Dungeon Combat and Groups

 
 
 ☆
 
 
 (Close-range combat using sorcery?!)
 
 I was wide-eyed at the instantaneous defence and offense unfolding right before my eyes.
 
 Except when wielding a magic sword, close-range combat is close to impossible when using magic that takes time to chant.
 
 With its short chants, as well as being able to narrow down its range of effect in an instant, it may be a fighting style particular to sorcery.
 
 The water-dwelling goblin, who had been pierced by the ice spear which shot out from the wand, smoothly crumbled into sand.
 And in that sand, a red magic stone shone.
 
 “Amazing. So this… is sorcery!!”
 
 I inadvertently shouted out loud.
 
 Hearing my voice, the cocky senior grinned daringly.
 
 “What’cha think?”^[1]
 
 “It surprised me.”
 
 “I know, right?”
 
 “Hey, the next one’s coming!”
 
 Another senior to his right used his shield to hit the smirking senior.
 
 “’Kay.”
 
 The two vanguards once again readied their shields and wands.
 
 The searcher then shouted to everyone.
 
 “Next, 3 are coming!”
 
 And what appeared from the intersection was a giant reptile, the height of a child.
 
 
 
 “Tch, 3 mud lizards, huh.”
 
 The cocky senior clicked his tongue.
 
 With the appearance of a dinosaur, it crawled our way.
 
 And then, all three of them opened their huge mouths———
 
 “Magic reaction increased!”
 
 Gaaaahh!!
 
 A pale-blue light flickered in the monsters’ mouths, and in the next moment, a large number of pebbles shot out.
 
 “『Baries』!!”
 
 Bang bang bang bang bang!!
 
 That was a close call.
 The earth wall that the senior to the right invoked caught the many pebbles, then disappeared.
 
 “Hah, hah…”
 
 Deploying the defensive wall with all their might must’ve put a burden on them.
 The senior on the right was now out of breath.
 
 Immediately after, the middle guard unleashed the same lightning and fireball as before.
 
 Bzzt!
 Boom!
 
 Each was a direct hit on the left and right enemy respectively, and they stopped moving ———
 “『Pentskaare』!!”
 And the middle one was cut right in half by the invisible blade that Liz-senpai released.
 
 And then, the cocky senior plunged in.
 
 “Urraaahh!!”
 
 One of the enemies, still writhing in pain as it burned, was impaled with a spear of ice, and the battle came to an end.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 After that, we encountered monsters several times by the time we returned aboveground, but the seniors easily repelled them, and the dungeon tour went well.
 
 By the time we reached the goal, the number of magic stones acquired was twelve.
 
 It seems that the first six enemies we encountered was a specially large number for those appearing in the passage.
 
 In the following battles, we only encountered groups of 1 to 3.
 
 “Maybe a group of water goblins and a group of mud lizards just happened to be nearby.”
 
 That was Liz’s opinion.
 
 Once we returned safely under the blue sky, our tour group broke up.
 
 “Well then. This is the end of the tour today. I’m really glad we got that done with no one getting injured. Next time we meet, it’ll probably be after you’ve completed your basic training.”
 
 “Will we get the chance to go in together again?”
 
 Liz-senpai nodded in response to Renee’s question.
 
 “Even after basic training is over, wouldn’t it be dangerous for first-years to enter the dungeon alone? Having said that, it’s not possible for the teacher to stick with each and every group. That’s why, us second-years will be diving together with you guys as part of our lessons.”
 
 I see.
 I wonder if it’s like on-the-job training back on Earth.^[2]
 Which means they’ll be giving us hands-on guidance while we actually explore the dungeon.
 
 “Well, I don’t know if it’ll be your same group again, but we’ve gotten to know each other, so it’d be nice to go together again next time as well.”
 
 Just as the senior finished saying that, the teacher called out our numbers.^[3]
 
 “All right. Looks like everyone returned safely, all first-years, gather here!”
 
 “Second-years over here.”
 
 The students begin moving to their homeroom teacher in bits.
 
 “Uhm, thank you for guiding us today.”
 
 ““Thank you!””
 
 Anna and Renee followed up after me.
 
 “Later.”
 
 The seniors smiled and waved at us, walking over to the second-year’s gathering spot.
 
 “They were really considerate seniors!”
 
 I nodded at what Renee said.
 
 “Right. And also, it was really interesting! ——— Come now, let’s head over to Teacher.”
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 And so our first lesson, and first dungeon tour, ended safely.
 
 The mysterious space known as the dungeon piqued my interest, and the short-distance battle using sorcery was stimulating.
 
 I see.
 If one masters the attribute conversion technique known as sorcery, one can use magic power with that much freedom.
 
 Not only me, but also many of my classmates who participated in the tour today were excited.
 
 If it weren’t for what Professor Variendar said right at the end, we’d all have ended it with 『Ah, that was fun!』.
 
 However, we are students.
 
 Student life doesn’t always go the way you wish, and you get various assignments thrust upon you, as was the case here at this very moment.
 
 
 
 Teacher Val then spoke.
 
 “First off everyone, I’m glad the tour went off without problems above all. ——— With that said, I’ll give out your assignment right away. I want each of you to write a report on what you learnt today. In tomorrow’s 『Dungeon Combat Theory』 class, you will summarize the contents in groups and present your work the day after.”
 
 ““Whaaaat?!””
 
 The students all let out screams.
 
 The teacher continued further.
 
 “Oh, right. I forgot to tell you, but unless there are any particular problems, you’ll continue with the groups you formed today for any practical lessons. Make sure you introduce yourselves to each other properly.”
 
 ““Huhhh???””
 
 The students each looked at each other.
 
 I turned to my companions, and———
 
 “Thank goodness. Letia, this means we can dive into the dungeon together!”
 
 “It’s really reassuring to be together with everyone!”
 
 Anna and Renee had radiant smiles upon their faces.
 
 Meanwhile, the three behind us looked confused.
 
 “… you fine with me staying with you?”
 
 “Of course!”
 
 When Reina timidly asked me this, I immediately replied.
 
 “Sharieq and Olga too, best regards.”
 
 When I called out to the two of them, Sharieq’s behaviour became visibly suspicious —
 “Uhm, well… best regards.”
 
 Olga gave a slight bow as though resigned —
 “…… understood.”
 
 As usual, she responded with a sulky, reluctant look.
 
 (I wonder if this team will be fine.)
 
 While doing my best to keep a smile on my face, I could feel a slight unease welling up.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 I think I have a pretty good intuition.
 And that’s because my bad premonition turned out to be mostly on the mark.
 
 It was one week after our tour of the dungeon.
 It happened in the quiet cafeteria at lunchtime.
 
 Smack!!
 
 “Take back what you just said!!”
 
 Cutting through the bustling atmosphere, the painful sound of a slap and Olga’s shout rung out.
 
 “Wh-, wh-, what are you doing!?”
 
 Freya Astrid, Renee’s half-sister, held her cheek and yelled back, causing confusion in the surroundings.