Chapter 34

Mid-November. The midterm exams had finally begun.

Our high school also functioned as an institution for training Explorers, so the curriculum differed from a normal high school.

That said, we still had to study the standard five subjects, plus two additional subjects covering dungeon-related history and science.

However, for us third-years, the exams no longer tested all five basic subjects.

The only subjects examined now were the three necessary for advancement exams—Japanese, Math, and English—along with Dungeon History, Dungeon Science, and Dungeon Practical, which was a practical exam modeled on actual dungeon exploration.

The first day had four academic subjects, and the second day included one subject plus the practical exam.

…But by now, I barely even considered exams as exams; the knowledge was already ingrained in my head as common sense.

Still, as expected, after each subject I was hit with terrible headaches, so I drank the glucose-rich sports drink I’d brought along to replenish my energy.

“Phew… I’ll have to level up in a dungeon soon…”

Well, it was impossible to imagine how many monsters I’d need to defeat to level up. After all, in the Odaiba incident—

Level: 25
HP: 133
Strength: 87
Dexterity: 159
Agility: 351
Spirit: 111
Luck: 512
Fate: ∞

My level had reached this far.

Even my original level, 17, was considered ideal for activity in the later floors of a standard Japanese dungeon, and it was said that it would take about three months of daily battles just to gain a level there.

The higher the level, the exponentially more monsters you had to defeat to level up, assuming you were targeting appropriately strong monsters.

That I jumped all the way to level 25 was because the monsters appearing in Odaiba were truly powerful, dungeon-master-class enemies, which had further evolved into the “Tenko” species—a catastrophic, worst-case type. The vast amount of power—experience, essentially—flowed to me and my sister after defeating them.

…And that wasn’t all. My effect, [10x Acquired Experience], had applied to that battle.

That was why I had grown this much. And yet, recently, I often get headaches severe enough to indicate my brain’s capacity is being pushed to the limit.

It’s said that the higher your level, the greater the numerical growth in stats, so perhaps the basic physical specs, brain capacity, and processing speed also grow together.

Lately, my thinking has felt unusually fast, and I sense my speed in deriving answers from exam questions has improved.

“Phew… feels like it’s soaking into my brain.”

“What are you drinking? Bringing a thermos with you?”

“Oh? This? It’s a drink with glucose dissolved into a sports drink. I can’t go without it when studying lately.”

“Hmm… can I have a sip?”
“Sure. It’s addictive how it feels like it feeds the brain.”
“Eh… I feel like Akira has drifted far away recently.”

Well, you’re pretty much the only one saying that.

Honestly, anyone who talks to me now is probably just curious. Maybe, as Kasumi said, I’ve become a “distant existence.”

“Sweet?! Huh… but yeah, the sweetness disappears fast, and it’s actually kind of tasty.”
“My head’s been hurting from overusing my brain. Probably from forcefully cramming knowledge in.”

“Oh… that can happen when you do something you’re not used to. Once you get into the academy, slow your study pace a little. Practical grades take priority there anyway.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. Alright, let’s give our all for the last subject today.”

Today, I had already finished the basic subjects (Japanese, Math, English), leaving only Dungeon History.

Once that was done, school would be over for the day, and staying behind was prohibited. So I’d head straight home. No lunch was packed today anyway.

I blitzed through the Dungeon History exam, which I had already studied extensively for the Explorer License Exam, almost with zero thought time, and then spent the remaining time taking a nap to rest my overworked brain.

“Phew… first day over! Kasumi, want to do a review or debrief?”
“Hmm? Don’t think it’s necessary. You too, right?”
“Yeah. This time, I really want to beat you in the written exam, Kasumi.”
“Eh? I felt it was just like any other time, so I might actually lose to focused Akira?”

After finishing all the exams, we changed shoes near the school entrance while exchanging such conversation.

The air coming in from outside was already cold, and Kasumi sneezed.

Mid-November—up north, it must already be snowing.

“Kasumi, want to borrow my scarf?”
“Yeah, please. It’s colder than this morning… isn’t it unusually cold this year?”
“Maybe. Here you go.”

I lent her the scarf and pulled the hood of my coat up to keep warm.

“Kasumi, want to stop by my place? I can teach you if you really want to tackle the license exam.”

“Hmm, I’ll buy reference books and problem sets first and try them on my own. If I find parts I’m stuck on or weak in, I’ll compile them and come ask. Today’s fine.”

“Wow… that sounds like the way a seasoned student would approach it. I see—you identify the parts you don’t understand yourself.”

“Exactly. Akira, you should try it too. Instead of cramming everything, focus on the parts that are hard to memorize.”

“I’ll do that from now on.”

Thus, as we headed to the school bus terminal, which was now crowded due to the colder weather, I ended up learning study techniques from Kasumi.

A little before reaching the nearest station, I got off at a bus stop near the shopping district and headed home from there.

Usually, people who get off here are either out shopping or students like me for whom this is the most efficient route home.

But today seemed different.

As I turned my back on the shopping district and headed into the residential area, someone called out to me.

“Oh? You’re going that way?”
“Hm? Do you need something from me?”

When I turned around, there was a girl wearing a duffle coat, with the hem of her high school uniform skirt peeking out from underneath.

Her hair was slightly dyed, a light brown, styled with outward-flipping curls that suggested she cared about her appearance. Outward-flip long hair? I’m not sure what it’s called exactly.

Honestly, she seemed like a pretty noticeable type of student. But I didn’t recognize her.

“Akira Higashiyama, right? I’m Yukie Nishizaki. Don’t you know me?”

“…Sorry, I don’t even know all the girls’ names in my class.”

“Seriously? Ah… well, I’m the one who sees Hokujou-san, who you were just with, as a rival.”

“Oh! So she’s in a position where someone would see her as a rival! …Ah, I remember now. During summer break, she was a top-ranker in the independent dungeon-training exercises, right? She barely lost to Kasumi.”

“You’re blunt, huh? Yeah, I’m the special-advanced student who loses to that girl in both academics and practicals. If Nanjo is the top boy in special-advanced, then I’m the top girl, I guess.”

“Ah, I see. So, what does this brilliant young lady want from me?”

“Hmm… I originally just thought I’d tease you a bit, but you were heading somewhere else instead of shopping, so I wondered why.”

“Oh, that’s it. My place is this way.”

“Ah, I see. Um… can I come hang out?”

“Eh… well, I guess there’s no reason to refuse. What? Did you want tips on Kasumi?”

“Not exactly, more like… a psychological attack?”

She gave off a somewhat carefree air, but underneath it, I sensed a faintly dark ambition—not exactly malice, but a little ulterior motive, maybe.

Well, I could guess…

“Sure, fine. You probably want to get close to me to put pressure on Kasumi since she’s close with me—but I’m not that kind of relationship with Kasumi.”

“…Really? Akira, are you pretty experienced with girls? I’m usually quite popular, but I didn’t expect to get that kind of response.”

“…Well, if you want to come over, that’s fine. You’ll understand why I’m so experienced with girls, whether you like it or not.”

“…Now that you put it that way, I really want to come. Alright, I’ll come over for real, then.”

It seems Kasumi is also in a position where she’s being “chased” a lot.

I made the choice to invite a girl I had never interacted with before, who I had just met, into my home.

Now, which of the following do you think my sister’s reaction will be?

Option 1:
“Ha! What a shameless man! Bringing another girl home again!”

Option 2:
“Sis has no memory of raising Akira to be such a man without restraint!”

Option 3:
“Alright, I’ll leave the two young ones to it… I’ll stay on the first floor, so don’t worry.”

The correct answer comes immediately next!

…Honestly, I’ve got a really good read on my sister.