CH 41.2

While there were seldom parties who would challenge the uncharged area while being fully aware of such risks, most of them ended up giving up not long after.

What increased the difficulty of conquering the uncharted areas was the existence of what were known as transcendent individuals (Overborder).

Deviating from the level constraints of the stratum control value, in addition to the guardians of the realm gate (Gatekeeper), they also sauntered the dungeons as『Roaming Threat (wandering monster)』.

In case such a transcendent individual went astray into the charted area, the academy would treat it as a recommended enemy for military warfare (Raid Enemy) and issue an emergency subjugation quest.

「… See, there’s one irrational kid that makes marry during such an anti-boss battle, after all.」

「… Yeah, I suppose that’s just how it is. I think it’s exactly due to that kid crushing any raid enemies that they are able to conquer even the off map area, though.」

The question of who in the world they were had not been resolved.

To begin with, even Rinko and the others didn’t know who in the world Touma was.

And then, Touma himself was the one who knew the least.

「Well, it doesn’t really matter how irrational or unreasonable Touma-kun is. But him being the strongest borderline irrational is dependable to serve as our representative, I guess.」

◇ ◇ ◇

「Hmm, mumumumu~」

Rinko, stroking and wiping her wet hair with a towel, tilted her head at Mikan, who was crossing her arms and raising a cut groan.

Even though Asagi-sou had many vacant dorm rooms, there was no way they could provide private rooms for the eleven people who wished to move in.

As with the first-year students, they were assigned one room per two people.

Sitting on the bed and shaking her body from side to side, Mikan looked like a self-righting doll.

「What’s wrong? Mikan-chan.」

Sitting down on her own bed, Rinko put the towel around her neck.

「Err, you see. I was told by Touma-kun, but….」

「I think you having a tiny boobs is a kind of status, Mikan-chan.」

「It’s not about boobs!」

Mikan exploded like a land mine going boom but quickly deflated and held her own chest.

「It’s said that for boys, the shape is more important than the size, you know.」

「Uuu, it’s not about such a thing….」

In the first place, Mikan’s breasts were more in the category of『minute』 as opposed to『small』.

She boasted no bulges on the level where one could appreciate their shape.

「Well, looking at Touma-kun’s party members, I suppose them being huge or small doesn’t seem to matter.」

Rinko’s breasts – which if one had to put it were voluptuous, on a completely different level than that of Mikan’s – pushed up her shirt from the inside.

Taking a glance at the boing mountain range with hateful eyes, Mikan shivered and shook her head.

「Well, leaving the joke in moderation. What is it that you were told by Touma-kun?」

「Umm, yes. It’s about『Craftsman』 battle methods in the dungeon, but….」

In the name of leveling up the club members, the『Craftsman』 members were set to join Touma and his party in turn.

In fact, they did carry out power leveling too, but the main objective was information sharing based on the Interface upon forming a party with them and diving through Rashomon.

Compared to the battle skills of combat classes, the『Reinforced External Skeleton (Armed Golem)』 of『Craftsman』 had dull movements and was unusable, but as they boasted plenty of power and armoring, it was a different story if they were up against monsters whose mobility had been crushed.

But it was only possible exactly with them receiving cooperation from the party members, thus giving them recognition as a burden class after all.

「Maybe you’re having a misunderstanding about battle methods, so I was told.」

「That….」

Rinko, ceasing her movements, became indignant.

Even though they were already self-aware about it being not a class suitable for combat, she thought putting it like that was too much.

「That’s not it…. You see, we got a big hammer from a treasure chest.」

「Those kids, them easily finding a treasure chest just like that again.」

In case you were exploring the charted area normally, it was considered good luck to find a treasure chest once a month.

「It was a magic hammer this big, but….」

Mikan did a banzai with both hands, but in fact the handle part alone was over two meters long, so it wasn’t even close.

It was a『Named Vessel』 with an ability called『Shock Hammer (Impact Mazur)』 enchanted into it.

It was a magic item that caused vibration at the moment of impact, penetrating armor and causing damage.

「And I was told to have Goliath-kun wield it, you see. And then, we blew off a big lizard-chan I’d never seen before with a kaboom.」

「You did, Mikan-chan?」

「Yes. Goliath-kun did.」

What Mikan named Goliath was an avatar with no self-consciousness that traced her image of the『Reinforced External Skeleton (Armed Golem)』.

It could be said that he was made to wield it because it was a simple weapon called hammer that basically needed only to be swung with all his might.

Putting it the other way around, if the person in question were to learn combat arts, 『Reinforced External Skeleton (Armed Golem)』 had the potential to be able to wield all sorts of weapon.

「… I hadn’t thought of that.」

To begin with, what so-called combat style of『Craftsman』 had not been established at the academy.

They were not taken seriously from the start.

「After that, you see. Is there no customization or optional equipment? He asked.」

「You mean, for the『Reinforced External Skeleton (Armed Golem)』?」

「Yes. Like using monster materials to give him reinforced armor, or additional muscles, or projectile weapons, or jet boosters….」

「Wait a minute, Mikan-chan.」

Rinko, holding her eyebrows, shut her eyes.

The monster materials collected from the dungeon might have a material form, but they were essentially miasma and magical energy itself.

Since the miasma concentration was high around the academy, the deterioration rate was moderate, but if left alone, they would eventually disintegrate as if they were melting into the air.

In case of other magic items whose basic constituent material was magic element, their magic power would disappear, but in case of monsters materials which were magic element itself, all of it would end up getting reduced.

As far as deterioration was concerned, the armor made of monster materials that Otoha used for instance, there would not be a problem as long as it was brought into the dungeon and allowed to absorb the miasma periodically.

In other words, materialized magical energy was the same constituent material as their『Reinforced External Skeleton (Armed Golem)』.

「Yes. Yes, it’s doable. It’s doable, should be… We won’t be able to tell for sure until we actually try it out, though.」

It was ultimately an alter ego of the person in question, so customization that deviated from the model such as adding more arms was considered to be difficult.

In addition, it was believed that the『Reinforced External Skeleton (Armed Golem)』, whose form varied from person to person even if they were similarly『Craftsman』, reflected the subconscious of the person in question.

There would surely be a need to do some careful verification for carrying out a customization.

However, if realized, it would surely be a battle power upgrade for the『Craftsman』, worthy of being called a revolution even.

「And then, then, you see! There are these so-called armor-piercing insects, right? Those scary ladybugs that fly at you with a vyoom. You see, if we incorporate the propulsion organ of those things into Goliath-kun’s elbow parts. He would come to be able to shoot an amazing dynamite punch with a kabam.」

『Armor-Piercing Beetle (Penetrate Beetle)』 was an insect-type monsters which was feared as well as called with the alias of『Knight Killer』.

It possessed a biological jet propulsion organ as well as an exoskeleton that boasted sturdiness beyond that of steel.

Moreover, it was a small and hard-to-discover monster, so if you were to get caught off guard and eat a charge attack from it, it could penetrate even the armor of a vanguard class.

「… Mikan-chan, let’s have a talk about it for a bit. I’m going to call Touma-kun too, so wait a minute, okay?」

「E, err, today is Shizuka and the others’ turn, so right about now….」

「It’s okay. I think it will be over soon. Maybe, before dawn.」

◇ ◇ ◇

So sleepy.

So dangerously sleepy.

The weather outside the window is nice and warm.

It’s still a little early for the cicadas to start singing, but I can hear the chirping of birds from the direction of the mountains.

Ah, so sleepy.

Maintaining my consciousness is hard.

It’s as if my eyes are being sprinkled with sleepy sand.

However, class is something you should take seriously.

Dozing off is out of the question.

「No, just obediently take a nap already. I don’t think anyone will try to wake you up, after all.」

I can hear a devilish temptation in Seiichi’s voice, but I ignore it.