kscans

Chapter 117 - Episode 117

‘You’re okay. Just freezing cold.’

‘That’s not what being okay means!!’

The exchange between me and Naoto from yesterday was being replayed on the classroom’s Electronic Board.

"As Hayate-kun says, magic used within a dungeon will not cause damage to fellow party members. However, they will be affected by the substances created by that magic. To be more precise, it’s been found that explorers experience only the same sensations that the substance would cause in this real world."

As Smith-sensei explained, various research papers appeared on the Electronic Board. Many were written in languages other than Japanese, and I couldn’t even understand the titles.

"‘Sensations only’ means that our actual bodies won’t suffer from frostbite or burns, correct?"

"That’s right. I can’t enter dungeons myself, so I can only read these papers and explorer reports and relay the information to you. Honestly, I think you all are more knowledgeable in this area..."

As he said that, sensei looked at me.

"Sensei! The one with the most progress here is Hayate, but he clears dungeons with almost no damage, so he probably doesn’t know anything."

Naoto chided me slightly. It seemed he was still angry that I hadn’t let him test the equipment beforehand.

"No, no, I’ve at least done some experiments."

I never want to take an attack from a monster, but I had been checking with Rena to see what would happen if I took a hit from an ally. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to make Naoto and Sakinon do something so reckless.

"That’s right. Many of the papers displayed here were written based on analysis of Hayate-kun and Rena-san’s exploration streams. They’ve been providing not just dungeon-clearing methods, but also more fundamental and important information."

"Huh, but he didn’t say anything like that on the stream."

"I can’t state things I’m not sure about."

My dungeon explorations are compulsorily broadcast to over a hundred million people. It would be a problem if people started using magic that involved their allies just because they believed my words. There was always the possibility that I was the only one who didn’t take damage.

However, for the sake of experiment, I have deliberately touched skills that Rena has used. I think those actions were checked and turned into research papers.

"By the way, sensei, have you seen verification results from anyone other than us in the papers you’ve read?"

"Of course. A report that draws conclusions from a single case would never pass peer review at a scientific conference."

I was a little relieved to hear that.

"Sensei! I have a question."

"Go ahead, Mei-san."

"In conclusion, does this mean it’s fine to cast magic with the intention of hitting allies?"

"No, not necessarily. Look at this paper."

It was written in English, and while I couldn’t understand the content well, the diagrams and graphs suggested it was a slightly different kind of paper from the dungeon exploration ones.

"The human body is a strange thing. There are cases where the body suffers damage due to conviction, even when there is no actual injury. In other words, while you wouldn’t actually get frostbite from a comrade’s magic, the visual impression and the sensation of cold can cause the brain to inflict damage on the body on its own. This is said to be the risk when using large-scale magic."

"So, what we did yesterday was actually dangerous?"

"You could say that."

"Hey! What did you mean by ‘okay’!?"

Naoto glared at me.

"S, sorry..."

I didn’t know it was like that either. I really thought it was fine.

"Naoto-kun, don’t blame Hayate-kun. He probably didn’t know either. In fact, it’s thought that Hayate-kun has never been injured in his explorations so far because he strongly believed that he couldn’t possibly be damaged by his partner Rena-san’s attacks."

Wait, really?

"Hayate-kun is a bit of an anomaly, being able to believe he’s fine even when touching an attack that both visually and tactilely seems certain to cause damage. Most papers conclude that one should not use wide-area magic that involves allies."

"No way... Then I can’t use my strategy of annihilating the enemy along with Naoto as my shield."

"U-um, Mei-san? Were you thinking of doing that?"

Naoto didn’t know, but Sakinon and I had talked about how that kind of fighting style was possible.

"What are you talking about? It’s not impossible."

"""Huh?"""

A question mark appeared above everyone’s head in the classroom at Smith-sensei’s words.

"Because Hayate-kun is doing it. You just have to believe in your comrades. It’s a matter of image. You won’t take damage from an ally’s magic. You have to believe that and charge at the enemy. For you all to continue clearing dungeons at the world’s fastest pace, Mei-san’s magic will become essential. Are you going to say you won’t go forward because you don’t want to take damage from an ally’s magic? No. You can’t stay number one like that."

An image of a group clearing a dungeon somewhere was displayed on the Electronic Board.

"This is a Chinese exploration team. They were quick to realize that whether or not you are affected by magic is based on your perception. And as you can see, they have begun to use a forceful clearing method."

In the video, a rear-guard mage was unleashing large-scale magic that engulfed the shield-bearer to defeat a swarm of monsters. It was a common sight back when FWO was a game. But in reality, it must be terrifying. And there are people who do it.

"Listen up. You all have to become able to do this. I’m not saying you have to do it in every battle, but you need to have large-scale magic that involves allies as one of your options. For the sake of clearing efficiency, and for your safety."

Smith-sensei approached me.

"Now, let’s all become crazy explorers with a few screws loose, just like Hayate-kun!!"

I didn’t feel like I was being praised at all, but for some reason, Smith-sensei had a huge smile on his face as he placed a hand on my shoulder.