Chapter 13

Episode 13: Even if it’s a fake beautiful girl, as long as she’s cute, she fulfills her role.

Dungeons appear day and night.

Some are cleared, but many that fail to be cleared end up sending out rescue requests.

Therefore, it’s not uncommon to continuously handle rescue requests, but this time the situation seemed different.

“Students who went to clear the dungeon have all gone missing after filing a rescue request. The five students who went for the rescue have also disappeared.”

Rescuers are usually not accompanied by operators at first.

Generally, judgments must be made based solely on information from the scene.

“Since rescues have already failed twice, the Apis Council has designated this as a B-Rank Dungeon. Therefore, we’ve requested assistance from B-Rank Explorer Teruue Mizuki.”

“That makes sense. By the way, can I claim the Core for my academy?”

“Permission has been granted. Even if the original rescuers are still alive, the ownership of the Core belongs to you.”

“Understood. In that case, Kei, can you accompany me a bit longer?”

“Of course. Let’s not go for half-price meat this time; let’s get some good meat.”

All I’ve been eating is bean sprouts.

In case things get tough, I do have one strategy, ‘Who exactly is Solciera?’

“Hmph, indeed reliable. Shall we go then?”

“Yes.”

Meat! Meat! Meat!

Here’s a trivia about dungeons.

Dungeons are categorized into three types.

Dungeons that mimic inhabitable natural environments.

Dungeons that aggregate machinery and technology.

And dungeons based on myths and legends.

When dungeons appear in this world, they always take something as a motif.

There are various reasons for this, but that’s enough for now.

Incidentally, troublesome dungeons are often those based on myths and legends.

“In this case, it seems to be a mechanical type.”

“Looks like it.”

We were at the dungeon where the rescue request was made.

We were cautious upon entering, but there was no immediate attack.

At first glance, it looked like a section of a hospital with endless white corridors.

“We’ll stick to our usual formation. But if we can’t resolve it quickly, consider immediate retreat.”

“Understood.”

We advanced cautiously deeper inside.

A drone camera followed behind us.

It seems the operator was filming to investigate the true nature of the dungeon.

Yay, are you watching?

“Does the camera bother you?”

“Being watched makes me uneasy.”

“Haha, yeah, I get that. But eventually, you won’t even have the luxury to worry about such things.”

Even while cracking jokes, Senior Mizuki’s expression remained extremely serious.

Good thing I didn’t make a peace sign to the camera.

On the way, we encountered no monsters and reached the deepest room where the distress signal came from.

“…This is it, right?”

“It looks like an operating room.”

An operating room sign was affixed to the door.

However, it certainly wasn’t a real operating room.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Senior Mizuki kicked open the door.

Simultaneously, I rushed inside with my dagger drawn.

Inside, there were three operating tables, and two girls lay there.

“Senior Miroku and Toa…?”

Why???

Anyway, there lay Senior Miroku and Toa dressed in patient gowns, lying on the operating tables.

…Hmm? They should be at the academy, though.

But, that doesn’t matter right now.

“Are you both alright?”

I moved to rush to them.

But, a fiery bullet landed at my feet.

“Hold on, Kei. Those are fakes.”

“Eh?”

Ignoring my stunned face, Senior Mizuki aimed her gun at the two without hesitation.

“There’s no way those two would enter a dungeon without permission. Especially without telling me—it’s absolutely impossible.”

With a firm declaration, Senior Mizuki pulled the trigger on both guns without hesitation.

The bullets fired hit the heads of the two perfectly. Intense killing intent.

“Do you see any blood?”

“…No.”

The heads of the two impostors were hollow.

Senior Mizuki sniffed disdainfully.

“They probably used the same method to take down the other explorers. A dungeon that reads the memories of its targets and disguises itself as acquaintances… indeed, it deserves a B rank.”

“But now that we’ve uncovered its trick, it might be possible to clear it,” said the operator.

Just as I was about to agree with the operator’s words…

The fake Senior Miroku on the operating table woke up and stepped down.

I shouted, raising my dagger.

“Senior Mizuki, let’s do our usual move!”

“Alright.”

I charged forward.

Without even preparing to defend against me, I swung my dagger at the fake.

I infused it with a near-conceptual paralysis poison derived from magic.

But, the moment I struck, the fake’s arm crumbled away with a light sound, like shattered pottery.

“What!?”

The fake showed no signs of paralysis and continued walking toward Senior Mizuki.

However, its appearance began to change.

“–A, ah, aaah, um, something like this?”

The originally pale hair transformed as if rewritten.

Hair extending down to the waist, cherry blossom pink.

And emerald green eyes.

It was no longer the form of Senior Miroku.

“…Teacher?”

A bewildered voice escaped from Senior Mizuki’s lips.

Ah, so this is the teacher everyone talks about.

Huh? Isn’t this Sakura Rikka?

Teacher = Sakura Rikka? E? What does that mean?

Separate from Senior Mizuki, I had my own head full of question marks.

But, since it’s approaching Senior Mizuki, I swung my dagger again.

A surprise attack from the left side.

But it was caught with a touch as gentle as caressing a baby’s hand.

Huh?

“Aha, I see, I see. Yeah, that was dangerous,” it said while easily snatching my dagger and throwing it into the ceiling.

Ah! My precious weapon!

“Well, well, it’s been a while, Mizuki. Did you protect the academy while I was gone?”

“…”

Senior Mizuki pulled the trigger.

Water and flames shot out from the two gun barrels.

But they scattered harmlessly before it, like petals drifting in the wind.

While twirling a spear it suddenly held, it laughed.

“I know your weapons excel in lethal power. But, you have a habit of relying too much on them. Didn’t I say that before?”

Behavior as if it truly knows Senior Mizuki.

It was supposed to be in another form just moments ago.

Its head was supposed to have been shot through.

But now, no, she—she clearly looked like…

“Sakura Rikka herself…!?”

“Oh, you newbies are quick to catch on. Then, let’s wrap this up quickly.”

“Wha!?”

Before I knew it, a spear was thrust at my face.

Instant teleportation, skipping attack processes—various reasons came to mind from the original story knowledge, but none of them fit. It didn’t seem like any ability was used.

This was purely a skill-based attack, akin to martial arts.

I dodged by shifting my body.

Then, after a brief pause, bullets flew towards Sakura Rikka.

“Oops, that was close, close!”

Sakura Rikka avoided them with words devoid of any sense of danger and kept her distance.

Senior Mizuki stepped forward to shield me, having lost my weapon.

Her expression was the most severe I’d ever seen.

“Operator, request an upgrade of this dungeon to A-rank status from the Apis Council.”

“A-rank!? But mimicking appearances alone doesn’t constitute an A-level threat.”

“Did you think that was just mere mimicry?”

Senior Mizuki spoke with a biting tone.

“The imitation of Miroku and Toa was merely an initial approach towards me. I know because I was with the teacher. It’s incredibly close to the real thing. Meaning, the essence of this dungeon is—”

“To recreate the strongest person from the target’s memory. You’re quite observant.”

“Just like a teacher addressing a student, Sakura Rikka said that.

“Then, let’s finish this quickly.”

“…Be careful, Kei. You know how strong the teacher is. Even with Miroku, Toa, and me combined, we couldn’t even touch her—she’s the strongest explorer.”

“Yes… wait, what?”

What?

I don’t know… that’s terrifying…