Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~
chapter-140

When the afternoon class was over, my homeroom teacher told me that the Principal wanted to see us.

He asked us to head to the Principal’s office with him so that he could talk to us as well.

By us, I mean my entire party.

We headed to the Principal’s office with our homeroom teacher changing our schedule.

(Hmm, today is the auction day.)

Today is the first day of October. It is the first day of the Academy after the summer break.

And it’s the day of the auction run by the Adventurer’s Guild.

Since I heard about the auction in August, I haven’t been able to go to the auction yet.

I don’t have enough money saved up yet, so I don’t plan to rush to attend, but I wanted to go today if possible.

(Well, if I participate in the auction, I’ll have one less day to go to the dungeon, so I think I’ll hire a professional mediator from the Adventurer’s Guild for this.)

A person can see if the items they might want are listed or not on the 25th of the previous month, and if necessary, they can ask for a mediator from Adventurer’s Guild to skip the auction. I will do that even if I have to pay a fee.

The dungeon rewards include Wooden, Silver, and Gold chests. So far, I haven’t found any Gold chests in any floor of the A-class dungeon. Maybe there is a limit to the number of Gold chests that appear, maybe one per day.

Since the Academy is closed on the 25th of each month, I think I’ll check the status of the items and request them before the auction.

I’m going to discuss this with everyone at the base after the Principal’s talk.

“This is the place”, the homeroom teacher said. We entered the Principal’s office, which was in a different building from the one where we usually have our morning Liberal Arts classes.

The Principal of the Academy was not in his office though.

“Tsk. Wait here for a moment.”

The Principal is a member of the Royal Family of Rosenheim, the land of the Elves. The homeroom teacher seemed to be unconcerned with his status. He went out to call the Principal. As I relaxed on the sofa and waited, the homeroom teacher came back. He said that the Principal would be here soon.

“So, how was the A-class dungeon?”

While waiting for the Principal to arrive, my homeroom teacher sat in front of me and asked me about the dungeon.

“The dungeon was quite large, so I’m glad we were able to conquer it during our summer vacation. The traps were harder to deal with than the magical beasts.”

I answered what I had prepared as the normal answer.

“Oh, I see. What are you going to do with it? I mean the Certificate of Conquest.”

He asked more questions. I wondered if he was concerned about our future.

“For now, we’re planning to spend a year or so conquering the remaining 3 A-class dungeons in Academy City. And, the one in the Latash Kingdom next year.”

“‘Oh! So, you’re planning to enter the S-class dungeon while attending the Academy?”

The homeroom teacher responded to my words in a loud voice. His expression seemed quite happy.

(Hmm? His words don’t seem like the words of a worried person. He sounds more like a person who wants to conquer dungeons. He is a former adventurer after all.)

We have already discussed what we will do about the S-class dungeon.

We decided to try to conquer the S-class dungeon while attending the Academy.

We may be able to get more valuable items.

However, it would take us about 4 months to conquer one A-class dungeon while attending the Academy, and 12 months to conquer 3 of them. Taking into account the fact that there will be a spring break in March next year, we aim to conquer them in about 10 months. This will allow us to conquer all 4 A-class dungeons in the Academy City within a year.

Then, we are going to conquer another A-class dungeon in the Latash Kingdom in two months during next year’s summer vacation.

“Can the teacher go to the S-class dungeon?”

“No, I have three engravings. Back in the day, all the Talented ones went to the dungeon.”

The homeroom teacher had conquered three A-class dungeons.

He told me that in the old days, adventurers risked their lives to conquer dungeons. He also told me that this was the reason why he became an adventurer.

(Well, before the Demon King attacked, there must have been a lot of people with Talent who wanted to conquer S-class dungeons.)

The items coming out of S-class dungeons were probably much more common in the past.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Then the Principal came in. He apologized for keeping us waiting and sat down on the couch.

“What can I do for you today, sir?”

“I heard that your party conquered an A-class dungeon. I thought we could talk about your participation in the Academy Martial Arts Tournament.”

He told us right away why he called us.

“Academy Martial Arts Tournament?”

(Huh? Is there such an event?)

“Yeah, first years don’t usually participate. I’m sure Teacher Karuba hasn’t said anything about it.”

As we had a question mark on our faces, the Principal gave us an overview of the Academy Martial Arts Tournament.

The event is held every year in October and participants are mainly second and third year students.

It takes place in an arena set up in the Academy.

Since it is a Martial Arts Tournament, the students participating were said to be those with a Talent for physical attacks such as swords, axes and spears.

It’s in a tournament format, with about 100 participants. The number of participants is reduced to 16 in the Preliminary Round, and then the Final Round is held. The last one standing wins. It takes one day for the Preliminary Round and one day for the Final Round.

(There are about 3,000 students per grade, but only 100 participate?)

In my personal opinion, it’s a lot less.

“There will be guests coming from many countries. Don’t forget the Royalty coming from the Latash Kingdom as well.”

(Guests from many countries will be coming, huh.)

“I see.”

That was the first time I spoke after the explanation began.

“So, I’d like Allen and Kurena to participate in the Tournament.”

“Whoa!”

“What?”

(Why am I supposed to participate in this now?)

Kurena’s joy at being in the tournament and my question of why came out at the same time.

“What happened?”

“No, why would I be participating in the tournament? Isn’t it supposed to be Dogora?”

“No, Dogora is not appropriate. You need the recommendation of the Academy to participate in this tournament. It will be difficult for the current Dogora.”

The Principal was very clear that Dogora can’t participate.

(Hmm, he denied it rather quickly. Is it because he is a first year student with only 1-star Talent?)

“…”

Dogora didn’t say anything. He was probably thinking about it.

“I have an E in [Attack], so if you’re talking about a Martial Arts Tournament, Dogora is more qualified than me, right?”

It’s a Martial Arts Tournament, but my ability is that of a rear guard type and not suited for fighting with weapons.

“You may use your skills in this tournament. It doesn’t matter if you use your Summoner Talent’s skill.”

(Are you inviting me to see a Summoner’s skills? He asked me to do so during the exams.)

The Principal was trying to make me bite.

I don’t do anything that doesn’t interest me or doesn’t make sense. I will do anything if there is a reason, such as for my family, my friends, or because I was indebted to them, but if not, I basically won’t do anything.

And I was convinced that the most useless things in this world are interpersonal battles and the tournaments that accompany them.

A battle against a human is a battle between humans, not magical beasts. If this is for the purpose of training or raising your skill level, I understand, but if not, then there is no point at all.

There is a saying that I follow, “PvP, nothing comes of it.”

“No, my skills are not something that can be demonstrated to even the most selective seniors at the Academy.”

“Is that so? If you win, you can challenge the Master Swordsman Doberg.”

He told me that if I won the tournament, there would be a prize. It was the right to challenge Master Swordsman Doberg. Doberg seemed to be coming all the way here just for this tournament.

(Oh? I’d like to see how well Kurena can do against Doberg after conquering an A-class dungeon. Maybe this will give me an idea of how far I can go.)

“‘I see, that’s great to hear. I’m curious to see how well Kurena is compared to an active Master Swordsman.”

“Kurena? You will also be participating.”

“I will, but I’ll be eliminated in the first round, won’t I? And there’s no prize for participating, is there?”

Even if you force me to participate, I’ll lose in the first round, is what I declared with those words. Both my friends and homeroom teacher were listening to this exchange between the Principal and me. The homeroom teacher didn’t say anything and looked somewhat impressed. I’m sure this is the right attitude for an adventurer.

Cecile was sighing as if she had no choice. I was the one who used to sigh when she made me do things I didn’t want to do in Grandver, but now it’s the opposite.

“Prize? There is, because the Royal Family of the Latash Kingdom will be present there. If you win, you’ll be treated well.”

“The Royal Family will be attending?”

“Yes. Are you willing to participate?”

“No, not at all.”

“…”

The Principal seemed to give up, saying, “Well, if that’s the case, I have no choice.” It seems that they are not going to force me to participate in the tournament, as it was just a recommendation.

“By the way, who is coming from the Royal Family?”

“Hmm? I think the Crown Prince is coming.”

The Principal, who has lived for a thousand years, didn’t seem to be that polite to the Royalty of other countries.

(Hmm? The Crown Prince is coming? I’ll have to remember his face at least.)

The Academy Martial Arts Tournament will take place during the second week of October. Allen did his best to decline the recommendation, and Kurena accepted in an instant. And there the Crown Prince, the man of destiny, will arrive.