Chapter 18

So.

It's been some time.

I am unsure how long, exactly, because I haven't slept in a while.

I don't get tired in this place, you see.

And, for some reason, I also don't hunger.

The seven suns never set too, so there is no night time in the dungeon, making it impossible to sleep even if I try.

I am only awake all the time, travelling with Aphy.

Specifically, we've been travelling towards the leak.

At the pace we're going, it'll take 3 whole years to get there, just like Aphy had said previously, but if I'm honest, it doesn't bother me that much.

The whole thing about getting revenge.....

Ehhhh, while I'm in this place, the side effects of the sin skills seem to be suppressed, allowing me to think more rationally.

Of course,「Steadfast Mind」helps a great deal with that as well.

So, truthfully, that whole thing doesn't really bother me anymore.

Which I think is a good thing.

It's not good to be driven by revenge or the need for it.

If I think from their perspective as well, of course they'd want to get rid of me.

After all, the whole thing about me suddenly running away, right after hearing about being executed for being evil.

It's suspicious alright, so I understand.

I'm not a child who'll call something 'unfair' just because it didn't work out in my favour after all.

At least, not when I'm not under the influence of my skills.

Hence, I've decided.

To forget about all that, and just focus on my own life from now on.

Anyway.

I asked Aphy about how I ended up here, and she said that there was something called a 'forced entrance'.

Also called an 'artificial leak'.

Apparently, it's created when something from outside the dungeon enters through something other than the main and designated entrance to the dungeon.

Though it can only be created from the outside to inside, and not the other way around.

So for us, the only way outside is to get to the 'natural leak'.

Since the original dungeon entrance is, according to Aphy, many, many years of travel away from our current location.

I still eat although I don't get hungry, however, it's regrettable that I can't acquire skills from eating the monsters in this place.

Because「Gluttony」is too low level―apparently it's the same issue for why I can't see my own Soul State.

But the meat tastes good, so I eat even though I don't have to.

I don't sleep because I don't need to and it would only serve to waste time anyway.

I did want to sleep originally.

Really badly, actually, just to rest my mind.

Since, even if you don't need sleep, it doesn't mean that getting sleep won't benefit you.

But I just couldn't no matter how hard I tried.

This place is impossible to sleep in, what with all the hot air, constant sunlight, dry landscape, dangerous monsters, and the fact that I don't even get tired in the first place.

A normal person would probably go insane in this place, right.

But not me.

I have two things which keep me sane:

That is,「Steadfast Mind」.

And Aphy.

I am fortunate for these things.

Thankful, too, of course.

Also, apparently I was in the stomach of a drake before?

Aphy said she killed it because it was being roudy and irritating, and, coincidentally, I was in there too, so her killing the drake killed me as well.

Though I don't remember any of that happening, so I have no idea why she said this, but Aphy wouldn't lie pointlessly.

Well, it doesn't matter.

However, I don't think too long has passed since I woke up in this dungeon.

But, before I say why, let me explain something.

You see, originally, I wasn't able to open my Status in this dungeon.

But, when I asked Aphy about it, she said she would do something.

I was confused, but then before I knew it, I could see a part of my status.

I was grateful for it.

But, for some reason, I could only see 'certain things' in my status.

I confronted Aphy about it.

She said "you will get conceited when the time comes", and so refused.

Aphy is the [Ruler of Pride] after all, so I guess she would know these types of things best, but really?

I didn't realise until much later on, but apparently she also somehow obstructed the notifications or something?

Basically, it means I can't see any notifications either.

She said it was for the same reason as not being able to see my stats and skills.

―That I would get overly prideful.

...Since I've been here with Aphy, I've realised that she doesn't really like the pride thing, though I don't know why.

And, about how long I've been here...

Not much time has passed, probably.

I know because I haven't aged yet.

In my status, the Age still says [16].

The month we were summoned into this world was early September.

My birthday is mid-March.

Therefore, no more than 6 months have passed.

Well, that method only works if you assume that there is no time difference between Earth and this world.

Though to be honest, it doesn't even feel like a month has passed yet, so it might be a while before then.

At the very least, I feel like Christmas definitely hasn't arrived outside the dungeon, since it wasn't really that cold even when I slept in the forest for a week.

Anyway, during this time, Aphy has begun teaching me magic-related things.

At the moment, it's only been things like, 'how to sense magic energy' and other, really fundamental stuff.

Basically just building the foundations of my magical knowledge.

We'll probably move onto the more hardcore things when I'm ready.

Apparently, dragons are exceptional at manipulating magic and magic energy in the surroundings.

Although the only dragon I've seen so far is Aphy, it must be true, since I've seen of similar things before.

She says all the other dragons actively avoid her because they are aware of the consequences that await them if they irritate her.

The only magic I know of at the moment is [Earth Rise], which is classed as「Elementary」-grade magic, apparently.

When I asked up to which tier of magic I'll be taught, Aphy only replied with "Don't worry, I will not be teaching you any of that fake nonsense".

So I actually have no idea what she is planning to teach me, but I'm excited to use magic either way.

It's magic after all.

Aphy did, however, teach me of the humans' way of ranking magic, just to give me a general idea of what the power scaling's like.

The (human) magic tiering system goes like this:

Tier 1 ―「Elementary」

Tier 2 ――「Apprentice」

Tier 3 ―――「Advanced」

Tier 4 ――――「Saint」

Tier 5 ―――――「Natura」

Tier 6 ――――――「Emperor」

And then, the mythical 'Tier 7' magic which only exists in legends,「God」.

Anyway, we can talk more about the tiering system another time.

Apparently, the confirmed highest tier of magic―Tier 6 magic―has many names.

In some places it's「Royal」-grade , while in others, it's「Emperor」or「Zenith」-grade.

You get the idea.

Either way, it is the highest class of magic known to exist in this world.

To humans that is.

Of course, as a dragon, Aphy says otherwise.

Well, the magic tiering system was designed in human terms, and by humans, anyway, so it makes sense that it'd be different for dragons, right?

She didn't tell me what the 'real' tiers of magic were, or whatever she believed.

I think she wants me to figure it out for myself, but honestly I'm not sure.

Anyway, Aphy also said there are certain magics that humans cannot replicate.

They can even be magics that are unique to a certain species of monster.

There are some that only specific humans can use that other magicians cannot imitate.

This could be the case wherein a magician had studied one specific spell for their entire lifetime.

Commonly known as as [Kin Magic].

An example of Kin Magic are a type of monster called 'Siren'.

Their unique use of magic allows them to replicate the pure voice of a maiden, usually one that makes it sound like they're in trouble, luring and bewitching unsuspecting victims into traps, to then feast upon their flesh.

It's how they hunt for food, apparently.

Another example of a Kin Magic―one that humans cannot replicate―is the [Polymorph] spell.

Of course, this is a widely-known thing on Earth.

Generally, this would be used for one of two things:

1. Transforming an enemy into an weak creature like a frog or sheep.

2. Superior creatures with a large size (usually dragons) would use it to transform into a humanoid form.

Aphy decided to show me the Polymorph spell as an example.

And, in this example, she demonstrated the latter use of it.

By turning herself into a humanoid form.

"....."

"...Jae?"

Needless to say, I was speechless.

I mean, I am indeed aware that this trope is so painfully common that I should've immediately foresaw it, and I did, but this is just....

...I was completely mesmerised by that appearance.

Aphy was mind-blowingly gorgeous.

Absolutely so.

Isn't it unfair that an individual can be that attractive?, I thought.

With flowing, platinum hair and opal-like, reptilian eyes; the most beautiful woman I had ever seen was standing right in front of me.

She wore a white dress with exquisite embroidery too.

To be honest, it's not the first time she polymorphed in front of me.

In fact, Aphy spends about 99.9% of her time with me in human form since our first meeting.

Still.

No matter how many times I see it, I am stunned nevertheless.

―If I were a normal man, I would've certainly acquired the「Lust」skill by now.

But, whether it is for the best, or for the worst, I see Aphy as an older sister.

So nothing of that sort is going to happen.

Of course, I also have「Steadfast Mind」, so I don't really feel anything from it anyway, since apparently [Charm] or [Bewitchment] counts as a 'mental abnormal status effect'.

"Pfft!"

...Uhh?

Aphy quickly covered her mouth for some reason as she seemed to be suppressing something.

"...Fa... Phaahahahahaaha!!"

It didn't last long though before she burst out in laughter.

.......What's so funny?

"Haha! Jae! Y-you should've seen the look on your face! Phaha! You looked so stupid...! Pfffft!"

I scowled.

"......Tch."

"Hey."

Ow!?

She flicked my forehead.

For some reason, it hurt a lot, even though I'm pretty sure I have high level resistance skills.

"Don't click your tongue at me."

"Aaaaahh?.... fine. But don't laugh at me."

"Hmmm~? Are you sure you want this "gorgeous and attractive woman" to disappear? Although, I'm flattered. Your thoughts are making me blush, Jae."

Huh? ...Fucking mind reading.

By the way, although she says she's blushing, this woman wasn't embarrassed in the slightest.

"Hah. "Attractive" my ass. You're a dragon; probably older than a grandma for fuck's sake."

Flicked again.

"Watch what you say, you cheeky brat! I'll have you know I'm young for a dragon. I'm not even a thousand years old yet."

A thou--!? What?

"Huuuh?? A thousand years makes you much older than a grandma, doesn't it? "For a dragon". What an excuse. Youuu--"

Another flick.

Ah, fuck, the pain is accumulating.

"Silence! Dragons don't even have what humans call a 'lifespan'! We're that awesome!"

.......Really now?

Well, it's not like I didn't expect such a thing.

After all, Aphy in her dragon form is literally bigger than an entire mountain, so it would make sense.

In the first place, dragons don't need to eat calories in order to live, which is why they can grow so big, right?

It seems that dragons are truly amazing, huh.

"Hmph. Of course we are. I am a young adult. Hear me? Young. That's final."

"....Whatever."

She really revealed up her true personality after taking me in, didn't she. What kind of disgusting trickery is this.

In any case, we couldn't find a single monster that I was capable of beating by myself while travelling, so we kind of just wandered the dungeon, casually eating the creatures that crossed our path, such as drakes and wyverns, while on our way to the leak―the dungeon's 'unofficial exit'.

Of course, I "cooked", since Aphy only knew how to eat raw.

The 'cooking', by the way, is simply roasting the meat on a fire for a few minutes, since there is nothing like ingredients or seasonings here.

There's literally nothing else I can do.

Well, not with my superficial knowledge of how to cook anyway.

In any case, things went in this direction.

It was for a long time that we lived like that―a traveller's lifestyle, one might say.

On the way to our destination, I had an abrupt, unexpected thought.

It was only by chance, but when I thought deeply about it, I felt that it was indeed true.

It was that, for the first time, ever since I was dragged into this grim, fantasy world....

Life... was rather enjoyable.

"―Now why don'tcha tell me. The fuck're you lot plannin', huh?"

"Kugh...!! Like I said--k-Kakughh! There's... gonna be...a-haa... a war...."

"That ain't it and you know it, you fuckin' bastard. We all know 'bout the fuckin' war already, retard. So answer me? Or ya die, for once an' for all, ya motherfucker."

The cornered man, half beaten to death and with one foot in the grave, only shot a smug, bloody grin back at his attacker, Ryan, while constantly coughing up blood.

"Heh. Wouldn't you like to know, you blood-stained fuck? You're a shitty orphan brat who probably hasn't even experienced education that isn't killing in your crap life. What can you do, bastard? Kauphk...! Haa. You scum have already lost from the moment His Imperial Majesty made his decision anyway. Just pray to God that you'll be spared."

Ryan frowned.

"...Tsk. Alright, stubborn asshole. Just die then."

You have levelled up You have levelled up You have levelled up You have levelled up

Ignoring the surprising amount of level ups, Ryan deeply scowled as he looked at the dead body.

"Never thought I'd be dealin' with so many fuckin' spies. Dogged bastards don't bat an eye even on the brink of death. They're trained, aight. Fuckin' hell, shitty Emperor, who do ya think you are, ehh? Sendin' so many small frys in like this, what an annoyin' fucker. God damn, this kingdom is more like a fuckin' invested shithole than I first thought, huh."

"Leader, this is the last one for today. According to schedule, there should be about 5-6 days worth remaining. Should we report it to the Prince?", Nicolas asked from the side.

"....That guy, eh."

The First Prince of Seronia.

「Dexter Platavau Daenyl Seronia」, one of two people in the entire country with two middle names, the sole other person being the King himself.

"...Oi, Nico."

"Yes?"

"Is Kait done with her job?"

"Um, I think she's on her way back from the 'meeting' now."

Ryan smiled like a devil.

"Good."

He recalled the time he had first met the Prince after his return to the palace, which took place almost exactly a month after the Hero Summoning.

"You're the First Prince. Dexter, right?"

"...And who might you be? Someone who dares use such a frivolous tone with me. One of the recent Heroes I have heard about, perhaps? Anyway, I don't have time for this. There are urgent matters that require attending to."

The Prince began to walk briskly away from Ryan to somewhere, as if in a hurry.

But Ryan stopped him with a single sentence.

"What, like those spies?"

Dexter immediately paused his hasty footsteps, and turned only his head around―just enough to see the clearly unhappy look on his face. The Prince's brows furrowed.

"....How much do you know?"

A dirty grin surfaced on Ryan's face. He knew it wouldn't be good business to lie in front of a guy like this, so he spoke honestly.

"Ah. Not much, really. Just that the Kalype Empire is plannin' to start a war with our little Seronia here, in accordance with the spies they planted beforehand to gather information. Well, I assume the spies would be here anyway. But, it is likely they know about Seronia's "Heroes" because of this, and that, if comparing merely the pure forces of both countries, they're more or less equal. Well, normally, that is."

...So, most of everything then...

However, Dexter knew what those last words implied, and as soon as he heard them, turned around fully to face Ryan, now speaking directly to his face.

"Get to the point. What do you want?"

"Sure. But first--"

Ryan called out.

"--Oi, ya gutless coward―don'tcha think it's time to come out now instead of hidin' like a pussy?"

"...What?"

Dexter suddenly widened his eyes and looked around hurriedly at Ryan's shocking words.

....So he can't sense 'em, huh., Ryan thought.

That's a bit disappointin', but well, I suppose having as high level of a「Magic Sense」as I do is rare.

"I know you ain't a spy, or else I woulda already killed the fuck outta you, so hurry the fuck up and get out here."

It was then that someone rose up from the shadows in the hallway, just a short few metres away from where the the Prince and Ryan stood.

"!? You... are a Hero aswell, are you not? What are you doing here? Don't tell me--"

"--No, this wasn't planned in advance."

A classmate had appeared.

"Oi, Amy, you sneaky bastard, whaddaya think you're doin' here, huh? Don'tcha know what a private convo is? Oh, prolly not right? Since ya got no friends to talk to in the first place have you. What a pity."

It was the classmate, Amy Purello. She had the "A-rank" Title of「Shadow Master」.

"Ryan."

Amy looked towards him, completely overlooking his mean remarks, and spoke without delay.

"You were going to make a deal with the Prince, weren't you? Let me in on it. I took down some spies too, in case you didn't know. And, for the record, I do have friends―they just aren't in our class."

"Huh? What makes you think I care? You delusional or somethin'?"

Amy formed a slight frown.

"Aight, aight, sure, I don't care whether ya take part or not, just don't get in my way."

"What's this all about, Heroes? "Deal"? Just tell me what you two want already, I said I'm busy."

The two classmates simultaneously looked towards the Prince. Ryan's grin disappeared and he opened his mouth. This was not the time to joke around, after all.

"First off, when is the estimated time for the war to begin?"

Of course, everyone currently involved in this conversation was already aware―the peace talks between Seronia and the Empire had broken down shamefully. Dexter recognised the graveness of the conversation and answered in an equally serious tone.

"Well. Before a battle actually begins, a country would have to make an official declaration of war towards the intended opposition. After that, the usual case is that they would then start preparing troops, a battle plan and such things. The actual war itself most likely wouldn't start for up to say, a maximum of five or six months after that declaration, depending on the scale of the war."

He then made a grim expression, and his voice grew deeper.

"--However, knowing what the Empire's like, they have most likely planned this war for... God knows how long. Perhaps even on the scale of years in advance, we can assume they have had that amount of time for preparation already. Considering that, they will probably already have troops stationed and ready for the invasion of Seronian soil at any time."

He continued after a short breath.

"We can presume that they are only now waiting for a perfectly ripe opportunity to strike, which would be right after their declaration. Taking that all into account, I couldn't give you a 'precise' time for where, or when the Empire would strike, since it would depend on our situation as a country, however... Fortunately, Seronia has noticed the Empire's suspicious actions in advance and have, accordingly, prepared an adequate amount of troops so that we are able to defend at any time, more or less. If I were to make a rough estimate of how long we currently have though, I would say..."

The Prince thought for a moment.

"...About, 6-8 months, one year at most. It may sound like a significant amount of time, and that we won't need to worry about it, but, know that nothing is a given in this kind of situation, other than the fact that the Empire will always have the upper hand. War could start at any time."

Ryan silently nodded with a hand to his chin.

"Right. However, we can use that to our advantage, can't we?", Amy said.

Dexter was a bit surprised by that question.

"You are wanting to help in the war?"

Then, Ryan looked up, confused.

"Uh...? You guys were plannin' to send us out there to fight for ya country anyway. I'm simply more of a methodical planner than a reckless brawler is all, so of course I thought it'd be better to prepare beforehand."

"What? You are definitely not that sort of cool person Ryan. You always went around starting fights with innocent people for no reason at school. Don't deceive yourself or others like that."

"Hah? Shut the fuck up, bitch."

"You just can't stop insulting people, can you. Honestly, so rude..."

The Prince, with a hand to his chin, spoke again.

"...I see. You pick your fights wisely, then. You are the type to plan strategies beforehand to increase the winning chances even by the smallest margin? I understand your character now. So, because you confronted me, I can assume you have a scheme of some sort? In truth, as I have been away from the country for a while, I haven't been able to see the growth of the Heroes. All I've heard is that they aren't quite ready for things like war yet, so using you would only be a last resort."

"Yeah. Well. You said they'd wait for an opportunity first, right?"

"Indeed."

"So it's obvious. We give 'em one."

"Meaning?"

"They've got spies here in the first place to learn 'bout this country's state of affairs an' shit. Presumably, it's cause they wanna attack as soon as they find out it's advantageous for 'em, right? So, we can purposefully leave the spies alive and create a false opportunity for them to attack, not knowin' that it's actually a trap. In most cases, we get the defender's advantage too. If we set certain combatant groups to near the frontline or to the sides just before the war starts, we can make use of guerilla tactics to ambush the Imperial army or raid their camps. Usin' scout troops to gather information is also an obvious thing to do. And, in the end, if shit don't work out that way, we can just call 'em to retreat, settin' traps an' usin' scorched earth policies along the way."

"I see... Although I have never heard of that "scorched earth" policy before, I will take it into account. As a matter of fact, some of our army commanders and strategists have thought of similar things to what you have suggested, but no matter what, it is disadvantageous for us. The Empire will consider all situations and prepare for them accordingly so that they can adapt to any event that occurs."

Ryan belatedly realised.

"....'Cause if the people on our side think'a somethin' like that, then the people on their side must'a thought've it too... The levels of the strategists on both sides are evenly matched, huh."

"Exactly. Well, relatively so."

"Tsk. How irritatin'. They would have a countermeasure for everythin' this country could come up with. What do you think that'd be though, exactly? Distractions, or attacks from multiple sides, right? Since they'll most likely have the support and reinforcements from their client states."

Although things like 'scorched earth' doesn't seem to have ever been used in this world before, I doubt it'd be that effective against the Empire, huh...

"That's what we've also considered, but since the Empire is too tight on security, we have absolutely no idea... They, also have access to the primary winning factor of a war. In this world, it's something that you Heroes have, most likely, never heard about."

Primary winnin' factor? The fuck's that?

"It is something that is usually forbidden due to its pure destructive power, but the main thing that decides the winner in a war in this world...."

Ryan and Amy both listened attentively.

"...is Zenith-grade magic."

""...Zenith-grade...""

They muttered simultaneously.

In fact, the class had learnt about the world's magic tiering system previously, and so the two knew that Zenith-grade was the greatest, most powerful magic in existence. It supposedly requires hundreds of the Saint-tier mages, just to cast a Zenith-grade spell once, and then, all of those mages will be out of commission for up to a week in order to recover the ridiculous amount of mana used during the casting process.

But that one spell cast alone can sway the tide of war entirely.

Since only 3 Zenith-grade spells have been discovered to exist in the whole word so far, and the cost of using one is so absurdly high, it's not like they can be used often, and in reality, all of the world's major powers have forbidden the use of them.

However, the Kalype Empire pays no interest to the likes of other countries and their wants.

The class was told of when Zenith magic was last used.

Decades ago, the previous Emperor of the Kalype Empire had used Zenith magic while in a war against a country.

What happened as a result of it being cast, was only one thing....

―Complete and utter obliteration.

It was a fire-type Zenith magic, and what it did was simple: It temporarily summoned a Phoenix onto the battlefield―A mythical creature which only appeared in legends had suddenly shown up out of nowhere, in the middle of a battlefield.

You can imagine what happened as a result.

―It was as if the sun itself had descended onto the earth. Needless to say, the casualties were immeasurable. On both sides. However, that single Phoenix, that had only appeared for a mere few minutes, had completely destroyed the country's morale, as well as their entire force.

Flames that were hotter than hell itself swallowed up the entire battlefield and annihilated the Empire's opposition completely.

Well, as the Phoenix wasn't a 'real' Phoenix, but a fake one conjured up by the Zenith magic, it was nowhere near as powerful as it would've been, and is the reason it only lasted a couple of minutes, but it was still many times more than enough to win the war.

Since Seronia's forces are more powerful than that country's was, who's to say the Empire won't use it again? In fact, chances are, they probably will use Zenith magic again. Hell, if the Empire really wanted to, they could summon a Phoenix onto Seronia's capital city!

Of course, for that, they would need to somehow sneak in over a hundred Saint-tier magicians―equivalent to sneaking in a couple dozen Natura-tier magicians, or four Emperor-tier magician―as well as other necessary things, so of course, it's an unrealistic idea.

Nevertheless, the risk of having Zenith-grade magic used against you... This is why the Seronian army officials were scared of a war with the Empire and initiated peace talks in the first place―they were frightened of the Empire and it's tremendous might.

Unfortuantely, things were not looking good for them at all.

Eventually, Ryan, Amy, and Prince Dexter made a deal with eachother. They would work together to fight the Empire, and even came up with many decent plans to win the war too, in exchange for certain benefits Ryan and Amy would receive for their help.

Of course, Ryan himself considered switching over to the Empire's side originally, but from what information he gathered, the treatment would be horrendous; Basically, they'd only be used as slaves of war and battle, so he unhesitatingly decided against it, and to, instead, help out Seronia fully, just so that didn't happen.

In the end, the Empire would be the initiator of the war and Seronia would be the defenders. The Empire now knows that Seronia has summoned Heroes from another world because of their spies, and that the growth rate of those Heroes is beyond compare. If they want to attack, they need to do it soon―within the next year or so, before the Heroes grow to the point that they are too much to handle.

However, wouldn't this mean that if the Heroes' growth was halted, then Seronia would gain more time?

Hence, a plan was put into place―to place the Heroes in school.

Of course, this wouldn't be disadvantageous to Seronia at all. Not in the slightest, as the Heroes were never meant to be used in war right now anyway―it's a few years too early for that. The plan was to gain more time for Seronia. Stalling, in other words. Once the Empire decides that Seronia is ripe for the taking though, they will attack without hesitation. But Seronia will be ready for it.

Unfortunately, this plan isn't guaranteed to work, of course, so Seronia will be using the time they have, as well as the extra time that this plan is supposed to give them. They will use all of this time to prepare, and in the end, Seronia would be the victors.

After all....

Who said the Emperor was the only one with a Zenith-grade spell at his command?

Well. There is still some time before that comes into play, isn't there? Indeed, there is no need to be too hasty. Ultimately, we still have 'that' as a trump card too, however risky it may be.

―That's what the King thought, anyway.

The King of Seronia.