Awakening to a Special-Grade Explorer - CH 95

Chapter 95

“Yo, we’re here. We’ve arrived, Tenji,” said Fuyuki as he carried Tenji gently on his warm and broad back. They had been walking for about an hour and a half

If Fuyuki put his mind to it, he could reach the edge of the field in a matter of minutes, but it seemed that he purposely walked in circles through various paths to keep Tenji from knowing the starting point.

Tenji realized this fact halfway through, and had already given up on trying to figure out the directions.

After getting off Fuyuki’s back, Tenji stretched his back.

“Can I take off the blindfold now?”

“Sure. Are you tired?”

“I feel kinda strange. Being carried on someone’s back like this… it’s been a long time since kindergarten,”

Tenji said as he took off the blacked-out goggles for the blindfold.

The 15th level was a field with a giant mountain standing in the center. The field had various environments, such as areas with bare sand, areas with tall trees, areas that had turned into monster lairs, and areas with lakes.

At the top of the mountain was the teleportation gate, and Tenji was at the foot of a forested area.

If they went up the hill, they would naturally reach the goal, which was the teleportation gate.

“This place is a bit chilly, isn’t it? It’s like October in Japan. I want to wear a jacket, but I’ll just get hot once we start moving,” Tenji said, rubbing his arms that had goosebumps.

“Yeah, it’s tough to regulate body temperature on this level. I don’t really like it either,” Fuyuki said.

Since both of them were slightly underdressed, they rubbed their goosebumped upper arms.

“Fuyuki-kun is my examiner?”

“Oh, you noticed after all? Initially, Professor Limey tried to be thoughtful and had planned for either me or Chigo-chan to be your examiner. But since Chigo-chan is weak in the morning, I was selected,” Fuyuki said.

“I see. So if you’re weak in the morning, you’re exempt from being an examiner… it’s pretty lax.”

“Ahahaha, well, that’s one of the good things about this place. However, if the students or teachers have poor grades, they will be expelled right away, so everyone has a motivation to do their best. I like it because it’s an interesting scene that you don’t often see in Japan.”

“I don’t disagree with that.”

“Well, anyway, even though I’m your examiner, I’ll grade you fairly without any bias. However, try not to be too flashy in your moves,” Fuyuki said.

“Okay, I understand. Until I acquire the strength equivalent to that of a professional first grade explorer, I’ll enjoy this secret time at a leisurely pace.”

“If you understand, that’s good. To be honest, I’m only told to be an examiner, and I don’t know what will happen. But I’m grading while hiding, so don’t worry too much about it, I’ll be looking.”

“Got it. I’ll fight and reach the goal at my own pace.”

“Good luck.”

“You too, Fuyuki-kun.”

As they exchanged their usual casual conversation, Fuyuki turned his back to Tenji and left the area, completely disappearing from Tenji’s sensing range by transforming into ‘Shadow Sniper’, one of the ‘Phantom Beast’.

Tenji watched this with admiration, saying, “As expected, I have no idea where he is.”

“And then… ”

“We will now begin the first semester practical training, section 1-A. Please fulfill your role as an explorer and face this exam. Let’s begin!”

Suddenly, Illonka’s voice rang out from the goggles she was holding in her hand. Although Tenji was surprised to hear a voice from an unexpected place, he stared intently at the goggles for a moment. The lenses, which had been completely blacked out until a moment ago, had turned into mirror-like lenses without him noticing. Despite his curiosity, Tenji peered into the goggles.

“Oh…I see. This exam is meticulous, too.”

Tenji had thought he had forgotten to return the goggles to Fuyuki, but he now understood from the words engraved on the inside of the mirror lenses that Fuyuki had deliberately left them with him.

The words on Tenji’s goggles read:

“My role to play is ‘commoner.’ In other words, I just have to continue the exam normally.”

He was to behave like an ordinary student. If there was normalcy, there must be some students given abnormal roles. He couldn’t predict what they would be, but he knew that this rule would make the students suspicious of each other.

“Well then, I’ll just head straight for the goal like a regular student.”

Holding his iron sword, which he had already taken out of his weapon bag, Tenji began to climb the slope towards the top of the mountain, keeping an eye out for his surroundings.

Although there was a well-traveled path in this field, he didn’t want to encounter other students by taking it. Therefore, Tenji had decided to cut his own path through the mountain, even if it meant taking an animal trail that didn’t even exist.

Soon after, three monsters appeared in front of Tenji.

He sensed them coming and hid behind a thick tree nearby.

Tenji didn’t have the ability to sense others, but his skills as a search-and-rescue specialist, honed through many sessions with Chigo, were far superior to those of the other students. That’s why he immediately sensed the unnatural rustling of the foliage in the distance.

“‘Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle.”

“Lucky, it’s a Gochinentoys. Meeting a group of three 4th grade monsters right after starting the exam…I’m lucky.”

From the other side of the bushes emerged one of the two American geniuses in 1-A who always got good grades, George McToine. He was a promising explorer recognized by the country, and of course, he was a student aiming for first place in this exam.

Tenji had never talked face-to-face with him before. He had been subjected to countless sarcastic remarks, but he had never actually talked to him. Tenji watched him intently from his hiding place behind the tree.

“Gochinentoys. I’ve never fought them before…They’re good at hiding in the shadows of the trees and are good at climbing trees. They’re good at surprise attacks from above, and when they’re in a group, they can attack from both sky and earth. Their attack method is their unnaturally sharp and hard claws. Well, I’m confident.”

As if reviewing the lecture, George muttered the characteristics of the monster before him. As George said, Gochinentoys was a fourth-grade monster that excelled in sharp claws and surprise attacks. The monster looked like a meerkat enlarged to the height of an elementary school student, and its black fur around its eyes gave it a creepy appearance.

It was surprisingly agile and was a troublesome monster that could easily be lost sight of in this forest area.

Nevertheless, it was no match for George, who was touted as one of the two American geniuses. For George, who possesses a first-grade calling  [Grid Break] the monsters must feel like infants to him.

“Hey, you little monkeys… come on over here!” George taunted, wiping his fingers on his whistle as he directed his attention towards the three Gochinentoys.

The three monsters responded to the sound and stood up on two legs, as if stretching. They caught sight of George, who was blowing his whistle.

At that moment, the three Gochinentoys scattered towards different bushes, just as George predicted.

“I see, so they’re waiting for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack. With three of them… it’s a surprise attack from above and below!”

As George anticipated, two Gochinentoys appeared from nearby bushes to encircle him, while the third charged at him at high speed from a tree above.

The speed was quite impressive, even among fourth-grade monsters, but it was no match for George.

“…’Grid Spiral’!”

George had equipped himself with glove-shaped weapons that he could wear from his fingertips to the first knuckle, similar to Fukuyama, a second-grade explorer of the Chariot. The emerald-colored weapons were reminiscent of beautiful functional beauty.

He held both hands, which were clad in these beautiful weapons, near his belly button, as if holding rice balls.

With a loud noise, green grid lines appeared in both of his hands.

“Gonei!?”

“Gone!?”

“Gonei!?”

At that moment…

Green lattice-shaped attacks were powerfully unleashed around George.

When he realized it, the bodies of the three Gochinentoys were brutally torn apart, not just chopped up, but even the details of their bodies were engraved with grid cubes, causing a huge splash of blood.

It was truly an overwhelming blow.

Even though it was a surprise attack, such a feeble attack was easily defeated with a powerful blow.

George’s fighting style was truly the conventional way of a first-grade explorer.

Most of them could be handled with brute force… no, they would be.

[This is amazing… This is the power of an attack skill that is released with the intent to kill, from a first-grade calling.]

Tenji had never seen a first-grade straightforward attack skill before.

Although he was someone whom Tenji last wanted to meet in his class, seeing George’s attack power with his own eyes was a treat.

Tenji grinned mischievously in the shadows of the trees.

“WHOS THERE!!!?”

At that moment, George sensed the presence of someone.