Volume 8 Chapter 7 First Dungeon Training of Second Year
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Monday morning. The first dungeon training day of our second year.
Following the usual rules, we brought our gear and took the train from the school’s nearest station. Our destination: Kinpira Palace. The station where we’d get off was the same one from that New Year’s shrine visit.
The four-car train had several other groups aboard besides us.
This time, Komoda and Shoji were assigned to different dungeons. Going by last year’s pattern, I’d figured the two of them would keep getting the same dungeon as me throughout second year too… but while I could take or leave Shoji, losing Komoda stung—he was the easiest guy to swap info with.
Ryota also got assigned elsewhere, leaving my group as the only one from my class heading into this dungeon. Felt a bit lonely, not gonna lie. And to make matters worse, one of the groups that’d been assigned Kinpira Palace for their evaluation run had someone I’d recently had a run-in with.
That someone was Utsui—the guy we’d fought over the Exchange Battle participation slot the other day.
We ran into each other at the station, gave each other the cold shoulder, and boarded separate cars. I’d held out a slim hope that maybe he’d feel awkward enough to cancel his training altogether, but no such luck. Damn shame.
Dragging my feet in low spirits, I stepped off the platform, passed through the ticket gate, and started walking across the station rotary toward the shrine approach. There were four groups total in the area. Utsui seemed to know some guy in another group—they were chatting it up as they walked. Tch. Frickin’ social butterfly. Showing off how many friends he has or something?
”Hey.”
”Hm?”
I was walking ahead of my group when one of the remaining male students jogged up from behind and called out to me.
”You’re heading to Kinpira Palace too, right?”
”Yeah. Uh… you’re…?”
”Oh, I’m Seno from Class 1. Nice to meet you.”
”Tatemiya, Class 3. Likewise.”
The group leader from another class who’d been on the same car. I’d noticed him glancing our way on the train, but I hadn’t initiated anything. I’m an introvert, okay?
Honestly, him coming up to me like this was a relief.
First impression: dumpling-faced, puppy-dog type. Something about him gave off the same scent signature as Miku.
Short and stocky. In this world, that’s your classic small-breed dog-boy type.
After we shook hands, my classmate looked up at me with those upturned eyes. So calculated. Figures—dog-types are always calculated.
”Something on my face?”
”Nah, nothing.”
Can’t be fooled. According to Chifumi and Asari’s advance research, this guy’s a Majin too.
Looks harmless on the surface, but he’s done the deed—definitely not a virgin anymore. Guys like him always flip like a switch in bed.
I shot a quick glance back. Chifumi and the others were chatting intermittently with Seno’s group’s girls. Looks like the member-level contact started once the leaders made contact.
”Actually, I’ve been interested in you for a while now.”
”You into people-watching? That’s odd.”
”Not at all! You’re the odd one here. Initial Strong-Female on day one, Majin by day two. That alone would make you worth watching, but then you were involved in that Simulated Dungeon incident too. Next thing I know, you’ve got a full party and top-tier grades. With your mana pool, no less. It’s honestly baffling.”
”Put that way, I guess I did stand out in all the wrong ways a lot last year.”
”Not ‘I guess’—you actually stood out. Especially the first half. You went quiet in the second half, but I hear you did something interesting again recently?”
”What are you talking about?”
Seno’s gaze shifted toward Utsui at my question. This guy knew about that? It happened only three days ago.
”Come on now. The first group competition of second year? Everyone’s dying to know.”
”It wasn’t the first. There were others who fought before me.”
”Those don’t count. Tower group vs. dungeon group isn’t a real match. The dungeon group crushed ’em anyway.”
”You know about that, huh.”
”Sure do.”
Seno shrugged and kept going.
”Word spreads fast. Especially when it’s about a group that’s already in the spotlight. Comes with the territory, y’know.”
”Utsui’s the one in the spotlight—he’s got the only group with three Majo in our whole year.”
”You don’t think winning against a famous group makes you famous too?”
”I guess not.”
The way this was going, I’d end up talked into a corner, so I changed the subject.
”That’s enough about me. I’ve heard there’s an info-broker in our year. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
”Huh, what kind of person?”
”Apparently the type who slips into your comfort zone with a harmless face and tugs at your maternal instincts.”
”Ahaha, you’re making me blush.”
”So you’re not denying it.”
”This is just how I live.”
When I looked behind Seno, a female student was walking right near him. She was the one chatting with Chifumi—Seno’s Lead Majo. Last name Namba, first name… I forget.
Lead Majos tend to be characters with some kind of strong quirk.
Namba was no exception—she had one very obvious trait: a motherly kind of warmth.
If you’re a guy living in this world, nine out of ten would feel that “mommy” vibe from her build and aura. Same category as Megumi—a Majo who’d concentrated all the “mama” traits into one package. No doubt her specialty was “big sis and little bro” dynamics.
Why do all these colorful types keep gravitating toward me?
”Got any useful info on Kinpira Palace?”
”Plenty. Special info, actually. Kinpira Palace is a dungeon where you’re not supposed to take down the Unique Variants. If you run into one, don’t even think about exorcising it—just watch, and sometimes good things happen.”
”Yeah, I’ve heard that one.”
”Really? Hmm, it shouldn’t be in any official records though…”
”One of my members had it passed down in her family.”
”Heirloom knowledge, huh. Yeah, that checks out.”
Seno muttered something about how he’d thought it was exclusive intel.
”So? What do you want to know, Seno?”
”Oh, you’re offering?”
”I got one piece of real info from you—useless to me maybe, but valuable in general. I want to keep this even.”
”Glad you’re quick on the uptake.”
His smile was refreshing, no malice in it. Total shota-type~desuwa.
”How’d you beat Utsui’s Majo? I heard her archery skills are no joke. The idea that a Second-Push Strong-Female with a magic pistol could take her down just doesn’t add up.”
”Utsui’s a debater. I exploited his Binding Vow on how he fights. The sorcery matchup went my way, and I got lucky. That’s all I can say for now.”
”…I see. Yeah, okay. Got it.”
Seno seemed to pick up on the fact that I’d chosen my words carefully and wouldn’t be drawn out further. Debater tactics are well-known, and standard counters exist. Seno likely figured I’d overturned the disadvantage with anti-debater measures.
After that, we kept up harmless small talk until we reached the Dungeon Management building halfway up the rear approach.
The area in front of the shrine-office-like building was open, with sorcerer-types scattered about. Some looked way older than us—people in their thirties.
Kinpira Palace is popular among dungeon delvers. Public transit’s convenient, and detailed info on the dungeon’s interior is readily available. If you head deep enough, you can get some pretty rare drops too. Safe-first groups love it.
Since we’d already arranged the practical training with the school, we were scheduled to enter the dungeon at our reservation time. Four groups would be going in over a thirty-minute window.
While we waited outside the building, Hinoki said they wanted to step out. I let them emerge from my shadow and listened.
”Brother, got a sec?”
”What’s up?”
”This dungeon, see… I can smell somethin’.”
That phrasing—no way, a fragment of Hinoki’s power?
”Ah, no, that ain’t it. Not that this time. Somethin’ else.”
”Something else?”
”This dungeon—I can smell a scent signature from someone I don’t like.”
Someone they don’t like? If it’s someone Hinoki knows, that’d be over a thousand years ago.
”Remember how I got sealed?”
Uh… beaten by an Ancient Land Deity and had my poison drained, right?
”That’s right. I think this dungeon’s got some connection to that Ancient Land Deity. It’s faint, but I can feel the presence. It’s… nasty.”
Ancient Land Deity, huh. And if that’s the case, then what?
”If it’s one of their pet dungeons… specifically, if that Ancient Land Deity’s got Master authority over it, then I might not be able to enter.”
For real?
”If it’s just me, that’s fine. But there’s a chance that you, Brother—since you’ve got me bound—and even the lady rooming with Asunaro could get turned away at the door.”
That’d be a problem!?
”Maybe I’m overthinkin’ it, but it’s possible. So the order you enter the dungeon in—you and the lady should go first. And… if we do make it inside, I think it’s best if me and Asunaro keep real quiet.”
So I can’t use Hinoki and Asunaro inside Kinpira Palace?
”That’s right. We’re useless in this dungeon… real sorry…”
Well, circumstances are circumstances. Can’t be helped. I don’t know exactly what getting on an Ancient Land Deity’s radar entails, but I know it means getting dragged into a mess I don’t want. Avoidable trouble should be avoided.
I relayed Hinoki’s suggestion to Risa and explained the entry order to everyone. Before we knew it, it was ten minutes to our reservation time. The receptionist called us over.
We were guided to a waiting room where we’d decide the entry order. After a rock-paper-scissors match among the group leaders, I got second place. Seno’s group was first, Utsui’s group last.
”Alright, we’re heading in first.”
”Stay safe.”
After seeing Seno off, the waiting room atmosphere got awkward. Hurry up and let the interval time end, please.
Five minutes later, we were finally called and moved to the back of the Dungeon Management building.
Kinpira Palace’s entrance is a stone torii gate. Average size—not one of those massive ones you see on main approaches, but a small, modest gate you’d find at some no-name shrine.
And there, the Black Wall existed.
”Enter, please.”
Attendants in shrine-keeper clothing stood on both sides of the torii. The one on the left—apparently receiving instructions through an earpiece—motioned for us to enter.
”Let’s go.”
”Yes!”
Risa and I reached for the Black Wall. Our fingertips sank into it without resistance. We stepped forward. It let us through.
Risa and I exchanged glances, nodded, and stepped into Kinpira Palace.
Inside the dungeon, the grounds of a shrine’s gate-town spread out before us.
When I turned back, I saw the massive stone torii and the rippling black wall. That enormous gate—several times the height and width of the one we’d entered through—looked almost identical to the one at the main approach’s entrance.
”We made it in.”
Risa and I let out a breath of relief. Yurina, Mitsuki, Asari, Chifumi—everyone passed through the entrance safely.
”Everyone got their Return Slips and Escape Balls?”
I double-checked everyone’s gear before we started exploring.
Kinpira Palace is an open-field, semi-static dungeon. Its internal structure and details are set at the first entry timing.
Kinpira Palace had existed over a thousand years ago, back when Hinoki and their kind were active. And Hinoki had actually delved into it back then. Supposedly it wasn’t this famous back in the day—just one of countless rogue dungeons.
There was a non-zero chance that Hinoki’s influence on me and Asunaro’s on Risa could’ve sent us to a different worldline of Kinpira Palace than Chifumi and the others.
General knowledge held that the master, not the shikigami, determines the dungeon’s worldline—but if that wasn’t the case, we’d have been in for a real headache. I was relieved that all six of us, including Risa and me, made it into the same worldline.
”Brr! This dungeon’s cold!”
”It’s winter, alright. We’d better stay warmed up—don’t want to freeze up in a pinch…”
Risa and Yurina voiced their impressions while adjusting their weapons.
”Whoa, amazing~! It’s literally a real gate-town~!”
Chifumi kept her eyes on the surroundings as she marveled.
The scenery was vaguely reminiscent of the “Commercial District” we’d delved into last year. Unlike that arcade-lined Commercial District, though, this one had gate-town buildings lining both sides of the path—”Kinpira Palace: Outer Gate.” There were two reasons it was classified as open-field rather than labyrinth-type.
Reason one: the way anomalies appeared wasn’t split into “en route” and “waiting.”
In labyrinth-type dungeons, corridors and waiting rooms are clearly separated, and the anomalies that appear in each are fundamentally different. You can’t attack an anomaly inside a room from the corridor, and vice versa.
Open-field dungeons, meanwhile, have no waiting rooms. They’re like one giant monster house. If you take too long in a fight, wandering anomalies will gather—or new ones will crash the party drawn by the noise.
Reason two: the stairs were visible from the starting point.
Even now, from our position in front of the great torii entrance, we could see the second torii—the stairs to the next floor. Since Kinpira Palace was originally a shrine on a mountainside, the approach wound gently upward. The torii at the small rise at the mountain’s foot was the goal. Those stairs led to the next floor.
”That torii’s our target.”
”Alright, let’s move.”
We started walking through the gate-town toward the torii.
—
Summary:
Tatemiya arrives at Kinpira Palace for second-year dungeon training, encounters Seno and Utsui at the station, and learns from Hinoki that the dungeon may be connected to an Ancient Land Deity who could block their shikigami from entering. After entering the open-field dungeon with his full party, they find themselves in a gate-town with the next torii gate visible ahead.
—
Trivia:
Hinoki was sealed over a thousand years ago after being beaten by an Ancient Land Deity.
The Ancient Land Deity may have Master authority over Kinpira Palace.
If the Ancient Land Deity controls the dungeon, Hinoki and Asunaro might be barred from entering.
Seno is an info-broker who knew about Tatemiya’s recent battle with Utsui.
Utsui’s group is the only one in second year with three Majo.
Kinpira Palace is an open-field, semi-static dungeon.
The dungeon is popular because public transit is convenient and rare drops are available in the deep layers.
Four groups enter the dungeon in a thirty-minute window.
Tatemiya’s group enters second, after Seno’s group.
The “gate-town” resembles last year’s Commercial District but with buildings on both sides.
Open-field dungeons have no waiting rooms, so monsters can gather from drawn-out fights.
The next floor’s stairs are visible from the starting point as a second torii gate.
Notes:
• Komoda – An eccentric, polite sorcerer and leader of the influential Komoda house, he is Minoru’s second-year classmate and former dungeon partner. He manages his Sword-Hammer Cave squad, coordinates intel with Ryota’s group, and seeks an alliance with Minoru. Having outperformed Shoji’s team by purifying a giant scaled earthworm boss, he remains an approachable peer with whom it is easy to share information.
• Shoji – A serious silver werewolf beastman and top 5th District sorcerer, this student and former dungeon partner navigates complex ties with Kotoha and Tatemiya. He greets others with informal energy and wields magic pistols, shock spells, and a spear. Driven to rescue his relative Risa from a Shadow entity, he tracks scents to feed her Hinoki while managing his history as a leader to Ryota and others.
• Ryota – Minoru’s loyal, outgoing best friend since middle school is a science-track classmate, sorcerer, and Majin. Pragmatic yet slightly anxious, this fat supremacist assertively leads a ‘Strong-Female’ squad, including two Majo. He enjoys skiing, trains at a shrine, and uses the Nagase hideout. Though assigned to different dungeons, he maintains his close bond and casual banter with Minoru.
• Utsui – Job: Duty-Bound Theorist; Relationship: Leader of opposing group; Item/Magic: Binding vows; Note: Uses theorist tactics, made agreement with narrator. Job: Majin and leader of Group 5; Relationship: Leader of Group 5; Item/Magic: Unknown; Note: Arrogant and strength-worshipping. Believes strong sorcerers should claim everything. Uses delinquent speech patterns. Job: Student and group leader; Relationship: Rival to Tatemiya’s group; Note: Leader of the only group with three Majo in second year. Job: Student/Majin; Relationship: Leader of rival District 13 group; Note: Did not withdraw from Exchange Battle despite agreement.
• Seno – Job: Student and group leader (Class 1); Relationship: Group leader to Namba; Appearance: Short, stocky, dumpling-faced; Item/Magic: Majin; Note: Friendly, calculated, info-broker type.
• Tatemiya – Minoru Tatemiya is a pragmatic, observant, self-described introvert and student leader possessing Majin abilities. In a world with reversed beauty standards, he manages his group—Risa, Yurina, Mitsuki, Asari, and Chifumi—with analytical detachment, treating interactions as transactions. His family maintains tense ties with the Kugas following Manaka’s departure and holds a symbolic residential legacy.
• Miku – A former District 13 student and Majin member of Manaka’s group at Shisei High, she is a 147cm-tall courier with a unique, chubby yet long-legged build and a supermodel face hidden by modest dress. Known as a “strong-female” in Tatemiya’s circle, she uses Heaven-kick Sorcery and leg armor. Energetic and reactive, she is prone to Chihuahua-like outbursts and shares a scent signature with Seno.
• Chifumi – The 160cm, J-cup eldest daughter of the Takino residence is a kimono-clad sorcerer, Minoru’s sharp-tongued childhood friend, and trusted partner. Wielding ice and water magic, this loyal mage manages rearguard combat and administration. A casual negotiator who acts as the group’s social bridge, she hides the truth while fiercely protecting Minoru, often using subtle cues to guide his party.
• Asari – A 175cm Kasakura honor student with braided black hair and an E-cup figure, this analytical, pragmatic science-track strategist serves as Minoru’s devoted partner and Risa’s future host. Close to Mari and Nagase, she uses a gauntlet and Silicic Armor to manifest crystal barriers, switching between Vanguard and Mid-guard. Polite yet lecturing, she is a reliable, focused, and currently recovering Majin.
• Namba – Job: Student and Lead Majo in Seno’s group; Relationship: Group member under Seno; Appearance: Motherly build and aura; Item/Magic: Majo; Note: Exudes maternal warmth, same category as Megumi.
• Megumi – A 162cm former District 13 student at Shisei High and maternal-type Majo, she is a flexible, plump Sorcery user with a generous figure who wields a naginata. A submissive, eager-to-please member of Manaka’s, Minoru’s, and Tatemiya’s groups, she speaks in a pleading manner and maintains a highly proactive, desperate physical intimacy with Minoru. She is scheduled for an upcoming practice match.
• Hinoki – A powerful, older classmate and anomaly who uses they/them pronouns and speaks with a warm, blunt, Kansai-influenced dialect. Shy yet contrary, they act as a casual mediator in the supernatural community, supporting others by bestowing power fragments upon allies like Pape, Kram, and Risa. Bound to Tatemiya as a Shikigami and spirit ally to Minoru, this ancient spirit senses deities and harbors secrets.
• Asunaro – Lady Asunaro is an anomalous White Centipede empowered by Hinoki-sama, residing within Risa as her hidden, second interpreter and shikigami. Though bound to Risa and potentially affected by the Ancient Land Deity, she can take control of her host in emergencies. Saved by Minoru—her “Prince Charming”—she speaks with a flat tone masking genuine emotions, serving as a powerful, recovering ally.
• Risa – The youngest Naruse sister, a 167cm humanities student with semi-long light brown hair, black eyes, and an H-cup figure. A skilled, energetic long-range fighter and Majo-contractor for Minoru and Tatemiya, she wields magic pistols (AR, SR, SG types) and “Majo’s Tears.” Known for her protective nature and cookie-baking, she turns red-eyed to command fire and lightning when possessed by Asunaro.
• Mitsuki – Eldest daughter of the Onigahara estate, this 188 cm science-track student is a lean, athletic Majin with short brown hair and a mischievous grin. A former member of Manaka’s group now serving as Minoru’s vanguard and healer, she wields a golden mace or kanabō and Oni-Transformation Sorcery. Energetic and tactical, she bickers with Minoru, coordinates with allies, and uses recovery magic during training.
• Yurina – A 165cm stoic Plain-folk vanguard with a black ponytail, she is a humanities student, eldest of seven, and skilled with a katana and Severing Sorcery. Serving in Minoru’s party as a loyal, analytical observer, she protects Chifumi, fights alongside Mitsuki, and addresses Minoru with deference. While earnest and still honing her dangerous footwork, she remains unsettled by Minoru’s escalating violence.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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