CH 15

"............n"

Tenji woke up.

His eyelids, which he hadn't opened in a long time, were heavier than he expected, and a dazzling light shone through the slight opening.

It was no wonder. Tenji had slept for three whole days since then. His body had been damaged to the point of near-death, and it was a little difficult for him to move his body.

He slowly raised his body and took his time to open his eyelids.

"............Hey, where am I, here?"

Tenji, fully awake, looked around and muttered quietly.

The walls and floor were covered with a light-ink-colored rock surface. The light was subtle, not bright but not dark, the air was dusty, and a beast smelled like a pungent scent.

The smell of iron and human decomposition made me frown.

[Ah, yes. I remember.]

Looking at his surroundings, Tenji finally remembered the situation he was in.

The corpse of a young explorer, pierced between the eyes, spread out before him. A pool of blood spreads in a circle from there.

One magic gem had somehow hardened into red, and another had hardened into half red and half yellow. They were lying very close to Tenji.

"What ...... were they dead, those monsters?"

He had already realized that the two magic ores lying nearby belonged to the Spider monster and Black Keroberos. He realized that there was no threat.

Besides, somehow he found himself alive and well.

[The stomach of my body that should have been eaten, arms, legs, and everything else had been restored.]

The pain, the shock, the cold, the bitterness. It was as if everything had never happened, and Tenji's healthy body was there.

But even so, Tenji was not so surprised.

[Oh, yes. So that's how it is. I've ...... awakened.]

Tenji knew that he had been given a calling and awakened.

It was not a feeling but a memory implanted in Tenji's mind as if he had always known it.

Tenji pulled up his memory and realized that he had been given a calling, a "special calling," which he had never heard of. He also knew that it was an ability to summon something that he had never heard of called "Hell Beast Summoning," which was obviously something he had never heard of.

But that alone did not explain why his body was safe, nor could he determine the reason for the monster's collapse.

However, Tenji had heard this story on a news program.

[News: -When I awakened to this first-grade calling, I lost my arm. It was half a year before I lost my arm, but as soon as I awakened, I acquired the "first-grade calling gift, No. 1. Please choose from regenerating a damaged part, 1000 experience, or the gift of a first-grade weapon. So I fearfully chose "Regeneration of Damaged Parts," and within a second, my arm regenerated.]

The story goes that he regenerated his damaged arm when he awakened.

This is also a very well-known story in the explorer community. It seems to be a privilege heard only if one has attained a first-grade or higher calling.

From this, Tenji guessed the reason for his survival.

If the "special grade calling," which he had never heard of, was a calling above the first grade, it was the reason that Tenji was alive and well. But in Tenji's case, he had almost lost consciousness before he heard the voice, so he decided that it had been done automatically somehow.

And these monsters had already died and turned into magic ore.

This, too, Tenji predicted that something must have happened simultaneously as the awakening.

Tenji observed his surroundings with a strange calmness, even in such a situation, since there was nothing strange if he checked his memory.

Tenji slowly got up and moved to the wall, moving his body, which he could not yet maneuver.

He sat down in a perfect spot and exhaled with a puff of air.

"Now, what should I do?"

Tenji thought about what he should do first and foremost.

-The memorial service for the dead young explorer and the recovery of their weapons.

-Recovery of magic ore.

-Recovery of weapons from the bodies of the eight regular members of the chariot.

-Know my ability.

-Exercise to get used to the body that does not move well.

-Follow the others through the dungeon.

[It was like this when I organized it roughly.]

[The corpse of a young man was right in front of me, and although I could smell the decomposition, I didn't mind the smell too much because my body wasn't fully awake yet.]

[I did not feel that much fear in the presence of the dead body.]

[It was at that time.

My stomach growled. I felt hungry. I wondered how long I had been unconscious. Well, I had to get some food first. I don't feel like I have any energy in my body.]

Thinking that the unexpected lack of energy in his body might just be a lack of energy, Tenji decided to solve the food problem first.

Rousing his lifeless body, he slowly walked over to the dead young explorer.

He saw that the young man was dead with his eyelids open upon closer inspection.

Tenji gently closed the young man's eyelids, then silently meditated and clasped his hands together.

"I'm sorry, I'll just have to scavenge a little."

Tenji began rummaging through the pockets of the young man's clothes, apologizing from the bottom of his heart.

Distributing food is a job that luggage handlers do. Still, since they never know when they might be wandering alone in a dungeon-like this, professional explorers always have a stash of lightweight, compact food for their own exclusive use.

Knowing this, Tenji was scavenging through the young man's corpse.

"Ah, there it is. I guess he was just reluctant to put out his own food."

Tenji realized that this young man had a surprisingly stubborn personality for the first time.

About a week after the dungeon mishap, Godo asked all the participants to provide him with a stash of food. Most of the explorers agreed with Godo's opinion and left a good amount of food to Tenji, the luggage carrier.

However, Tenji noticed that this young man was the only one who clearly had less food to offer than the others.

But now, he was thankful for the generosity.

If he had been just a kind-hearted young man, Tenji would not have been able to get food now.

"I'll take it gratefully."

Tenji thanked the dead man again and bit into the food.

He began munching and eating and was inwardly surprised at his hunger.

[Water, did anyone have any?]

Tenji's mouth was soon dry and parched because most of the hidden food had been drained of Water to the utmost limit.

Then Tenji remembered.

[I remember that Mr. Moiwa of Chariot always carries portable Water with him.]

He remembered what belonged to Takashi Moiwa, who had probably died in the darkness a short distance ahead of here.

Tenji threw some food in his mouth and headed toward the place with poor footsteps.

[Well, I think the monsters are alright. Black Keroberos itself has monster repelling properties. As I recall, its effects were practical even when it turned into magic ore.]

Tenji realized that the adventure stories he had often heard from his father had come in handy, and he couldn't help but let out a small smile.

Some monsters are cannibalistic, and monsters with such characteristics are genetically avoided by other monsters.

Monsters on the run are said to sense the wavelength of a particular monster's MP atoms and run away.

So, even a magic ore, which is a concentration of MP atoms of monsters, should be sufficient as an item to repel monsters.

"......This is the magic ore of a first-grade monster, isn't it? I've never seen it this close before."

Tenji recovered two magic ores before heading to that place.

Unless you are an explorer or researcher, you rarely have a chance to get your hands on magic ores.

And moreover, Tenji, a mere high school student, had no chance to see the first-grade magic ores, which are rarely found in Japan.

He had only seen a first-grade magic ore once when his teacher brought it to a school class as a teaching aid.

Tenji put the two magic ores into his pocket carelessly and started walking toward the place where he had found them.