Chapter 10

A girl with orange hair tied in twin tails, possessing a striking appearance, smiled.

The title heroine of Volume 3, Nishizawa Eri. Her figure is visible.

'Ranked third in entrance exam scores, suitability A rank, from a single-parent family, the school's idol, and the most beautiful girl in the world according to the setting...'

The character details come to mind reflexively.

'...And a character with gynophobia.'

A heroine concept found in every light novel, who usually hates all men but is cured of her gynophobia thanks to the protagonist.

As befits the setting of being the most beautiful girl in the prefecture, she is the prettiest person I've seen in both my past and present lives.

Nishizawa Eri's eyes meet mine.

She is startled, then quickly averts her gaze and frowns.

"Mr. Kim. You need to introduce yourself."

Ms. Mayuzumi whispers in my ear.

Compelled by her urging, I begin.

"I'm Kim Deok-sung from Korea. Well, it seems everyone already has a rough idea of who I am..."

I look around the classroom.

"There's no need to strain my jaw with more introductions, right?"

I close my mouth.

Silence ensues.

"Is, is that it?"

Ms. Mayuzumi breaks the silence.

I nod.

This isn't a job interview.

Most of the main characters have already met, and there's no reason to impress the extras.

Ms. Mayuzumi awkwardly smiles and claps.

"Mr. Kim seems a bit shy. Everyone, give Mr. Kim a round of applause!"

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

The classroom fills with applause.

"Mr. Kim, you can sit in that empty seat over there."

Ms. Mayuzumi points with a pointer to a spot in the classroom.

She points to the seat next to Nishizawa Eri, of all places.

I walk silently to the seat Ms. Mayuzumi assigned and sit down.

"Hi."

I try to start a conversation.

Nishizawa Eri's expression wrinkles.

"...Don't talk to me."

Rattle.

Nishizawa Eri moves her desk an inch away with a disdainful look.

Even her frown is so beautiful it hurts.

The term "industry reward" isn't used for nothing.

"If you want."

Well, I didn't expect anything.

I take out my textbook from my bag.

The class bell rings, and the lesson begins.

*

The first class was intense.

Even with my arm aching from taking notes, it was hard to keep up with the lesson.

Studying in this world, where I have no business, makes me want to explode with frustration.

"But there's no choice."

I can't afford to fail.

My muttering catches the attention of the platinum-blonde girl, Olivia, sitting next to me.

"What, what's there no choice about!"

"When did you learn Korean?"

I just spoke in Korean, didn't I?

"I'm not particularly interested in Korea? I just learned a bit of the basics as a hobby..."

Olivia rambles on with a disjointed explanation.

It's her reaction when she feels embarrassed for no reason.

"Is that so? Well done."

It's a commendable effort.

I give a soulless compliment in Korean and take a step forward.

"Being praised by you doesn't make me particularly happy... Wait, we shouldn't be having this conversation right now!"

She follows me.

"After suggesting we go out after school, why is our destination Ground Zero?!"

As Olivia says, this is Ground Zero.

Thirty years ago, it was the site where the first gate, signaling the start of the great disaster, opened, and the place where the invasion of this world began. It is also a tragic land that has been transformed into an eroded area due to the interdimensional phenomenon.

"You really have no manners!"

Olivia grumbles as she uses Flamberge to cut through the green vines blocking the path.

Before us is an incredibly dense primeval forest.

Ground Zero, the largest eroded area in Japan, is both a field training ground for Shuoh Hero Academy and a place teeming with hunters from all over Japan who gather to hunt interdimensional creatures, according to the setting.

It's also the setting for some episodes in the original work.

"We need to find a ruin."

"A ruin?"

Olivia's eyes widen.

A ruin.

The traces of a destroyed interdimensional civilization found in eroded areas or within gates.

A place where one can obtain interdimensional artifacts and lost technologies, and where finding one can change one's life.

The new era's strategic weapons and super-soldiers are also based on designs excavated from ruins.

As a result, countless hunters, mages, heroes, and defense companies are desperately searching for ruins.

In simpler terms, it's like a hidden dungeon in a hunter-themed work.

"How do you know about the existence of a ruin?"

Olivia asks with a serious look.

Ruins have immense potential value.

It's not the kind of information a mere student would know.

Moreover, Ground Zero, used as a training ground for hero candidates, is a well-mapped field with little chance of discovering new ruins.

Even a princess from France, no matter how naive, would know this much.

"It's information found by our country's intelligence agency, the National Intelligence Service. It's high-level information obtained through secret investigations by my homeland."

I don't need to say I saw it in the original novel, Volume 3.

I decided to use the NIS's name again.

"I see. Information provided by your homeland..."

Olivia ponders with a serious expression.

She bites her lip.

"Alright. I'll help you. Ruin exploration! I'm your personal maid, so just leave it to me!"

I'm going to go crazy.

Fortunately, there are no other hunters around.

If someone saw this, I might die of embarrassment.

"Stop talking nonsense and take the lead."

I brought her along to use her like this.

I don't have a status screen.

Killing monsters, or rather interdimensional creatures, doesn't level me up.

But there's no need to tangle with interdimensional creatures.

I have a slave with the performance to crush them.

Olivia, the slave, pouts.

"Really, after I offer to help you with all my might! You're a man who knows nothing about manners or atmosphere!"

"Here, you taking the lead is the proper etiquette."

"That's not what I meant!"

Olivia grumbles and swings Flamberge.

Whoosh.

A platinum flame from the wavy blade is shot forward.

The green foliage blocking the path burns and turns to ash instantly.

"Let's see... We should be arriving soon."

I manipulate the hunter's hologram watch on my wrist to display a hologram map.

Our positions are marked as red dots along with the surrounding terrain.

I move, stepping on the ashes.

The landscape gradually becomes similar to what I saw in the animation.

Crackle!

Sparks fly from the hunter's watch on my wrist, and the hologram turns off.

A sense of foreboding fills me.

'I've reached the vicinity of the ruin.'

The same reaction as in the original work.

It's a signal that we've reached the vicinity of the ruin.

"Where are we...?"

Olivia asks, looking around.

The dense primeval forest has disappeared, and a desolate wasteland and endless horizon now stretch before us.

I decided not to tell her that we've entered the ruin's protective barrier.

Instead, I move forward.

A brown rock pillar stands tall under the blue sky on the desolate land.

"Olivia. Destroy that rock in combat mode."

"Huh? Suddenly, what...?"

"It's necessary to open the entrance to the ruin. Stop talking and do as I say."

Olivia bites her lower lip and responds in a serious voice.

"...Alright."

Whoosh.

A platinum flame envelops Flamberge and then engulfs her entire body.

A platinum body suit that reveals the curves of her curvaceous figure appears, and a magical field covers her entire body.

Olivia, now in combat mode, swings Flamberge.

A platinum aura flies through the air and strikes the rock directly.

A flash of light and a loud explosion follow as the rock shatters and collapses.

Beneath it, a staircase leading down into the darkness of the underground is revealed.

"I found it."

The main stage of Volume 3.

The ruin 'Sanctuary of Baptism' in Ground Zero has finally revealed its true form.

What is this?

The Sanctuary of Baptism.

The main stage of Volume 3 of the original work.

In the Ground Zero field training, the protagonist Yoo Ji, paired with the heroine Nishizawa Eri, who has gynophobia, gets lost and ends up entering the ruin, a typical start.

'At that time, the ruin was already open.'

The culprit who opened the ruin was the B-rank villain Mad Hatter.

He attempted to activate an artifact in the deepest part of the ruin to gain power beyond human limits and succeeded.

He awakened his Gift.

'This was the moment when the first character with an acquired Gift appeared in the work.'

Gift.

If localized in the style of Korean web novels, it would be called a power.

The protagonist Yoo Ji's Gift is Amplification, and Olivia's Gift is Flame.

While the setting describes it as a rare special ability possessed only by geniuses, as with typical Japanese battle works, it becomes a common specification due to power inflation by the mid-point.

However, Kim Deok-sung is an extra character without even the common specification.

Therefore, I need to secure a Gift to survive.

"Ugh, it feels so damp and unpleasant."

Olivia grumbles as she walks.

Drip, drip.

Water droplets fall from the ceiling.

Fluorescent glowstones are embedded in the stone walls, illuminating the passage.

As Olivia says, the inside of the ruin is a damp and eerie atmosphere.

"Anyway, the magical field blocks the moisture, so it doesn't matter."

"There's such a thing as a feeling!"

Olivia protests.

Whoosh.

A platinum flame orb floating in front of her illuminates the surroundings.

There's no need for a human flashlight.

Indeed, bringing Olivia along was a good decision.

Just as I was thinking that,

[A dimensional creature has been detected.]

A mechanical voice sounds in my ear.

Durandal, in combat mode, has detected a dimensional creature through its radar.

"Olivia."

"I know."

She raises Flamberge.

Whoosh.

The flame orbs circling Olivia shoot forward, leaving long trails.

Boom!

A loud explosion follows as the flame orbs strike their target.

[Woof! Woof woof woof!]

The sound of barking echoes.

"It's another Blood Wolf."

Blood Wolf.

A C-rank dimensional creature and the monster we've been cutting down endlessly since entering the ruin.

A Blood Wolf, enveloped in platinum flames, leaps.

[Roar! Roar roar roar!]

A giant red wolf lets out a pained howl as it lunges at Olivia.

Olivia's Flamberge draws a platinum line in the dark sky.

Whoosh.

A flash of light erupts, and a wave of flame bright as the sun engulfs the red wolf.

[Squeal!!]

The Blood Wolf's mournful final scream fills the passage.

Thud.

The body of the dimensional creature collapses on the ruin's floor.

"It's over."

Olivia, showing no signs of fatigue, smiles and flicks her finger.

The flame orb, which had been serving as a lantern, rises again, illuminating the surroundings.

"Indeed, bringing you along was a good decision."

It's genuine.

Olivia's skills exceed my expectations.

Her appearance, leading the way and burning countless dimensional creatures with flames, is reminiscent of a bulldozer.

Thanks to her, since entering the ruin, I've been able to enjoy the show from behind her without lifting a finger.

Indeed, the bear does the work, and the person reaps the rewards.

"Even if you say that to me, I'm not particularly happy. Did you think I'd be moved by such a statement?"

Olivia mutters, moving her lips.

Her tsundere behavior is nothing new.

I don't even pay attention to it anymore.

Moreover, her visible pleasure from the compliments contradicts her verbal objections.

Being able to use the main heroine for free with cost-free compliments is the best value for money.

"There's not much left."

I pick up a glowing magic stone from the pile of ashes that was the Blood Wolf's corpse and tell her.

I put the magic stone in the quantum storage space attached to Durandal, which is essentially an inventory.

"The ruin is getting tiring. Really..."

Olivia grumbles.

"I agree this time."

I nod.

In Volume 3, Mad Hatter, who had already explored the ruin, set traps throughout, leading to a completely different development from now.

While breaking the traps, the protagonist and Nishizawa Eri experience a lucky ero episode and gradually get closer, and during the final battle with Mad Hatter, the protagonist learns her secret.

'Mad Hatter's true identity is the father who abused and abandoned Nishizawa Eri in her childhood.'

Mad Hatter deliberately lured his daughter into the ruin to turn her into a villain and revealed the secret to her.

The subsequent development is predictable.

The villain easily deals with the heroine, who is raging with anger, and subdues her.