kscans

Chapter 122 - 122

Day two of the Hayate-Style Dungeon Conquest Course, Hard Mode.

"Today, I've had a recreation of the Undine possessed by the Goddess made, and you'll be fighting it."

"You don't mean..."

"The one that uses those three major techniques?"

"Yep."

"No, that's impossible."

"That's just an unwinnable game, no matter how you look at it."

"We'll definitely die."

Voices of protest rose from his classmates, but Hayate ignored them.

"But the technicians at Shinonome Academy worked so hard to recreate it for us, so we should all give it a fight. Don't worry. I'm sure we can beat it!"

With that, he forcefully started the battle.

──＊＊＊──

Day five of the Hayate-Style Dungeon Conquest Course, Hard Mode.

"Ah, that day has come again..."

"Having these Hayate-style courses on a regular basis is mentally taxing."

"I really didn't feel like coming to the academy today."

"I wonder what today's enemy will be."

"In the end, I think the day two fight against the Goddess-possessed Undine was the toughest."

"Huh, really? For me, the first day was hell."

"No, no. Day three, when we had to fight Grade 3 dungeon monsters with only our initial equipment and skills, that was insane."

"If you're going to say that, then swapping equipment with someone else yesterday was pretty tough too, wasn't it?"

"But that gave me a chance to understand what everyone else is thinking when they fight. It was a good experience."

The Hayate-Style Dungeon Conquest Course, Hard Mode, was held twice a week.

Since the dungeon conquest teams from other countries were still struggling to defeat the Grade 5 boss, Hayate's group, who had already cleared up to the mid-point of Grade 6, still had some leeway. Because of this, they were currently dedicating their time to strengthening their allies.

Rushing through the dungeons too quickly wasn't a good idea either. If few people entered high-difficulty dungeons, materials wouldn't flow into the Market, making it impossible to craft the equipment needed to fight on the front lines. While gathering materials themselves was the basic approach, vast quantities were needed to further enhance already strong gear.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting."

"Oh, here he is, Teacher Hayate."

"What's today's enemy?"

"I hope it's not another one with restrictions."

"Today's opponent is... Fake Hayate, Ver. 3!"

The floor of the training ground opened, and a Fake Hayate appeared, looking exactly like the one from the Spring Dungeon.

"Version 3?"

"Huh, what about 1 and 2?"

"It looks the same."

"Ver. 1 was the one I first fought. Its strength traced my movements from about a year and a half ago. Ver. 2 is the version after I taught it how to fight, which made it stronger."

"...Hmm? Then what's Ver. 3?"

"D, don't tell me..."

"You're not going to say it can use Haze, are you?"

"Nope."

All the classmates sighed in relief at Hayate's answer.

Fake Hayate Ver. 2 was already strong enough. If they had to face one that had also mastered the secret technique of the original four-sword style user, they felt there was no way they could win, no matter how hard they struggled.

Naoto and Ryunosuke were relieved, but Rena alone had a bad feeling.

The one who came up with this was that Hayate, after all. A man who would do anything to become stronger.

It was clear that he now found joy not only in becoming stronger himself, but in making his allies stronger along with him.

For such a person to clearly distinguish between Fake Hayate Ver. 2 and Ver. 3 meant their combat power had to be on a completely different level.

Rena's prediction hit the mark perfectly.

"Fake Hayate Ver. 3 doesn't just use Haze. It uses Battle Aura Release too."

"...Huh?"

"What?"

"B, Battle Aura Release?"

"Not just Haze means it also uses Haze?"

"Of course."

At that moment, the Fake Hayate brought its right hand, which was gripping a sword, in front of its head and held its wrist with its left hand.

A red aura swirled around the Fake Hayate.

"Hey, are you serious?"

"That's not fair."

"Ah. I'm going to die today."

"Suzuka, don't give up!!"

"Alright everyone! Let's fight like our lives depend on it!!"

──＊＊＊──

Smith watched from a distance as Hayate and the others engaged in a life-or-death battle with Fake Hayate Ver. 3.

Beside him was a 3D monitor, where Aina, an AI who bore a strong resemblance to Rena, was watching the training with Smith as a 3D image.

"My, my. Hayate-kun is a real demon, isn't he? To be able to force such training on his friends, including his girlfriend."

"He himself says he's doing it so his friends don't get injured in real dungeons... but looking at his expression, he's clearly enjoying it."

"By the way, how's everyone's mental state? Surely their SAN points are getting scraped away?"

"Please rest assured on that point. Here we have a numerical representation of everyone's sanity, commonly known as SAN points."

Smith checked the parameters for each individual displayed on the monitor.

"Let's see. Is this... everyone's at 100? Weren't SAN points maxed out at 99?"

"After I, who pride myself on being not just the best AI in the country, but in the world, analyzed everyone's mental state, that was the result. It means that everyone, including Rena-sama, can undergo any amount of hellish training imposed by Hayate-sama without their sanity decreasing at all."

"Ryunosuke-kun and Shingo-kun looked pretty gloomy before class started."

"That is an act. I confirmed they were grinning before entering the classroom."

"...So does that mean everyone is actually looking forward to Hayate-kun's special training?"

"Yes. That would be the case."

Each time they underwent Hayate's training, they felt a thrill from the certain knowledge that they were growing stronger. He taught them what they were currently lacking. By following his advice, they could reach new heights.

It was just that they felt it was somehow wrong as human beings to gladly accept such hellish training, so they all put on an act of protest.

"They're all perverts, aren't they."

"Hayate-sama is said to be inhuman in many ways, from his strength to his way of thinking. Even the others who achieved S-rank along with him call him inhuman, just like the rest of the world. They say there is an overwhelming gap even among those of the same rank. However, I believe that anyone who can defeat a Fake Hayate with such a small group must already have a few screws loose in their head."

Hayate wasn't the only special one.

The eight others gathered in the same classroom as him also had their sanity parameters completely broken, just like Hayate.