Awakening to a Special-Grade Explorer

Book 2: Chapter 35

There was a sound of students chattering in the background.

Squeaking and the uncomfortable sound of a chair scraping the floor.

The sound of footsteps was coming from the hallway towards the front door.

The school was more noisy than usual and it was almost after school. Inside the classroom where the 1-B nameplate hung, Tenji sat by the window and gazed blankly in awe at the scenery outside.

For the students of the high school, this was the time to get excited. It is the end of July, and the long-awaited paradise, summer vacation, is about to begin. It is no wonder that high school students, in the struggle of adolescence, are always in a state of excitement.

Tenji was also feeling a bit cheerful as summer vacation was about to start.

"Homeroom's about to start. Take your seats."

The rattling classroom door opens and the 1-B homeroom teacher walks in.

The teacher, with dark hair, dark eyes, dark glasses, and a white lab coat, stood in front of the podium, holding some papers and bending forward lazily.

The teachers of this Explorers High School were all former explorers or people who have been active in the dungeon since the first stage of the dungeon era. However, many of them have already retired from the field of exploration. Some of them are world-famous former explorers who were called heroic explorers a long time ago. And now they give lectures as teachers.

Of course, this homeroom teacher was one of the explorers who was active a long time ago.

Tenji's homeroom teacher - Ichimaru Kose, 39 years old, with calling [Mad Scientist] - lightly lifts his glasses and quickly appeals to the students to calm down.

Even though they are unprincipled, they are still students who want to become explorers. But not a single one of them had any rebellious attitude towards what Ichimaru-sensei, a well-known explorer, had to say.

"Let's see....... Well, it's faster if they look through them. Would you please pass these out?"

"Yes!"

At Ichimaru-sensei's instruction, a female student who had been quietly waiting in the front seat responded briskly and received a brochure from the teacher to hand out to everyone. She quickly handed them out. Her hand reaches out to Tenji, and he follows the text on the printout with his eyes as he hands it to a student in the back of the room.

[Curriculum changes?]

The headline read in large letters, "Curriculum will change from the second semester."

As the students followed the details on the brochure, Ichimaru-sensei began to talk.

"Oh, Is anyone here left to get one? So, the curriculum has changed suddenly. Please don't worry about it. The rule for acquiring a calling was usually 'until the third year,' but from the second semester it is changed to 'until you advance to the second year.'"

"But, sensei, Why?"

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One of the students raises his hand and asks a question.

Ichimaru-sensei raised his glasses back up and turned his attention toward the student. He was very active.

"That's because the Ochanomizu Dungeon's grade has been upgraded. The government and the association want to get more and more talented explorers as soon as possible. The more talented explorers there are the better it is........ Ah, but there was one. I don't even know where he is now."

"Ochanomizu Dungeon means......Do you want to increase the number of people with second grade or a higher calling?"

The current grade of Ochanomizu Dungeon was officially certified by the World Explorers Association as a "Second Grade Dungeon".

Therefore, with a few exceptions, the explorers with licenses below the fourth grade can no longer even enter the Ochanomizu Dungeon. Only explorers of third grade or higher could apply to enter.

However, at present, the number of these third-grade explorers was overwhelmingly insufficient.

"That's right. But there is no such thing as a calling as a student. The other thing is that you'll have to go into the dungeon to get your provisional license from the second semester, so prepare for that during the summer break. That's all I'm saying."

"What do I need to prepare?"

"You're on your own. There are weapons and suits and all sorts of things. So, it's okay to have fun with your boyfriend or girlfriend, but don't neglect to prepare for the dungeon. Okay?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, that's it. Homeroom's over! Enjoy your summer vacation!"

With Ichimaru-sensei's announcement, Tenji and his classmates had completed their first semester, or half year, of study at the Explorer High School. The first-year students stood up and ran to their friends as they pleased.

The discussions about calling, weapons to buy, what grade of inner suit to buy, and so on, were all typically coming up.

Once again, the classroom became a crowded place.

From tomorrow begins the long-awaited summer vacation.

They ponder their calling and fantasize about themselves as future heroes.

'A cool, rich, and respected explorer that everyone looks up to.'

This is the image of the explorer they imagine. They discuss what they should do to prepare for this, and what actions they should take during their precious summer vacation.

They do not think alone, but exchange information and discuss it with the students around them to make decisions.

In the midst of all this hassle, one student was staring out the window in a very relaxed manner.

[I'm finally going to get one more level with 120 more experience. I'm getting an average of 24 experiences per day, so that's just about 5 more days, simple math. I can't wait to see what kind of changes will happen......]

That student was Tenji. He was actually staring at the 'Book of Enma'.

Tenji cleverly pretended to stare blankly out the window, actually analyzing the 'Book of Enma' the whole time.

The 'Book of Enma' was not visible to others at all, and he was in the habit of observing it by pretending to gaze somewhere like this. No one would suspect a teenager of daydreaming.

For the past month, Tenji had been listening to lectures, analyzing and experimenting with various aspects of his calling. There were a few new things that came to light in the process.

Tenji opens the notepad on his phone that summarizes the results.

The hell beasts other than the first contracted "Goblin-kun" can be erased.

I can summon "Goblin" by spending 5 points.

The Goblins are super strong. (However, arm wrestling and fighting monsters are unknown)

...The 'Book of Enma' will not get destroyed in any way. (It doesn't burn, it doesn't get wet, it doesn't tear, etc.)

The 'Book of Enma' never leaves me beyond a certain distance; 500 meters away. It always appears in front of me.

The Book of Enma cannot be touched, seen or felt by others. Therefore, physical attacks using the Book of Enma's levitation ability are also impossible.

The [Red Demon Ring] is invisible to others and only I can see it.

The [Red Demon Sword] probably has the sharpness and durability equivalent to a third or fourth-grade sword.

(Well, I guess that's pretty much it. I've done a lot of testing, but I've yet to see a Goblin fight.)

Several such minor verifications could be done within a month. However, now that the application to enter the dungeon had been denied, he couldn't try to fight the Goblins and monsters in any way.

So Tenji was doing some arm wrestling to test things out, but the Goblin turned out to be strong. Tenji couldn't move the Goblin's wrist even a millimeter, even though he was clearly being outmaneuvered.

It was a pokey-faced, horrible hell-beast.

(And I'm also glad we're only speculating about unique abilities.)

Right now, unique abilities are shown like this.

[Fixed Small Object Levitation] (Lv.5/10)

[Experience] 20/22

[It used to be "3/22", but now it's "20/22".]

[As I searched for this, I learned that "12 hours of continuous use" is required for the experience value to increase by 1.]

"I heard that there's an upper limit on unique abilities, is that true?". Tenji asked Ichimaru-sensei.

He readily answered, "It's true."

[I continued to ask him about it, and it seems that some crazy American researcher has come up with a certain law.]

After roughly two years of constant use, the usability of unique abilities reaches its maximum.

Tenji was making these assumptions.

But the speculation was not accredited by the association, and the doctor was only talking in the way that he remembered seeing such a paper.

So Tenji measured the laws of time and experience and came up with the 12-hour requirement. From then on, he always used his unique abilities against the 'Book of Enma', and developed a trick to gain experience.

Originally, the 'Book of Enma' is a mysterious object that can levitate and move through the air at will. It can spin around like a globe and can be used at will with just one fingertip.

Conveniently invisible to others, Tenji continued to use his unique abilities on the 'Book of Enma' for no reason.

Tenji doesn't find much meaning in his unique abilities, but he wanted to grow them if he could. He was invested in the belief that one day it will turn into something more.

"Well, now let's get out of here."

As the students started to leave, Tenji started to put away the textbooks from his desk into his bag.

It seemed like he did not have any friends. Because he had taken many public holidays as a luggage carrier since the beginning of his school career, it was natural that he did not have any friends with whom he could talk openly.

Inevitably, Tenji was perceived as awkward in class.

One of the students came up to Tenji's side.

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[TLN]: Well this is an AI made weird image of Tenji and Goblin-kun practicing Arm-wrestling.

Some sort of fan art from me, lol.