Volume 2 Chapter 5 The Simulated Dungeon
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Today was finally the first day of dungeon training. The air in the classroom felt tight, as if the whole room had been wound up and left waiting to snap. That definitely was not just my imagination.
”Time’s almost up,” I muttered.
”Aye, reckon so,” Ryota replied.
The two of us had been trading our usual pointless banter to keep our nerves steady, but now that the moment had arrived, there was no ignoring the weight in the room. We were waiting in the classroom while groups from the other classes took their turns diving into the simulated dungeon. Our turn would come soon, and once it did, we would have to enter as a unit.
Before that happened, I took a moment to sort through the main points of the training in my head.
Every semester, students had to train in a school-assigned dungeon. The school chose which dungeon we entered, and while exploring other dungeons was not banned, only the assigned one counted toward our grade.
Since National High used a three-semester system, we were graded in three different dungeons each year.
For our first-semester grade, we would be diving into a simulated dungeon created by a dungeon generator on the high school grounds.
The simulated dungeon had several floors. Groups started on the first floor, explored the area, and descended by finding the stairs. The deeper the floor, the harsher the anti-intruder traps became, the more dangerous the Apparitions grew, and the higher the overall difficulty rose. The final goal was to exorcise the Apparition in the boss room at the deepest level.
Each dungeon had a set completion period, and our grade was based on the floor we had reached when time ran out. Clearing the dungeon by defeating the final boss earned a full 100 points. Anything less meant deductions based on our progress, though our group’s condition at the end could also bring bonus points or further penalties.
We would not dive into real dungeons until the second semester. From then on, multiple groups would enter the same dungeon, which allowed for cooperation between groups. This first simulated dungeon, however, belonged to us alone, so it was a direct test of our group’s raw ability.
When the group leader registered their ID with the dungeon generator, it created a private dungeon for that group. The inner layout changed depending on the ID, but the total difficulty was adjusted so every group faced the same level of challenge. Our first-semester performance would also set the base difficulty for the dungeons we entered from the second semester onward.
Dungeon difficulty ranged from A, which required the strength of an entire state to clear, down to F, which any Sorcery user could handle. The first simulated dungeon was said to be easy enough for any group to clear without much trouble.
In a normal dungeon, exorcised Apparitions left items behind. Those items basically belonged to whoever found them. However, anything treated as an important strategic resource, such as special metal ingots, was seized by the state in exchange for payment. The problem was that the state bought them at absurdly low prices, so the whole thing was practically a ripoff. Because of that, dungeons with good drop efficiency were sometimes kept secret. Those were called rogue dungeons, or dark dungeons. The dungeon at Risa’s house was one of them.
The most important point was that items never appeared in the simulated dungeon.
I checked in with Ryota one more time about our group preparations.
”How’s your setup looking?”
”The Committee Chair and Mari are guided. That makes a group of five, including the first-push. I don’t think we’ll hit any snags in the simulation.”
Ryota had managed to bring the Free student he had been hoping for into his group. Mari was the bob-cut girl who usually sat by the window. Including Yamada-san and her three followers from junior high, plus two former Free students who were now Strong-Females, Ryota’s group had six members in total. The five girls, excluding Ryota, were in the middle of a strategy meeting, and from the outside, they looked incredibly solid. They really did resemble a team of professional Sorcery users, and I got the sense that his roster was fully prepared.
”What about you, Minoru?”
”I’ve got Chifumi. Risa and Yurina are plenty capable too. We can make it work with four.”
”Are you going to be okay coordinating with Naruse-san (Risa) and the others? It looks like the burden on Takino-san (Chifumi) might be pretty heavy…”
”I feel bad for Chifumi, but I’ll need her to push through. In some cases, I’ll step to the front myself. Like you said, Ryota, the key will be how well I can use Risa and the others.”
My three were also holding a strategy meeting. Having so few members was definitely a concern, but Chifumi was a Majo, so the Apparitions in this simulated dungeon should not pose much of a threat to her in a one-on-one fight. On top of that, Risa and Yurina had real dungeon combat experience. With Chifumi as our core and Risa and Yurina supporting her, we should be able to clear it.
Besides, we had Hinoki, the self-proclaimed former Great Apparition, as our hidden trump card.
Creeeeak. The classroom door opened, and Tamai-sensei stepped inside.
”Your turns are almost up. Group members, please follow me.”
At the teacher’s call, most of the students began to move. As I left the classroom and glanced back, I saw the Free students who had not been chosen for any group still sitting at their desks.
At this point, the other three boys in my class had all filled their groups with six people. Since the class had twenty-five students in total, that left three Free students without a group.
Six people was the recommended number for a dungeon dive, and it was not as if I had no interest in bringing in more Free students. The problem was that none of them really caught my eye. The girl in the front row might have been an option if she slimmed down a little, but it would have been strange for me to start barking orders for her to lose weight at this stage.
My stance had been that I would not refuse them if they approached me, but no one had come knocking. My lack of popularity really hit home.
”Come on, don’t just stand there daydreaming. Let’s go,” Chifumi urged.
”Minoru, you’re going to be late,” Risa added.
”Minoru-sama, let us go,” Yurina said with a graceful nod.
”Yeah, yeah, stop shoving!”
Chifumi and the others pushed me out of the classroom from behind.
The building next to the gymnasium served as the entrance to the simulated dungeon. It looked like a large shrine from the outside, but when we opened the double doors at the front, a vast hall stretched out before us. At the back, where a sacred object would normally sit in a real shrine, there was a clunky machine about the size of a compact car. Several teachers were busy adjusting its parts. That was the simulated dungeon generator.
The walls around the hall had two kinds of surfaces: plain white earthen walls and sections that rippled with dark energy. There were more than ten of the dark walls, and they looked exactly like the dungeon entrance in the basement of Risa’s house. Each one was an entrance to a simulated dungeon for a different group.
We waited in our groups in front of the machine.
When the teacher called Ryota, he stepped forward as the group leader and held his Student ID up to the machine’s reader. A section of the white earthen wall turned black and began to ripple as a new dungeon entrance appeared.
”Rana.”
”Yes, sir.”
At Ryota’s signal, Yamada-san stepped into the wall. One by one, the rest of the group, including Ryota, disappeared after her. Once the last member was gone, the teacher operated the machine, called the next group, and sent them into their own simulated dungeon in the same way.
”Tatemiya-kun.”
”Yes, sir.”
It was my turn. I held up my Student ID, and the dungeon entrance formed.
”Chifumi.”
”Heading in now, yeah?” Chifumi said brightly.
”I’m counting on you.”
With a soft plop, Chifumi’s body sank into the wall.
”Risa, Yurina.”
”Yes.”
”Yes, Minoru-sama.”
The two of them entered as well, leaving me for last.
”Off you go. Take care.”
Sent off by the teacher, I stepped into the simulated dungeon.
The first thing that hit me when I opened my eyes was the sight of dirty concrete walls. The space resembled the school, but the iron pipes in the ceiling were exposed, and rust had spread across them in rough stains.
”This is kinda creepy, no?” Chifumi remarked.
”It’s so dusty in here,” Risa noted.
”Is this… the school?” Yurina asked quietly.
”…It does suit what we’re wearing, doesn’t it?”
”It sure does, innit?” Chifumi said with a small laugh.
We were wearing the school-designated uniforms made for dungeon activity. They looked like our regular uniforms, but their defense against Apparition attacks was on a completely different level.
There was a cruel kind of irony in clearing a school-like dungeon while wearing a school uniform.
”The dungeon starts past that door, doesn’t it?” Chifumi asked.
”This room is a safety zone. It’s the starting point for the first floor,” I explained.
”Then let us begin our preparations,” Yurina suggested.
Our first task was to prepare for our return.
I turned back toward the dungeon entrance, which had now become our exit, and faced the wall rippling with black energy. When I thrust my hand into it, someone on the other side squeezed it firmly. After confirming that their hand had pulled away, I withdrew my own and found a small wooden slip resting in my palm.
It was a return slip handed to us from outside by Tamai-sensei, our homeroom teacher. Return slips were used in pairs: one was placed at the entrance, and the leader carried the other while exploring. When the carried slip was used, it teleported the group back to the first slip’s location. In other words, it was a one-way return item that only worked inside the dungeon.
After confirming that we could exit through the dungeon door, we prepared to head farther in.
First came the escape item, a marble-sized stone known as an escape ball. If someone wearing one ended up in a life-threatening situation, it canceled the damage and teleported them out of the dungeon. Since it was the most important safety item, many people had it made into jewelry, such as a necklace or earrings, so they would not drop it.
In this simulated dungeon, the escape ball was not strictly necessary. The dungeon generator constantly monitored the condition of each invading group and would forcibly eject us the moment it judged that we could no longer continue exploring. Even so, that did not mean we could skip the check. If we did not build the habit now, we would not be able to do it properly during real dives starting in the second semester.
I confirmed that all four of us had our escape balls.
Next came armor. Starting in the second semester, we would be allowed to use high-performance armor once we obtained it. Today, however, we were limited to our combat uniforms.
Finally, weapons. Each of us had brought the weapon we handled best. Chifumi had a staff, Risa had a magic pistol, and Yurina had a sword. As for me, I carried a knife that could amplify sorcery, along with a handgun-type magic pistol I had borrowed from Risa.
Our group roles were simple. Yurina would serve as the vanguard, Risa as the mid-guard, Chifumi as the rearguard, and I would act as leader.
Standard theory said the leader should stay in the safer rearguard. Plenty of leaders liked to rush to the front, but in ordinary exploration, the group needed a commander more than another fighter.
The leader was usually the most capable person in the group. When an opponent appeared that only the leader could handle, they had to step in, but they were supposed to leave minor tasks and small-fry Apparitions to the members. Their main job was to watch the situation and give orders.
That was the theory for a full six-person group. Our group only had four members, and Yurina, who was serving as vanguard, had the lowest proficiency. Expecting this samurai girl to act as both a cut-in specialist and a tank would be asking too much.
Because of that, I had Risa equipped with the machine gun mentioned earlier and a shotgun-type magic pistol, allowing her to move as a sub-vanguard. Chifumi would provide follow-up support as needed, and I would fill any holes that opened in our formation.
A leader had several roles.
Final decision-making was the obvious one, but there were two other famous responsibilities.
The first was never giving up.
When a group faced the unexpected, ran into a powerful enemy, or ended up in a desperate situation inside a dungeon, the leader had to keep the will to survive and win at all costs. Strong-Females tended to give up quickly once they believed they could not be saved or could not win. For that reason, people said it was essential for the leader to be a Strong-Male who simply refused to die.
Strong-Females who belonged to a group, and who followed the orders of their Strong-Male leader, could face even enemies they knew they could not beat with reckless courage, staking their lives for the male they had once accepted as their leader.
Even after a group made a comeback, they still had to continue exploring the dungeon. During exploration, the Strong-Male acted as the leader, and that leader had to command desperately in order to protect the Strong-Females, who technically stood above him. This was why Strong-Males were thoroughly broken in and forced to understand their position before their first dungeon dive.
The leader’s other role was activating skills that affected the entire group.
In game terms, that meant activating group skills. These included effects like raising the group’s attack power or reducing damage from specific elemental attacks.
Unlike sorcery, these skills affected not only combat but also exploration, and only Strong-Males could use them. Their effects also differed from person to person.
My skill changed Mana consumption and sorcery power within a fixed range.
Having multiple effects made it a top-tier skill. The range was limited, but I considered it flexible and easy to use, especially because it could make up for our low total Mana capacity. In fact, because I had this skill, the Tatemiya family staff quietly looked the other way when I formed a group of Strong-Females with low total Mana.
”Ready? Alright, fall in!”
”Yes, sir!”
”Yes!”
”Yes, Minoru-sama!”
At my command, the three of them lined up in front of me. Their tension showed in their shoulders and backs, so I moved down the line, resting a hand briefly between each girl’s shoulder blades before explaining today’s reward.
”Today’s goal is to get used to the dungeon. If we follow the plan, we won’t lose. If the practice goes well, we’re all having a sleepover at my place tonight. Let’s move.”
”Yes, sir!”
—
Summary:
Minoru leads his group of three females into the simulated dungeon as part of their school practical training. After establishing their roles and confirming safety measures like escape balls, Minoru motivates his subordinates. He emphasizes the importance of his leadership, including his group skill and his role in keeping the group’s morale high, before ordering the start of their exploration.
—
Trivia:
The dungeon generator creates unique dungeons based on the leader’s ID, but the overall difficulty is normalized.
Strong-Females are prone to giving up when they realize they cannot win, making the leader’s role as a tenacious Strong-Male essential.
The leader’s group skills, unlike sorcery, are unique to Strong-Males and can affect group performance during both combat and exploration.
Minoru’s specific group skill involves manipulating Mana consumption and sorcery power within a fixed range, which compensates for his group’s lower total Mana capacity.
Students must use school-provided uniforms for simulated dungeons to ensure fair evaluation, despite them being less effective than high-performance armor.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Ryota – A loyal, outgoing middle schooler in Minoru’s class, he is a well-connected peer who leads his own group of students, including preparing them for the upcoming dungeon simulation. As his group’s spokesperson and a keen observer of school dynamics, he acts as a supportive, constant presence for his classmates, balancing his social role with his peculiar, personal fondness for miracle body lines.
• Risa – A long black-haired, gyaru-styled student and mid-guard who uses a magic pistol, she possesses dungeon combat experience and a Majo’s Tears item. Once hostile and prideful, notably in her clashing with Maruyama, she now serves Minoru with blissful, submissive devotion. Known for her sharp eyes, skill in Western cooking, and provocative banter, she wears outfits chosen by her master, trading her feral past for duty.
• Yamada – The family name of Rana.
• Minoru – The protagonist. A reincarnated sorcerer from a powerful lineage, he navigates a world with reversed beauty standards as a calculated, mob-like student. Now, a strategic, shock-wielding Majin and dungeon administrator, Stoic and dominant, he asserts control over his female subordinates—including his trainee Yurina—through rigid mastery contracts.
• Yuri – A cheerful and energetic first-year student at Higashi High who is a classmate of Shibuya and an acquaintance of Kibe Yurina from their middle school days. A girl known for being aggressive toward Hayato and displaying overt favoritism.
• Chifumi – Minoru’s 15-year-old childhood friend and classmate is a scrawny, long-haired frost/water mage and devoted Majo. Playful, airy, and a skilled mediator, she balances a trendy, cat-like demeanor with fierce combat prowess as Minoru’s proxy. A curious student and supportive rearguard, she schemes with Risa and trains with Minoru, blending naive charm with sharp-tongued, dominant battlefield efficiency.
• Yurina – A black-haired, disciplined swordswoman and vanguard of Minoru’s group, this serious student is a skilled Sorcery user and Kibe family member. Known for her beauty and signature lucky hair ornament, she balances high-level combat prowess with a formal, devoted demeanor toward Minoru. Beneath her proud, stubborn facade, she struggles with emotional turmoil while resisting her forced submissive role.
• Naruse – The family name of Risa.
• Takino – The family name of Chifumi.
• Hinoki – A centipede-type Great Apparition serving as Minoru’s chibi familiar and tactical advisor. With a powerful jaw, high magical resistance, and the unique ability to reconfigure dungeon structures, this playful, inquisitive creature acts as a loyal shield and hidden trump card. She remains deeply bound to Minoru, seeking to restart her life cycle through their strategic partnership.
• Tamai – A male homeroom teacher at the school who oversees the dungeon training arena and duel procedures. Beyond managing his group of students and facilitating their access to the guidance facility, he is responsible for supervising the entire dungeon training process.
• Rana – A tall, heavy-built student who leads Ryota’s circle and acts as his combat partner. While maintaining a close relationship with Senfumi, she also serves as the group’s information broker, actively tracking social standings to support their objectives.
• Tatemiya – The family name of the protagonist (Minoru), and Kotoha.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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