The One Who Proves It With Skill
I am the one who proves himself with skill. That’s me.
To protect my body against the numerous powerhouses I would face and to create happy days for Sien, I too had to become stronger. Becoming stronger meant raising the rank of my mana circle. The limit of this body was at most the sixth circle, and the projected time to reach it was twenty years. Too weak. Far too slow. I needed to become strong enough to face them right this instant. A shortcut was necessary, so I changed my perspective.
The four stages commonly called Planning, Composition, Proof, and Casting had the Proof stage omitted entirely thanks to attaining the Truth. For Planning and Composition, I didn’t need to calculate everything myself. If I supplied only the essential elements, the Truth would complete the rest on its own. In other words, by utilizing the Truth just a little more, I could cast magic with truly minimal computation.
Finding the essential values that would let me entrust the calculations to the Truth. It was difficult even to put into words. From the dawn of time until now, countless mages had agonized, struggled, and coughed up blood to create the four-stage process of Planning, Composition, Proof, and Casting. It was the one principle that had advanced the entire field of magic by inserting the absolute minimum values needed to complete a single spell. Finding an even smaller minimum within that minimum was difficult for me as well, but the method itself was simple.
I broke the phrases required for the planning array down into individual sentences and words, then in the composition array I gradually drew out circuits in their most fundamental forms and verified them. It was a process that could be accomplished with innate sense, time, the belief that it could be done, and sheer perseverance. So I did it. And I succeeded.
“Once you pass the gate ahead, there’s an incredibly wide space. From the shape of it, it looks like a maze, and humanoid undead are scattered everywhere. The number I’ve identified is thirty-five. The moment we step through the entrance, five entities are ready to attack. I recommend taking them out with magic, Senior Ebinel.”
“...You already figured it out?”
In less than ten seconds, Senior Ebinel’s mouth hung open, his face frozen in disbelief. The others, of course, along with Kis and even Sien, wore expressions of shock, but—
“Rain, you’re truly amazing...!”
Unlike everyone else, Sien was trusting my words completely even though I hadn’t shown my hand yet.
“I told you I’d guide you via the special course.”
In my heart I wanted to stroke her head, but given the situation I simply shrugged and accepted the praise.
“Still, since this is the first demonstration, I’ll handle the five entities myself.”
Without hesitation I finished setting the coordinates and performed the pre-prepared activation gesture—a snap of my right-hand fingers.
⟨ Area Expansion: Limited Spatial Pressure ⟩
———!!
Screams that sounded almost human erupted from beyond the gate. The seniors jumped at the sudden noise and reflexively twisted toward the gate. I smiled and said one line.
“Five entities taken care of.”
“...What?”
“From now on I’ll focus entirely on finding the shortest route through the maze and locating the monsters. But before that, let’s verify whether everything I said was correct.”
“...Uh, yeah. Right…. Everyone, get into position.”
Despite his dazed expression and obvious confusion, Senior Ebinel steadily issued the order. At his command the team members finally formed up and cautiously approached the gate.
“……It really is a maze?”
“And there are humanoid undead. Exactly five of them, smashed to pieces….”
The seniors muttered as if in a trance, then all at once turned to stare at me. Their faces clearly demanded an explanation for what the hell had just happened, so I offered a light smile.
“I’ll escort you via the special course, seniors. I look forward to your splendid performance—as your junior.”
You could do it too. If you were as smart, as hardworking, and as crazy as me.
People sometimes say that if you keep one hand on the wall of a maze and follow it, you’ll eventually find the exit.
“Kis, hold your sword upright and stab the marked spot.”
“Sien, draw a diagonal line a span above your head.”
“Senior Ediler, please cast Rock Smash toward the floor. Use as much power as you can.”
But that method only worked under the assumption that the maze didn’t change. In a place where something extraordinary could happen at any moment, common sense from the outside world became nothing more than shackles that kept you from accepting the reality this space imposed and prevented you from using your imagination.
———Crack. Groooan!!
When they struck the spots I had designated in various ways, springs, chains, pipes, and gears became visible through gaps in the outer wall. Mechanical engineering. An academic field that had been overshadowed by the development of magic, yet was still researched by commoners—especially in the Empire—because of its necessity.
“What is this…?”
“Aren’t these things common in the Empire?”
Knights and mages alike stared with fascination at the maze-altering devices they had destroyed, but—
“Can we take this with us?”
“I don’t know what it is, but it looks seriously fun.”
“Those Empire bastards. They were keeping all the cool toys to themselves?”
It was the mages, not the knights, whose eyes sparkled so brightly they seemed to have forgotten this was even a maze. After all, mages who handled elements were unlikely to understand mechanical engineering, let alone physics, so it must have seemed novel to them.
Of course, none of it impressed me in the slightest.
“…Rain, you understand how this works, don’t you?”
“I do, but may I explain after we finish clearing the dungeon?”
“…Ah, right.”
Senior Ebinel, who had been standing with his mouth slightly open, finally returned to reality. Curiosity was something every mage had to possess, and it would be ridiculous for a junior to press a senior, so I continued with a faint smile.
“Turn right here and we’ll escape the maze. And the boss mob you’ve all been waiting for so eagerly is right in front of us.”
Boss mob. A faint smile spread across every member of the vanguard team at those words.
The subjugation party’s dungeon raid worked by sending the vanguard and the main force in sequentially with a five-minute gap. The vanguard’s job was to infiltrate first and lighten the burden on the striking team as much as possible. Once the vanguard secured positions in the sectors where monsters had to be fought, the main force arriving five minutes later would provide firepower based on those positions, combining their strength. However…
I had handled everything so perfectly that we reached the boss mob’s location without any contact with the main force whatsoever.
“Rain, you’re the best!”
“From now on, any behavior that rejects our junior will be considered an insult to me.”
“I never dreamed we’d finish our first subjugation this easily…!!”
“Thank you. Thanks to you we were able to finish safely.”
Seven hours and forty-six minutes since the start of the subjugation. The average clear time for a D-rank dungeon was twelve hours and fifty-one minutes. The shortest record on the books was the Aneus Guild’s ‘Bizarre Garden’ at eleven hours and one minute.
…Oops. I accidentally set another record without meaning to.
Talent really can’t be hidden no matter how hard you try….
I shook my head and gave a simple thumbs-up to the seniors who were cheering me on. They smiled brightly and returned the gesture together.
I am the one who proves himself with skill. That’s me.
“All right, everyone. Let’s finish cleanly to the end. It’s not over until the main force defeats the boss mob.”
“Hey! If they can’t catch it after we paved a silk road all the way here, are they even human?!”
“Even if they run into monsters, it’ll only be one or two undead staring into space. Meanwhile we took out every single one we met.”
“Most of them were one-shot kills, though.”
“Exactly! So when we get out we’ll be remembered as the legendary 96th class…!!”
“Huh? Does that mean I can be part of the 96th class too?”
“If it’s Rain, you’re absolutely welcome!”
“Then shall we be friends?”
“…Huh?”
“……Just kidding~!! Hehehe~!”
At some point we had grown close enough to exchange silly jokes. Although we hadn’t faced any life-or-death crises, a dungeon was still a perilous place where you staked your life. Especially for a vanguard team to arrive without a single scratch—this was something that could only happen if high-ranking raiders deliberately chose a low-grade dungeon. It was practically impossible, which was why everyone liked me even more.
To them, I was like a lucky charm that had saved their lives from countless dangers.
“We maaaade it!!!”
With the last red-haired senior entering, the entire team had escaped the maze and now stood before the door where the boss mob waited.
“Haaaa….”
Feeling that their role was finally over, the seniors began sitting down one by one. The boss mob wouldn’t move until the door was opened, they entered, and it closed again. We had already eliminated every monster along the path through the maze. There was no chance of being attacked from any direction, so the heavy tension that had weighed on their minds completely melted away and their strength left them.
Ah. Except for me, Sien, Kis, and Senior Ebinel, who as leader simply rested his hands on his knees and bowed his upper body slightly.
“Are you guys really first-years? How can you be so calm…?”
“Just thinking about the mock subjugation training I did in the second semester of my first year makes me want to collapse, but these kids are perfectly fine even in a real dungeon?”
“Ruthless. They’ve only studied for a month and they’re already this ruthless…!”
“Are you all right? Aren’t you tired?”
“Thank you for the compliments, seniors.”
“Hehe. The seniors took care of most things themselves, so it wasn’t that difficult. Thanks to you I was able to complete my first subjugation mission excellently. Thank you for giving me such valuable experience.”
I shrugged while Kis offered a polite smile that perfectly matched the formal occasion.
“…Because one of us has to stay on guard.”
And Sien, delivering the blunt truth with a completely straight face.
Although they were only first-years, their composure was like that of people who had been in and out of dungeons for ten years. Even the great Senior Ebinel clicked his tongue in astonishment and let out a laugh mixed with admiration.
“I’ll send word that we’ve arrived. Once it’s over, let’s sit for just one more minute before standing up to greet the main force.”
“Agreed~.”
“You all worked hard too. Rain was outstanding, but Miss Sien and Miss Kis performed flawlessly as well. That’s how we arrived in such a short time.”
“Yeah, yeah! It’s such a relief that those two joined the vanguard!”
“Sorry for doubting you. There weren’t any better teammates than you.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Then you’ll accept my greeting later, right?”
“Of course! How could I refuse a greeting from such a pretty junior!”
“Then you’ll buy us a meal too, right?”
“Haha! What’s a meal? If you have anything tiring later, just contact me. I’ll help as much as I can.”
Kis skillfully bantered back at the seniors’ shower of praise. On the other hand, Sien had never received praise except from me and the three young ladies, so she felt awkward and gradually tried to lean into me. Proud of her hard work, I lent her my arm, and she carefully linked hers with it.
“Sien, you understand too, right?”
“……Me?”
“Of course. Honestly, I don’t have the confidence to face your sister… but I can still offer a little help, can’t I?”
She looked dazed. As if asking me for the correct answer on how to interpret this, she wrapped her arms even more tightly around mine. I carefully whispered into her ear.
“Tell them the exact feelings you have right now. If there’s something you want to say, shape your thoughts so you can convey it properly.”
“……”
She still seemed unsure. Seeing her hesitate and say nothing might have been frustrating, but—
“You worked hard, Sien.”
“That’s right. You were so reliable the whole time!!”
“Aah, my dream is to marry a reliable girlfriend like that———!?!?”
“Is that something you say to your junior…?!”
They had spent these seven hours—short if you called it short—getting to know exactly what kind of person Sien was. They even showed warm smiles, saying it was really all right.
“…Thank you.”
Sien murmured as if to herself and gave them a small bow. It wasn’t the greeting one would expect from the daughter of a duchy standing at the pinnacle of the fifth rank, but—
“Not at all.”
“She’s cute.”
“As expected, I prefer younger———!”
“Please shut up, Erges.”
They had recognized the sincerity Sien had mustered the courage to express.
“It’s heartwarming.”
“It really is.”
From a step away, Kis and I watched Sien’s growth while whispering to each other.
“…The communication isn’t connecting?”
———How nice it would have been if the story had ended here.