221 Goblin Cave [1]

[Zero's Pov]

"So, now you are going on your first dungeon dive. I hope that you are all prepared for what is to come, as there is no insurance that you will come out alive."

Even with Ms. Turner speaking cold words I knew that she wouldn't actually allow any of her students to die during their first dive. It was merely words to convey the fact that this wasn't a game. And how was I so sure? Because she had even brought in sophomores to join and protect us.

Arthur and Sebastian were both here to accompany one group each, as we had divided ourselves into two groups of four.

The first group consisted of Akane, Gomerick, Robert, and Celina, which would be accompanied by Sebastian.

My group consisted of, naturally, me, Thomas, Caroline, and Stella. And we would be accompanied by... Peter...

Objectively, I didn't mind him being the one to keep us safe at all. From the game, I was more than certain that he was pretty powerful. But subjectively... I hated the thought of having to hear him going 'kukuku' from the background.

Now, what could possibly be the reason for our teacher to be this careful? To me, the answer was pretty clear.

'It's because of me...'

After my little dance with the big bad wolf, the teachers probably thought it was a good idea to send older students along to make sure someone wouldn't be so stupid as to challenge the dungeon boss on his own.

'Thinking back, I might have been a bit too reckless. Then again, I did win, so isn't that all that matters?'

It had also been the point in time when Sebastian's gripes with me started to emerge. To some extent, I could empathize with him, as he truly only wanted to perform as well as he could. At the same time, I couldn't care less.

'Come to think of it, I still haven't gotten my answer as to why he is even here or who he really is...'

Sebastian Crawb, the only sophomore that I didn't have any prior knowledge about from the game I played on earth. Unfortunately, I suspected that he might already be quite broken after having to endure seeing death.

Or at least that's what I thought up until this weekend. Because he did something I could have never expected him to do. For some inexplicable reason, he was truly ready to give his life in an attempt to save Arthur.

It was hard to define his actions as growth, but there was no doubt that something inside of him had suddenly changed. So what made him change? What made it so he was no longer the pitiful man who couldn't give his life for the country?

The answer was simple. It's easier to give your life for someone you cared about, and although I didn't know why he suddenly started caring about Arthur, there was no doubt he did.

A nation didn't have a face, nor could you have close interactions with it. In fact, nations only existed because people chose to believe in them. From an objective lens, they didn't truly exist. Nations were merely the projected fantasies of living beings.

So for someone to give their life for something like that when they hadn't gone through the brainwashing that was military training? Impossible.

In the end, there was only myself to blame for not realizing that as soon as I gave him permission to interact with Arthur, he would no longer be isolated. And with that, the extreme desperation would also lessen.

'I need to calm down...'

The turmoil from the weekend was still hanging over me like a dark cloud, and I had a feeling that if I allowed it to continue, something bad might happen during our dives. Sadly, it wasn't as easy to shake these feelings off as Zero.

"Group 1 will enter the right portal and group 2 will enter the left. You will have 3 hours to hunt as much as possible, and this will in turn determine your grade on the assignment."

Looking up, I couldn't help but stare at the two bright blue portals in front of us, trying my best to repress the emotions inside of us.

And with that, we were on our way to the Goblin Cave, accompanied by the edgelord himself.

==========

'This...'

Having already spent an hour in the dark cave, with its many tunnels, I was stupefied to see just how proficient my group was. There hadn't been any need for me to even raise my hand a single time during our dive as my group had expertly dismantled any opposition that came from the green beings.

With Thomas just ripping our enemies apart, while at the same time nimbly dodging any incoming attack, and Caroline assisting him from a distance, always landing her shots in critical moments to disrupt the enemy's movement, it was hard to find much to criticize.

However... There was one person who was performing worse than ever, her movement stiffer than a rock while her judgment was abysmal.

"Huff...huff..."

Yes, the person who wasn't performing at all was unfortunately Stella. Now, normally, even though I couldn't see much of a future for her on this path, she still shouldn't be struggling against a couple of goblins.

*Tang!*

"Guh!"

Yet here we were, and I got to see her getting overwhelmed by just two goblins. It was...

"Pathetic..."

"Kukuku, isn't it? Where did all her power from the duels go?"

Unable to control my emotions, I had accidentally vocalized my opinions about her, luckily only loud enough for Peter, who also wasn't needed, to hear. With Caroline, Thomas and Stella all being busy fighting, my words didn't reach their ears at all.

Turning my head to the black-haired man, who was leaning his back towards the wall with crossed arms, I was quite unsure how to proceed. Because I honestly didn't want to talk with him at all.

He was still the fool that didn't know about keeping the secret of your power, how awesome it was to be a power in the dark. Also, I didn't think our opinions about the world aligned especially well.

"Say, saint of the holy church, do you truly think she will be able to make it if she continues like this? Kukuku!"

It was a tragedy, but I couldn't just ignore him as Saint Zero. That wouldn't align with the character that I had so carefully built.

"She will. There is no way Stella won't be able to make it. It's just..."

"Just what? That she is wielding the wrong weapon, or should I say armament? That woman... She doesn't seem to understand the potential of what she has got in her possession... Such a shame..."

Surprised, I had to take another take at the edgelord on my side, who had somehow managed to conclude what kind of Manual Stella was actually in possession of.

Looking at him now, his face aloof and emotionless, his black hair covering one of his eyes, I had a thought that I would have killed myself for having if I was in the form of James.

'Cool...'

*RUMBLE!*

Throwing me out of my insane thoughts, what felt like a small earthquake reverberated through the cave, signifying that something was happening.

"Zero!"

Having just finished up the pack of goblins, all three of my friends came running back with slightly pale faces, stressed about what had just happened. Knowing that I had to take the lead now, not wanting to cause unnecessary injuries due to stress, I stepped up.

"Don't..."

"Calm down, you fools! It's just a goblin swarm."

Before I had the chance to take the reigns, Peter walked forward, taking a position to stand in front of us as if to guard us against whatever was happening.

In his hand, he wore a completely black dagger, which he started to play with a bit in preparation for what was to come.

A goblin swarm was, exactly as the name suggests, a phenomenon where multiple packs of goblins synchronize and charge toward the same opponent. In this case, us.

So it didn't take long until we could see an endless amount of goblins filling up the tunnel in front of us, all wearing dirty loincloths and equipped with wooden clubs.

Now, it would have been quite easy for me to just send out a wave of water and drown them all, as they were too stacked together to be able to save themselves, but I refrained from doing so.

Because there was still something I could gain from this.

This was finally my chance to see what 'The Harrower' was capable of, to see exactly how his Manual worked in this world.

"Kukuku! So you dare to challenge me...? Then so be it! I'm sad to say that you won't even be remembered after falling to the hands of me, The Harrower himself!"