The Classroom of 100,000

The first report came before the rice cooker beeped.

'"Shin Course" Surpasses 100,000 Students—Fastest Ever for an Independently Run Course'

'A Commemorative Stream Tonight? The "All Five Students Together" Theory Heats Up'

'Expert: "This Is No Longer the Scale of a Single Stream"'

After looking over three headlines, I turned my terminal facedown.

My routine hasn't changed. I cook rice, leaf through my notebook, and prepare for the evening stream. A wholesome life of unemployment. I've stopped counting the days.

Only one thing has changed. Two sheets of paper, each the size of a tatami mat, are propped against the wall.

◇

At night, when I pressed the Start Stream button, the viewer count already showed six digits. Apparently, a commemorative stream begins before it starts.

"Good evening, I'm Shin. If there are any first-time viewers, here's the usual spiel. This is a course for beginners. I won't cover flashy techniques or talk about the strongest gear. It's dull. Probably shockingly dull."

【We know】

【Congratulations on 100,000!】

【Congratulatiooooons!】

【So what's happening tonight? Are all five showing up?】

"First, I'd like to say thank you. Apparently, channel subscribers passed one million last week. I'm grateful, but honestly, it doesn't feel real. I count the roster, after all. The one we made for submitting assignments—the plain old roster. The 100,000 people registered there are my students."

I bowed. The comment section filled with congratulatory emojis.

"When I made the assignment drop box, I didn't think even ten people would use it. ...Thank you. Truly."

【Good thing you made that box, Teacher】

【So what's the commemorative event!?】

"As for what we're doing to commemorate it—nothing new."

【Huh?】

"Today is 'Back to Basics Day.' We're doing Lesson One again. 'Let me talk about how to stand before we talk about gear.' That's the one about center of gravity."

【The 100,000-student celebration is a rerun!?】

【Wait. There's no way Teacher would do something pointless】

【I can hear 10,000 people opening their notebooks】

"It's a little different from a rerun. Unlike the first episode, today—we have a demonstration platform."

The tatami gave a creak.

A huge figure entered from offscreen. The world's hardest man stood beside the cheap cushion. Since his hair touched the ceiling, he had to bend his neck just a little.

"I'm Shishiōmaru. Today, I'll be the teaching aid."

【The teaching aid lmaoooo】

【Humanity's hardest shield is the teaching aid】

【The world's most lavish demonstration platform has arrived】

"Maru-kun, before that. Your homework?"

"I did it. It's not due until next week, but I couldn't wait."

From the furoshiki, he took out a rolled-up sheet of enormous paper. When he spread it out, there was a large drawing of a sole. The writing in the corner was forceful, slightly uneven, and painstakingly neat.

"That sixteen-year-old kid. 'Bite into the ground' didn't get through. But I looked into him and found out he came from a village by the sea. So I rephrased it. —'Stand like you're standing on wet sand.' He understood it right away."

"Yeah. Perfect score."

【The scale of the homework is huge】

【Homework that lets him become the teacher while he's still learning...】

【Something about an S-ranker looking so happy to get a perfect score is just great】

◇

"All right, Lesson One: center of gravity."

I opened my first notebook to the same page as that night. The first line I'd read aloud in a classroom with zero viewers.

"People sway even when they're simply standing. No one stands without swaying. Skilled people just keep that swaying contained in the soles of their feet. Don't put too much weight on your heels. Grip the floor with your toes. That was what Lesson One was about—the way to contain it. —Today, I'll let you see it with your own eyes."

I stood in front of Maru. A mountain stood ready in the six-tatami room.

"Maru-kun, your usual stance. ...All right. Right now, this man is probably the most stable person in the world. Let's test it."

I put both hands against him and pushed with all my weight. I thought pushing a rock would give more resistance.

【He didn't budge】

【We knew that】

【Teacher's pushing with all his might, and the guy's a statue】

"That's the correct form. Now, Maru-kun, shift your center of gravity just one fingertip's width toward your toes."

"Got it."

Nothing about his appearance changed. On the screen watched by 100,000 people, the giant shouldn't have moved even a millimeter.

This time, I put just two fingers against him. I pushed.

Humanity's hardest shield—staggered half a step.

The comment section exploded.

【?!?!】

【What just happened!?】

【That was two fingers!?】

【I've never seen humanity's hardest shield stagger before】

"There's no trick to it. The line of his center of gravity simply moved one fingertip's width away from the middle of his base of support. Whether you're E-rank or S-rank, human bones are arranged the same way—so when we collapse, we collapse from the same place."

"I'm not holding back," the teaching aid said. "If anything, I braced myself. And this is what happened. ...I spent two years making my shield thicker. But a fingertip's worth of center-of-gravity shift is thicker than armor. I was starting to forget that, so I came back here."

【So that's what "there's only one set of fundamentals" means】

【It should be the same lesson as the first one, but the resolution is on another level】

【Verification: This also checks out as the mechanics of falling. The closer the center-of-gravity line gets to the edge of the base of support, the force needed to recover rises sharply. And the heavier the body, the more force it takes to bring it back. In other words, the bigger you are, the more easily you lose your balance】

【The verification guy is here again】

【He's in every episode, isn't he? You can tell from his writing style】

"Just as the verification guy says. Thanks as always. ...And since it's a special occasion, I'll talk a little about the roster."

I took out a sheet of printed paper.

"I looked at the breakdown of the 100,000 students. Only about thirty percent are active explorers, actually. The rest are students who'll register in the future, retired explorers, and then—the families of explorers. Also, just among the people identifiable from the roster, there are over 200 instructors at training academies around the country."

【Our instructor is definitely in there】

【The rumor that the Association's Training Division is circulating the archive as "reference material" was true?】

"I think having so many family members is proof that this is a good classroom. The fundamentals for staying alive are listened to more seriously by the people waiting for someone to come home than by the explorers themselves."

The flow of comments softened a little.

【You know, just taking these classes makes me feel stronger】

【It's not just a feeling. Accident statistics in the shallow levels have visibly fallen since the course began】

【T-Teacher! I'm still rereading my notes from Lesson One every morning!】

"Good habit, senpai," the teaching aid said.

【Hina-senpai is getting praised by an S-rank junior】

【I really love the seniority system in this classroom】

"Let's wrap up. Even with 100,000 students, what we do is the same as in Lesson One. There is no graduation from fundamentals. There is only review. That's all for today. ...Oh, and I'll assign a commemorative homework task. Before bed, curl your toes inside your shoes ten times. That's it."

【So dull!】

【The 100,000-student celebration homework is ten toe curls】

【But it does keep us from dying】

◇

When I ended the stream, silence and the giant remained in the six-tatami room.

Maru deftly wound the equipment cables around his thick fingers and muttered,

"Old man. You haven't noticed, have you?"

"Hmm? Noticed what?"

"Your course is already raising more people than the country's training institutions. You have more students in your classroom than the number of rookies a training academy sends out into the world after a year."

"I'm not the one raising them."

As I put away the teacups, I answered matter-of-factly.

"The person curling their toes a thousand times in the hallway is the one doing it. I'm just talking beside them."

"...Yeah. I figured you'd say that."

Maru laughed like a rock splitting, bowed deeply at the entrance, and went home. As he left, he said, "Don't run out of paper, Old man. Before long, an even bigger homework assignment is coming."

I never got around to asking what he meant.

I wrote only two lines on a new page of my notebook.

【100,000 students. The commemorative episode was a repeat of Lesson One. The fundamentals reach people better with a demonstration platform】

【The classroom is bigger now. But one blackboard is enough】

◇

That same night.

Three screens glowed side by side in a room with the curtains fully drawn.

When the stream ended, the man logged out of three accounts, one after another. One for posting long analyses. One for tossing in short quips. And one solely for silently giving a thumbs-up.

His movements were as efficient as they were at work. Leave no traces. Never let the threads connect. Never use the same face twice.

On the desk in the darkness lay the envelope for tomorrow's "work." The national crest and a mark indicating its security classification were stamped on the front.

The man—Night Crow—had a reason he couldn't act openly.