"Dodge!"

"Ack!"

Hajime gagged as a hard kick landed straight in his stomach. He keeled over, and the assailant stepped back with a wide grin.

"Not bad," Satoru said, lightly jogging on the spot. "But you should focus more on guarding than hitting. As I keep saying, it'll keep you alive when things are crucial."

"This already feels crucial..." Hajime groaned, hugging his pained stomach.

Another 2 weeks passed since Hajime first stepped up for himself.

Since the day of reckoning, Satoru had made it his new ambition to whip up the two novices—namely Hajime and Kaito—into the realm of 'Not being terrible' at combat.

This was because Commander Meld had announced that they'll be going on their very first expedition to one of the Seven Great Labyrinths, [The Great Orcus Labyrinth], by the end of the month; which was now only a day away.

Satoru insisted that both of them should show off their growth and competence during the expedition. And to show off any of those, they needed to grow and become at least somewhat competent in combat.

That logic was fine by Hajime, nor was he longer against working hard. But agreeing to the vigorous training didn't make it any less painful.

For the past two weeks, he awoke(or was wakened by a grumpy Shizuku) by sunrise, take an hour-long obstacle run for stamina, do various sets of push-ups, squats, and many other full-body exercises, and of course, learn actual combat.

And by learning combat, it meant getting pummeled by Satoru.

Of course, there was solid reasoning behind this act of brute violence.

As neither Hajime nor Kaito had any Jobs that would aid in mastering weapons anytime soon, Satoru suggested learning boxing and wrestling—the two primal fighting arts made by humanity.

Still, two weeks weren't even nearly close to getting remotely good on either; most of their training sessions were spent them getting ruthlessly beaten by their harsh teacher.

"That's fine," Satoru replied when they raised voices of concern at this phenomenon. "You need to learn how to take a hit before you learn how to land one. The prior one is what would keep you alive."

Which was, again, fine with Hajime. But, again, knowing that didn't make these training periods any less frustrating...or painful.

It didn't help that Satoru's Job was 'Athlete', which made him gifted in anything physical, ranging from running to hand-to-hand combat, while he was already skilled enough on them enough to shoo away any street thugs back on earth.

"Can you stand?" Satoru asked.

Hajime tried to stand up, but his knees refused to contain any strength. He flopped on the ground and shook his head.

Satoru nodded and glanced over to the platform and indicated to the spectators that they can come down. Kaori immediately sprang to her feet and raced down the stairs and settled down next to Hajime.

Meanwhile, Kaito, who already had his turn on 'training', came down leisurely with mild amusement; though smiling made his side throb gently.

"You didn't have to hit him this hard," Kaori complained while shooting Satoru a glare. Satoru shrugged innocently.

"What are you talking about, Kaori? He definitely should've got a harder one." Kaito replied with a smirk.

Kaori switched her glare over to him. "You watch your mouth, mister." Kaito shrugged in imitation of Satoru.

As Kaori went back to healing Hajime's huge bruise on the stomach, he mouthed "Girls, am I right?" which made Hajime snicker—though he immediately regretted it when it made his bruise throb.

Satoru stifled a smirk as well, before turning his gaze to the far side of the arena, where a certain ponytail teenage girl was training by herself. Kaori followed his gaze, and her shoulders sagged down a little.

"That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask; what has been Shizuku up to these past few days?" She asked Satoru. He quickly averted his gaze away from Shizuku.

"Why are you asking me? Your her roommate, aren't you?"

Kaori grimaced, "Yes. But for the past few days, I haven't seen her in the room. She always comes in late after I'm asleep and leaves before I wake up."

"Sounds like an average father," Kaito muttered. Apart from Hajime, however, no one responded to the joke.

Satoru shrugged indifferently, "Well if she's keeping it a secret from you, I have no idea why you think I'd know."

Hajime recalled seeing Satoru and Shizuku together at the library. But before he can ask, Satoru clapped his hands once and threw all three students a jingling back.

"Whoa, coins!" Kaito shouted in glee. Hajime looked into his sack as well, and sure enough; there were several stacks of multi-colored coins inside.

Kaori held up a handful of coins with astonishment. "How are they this light? It's almost like they're paper!"

"I dunno, magic?" Satoru guessed.

"It's because they're enchanted with lightweight magic," Hajime explained. "Tortus's land is much smaller than the continents of the earth. There aren't enough trees to print bills, so they compensated by making coins lighter."

He flipped a blue Luta in his hand—one side had a Number '1' engraved on it, while the other side had a small rabbit drawn in.

Then, he realized everyone else was staring at him.

"How do you know that?" Kaito demanded.

"Reading, I guess," Hajime answered rather sheepishly. "It's not hard to decipher when you have all the pieces."

"That's amazing!" Kaori said. She hugged Hajime's arm, which made it more than worth it to him.

"Anyway," Satoru continued with a grin. "Those are your allowances for tomorrow. We'll be setting a course to Outpost Town of Horaud, and the place is full of various vendors that try to sell their stuff to visitors."

They all nodded. Hajime was glad that there was something he could look forward to tomorrow.

"Where did you get the money, by the way?" Kaito asked.

"Captain Meld. He's still bummed out about us doing separate training too, says he is sorry."

Hajime looked back at the castle. The majority of the students must still be training in groups, taught by the veterans of the kingdom.

He wondered if his last two weeks of training could pull him through the expedition to one of the Great Labyrinths.

"Are there any more questions?" Satoru paused for a moment. And when no one asked, he nodded.

"Alright then. We're breaking off early today. Get some rest. It'll be an hour and a half ride on a carriage pulled by magical horses.

Everyone, take a good night's rest."

Dinner was uneventful as usual. Now that he could proudly sit next to Kaori, and close to Satoru, not even Hiyama and his gang dared to nag at Hajime.

Speaking of, the Petty four's punishment for injuring Kaito and Hajime was extra training sessions and some hours of community service.

"They got off too easy," Kaori grumbled, attacking her egg scramble with a fork.

"Tell me about it." Kaito agreed, chomping down on his barbeque pork ribs.

Then they both turned to Hajime with expectations.

"I don't care, to be honest." He replied with a shrug. "It's not like more punishment is going to change their behaviors."

Satoru nodded. "That's likely true. Also, they got off easy because they are still in the [Savior Group], so to say."

Kaori's frown deepened. "[Savior Group]? What is that?"

Satoru swallowed a piece of chicken and continued. "It's a group of the most skilled people within us. Queen Luluaria made it official a few days ago. It's you, me, Kouki, Shizuku, Rutaro..."

"And them?" Kaori glanced at the Petty four, laughing and eating loudly. "How did that happen?!"

"From what I've heard, they actually did train more than average. Though I doubt that passion is fueled by a sense of justice."

"They probably just like getting stronger so they can boss people around." Hajime agreed.

In Tortus, one man's force yet has quite an influence compared to Earth. They didn't have to study hard or get rich to obtain a higher position. Naturally, it would be much easier for someone like Hiyama to go on a power trip.

Satoru snapped his fingers. "That reminds me, we have designated pairs for when we enter the Labyrinth. Kaito, you're with me."

"Damn it."

Satoru raised his eyebrow at Kaito as he continued. "And Kaori, you're going with Shizuku."

"Alright," Kaori nodded. Then, the realization settled in. "Wait, but I wanted—" She glanced at Hajime.

"I know. Hajime, you're also going with Shizuku. So it's three of you in one group."

Hajime grimaced. During the two weeks, a lot of things turned positive. However, his relationship with the class president wasn't one of them.

Kaori put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Hajime. It'll be fine. If something dangerous happens in the Labyrinth, I'll be next to you."

"Y...yeah, thanks Kaori. That means a lot." Hajime said.

He couldn't muster to tell his girlfriend that the Labyrinth was the least of his worries.

[Line Break]

Naturally, Hajime had trouble falling asleep.

Not counting the whole head-aching issues of Shizuku, the aspect of going on a perilous adventure to a maze filled with real-life monsters was both very terrifying and exciting.

He read as much as possible about all the monsters that inhabited the world of Tortus, and he had a fair amount of them memorized.

Still, he decided to review them. It wasn't going to do him any harm, was it? He can always sleep during the carriage ride.

Hajime got up from his bed and opened the Encyclopedia about creatures in the Great Orcus Labyrinth.

The whole book was as thick as five high school textbooks combined, but he only had to look up until the 20th floor—their destination for the day.

Ratman:

Found on the 3~4th floor.

It has dark red eyes and its entire body is covered in fur, except for its chest and abdomen. It has high agility but is rather lacking in terms of power and durability.

Cockatrittle:

Found on the 5~8th floor.

It takes a form of a giant beetle. Its shell is as hard as average steel and has pincers for a mouth. It also emits special fluids from its mouth and solidifies its prey as if they are petrified.

Pulvis Moth:

Special Magic: Benumbing Flutter

Found on the 9~13th floor.

Its giant wings spray various spores that can contain various poisons. You can identify what kind of spore it has by the pattern of its wings. Some individuals can put their opponent in a daze by dancing.

Cinis Serpent:

Special Magic: Flame Spit

Found on the 14~18th floor.

Its stone grey scales make it immune to fire, but the scales are also very flammable. It uses the scales as projectiles combined with its magic to fend off its enemies.

Rockmount:

Special Magic: Intimidating Roar

Found on the 19~20th floor. It has power arms, almost like a catapult. By shifting its fur, it camouflages itself by blending in with the rock formations around it. When it is caught in a fight, it'll let out a roar that can temporarily paralyze whoever hears it.

Hajime couldn't help grinning as he looked down at the various illustrations of the monsters.

He was in a fantasy world; as a down-to-earth Otaku, it was impossible to be fairly pumped in minimum.

The danger was present, of course, but a faction of knights are going to accompany them on their journey. And even Shizuku wouldn't just let him die, would she?

Hajime stifled a big yawn. He looked up outside of the window. During the month of life without a clock, he quickly learned how to tell time by the celestials in the sky.

'It's getting late...I should go to sleep by now.'

He was just about to throw himself on the bed when someone knocked on the door from the other side.

"...Yes?" Hajime asked, wondering who would bother coming to his room this late in the hour. However, his doziness vanished as soon as the voice answered.

"It's me."

"...Shizuku?"

Hajime tensed for a second. He couldn't believe what was happening right now. If Kaori visited him this late, that would be unrealistic enough.

Currently, Hajime was wondering if Hiyama's gang is trying to lure him out by faking her voice—it was a dumb idea, but so was Shizuku coming to his room at night.

"Hey, are you going to open up, or do I have to stand here?"

"You're...not going to attack me, right?"

Shizuku scoffed. "Just open the door."

Hajime complied. Shizuku was standing in the doorway.

She was wearing a flimsy jasmine purple nightgown and cardigan. Hajime immediately shot his eyes to the ceiling to avoid goggling at Shizuku's body.

Shizuku frowned and looked up as well. "Is there something up there?"

Hajime resisted the urge to facepalm himself.

"Hey, didn't you say you had a crush on me a while ago?"

Shizuku tensed. "Why did you bring that up now?"

"Why did you come here wearing nothing but two pieces of clothing?"

Shizuku blinked for a few seconds, then realized what Hajime was referring to. A blush flared up on her cheeks as she hurriedly buttoned up the cardigan.

"I, I didn't mean—I was tired." Shizuku stammered. Then, she squinted at Hajime. "No funny ideas."

Hajime just sighed. "Why are you in front of my room?"

"Because I wanted to talk."

"About what?"

"Tomorrow's expedition." Shizuku paused, and Hajime saw a glimpse of remorse from her.

"You'd better not come, Hajime."

Hajime blinked. He would've guessed it would be because she assumed he'd be a burden; but the look in her eyes was something else—concern.

When Hajime didn't reply in any fashion, Shizuku sighed. "Can I come in? It'd be better if I elaborate."

"...sure." Hajime stepped aside, and Shizuku stepped in as if she was entering a minefield. It may be his misconception, but it seemed like her ears were rather scarlet-shaded.

"So..." Shizuku surveyed the room. Her eyes roamed around the untidied room until landing on a pile of worn clothes shoved in the corner. "...nice room."

Hajime quickly shoved the pile under the bed as Shizuku found herself a chair. Now his face felt rather warmer than necessary.

He began reflexively brewing up two cups of tea. Soon, the room was filled with a pleasant scent of seething leaves.

Shizuku took one of the cups and took a sip. Her eyes lit up.

"Nice tea."

"Well, I had to make some adaptations as there weren't any energy drinks or coffee."

Shizuku nodded and took another sip of tea. It was quite impressive that anyone managed to make something that fits her tongue; especially as she had drank hundreds of well-known teas back at home.

Hajime, meanwhile, was thinking over what Shizuku had demanded—or suggested, depending on the viewpoint.

Objectively, it wasn't a farfetched thing to ask for. He knew very well that he was woefully under-prepared for the fight, and would likely be a burden to everyone.

Naturally, Shizuku would ask for his absence from the expedition.

"I know I'll be more or less a luggage, but I don't think Captain Meld would allow for anyone to be absent," Hajime said.

But to his surprise, Shizuku frowned in bewilderment.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, which in turn, made Hajime frown.

"Isn't that why you want me to stay? Because I'll be dead weight?"

Shizuku shook her head. "That's not it. For one, I'm not sure how hard the expedition would be. And..."

She paused for a moment. Her fingers around the tea cup tightened a little.

"And...you trained hard for it. I'm sorry for being a jerk the whole time. I...never thought you'd turn back. I guess I was wrong about you."

Shizuku looked up and gave a small smile.

Suddenly, Hajime was reminded why Shizuku was called the most beautiful student in the school, alongside his girlfriend. He found himself staring blankly at the smiling girl sitting two feet across from him.

Then, Hajime pinched one of his legs. Hard.

Don't get distracted, he scolded himself. Think of Kaori, you idiot!

Shizuku saw his reaction as well, and her smile melted away into a grimace. "Again, no funny ideas. Nagumo."

"Noted." Hajime agreed, eager to change the subject. "Anyway, if you don't think I'm going to be a nuisance, why don't you want me on the expedition?"

"It's because..." Shizuku let down the cup in her hands and fidgeted with the edge of her ponytail. It was more adorable than Hajime was mentally prepared for.

Thankfully, Shizuku's next words were enough for a distraction.

"...I had a dream. A nightmare, so to say." Shizuku said in a grim tone.

Hajime was silent. He wondered if Shizuku was planning a prank on him. "Pardon?" He asked.

Shizuku winced, a blush rising once again. This time, she tried to hide her face behind her ponytail.

"I know it sounds dumb, but I have a bad feeling about this expedition."

"I get that, but a dream is just a dream, Shizuku."

"I know that!" She snapped, then slumped into her chair. "It's just...the day before I got the news about my sister..."

"You had a similar nightmare." Hajime finished.

Shizuku bit her lower lip and nodded. Her head hung low. Hajime didn't say anything. His elementary memories were vague, but he did remember Shizuku's older sister—Yaegashi Shizuka.

She was a year or two older than Satoru, and she was one of the most kind-hearted people he had the pleasure to know.

As he reloved the memories, Hajime couldn't hold back his question. "...what happened to her?"

Shizuku swallowed a small hiccup that might have been a gasp or a sob.

"...right after your family moved away, my sister disappeared as well. All she left behind was an envelope, saying she had decided to run away with the one she loves the most."

"Who?"

"Satoru," Shizuku replied. Hajime nearly spat out the sip of tea.

"What?!" Hajime shouted in disbelief.

But as he thought about it, he realized that—yes, Satoru and Shizuka were always close to each other. He had just been too young to read the vibes.

"That's not all," Shizuku continued. "I could've accepted that if she was doing fine and well. But when my house tracked down Satoru...my sister wasn't with him."

"What do you mean? Did she run away again?"

"Honestly, no one knows for sure what happened. She had just disappeared one night, 5 years ago...never to be seen again."

Shizuku took the last sip of her tea.

"It's almost like she'd been transported to an another world, isn't it?"

Hajime's eyes widened. Suddenly, a lot of stranded informations connected within his brain.

Shizuku and Satoru digging through the history aisle.

The last summoning attempt being 5 years before.

"Wait, you're not thinking—"

"We went off topic too much." Shizuku declared and stood up. "You're still going to come to the expedition, aren't you?"

"...Yeah. Obviously." Hajime answered. As dangerous as it was, he was determined to no longer be called a 'coward' or 'weakling'.

Shizuku smiled, as if she expected nothing better from him. "Well then, I'll keep you safe in case of any danger. Take it as my small redeption for being...rude."

"That's an understatement." Hajime muttered.

Shizuku smirked. "Debatable. Thanks for the tea."

After the door closed shut behind her, Hajime flopped back onto his bed. His body felt like wet cotton, but his mind couldn't be further away from falling asleep.

But, no matter how much he thought around, there wasn't a clear way to help out Shizuku in any way. Heck, tomorrow, he'd probably end up getting helped from her a lot.

Hajime stifled a yawn.

Perhaps...I should discuss this after the expedition. At least Shizuku opened up much more...Maybe I could help them search...

With that new resolve in mind, he slowly drifted off into sleep.

I'd mention the lack of reviews if I wasn't so horrible at keeping a consistent upload schedule.

That being said, I would appreciate if any one reader left some reactions. Criticism or not, I think review is the best source of motivation for a writer.

I hope you all had a fun time reading, I'll see you all in a next chapter.