Chapter 72 Intervention
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The twenty-eighth night of the Tester Life. 5th Floor, Area Guardian Room. Sanada Yakumo.
”A copper chest, just as I thought,” I said, my shoulders slumping.
A copper treasure chest had materialized between the black gate and the throne. Last time, it was a silver chest and a small pearl box. Since the pearl box was a special first-clear reward, I knew it wouldn’t drop again, but seeing the chest itself rank down was a blow. Was it only silver before because I was the first one to take down the Area Guardian?¹
Either way, I now knew that grinding this floor wasn’t worth the effort. The Guardian’s chest on the first floor is fixed at copper. Apparently, that’s why there’s a constant line of students waiting to farm it. The first-floor Guardian takes three hours to respawn. Excluding the dead of night, only about four groups a day get a shot at it.
Normally, you’d think waiting in line to farm it would be pointless. But if you’re hunting for gear or Grade-4 Potions, I suppose it’s an option. In my case, I have no interest unless I’m already here for power-leveling.
By the way, I’ve heard no one bothers farming the second-floor Guardian. The Sword Rabbits are high-risk, and the people fighting on the third floor already have decent equipment. Besides, a Kobold is worth three times as much as a Horn Rabbit’s Magic Stone. It’s a toss-up whether anyone would want a copper chest enough to sacrifice the entire party’s daily wages. There’s no guarantee you’ll even get what you want.
I opened the chest while weighing these thoughts. Inside were a slender black sword and a Grade-4 Potion.
”Is this… a rapier?” I asked, taking the sword and giving it a test swing. It was clearly a weapon specialized for thrusting rather than slashing. These show up in fantasy stories all the time, but was I supposed to give this to Sayaka? I doubted she could handle such a specialized weapon. I’d never used one myself, so I couldn’t teach her. Rapiers are meant for piercing gaps in armor. The blade is thin; if someone unskilled used it, even high-quality black iron could snap.
The Gray Wolf breastplate and gauntlets were good spares for Sayaka’s gear, but this sword was useless to us. It might be the first “dud” I’ve pulled from a copper chest.
”Well, it happens,” I muttered.
I stowed the rapier and the potion in my Magic Pouch and stood up. Once Sayaka and Rock finished gathering the Magic Stones, I led them through the black gate back to the first floor.
* * *
When we returned to the first-floor teleportation room, the students there immediately turned their clicks and jealous glares toward us. I expertly ignored them and headed for the Great Plaza.
Near the entrance, the sound of Oida’s screaming reached us.
”You brat! What do you mean you can’t pay? Get back in the dungeon and kill something right now!” Oida barked.
”I… I can’t!” a student cried out.
”Sensei, our friend’s leg is hurt. We only made enough to cover our own costs today. Please, give us a break,” another student pleaded.
”So what? Someone who gets hurt by a Horn Rabbit is nothing but dead weight! The rest of you go back in!” Oida shouted.
”We don’t have the strength left!” the student replied.
”Oida-sensei, forcing them isn’t right. Please, calm down,” said Sayama.
”Shut up, Sayama! It’s that attitude that makes the students think they can walk all over us!” Oida snapped.
It looked like Oida was shaking down a student he’d grabbed by the collar. This group probably hunted around the second floor. Against Horn Rabbits, they’d be lucky to earn enough for food and the Wall-Butt tax.
The baseball coach was trying to hold Oida back, but Oida wasn’t listening. His eyes were bloodshot; he looked like he was being driven into a corner—mostly by his own urges.
Kume from English and Miyata from Math were there, along with the track and soccer coaches. They all had dark, hollow looks in their eyes. The students gathered around the fountain were glaring back at them. The resentment was building nicely.
”That’s horrible…” Sayaka whispered, her brow furrowed.
”When people are pushed to the brink, even teachers end up like that,” I said.
”But to take from them so forcefully…” Sayaka began.
”Yeah, he’s definitely overstepping,” I agreed.
If they were going to collect, they should have targeted the parties on the third floor. I guess they were too scared to act tough against students who had reached their own rank. Some things never change.
It was a pain, but since Sayaka was watching, I couldn’t just walk away. I let out a soft sigh and moved up behind Oida. I aimed a kick right at his flank, where his leather armor offered the least protection.
”If you’re really that short on stones, show us the contents of your bag and prove—urk!” Oida took my roundhouse kick directly to his side and went flying, taking the student he was holding down with him.
I winced. I hadn’t expected him to catch so much air. I’d never kicked a human before and I’d forgotten to account for the rank difference. Whatever. It was just Oida.
”Gah… cough… wheeze… You… Guard… what do you think you’re doing?” Oida wheezed, clutching his side as he glared up at me.
”A teacher shouldn’t be shaking down his own students. It’s pathetic,” I said, looking down at him.
”What? I’m not shaking anyone down! We’re doing this for the students who can’t fight—”
”Who are you really trying to help? The shut-ins? Or the kids fighting for their lives?” I asked.
”B-Both! It should be obvious!” Oida stammered.
”Then it’s a bit strange to tell an injured student to go back in, don’t you think?”
”There is nothing strange about the able-bodied supporting those who can’t! Japan is built on the strong supporting those with physical or mental disabilities! Not that an uneducated thug like you would understand!” Oida yelled.
”No, I don’t. Why should anyone have to sacrifice themselves for someone else? If you’re so committed to the cause, why don’t you fight around the clock? In the time you’ve spent arguing, you could have earned ten times the stones you’re trying to squeeze out of these kids,” I replied.
”We… we’ve been fighting since early morning for their sake!”
”What are you talking about? These guys are fighting to save the girls, too,” I said. With Slave Exchange Tickets in play, that’s where things naturally headed as the dungeon was cleared.
”Don’t compare us to those rabbit hunters! We’re fighting Kobolds!” Oida screamed.
”From where I’m standing, it’s just a bunch of losers arguing over who’s less pathetic. But more importantly, have you noticed how the students are looking at you? Take a good look at their eyes,” I said.
”The students’ eyes? What are you—” Oida’s voice trailed off as he looked at the crowd. He went silent. Every student in the vicinity was staring at him and the other teachers with pure hostility.
”Oida-sensei. If this keeps up, we’ll be completely isolated. Let’s go,” Sayama said.
”Dammit… what? Tsukigase!?” Oida muttered. The baseball coach—Sayama—spoke up, and Oida pulled himself to his feet. He glared at me, but then he finally noticed Sayaka standing behind me.
Sayaka leaned into my arm, looking at Oida with eyes full of pity, as if she were looking at a stray dog. Oida seemed to lose his voice under her gaze. He glared at me one last time before being supported by Sayama as they left with Kume and the others.
As the faculty retreated, the track and soccer coaches gave Sayaka a lecherous look. I glared them down until they hurriedly turned away. They were clearly reaching their limit.
”Sorry for getting you caught up in that,” I said, helping the student who had been knocked over.
”Ow… no, thank you. You saved me,” the student replied.
”Did you hurt your back? Use these. Consider it an apology,” I said, handing him two Grade-5 Potions.
”Wait, really? Are you sure?”
”Your friend is hurt too, right? Fix him up,” I told him.
”Thank you! Thank you so much, Guard!”
”I told you, it’s an apology,” I said.
I left the bowing student and his friends behind, walking away with Sayaka.
”Hehe,” Sayaka giggled.
”What is it?” I asked.
She was still clinging to my arm, looking remarkably pleased.
”I just thought… my Master is really cool after all.”
”Whatever you say,” I replied.
I didn’t quite get it, but Sayaka just smiled and said, “It’s okay. As long as I know, that’s enough.”
—
Summary:
Yakumo clears the 5th floor boss but is disappointed by a copper chest loot. Upon returning to the plaza, he finds the teacher Oida extorting weaker students. Yakumo intervenes with a powerful kick and exposes the teachers’ lack of authority to the growing resentment of the students.
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Trivia:
- The first-clear reward (Pearl Casket) only drops once.
- Oida is a teacher/sensei, which adds to the taboo of his shakedown.
- The rank difference between Yakumo and Oida is so vast that a simple kick launched him into the air.
- Slave Exchange Tickets are the driving motivation for the male students saving female students
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Character Insight:
Yakumo shows a sense of justice masked as annoyance; he doesn’t care for the ‘social contract’ but won’t let a bully hurt the weak in front of him. Sayaka’s pity for Oida shows her total alignment with Yakumo’s superiority.
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Behind the Scenes:
The author uses gaming terms like ‘repops’ and ‘loot tables’ to ground the fantasy world in game logic familiar to light novel readers.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Yakumo – A 25-year-old human male. He has facial scars, stab wounds, and gunshot scars from his time in a war zone. He works as a school guard.
• Sana – Black ponytail, hooded/sharp eyes, kyudo practitioner, average height.
• Sayaka – The academy’s premier beauty and a member of the swimming club. Currently classified as a Rank 1 Slave. She is seventeen years old and a virgin. E-cup. She has blue, short, boyish hair. Her best friend is Sanae.
• Rock – A male Kobold summoned from a Magic Sealing Crystal. He has grey fur, round eyes, and a face resembling a Shiba Inu. He wears a leather jacket and a pilot’s cap
• Oida – A PE teacher with a large build and a plain, non-intimidating face. He was formerly an Olympic developmental athlete for Judo. He uses a greatsword in the dungeon and wears tattered jerseys.
• Sayama – Baseball club coach in his thirties, former professional pitcher with a history of injuries. Pragmatic and anxious about his family and career stability.
• Miyata – Mathematics teacher who uses a spear. Described as having noticeable dandruff.
• Kume – An English teacher, suspicious of Sanada. Slicked-back hair, wears a shady expression.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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