Awakening to a Special-Grade Explorer

Book 2: Chapter 61

Chapter 61.

The exit door from the boss's room opens.

Waiting for them, there was a man they knew well, Fukuyama Yohito.

He didn't seem in a hurry and acted like he had been waiting for Tenji and the others for a long time.

Tenji, Mizue, and Rikka looked at Fukuyama's face. They all had confused faces with an unsatisfied look on them.

There is a possibility that this was part of the entrance test.

"Fukuyama-san?"

Rikka said the words as if squeezing them out of the back of her throat.

Fukuyama replies with a brisk smile.

"Good work for now. Come on, come here. We're all waiting for you, okay?"

"Guys? Can you explain to us what this is all about?"

"Don't look so scared. I'll explain everything to you. We're all waiting for you."

The three of them, drained of their strength, were hurried, put away their weapons and began to advance toward Fukuyama.

Tenji kept his weapon away in the Book of Enma. However, Fukuyama was not surprised at the sight and had an immovable look on his face as if he knew what was happening.

[Oh, I knew it. That's what that was all about........ This was all a test, wasn't it? I'm not sure what to say anymore.]

After all this time, Tenji truly understood the meaning of the contract he was made to sign before entering the sub-dungeon.

The sub-dungeon attack test began with the remaining participants, waiting for them beyond the Endgate. Perhaps this was an advanced trap that was intentionally set up.

[And by the way, if it weren't for...... me, I'm pretty sure Mizue and Rikka would be dead usually.]

The three of them were prepared to die once they entered the dungeon with over a hundred NeedleMice on the way.

They couldn't distinguish whether they initially thought they couldn't handle it or had been given a test to see if they could even sneak past it.

Well, they would answer soon. Tenji decided not to overthink it.

After advancing ten meters, the three reached Fukuyama, and when they turned their heads to the right, they saw a gaping open space in the dungeon.

The tattered blue and gold decorations, the square ground magic circle, the old throne...... all look familiar.

This place is like the remains of a boss area.

Fukuyama immediately started walking away, and the three hurriedly followed him.

As soon as they entered the square, the three looked around.

There were already seven people who looked like participants sitting on the ground, and except for Fukuyama, the three regular Chariot members were standing in an imposing manner.

All the participants were in shambles except one.

Their clothes were cut to shreds as a matter of course, and their cheeks and knees were covered with scrapes and dust. There appeared to be so much blood that it was hard to tell whether it was the blood of monsters they fought or their bleeding.

It was enough to know that the other participants had also been through a deadly procedure.

"Where am I?"

Mizue immediately asked Fukuyama.

He spread his hands wide and said in a loud voice.

"Congratulations! A total of three people from Group 26, Tenji Amagi, Rikka Tachibana, and Mizue Katsunari, passed this final test with flying colors....... you all did well."

As Fukuyama said this, he slowly approached the three of them and gave them a passionate hug.

The three of them stopped thinking, stunned and surprised by Fukuyama's sudden words and actions.

"Final test? This was supposed to be one step before the final test."

Activating his brain again, Mizue immediately noticed the contradiction Fukuyama had mentioned.

"Before entering this test, the Chariot Commander, Kujo, had said, "This is a prelude, so to speak, to the final test'?"

Fukuyama chuckled amusedly at the quick question.

"Commander Kujo never once said that the final test will not be done today? I won't deny that Commander Kujo has a twisted personality."

The three of them stood there with their mouths hanging open.

The other chariot members and participants giggled and laughed as if the three were funny.

"What? What do you mean?"

Perhaps understanding Fukuyama's explanation but believing it in her head, Rikka asked Fukuyama a question.

"The first test was the one where...... I was accompanying you, and the final test was where you alone conquered the sub-dungeon from that point. So, it's designed so that all the participants who have gone through that final test will end up here." Fukuyama replied.

"You mean they have all gone through that hell too?"

Mizue began to observe the faces of the other seven people as if he was surprised, not expecting everyone here to have passed the final test.

"Yeah, but you know. The difficulty level was a little different for each team. By the way, the route you guys followed is the second most difficult of all the routes. Hahaha, it was just bad luck. Luck is crucial for explorers."

Mizue was satisfied with the fact that he had been told the truth.

He sighed with relief as he said, "Oh, I see."

So Tenji raised one hand and looked back at Fukuyama.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, sure. Ask me anything you want."

"It's not like everyone who made it through the final test passed, is it? Ten is way too many compared to previous years."

"You're right. Breaking through is just a passing point. From here, Commander Kujo, myself, and the other members will do a full-fledged examination through the video. I've already submitted my report, so I'm not busy now."

The other participants looked at each other in surprise as if they hadn't been told of this fact.

Tenji replied thank you and looked towards the familiar face.

Among the seven who reached the goal here were Tenji's friends, Aika Asagiri and Rui Inagaki.

[TLN: Finally, they're back.]

The two of them chuckled as their eyes met Tenji's.

Asagiri said, "Good work" from a distance.

Inagaki did not say anything in particular, but instead, he held out his right arm in front of him and thanked Tenji for his efforts.

Tenji smiled back, relieved that the two people he had joined had made it through.

"Do you have any other questions? I'll answer as many as you want until Commander Kujo gets here, okay? I'm not busy either. I've seen some good stuff......."

Fukuyama looked into the eyes of the three of them and finally fixed his heated gaze on Tenji.

The eyes are shining as if they have locked on to Tenji.

"Well, can I have another one?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"The Endgate we went through is a fake? I've never heard of three people being caught in a random transition at once."

"You're right, you're right. It's a special fake gate that we prepared. Well, I can't tell you how it was made because it's classified."

Fukuyama winked.

Then Mizue raised his hand and opened his mouth.

"One from me, too. May I ask what the other route tests are?"

"Another route? Yes....... First of all, the first group of four over there is the team that drew the good lottery, the third from the bottom. The final boss is the same Gufu as everywhere else, but I think it was mainly Diving Mice on the way. Or maybe just a rare Needle Mouse out there."

When Fukuyama turned his attention to the first group of four, including Aika Asagiri, Aika affirmed, "Yes."

Apparently, the difficulty level varies considerably depending on the route, and the first group took a completely different route from Tenji and the others. All four of them made it here.

Fukuyama continues his explanation.

"And the two teams over there are the second group. The basic monsters they faced are NeedleMice, and there were at most five of them."

Fukuyama turned his gaze to the team with Rui.

The group had lost two members, and there seemed to be only two remaining. Tenji predicted that Rui must have done well because he still managed to reach the goal.

"Did he...... get here alone? Or did the Chariot collect the wounded along the way?"

Mizue looks sharply at the strange young man sitting on the edge, the last one left alone.

He was the only young man sitting alone, without a scratch on him.

Just a little strange.

His clothes were stained red, not from his blood, but only from the blood spurted on him.