Chapter 6 Sasaki Natsumi ⑤
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Starting today, we will conduct live combat training.”
In the morning, as we gathered at the training grounds as usual, Instructor Carlos raised his voice.
”Hell yeah! Finally!” one student shouted.
”Seriously, I was getting so sick of just doing the basics forever,” another added.
”Ehh, but it’s a little scary,” a girl murmured.
”Gufufufu… This is where my legend begins…” a boy muttered.
Except for a few, the class erupted in cheers as if they had been waiting for this moment. By the way, I was part of that ‘few.’
”Normally, it would be too early for you all, but the King is in a hurry…” Instructor Carlos muttered, scowling.
”But not everyone is going. Those with production-type skills are exempt. In exchange, I had them make weapons and gear for all of you.”
There were indeed a few of them. Tatei was one. Tatei’s skill is called Materialization Alchemy¹, which allows for the creation of imagined objects from nothing with perfect precision.
Others with certain summoning skills were also exempt. That included Yokoo. Yokoo has Materialization Summoning², which is similar to Tatei’s skill. It involves manifesting and summoning things from one’s imagination. In fact, standing next to Yokoo was a suit of Wandering Armor—a Living Armor like something out of a famous national RPG—standing perfectly still as if following Yokoo’s every command.
Honestly, I was jealous that they didn’t have to fight. Unfortunately, I was in the combat unit. Due to my low ability scores, I tried to decline, but according to Instructor Carlos:
”Defeating monsters and leveling up might unlock your skills.”
He said that. Fortunately, the monsters in the place we were going were supposedly weak enough that even I could defeat them. Still, I couldn’t feel entirely at ease.
And so, we headed toward the Forest of the Greedy Fool³.
* * *
The Forest of the Greedy Fool—
It looked like a forest, but it was essentially a labyrinth, or a dungeon. It was what people called a field-type dungeon, where apprentice Kishi⁴ and some hunters (what they call adventurers) did combat training or earned some pocket change. The monsters that appeared were mostly weak things like Goblins, but the deeper you went, the stronger they became. Because of that, every year, people who got cocky would go deep inside and, at best, return with heavy injuries, or at worst, never return at all.
That was why it was named the ‘Forest of the Greedy Fool,’ Instructor Carlos explained with a bit of trivia.
”I want you all to defeat the monsters lurking in the upper layers—Goblins, Orcs, and the like—to get a feel for real combat. At least one per person. But never step foot into the depths; I can’t guarantee your lives. Also, I’m not going. You go by yourselves.”
Instructor Carlos gave the warning with a serious face, but several students gave half-hearted replies of “Ye-ssu.” Wait, was the instructor really not coming with us?
”Hey, knock it off. The instructor is being serious,” Yamato Hina scolded them.
She rebuked the students who were acting unprofessional.
”Oh boy, the Vice President sure is serious,” Hagimoto teased with a sneer.
”Hagimoto-kun!” Yamato Hina snapped.
Hagimoto interjected while laughing at her. Yamato Hina—she was the student council vice-president, serious and stiff. With long straight hair and sharp, strong-willed eyes, she looked more like a mature beauty than a ‘pretty girl.’ She was popular with both guys and girls, but the delinquents didn’t like her. Despite her personality, she had somehow looked the other way even when I was being bullied. It was as if she didn’t want to get involved.
”My Lady, it is a waste of time to say anything to such a fool. It is a waste of your breath,” Ise Maya said.
”What was that, you! Ise, I’ll screw you over!” Hagimoto shouted.
”The weakest dogs bark the loudest, don’t they?” Ise Maya replied coolly.
”Why you…!” Hagimoto growled.
The one spitting venom at Hagimoto was Ise Maya. She was Yamato’s attendant—or rather, her maid. She had hair cut short to her shoulders and a gaze that looked down on others. She was beautiful, but unlike Yamato, she gave off an aura that made people stay away, so there were no rumors about her love life at all. Incidentally, when she was summoned, she was wearing the school uniform, but now she wore a maid outfit.
Furthermore, Hagimoto and Ise were like cats and dogs—and not the ‘fighting because they’re close’ kind.
Well, Hagimoto picked a fight with everyone, though.
”That’s enough, you lot! Don’t think you can defeat the Demon King⁵ with such a flippant attitude!”
Instructor Carlos scolded them, and everyone fell silent.
”Listen, no matter how talented someone is, the ones who get cocky like that are the first to die. Understand?”
’…’
”Where’s the answer?!”
’Yes!’ everyone shouted.
In a way, he seemed more like a teacher than Mr. Nagase. Speaking of Mr. Nagase, he wasn’t here because he wasn’t in the combat unit. I think his unique skill was some kind of leadership type. So now he was learning military strategy and things like that. It seemed appropriate for a teacher, I guess.
”Normally you’d form parties of four to six, but this time, move as one big group. Now go!”
And so, we entered the forest.
* * *
We walked through the forest in a cluster, fighting and defeating monsters as we moved forward. Inside the forest, there were paths wide enough for us to walk as a group. Since it wasn’t paved, it was a bit hard to walk, but that couldn’t be helped. On the other hand, the area outside the paths was thick with trees, making it impossible to push through. It reminded me of the first floor of a certain Yggdrasil-themed labyrinth RPG.
So far, no particularly strong monsters had appeared. Even I had defeated one Goblin—a monster about the height of a child with green skin, just like the legends say.
Though I struggled more than the others.
Honestly, it would have been more dangerous if I hadn’t had the sword and breastplate Tatei handed me. “Actually, the performance is a bit better than the gear everyone else got-degozaru,” Tatei had whispered to me. It felt like a Longsword +1 or something like that. Even though it looked exactly the same. I was grateful to Tatei.
Also, the suit of Wandering Armor summoned by Yokoo was moving subtly to protect me without others noticing. Yokoo probably gave it those orders. By the way, the Living Armor’s level was 3, and regardless of ability scores, it was slightly higher than ours. Apparently, immediately after being summoned, it had fought in the Forest of the Greedy Fool and gained experience.
Even so, everyone—including me—was killing Goblins and things without much hesitation. Some of the girls should have had an aversion to the act of killing creatures like this. Maybe it felt like a game to them. Or perhaps the Goddess did something to us when we were summoned.
Take the sisters Mei and Rei Kishima, for example. The two of them showed off coordination unique to twins and overwhelmed a pack of Orcs. Yamato Hina had high overall ability scores and struck down Goblins as if she were crushing pests. Even more brutal was Samidare, who sacrificed the Goblins she defeated to summon a Hobgoblin to fight for her. Despite that, she called a Horn Rabbit ‘cute!’ and was still holding it in her arms after taming it.
Well, Horn Rabbits are gentle and apparently nobles keep them as pets, but that’s beside the point.
Thanks to Tatei and Yokoo, I thought I could manage around here somehow. However, it seemed the others—especially Sugita and his group—found it lacking. He spoke up with total confidence.
”The enemies around here are so weak it’s a joke. Why don’t we head deeper in?” Sugita asked.”
—
Summary:
The class begins their first live combat training in the ‘Forest of the Greedy Fool.’ While some students are exempt due to production or summoning skills, the protagonist must participate despite his low stats. The group successfully clears the upper layers, but the atmosphere turns dangerous as the stronger students suggest heading into the deeper, deadlier parts of the woods.
—
Character Insight:
The protagonist shows a mix of pragmatism and anxiety, relying heavily on the secret support of Tatei and Yokoo. Meanwhile, characters like Yamato Hina and Samidare reveal a chilling ease with violence—either through cold efficiency or unsettling cognitive dissonance—suggesting that the summoning process may have altered their moral compasses.
—
Behind the Scene:
The ‘Wandering Armor’ and ‘Yggdrasil-themed labyrinth’ are nods to Dragon Quest and Etrian Odyssey, common touchstones in the ‘isakai’ genre to establish power scaling for readers.
—
T/L:
Notes:
• Carlos – The Knight Captain of the Plaudix Kingdom’s Royal Guard. He serves as an instructor and shows genuine concern for Sasaki.
• Tatei – Tatei Kozoo. Height 186 cm, weight 52 kg. Natsumi’s otaku friend. Originally a tall and sturdy man, but he became skin and bones due to anorexia. Possesses the skill ‘Materialization Alchemy’. Created equipment for the class.
• Yokoo – Natsumi Sasaki’s otaku friend. His appearance is based on ‘Yoko’ from ‘Comic Party.’ Possesses ‘Materialization Summoning’. Accompanied by a Living Armor.
• Kishi – Height 165 cm, weight 84 kg. An unattractive guy with a face full of acne. A chuunibyou who calls himself a holy knight. After being kicked out of Plaudix, he went to Greedia where Natsumi humiliated him.
• Hina – Yamato Hina. Student council vice-president. Serious, beautiful, with long straight hair and sharp eyes.
• Hagimoto – One of the members of the Sugita gang who actively bullied Natsumi. At first glance, he looks like a cool, smart guy with glasses, but he is actually vulgar and has a foul mouth.
• Maya – Ise Maya. Yamato’s attendant/maid. Short hair, cold gaze, wears a maid outfit.
• Sugita – The leader of the Sugita gang and the primary bully of Natsumi Sasaki. His grandfather is the Superintendent General and his father is a Police Superintendent, so the two of them covered up all his crimes. Because of this, he does whatever he wants wherever he goes.
• Ren – Height 169 cm, weight 50 kg. A cool-headed guy with glasses who aimed to be a lawyer. He viewed bullying as a minor issue and stood by while Natsumi was tormented.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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