Chapter 23: The Exploration Begins

"Reima, if that chuunibyou gets too annoying, you’re welcome to join my group whenever you want."

I watched Ayane stomp off toward her own group, looking thoroughly displeased. Once she was gone, I turned to my temporary teammates to get the introductions over with.

"Right. Once again, I’m Reima Kariya. It’s only for a day, but I’ll do my best to back you up."

"Hmph. I should say the same. I am Kaiser Dragonia... the seeker who rules the dragons and inherits their ancient power! You may call me Kaiser!"

"Sure. Nice to meet you, Kaiser."

"……You’re actually going to call me that? Just like that?"

"That’s how you introduced yourself, isn't it?"

"You—you’re a good guy!"

He was being called Goro earlier, but if he wants to go by Kaiser, it’s easier to just play along. Besides, the name is actually kind of cool.

"I guess I'm next... Um, I'm Asahi Yugiri, an [Enchanter]. I specialize in strength and speed buffs, but... I'm not great in a chaotic fight. I'm nowhere near as strong as you two, but I'll try my best not to be a burden."

Asahi finished his introduction by laying out his strengths and weaknesses. With that, the formalities were out of the way.

We had a bit of free time before the dive officially began. I considered trying to socialize more, but then I realized I hadn't infused my guns with mana yet. I quickly funneled energy into them, trying to be discreet about it.

"……Hm. Reima, what is that weapon?"

"This? Custom gear. They’re guns designed to be loaded with mana from others. I’ve got various spells packed in there for support... since I don't have any mana of my own."

"No mana? What do you—"

"Wait, it’s time. Everyone’s moving. Um, we’re supposed to be streaming this, right? How does that work again?"

This extracurricular lesson was essentially a practical class where each first-year group had to run a [Dungeon Streaming] session. It was a new initiative by Meikutsu High School, but since I didn't remember a single thing about how to actually operate a stream, I was already lost before we’d even started.

"Leave that to me. Activating the device... alright, we’re live. Now, behold, my subjects! Today’s stream begins!"

Kaiser activated a mechanical dragon equipped with a camera. Its eyes glowed as it began to circle us, and translucent text started scrolling through the air around the device.

〔Ah, thanks for the stream!〕 〔Yahoo, Kaiser!〕 〔Morning, Tanaka.〕 〔Yo, Goro.〕 〔Are those two the group members for the project?〕 〔Kaiser is teaming up with a girl... wait, what?〕 〔……Hold on, have I seen that other guy somewhere before?〕

The comments began to flood in. Watching them fly by at that speed was giving me a migraine. I decided to just let Kaiser handle the talking.

"Indeed! These are Reima and the [Enchanter] Asahi, who will be joining me for today's dive! They both belong to Meikutsu High School’s [Support Department]!"

〔Wait, the department with that insane competition rate?〕 〔I get it’s a collab with Meikutsu, but the Support Department is legit.〕 〔I heard their curriculum is actually harder than the Adventurer Course.〕 〔Actually, the visuals of these three are insane.〕 〔Total visual violence, lol.〕

I could probably track every single comment if I used magic to enhance my vision, but I couldn't exactly go around flaunting my mana usage. I’ll just ignore it.

"Now then... I’ll give a brief overview of the project. Today, myself and Kagura will be conducting a [Dungeon Streaming] session alongside the students of Meikutsu. You can watch the stream from the students' perspective over on the [Meikutsu Official Channel] linked in the description. Go find yourself a promising future [Adventurer] or a new favorite to root for!"

Kaiser delivered the pitch perfectly. As he led us toward the entrance, he pulled out a stone pulsing with mana.

"Hey, Kaiser, what’s that?"

"This? A [Teleportation Stone] for this [Dungeon]. If I stayed with the other students, I’d just end up stealing their spotlight, wouldn't I? So I prepared this. It’s a fairly rare item that can jump straight to the 15th floor. Not bad, right?"

I remembered seeing something about those in Reima’s notes. They were incredibly rare drops. Depending on the difficulty of the dungeon they were linked to, one of those could be worth enough to buy a house. Using one just to skip a few floors for a school project felt like a massive flex.

"……Well then, we’re jumping! Brace yourselves!"

Kaiser crushed the stone in his hand. Light enveloped us, and a moment later, the school grounds were gone. We were standing inside a massive cavern.

The atmosphere was heavy, quiet, and eerie. Looking up, I could see bat-like monsters clinging to the ceiling of the cavern.

"From this floor onward, we are in the middle layers. This is where the [Cyclops], our target for today, begins to spawn. I’ll be the primary combatant, but for those watching the stream, please keep an eye on Reima and Asahi’s movements!"

〔Understood, my King!〕 〔Being teamed up with Kaiser is a lot of pressure. I’m curious to see them.〕 〔They’re Supporters, but can they even keep up with Kaiser’s pace?〕 〔I get the Enchanter, but what is that Reima guy doing?〕 〔He’s just holding guns. How is that support?〕

"I was actually wondering that myself," Kaiser said, glancing back at me. "You mentioned it earlier, but what exactly can those cool weapons of yours do?"

"……The black one is [Noir]. It’s specialized for debuffs. The white one is [Blanc], which is loaded with support magic. I switch between them depending on the situation. My effective range is about forty meters. Within that circle, I can provide support freely."

〔Wait, isn't that actually kind of cracked?〕 〔……Hard to tell without seeing it, but it sounds strong.〕 〔What kind of [Job] does both debuffs and buffs?〕 〔Is he a [Magic Gunner]?〕

"Well, it’s probably easier to just show you," I said. "And look at that—perfect timing. Asahi, buff Kaiser. I’ll handle the debuffs."

A swarm of gargoyles and a pack of [Orcs] had emerged from the shadows of the cavern. As the horde rushed toward us, I raised [Noir] and fired a mana bullet designed to lower defense as a preemptive strike.

〔Wait, what?〕 〔The Orc just exploded.〕 〔'Debuff Specialist' my ass!〕 〔LOL〕

...Maybe I messed up the mana adjustment. The attack that was supposed to merely lower the target's defense had instead completely erased the [Orc's] upper torso.

"……Eh?"

I was the one who had pulled the trigger, but I was also the most surprised person in the room. My dumbfounded voice echoed through the vast, silent cavern.