First Day of High School
"Gerrrrlk!!"
The slime's body immediately started writhing. This trash mob slime had hit level 4 and was even using magic.
Whoosh—!!
A fireball flew straight at me.
"Leap of Trust!!!"
I immediately leaped high, dodging the incoming fireball.
"Smite!!!!"
I activated my active skill, Smite, right away. Being a former jungler, I was a pro at using it. Enemies might steal Baron from us, but we'd never lost a rock crab fight to allies—not once.
Smaaaack—!!
My full swing with the steel pipe smashed right into the magician slime's head.
"Gerrrrlk....!"
The slime's dripping face twisted in agony. It took solid damage, but the thing didn't drop dead. Worthy of level 4—it had a decent HP pool.
"Smite!! Smite!!!"
I burned through all my mana, spamming Smite nonstop.
Thwack—! Thud—!! Thwaaaack—!!!
I hammered the magician slime with gusto. Die already!!! Come on!! Almost got it? That satisfying hand feel hit me just as—
"Gurrrrlk....!"
The slime suddenly opened its mouth wide.
"Crap....!"
I hadn't even considered it had one last desperate attack left.
Whoosh—!!
A fireball erupted from the slime's mouth. At point-blank range, I flailed around in the flames.
"Hot!! Fuck!!!"
Still, I had some toughness to me. It was scorching as hell, but not enough to burn me alive.
"Gerrrrlk.....!"
With that final burst of defiance, the slime's body melted away.
"Struggling to the end, huh. Even as an enemy, I respect that. You're noble."
I swept my hair back and muttered.
"But you were weaker than me. That's all it is."
Whew.... A battlefield where you have to take lives to survive. And I survived it.
"The Reaper never dies....."
Standing before the corpse of my mighty foe (a lowbie slime), I murmured softly.
Anyway, after wrapping up that day's hunt, I headed straight home. Honestly, taking down that magician slime had worn me out.
------------
In the remaining three weeks, I commuted between the kendo dojo and the Old Town slime dungeon, building my strength.
Living this hardcore, I'd at least hit level 2, right? Yeah, I had those hopes.
I mean, I'd farmed like crazy without any EXP loss.
Umi even suggested hanging out a few times after that, but I turned her down. Couldn't risk the EXP penalty from goofing off.
But no dice.
'Level 4'
My level hadn't budged. Level 4 was already a crisis point? How brutal was leveling here?
Level 5. In a normal game, you'd hit it in like an hour of play.
I'd optimistically figured I'd reach it easy, but time to revise that opinion.
'I'm... seriously trash.'
I didn't even need a bratty loli roasting me to know it.
Anyway, time marches on relentlessly. The three weeks flew by, and I started high school.
March week 1 had arrived.
And... the timing of my death was tomorrow.
No more time left for real. I'd done everything I could—no regrets.
-----------
Monday, first day of the semester. I stepped out in my uniform.
"Have a safe trip...."
Mom teared up again at the sight of her uniformed son. Seriously... she cries at the drop of a hat.
I gave a wry smile, thinking that.
Well, it was her hikikomori son's first day heading to high school. Anyone sentimental would tear up.
Natori High School. The only school in this city. There used to be another, but low birth rates—the classic small-city plague—shut it down. Needlessly realistic.
'Pretty otaku-bait, huh.'
Cherry blossoms lined the school gates, blooming ridiculously full. Total youth overload vibes.
Students swarmed the entrance, checking class assignments.
No need for me to look, but just in case.
'Class F'
Yeah, as expected. The class with the player, Kiryu Umi, and fellow party member Natsukawa Taiga.
'But... Natsukawa Taiga's not around at this point.'
Natsukawa Taiga was your classic Japanese delinquent gal. A yankii. Leader of a biker gang—not your typical schoolgirl resume.
Other traits... straight out of otaku fodder: a total beauty. Red ponytail, fierce look. But secretly loves cute stuff. You get the gist?
She skips school constantly, obviously. Doesn't link up with the player till April. Doesn't even show her face in March.
'Deal with Natsukawa later...'
I headed to Class F first. Found my assigned seat in the middle of the room and was about to sit.
Then... I spotted the player.
The game's playable protagonist. Fittingly, prime window seat on the left—textbook hero spot.
Even to me, he was a handsome dude. Just coolly gazing out the window. Total cool guy idol material.
'Come to think of it...'
The player didn't have an official name. Made me curious.
I wonder what this kid's called?
I casually checked the attendance sheet on the teacher's desk.
'Aiu eosashisse so'
A dizzying hiragana sequence popped out. Yeah, the lazy default you slap in when naming's a hassle in RPGs.
"Oh!! Sashitsu!! Hey!"
Then an extra greeted the protagonist.
"Hey. Hi."
The protagonist replied in a languid tone.
Folks in this world didn't bat an eye at his name. Sashitsu, though? Kinda rolls off the tongue.
After confirming the protagonist's head-scratcher of a name, I turned to head back to my seat.
That's when—
Slide—!
The classroom door opened, and every guy's eyes locked on.
Kiryu Umi and her gal pals swept in. Fresh high school girls brightened the room instantly.
Standing out was Kiryu Umi.
Heads turned—especially guys'. Duh, she was drop-dead gorgeous. Figure straight-up beyond Asian standards. Walking Yas, no exaggeration.
"Whoa... Sashitsu!! We're lucky!! It's Kiryu from One Middle!! She's hot... eyes feel purified."
The protagonist's chat buddy freaked out.
"......Not interested."
Sashitsu just stared out the window. Peak cool guy. True protagonist.
"Dude's so chill!"
Still, no awkward freeze—the crowd gathered anyway, no effort needed.
'Protagonist through and through...'
Textbook otaku-hero. Seeing him alive and kicking made my heart swell.
Then Umi's eyes met mine.
We weren't close enough to act buddy-buddy in class, so maybe play it off? I thought.
But Umi trotted right over.
"Shota! Nice seeing you!! Same class? Awesome."
She beamed at me.
"Uh... hi?"
I greeted back on reflex.
Wait, you know Kiryu Umi?
Curious stares stabbed my way.
This... spotlight plot twist was not ideal.
"Umi-chin. Who's this?"
A gal pal with Umi's vibe approached. If Umi was pure white gal, this was classic tanned black gal.
She eyed me up.
"Hmm... Up close, solid build. Not bad. Face is... too plain, though?"
She grinned.
Rating me to my face? Tempted to school her on manners... but I held back. Early game, gotta blend like an extra.
Anyway, black gal scanned me head to toe.
Chills—felt like prey under a predator's gaze.
This... a carnivore gal?
Umi cut in, looking annoyed.
"Oh. He's a junior from my dad's dojo."
Umi, nice assist!! I cheered inwardly.
"No way. Jock? Gimme your LINE."
Black gal shoved her phone at me, full flirt mode.
Uh... no refusing that. I handed over my LINE ID meekly.
"Shota-chin. Hit you up later."
She waved. Snagged my number in a blink. And casually 'Shota-chin'-ed me. Classic gal species?
Oh, right—her name's Nishikawa Eri. Self-intro flew by too fast.
Anyway.
"Hmm....."
Umi eyed me, dissatisfied.
"Handing out your number that easy? You gave it to me with the same casual vibe?"
"No. It's not casual. You asked, I gave."
I shot back. Made me sound like a total player.
"Anyway, you ditched my hangout invites all break. Free today?"
Umi asked.
Wait... those weren't just polite? Thought she'd drop it after a few nos.
"That's kinda...."
Tomorrow was the big March week 1 event. Wanted today to mentally prep.
"Today it is."
Umi said with weird pressure.
"......Fine."
I sighed.
"Uhuhuhu. Don't forget after school?"
Umi closed in, glancing up playfully.
"Uh......yeah."
Damn... her looks were pure cheat code. That smile was foul play.
No choice but to agree.
And just like that, after-school plans were set.
If I died tomorrow, it'd be my last promise.
Joking... but no laughing matter.