Awakening to a Special-Grade Explorer

Book 3: Chapter 93

Chapter 93

"Good morning, Chigo-chan."

"Hmm... Good morning. Are we earlier than usual today?"

Chigo, as usual, came downstairs in a disheveled appearance. While scratching her stomach and yawning, she sat down slowly at the table where breakfast was set. She started eating quietly like a cat once she sat down. Despite living with a teenage high school boy going through puberty, she seemed a little too defenseless while eating.

"Today is the day of the practical exam. Chigo-chan, you'll also be in charge of the second-year practical exam from the afternoon, right? Don't oversleep or be late."

"...I'll try my best."

"If you oversleep again, Ilonka-san will give you a pay cut."

"I don't want that. I'll wake up."

"Good luck. Well then, I'll be going. Remember to drink water after eating breakfast, okay?"

"Oh, wait a moment."

"Hmm?"

"I'll lend you this. Please take care of it?"

With a sleepy expression, Chigo took off a rose-pink ring from her little finger and tried to give it to Tenji.

That ring was a very valuable item, as it increased speed by 1.75 times, and Tenji had borrowed it while fighting Kuja Bear.

"Is it okay? Well then, I'll gratefully borrow it."

"Yeah, do your best, Tenji Mama."

"Okay, see you later."

"Goodbye~"

Every morning was the same. Chigo had started calling Tenji "Tenji Mama" since who knows when, he has been like a mother who is always nagging. Conversely, Tenji treated Chigo like a child when it came to waking up from sleep. It was like the relationship between a new couple, but in reality, Chigo was employing Tenji, and their relationship was nothing more than being housemate and mentor. They were neither more than that, nor less.

Tenji put the bag left on the sofa to his back, looking at the ring he had happily put on his finger while leaving the house. Chigo stared blankly at him while waving her hand slowly and saying "take care" again.

He straddled his mountain bike, which was propped up right outside the entrance, and started riding on the route that took 40 minutes one way to school.

He turned a few times in the sparsely populated residential area that was like the countryside, and finally arrived at a slightly larger street.

Then, Tenji's gaze fell on the cute shape of the kitchen car (car cafe) that he was already familiar with, like a friend.

"Yes! It's not crowded today. Lucky day."

The uncle's kitchen car was very popular around here, and if you got the timing wrong, you could end up waiting for a few minutes. However, perhaps because he left home earlier than usual today, there was no one lining up right now.

He rode his bike up to the kitchen car and looked up at the uncle's stern face while sitting on the saddle.

"Good morning, Uncle!"

"Oh, it's Tenji! Here you go."

"Thank you!"

The uncle remembered what Tenji usually ordered and had already prepared a vegetable shrimp sandwich and special lemonade for him.

Tenji quickly paid with his student ID card and put the sandwich in his bag. He took the lemonade in one hand and held the handlebars of his bike with the other.

Then, the uncle spoke to him unusually.

"You have an exam today, right? Do your best."

"Thanks! Well then, see you later!"

"Good luck!"

While showing off his powerful muscles that could be seen through his apron, the uncle waved goodbye to Tenji as he left.

One-handed driving is dangerous, but people in this country don't care about such details at all. Tenji

sucked up the cold lemonade with a sound and savored the exquisite acidity and sweetness. 'Yum. It's superbly delicious today too.'

Interestingly, the lemonade here never tastes the same as the day before. They never fail to surprise their customers with different lemon types, changing the origin of other ingredients, adjusting the amount, and so on. Moreover, it always tastes superbly delicious every day, so no wonder regular customers like Tenji are increasing. While frequently supplementing his thirst with the lemonade, Tenji began to pedal desperately up the steep slope, which is one of the difficult parts of his commuting route. He has been here for three months now, and except when he is in the dungeon, he tries not to use his status benefits and spends his daily life without putting too much force into his body.

It is a training of basic physical strength.

Although it may sound easy just by hearing the words, there aren't many explorers who live as stoically as Tenji does every day.

Once you have acquired subhuman physical abilities as an explorer, you learn the taste of that beautiful wine and often end up using it in your daily life.

With the benefit of status, this steep hill would be climbed in no time, taking less than two minutes. A 40-minute one-way bike ride to school might take less than 10 minutes. Some people may not even need a bicycle to begin with. Running is faster or something.

But Tenji doesn't rely on that.

It's one of the teachings from Chigo and Leon.

While a capital of an explorer is their body, at the root of it all there is, is their own body that they naturally possess. By training their foundational strength, when they receive the benefits of their status, their strength will accelerate even more.

If they rely solely on the benefits, they won't be able to display their true abilities.

That's what Chigo had taught Tenji at the very beginning.

"Alright, just one final paddle!"

Tenji gave it their all in the final sprint.

"Okay, so that's the overview of the exam. Do you guys have any questions?"

In Classroom 1-A, Ms. Megan, the homeroom teacher, addressed the students. Upon arriving at school, the explanation of the exam had begun. The contents were as Pyne had heard a few days ago and other students seemed to be aware of it as well.

It was a survival exam conducted on the 15th floor in a rental format. The floor was mostly inhabited by fourth-grade monsters, with fifth-grade monsters being the most abundant. Third-grade or higher monsters were rarely encountered, and if they did appear, the surrounding teachers and third-year students would handle it.

Of course, for safety considerations, a considerable number of teachers and third-year or higher outstanding students were assigned to the exam, and they were instructed to call for help if anything happened. The scoring criteria would be based on the time and rank of reaching the goal, the number and class of monsters defeated, and the final results would be released the next day.

[Nine out of ten times, at least one teacher will be assigned to each student for grading.]

That's what Tenji was thinking.

Although Tenji and Chigo didn't know about any unknown cutting-edge devices, if such a thing was said to exist, it wouldn't be a big surprise. However, other than that stamp owned by Chariot, they hadn't heard of any such stories. Therefore, it can be assumed that someone is always monitoring nearby.

A person who can monitor humans without making a sound or giving off any indication is most likely a behavior that only a professional explorer can do, and not just an ordinary explorer, but one who specializes in reconnaissance or assassination.

[I wonder if they will be invited from outside? Well, it doesn't matter who it is. I'll just be cautious and try not to mess up too much during the exam.] Tenji thought to himself.

There is only one teacher at Mallorca Escuela who specializes in assassination. It's unlikely that one person can cover the entire field, so there is no other way than to call for reinforcements from outside. Pyne had said that Mushtafa-san would help with the exam, so this was undoubtedly true.

"So no questions? Alright, then the school bus is parked at the entrance, so get on in the order of readiness. We will depart in... exactly 20 minutes. Until then, feel free to do what you want"

Ms. Megan finished her explanation and closed the teacher's tablet that displayed the rules, then left the classroom with a sleepy yawn. After seeing her off, the fifteen students here stood up and began preparing for the exam.

"Tenji, let's stretch together!"

"Sure. Should we go to the courtyard?"

Pyne spoke to Tenji, who had already started to isolate himself. Today was the exam, so Tenji had worn his inner suit under his uniform since morning. This saved him the trouble of changing in the bathroom like he usually did, and the two of them headed to the school courtyard.

There, Tenji and Pyne did a thorough 15-minute warm-up. After that, they took their bags and weapons and got on the school bus at the entrance of the school. There were already five students inside, and the remaining eight had yet to get on.

After finding an empty seat, Tenji sat down and Pyne sat right behind him. Pyne took out her first-class weapon, the "Stealth Voltacker," [Volt Tackle] from her weapon case and began to polish it carefully with a cloth. Watching Pyne's actions, Tenji closed his eyes and decided to meditate, listening to the beating of his heart to calm himself and avoid nervousness.

Then Pyne looked at Tenji's iron[tetsu] sword, which he had brought with him, and asked, "Tenji, are you still using that? Why don't you ask Chigo to buy you something better?"

"No, I'm fine with this," Tenji replied.

"Why? Are Japanese people just humble like that?" Pyne asked.

"No, it's not that. This sword is a gift from someone I respect. Well, technically I bought it myself with the money I received, but it's still a very important thing to me," Tenji explained.

"If you keep saying things like that, you're going to die in the dungeon someday," Pyne said.

"I won't die, I promise," Tenji replied confidently smiling..

"Here we go again, Tenji's mysterious confidence. Well, let's both do our best," Pyne said.

From here on out, they were no longer friends, but rivals. Pyne seemed to imply this with her words and then remained silent, taking time to focus on her own mental preparation. The other students had already begun their own mental preparation in their own ways. Some were meditating, some were revisiting their studies and training.

Then the remaining eight students came rushing onto the school bus, laughing and talking.

"Hahaha, even a Swordsman is confident he won't die, as expected."

"Well, it's a 5th grade dungeon. It is not so bad,"

"Hey, he's right there. Don't say it too loudly, he might cry," one of them warned.

Eight pairs of eyes converged on Tenji in a condescending mocking manner.