chapter_0086

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
86

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
86

After taking a brief rest,
Frey and Arthur looked revitalised.

Karl and I, accustomed to more
gruelling training than this, were unfazed, but the same couldn’t be
said for the others.

Kids these days really lack
perseverance.

If they experienced the
training under Commander Possell, they’d think getting any sleep at
all is a luxury.

Maybe I should entice them
with a taste of Allen Family training when there’s time.

If I tell them it was how I
got stronger, wouldn’t they be intrigued?

“Lucy Allen. So, what are
we going to do now?”

By the time we barely reached
the Safe Section on the 34th floor, you looked like you’d drop dead.
Now you’re feeling better, huh, Arthur?

Your enthusiasm is a good
sign.

‘We’re going to hunt
monsters!’

“We’re going to massacre
those worthless creatures.”

“What?”

My plan is very simple.

We’re going to hunt monsters
going up and down from the 34th to the 35th floor.

Right now, hunting here is the
most efficient way to level up.

The monsters that appear on
these floors are armed orcs, and perhaps due to their nature, they
appear in overwhelming numbers.

They rely on sheer numbers
rather than individual prowess.

Originally, this would be a
terrifying concept of strength in numbers, but not from a gamer’s
perspective.

The frequent spawning means
it’s perfect for grinding.

If we keep hunting orcs until
we’re forcibly ejected from the dungeon today, wouldn’t our
levels go up significantly?

“That’s it?”

After hearing my plan, Frey
asked, sounding unimpressed.

“Fighting orcs is just
boring.”

“I agree. Is fighting
orcs really beneficial for a party of our level?”

What exactly were you
expecting? Once inside a dungeon, you either conquer it or grind.
What else would you do here?

And honestly, seeing you two,
who were exhausted just running up to this point, complain is really
annoying.

Do you think grinding is easy?

Grinding is the hardest and
most gruelling part of an RPG game, you know? When you actually do
it, you’ll feel the difference!

‘Whether it’s boring or not,
we’ll find out once we try.’

“Is it really boring? Are
you sure?”

Did they sense something in my
words?

Arthur glanced around
cautiously, but Frey was different.

She nodded confidently,
without hesitation.

“Of course. No matter how
many orcs we face, it’s no problem.”

‘Really? Even if there are
tons of them?’

“Sloppy Swordsman.
Really? Even if hordes of sloppy orcs come at us, it’ll be no
problem?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

You nodded just now, right?

So, you’re agreeing to the
grinding that’s about to start, right?

That means I can push you and
Arthur without feeling any guilt. Thank you, Frey.

Thanks to you, I feel a little
relieved.

‘Then let’s get started!’

“Alright. Shall we move?
It doesn’t look like there’s anyone here who’s going to whine
about not being able to keep up.”

About three hours after Lucy’s
declared hunt began.

Arthur had to acknowledge one
thing he had overlooked.

Lucy Allen was trained by the
Allen Family, the most prestigious martial family on the continent.

The training conducted by the
Allen Family is famous for its intensity.

Even well-known knights often
break under the strain and flee in terror.

Lucy trained alongside knights
in such a place.

There was no way she would use
mere orc hunting as a training method.

When she first explained this
marathon, Lucy Allen had used the word ‘massacre’.

At that time, Arthur thought
she was just being her usual arrogant and overconfident self.

But he was wrong.

No word better describes the
current training other than ‘massacre’.

“Four trash orcs ahead.
There better not be any slackers falling behind me?”

“Around the corner, there
are three pigs squealing.”

“This time, it’s six of
them? They think they can win by grouping up. Those sloppy fools.”

Combat. Combat. And then more
combat.

Arthur couldn’t remember how
many orcs they had hunted so far.

He could only estimate that it
easily surpassed a hundred.

Of course, dealing with orcs
wasn’t particularly difficult in itself.

With Lucy Allen effortlessly
fending off the orc attacks from the front and Frey precisely
decapitating them whenever an opportunity arose, what could be
challenging?

Arthur’s proper support from
the front to the rear line allowed them to secure victories with
ease.

No matter how many orcs there
were, in the end, they were just orcs.

At times, Frey would even
charge in alone and wipe out groups of orcs on her own.

During the initial stages of
the hunt, Arthur thought orc hunting was extremely easy.

But that was only true for the
first one or two fights.

No matter how easy the combat
was, repeated fights eventually raised issues of stamina.

As they could no longer move
like they did at the beginning, the difficulty of combat increased,
and the coordination among party members began to falter.

The more out of sync they
became, the longer the battles lasted, and the faster their stamina
depleted compared to before.

In a normal party, they would
take a rest before it reached this point, but not Lucy Allen.

“You claimed it was nothing,
yet you’re tired already? As expected, the Pitiful Prince has
sloppy stamina. Need me to carry you? Want a little pampering?”

That was her response when
asked if they should take a break. Normally, Arthur would have
prioritised a calm evaluation over his own humiliation, but Lucy
Allen’s words had a peculiar power.

Determined not to lose to this
woman, Arthur gritted his teeth and replied that he was fine.

After more than twenty combat
encounters, the party members stopped talking entirely.

While Lucy Allen consistently
provided briefings and led them, no one responded.

It wasn’t that they didn’t
want to respond; they simply didn’t have the strength.

Frey’s sword swings grew
duller compared to before, and Arthur’s judgments frequently
lagged, leading to mistakes.

Even Lucy, who had the best
stamina among them, began making errors.

Around the thirtieth battle,
they had reached their limits.

Arthur felt his mana had been
completely drained.

Frey, who normally acted on
her own impulses, was now only catching her breath.

Even Lucy Allen showed some
signs of exhaustion.

Everyone was falling apart.

“Professor Karl. Is this
really okay?”

Even if this dungeon was said
to be safe, it only meant there wasn’t a threat of death.

Injuries and wounds were still
possible.

If they continued this with a
dishevelled party, someone would surely get seriously hurt.

When Arthur voiced his
concern, Frey, who was standing in the middle, perked up her ears.
She, too, was exhausted but didn’t want to admit it out of pride.

“Is there a problem?”

Arthur had hoped Professor
Karl would suggest taking a break, but Karl’s response was far from
what he expected.

“Are you saying there’s no
problem with this?”

“Yes, it’s a training
exercise to push your limits. It’s a necessary experience,” Karl
replied.

He explained that when
entering a dungeon, it’s unrealistic to expect the party to control
every situation.

Hoping to rest at the right
moment is just a fantasy, he said.

“It would be nice if a Safe
Section appeared whenever we needed it, but things don’t go that
smoothly in reality. Sometimes, you won’t encounter a single Safe
Section until the dungeon’s cleared.”

“So this is training for
those times?” Arthur queried.

“Yes. That’s why I haven’t
stopped you.”

‘That arrogant, haughty
woman, who takes pleasure in teasing others, thought of all this?’

Hearing Karl’s words, Arthur
looked ahead.

There, he saw Lucy walking in
the lead, trying her best to appear at ease.

‘Come to think of it, the
one having the hardest time here is her.

Always at the front, taking
the brunt of the enemy’s attacks, she has the best stamina but is
doing the most work.

Yet, she never once suggested
taking a break.

Lucy Allen is pushing herself
to the brink of exhaustion.

So this is what she meant by
gaining experience.’

“I apologise. I was
complaining for no reason. Please forget it.”

“Yes, understood. Your
Highness.”

Having received a clear answer
from Karl, Arthur took a deep breath.

‘Yes. I still have enough
energy to complain like this.

I can’t collapse before Lucy
Allen does.

What kind of teasing would
that provoke?’

Levelling up is slower than
expected.

There are numerous issues, but
the biggest one is stamina.

In the game, I didn’t have to
worry about the stamina of party members.

They never complained of being
tired.

But now that it’s reality,
it’s different.

Arthur and Frey are human too.

No matter how extraordinary
they are, there is a limit.

Like in the game, we can’t
maintain the same speed from the first hunt to the last.

Although we’ve managed to keep
the pace so far, we’re starting to hit our limits.

Even Frey, who used to rush
off on her own, flinches at the mention of orcs.

It’s clearly time for a break.

‘Shall we take a rest,
everyone?’

“Hey, sloppy folks. Your
legs are shaking. If you bow your heads, I might let you rest.”

“We’re fine.”

“No problem.”

I expected them to welcome the
break with open arms, but Arthur and Frey’s responses were different.

“We can still keep
going.”

“Orcs are trash.”

You look like you’re about to
keel over, but are you sure you can keep going?

Could it be that you don’t
want to lose to me?

Well, whatever. If they want
to keep pushing themselves, I won’t stop them.

Surprisingly, Arthur and Frey
kept up with my gruelling pace until the end.

We did take a few short
breaks, suggested by Karl, but that was it.

Even when they were at the
brink of collapse, with just barely the strength to stand, they
gritted their teeth and followed me.

Thanks to that, we were able
to hunt until we were forcibly removed from the dungeon.

As a result, I gained three
levels today.

That means my current level is
18.

It’s too slow.

I knew I might not reach
today’s goal, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.

Considering it gets harder to
level up as I go higher, I might need to spend several days focusing
just on levelling up.

Normally, I’d go back into the
dungeon tomorrow for more grinding, but unfortunately, I already have
plans.

I have something to do in the
streets of Soul Academy tomorrow.

As a gamer, shouldn’t I
witness the start of the main quest?

I wonder which Evil God will
wreak havoc on the freshmen at Soul Academy this playthrough.

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