Chapter 12

A month after returning to high school.

Students who are devoted to their clubs would naturally be practicing nonstop, even giving up their holidays, while diligent students would be spending their days training for advancement to higher education.

The most dedicated ones would, on top of their training, also be attending summer courses.

After passing through the main gate, I headed straight for the enormous training facility attached behind the school building.

Behind the high school stood a massive, maze-like facility modeled after a dungeon. Training that used this facility was incorporated into classes, and during the advancement exams, a maze utilizing the entirety of its vast grounds was apparently created.

In fact, this maze had movable internal walls. While not completely random, it supposedly had so many structural patterns that it was nearly impossible for a human to grasp them all.

During regular classes, a simple course would be set up and used mainly for combat training. During summer vacation, however, part of the huge space used for the advancement exams was opened up, allowing students to train there.

“So they even have a facility this elaborate, packed with both science and magical engineering… as expected of the nation’s top explorer-training institution.”

Well, in my previous life, I had only ever experienced the bare minimum of the areas used for regular classes.

But this time, since I’d chosen to advance—and since I had the goal of making a name for myself and securing backing—my first objective had to be graduating at the top of the class.

If I wanted top scores in both academics and practical skills, attending training like this was absolutely essential.

I was pretty sure it would also be open after school once summer vacation ended.

“Oh? Higashiyama, you’re finally joining the training too? Almost everyone aiming to advance has trained here for at least seven days, you know. You can still catch up, but you’ll need to tackle it seriously if you want to close the gap.”

“Haha, that’s embarrassing. During summer vacation, I was just going around various training facilities, building up experience in person-versus-person combat.”

“Oh, my apologies then. So you were training in PvP. That’s a valid approach. You don’t gain that much experience just fighting people from the same academy. Battling all kinds of people is an effective training method. There are also student-versus-student matches in the advancement exams. Win or lose doesn’t directly determine whether you pass, but the content of the match is reflected in the results. Most students come prepared with one or two hidden tricks for the exam, so experience fighting various people elsewhere will definitely come in handy.”

“I see… so it’s not just dungeon-based exams.”

“Of course not. I plan to tell everyone what kinds of practical tests you’ll face once the second term starts, but it’s pretty famous that this maze is used. The three practical components are matches, maze completion, and a battle royale. It’s technically still a secret, so don’t go spreading it around, okay? Though, well, it’s basically an open secret.”

Well, if you look it up, it’s all over online forums anyway.

And students who interact with graduates—former students of the exploration academy—have probably been taught the details of the advancement exams thoroughly.

“Alright, I’m going to change into my jersey, so could you put my name down on the waiting list for the course?”

“Got it. There are only two people waiting right now, so your turn should come up pretty quickly. Hurry up, Higashiyama.”

“Roger.”

The course I’d be using this time was still much smaller compared to the actual exam, but it was still a vast maze covering 1,500 square meters.

The goal of this training was to see how quickly you could run through the maze while destroying all the targets placed along the way.

The basic rule was that you were given a map of the maze beforehand, memorized it within a fixed amount of time, and then took on the course.

If you destroyed all the targets and cleared the maze, your clear time would be recorded as-is. For each target left behind, five minutes would be added to your time.

There were ten targets in total. Even if you ignored them all and cleared the maze as fast as possible, you’d still have fifty minutes added.

“Hmmm… so this is the map for this time.”

At the waiting area before the start, I checked the map displayed on the tablet I’d been given.

You could view the map for ten minutes, and once that time was up, it would be exactly when you entered the course.

Since there were already people inside the course ahead of me, it really did feel close to an actual dungeon exploration.

You could even hear the sounds of targets being attacked by those who entered earlier, so using those sounds to track them down was also a viable strategy.

Soon, it was my turn to enter the course.

The tablet screen I was holding automatically went dark, and I returned it to its original place.

I moved to the front of the starting gate, preparing to dash out the moment the door opened.

And then—

“Next contestant, please enter.”

The instant the door opened, I burst forward in a dash that fully utilized my stats.

My Agility stat was a whopping 98.

It was a speed impossible for a level-one character, so it was bound to draw suspicion.

But—so what?

“Right turn here, then another immediate right into a dead end with one target.”

The map I’d just seen was vividly engraved in my mind. The effect of [Experience Gained ×10] seemed to work even on short-term learning like this.

The map was clearly displayed in my head, and I could accurately grasp exactly where I was running.

I sprinted at full speed. In the maze where previous runners were still present, I overtook them, destroyed targets, and left everything behind.

Even if someone was already trying to destroy a target, I would beat them to it, smash the target first, and move on in an instant.

Using every ounce of strength I had—

“Goal! This training is actually pretty fun.”

I successfully destroyed all ten targets and passed through the goal gate.

Looking at the precisely measured time, my record was 7 minutes 11 seconds. I didn’t know how fast that really was, but I’d at least finished ahead of the two runners before me, so it couldn’t be bad.

That was when it happened. A teacher who had come to the area beyond the goal gate rushed over with a grin like an excited child.

“Higashiyama! You’re amazing! That’s a time that would be difficult even with the map in hand!”

“Oh, sensei. Is that so? Do you think I can advance?”

“At the very least, you’ll breeze through the exploration-based practical exams if you keep this up. Here—these are the students’ records from summer vacation. They’ll be posted once classes resume, but take a look now.”

“Oh, there’s a ranking! That really boosts motivation!”

—

‘Maze Area Three Practical Training (Advancement Training Course)’
‘Top 10 Clear Times’

1st　Higashiyama Akira　7:11
2nd　Nanjo Ryosuke　　 19:43
3rd　Kitashiro Kasumi　21:17
4th　Nishizaki Yukie　 21:19
5th　――――
6th　――――

There was a familiar name there.

My best friend Kasumi was in third place…! Amazing. I didn’t realize she was that capable.

Second place… the name looked vaguely familiar. Probably someone from the special advanced class.

“I totally blew everyone away, huh.”

“Yeah. Honestly, I’m pretty shocked. At this rate, Higashiyama, you should probably focus intensively on written exam prep for a while. You’ve likely been training PvP and maze runs on your own, haven’t you?”

“Ah, yeah. That’s right. I’ve been constantly training memorization and spatial awareness.”

I went along with what he was saying for the time being, to give these results more credibility.

But honestly, I think my practical skills are fine now.

Yeah… it really is the written exams. Even with the [Experience Gained ×10] effect, I’ve never been particularly good at classroom study to begin with.

If I’m aiming for the top spot, I’ll have to compete head-to-head with people who are genuinely strong in academics. Looks like I’ll be spending quite a while holed up in the library.

“Alright then, sensei. I’ll stop practical training for now with this one run. I’m going to focus on studying for a while.”

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best. Still, I’m amazed… You’re like a completely different person compared to before summer vacation—your attitude, your demeanor, everything. You must have had a good encounter with someone. I can just tell, you know. Teachers have a sense for these things.”

He’s right. Compared to before summer vacation, I really might as well be a different person now.

That teacher’s title isn’t just for show. He really does pay attention to his students.

And calling it a “good encounter” is absolutely spot-on.

“As expected of you, sensei. Bullseye. Well then, I’ll be heading off.”

“Yeah. Good work today, Higashiyama.”

And so, I made good use of the final summer vacation of my high school life, devoting it to preparations for the future.

Tomorrow is the last day of summer break. I kind of want to wrap it up with something… fittingly eventful!

—

After getting home, I decided I wanted something light for dinner and prepared some cold pasta.

Pasta is easy to make, yet stylish and good-looking. Am I the only one who feels like it’s kind of cool to expand your repertoire with dishes like this?

“Oooh… this looks legit…! Cold pasta with shiso and cherry tomatoes!”

Just as I was admiring the finished dish, I heard my lively older sister’s voice calling out that she was home, as usual, from the front door.

Sometimes it really does make you wonder which one of us is supposed to be the maid, but honestly, this kind of life isn’t bad either.

“Akiraaa! Your onee-san’s back! And today’s souvenir is this!”

Greeting her slightly more cheerful-than-usual voice, I saw her holding out a single sheet of paper toward me.

Hmm, what could this be?

“Oh! There’s a ‘fireworks festival’! Nice! That’s such a summer-vacation kind of event.”

“Right? I thought I’d add a beautiful memory to Akira’s high school senior summer, which has been filled with nothing but grey memories so far. What do you say? Your big sister wouldn’t mind going with you, you know?”

“Please, by all means, allow me the honor of accompanying you.”

“Very well! It’s a little strange that it’s called a ‘festival’ when it doesn’t really seem like a competition, but I’m super curious—this’ll be my first time ever seeing real fireworks.”

Looks like a properly summer-like event was waiting for me at the very end, after all.

I just hope nothing happens… though, knowing I’ll be with my sister… yeah, something’s probably going to happen.