kscans

Chapter 99 -

"Seiya!!"

Naoto launched an attack on the Fake Hayate, but it was parried away. Using the force of Naoto’s attack, the Fake Hayate spun and unleashed an even more powerful counterattack.

"Guh."

Naoto thrust his greatsword into the ground and somehow managed to hold on.

"Naoto!"

"I’m fine. It’s not as strong as the original. Keep chanting."

Sakinon called out worriedly, but Naoto still seemed to have some fight left in him.

"It’s super annoying how it parries with rotation and uses my attack’s momentum. Alright, how about this!!"

He raised the giant sword, as tall as he was, into a high stance and brought it down in a straight line. The Fake Hayate parried this attack with a spin as well, but…

"There!"

He positioned the greatsword he had swung down in front of his body like a shield and tackled with all his might. This was a skill called Sword Charge, and if timed correctly, it could break an enemy’s stance and stop a combo. It was an attack with a surface, not a line or point like most sword attacks.

The Fake Hayate couldn’t parry this attack, and it was sent flying.

"Mei! Now!!"

"Okay! Flame Arrow!!"

Sakinon, who had finished her full chant, pierced the Fake Hayate’s core with her magic.

It was Naoto and Mei’s victory.

"Whoa. You two are good."

"Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Hayate-kun, Rena-chan."

"That thing is still way too strong."

"But you beat it in one go."

We had trained specifically for the Fake Hayate, but I hadn’t expected them to defeat it on their first try.

"Unlike the original, its axis of rotation is easy to read. I could even counter it."

Amazing. He’d already figured out the Fake Hayate’s weakness. Or rather, the difference between it and me?

"It’s just called Fake Hayate. In the end, it’s just a fake."

"Hmm?"

"I never felt like I could beat you at all, Hayate, so I thought I wouldn’t be able to beat the Fake Hayate either."

Well, he couldn’t even graze me during our training, but I don’t like getting hurt, so that can’t be helped.

"If you ever become a teacher at the new academy, Hayate, I think you should stop doing that kind of training. Most of the students would probably lose their confidence. At least give me enough of a response to make me think I have a chance. Why did I have to get beaten to a pulp every time?"

"But you overcame it, didn’t you?"

He had completed the Hayate-Style Dungeon Clearing Course (Hard Mode). As a result, he was now able to notice the difference in the quality of my attacks and the Fake Hayate’s. That’s wonderful growth.

"I only made it because Mei was cheering for me. To be honest, my spirit was broken a few times, you know?"

The power of love is great indeed.

"Anyway, does this mean we’ve cleared the task? I want to start hunting real monsters in a dungeon soon."

"Yeah. You passed the graduation exam, so let’s enter a dungeon starting tomorrow."

"Alright!!"

Naoto struck a victory pose, overjoyed.

The tutorial area we were in allowed us to pseudo-summon monsters from dungeons of various grades for combat training.

However, since it was just training, we couldn’t get items or equipment even if we defeated the monsters. We didn’t accumulate points to raise skill levels either, so there was no real sense of getting stronger.

Considering that, Naoto, who endured the Fake Hayate’s attacks with only his initial skills, could be said to have become quite strong. This is exciting.

"Naoto, Sakinon. Congratulations on clearing the Hayate-Style Dungeon Clearing Course (Hard Mode). With your current strength, you won’t struggle against most monsters."

"Congratulations on clearing it."

"We did it!"

"You worked hard."

"For the two of you, Rena and I have a small present."

I took out a full set of equipment from my item box and handed it to them.

"W-whoa. Isn’t the quality of this stuff on a whole other level from what we’ve been borrowing?"

"It looks so strong."

That’s because it is.

What I had given them, calling it training gear, was strong for beginners, but honestly, it felt a little lacking for a fight against the Fake Hayate.

The Fake Hayate can be defeated with skill alone, even with that gear. The Hayate-Style Dungeon Clearing Course (Hard Mode) was designed to acquire that skill, so I had intentionally given them weaker equipment.

"Could it be that this stuff we’re wearing now… isn’t that strong?"

"Yeah."

"Does it have some special magic on it to keep us from dying, or something?"

"In the tutorial area, you won’t die even if you take a fatal blow, so there’s no such magic on it. It just has a little damage reduction."

Hearing my words, Naoto’s face turned pale.

"I thought since you gave it to me, Hayate, it must be amazing gear with some hidden effects. I figured I’d be fine even if I took damage."

"It was exactly what it looked like."

Those who take the Hayate-Style Dungeon Clearing Course start by developing a mindset to avoid taking hits in the first place. Even though he thought I had given him strong equipment, he had been moving in a way that avoided taking major damage, so I could say his education was a success.

"Seriously…?"

"I didn’t mean to deceive you, but I’m sorry anyway."

"It’s fine. So, is this new equipment just for show then?"

"Not at all. It’s the strongest equipment that currently exists in this world."

"And it’s been enhanced to the highest possible level!"

"What?"

"Naoto, try equipping what you got. This is amazing."

Sakinon had already changed her equipment.

It was now possible to physically put on and take off equipment, or to change it using the status board. This way, even women could change equipment inside a dungeon without worrying about prying eyes.

"O-oh."

Naoto also operated his status board to change his gear. Naoto, who had been dressed as a fledgling explorer, was now decked out in equipment that looked like it belonged to a hardcore player who had spent thousands of hours in FWO.

"W-what is this?!"

"The stat bonuses are insane, aren’t they?"

It was the ultimate tank equipment, tuned for a heavy warrior using a greatsword. If he wore this and activated his defense skills, he would probably withstand a full-power attack from the Fake Hayate with ease.

Even that thing they call the strongest mid-boss right now is just a Grade 3 monster. Before equipment created using massive amounts of materials from the currently unlocked Grade 6 dungeons, and further enhanced to the highest level with the financial power of the Shinonome Zaibatsu, it couldn’t be considered a formidable enemy.

"Are you sure we can have this?"

"Yeah. We worked hard to create this equipment for you two, who worked so hard in training. We want you to have it."

"But it must be incredibly expensive to buy, right?"

"Please think of it as an upfront investment. If we keep clearing the most difficult dungeons, you’ll quickly recover the funds used to create that equipment."

"I-I see."

"Okay. We’ll work hard to contribute."

It seems they liked the present. Now we can finally get started for real.

"You two, welcome to the Hayate-Style Four-Sword Style Promotion Office."

Rena and Sakinon as attackers. Naoto as defender, Amaterasu-sama as healer, me as a versatile all-rounder who can attack and defend, and Rururoro-san as support. With this new six-person lineup, let’s push forward with our dungeon clearing!