Volume 4 Chapter 9 Commercial District Invasion
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Today was the first dungeon training of the second semester. The whole afternoon was for practical training.
”Well, do your best,” Ryota said, waving a hand.
”You too,” I said.
I left Ryota and the others at the school gates. We walked in different directions. The dungeon I was going into, the “Commercial District,” was down an alley near the arcade in front of the station. It was about a fifteen-minute walk from school. Ryota was going into a small shrine dungeon. It was about thirty minutes away by bus.
As we walked, Risa spoke about her worries.
”The dungeons we go into are different for each group,” she said, looking at me. “But if they are different dungeons, the difficulty is different too, right?”
Dungeon difficulty has six ranks from A to F. The government decides the rank. In other words, if you go into a wild dungeon without a rank, the government will not take any responsibility for you.
”Everyone should have been put in an E-rank dungeon,” I told her. “There are differences in difficulty inside E-rank. Also, there is the fit between the dungeon’s style and the group’s skills. The ‘Commercial District’ is on the higher end of E-rank. But… since it is our first dungeon, the school probably picked a difficulty each group can beat if they try hard.”
There was no way they would send new sorcerers into a dungeon that would kill them instantly (A-rank or higher). That would be too dangerous.
”For us, it will be super easy! Like, no effort at all!” Mitsuki cheered from the front.
”Dungeons have a way of making things not go that way, you know~” Chifumi said with a soft sigh.
I could hear Mitsuki and Chifumi talking at the front.
”No, wait, Chifumi! Look at the facts!” Mitsuki pouted, throwing her hands up. “We have lots of information. We have enough equipment and items. We are in great shape. Our preparation is, like, perfect, right?”
”That kind of carelessness is the scariest part,” Chifumi said gently, looking back. “Minoru thinks so too.”
”Muu… is that how it is…?” Mitsuki mumbled, pushing out her lip.
Chifumi used my name to warn Mitsuki. Yes, just like that.
It was good to have some tension. Mitsuki’s careless attitude was not okay.
If Manaka were the leader, she could stop problems before they happened. But I am not as good at backing people up as Manaka is. They needed to understand that. It would be too late after an accident.
Since it was just past noon, there were many people in the commercial district.
We were wearing the uniforms of District 13 High School. People were looking at us. Most were probably thinking it was that time of the year again.
We arrived near the dungeon entrance. In a corner of the commercial district, other groups had gathered too. Among them was a familiar face.
”Hey, are you going in here too?”
The one who spoke to me in a bright way was Komoda-kun.
”Yeah,” I said. “Is the ‘Commercial District’ your dungeon too?”
”That’s right,” he said with a big smile. “Having you here is a good thing.”
For me, just being near Komoda-kun felt like trouble was coming.
Also, there was one person who seemed like he would bring even more trouble than Komoda-kun.
”I look forward to working with you today.”
The person greeting the staff at the dungeon management building entrance was Shoji-kun.
Even though a week had passed since he came to our school, he was still wearing his white uniform1. He stood out a lot. People said he did not change schools for good. He was just visiting for the second semester. That was why he did not buy the uniform.
”Are you curious about him?”
Komoda-kun asked me this. He saw me looking at Shoji-kun.
”I just thought that white uniform really stands out,” I said quietly.
”There must be a reason for it,” Komoda-kun said smoothly.
While we were whispering, the staff member started calling names from a list.
The ones called were the five leaders of each group. Five groups and thirty people would go into this “Commercial District.”
The staff member gave us the basic safety rules. Since it was our first time, we had to come back within two hours. After that, the five leaders played rock-paper-scissors to decide the order to enter the dungeon.
The winner could go in first. I came in fifth. My rock-paper-scissors is terrible…!
By the way, Shoji-kun was first and Komoda-kun was third.
The groups went into the dungeon three minutes apart.
Finally, it was our turn.
”Last group, please go ahead,” the staff member said.
The lock on the dungeon management building was opened by the staff member.
Inside the strong door was a room as big as a high school classroom.
At the back of the room, a wall was moving like black water. It was the dungeon entrance.
”Here we go~” Chifumi said, leading the way.
Chifumi was at the front. I was at the back.
”Be careful,” the staff member said.
”Thank you very much,” I said, nodding. “We’re off.”
The staff member saw us off. I stepped through the dungeon entrance.
After passing through the black wall, we were in an alley.
A dead-end corner with buildings on three sides was the starting point of this dungeon.
The six of us looked around.
There were no strange spirits in sight. The area near the entrance was safe, but it was still tense.
We were the last group to enter.
There was no sign of the groups that went in before us. It was not because they had already left. It was because of the rules of dungeons in this world.
If the time people first enter a dungeon is different by more than a certain amount, the world-line inside the dungeon changes. By using different entry times, the inside becomes a parallel world. Even though it is the same dungeon.
This was why the staff member gave different entry times.
The training would have each group beat the dungeon on their own. This was a good way to see each group’s skills using only a few dungeons.
The biggest change from the different world-lines was the map. The paths and rooms would change. The whole maze would be different.
Some things stayed the same even if the world-line changed.
The tricks inside the dungeon and the types of spirits that appear stayed the same no matter the world-line.
The information in the notebook I got from Koki-san was about the spirits and tricks.
He did not give us map information because it was useless. It was not because he was mean.
Groups going into the same dungeon would go deep inside while sharing information about tricks and spirits.
”Let’s check again,” I told the team. “Everyone has their Escape ball and Return slip, right?”
Everyone checked their things and nodded.
Their weapons and armor looked fine. We got ready again.
”Today’s time limit is two hours,” I reminded them. “Our goal is to get through the first floor. There are no tricks on this floor. The goal is to get used to fighting new spirits.”
”Got it~” Chifumi answered for the Strong-Females.
”Well then, let’s go!” I said.
While watching our surroundings carefully, we left the alley.
The alley was at the edge of an arcade street3.
The arcade was about ten meters wide. There was a curved ceiling about ten meters high. Compared to the paths in the Simulated Dungeon from the first semester, this was bigger.
On both sides of the arcade were shops that looked open for business.
They looked very old. The types of shops, how they looked, and their signs were all very different from modern times.
It felt like a modern shopping street from about fifty years ago.
”There don’t seem to be any spirits,” Yurina said, looking around.
Yurina and Asari, who were checking ahead in the arcade, came back.
First, we walked along the path.
It looked like a shopping street.
It seemed like we could go into the shops on both sides. But these were only fronts. There was an invisible wall at the shop entrances. We could not break in.
Inside the shops, there were mannequins. They looked like people shopping or shop workers. A child asking their mother for candy. A shop worker trying to sell vegetables. They showed very detailed scenes.
After walking about fifty meters, we hit a T-junction. We went left.
As we kept walking, a strange feeling started to grow.
A small electric feeling tickled our feet. Rei gave a warning.
”A spirit,” I called out to the group.
A few seconds after I told everyone to be careful, a manhole in the arcade floor opened. Rats jumped out. There were five brown rats. Each was about fifty centimeters long. They moved much faster than they looked. The rats came at us in a spread-out group.
The front line had three people: Yurina, Asari, and Mitsuki.
Asari blocked a tackle from the lead rat. Yurina killed one with her sword. Mitsuki took care of another with her kanabo.
The back line — me, Chifumi, and Risa — each took care of one of the other three rats with long-range attacks.
Every rat turned into smoke and disappeared with one hit. For the first spirits we met, this was about what I expected.
Only the rat Yurina cut left behind a small piece of fur when it turned to smoke.
A drop item: a rat pelt.
It was the lowest rarity. It was not very useful for anything except selling. But getting one in our first fight was a good sign. I put the pelt Yurina picked up into the bag.
”Five of them right away, huh~ As expected, a real dungeon feels totally different~” Mitsuki said, leaning her weapon on her shoulder.
”The most spirits that can appear at the same time is nine per type,” I explained. “If four more came, each person would handle two. Only one type will appear at the same time on the first floor. …Well, we got a feel for it, right?”
”Hmm~ It seems okay,” Chifumi said softly. “If it is up to nine, we have experience from the training dungeon~”
As we walked, a small open area came into view.
From this area, we could see two other paths going in different directions besides the one we were on.
This was a place that connected paths in the dungeon. In the Simulated Dungeon from the first semester, it was like a classroom.
”This is the waiting area of this dungeon, isn’t it?” Yurina said.
There was a little tension in Yurina’s voice.
There were no waiting-type spirits in sight. They would appear and attack us as soon as we entered the area.
The number was random. But we already knew what kind of spirits would appear. There was no need to be too scared.
”It is a wide open space,” I warned the team. “Let’s fight and be careful not to get surrounded.”
”Got it!” the front line said together.
Yurina led the way. We entered the area.
Once everyone was inside, smoke appeared in the area. The smoke came together and took human shapes.
They wore long school jackets4 and had old-fashioned hairstyles5. There were four human figures. They looked like the old delinquent yankees from a past time. All four held metal bats.
Their eyes were empty. But their faces tried to glare at us. It was creepy.
”The hell you lookin’ at? Keep walkin’.”
Without saying a word, the yankee spirits swung their bats back and rushed forward to hit us.
There had been human-shaped spirits in the Simulated Dungeon too. But those were clearly not human. They were wooden dolls or body models. Fighting an enemy that looked like a human…
Yurina was the first to make contact. She dodged the metal bat and at the same time swung her sword at the monster’s arm.
The blade cut through the monster’s wrist. She cut off its hand in a clean, perfect arc. But before the hand could even fall, the sword was already moving toward its throat. The steel went through the yankee’s neck. It cut off the head from the body.
The first yankee turned to smoke and disappeared.
Yurina had killed it without any mercy. She wanted to end the fight quickly. For a close-combat fighter, one moment of hesitation can be deadly. She knew that feeling bad about killing human-type spirits6 would only cause problems later. So she felt good about her sword’s perfect cut.
A moment later, Mitsuki made contact with her own target.
She had turned into a black Oni. She swung her Kanabo with full strength. She smashed the yankee through its own metal bat. The creature flew away. Without stopping, she brought the Kanabo down on a second target. A big overhead strike. The yankee was crushed between the Kanabo and the floor like a frog under a car.
Its head was smashed into a messy splatter. But it quickly turned to smoke and disappeared. I guess the fact that no bodies are left behind is one of the good things about a dungeon.
Thoom! With a loud blast, a big hole tore through the chest of the yankee Mitsuki had just hit.
This happened just as the creature was getting back up. It was trying to attack again. A perfect circle was hollowed out from its chest down to its stomach. You could see the scenery on the other side. It was a piercing round from Risa’s Rifle.
With a big hole in its chest, the yankee fell to the ground and turned to smoke.
The last monster was hitting its bat against the wall Asari had made. The wall did not even have a scratch.
Chifumi and I looked at each other. I decided to handle this one myself. I released a shockwave and broke the yankee into pieces.
The four yankee spirits disappeared into thin air. They could not land a single hit on any of us.
”Looks like we got some loot… yep, there it is~” Chifumi said happily.
”I’ll get it,” I said.
Chifumi pointed to the spot where the yankee with the hole in its chest had disappeared. A patch with a blue design had been left behind. I picked it up and threw it into my bag.
The drop items from these yankees were the patches on their school uniforms7. They were about ten centimeters square. If you sewed them onto armor, they gave a small boost to your defense. But most people just sold them for money.
Even yankee spirits were not a real threat in a one-on-one fight.
As long as we fought carefully and did not get surrounded, we could beat them easily. I looked at Yurina as she put her sword away. I wanted to see how she felt about the fight.
”Yurina, are you okay after that fight?” I asked.
”?? I have no problems at all,” she said calmly. “Was there something you noticed?”
”I just wondered if you felt bad about fighting a human-type spirit, that’s all,” I said.
”Not at all. They are just monsters that look like humans,” she said. “It is no different from fighting the dolls in the last dungeon.”
”Fair enough,” I said quietly.
She did not look like she was just pretending. I decided to check on Risa too.
”How about you, Risa?” I called out.
”I am fine too,” she said flatly. “There is no reason to feel sorry for a monster trying to kill us.”
”Keep that mindset,” I said.
Come to think of it, during our match, Risa did not hesitate for even a second to aim for my weak spots with her Rifle. Even if the enemy looked human, a monster was a monster. She had no reason to stop.
”Asari, your Defensive sorcery looks perfect,” I said.
”If it is just attacks from a bat, my Crystal Wall can block them completely,” she said. “I think it can handle three or four enemies hitting it at the same time.”
”Let’s test that in the next fight,” I said.
”Understood,” she said.
It looked like we could handle the waiting-type monsters without any problems. I felt relieved.
Just as I was about to lead the way, Mitsuki started to complain.
”Hold on a second! Aren’t you going to ask me anything?!” Mitsuki whined.
”You obviously don’t have any problems,” I said.
”I mean, yeah, I don’t! But still, I wanted you to ask me anyway! Like, why don’t you get it?!” she huffed.
Watching Mitsuki pout her lips like a child, even though she was so big, was kind of funny. Back at the Onigahara house, she had trained a lot in real fights against human-type monsters. I knew Mitsuki would not have any problems. But…
Playing favorites or ignoring her efforts was probably not the best way to handle things.
”Alright, alright… are you okay, Mitsuki?” I sighed.
”OMG, totally fine! Like, literally easy!” she cheered.
Mitsuki swung her Kanabo playfully.
Seeing her full of energy made me feel like I had just been dragged into a pointless conversation.
Since I was at it, I decided to check on Chifumi last. I looked at her.
Chifumi struck a dramatic pose before speaking.
”Yayyy! I didn’t do anything at all, so I am super-duper fine right now~!” Chifumi squealed, striking an idol pose. “Hey, hey, I get to go first next time, right?! Pretty please with a cherry on top~?”
”Yeah… sure,” I nodded.
We did need to test her anti-group sorcery.
Unlike her usual self, Chifumi seemed to be in a happy, playful mood. Let’s hope that works out for us.
”Minoru-sama, which way should we go?” Yurina asked.
”Left. We’ll clear the left side first,” I said.
”Understood,” she said.
Yurina went down one of the paths that came out of the open square.
Now then, I wondered how big this first floor was… I wanted to find the stairs to the next floor within two hours.
Asari, who was in charge of the map, wrote down some notes as we moved through the arcade. We went deeper into the Commercial District.
—
Summary:
Moving out into the commercial district, Minoru’s class groups commence their first real-world dungeon training of the second semester. Staggered entrance intervals isolate each group inside distinct parallel world-lines to evaluate their standalone survival and execution capabilities accurately. While successfully neutralizing a sudden onset of oversized sewer rats, the party advances into a waiting plaza where eerie, humanoid delinquents from a bygone era manifest to challenge them, leaving their emotional resolve against human-shaped targets hanging in the balance.
Moving through a urban-themed dungeon layer modeled after a commercial district, Minoru’s battle-ready household easily dispatches a group of four aggressive yankee-type monster aberrations. Yurina cuts down the leader cleanly while Mitsuki unleashes her black Oni transformation to flatten her targets, followed by Risa providing precision long-range rifle punctures. Despite the flawless outcome, interpersonal management pauses the advance when Mitsuki demands equal validation from Minoru, leaving the full scale and depth of the lower arcade sections an unresolved variable.
—
Trivia:
The government handles standard dungeon classifications strictly between ranks A through F.
Dungeons whose parameters are left unverified by national institutions offer zero legal or physical liability for casualties.
Altering initial access timestamps shifts visitors onto unique parallel timelines, completely transforming physical map configurations.
Dungeon timelines preserve standard gimmick behaviors and creature lists uniformly regardless of directional routing deviations.
The maximum standard simultaneous manifestation capacity for single-type low-tier apparitions sits capped at exactly nine specimens.
Inside basic initial dungeon stratums, environmental spawning parameters permit only one creature category to spawn simultaneously.
Yankee monster drop items are physical uniform patches (ワッペン) that function as equipment modifiers or trade items.
The entities encountered inside this specific dungeon dissipate fully into smoke upon destruction, leaving behind zero physical remains.
The group is systematically using a left-hand exploration protocol to chart the branching pathways of the market grid.
Mitsuki has previously undergone extensive training routines explicitly designed around fighting humanoid entities back at the Onigahara estate.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• T – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has recruited K and N from East Middle into his group.
• Ryota – A loyal, outgoing middle-schooler and classmate of Minoru, this male student leads a “Strong-Female” squad and bears the “Great Bear” reputation for stamina. A well-connected sorcerer and strategic spokesperson for the Tsuyo-Osu circle, he knows Mitsuki and uses the Nagase house as a hideout. He is currently assigned to a small shrine dungeon for his training.
• R – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has successfully built a squad and added multiple girls, including M and A, into his group.
• Risa – A tall, sharp-witted female Plain-folk student and daughter of the Naruse merchant guild’s head. Minoru’s dutiful childhood friend, servant, and group member who defers to Chifumi, she is also a childhood friend of Yurina. Lacking innate sorcery, this disciplined Onibara practitioner trains hard with upperclassmen to gain experience, sniping monster vitals with a rifle, magic pistols, or machine gun without hesitation. Notably well-endowed, she rivals Mitsuki in size and resents her mother.
• A – A student from South Middle School described as an idol who has been recruited into R’s high school squad.
• B – A student originally from North Middle School who was added to S’s group.
• Mitsuki – A tall, dark-skinned transfer student with a muscular, explosive hourglass figure, she is Minoru’s competitive childhood friend, rival, and clingy Witch/Majo. Relaxed yet childishly demanding of his attention, this confident vanguard leader proactively guides their group, allied with Manaka and Koki. Unaffiliated with factions, the Three-Limit top assassin candidate leads Onigahara Dojo, using rare healing sorcery and a heavy Kanabo club with destructive, deceptive black Oni-fication.
• M – A first-year student at District 13 High School and the childhood friend of Anonymous Student 0006, described as an atavistic strong-female who looks plain but possesses significant power.
• Chifumi – A scrawny, long-haired first-year Lead Majo and intellectual strategist, this frost-water sorceress strikes dramatic idol poses and speaks with a playful, bubbly cadence that masks a sharp, calculated demeanor. Minoru’s childhood friend, protector, and top-ranked harem member, she acts as a grounded, eldest-sister figure who coordinates the team, handles training, and scouts for Koki’s group. Despite a limited mana pool, she wields a water staff to unleash highly destructive, anti-group area-of-effect magic.
• N – A student from East Middle with an eccentric personality who entered National High School due to complex family circumstances and used herself as leverage to negotiate a protective agreement for K.
• Minoru – The pragmatic, black-haired protagonist is a reincarnated, risk-averse sorcerer leading a dungeon exploration party in a reversed-beauty world. Clad in uniform, he uses Tatemiya magic, an iron whip, and stamina-boosting/space-modifying sorcery to control shadow anomalies and specters. He holds absolute mana-based mastery over his female squad—managing route coordination, drop analysis, and limit-break training. He maintains complex bonds with his possessive childhood friend, romantic partner Risa, recruit target Mitsuki, and hidden sister Mai while abstaining for an upcoming duel.
• Manaka – An aristocratic private-school beauty and resilient sorcerer who excels in high-difficulty dungeons, she leads the Initial Strong-Females with a calm, tactical voice. Once in Mitsuki’s group at Shisei High, she is an exceptionally competent leader noted by her childhood friend and mediator, Minoru, for her superior ability to back up and manage team members while involved in group plots.
• S – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has taken B from North Middle into his squad.
• Komoda – A polite male classmate from the well-connected Michinori family. An acquaintance of Minoru, he cordially approaches him at the dungeon entrance to propose a tactical alliance, leveraging his insider data on the dungeon.
• K – A student from East Middle who followed N to National High School out of care, successfully remaining pure through N’s protection until a misunderstanding involving Anonymous Student 0008 led to her capitulation.
• Shoji – A male student who leads an independent exploration group within the same dungeon curriculum. A conspicuous male transfer student wearing a distinctive white uniform who enters the dungeon first.
• Koki – Nearly two meters tall, muscular, and handsome, this Onigahara-style second-year sorcerer is Minoru and Mitsuki’s brother, whom he deeply dotes on. Tied to the Sumo club, he values physical training and close-quarters combat. As a powerful mentor, analyst, and “Gold Oni” user, he gave Minoru a notebook on dungeon gimmicks and remains a cautious evaluator focused on threats and clan conditioning.
• Yurina – Black-haired, refined Plain-folk student and Kibe-born vanguard swordswoman in Minoru’s squad, serving as his devoted, intimate partner. This polite, stoic, and emotionally stable childhood friend/protector to Risa and Chifumi wields a katana with swift precision and Severing Sorcery. After securing a drop item, she is devoured by the Phantom and becomes a logical, duplicate facility guide.
• 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.
• Asari – Tall, long-haired, and curvy (170cm+, E-cup), this Kasakura first-year is a barrier sorcerer and Onigahara Dojo trainee in Minoru’s squad. Sweeter-toned and the smallest of his group, she vanguards defensively, maps layouts, and analyzes dungeon data with Chifumi. Close to Mari and Nagase, she craves intimacy with Minoru via special training, respects seniors, and was tragically devoured by a Phantom.
• Rei – A subjugated electric ray monster lurking in Minoru’s shadow, this group member functions as a radar that detects atmospheric shifts and sorcery. It alerts the party to the arrival of enemy apparitions.
• Onigahara – The Onigahara family (formerly Koki), bearing the names Mitsuki and Koki, is an influential sorcerer lineage running a massive, traditional martial arts dojo famed for Oni-fication sorcery. Exuding disciplined austerity, these stern mentors possess distinct combat records and maintain close, hierarchical bonds with their students and apprentices, preserving a rigorous legacy of strength.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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