Chapter 42 - Is This Some Kind of Joke? (2)

Under my classmates' watchful eyes, I examined the staff Alexandra had brought from various angles.

The design was simple.

That was how I had ordered it, after all.

A pure black pole with a spherical crystal at its tip.

The dungeon core was processed so cleanly that its original form was unrecognizable.

The overall balance was excellent.

The flawless finish made me feel proud even though I hadn't made it myself.

"It's good?"

"Of course it is. It was made in collaboration with Pergamon School."

Pergamon School.

Another formidable name.

Famous for their enchantments, Pergamon School was also known for its close ties with Alexandria School.

So, big corporations really do collaborate with other big corporations.

While I was once again admiring this joint work of two major schools, Fiona muttered somewhat glumly beside me, "If you'd left it to us, we could have made something even better..."

Sorry, but the City Guard isn't quite right for this.

Though with Fiona's name, it might have been fine, but this was technically misappropriated.

"Does it have a name?"

"If not, I'll give it one. Hmm... Black Scepter sounds good."

When Arthur asked, the brown-haired guy suggested a ridiculous name, but I easily brushed it off.

From when I first placed the order with Alexandra, I had already decided on a name.

"I'm going to call it Axis."

Coordinate Axis.

This staff would become the centerline for Blink from now on.

In that sense, there couldn't be a more appropriate name.

Alexandra, who perhaps understood this staff's capabilities better than I did, reacted as if she'd expected this.

"Coordinate Axis, is it? I suppose it was made for that magic."

You're really sharp about these things, Arthur.

"That's right."

With this, my Blink has shed another of its shackles.

While Blink had various limitations regarding weight and distance, the biggest problem was that I had to “see” my destination.

This staff, Axis, would compensate for that.

After all, even in that game, Blink was essentially performed from a third-person quarter-view perspective.

If LoL had been first-person like an FPS, one wouldn't have been able to blink backward, right?

As if there'd be anything there.

"Time's up! Everyone focus!"

The examiner's voice broke the barrier surrounding us.

I wondered who had cast it—was it number 4, Holson?

Holson caught my eye, flashed a grin, and pointed forward.

Right, I need to focus on the exam now.

"The final exam is simple. Explore one of the designated locations and bring back a confirmation stamp."

There were five locations in total:

The Signpost Tree.

The Gate of Return.

The First Cliff.

The Edge Windmill.

White Fang's Abandoned Castle.

All were famous locations on the Abyss's First Floor that I'd heard of before.

The kind of places that would definitely be included in the Abyss tours that some guilds and schools ran for profit.

"It really is simple."

That was all there was to the examiner's explanation.

Go to a designated location and get a confirmation stamp.

That was the entire exam.

"The Signpost Tree is closest distance-wise. People will probably crowd there."

"Is it? Aren't they all about the same? The Edge Windmill is only called that because it's in front of a huge cliff, right?"

"I think most people will head to White Fang's Abandoned Castle. It's so vast inside, you might get lucky and find undiscovered ruins or artifacts."

Various opinions clashed due to the abundance of people.

But listening to the discussion, one could tell everyone was operating under one shared assumption.

The idea was that all sixteen of us should go together.

"What's the point of the exam if we all rush in together? Let's split up," before anyone could say more, I spoke up, clearly showing my annoyance.

My classmates showed embarrassed reactions, understanding that sixteen people moving as one group was somewhat unreasonable.

Seemed like they were deliberately avoiding mentioning it.

They agreed with my point without complaint, probably realizing that moving as a group of sixteen wasn't practical.

"Still, there'll be some overlap in members. There are fewer locations than people. About three per location should work."

"Let's decide by drawing lots. Keep it fair."

As Dustin roughly outlined the distribution, Arthur immediately proposed a method.

However, Arthur's suggestion was even more nonsensical to someone else.

"What's this about drawing lots? Obviously, us three are going together. Right?"

Rei growled with a scowl, wrapping her arms around my and Leaf's waists and pulling us back slightly as if declaring, “These are mine!”

"But Arthur's suggestion makes sense..."

"No, it doesn't."

"Why not? We're leaving it to fate. What? Not confident?"

"Huh?"

"I've already made the lots..."

"Give them here. I'll break them all."

Displaying an almost unrivaled spirit, Rei thoroughly blocked any attempts by our classmates to join us.

"The lots will still be useful. We can use them to decide which location to visit."

"Well, I'm planning to go to the Gate of Return. They say all Necromancers visit at least once."

"Then I'll take the Signpost Tree."

"I decided to start my Explorer career at the First Cliff. That's where I'm headed."

Finally, a proper discussion was taking place.

People split into groups, and those who hadn't decided used the lots to fill the remaining spots.

And for me, Rei, and Leaf, our destination was what remained after everyone else had made their decisions...

§

"The Edge Windmill really is unpopular."

Perhaps thinking we were headed somewhere boring, Rei kicked at loose stones.

"Well, there's no real merit to it."

The First Cliff, where legends say the First Expedition first set foot in the Abyss.

The Gate of Return, called the passage for those who died in the Abyss to return outside.

The Signpost Tree, where countless seniors had shared their maps.

White Fang's Abandoned Castle, recently discovered and still promising undiscovered ruins and artifacts.

Those four all had clear merit, whether material or spiritual.

The Edge Windmill, where we were headed, had none of that.

It was just a windmill built on a tall cliff.

While it was said to be scenically beautiful, we were Explorers, not tourists.

Perhaps because of this, surprisingly, among all those people, no one besides us three had chosen this place.

Looking around, all we could see were natural features.

Honestly, I thought some might follow out of curiosity after how they acted toward me, but I honestly wasn’t sure if I was relieved or disappointed.

"I-I like it. It's been so long since just the three of us went somewhere together..."

Leaf's back to her old self, I see.

Still, I agreed with her.

Traveling with Rei and Leaf felt comfortable somehow.

The two weeks at the training center shouldn't have been any different from the training period, but I wasn’t sure why it felt so different.

Maybe this was what they called compatibility between people.

"This is boring. Roman, tell us about your training. Heard something interesting happened."

"It was more spectacular than most."

It was probably a training experience that would rank among the most notable of history, let alone our classmates’.

I gave them an abbreviated explanation of my training experience.

Almost skipping over what happened with Mea, but going into detail about the fight with the Chromatic Fiend.

"So Number 11 got the leather?"

"We agreed to split it."

"Still seems a bit wasteful. I heard Chromatic Fiend leather is impossible to get because there isn't any."

"I know, right?"

"If you nitpick everything, nothing gets done. It’s not like Teresia did nothing either, she contributed."

After calming down the two, who seemed more concerned about the leather than I was, I turned the topic toward Rei.

"How was yours? You went with Arthur's group, right?"

"Ah... that."

Rei's mood suddenly dropped.

While Rei fell silent in thought, her previously confident shoulders began to shrink.

"...It was terrible."

"That bad?"

"I barely got to explore the Abyss at all. It was just endless sparing... they were disgustingly strong."

Rei shook her head as if revolted.

"I tried my hardest but couldn't land a single hit."

"Hmm, you mean Arthur's master?"

"Yeah."

That was to be expected.

Arthur's master, Frontier's Guild Leader, was one of the eight Pioneers at the pinnacle of Explorers.

Even Mea, who was at Senior rank, was incredibly strong, so the power of a Pioneer who surpasses even Masters was unfathomable.

"She was like a monster."

Still, even if she isn’t your master, she’s still someone who taught you, isn't that a bit harsh, Rei-Rei?

After Rei's story, it was Leaf's turn, but she was reserved, saying it was just ordinary.

We continued walking while chatting about various things.

There was no worry about getting lost.

Though Mea's Devil radar was gone, Rei's beast radar filled that gap.

Finally, we arrived at the Edge Windmill.

And what we saw was...

"It's destroyed?"

None other than the ruins of a collapsed windmill.

Is this some kind of joke?