?”
“Just wait a little longer.”
“Is that so? Give me one more piece of jerky.”
“Here you go.”
Sif took the jerky I handed her, munching away while using the telescope to watch the protagonist’s party. Initially, she seemed bored, but now she was watching like it was a sports game. I can imagine that’s what it’s like watching a game from the spectator stands. Not that I’d know for sure since I’ve never been to one.
“Wow, those nobles’ magic power is different. I’ve never seen water magic make holes in a steel block.”
“Truly the heir of the Neraid family.”
In the game, that was one of her basic skills, so I doubt it’s too different here. I watched my protagonist’s party take on the final boss of the exam, the steel golem, comparing how much the game knowledge differed from reality.
Lewis deflected the steel golem’s attacks with his sword, moving defensively, while Shuri amassed damage with fire magic, and Perinne hindered the golem’s movement with jets of water. And whenever the nameless female student’s potions broke upon impact with the golem, smoke would billow from its body.
Is it something like hydrochloric acid?
Anyway, it’s probably a solvent that melts steel. I have no idea why she carries that around.
“Oh, an arm flew off!”
“Looks like it’ll be over soon.”
As we guessed, the battle was wrapped up in under three minutes. The figure of the steel golem, which once appeared fearsome, had crumbled and melted away, almost inducing sympathy.
Now that they defeated the golem, it’s about time for the rift to open.
“It should start appearing soon.”
“Do you even know that much?”
“Yeah.”
Now it’s time to prepare to jump in as soon as the dimensional rift opens. I shoved the telescope into my backpack and locked it to make sure nothing falls out.
The dimensional rift should be opening soon…
…But why isn’t it opening?
I could have sworn it opened right after capturing the steel golem.
What happens if it doesn’t open?
“Johann, what about my risk allowance?”
“Hang on. I’m thinking about what’s going on right now—”
Just as I was about to dive back into my thoughts, the dungeon began to shake, proving that the god hadn’t abandoned us. This was certainly a sign that the dimensional rift was about to open.
If not—
“Johann!”
“Don’t shout. We’ll get—”
“Johann! Behind you! Behind! Behind!”
Sif’s voice, laced with panic, made me turn my head to look behind.
Ah.
Damn it.
A swirling blue vortex filled my vision.
That was the last thing I remembered.