kscans

Chapter 108 - Episode 108

"...Hey. Isn’t the teacher late?"

"Yeah. And who’s gonna teach this class anyway? Hayate-kun is in it."

I overheard that conversation between two men whose names I didn’t know.

They looked to be in their twenties.

This academy was a facility for training dungeon explorers, so some of the students were adults. Apparently, high school students like us could earn a high school diploma upon graduation. But if you were skilled enough to get into this academy, I figured you’d make a living as an explorer rather than go to college.

Our S-class had a total of nine members. The boys were me, Naoto, and Ryunosuke, plus the two men from earlier. The girls were Rena, Sakinon, and two professional players I had met at an FWO event.

I heard Ryunosuke was the same age as us, so that made our class five high schoolers and four adults.

Even though revival was possible, dungeon exploring was a life or death affair, so there were generally more adults. The academy as a whole had more adults than minors, but in our class, the ratio was flipped.

I guess that was the result of training Naoto and the others so we could all be in the same class.

"Hayate, who would you be happy to have as a teacher?"

Rena obviously knew who the teacher was, but she hadn’t told me.

"I’d be happy if a high-ranking FWO player came."

Back when FWO was a game, my solo completion rate was ranked fourteenth in the world. I hadn’t heard much about players ranked higher than me being active in the real world now. Even so, there were champions in the virtual world who used to crush me in PvP.

If people like that were to become our teachers, I was sure I could become even stronger.

I was a little hopeful. After all, Rena was the one who chose the teacher. I couldn’t imagine her doing anything pointless. She would never appoint someone to teach this class who just spouted dungeon theories without any real substance.

The door slid open with a rattle. All the students’ eyes focused on it.

"Sorry. I’m a little late."

The man who entered was blond and in a wheelchair.

Who was he? I had never seen him before. At the very least, he hadn’t been at any of FWO’s offline events.

"I am John Smith. I will be the teacher for this class. It’s a pleasure to meet you all."

He was speaking English, but I heard it in Japanese through the translation device around his neck.

But more than that, I wanted to know who he was.

"Um, excuse me. Sir, are you..."

"First, we’re going to the Mock Combat Arena."

Without giving us time for introductions, Smith-sensei headed out of the classroom.

To the training ground, right off the bat?

"What are you doing? Hurry up."

He urged us on, so we decided to follow him for the time being.

When I stood up, Rena, Naoto, and the others followed. Seeing that, the adults also began to move.


"Thanks for coming without complaining."

"Are you planning to test our skills first?"

"Non, non. I know your skills from watching the entrance exam videos. What we’re about to do is determine whether I’m a suitable teacher for you. This is a mock battle for you to acknowledge me."

W, with that body?

"You’re wondering if I can fight in this body, aren’t you? It’s impossible like this, of course. That’s why I’ll be using this."

When Smith-sensei snapped his fingers, the floor of the Mock Combat Arena split open and a robot emerged.

It kind of looked like the fake Hayate. But on its back, instead of manipulators, it was equipped with a weapon called a tachi.

"This is a combat android developed for me by the Shinonome Group. I can control it just like my FWO character!"

Smith-sensei put on a headgear, and the android began to move.

"Now, let’s fight. If you can defeat me, you don’t need my lessons. Go explore dungeons as you please. It would be a waste of time to do something as unnecessary as taking classes. But if you lose to me, it means you still have room to grow."

I see. Simple enough.

"In that case, may I go first?"

"Hayate-kun. You, right away?"

"Sir, have you ever fought me in FWO?"

"Including that, I’ll tell you if you beat me."

"Understood. I’ll come at you with everything I’ve got!"

"No Battle Aura Release. This android can’t handle it yet."

"Roger."

I faced the android controlled by Smith-sensei. When I took my stance, my opponent assumed an iai stance.

Th, that... A shiver ran down my spine.

I can’t rush in. I can’t move forward.

If I go, I’ll be killed. My instincts were refusing to let me advance.

This feeling, could it be...

"Not coming? Then, I’ll come to you."

The android vanished from my sight.

"Ugh!"

I somehow managed to raise my four swords in front of my body to block the first strike.

"Oh. A good block."

It was a high speed movement using a technique called Shukuchi. By further aiming for the opponent’s blinking timing, it created the illusion of disappearing. Smith-sensei’s android used these techniques to launch its attack.

There was no way I could parry this with rotation.

I somehow dodged the follow up attacks, but I couldn’t use my opponent’s momentum to counterattack like I usually did. It was attacking in a way that disrupted my axis, preventing me from rotating.

This was extremely difficult to fight.

"When fighting an equal or superior opponent, the basic strategy is to do what they hate. I won’t let you rotate."

Even though I was going all out, sensei still had the composure to provide commentary.

This person was seriously strong. After that, I tried to go on the offensive somehow, but...

"Your movements have improved. But your downfall was overlooking your weapon fatigue."

"Huh?"

The moment I blocked sensei’s attack, all four of my mock battle swords shattered.

"And that’s my win."

A tachi was pressed against my neck, and I had no choice but to declare my defeat.

"No way. Hayate-kun lost?"

"Smith-sensei is strong."

"If Hayate-kun can’t win, then I can’t either."

"I don’t really want to fight him either."

Including Naoto and Ryunosuke, no one else tried to fight sensei.

"Because I fought you first, Hayate-kun, the other students have gotten timid."

"My apologies. ZeRo-san."

"...So you noticed."

"I knew from your first stance."

He was the pinnacle of FWO, a game with over one hundred million players. The strongest player who reigned at number one in both the dungeon completion rate and PvP rankings, ZeRo.

Even against players ranked higher than me, I could usually win once after a few battles. But the one person I had never been able to defeat was ZeRo.

"I was born unable to walk. I also have a mental illness, so I can’t stay in crowded places for long. But in FWO, I could move around freely. It was so much fun that I got hooked, and before I knew it, I was number one in the world."

Every year, FWO had an event where the top rankers were invited to the management company in America, but he, the number one player, always declined the invitation and never participated.

So that was the reason.

"For now, is it okay for me to be your teacher? As you can see, I can’t enter dungeons. But I want revenge on the Goddess who stole the world of FWO that I loved so much. I want to strike a blow against her by making you all the strongest explorers."

Smith-sensei bowed his head to us.

"I apologize for using you, but you’ll all get stronger than you are now. It’s not a bad deal, is it?"

I had no problem with it. I was overjoyed that the ZeRo would be our teacher. He must have been offered a teaching position in America, yet he came here to Japan. That was incredible. Although we used different weapons, there had to be a lot I could learn from him.

I glanced behind me, and Naoto gave me a ‘go ahead’ gesture with his hand. I guess that meant I could answer for the class.

"Smith-sensei. We look forward to learning from you!"

"We look forward to it!" everyone chorused.

"Thank you. I look forward to it as well."

And just like that, the world’s strongest player became our teacher.