Chapter 7 Sasaki Natsumi ⑥
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”The mobs around here are a joke,” Sugita scoffed. “Why are we wasting time here? Let’s push deeper.”
His suggestion was a blatant middle finger to Instructor Carlos’s orders. Yamato’s face flushed with heat, her brows knitting together as she snapped back.
”Were you even listening to the Instructor? We aren’t ready for the deep zones yet! We need to stick to the plan!”
”Oh, look at the Vice Prez, being all ‘model student,’” Sugita rolled his eyes. “Newsflash: we aren’t at Manabu Academy ⁿ anymore. I don’t have to take orders from you here.”
”I’m not telling you to follow me! I’m telling you to follow Instructor Carlos!”
Yamato had logic on her side, but logic didn’t stand a chance against the group’s ego. Hagimoto and Hidaka nodded along, and soon Akiyama and Koganei joined the chorus of dissent.
”Sugita’s right. We aren’t even breaking a sweat.”
”Yeah, these things have zero bite.”
”If we want real XP ⁿ, we have to go further in.”
”Honestly, if we keep crawling along at this pace, the Demon King will die of old age before we even find him.”
”None of these punks are worth my true power anyway… heh heh…”
That last bit of cringe was Nishiyama. It was rich, considering he’d been struggling against basic goblins just as much as I had. But the real shocker was Jinno. He actually stepped forward and threw his weight behind the push.
”We can’t hope to challenge the Demon King at our current level,” Jinno said, his voice brimming with a self-righteous gravity. “The sooner we grow strong, the sooner we can save the innocents suffering under his reign. We have to move forward.”
”But… that’s…!”
”Alright, let’s settle this democratically,” Sugita interrupted, a smug grin plastered on his face. “Majority vote. Raise your hand if you’re down to head into the deep zone.”
Hands shot up across the clearing. The only ones who stayed down were me, Yuki, Yamato, and her maid, Ise.
”The ‘ayes’ have it! We’re moving in!”
”Wait!” Yuki cried out. “Instructor Carlos told us to stay back for a reason. There’s something in there we can’t handle. You can’t just…”
”Shut it, Yuki,” Sugita snapped. “The vote’s over. What, are you gonna run back and tattle to the teacher like a little brat?”
Yuki flinched, his lips pressing into a thin, tight line.
”Yuki, it’s fine,” Yamato said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s out of our hands now. If things get ugly, you and I will just have to carry them.”
”As you wish, my Lady,” Ise sighed, her eyes cold as she looked at the others. “Fools are deaf to wisdom, no matter how loudly it is shouted.”
”You’re as blunt as ever, Ise…” Yuki laughed weakly. “But you’re right. We can’t stop them now. We’ll just have to watch their backs.”
It was all well and good for them to say… they actually had the Status ⁿ to back up that confidence. For me, this was a straight-up death sentence.
”Sasaki?” Yuki turned to me, his eyes curious. “You didn’t raise your hand either. How come?”
I stared at him, deadpan. “Are you really asking me that? You’ve seen my stats.”
”Oh… right. Sorry,” he murmured, looking away.
That was the thing about Yuki. He wasn’t malicious, just hopelessly insensitive. And sometimes, that was worse.
* * *
We ignored the warning. We pushed deeper into the dark.
At first, it seemed like Sugita was right. Their high stats let them tear through the local monsters with ease. They were even dropping Ogres without breaking a sweat. In this world, taking down an Ogre was the mark of a first-class warrior… it was a brutal reminder of just how far ahead of me they were.
”See? Total cakewalk,” Sugita laughed, stepping over a corpse. “The Instructor was just being a paranoid old man.”
”No kidding. This is barely a warm-up.”
”Though I guess some people still can’t keep up,” Hagimoto sneered, glancing back at me and Nishiyama. “Gyahaha!”
”Shut your mouth, Satsuki!” Nishiyama barked. “I’m just holding back my true potential!”
I hated being lumped in with that clown, but I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. The truth was a bitter pill I had to swallow every single day.
Most of the group… the ones doing the actual killing… were leveling up fast. It worked just like a game: kill a monster, get the XP. But there was a catch. You didn’t get a ‘party share.’ If you didn’t land a hit or contribute to the kill, you got nothing.
My total XP gain so far? One measly goblin.
With my garbage stats, this wasn’t just ‘Hard Mode.’ It was a suicide run.
Then the wolves started appearing.
They were strange. They would pop up ahead of us, wait until we noticed them, and then bolt. We’d chase them, lose them, and then another would appear. Over and over.
”Dammit! It got away again!”
”What is with these things? Are they like Metal Slimes or something?”
”If they are, imagine the XP drop!”
They laughed, quoting RPG tropes like this was all some grand adventure.
”There! Another one!”
”Not this time, you little…!”
”Wait, it’s running again!”
”Get back here, you coward!”
My stomach did a slow, nauseous roll. This was wrong. It felt like we were being led. Every time we chased a wolf, we were lured deeper into the shadows of the forest.
”Hey… guys? This feels bad,” I muttered.
”You feel it too, Yuki-san?” Yamato asked, her hand moving to her sword hilt. “I have a terrible feeling about this…”
”What do you think, Sasaki?” Yuki asked, turning to me.
”We’re being baited,” I said, my voice flat. “They’re leading us into a trap.”
”I concur with Sasaki-sama,” Ise added, her posture stiffening. “I sense a predatory intent in the air.”
But the others were gone, their bloodlust fueled by the chase. By the time we caught up to them, it was too late.
The wolves had led them into a natural amphitheater… a wide, flat clearing boxed in by steep, jagged cliffs. It was a perfect kill-zone. A boss arena.
”What is this place?”
”It looks like… the end of a dungeon.”
”Sweet. Does that mean the boss is finally gonna show up?”
”Wait, is that actually safe…?”
”Shut up! There’s twenty of us! We can take anything this forest throws at us!”
”Yeah, stop being a pussy.”
”Wait… look up there. On the cliffside.”
I looked up. My heart stopped.
Dozens of wolves were perched on the rocks, looking down at us like we were a buffet. And in the center, standing above them all…
”Whoa… it’s huge.”
It was a wolf the size of a warhorse, its fur a haunting, slate gray. I triggered my Appraisal ⁿ skill, my breath hitching as the window flickered to life.
Name: —–
Race: Barghest ⁿ
Gender: Male
Class: Pack Alpha
Level: ??
LP: ???? / ????
MP: ??? / ???
Status: Normal
STR: ???
VIT: ???
DEX: ???
AGI: ???
MAG: ???
MIN: ???
Skills: ???
Title: King of The Forest of the Greedy Fool ⁿ
The screen was a sea of question marks. My skill couldn’t even touch it. And that title… The King of the Forest of the Greedy Fool.
”Sasaki? What’s wrong?” Yuki asked, seeing the color drain from my face.
”That… that big one,” I choked out. “Appraise it. Now.”
”Huh? Okay, sure… wait. What? What is this!?”
Yuki’s face went pale. He saw the same void of information I did.
”Everyone, RUN!” he screamed, his voice cracking. “That’s the Forest King! We can’t win! Get out of here!”
But the warning didn’t land. Sugita and the others, drunk on their easy victories, just grinned.
”Are you kidding? If that’s the boss, imagine the loot!” Sugita unsheathed his blade, his eyes gleaming with greed. “Let’s bag this thing and hit the level cap!”
He charged. The others followed, weapons raised, screaming battle cries.
Then the Barghest opened its maw.
“WOOOOOOON!”
The howl wasn’t just a sound; it was a physical force. It hit us like a tidal wave of pure, primordial terror.
Classmates who had been cheering a second ago were now screaming. Some froze, their bodies locked in a rigor of fear. Others collapsed, their legs giving out as they soiled themselves.
The Barghest let out a sharp, guttural bark.
And then the pack descended.
We weren’t the hunters. We were the bait. We had walked into the slaughterhouse, and the harvest had begun.
”R-Run! RUN! We can’t fight this!”
”Uwaaaaaagh!”
”No! Stay away! NO!”
”I don’t want to die! Please, I don’t want to die!”
We turned and fled in a chaotic, pathetic scramble. I saw people being tripped, others stepping over their fallen friends just to gain an inch of ground. It was every man for himself.
Then, I feel a heavy impact in the center of my back.
Thump.
I stumble, the world spinning as I am shoved forward, right toward the oncoming wall of fur and teeth. I hit the dirt hard, the air knocked out of my lungs.
I look back. It is Sugita. He is standing there, a twisted, panicked grin on his face.
”Sorry, dead weight,” he hisses. “Be a good little decoy so the rest of us can get away. See ya!”
He doesn’t look back. He just runs.
And he isn’t the only one. Yuki, Yamato… the girls who said they’d ‘carry’ us… they didn’t even glance my way. They just kept running, their backs disappearing into the trees.
The wolves close in.
Yokoo’s summoned Living Armor ⁿ stands over me to protect me, but it is outnumbered. It is quickly swallowed by the pack and turned into a heap of scrap.
”No… stay back… STAY BACK!”
I scramble backward on my elbows, swinging my sword blindly, but it is useless. A wolf’s jaws clamp onto my right arm.
“GUAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”
The pain is a white-hot explosion. I scream until my throat tears.
”My arm! My arm is aaaaaaaa!”
I think that is the end. I am wrong.
It isn’t just my arm. They tear into my left arm, my right leg, my left leg, and my side. I am being dismantled piece by piece. Finally, the Barghest pins me down, its massive weight crushing my chest. It lowers its head and clamps its jaws shut around my neck.
I cannot even scream anymore.
God damn it. How did it come to this? Bullied and mocked in my old life. Summoned to a new world just to be treated like garbage. And now, abandoned by the people I thought were my peers, left to die as a distraction.
I won’t forgive them.
IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM IWONTFORGIVETHEM.
Not Sugita. Not Hagimoto. Not Hidaka. Not Jinno, Akiyama, Koganei, Samidare, or Kijima. Not Nishiyama. Not Yamato. Not Ise. And especially not Yuki.
I won’t forgive Nagase or Tenkouin, who looked down on me.
I won’t forgive Mariana, the one who summoned us, or the King.
But most of all… I will never forgive the Goddess Aurelia!
And so, while scattering resentment, I died.
—
Summary:
Driven by arrogance and greed for experience points, the hero’s classmates ignore instructor warnings and venture deep into a dangerous forest. They are lured into a trap by a pack of wolves led by a powerful Barghest. During the panicked retreat, Sugita kicks the low-stat protagonist, Sasaki, into the jaws of the wolves to serve as a decoy. Sasaki dies a gruesome death, swearing eternal vengeance against his classmates, the kingdom, and the Goddess who summoned them.
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Character Insight:
Sasaki’s growth in this chapter is a tragic ‘breaking’ rather than a strengthening. His initial caution and self-awareness of his low stats highlight a pragmatic survival instinct, but his ultimate betrayal by his peers—especially the ‘righteous’ ones like Yamato and Yuki who simply watch him die—shatters his faith in humanity. His death is not a quiet end but a rebirth of pure, unadulterated hatred, shifting his motive from survival to absolute vengeance.
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Behind the Scene:
The author uses classic Isekai tropes (Appraisal skill, stats, majority vote) to ground the setting before violently subverting them with a ‘betrayal’ event that serves as the protagonist’s origin story as an Avenger. The naming of the forest as ‘Greedy Fool’ explicitly mocks the classmates’ hubris.
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T/L:
Notes:
• 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.
• Carlos – The Knight Captain of the Plaudix Kingdom’s Royal Guard. He serves as an instructor and shows genuine concern for Sasaki.
• 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.
• Koganei – Height 166 cm, weight 56 kg. A mood-maker in the baseball club. He was only after Honoka’s body and worked with Oshiro to steal her from Akiyama.
• Hidaka – Height 182 cm, weight 79 kg (Male). A muscular member of the Sugita gang and the Kendo club. While better than the other two, he still used Natsumi as a punching bag and joined in the sexual assault of Lieselotte Himesaki.
• Jinno – Jinno Yuto. The class president. He acts like he has a strong sense of justice, but in reality, he just ignored the bullying of Natsumi Sasaki.
• Yuki – Yuki Chihiro. Height 178 cm, weight 70 kg (Male). Natsumi’s childhood friend. A handsome, athletic top student in the soccer club.
• Sasaki – The protagonist. Height 168 to 171 cm, weight 57 to 59 kg. He has a baby face, but he hides his eyes with his bangs. He was bullied by the Sugita gang just because his name sounded like a girl’s name.
• 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.
• Barghest – A massive wolf the size of a warhorse with bluish-gray fur. It is the King of the Forest of the Greedy Fool.
• Yokoo – Natsumi Sasaki’s otaku friend. His appearance is based on ‘Yoko’ from ‘Comic Party.’ Possesses ‘Materialization Summoning’. Accompanied by a Living Armor.
• Mariana – The second princess of Plaudix and a Saint. Blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing thin silk clothes. About the same age as the students.
• Aurelia – A goddess who contacts the class via the school intercom to announce their reincarnation. Characterized by the protagonist and the Administrator as ‘useless’ and selfish.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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