After defeating the demon king in another world and returning to Japan, a dungeon appeared on the ground. - Chapter 86

Chapter 86

“Alright, everyone paired up…? Okay then, the time limit is ten minutes! As I always say, don’t hurt your partner!! This is combat training with safety in mind!! And by chance if you do get injured, report it immediately!! Alright, begin!!”

The P.E. teacher glanced around to make sure everyone had paired up before giving the signal to start.

Facing Hirose, who I had paired up with, we started discussing how to proceed.

“Ahaha… It’s an honor to be paired with you, Ando-kun, a mid-level explorer…”

“Uh… un. But I’ve only just been promoted, so don’t expect too much, okay?”

“Come on, don’t be so modest… Becoming a mid-level explorer is something only a handful of explorers can achieve, right? You’re amazing, Ando-kun.”

“…Well, I guess.”

“Actually, I’m thinking about becoming an explorer myself in the future, so I’d really appreciate any tips you could give me.”

Saying so, Hirose smiled as he said that.

“Got it. I’ll help as much as I can.”

I didn’t want to set his expectations too high, but I couldn’t brush him off either, so I halfheartedly agreed.

“Thanks… So, um, can I go first and declare my skill?”

“Sure, let’s go with that.”

There are two ways to approach skill practice.

One is where both parties declare their skills in advance.

The other one is where you start without revealing your skills.

In the former, since both sides know each other’s skills, it becomes a lot safer, and you can even come up with strategies.

On the other hand, in the latter, since you don’t know the other person’s abilities, it’s more dangerous, but it’s said to improve your adaptability to unknown threats.

The way of practice Hirose chose was the first option.

It was probably because, as a non-explorer, Hirose realized that fighting me, a mid-level explorer, without knowing my skills would be too risky.

“Alright, I’ll declare my skill… My skill allows me to see my opponent’s weaknesses.”

Hirose reveals the extent and operations of his skill.

“A skill to see weaknesses?”

“Yes. The moment I activate my skill, I can immediately pinpoint my opponent’s weaknesses. And somehow I also get a sense on how I should move to get an upper hand. It doesn’t always work on stronger opponents, but… it’s pretty useful, and I like it.”

“Heh… that’s quite an interesting skill.”

A skill that puts forth his opponent’s weaknesses bare in front of him, huh?

I’d never encountered such a skill before, it was really intriguing.

It made sense strategically as well, and while Hirose had been humble earlier, but the fact that he approached me to pair up suggested that he had quite some confidence in his abilities.

“So, can I ask what your skill is, Ando-kun?”

Having declared his own skill, Hirose now asked about mine.

“Yeah, sure. My skill is the ability to control fire.”

I followed the rules and revealed my skill.

“A skill that Controlling fire?”

Hirose tilted his head.

I decided to show him by creating a small fireball in my hand.

“Something of this sort. I can manipulate this fire… and even launch it.”

I tossed the small fireball into the sky to show him.

“Eh… That’s all…?”

Hirose’s reaction on seeing my skill was rather underwhelming.

“Surprised?”

“Well… yeah, to be honest. I thought, being a mid-level explorer, you would have a more impressive skill.”

“Well, it’s all about how you use it.”

If I were to say truth is, this isn’t even a skill; it’s just basic magic. But I’ll let that slide for now.

“I see… Alright, let’s fight then. To a degree that make sure neither of us gets hurt.”

“Yeah.”

Hirose’s attitude shifted noticeably.

Where he had been respectful earlier, now he seemed to be underestimating me.

He must have thought my skill wasn’t that big of a deal, looking at my skill.

I could feel his growing confidence. He felt like thinking, ‘I can surely win this easy-peasy’.

We both put some distance between us and faced each other.

“Well, shall we begin then? Who’s giving the signal to start?”

“I’ll leave that to you.”

I let Hirose take the lead in starting the match.

This effectively gave him the first move.

“Confident, huh? Thanks. Alright… let’s see what the power of a mid-level explorer looks like!! Skill, activate! Show me Ando-kun’s weaknesses!!”

Hirose used his skill on me.

He seemed to be analyzing something, as he stared at the open space between us without moving.

“…”

Though he was completely vulnerable while using his skill, I refrained from ending the match too quickly, since I had promised to guide him. I decided to wait and see what he would do.

“Nn…?”

But strangely enough, Hirose wasn’t making a move no matter how much time went by.

He just stood there, staring at me.

He did say that his skill would help him figure out even how he should move, but then, why isn’t he even taking the first step?

“Hey, Hirose? Are you not gonna make a move?”

When I called out to him, suddenly, Hirose dropped to his knees.

“None, there’s… no weakness… at all”

“Haah?”

“Ando-kun… you don’t have any weaknesses… What is this…? This has never happened before…”

“Eh…?”

Hirose muttered in disbelief.

“My skill couldn’t find any weakness in you… Ando-kun… You don’t have a single weakness… For real … Just who are you…?”

“…”

Unable to find the words to say to Hirose, I just stood there as he looked completely bewildered.