Chapter 15

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Perhaps the threat from Mr. Kanzaki worked, as the atmosphere among the students, who had been slacking off, changed, and they approached the practical training with serious expressions. While only a few managed to avoid all the balls, most of the students managed to avoid or knock down 6 to 7 out of 10 balls.

Mr. Kanzaki watched the students with a somewhat bored expression. Is he a sadist, that instructor?

"It's almost our turn, isn't it?"

"Yeah. The task itself isn't that difficult, but if we miss even one ball, as Mr. Kanzaki said, it could be bad."

"True. If we can't handle something this simple with ease, dealing with real monsters under life-threatening pressure in the dungeon will be tough. Besides, the monsters shown on the screen are the ones that appear in the surface layers of the dungeon, as mentioned in the text. If the speed of the rubber balls from the pitching machine corresponds to the speed of the monsters on the screen... "

Yusuke and Hime's concerns are valid.

This practical training is probably meant to determine whether we can defeat the first monster we encounter in the dungeon. If we can defeat even one monster in the dungeon, the concept of levels is granted to the slayer, and they acquire the IPS. With the IPS, various benefits such as increased defense are obtained. Even without detailed knowledge, they recognize this through experience and comparison.

If we can defeat the first monster, we can steadily level up as long as we don't do something incredibly foolish.

"Let's focus on clearing this task. Overthinking it might lead to mistakes."

"Yeah."

"Right."

While chatting, we waited for our turn to come. First up was Yusuke. He put on the catcher's mask, stood naturally with his feet shoulder-width apart in the circle, and glared at the screen in front. The staff confirmed he was ready, and the screen started moving. The first monster appeared, and a rubber ball was launched. Yusuke easily deflected the rubber ball aimed at his chest with his palm. From there, he accurately knocked down the rubber balls launched one after another, and finally, he deflected the 9th and 10th balls, which were launched in quick succession, with both hands, ending the task.

"Good job."

"Good work."

"Yeah. It was easier than I thought. Just stay calm and you'll be fine."

Yusuke replied happily and gave advice to the rest of us. He wiped the catcher's mask with a wet wipe from the equipment and handed it to Hime, then moved to the area where those who had completed the task were gathered.

"Stay calm. I'll go now."

"Hime, be careful."

"Sure. I'll clear it perfectly like Hasegawa-kun."

Hime confidently replied to me and stood in the circle with a steady gait.

As soon as the screen activated, a monster appeared, and a rubber ball was launched at Hime's chest. Hime avoided the unexpectedly launched rubber ball without flinching, using minimal movement. She then continued to avoid the rubber balls launched in quick succession with minimal movement, without swaying her body. Wasn't Hime a martial arts practitioner?

And as she had declared at the beginning, Hime cleared the task without missing a single rubber ball.

"Good job."

"How was it? I told you I'd clear it perfectly, right?"

"I'm impressed. Hime, were you also a martial arts practitioner like Yusuke?"

"No, I've never done any martial arts."

So, she could move like that naturally? But...

"But, when I was little, I learned Japanese dance at my mother's suggestion."

"Ah, I see."

"Old habits die hard. I never thought it would come in handy like this."

So, the stable center of gravity and body movement in her movements came from Japanese dance. Because her center of gravity was stable and her body didn't sway, she could dodge the consecutive balls with ease.

Of course, her dynamic vision and reflexes are also Hime's natural talents.

"Anyway, I'll go to Hasegawa-kun's place first. Kujou-kun, aim for a perfect clear."

"Sure. I'll do my best to meet your expectations."

"I'm counting on you."

I took the catcher's mask Hime had used and headed to the circle as my turn came. This kind of task isn't particularly difficult for me now, so my steps were light.

By the way, my current status is as follows:

Name: Kujou Daiki

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Occupation: Student

Title: Slime's Nemesis

Level: 59 (1)

Skills: Appraisal Analysis II [A] 9/10, Telekinesis II [A] 6/10, Spatial Storage II [P] 2/10, EP Recovery Boost [P] 9/10, Physical Enhancement [P] 8/10, Status Concealment [P] 9/10

HP: 595/595 (15/15)

EP: 90/300 (10/10)

* The numbers in parentheses are the apparent numbers due to the Status Concealment skill.

Thanks to my daily slime-slaying, my level has improved significantly. Around the time I had slain 10,000 slimes, I received a title. It makes sense to get this title after slaying so many slimes every day.

"Slime's Nemesis" is a title given to those who have slain a vast number of slimes, and its effect is that all attacks against slimes deal 100% critical damage.

Thanks to this title, my daily slime-slaying has been going smoothly, greatly contributing to my level-up efforts.

However, with the addition of some passive skills and the upgrade of Spatial Storage to II, the increased EP from level-ups is constantly consumed by 210, so there's no change in the amount of EP available for active skills.

"Please be kind to me."

As I entered the circle and addressed the staff, the screen activated, showing a dungeon corridor. As I moved down the corridor and turned a corner, a monster appeared, and a rubber ball was launched. It was like an ambush from behind cover. I tracked the rubber ball with my eyes, placed my right hand in its path, and caught it with ease. The staff, who had expected me to avoid or deflect it, was slightly surprised. Without taking my eyes off the screen, I rolled the rubber ball back to them. A wolf-type monster appeared on the screen, and an image of its arm swinging down from the upper right to the lower left was shown, followed by the launch of a rubber ball. Observing the launched rubber ball, I noticed something odd. The rubber ball had a diagonal spin. Given that the previous rubber ball had a clean backspin and came straight, this spinning rubber ball...

"Nobody has ever thrown a curveball before!"

While catching the sharply breaking slider, I couldn't help but mutter under my breath. It seemed the staff didn't like that I had caught the previous ball. Mr. Kanzaki, who had apparently moved to the staff's side, was operating the controller. Go bother some other student, you sadist.

However, it seems my wish wasn't granted. Mr. Kanzaki, holding the controller, had already input the next command. Monsters began appearing in quick succession on the screen, launching multi-angle attacks. Curveballs, sliders, forks, and sliders. Rubber balls with various spins were launched randomly in quick succession. Using both hands, I caught the rubber balls and managed to withstand Mr. Kanzaki's fierce attack, completing the required 10 balls without a single miss.

"Good job. Please switch with the next person."

"...Yes."

With a slightly regretful but mostly joyful expression, the sadistic instructor. That face is like a child who has found a new toy. Damn, I've been targeted by a troublesome person. I should have missed a few balls as per my agreement with Hime.

Regretting my mistake, I handed the cleaned catcher's mask to the next person and moved to where Yusuke and the others were waiting.

"Great job, Daiki."

"Yes, how did you manage to catch all those curveballs? Kujou-kun, did you play baseball?"

"No, just a bit in school."

After being greeted with surprise by the two, I sat down on the ground with them. The artificial turf was quite comfortable with its moderate bounce. I wonder when our school's field will finally be changed from dirt to artificial turf.

"But, that sadistic instructor was a pain."

"Yeah, that Mr. Kanzaki."

"Come to think of it, the curveballs started being launched after he moved to Kujou-kun's station. Was he operating it?"

"Yes. After I avoided the 10 balls, his eyes were shining with pleasure."

Really, those eyes were unbearable. I almost threw the rubber ball at his face.

We waited for the other students to finish their tasks while chatting. There weren't many left, so it shouldn't take long.

Thirty minutes later, all the students in Group B had completed their tasks.

"Group B, good job. Next, you'll switch tasks with Group A and do the trap handling practice under Mr. Sakamoto. Please move to his station. And one last thing from me: those who couldn't handle all the balls without missing should be prepared for the possibility of injury or death if they enter the dungeon. If you don't like it, I recommend you train your body before entering the dungeon. Please start moving."

Upon hearing Mr. Kanzaki's final warning, most of the students stiffened and tensed up. No one in Group B could laugh off Mr. Kanzaki's warning, and some even looked thoughtful. However, urged by Mr. Kanzaki, the students of Group B began moving to Mr. Sakamoto's station with heavy steps. We were at the front of the group, one of the few exceptions, due to Mr. Kanzaki's creepy gaze.

"Let's go quickly."

"Yeah."

"Kujou-kun, why don't you wave at him? He's sending you a passionate farewell gaze."

"No way! Let's go quickly!"

To escape Mr. Kanzaki's clingy gaze, I dragged Yusuke and Hime along and hurried to Mr. Sakamoto's station.

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We were the first to reach Mr. Sakamoto's station, passing by Group A in the middle of the field.

"You guys are first, impressive for your age!"

"Well, Mr. Kanzaki's gaze was creepy..."

While it's a bit of a backhanded compliment, it's Mr. Kanzaki's fault for giving us such a creepy look. Despite his cheerful appearance, he might have a twisted nature.

"What? Did you do something noticeable?"

"No, I just caught all the rubber balls from the pitching machine."

"Really? You caught all of them?"

"Yes."

Mr. Sakamoto listened to me, thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"Probably that's the reason. There are quite a few who can avoid or deflect all the balls, but very few can catch them. You must have been seen as a promising candidate."

...What?

"Well, good luck. He's not a bad person, just a bit... unique, or strange, you know?"

Mr. Sakamoto looked at me with a sympathetic gaze. No, stop Mr. Kanzaki.

We three looked at Mr. Sakamoto, who was trying to cover up with a slightly unreliable smile, with half-closed eyes.

Is this guy okay?

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Anyway, if we can dodge the first attack, the risk of injury or death should decrease, right?