Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? Volume Chapter 18

Today we have extracurricular activities.

My activity, the exploration class, convenes on a small mountain close to the academy.

Though, “close” is relative, since it takes half a day just to walk there and just as long to get back.

Only students who have passed an exam administered by the academy can participate.

Among us first-years, a total of twelve people received permission to take the exploration class.

We leave the school early in the morning and arrive at the foot of the mountain just before noon.

There we have a final briefing session in the cabin at the base and eat lunch.

After lunch, we get divided into groups and start the ascent.

We’ll spend the whole day exploring the mountain, camp there overnight, and head back down the following morning.

In terms of danger levels, only the weakest, lowest-class monsters live in the area.

Before the exploration, the high school sent some personnel to investigate, confirming that no strong monsters had turned up.

Even weak monsters sometimes evolve and become strong, so apparently, they check before each lesson.

There are several objectives for these outings:

To learn basic survival skills.

To experience an environment inhabited by actual monsters.

To collect medicinal herbs and gain more knowledge about mountains.

The overall goal is to accumulate all these experiences.

Ideally, we’re supposed to do that by remaining safe throughout the trip.

There’s even a penalty if anyone tries to confront monsters directly.

If you are attacked, you can gain points based on how you deal with it, but going out of your way to attack monsters is strictly forbidden.

The class is divided into parties, each consisting of four students and one teacher.

The makeup of these parties is decided by lots, and unless there’s a major balance issue, there’s no switching places.

Unfortunately, Sue, Katia, and Yuri ended up on separate teams from me.

Even more unfortunately, I’m on the same team as Hugo.

Our party consists of myself, Hugo, Ms. Oka (aka Filimøs), and Parton, a knight’s son. The teacher in charge is Professor Oriza, our magic instructor.

Parton and I are more than just acquaintances, but we don’t quite have a proper friendship.

Parton’s father was a former baron, but he worked his way up to the peerage rank of count through his military accomplishments.

He also trained his son quite rigorously, so Parton specializes in physical-based skills.

His strength is also on the higher end in our grade.

Apparently, that’s still not enough to satisfy him, so he devotes himself very seriously to daily training.

He tends to act very deferential toward me, so while we talk sometimes, I don’t think we’re particularly close.

Professor Oriza is a middle-aged magic teacher.

He seems fairly unmotivated compared with the other teachers. That he’s only here because it’s his job is pretty transparent.

Clearly, he’s not a fan of dealing with trouble, so when Hugo and I were assigned to his party, he made no effort to disguise his irritation.

Seems like the fact that Hugo despises me is common knowledge.

However, since Professor Oriza is a teacher and all, his combat abilities are definitely high enough to deal with any issues.

Though he specializes in magic, he also has the skills for close-range combat, and his attributes are certainly high compared with any student’s.

If anything unexpected happens, the teacher has to protect the students, so it wouldn’t make sense for a weak teacher to accompany us on this field trip.

What does surprise me is Filimøs, formerly Ms. Oka, actually participating.

She often vanishes without warning.

It seems to me she’s working behind the scenes, but she won’t tell us what she’s doing.

If it requires her to skip class without permission, she must be pretty busy.

So I wasn’t expecting her to show up for a class that lasts almost two full days.

That said, considering my situation with Hugo, I’m pretty glad to have her around.

This way, if Hugo tries to pick a fight with me, Ms. Oka is sure to intervene.

“All right, that’s it for now. After you’ve all finished lunch, please break up into your groups and set out.”

The teacher in charge of the excursion concludes the briefing.

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Once we’ve eaten, we’ll be heading out with our parties.

“Well, my dear brother, we must part for a short while. It’ll be terribly lonely.”

“Sue, it’s only for one day.”

“Even one day is too much to bear. When I consider what could happen to you while I’m not around, I doubt I’ll be able to sleep at night.”

“It’ll be fine, okay? They’ve already confirmed the mountain’s safe. Nothing’s going to happen.”

I pat Sue on the head reassuringly.

“Shun, be careful of Hugo, all right? He seems to have gone completely crazy in this world.”

“…Got it.”

Katia’s quiet warning before we part ways keeps echoing in my mind.

Crazy, huh…?

He certainly does seem more fixated on gaining power than ever.

By gathering so many promising young men as his followers, he’s basically building a base for a future army.

I’m sorry, but he’s like a kid playing king of the mountain.

He was always a bit self-centered and childish, but since he reincarnated, it’s only gotten worse.

Well, I’ll just have to be careful to avoid pissing him off with some minor misstep.

Apart from my own private worries, our exploration has been going smoothly.

We arrive in the designated camping area without running into any monsters.

“Sir Schlain, is this the camping point?”

“I think so. Looks like we got here earlier than planned.”

“Oh, young boys have sooo much energy. A little lady like me had suuuch a hard time keeping up, you knooow!”

“Yeah, right. Your stats’re pretty high, aren’t they, Oka? You should have no problem with this crap.”

“If you ask meee, a gentleman would pretend not to know that and treat a lady with kindness anywaaay!”

“I ain’t wastin’ my time fawnin’ over chicks, thanks.”

“Aah, I suppose some girls go for the bad-boy type anywaaay.”

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While Hugo argues with Ms. Oka, Parton and I start setting up camp.

Professor Oriza simply watches us in silence.

“Sir Schlain, could I ask you to hold that, please?”

“Yeah, sure. Like this?”

“Precisely. Then if we just do this and this…”

“Gotcha. Hey, it’s done. Thanks, Parton.”

“Not at all. In fact, I apologize for troubling you to help. I ought to have done it on my own, but…”

“Parton. Social status doesn’t matter at the academy. So you don’t need to worry about it so much, all right?”

“That’s certainly part of it, but, Sir Schlain, I respect you on a personal level as well. I do these things of my own free will. If anything, there’s no need for you to be so apologetic about it.”

I’m taken aback by Parton’s frank gaze.

Why do he and other people—like my sister, Sue—feel compelled to fawn over me so much?

I don’t understand it.

After we finish establishing our camp, we’re still ahead of schedule, so we have a bit of time to kill.

We decide to check out our surroundings a bit.

Each of us will act independently, exploring in a small area without straying too far.

I’m somewhat opposed to the idea, but we agree to stay within hearing range of each other’s voices.

That way, if anything happens, the other members will be close enough to come running.

And that’s how I wind up alone on the mountain.

If you collect medicinal herbs and other edibles on your own, you can get extra points.

So I activate Appraisal, and now I’m looking for herbs.

Suddenly, I hear the sound of swords clashing.

It’s coming from nearby, where Parton should be exploring.

The sound is muffled, as if one of the swords is either specially forged or the wielder is using the Silence skill.

But with Auditory Enhancement, my ears pick it out clearly.

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I make to dash toward Parton only to find someone blocking my path.

It’s Hugo.

“Yo.”

“What are you doing, Hugo…no, Natsume?”

Hugo greets me pleasantly enough, but it does little to ease my nerves.

“Oh, you know, I was just thinkin’ that now would be as good a time as any to get rid of you.”

Hugo’s voice is calm, but I can barely believe my ears.

I can’t help but gulp.

“You’re joking, right?”

“Do I look like I’m joking? You’re an eyesore, and I’m sick of it.”

At that moment, the light smirk vanishes from Hugo’s face.

“See, this world exists just for me… I’m gonna be the strongest guy alive and take over this whole place. So it don’t make sense for someone to be on the same level as me, or maybe even stronger, now does it?”

“What the hell are you saying? This world doesn’t belong to anyone. Come back to your senses already.”

“My senses, huh? But you can do anything in this world if you have the right skills. It’s like a dream! Obviously, it exists only for me. But a world like that doesn’t need losers like you in it. So die.”

Hugo draws his sword. I have no choice but to do the same.

I don’t believe this. Is he insane?

I knew he hated me, so I thought something might happen during this trip, but I never would have guessed he’d try to kill me, especially for such a ridiculous reason.

He’s serious, isn’t he?

I mean, I know this isn’t a joke, but…

It still doesn’t seem real.

And yet, I can hear my heart pounding like a drum in my ears clearly, and my hands tremble as I clutch my sword.

I try to swallow the confusion and panic and check Hugo’s status.

LV 31Name: Hugo Baint Renxandt Status:HP: 628/628 (green)MP: 566/566 (blue)  SP: 609/609 (yellow): 502/611 (red)  Average Offensive Ability: 608Average Defensive Ability: 599  Average Magical Ability: 546Average Resistance Ability: 522  Average Speed Ability: 583  Skills:   [HP Auto-Recovery LV 4][MP Recovery Speed LV 4][MP Lessened Consumption LV 4][SP Recovery Speed LV 8][SP Lessened Consumption LV 8][Destruction Enhancement LV 7][Cutting Enhancement LV 7][Impact Enhancement LV 4][Flame Enhancement LV 4][Magic Power Perception LV 8][Magic Power Operation LV 5][Magic Warfare LV 5][Magic Power Conferment LV 4][Magic Power Attack LV 2][Mental Warfare LV 7][Energy Conferment LV 7][Energy Attack LV 7][Flame Attack LV 3][Paralysis Attack LV 2][Swordsmanship LV 6][Throw LV 5][Spatial Maneuvering LV 6][Hit LV 8][Evasion LV 8][Stealth LV 3][Silence LV 1][Emperor][Concentration LV 9][Prediction LV 3][Arithmetic Processing LV 3][Fire Magic LV 5][Destruction Resistance LV 2][Impact Resistance LV 2][Cutting Resistance LV 3][Fire Resistance LV 3][Poison Resistance LV 2][Paralysis Resistance LV 1][Pain Resistance LV 1][Vision Enhancement 10][Telescopic Sight LV 1][Auditory Enhancement LV 10][Auditory Expansion LV 1][Olfactory Enhancement LV 8][Taste Enhancement LV 7][Tactile Enhancement LV 8][Longevity LV 5][Magic Hoard LV 4][Instant Body LV 5][Endurance LV 5][Herculean Strength LV 5][Sturdy LV 5][Monk LV 4][Talisman LV 3][Acceleration LV 5][n% I = W] Skill Points: 350

Titles:

[Monster Slayer]      >

He’s strong. Unlike mine, his stats lean a little heavily toward the physical side.

And unlike me, he’s been actively acquiring skills with his skill points.

The most concerning is the Emperor skill.

I can resist the Fear effect.

But increasing the effect of all his other skills is a big problem.

Hugo swings his sword at me.

I meet his blade with my own.

Oof, so heavy!

“Hey, guess what? I know you haven’t used your skill points at all. You haven’t even leveled up. Points exist to be used, you know! Just like this!”

Hugo’s sword starts gushing flames.

I just barely manage to avoid it.

“Make it quick and die, will ya? If this gets too out of hand, the other groups might notice.”

“You really think you can get away with doing something like this?”

“Sure, why not? I’m the future ruler of this world. Obviously, I can do whatever I want! Besides, I’ve got it all planned out. My lackeys should’ve made short work of the others by now. Once I finish you off, we’ll just release the monsters we brought along. Strong ones that wouldn’t normally show up around here. Then we’ll just say they suddenly appeared and devoured a bunch of poor students and teachers, get it? And that I defeated them and survived.”

“You don’t think anyone will suspect you with a half-baked plan like that?”

“Who will? What’re they gonna say? This ain’t Japan, you know. I’m the future sword-king! Who would dare speak against me just ’cause something’s a little fishy? You think they wanna start an international incident? Yeah, right. That’s how things work here. There’s no goody-goody justice system to stop me!”

His words shock me. He doesn’t think like a Japanese person at all anymore.

And he’s accepted that like it’s totally natural.

“See ya. Don’t worry. I’ll remember you in some tiny fraction of my memories.”

His sword gathers huge flames as it swings downward.

However, it doesn’t reach me.

Hugo’s body is suddenly blown backward.

“Natsume. You’ve gone way too far.”

A cold, intimidating tone with no trace of the usual drawl.

An overwhelming presence unsuited to such a tiny elf.

Ms. Oka.

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“Your plan’s failed, Natsume. All of your subordinates have been arrested. And I took the liberty of disposing of the monsters you brought.”

“Wh-what?!”

“It seems you were so preoccupied with Shun that you wrote me off far too lightly. I’m sorry, but I can’t let your little rampage go unchecked anymore.”

Our teacher walks over to the fallen Hugo.

He tries launching a surprise attack at her, but—

“Guh?!”

—something invisible knocks him back down to the ground.

It must be the same force that blew him away a minute ago.

I’m guessing it’s some kind of wind magic.

Ms. Oka’s hand grasps the top of Hugo’s head. Then, I sense the flow of magic power.

She seems to have cast some kind of spell on him.

“Activate ruler’s authority. Activating ruler-exclusive skill at the ruler’s request. Consent to activation?”

“Consent granted.”

A flat voice emerges from Hugo’s mouth. It doesn’t sound like him.

Is she hypnotizing him using forbidden Heretic Magic?!

My surprise doesn’t end there. In fact, that’s only the beginning.

Before my eyes, Appraisal shows Hugo’s stats rapidly decreasing.

On top of that, his skills are disappearing.

In a matter of seconds, all of Hugo’s skills are gone except for the mysterious one with the garbled letters.

“What?! What did you do to me?!”

Hugo bellows as soon as he returns to his senses.

“I lowered your stats and revoked your skills.”

“Huh?! That’s impossible!”

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“Shun, what does Appraisal say?”

“…Just as you said, ma’am. All his stats have dropped to thirty. Plus, his skills are gone.”

“Wh…? How…?”

“This world does not belong to you. I would strongly advise you to reflect on your actions and start trying to live a normal life. Nothing good will come of you acquiring skills and getting stronger anyway…”

Hugo is absolutely dumbfounded. I’m confused, too.

After that, the exploration class is suspended.

Parton, Professor Oriza, and the others are all safe.

It seems to have been a close call, but thanks to Ms. Oka’s intervention, no one was seriously injured.

All of Hugo’s minions who’d attempted to attack people were captured.

However, none of them would admit to their connection with Hugo, and he cut ties with them as well.

Apparently, a more detailed inquisition will be initiated at the academy, but judging by how it’s gone so far, I doubt much will happen.

Hugo is confident he can talk his way out of it, so he may already have some sort of contingency plan.

Everyone, including me, is completely focused on Hugo right now.

So no one notices the monster, released surreptitiously, quietly following us back.